While I never condone violence, someone shooting at a lawyer doesn't really surprise me very much. I'm not going to comment too much on this story, but I will make two observations.

First, had one of these bystanders (or the lawyer himself) not been denied by the California government the right to carry a concealed firearm this shooting might have been avoided. (Technically, current law allows it but selective application effectively denies concealed carry, except for Diane Feinstein or the Hollywood elite.)

Second, this comment by a media still photographer ("At first I thought it was a joke because there was no smoke") shows just how ignorant the media is when it comes to firearms. I mean, we've only been using smokeless powder now for more than 100 years. The photographer, Steve Grayson, went on to say, "But the shots were really, really loud. It was very scary." [cannot help but roll my eyes] Don't get me wrong, I realize that random gunshots are quite startling, but his description makes him sound like a 12-year old.

I'm off to Blacksburg this weekend for the VT-Miami game. My sister took my tickets so I scalped a pair on the 50 yard line (very close in) just to make her and her husband jealous. The game isn't until 7:45, so I've got a long day of drinking and tailgating before the game. The rest of you saps will have to settle for watching it on TV. Muahahaha...

When I first read this, I thought it was a joke.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor predicts that the U.S. Supreme Court will increasingly base its decisions on international law rather than the U.S. Constitution, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. By doing so, the court will make a good impression among people from other countries, she said.

"The impressions we create in this world are important and they can leave their mark," Justice O'Connor said [...]

"I suspect," Justice O'Connor said, "that over time we will rely increasingly - or take notice, at least - increasingly on international and foreign courts in examining domestic issues."

"I, Sandra Day O'Connor, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

Ok, so this is really old news. Still it is nice to see that other communities are following Kennesaw's lead and enacting ordinances mandating firearms ownership. Virgin, Utah passed a law similar to the one Kennesaw Georgia passed in 1982, and the wording is almost the same. Both ordinances require the head of a household to own and maintain a firearm. Exempted are those precluded from owning firearms, gun fearing wussies conscientious objectors, and those who cannot afford it.

Sadly, most of the people that I tell about the Kennesaw ordinance think that I'm making it up. Actually, had I not lived in East Cobb (just outside incorporated Kennesaw), I probably never would have heard of it myself. For all you non-believers out there, Kennesaw offers the ordinance on their web site, and backs it up with crime statistics. Notice that although population has grown from 5,000 to 20,000 people the literal number of crimes (not just per capita) is still lower than what it was prior to the ordinance. Also, debunking the myth that guns corrupt people just by being available, statistics show that less than 2% of "part 1 crime" (violent crime, theft, and arson) in Kennesaw involves firearms.

The Virginia Citizen's Defense League issued a release on a pro-gun win in Virginia Beach. They don't have the alert online, and I was unable to find an article, so I have reprinted the alert in it's entirety.

Under pressure from VCDL activists, Virginia Beach drops handgun permit requirement!

Virginia Beach has dropped its ordinance requiring anyone purchasing a handgun in Virginia Beach to get a permit to do so from the
police!!! According to the letter I am looking at from the City of Virginia Beach to Virginia Beach gun dealers, the change became
effective yesterday.

This is not only great news for gun owners, but it is also wonderful news for the gun stores and gun shows in Virginia Beach.

VCDL member Steve Haynes has been working hard on three issues in Virginia Beach:

* Virginia Beach's handgun permit applications *require* you to provide your social security number and a reason for wanting to
purchase the handgun - neither authorized by state law

* Virginia Beach's handgun permit is not necessary now that NICS is being used statewide anyhow

* Virginia Beach's refusal to allow a citizen into their police stations if that citizen is lawfully carrying a handgun. The sign in
front of the police station asking citizens to not bring in any handguns also states that compliance is *voluntary*. Under state law the police cannot ban lawfully carried handguns from their buildings.

Steve started the ball rolling 3 months ago on his own and has done most of the heavy-lifting. He tirelessly wrote letters, had meeting with the police, talked to city council members and the Mayor, and carefully document everything. This victory once again shows the raw power of grass-roots activism, knowing your stuff, and sheer determination.

Steve kept me apprised of the situation as he continued his fight. I contacted Delegate Welch's office in Virginia Beach to get additional assistance for Steve. Robert Rummels, Delegate Welch's aide, was very helpful in this matter and did a conference call between himself, a city council member, and myself. VCDL Executive member John Fenter also jumped in to work the issue, retracing some of Steve's steps by having a meeting with the police leadership.

Steve wanted time to work the system behind the scenes and VCDL agreed, keeping the issue low on the radar scope. (Eventually we would have asked our members to start contacting city council and to attend city council meetings if these issues were not resolved.)

The police leadership confirmed to John Fenter that they are NOT requiring that a person lawfully carrying a handgun leave that gun in their car. Some VCDL members have said they will test that statement over time as they go to the police station to conduct business. If you experience any problems, be sure and let us know.

This is a big win in more than one way. I think that Richmond wants to get rid of its own firearms licensing / waiting period ordinance. This move by Virginia Beach may make that easier to do now. We also want to get Norfolk to drop their ordinance. Sorry, you Tidewater members are probably not off the hook yet - we will probably have to head down to Norfolk city council to ask them to do so.

Great work - thank you Steve, John, and Robert/Delegate Welch!

Chocolate is better than raisins and granola bars.

Kindly neighbors may think they're doing kids a favor by tossing granola bars or boxed raisins into trick-or-treaters' bags, but these "candies in costume" can be more harmful to teeth than chocolate bars.

Neal Boortz reminds us that at Halloween, many of our nation's children will go door to door collecting money for the U.N. Keep in mind the U.N.'s record on Iraq, Kyoto, U.S. sovereignty, and any number of issues, before you give your money to Unicef. These people would take our money and use it to better their own image while dragging the U.S. name through the mud.

Reuters reports that a Harvard Study shows that having more white people around leads to binge drinking. Well, they do make an attempt to spin it as pro-diversity, but when you read things like this, you have to wonder what's wrong with these "scholars".

"If you have younger white males together to the exclusion of other groups, you're going to have fewer role models for lighter or nondrinking behavior," Henry Wechsler, the study's lead author, told Reuters. "That may explain why fraternities have had such a high level of drinking problems."

Imagine if someone had put together a study that shows diversity leads to increased crime. What would be the reaction if we had a professor making the claim that a bunch of white people sitting around is quite boring and uneventful, but throw some minorities in there and all of a sudden you get a crime spree? My guess is that the findings would be almost as welcome as Klan night at a Knicks game.

I understand that group dynamics are bound to change based on the make up of the group. That is still a far cry from a causal relationship between binge drinking and behavior. The assertion that white people don't make good role models is just plain bigotry. What is really sad is that Harvard professors don't even realize how inherently racist they are acting. Here is an alleged institute of higher learning looking for predesposed behavioral patterns based on race, and somehow concluding that binge drinking is a white problem.

George Skelton of the Los Angeles Times is shamelessly using the burning wildfires, thousands of homes destroyed, and score of deaths in California to call for a tax increase. The L.A. Times had campaigned for keeping tax and spend liberal Gray Davis as governor in the form of targeted Schwarzenegger hit pieces in the 11th hour prior to the election. Now the embers haven't even been doused; the houses haven't even been extinguished; and the bodies of the dead haven't even been laid to rest and the Times is calling for billions of dollars in new taxes.

Here are some old suggestions: a half-cent sales tax increase raises around $2.4 billion annually. Upping the highest income tax rate to 10.3% from 9.3% for couples earning $300,000-plus picks up $1.3 billion. Boosting the cigarette tax by 40 cents a pack generates $675 million.

Socking smokers is cowardly, but there is some logic to taxing cigarette butts for firefighting.

Another frivolous gun lawsuit is tossed out of court like yesterday's garbage.

In a five-page opinion, [St. Louis County Judge Emmett] O'Brien wrote that such lawsuits would open "a floodgate to additional litigation." He also said that "issues of both logic and fairness" favored dismissing the case.

The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development is requiring people that receive public housing aid to volunteer some of their time in return, reports Fox News. The new HUD rules would require residents to contribute 8 hours per month to community service projects in return for all those government services and money they receive. Naturally, some people are not very enthusiastic about the program.

"I live my life just like everybody else, you know?" said Regina Morgan, a resident of public housing and mother of four. "The fact that you are tying it into my lease, that is inhumane."

The Democrat Presidential candidates got some bad news today, and the headline reads GDP Jumps 7.2 Percent, Biggest Increase in Nearly 20 Years. By the way, just who was it that was in the White House 20 years ago?

The economy grew at a scorching 7.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter in the strongest pace in nearly two decades. Consumers spent with abandon and businesses ramped up investment, compelling new evidence of an economic resurgence.

Democrats, however, argue that the tax cuts contributed to a record budget deficit in the recently ended 2003 fiscal year and have done little to spur significant job growth.

This can't be good.

A Social Security Administration spokesman said U.S. and Mexican officials are continuing "informal discussions" about a potential agreement that would allow millions of Mexicans working here to collect U.S. Social Security benefits in Mexico.

The controversial proposal has riled Republican lawmakers. They worry that it could reward scores of undocumented Mexican immigrants with a U.S. pension, draining the country's Social Security trust fund at a time when its future solvency is in doubt.

Would someone tell me just what is so bad about hunting dolphins? I'm sure I'm not going to have too much support here, but the animal rights movement seems sort of two-faced in that they only want to save animals that are smart or cute. I cannot help but think that if this had not been dolphins or whales, there would be a lot less outrage.

(Photo via Ananova)

And don't give me that "they are so intelligent" bull shit. Obviously they weren't intelligent enough to keep themselves from being led to slaughter.

I don't think this will help Kobe's case.

(Photo via Allah)

AUGH!

Is it me, or didn't this girl used to be on this show. I realize that she's no longer on the show, but IMDb seems to have erased the fact that she ever was.

UPDATE: I get results. They seem to have fixed it.

I offer this up with no comment.

Roughly 40,000 poor people have been dropped from the Oregon Health Plan this year because of their failure to make monthly premium payments, some as low as $6 a month.

The departure of more than one-third of the 88,000 poor people from the state-subsidized Oregon Health Plan Standard program has far exceeded the expectations of many state officials.

Advocates for the poor say the premiums are too expensive for some people and the government may have overestimated the ability of people to mail a check.

"It's an enormous barrier," said Ellen Pinney, director of the Oregon Health Action Committee. "Let alone the $6, there is the whole issue of writing a check or getting a money order, putting it in an envelope with a stamp and putting it in the mail to this place in Portland that must receive it by the due date."

Michael Moore seems to be getting into hot water over his faux-documentary, Bowling for Columbine, reports the AP.

James Nichols, the brother of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, says he was tricked into appearing in the documentary "Bowling for Columbine," according to a federal lawsuit filed against filmmaker Michael Moore.

Nichols also alleges in the lawsuit, filed Monday in Detroit, that Moore libeled him by linking him to the terrorist act. Nichols accuses Moore of libel, defamation of character, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In other Michael Moore news, World Net Daily reports that he gave out a conservative radio host's home and mobile telephone numbers in a publicity stunt. Moore claims to have wanted to talk to the radio host, but subsequent calls from the radio station to Michael Moore appear to have gone unanswered.

Porphyrogenitus asks where have all the human shields gone?

Of course, they left Iraq after the fighting (some left during the war). But of course now they should be planning on returning to Iraq, right? Out of the same interest for the well-being of the Iraqi people. I mean, sure, they don't like Bush's policies, but they claimed they didn't like Saddam, either.

I originally left this as a comment, but I wrote so much I decided to clean it up a bit and give it the full monty. Even though I'm a non-smoker, I disagree with the assertion that a patron's comfort should be of paramount importance with regards to smoking. While every business owner tries to appeal to the majority of customers, and while prohibiting smoking might please more than 50% of patrons, that doesn't necessarily translate into increased profits, for reasons that I'll explain.

When it comes to smoking, it is true that non-smokers may be more comfortable in a non-smoking environment. However, smokers seem to be more uncomfortable in a non-smoking environment than non-smokers are in a non-smoking environment. That is, smokers seem to be more fickle. (Addiction to nicotine may just have something to do with that.) In simple terms, that means that financially, you may be worse off appealing to a majority of customers (non smokers) if you're completely losing the minority (smokers). The reason being that although non-smokers prefer a non-smoking environment they aren't as likely to get up and leave as addiction-prone smokers are who barred from smoking.

That said, regardless of how the numbers work out, it should always be up to the business owner to decide which way he wants to cater his business. Having the government decide (or the majority) is tyranny. Even if the business owner wants to make a poor financial decision and cater to a niche (outside the mainstream) market, that's his business, not that of the government.

England is following the socialists in New York and California, and considering a smoke ban in restaurants and bars. Just like in the U.S., anti-smokers and their willing accomplices are not even considering private property rights.

The London Health Commission is running the Big Smoke Debate and will report back to mayor Ken Livingston early next year.

The initiative follows a recent Mori poll which showed 71% of Londoners were bothered by smoke in enclosed public places.

Another 35% said they had left or avoided eating somewhere because of tobacco smoke.

Organisers say the survey is not about whether people should smoke, but where smoking should be allowed.

Remember the Big Lake Pastor, Phillip Mielke, who was charged for shooting two armed thugs who were breaking into his church? Well, it would appear that justice has prevailed and Pastor Mielke has been acquitted on all charges. This has to be driving the GFW anti-self-defense crowed nuts. If this were England where defending yourself, your home, and your property is illegal, he would have served at least 5 years in prison just for raising a hand to an attacking goblin. Thankfully there are still some people in this country that recognize that security and self defense are basic human rights, no matter what the government says.

Naturally the family members of the perpetrators were upset. The mother of one of the men who was killed tried to paint her son as a victim.

"People are going to think it's OK to take the law into their own hands," she said.

Her son was wrong to break into the church, but so was the pastor wrong to go armed into the building.

Other people questioned the pastor's use of deadly force. Prosecutor Bob Collins noted Mielke could have shot a couple of kids as easily as Palmer and Jones. He never got a good look at the intruders before firing and then continued to fire at one man as he ran away.

Collins said Mielke should have called troopers when he saw a car idling outside the church instead of grabbing a .44-caliber handgun and taking matters into his own hands.

What bugs me most is that Collins and the family of the perps are acting as apologists, and trying to play off these guys as victims. While a lot of energy was spent trying to prove that the burglars had no ill intent, the fact remained that they were breaking and entering someone else's property. It does not matter whether they were just looking for food, or giving communion. They still made a decision to break the law and for that, they paid the ultimate price. As my daddy always told me, "you pays your nickel, you takes your chance." They took their chance and lost.

(Hat tip to reader Tom, and Kevin for the link)

Apparently Berkeley's "living wage" laws that are designed to help the "working poor" are killing off the non-profits. Owen notes that some non-profits are unable to comply because they don't have the funds to boost minimum wages up to the $10.76 per hour that the law requires.

Conservative economists have long known that minimum wages actually take jobs away from the very people they are supposed to help. Dr. Williams covered this years ago.

...Let's go back several decades and pretend you produced automatic dishwashing machines. Your salesmen put on a sales pitch, but restaurant owners say: "Why should we buy your costly machines when we can hire people to wash dishes for $2.00 per hour? It isn't worth it." You would benefit from Congress raising the minimum wage to say $4.00 per hour. Why? It raises the cost of restaurant owners using people to wash dishes. Thus, they'd have greater financial incentive to buy dishwashing machines from you.
[...]

The real problem for low-skilled workers is not that they're underpaid, but that they're underproductive. The solution is to improve their skills and education. One of the ways to do this is to have a climate where youngsters can have early work experiences. The little bit of money a youngster can earn after school and weekends is nice but not nearly as beneficial as the lessons learned, such as: proper work attitudes, promptness, and respect for supervisors.

The same premise holds true for so-called, sweatshops.

Last week, Fox News noted that there is a growing trend among celebrities to surround themselves with beefy overbearing body guards. That's right, while many of these celebs are out speaking out against your right to carry a firearm, they are surrounding themselves with lots of hired muscle. Apparently it has become almost cliche, and stars are going on a bit of a power trip watching fans get manhandled.

All of this begs the question: How much security do celebrities really need and how much of it is just power tripping?

Former bodyguard-to-the-stars Michael Francis, author of the soon-to-be-published "Star Man: The Right Hand Man of Rock 'n' Roll," said even the brightest stars need only one good guard.

"It's an accessory now, that you have to have four or five guys who weigh 400 pounds. The big stars should have one good one that they trust," said Francis, who has worked with celebrities including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Cher, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney.

Autograph Collector magazine editor Jeff Woolf, who recently ranked the best and worst stars at doing "the write thing," said Spears and Christina Aguilera are known for their gangs of goons.

"The celebrities play innocent while Big Bubba is throwing you up against the wall. With Britney it is a well-known thing - she gets a kick out of it."

"Especially Britney and Christina, they're pretty young girls and you don't want some nut-job coming up to them," said Woolf. "John Lennon probably should have had a bodyguard. But the guards focus so much on people with a camera and a pen when they should be looking out for someone who could really hurt the celebrities."

You ever wonder what forest fires look like from space?

(Click to supersize)

How many people saw this one coming. Tom Daschle, sure did, which is why he insisted on nationalizing the proletariat security screeners.

Ananova has an interesting story about Tony Blair's recent heart ailment. Blair claims the condition is new and that he's never had trouble with the ticker before. Bill Clinton claims that Blair confided with him in the past, and that he's known about the heart condition for years.

Mr Blair's spokesman insisted that his irregular heart beat, which caused him to be hospitalised briefly last week, had never happened before.

But ex-US President Clinton was quoted in the Sunday Mirror as saying: "I've known about this for a long time. He told me about it quite a few years ago.

According to Robert Novak, the GOP is going to get tough on Democrat filibusters. I'll believe it when I see it. Novak lays out three phases of GOP toughness. Phase one is to get a cloture vote on the Pickering nomination. Phase two is to order a cloture vote for the Pryor nomination. Phase three is to attempt to get a cloture vote on the three female nominees, Owen, Kuhl, and Brown.

Perhaps I'm unfamiliar with Frist's tactics, but I fail to see where this will work. As long as democrats have 41 votes to hold the filibuster, there isn't much the GOP can do. Novak claims that is when the "nuclear" option, a change of Senate rules, comes in.

Failure to reach 60 votes for cloture on each of these three women is scheduled to be followed by consideration of the bill co-sponsored by Frist and conservative Democratic Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia. That measure would reduce the number of votes needed to end filibusters on nominations. That, too, will be filibustered in order to defeat it.

All this refocusing is intended to set the scene for a bitter battle in next year's session of Congress. At that time, an effort may be made to rule out of order a filibuster against judicial nominations -- the "so-called" nuclear solution. This would require only 51 votes, but Frist does not even have that many today because of reluctance to tamper with the traditions of the Senate.

Even if they do have the cahones to try such a move, I don't think it is the smartest one available. Using the "nuclear" option seems to paint the GOP as the bad guys. They aren't getting what they want, so they are going to try to change the rules. I think a better option would be for the Republicans to enforce the rules they have now. Filibusters should be actual filibusters. Democrats should be forced to hold the floor for the duration of their filibuster. They should have to get up there and read the phone book, the unabridged version of War and Peace, or whatever. A filibuster used to mean marathon debates, holding the floor until one side caved in to the other's demand. All Senate business would stop until the filibuster situation was resolved.

If the GOP is really serious about getting these nominations a vote, they'll force the democrats to hold a real filibuster and not these lazy half-assed obstructionist measures they are taking right now. Let the American people watch the tomfoolery that goes on in our nation's Capitol. Perhaps then the democrats will pay the real price for their unprecedented tactics.

Fox News has been covering the wildfires burning out in California. Embedded in their story of all the homes in the Santa Ana and Rancho Cucamonga area that are going up in flames, is this advertisement which just seems cruel.

Now, I realize that this is a rotating ad that is probably driven by computer scripts, but it still seems a bit out of place. I would liken it to the time Yahoo's (search) feature gave numerous links for Madonna the singer, embedded in an article about Madonna the Catholic holy figure. (second story from bottom)

"An Icelandic fishing captain, known as "the Iceman" for his tough character, grabbed a 660-pound shark with his bare hands as it swam in shallow water toward his crew," reports Reuters.

The skipper of the trawler "Erik the Red" was on a beach in Kuummiit, east Greenland, watching his crew processing a catch when he saw the shark swimming toward the fish blood and guts -- and his men.

Captain Sigurdur Petursson, known to locals as "the Iceman," ran into the shallow water and grabbed the shark by its tail. He dragged it off to dry land and killed it with his knife.

The seaside town of Solana Beach in Californiastan has banned smoking on it's 1.4 miles of beaches, reports the AP. Not to be outdone, pleasure police in L.A. have decided to propose their own beach smoking ban, which helps prove the theory that total prohibition is not very far away.

Smoking bans started on airplanes and have spread to restaurants, parks, and entire communities. Lately there have been movements to ban smoking in private automobiles when children are present, and it won't be long before smoking is banned in homes as well. I can hardly wait for the Waco-style standoffs government sanctioned firebombings, when the police come to arrest people for smoking on their own property.

In other anti-smoking news, Bloomberg's smoking ban almost burned down a tavern full of World Series watchers.

Virginia Tech's "Big Mac" supercomputer is likely to rank at #4 on the list of the world's most powerful supercomputers, reports CNET. What is really remarkable is that the computer array that uses 1100 dual processor G5 Mac computers was put together for a fraction of the cost of normal supercomputers.

In a world where the top machines traditionally cost $100 million to $250 million, and take several years to build, the Mac-based system cost just over $5 million, and was put together in about a month.

Democrats court black votes in debate

Later changed from "court black votes" to "attack Bush". Still nothing new.

I don't watch a lot of VH1, but they were doing these 1980s Strikes Back specials, so I turned off the v-chip and tuned in. During the course of the program, VH1 is interviewing several celebrities about their take on the 80s. Naturally when dealing with celebs and 1980s pop culture, there is some swearing and nudity, which VH1 bleeps over or censors for regular TV. But, I could not help but notice that they bleeped over the word "retarded". To put it in context, an actress was discussing the TV show LA Law, and she commented that her favorite character "was the retarded man".

I almost missed the fact that they had bleeped over "retarded", so I tivo'd it back, and sure enough they bleeped the word retarded. Did retarded become a slur and nobody told me? Apparently it is a gray area, or at least according to the second definition by Miriam-Webster which lists retard as "often offensive". Still, to describe someone as retarded, which is the short version of "mentally retarded" shouldn't be considered offensive, and indeed M-W makes no mention of it.

Still, it sounds like they are trying to wean people onto the "mentally challenged" terminology, or worse, "differently abled". It appears to be yet another case of using more syllables to make something sound better than it really is. For instance, to borrow from George Carlin, "shell shock" became "battle fatigue" became "post traumatic stress disorder".

I have to hand it to Michele for doing the play by play on the anti-American protest rally in D.C.. I thought about heading across the river to get some photos of the tin foil hat crowd, but I've got too much other stuff to do today. The 10th Annual Halloween Party is tonight and I had a few things to do around the house before tonight. Besides, there is only so much ignorance I can take.

Watching morons go on national television, with their Soviet flags and communist propaganda, to complain that their free speech rights are being stifled just isn't my cup of tea. I vividly remember watching students face down tanks (and lose) in Tiananmen Square. The claim that these wackos own unpopularity is somehow a form of oppression, is an insult to all those in the world that are suffering from real government repression.

UPDATE: OK, I cannot help but laugh when after all the anti-capitalist rhetoric being spewed in the speeches, they brought out the collection barrels and started begging people for donations. These mindless followers are like sheep, I say, sheep.

Reuters reports that chopsticks may cause arthritis, which means it won't be long before California bans them in Chinese restaurants. I would imagine that forks and knives can also cause arthritis or perhaps even repetitive motion injuries. I cannot wait to join the class action lawsuit against eating utensil manufacturers, after which we'll all have to eat with our hands.

It's one thing to neglect your weblog, but this is just sad. If he wasn't family, I wouldn't admit that I know him.

UPDATE: Of course, now that I pointed it out, he went and posted something on his previously blank page just to make me look silly.

A frustrated reader, Sam, wrote to complain about the lack of backward compatibility of this site with older browsers. Specifically, IE 5.01 and earlier compatible browsers don't handle the CSS code very well (or at all) and the site shows up very jumbled. For Sam and Heather and the other 3% of readers that try to use IE 5.01 or earlier browsers, I have uploaded the old tables template for you to use. You can read the page on this alternate version, by clicking here.

(It may show up rather plain looking until you select a style sheet.)

Fine for speeding ~ $75
Fine for violating HOV lane = $500
Fine for littering = $1000

"The law is the law." -- E.U. spokesman commenting on a man that faces prison time for illegally labeling "jam" as "marmalade".

According to a European Union ruling, marmalade can contain only citrus fruits like lemons, limes and oranges. It can't be made out of apricots or other soft fruits. Such produce has to be labelled as jam.

You've heard of those gun buyback programs, where the government spends taxpayer seized funds to buy guns from criminals with no questions asked. In Indiana, anti-gunners are targeting children's toys.

The Toy Gun Buy-Back concept is simple: Children will bring in a toy gun, and in return, receive a toy store gift certificate valued at $15.00 to purchase a non-violent toy.

This story is both tragic and sad.

Eight St. Louis area collectors were indicted Sept. 28 for "engaging in the gun business" without a Federal Firearms License. They are the latest victims in the 40-year battle over the fuzzy definition of who must have an FFL.

Vaguely defined "unlicensed dealing" carries more severe punishment than some willful violations by licensed dealers - plus the potential forfeiture of every gun in a collection, and the loss of gun ownership rights, firearms hunting rights, and often even voting rights - for life.

In addition to the ruinous legal costs of fighting a felony offense punishable by up to five years imprisonment and $250,000 fine, the St. Louis collectors - five of them 60 to 79 years old - have had 572 firearms seized.

Gotta love union thugs.

The AP notes that the Senate approved the fifth straight pay raise; for themselves. Actually, they didn't approve it because they are automatic. What they did was defeat an amendment to suspend the pay raise. The vote was 60-34 in favor of giving themselves a pay increase; something that Tom Daschle called "not a raise" just last year.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, parroted Daschle's rationale by claiming, "This is not a pay raise. This is an increase that's required by law." It must be nice to be able to use the police power of the government to enrich yourself.

I would assume that those Senators voting for this pay raise won't be bitching and griping about the budget deficit.

A shutout in a basketball game? That's a new one.

Feds: Wal-Mart sweep nets 250 illegal workers

Federal officials say they arrested about 250 illegal immigrants working at 61 Wal-Mart stores in 21 states. Agents picked up undocumented workers employed by several janitorial contractors used by Wal-Mart. Many were coming off night cleaning shifts at the stores.

Sorry about the lack of posting today, but my boss kept me out very late last night. While I'm nursing my hangover, you might want to mosy on over to Right Wing News if you haven't already. Hawk has a bunch of good essays that he has written, plus a treasure trove of news stories.

Here is a sampling:

Defending America Is Now A Partisan Issue -- Democrats feel more secure with "free" health care than with defending our borders.

The Neocon Myth -- Tin foil hat alert.

French Weapons Dated 2001 Found in Iraq -- Some Ruskie ones too. Gee, weren't they also against the idea of the U.S. liberating Iraq?

PETA Thinks Rodeo Not PC, Asks Town To Change Its Name -- Yet another PETA publicity stunt. The more they push the issue, the more I'm glad to be an omnivore.

The Families Of Two People Whose Cars Were Shot At By Teenage Fans Of Grand Theft Auto III Have Filed A Lawsuit Against Sony, Take-Two, Rockstar Games, And Wal-Mart -- They're suing everyone but the shooter.

A Canadian Football League Player Is Suing TSN And Three Of Its Commentators, Alleging Their On-Air Comments Damaged His Reputation -- I wonder if McNabb will sue Limbaugh for calling him overrated.

Augh. Drinky drinky too much tonight. Pissed off about this as well. I refuse to blame the #3 ranking curse (USC, OSU, Michigan, VT all lost at #3), their looking ahead to Miami, lack of offensive touchdowns, the three interceptions and four fumbles, or the 13 penalties for 116 yards. They played shitty all around and deserved to lose because of it.

Any way, I have to get up in 4 hours for work. Don't count on me being too chatty today.

I don't usually comment on celebrity deaths, but Jack Elam was one of my favorites, and he will be sorely missed. I was watching one of his movies this weekend, and wondering about where he was and what he was doing. Now I don't have to wonder any more.

(Photo via AP)

Italy's Mt. Vesuvius hasn't erupted since the 1940s. It has a "major" eruption every 200 or so years, and it has been 2000 years since the famous city of Pompeii was wiped out. With all of the post-WWII urban sprawl, government officials are worried about people encroaching on the still active volcano. USA Today reports that so great is the concern for a repeat of the Pompeii disaster, that Italy actually wants to pay people not to live near it.

Authorities hope to thin the ranks of residents so they can be evacuated when Mount Vesuvius erupts again. They are doing this by offering cash incentives to move, demolishing the illegal buildings that have sprouted on its flanks and establishing a national park at its top.

It's only a matter of time before it does erupt, scientists say.

On another note, the article also contained this curious notion: "So quiet [is the volcano], in fact, that Pope John Paul II visited Pompeii Oct. 7 to pray for peace at a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary." I guess that compared to the daily eruptions of Kilauea in Hawaii (which has been erupting since 1983) Vesuvius is quite dormant. Still, they make it seem as though the Pope visiting a volcano that hasn't erupted in 60 years to be extraordinary, while at the same time saying that the volcano is very quiet.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a school board member is defending his remarks following the assault of a teacher. A teacher tried to take a phone from a student, which sparked off a savage and brutal beating. Rather than holding the student (who as been charged with aggravated assault) accountable, school board member Reginald Malone blamed the victim.

Malone was quoted in Saturday's Times-Dispatch as saying the student's behavior was inappropriate. He also said, "You've got to be careful who you take the phone from," and suggested the teacher could have headed off a violent confrontation.

The Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) has thus far refused to embrace technology and new media formats. Instead, they have resorted to suing customers to preserve the outdated and obsolete CD format. Wharton legal studies professor G. Richard Shell notes that this is not the first time an industry has resorted to suing their customers to prevent them from adopting new, cheaper technology. The automobile industry tried it 100 years ago, and it took Henry Ford 6 years to blaze a trail.

In 1903, when Henry Ford launched the Ford Motor Company, his third attempt at making cars, automobiles were high-priced, custom-made playthings for the rich. What's more, the major manufacturers had figured out a way to keep it that way. They had acquired a strategic property right very much like the recording industry's copyrights on recorded songs. It was called the Selden Patent and it gave its owners the exclusive right to sell a very basic invention: self-propelled vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. Many people in the car business thought this patent was an outrage. . . But the U.S. Patent Office had issued the Selden Patent and a group of powerful incumbents had purchased it and formed an association to enforce it. Litigation, then as now, was very expensive - especially for start-up companies with limited working capital. Nearly every car company fell into line to pay royalties to the Association for the privilege of making and selling cars.

Except Henry Ford. The association did not want another competitor in Detroit and it did not like his idea of driving prices down to where average people could afford a car. So it refused to license him. For Ford, it was either exit the industry or fight the Selden Patent in court. He decided to raise a legal war chest and fight the incumbents. The litigation lasted from 1903 until 1911 and along the way, the association launched hundreds of lawsuits against Ford's customers to scare them away from his showrooms for buying "unlicensed vehicles."

Most ordinary people of Ford's era had been content to stand by and watch the automobile makers slug it out over the Selden Patent. It was just an industry cat fight. But when the big "money men" started suing ordinary people who were just trying to buy a cheap car, public sympathy shifted against the incumbents. People rallied to Ford's side against the bullies. Editorials weighed in against the industry's heavy-handed lawsuits, and Ford helped his own case by purchasing litigation insurance for his customers. By the time the patent litigation was over - Ford won on appeal in 1911 when the court ruled that the Selden Patent covered only cars made with a special type of engine nobody was using anymore - Ford was a hero, and the largest car manufacturer in America.

Tommy "the commie" Daschle once said, "You don't professionalize unless you federalize." That line became the Democrat calling card when it came to airline security, and helped create a multi-billion dollar federal bureaucracy called the TSA.

Democrats, however, have abandoned federalization when it comes to class action lawsuits when they cross state lines, reports Fox News.

But most of the 48 Senate Democrats oppose the legislation to place all national class action lawsuits into the federal system, enough to filibuster if necessary, Democratic leaders say.
[...]

The federal courts already are overwhelmed with cases, which means that class action lawsuits would receive the lowest priority, said Jamie Court, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

But the bill's supporters say trial lawyers currently seek the most sympathetic venues around the nation, and target judges known for multimillion dollar verdicts, forcing businesses into unjustified settlements.

If you want to know what is wrong with the BCS, you have to look no further than the Northern Illinois computer rankings. Their computer average has them at 9.00, ranked above Wash. State, Nebraska, LSU, and Mich. State. Northern Illinois is having a good year, and they even have an upset under their belt. But lets be honest, do they really deserve to be ranked 6th on two computer polls, 7th on one, and 8th on two more? Are the sports writers and coaches all wrong about NIU? Are the computers right, by ranking them as a Top 10 team?

Of course none of this matters right now, because the only BCS poll that counts is the last one. Still it's nice to know just how bad the BCS is going to screw things up this year.

For a peek into the cowardly mind of gun fearing wussies, check out this letter to a Florida newspaper.

I too have always admired the Publix TV commercials until the new one of the little girl making breakfast for her policeman father. It disturbs me deeply.

I am sure that even the National Rifle Association would agree that the policeman father walking in the door and hanging his pistol belt (presumably with a loaded weapon) on a hook in plain sight just inside the door is not only irresponsible but verges on criminal. The weapon is accessible to the little girl and all her friends and siblings, not to mention a "smash and grab" burglar.

I rue the thought of ninnies like this being elected to public office. It disturbs me deeply.

The AP reports that the South Carolina Democrat party is short on cash for throwing the presidential primary just months away. While that is all pretty interesing and would be great fodder for some good ol' fashioned schadenfreude, it's a passage at the end of the article that really stands out.

Other county officials are reluctant to open all 2,000 polling sites, saying they want to combine precincts where there are relatively few Democrats if such a plan passes legal muster. However, in 2000, Democrats sued Republicans to open all primary polling sites.

When I worked in retail, people used to bring electronics in for repair. A few smart ass co-workers would be a little too accurate when transcribing the problems that the customers were saying they had. On more than one occasion, electronics were sent to the repair shop for problems like "brone fruse" or "smoke exscaped when turned on". The repair technicians usually got a chuckle out of it, and would even play along; sending it back with comments like "refilled with smoke". For those involved, it all seemed rather silly.

Recently on Tongue Tied, Scott Norvell noted that the Denver Police have been caught playing the same gag.

Denver police are unnecessarily driving a wedge into an already divided community by accurately transcribing their interviews with African-American witnesses, reports columnist Jim Spencer of the Denver Post.

Denver Police records routinely have phrases like "aks" instead of "ask," "sumpin'" for "something" and "baf'room" for "bathroom."

It should come as no surprise that bigotry abounds in the Congressional Black Caucus. Senate democrats, with support of the CBC, stand to filibuster a third minority judge. After blocking the nomination of Miguel Estrada because he wasn't "Hispanic enough", the Dems plan to block the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown, because she isn't black enough, or as one member of the CBC put it, she is "cut from the same cloth as Clarence Thomas" and should be kept off a federal appellate court.

Many bigoted Democrats view Justice Thomas as an "Uncle Tom", because he does not rule the way they think a black man should. Justice Thomas is a staunch supporter of the Constitution and the rule of law, and Senate Democrats fear that Judge Brown will be as well.

Related articles:
Affirmative Inaction - 09/05/2003
Dems to filibuster third minority judicial nominee - 06/17/2003
Daschle Tries to Filibuster Hispanic TV Merger - 05/30/2003
Dems continue to block minority judges - 05/06/2003
Schumer: Bush shouldn't nominate judges - 05/01/2003
Democrats vow to filibuster another minority nominee - 04/30/2003
Dems Improve Constitutional Judicial Process - 03/06/2003
�Como Se Dice "Liar"? - 02/17/2003

It never ceases to amaze me that so called institutions of higher learning are the first ones to quell freedoms. Many universities ban residents from owning firearms, and many also ban freedom of speech. Plenty of universities have "free speech zones", or areas where freedom of speech is allowed. This of course, implies that the basic human right is banned elsewhere on campus. Andrew Grossman reports on one college that bans freedom of speech out right, all in the name of political correctness.

Students at Bucknell, in Pennsylvania, are prohibited from engaging in "bias-related behavior," that is, "any action that discriminates against, ridicules, humiliates, or otherwise creates a hostile environment for another individual or group because of race, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, gender, language, or beliefs."
[...]

Although especially stringent, Bucknell's speech code is hardly unusual. Hundreds of universities and colleges have in place restrictions on what their students, faculty, and staff may say to one another or in public forums.

Apparently Kim is giving up his daily weblog. It's a shame, but I understand his reasoning. He has a pretty full plate and after all, this is just a hobby to most of us.

Take care buddy. You'll be missed.

"I don't know if we'll marry, I find it romantic bearing his illegitimate child and living next door." -- Helena Bonham Carter, commenting (fourth item) on the birth of her baby boy with next door neighbor and director Tim Burton.

The Toledo Blade has a good article on the open carry walks going on in Ohio. I notice a few funny looking hats in that line of marchers. The Blade reports:

Sheriff Beck, whose wife and children also walked the seven-block march, said he is personally aware of gun owners who are carrying concealed weapons for protection - many of them victims of stalkers or in an abusive situation. He said his department won't mess with them although they are technically breaking the law.

Also notice that it's not all guys either.

This sounds about right, although I'd never wear such a goofy hat.

(Click for some quizeration)

(Link via The Accidental Jedi).

The AP gives a quick update on the California freshman student, Lisa McClelland, at the ironically Freedom High who proposed starting the "Caucasian Club". Apparently she is being picked on and harassed so much that she is thinking of transferring schools.

Some people would say things like 'We already have a club like that, it's called the KKK, you racist,"' the 15-year-old girl told the Contra Costa Times for a story Sunday. "I'd walk into the auditorium and people would start whispering."

Guess who's coming back to Washington. Anti-war protesters will be out in full force next Saturday, reports the Washington Post. Whether or not they make demands to turn Iraq back over to the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein, remains to be seen. The march will coincide with a similar rally in San Francisco. Both will probably be ripe with commie pinkos and anti-American/anti-Bush protesters. I wonder if they'll loot the city like they did at the pro-Saddam rallies in San Francisco earlier this year.

If you run out of cranberries on December 25th, you might be out of luck if you live in the U.K. Sky News reports that the British government is planning on forcing supermarket stores to close their doors this Christmas. Apparently most stores are closed anyway, but there have been a few who are bucking the trend.

Ministers at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) want all large stores to remain closed on December 25 to ensure staff get a break.

At least one supermarket chain opened its doors on Christmas Day last year and the departments is worried others will follow suit.

Now, me being a Christian myself, I have no plans to work on Christmas day. But then I used my individual freedom of choice to select a job that allowed me the day off. That really is what it is all about, is freedom. British business have been opening their doors on December 25th and the government thinks they should be at home playing with all the toys Santa brought. How dare they actually want to leave their homes after all the wrapping paper has been picked up.

Of course, not everyone wants to stay at home on Christmas. When I worked in retail, my Jewish friend and boss wanted to open our store on Christmas day just to sell batteries. He probably could have made a bundle, but our boss wouldn't hear of it, so we couldn't do it. Still, it's nice to know that business owners have the freedom to make those decisions without having to worry about the government sticking guns in their face. But then what would a nation that still has royal monarchs know about freedom?

Dennis Miller is none too happy about Malvo's insanity defense in the case of the "D.C. Sniper".

We're about to enter the morass of the D.C. sniper trial, a trial in which one of the snipers, John Lee Malvo, told an interrogator that he shot a sixth grader in the chest to see how the chief of police would react on the nightly news. Now he's going to plead insanity. Well you know something? That's just not good enough, pal.

Why does insanity always get you off the hook? It's like a "Get Out Of Reality Free Card." All you have to do is say you were a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, and all of a sudden caring people with zero regard for the victim's loved ones will convert some of their Delta miles and fly in to attend an anti-death penalty candlelight-vigil in your honor. All of a sudden people are feeling sorry for you, because you killed someone, because you were crazy! Of course you were crazy! That's the point!

At the same time, it is that defense attorney's responsibility to make sure the trial is not a complete railroading. His job includes making sure that the prosecution does their job in proving the case. Any confession that Malvo gives should be a true confession and not the one the cops beat or coerce out of him. If the defense attorney doesn't put up a valid defense, the case could be overturned on appeal. Even worse, it would really be a travesty of justice if the guy makes it all the way to execution without having had a truly fair trial. While I wholeheartedly believe in capital punishment, I also believe in making damned sure the government does their job in proving this guy is worthy of capital punishment. Anything less would be dictatorial.

The back of his T-shirt read: "If you can read this, the bitch fell off"

A while back I purchased an AR-15 stripped lower receiver. For you gun novices, that means that all you get is a serialized hunk of metal that looks like this. Well, today I drove down to the Richmond gun show, and got a good price on a complete A2 flat top parts kit. Again for you gun novices, that means you get all the rest of the parts, (minus the stripped lower) and once you assemble them you get a gun that looks somewhat like this.

Now, you may be asking yourself just why anyone would do such a thing. Well, the stripped lower is the serialized part, so you can pick those up for between $100 and $200 depending on the make. That is the part the ATF considers a gun, and the one for which they do a NICS check. (Instant background check.) The rest of the gun is just parts and can be picked up anywhere with no restrictions. Basically that means you can take advantage of the internet and purchase across state lines without having to go through an FFL. In short, you can save a few hundred dollars.

So, I spent the better part of today greasing up gun parts and assembling my AR-15. I figure I saved about $250 by putting it together myself, and I'm starting to wonder if it was worth it. First of all the thing was a bear to put together. It only took about 3 hours, but it still needs more lubing and oiling. I never thought the thing would be this dry. I don't have the specialized tools to assemble the upper, so I had the smithy do it for me while I waited. I put the lower together using tools I had laying around the house. They have specialized tools available, but they aren't necessary if you are willing to put up with the pain in the ass factor.

I really only ran into two snags. First, the bolt catch plunger pin is too stiff. It doesn't flow very freely, and I'm wondering how that will impact performance. Also, the damned selector switch (safe-fire thingy) was milled out too far, so it will not switch from safe to fire. There is a detent that slips too far into the selector, so once you set the safety, it aint coming off unless you disassemble the rifle. That means I still need to go out tomorrow and find a new one, and then strip the gun down a bit to install it. I don't want to drive all the way back to Richmond for a $5 part, so I'll see if I can find one here locally.

After I get that final piece, and have it properly oiled, I'll be ready to test fire it. That is where I'll see if my hard work paid off, or if it blows up in my face. Wish me luck.

Uh oh. Look who's delving back into politics, and working on John Kerry's campaign. Doesn't he know this girl's trouble?

Last month, I wrote about Google's anti-gun bigotry. While I agree that Google has every right to refuse business from people that want to advertise firearms to law abiding citizens, I pointed out that it "doesn't mean that we necessarily agree with their bigoted, narrow minded, sissified, French point of view."

Well, a San Ramon ADSL subscriber, who thinks he's remained anonymous and admits that he is badly in need of a blow job responded with childish name calling:

how dumb are you? you call google bigoted and then in the same sentence you make an utterly racist statement like that? idiot

Opponents of concealed carry in Ohio claim that it is not necessary, because open carry of firearms is perfectly legal. That argument was bolstered by the Ohio Supreme Court, which basically ruled that the legislature had the right to ban concealed carry because open carry is legal. With open carry legal, it cannot be said that Ohio lawmakers are denying people the right to self defense, which is expressly stated in the Ohio constitution.

That said, Ohioans For Concealed Carry, OFCC, has the story of one Ohioan who was harassed by know nothing cops for carrying openly. (emphasis mine)

As I approached, he asked why I had a gun. I said because I can open carry in Ohio. He said no, that it wasn't legal in Ohio. I insisted that it was and referenced Klein vs. Leis and that the Supreme Court ruled I can. He asked to take possession of the weapon and I allowed him to so he would relax.

They ran my ID and the serial number on the Glock. . . When all my info came back clean they had a little pow-wow. . . They came back, handed me back my gun and ammo, the first officer suggested I practice my civil rights in a different way, which I quickly dismissed and told them that if they thought is was necessary I would carry the gun more conspicously (sic). They had suggested that it was possible that my jacket might blow over my gun and then it would be concealed.

While I fully support those in law enforcement, cops have no right to try to coerce someone into not exercising their rights. What would be the reaction had these cops been stifling anti-war protester's freedom of assembly? As for the community, if the neighbors have a problem seeing a law abiding citizen toting a gun around openly, perhaps they should write their state senator and tell him to pass concealed carry legislation.

Time for the Friday Five. It seems a little silly, but I'll give it my best. The problem is that I just don't have five things for each one.

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
Beer, wine, bottled water.

2. Name five things in your freezer.
Ice.

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
Trash can filled with empty beer bottles, monsters.

4. Name five things around your computer.
I have a laptop PC, so there is nothing around my computer, except me (and empty beer bottles).

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.
Aspirin, multi-vitamins, assorted hangover remedies, and empty beer bottles.

The spotted owl seems doomed to extinction, despite the efforts of anti-logging environmentalists. The protections put in place the save the owl are not working, and spotted owls continue to be "replaced by a heartier feathered foe -- the barred owl," reports Fox News. Even though their futile efforts to stave off natural selection have failed, enviro-weenies still insist on keeping and expanding environmental restrictions.

The Audubon Society wants all old-growth logging banned and more tree-cutting restrictions on private land, if too late for the spotted owl then for the rest of the forest’s animals.

Steven Milloy takes on another junk science anti-smoking program. The so called "study" purports the Miracle of Helena; Montana that is. Apparently the citizens of Helena voted to ban smoking back in 2002. Six months later the ban was rescinded. Anti-smoking zealots noted that hospital admissions for heart attacks dipped during the 6-month period, and loudly claimed that it was due to the smoking ban. The short dip in heart attacks was hailed as clear and convincing evidence that the second hand smoke kills, and that the ban was effective at saving lives.

Milloy points out that this really is the "study" that wasn't. There was no empirical data provided, and no study done to get to the root causes of the heart attacks.

Another glaring problem is the researchers' failure to study any pre- or post-ban patients to medically determine the causes of the reported heart attacks. Given all the genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that combine to cause heart attacks, it is quite bogus to attribute them to secondhand smoke, especially without examining any patients.

Milloy also points out that many of those involved have a vested interest in the findings.

[Dr. Stan] Glantz has a Ph.D. in applied mechanics and engineering economic systems -- whatever that is, it is not statistics. He's the director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. He's funded by the federal government to attack the tobacco industry. The National Cancer Institute, for example, gave Glantz $600,000 to "study" tobacco industry lobbying on the state level.

Augh. Head. Ache. Too late. Drinky-drinky. Too early. Blog later.

The Carnival of the Vanities is up and running at Priorities & Frivolities. Don't look for my entry, because I forgetted again. Sigh.

A Missouri fan who was battered by a Nebraska player following the Cornhusker's upset loss might face trespassing charges reports the AP. Matthew Scott ran on the field to celebrate after the upset victory, and was punched by Nebraska's Kellen Huston. Huston has been suspended for a game, after Nebraska coaches reviewed video footage that clearly showed him punching Scott. Scott wants to press battery charges against Huston, which could land him in the same jail.

[Police Chief Jack] Watring said the man who was hit, Matthew Scott of Lee's Summit, Mo., has been told by investigators that he could be charged himself if he presses action against Nebraska place-kick holder Kellen Huston.

NFL bad boy Warren Sapp has been a bit thuggish lately. Sapp has a habit of harrassing the opposing team during pre-game warmups, and he is upset that the NFL is trying to dissuade his arrogant behavior reports Fox Sports.

"I knew (the league) was gonna do what they did because they've been notoriously against Sapp. Like I said before, it's a slave system. Make no mistake about it, slave master say you can't do it, don't do it. They'll make an example out of you."

Slavery sure pays a lot more than it used to.

A few years back, Penn State instructed students and fans that they were not permitted to boo the home team. PSU was off to an 0-2 start, and JoPa and company were being subjected to ridicule in their home stadium. Naturally, the ban didn't go over well, and was viewed as an affront to the First Amendment freedom of speech.

This week, Sports Illustrated is reporting that West Virginia University has instructed fans not to boo the opposing team during next week's Virginia Tech game. VT is leaving the ACC, and West Virginia administrators are worried that things might get out of hand in a stadium known for unruly fans.

On Oct. 2, WVU students set fire to couches, chairs, mattresses and garbage. Three students face disciplinary action for inappropriate behavior.
[...]

In previous years, some Virginia Tech players wore their helmets on the sidelines in case something was thrown at them from the stands.

It happened in 1996 after Miami beat West Virginia on a last-second blocked punt returned for a touchdown. A trash can thrown from the stands hit a Hurricane assistant coach in the head. The coach settled a lawsuit against the university and the Big East for $50,000. The culprit was never caught.

Two years later, fans threw a liquor bottle and golf balls onto the field during a game against Maryland, and rowdy fans were pepper-sprayed by police after a victory over Syracuse.

Have you noticed all the talk about the rising numbers of the uninsured? Well, Owen Courreges points out that almost half of them are not even U.S. citizens.

After all, discussions of the uninsured usually imply that they're Americans, not persons here illegally. Most Americans would probably agree that a public healthcare system should cover citizens, not simply anyone who can hop the border.

Statistics about the rising numbers of uninsured are constantly held up as proof that there is a growing problem in this country. In actuality, many of the uninsured may be that way out of choice. Many are probably here illegally, and hope to keep a low profile. Others are uninsured because of the personal choices they've made in their lives. They may work in a job that does not provide health insurance, not work at all, or not have the job skills to get a job that provides them the benefit.

Politicians have done a good job of getting people to think of health insurance as an entitlement. This can be illustrated at the heart of the transit strike and grocers strike in Los Angeles. The workers are not striking about pay, but instead striking about the rising cost of their own health care. While they have every right to try to get as much pay and benefits as they can, perhaps they should place a good part of the blame squarely on the shoulders of trial lawyers and malpractice lawsuits, instead of blaming management for the rising cost of health care.

Insurance was initially offered as a benefit to woo employees, just like the dot-com bubble brought signing bonuses and free BMWs to the spend thrift tech industry. Just as those benefits were eliminated when the bubble burst, insurance benefits are likely to be scaled back during periods of high unemployment and record high insurance costs.

Women are finding new and inventive ways to screw over the men in their lives, reports Fox News. Women are spreading the idea via word of mouth, that men should shell out big bucks for expensive gifts for them after they go through labor.

Men who thought their lavish-jewelry duties were over after they purchased the engagement ring might get a shock when their babies are born. That's when it's time to shop for the "push present."

But a bouquet of flowers won't usually cut it. Nowadays, many husbands are expected to buy expensive presents to thank their wives for dealing with pregnancy and "pushing" through labor.

According to the current CNN web site poll, respondents think they are, by a ratio of 4 to 1.

Sucks to be this guy.

The Washington Post notes some of the mud that flew during a local Republican primary. Check out the jab they take at Gun Owners of America.(emphasis mine)

In the bitter Republican primary, Frederick pounced on Rollison's endorsement of last year's failed referendum proposed on the sales tax, nicknaming him "Sales Tax Jack." The challenger appealed to Prince William conservatives by pledging to back school vouchers and capturing an endorsement from the Springfield-based Gun Owners of America, a group many consider more extreme than the National Rifle Association.

Last week, USA Today noted that sports lovers may be asked to pony up for such standard cable staples as ESPN and FSN. At issue is the tug of war between ESPN/Disney and Cox Cable company. With sports salaries skyrocketing, ticket prices and TV rights are selling for an all time high. ESPN wants to charge cable companies more, and cable companies don't want it to hit their bottom line. That leaves customers, like me, having to choose between paying extra or finding an alternative.

Now, if satellite TV was an option where I live, I'd have it already. Unfortunately, my apartment faces the wrong direction and satellite is not an option. (I had satellite in Ohio, and cannot express in words how much I miss it.)

Still, if faced with the prospect of having to pay $5 to $10 more per month for ESPN and other various sports packages on cable, I would probably opt out completely. While I watch my fair share of sports, I would probably cut back, or start hanging out in sports bars for my favorite games. It's not so much the money, as it is the principle. With cable rates increasing at three times the rate of inflation, if the two cannot come to some sort of agreement, I might just cancel the cable completely.

The Register gives examples of even more examples of misguided RIAA lawsuits aimed at apparently innocent customers. Ross Plank of Playa Del Rey, California has been accused of making hundreds of Latin songs available for illegal download. However, there seems to be a problem with the RIAA's accusations.

"Plank does not speak Spanish and does not listen to Latin music," the EFF said in a statement. "More importantly, his computer did not even have KaZaA installed during the period when the investigation occurred."

Plank would not be the first victim of a RIAA legal misfire. The pigopolists last month withdrew their lawsuit against a 66-year-old woman after discovering that she uses a Mac and cannot run KaZaA.

As an internet subscriber, I wonder what defense I could muster if the RIAA falsely accused me of illegally downloading Ricky Martin, Madonna, or worse, New Kids on the Block. Perhaps a defamation countersuit would be in order.

UPDATE: The RIAA isn't discouraged by the mistakes, however. CNET reports that they are going after Charter Cable for a whole new batch of customers to sue.

Fox News notes that conservative gun owners might not be there for Republicans that support more gun control.

Gun rights activists say if gun control were to become an issue in the 2004 election, it will be over the assault weapons ban reauthorization. Republican sources say debate is already emerging among the GOP rank-and-file in the House whether to fight it, and talk has centered around whether gun advocates will be inclined to go all out for President Bush if he signs a new ban.

"If it gets to the president's desk, and he signs it, [that] would be a campaign issue like you wouldn't believe," said Pratt. "It would put gun owners in a real foul mood."

If I hadn't seen the video on the news last night, I wouldn't have believed this report about OSU.

Ohio State linebacker Robert Reynolds was suspended one game Monday for jamming his fingers into the throat of Wisconsin quarterback Jim Sorgi and choking him.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I am considering dropping my NRA membership because they are too liberal (much to the chagrin of my liberal GFW friends). If any of you pro-gun folks out there were doubting my claim, Kevin gives me yet another reason. In building a case for restoring DC residents rights to bear arms, NRA counsel seemed to go off the deep end. Kevin writes:

Fuck 'em when the counsel for the NRA says:

YOUR HONOR, WE ARE HERE WANTING TO REGISTER HANDGUNS. WE ARE NOT HERE WANTING UNRESTRICTED ACCESS. WE'RE NOT HERE ASKING TO CARRY THEM, OTHER THAN IN THE HOME.

Tell me that THAT quote won't show up in every anti-gun newsletter, publication, and website - and bet your ass it will end up on the Nightly News.

"We are here wanting to register handguns"???? Even IN context I cannot abide that statement.

I'll offer this up without any comment. Dizzy Girl writes about a recent conversation she had with her little boy, Matt.

I then asked him if he knew what Democrats were, and I kid you not, the child goes "Democrats are evil."

Al Gore's Liberal TV channel is going to be aimed at children and young adults, reports World Net Daily.

If former vice president Al Gore's all-news channel comes off as he hopes, it will be the talk of the hip, under-25 set, not a liberal answer to Fox News.
[...]

The adviser told the trade publication the proposed network will look like a synthesis of CNN and MTV, positioning itself as "a professional news operation reaching an aware, younger, hipper audience."

The AP offers this gripping headline: "Jen and Ben Attend Red Sox-Yankees Game"

Wow. I'm shocked, I say, shocked. Be sure to let us all know how many beers they had, and which one went potty first. That journalistic coup is worthy of a Pulitzer.

Frankly, I am more than a little tired of all the Bennifer "news" stories floating around. I could care less how many times they break up and get back together, or whether or not Ben got a gun permit. People that pay attention to this bullshit need to get a life of their own.

There is no better evidence that major media is all about ratings and profit than the entire entertainment industry. The Tom Brokaw's of the world that sit on their porcelain thrones and claim to be working for the common good rather than chasing the almighty dollar are so full of shit their eyes are brown. Anyone who believes them probably also owns several bridges.

There is a lot of talk about the Ford GT coming out. I'm not going to cover it again, but if you want to read what I wrote about it back in April, you can find it here.

Senator and presidential candidate, Joe Leiberman is kicking off his class warfare campaign in hopes of jump starting his presidential run, reports the AP.

Democrat Joe Lieberman, hoping to jump-start his presidential campaign with a fresh attack on White House policy, is promising to ensure that upper-income Americans pay more taxes than they did before President Bush's record-breaking tax cuts.
[...]

He also would reverse Bush-backed tax breaks given to people earning more than $200,000 annually - and impose a limited surtax on them. The surtax, which campaign officials did not detail, would ensure that the wealthy do not benefit from the rate changes.

This weekend I met up with some of my GFW friends for the VT-Syracuse game. It was a lot of fun, and eventually over beers and hot dogs, we got to talking about the NRA. My friends Mike and Anna actually live near NRA Headquarters, which Mike calls "the Death Star".

During our brief conversation, I confessed to them that I was considering quitting the NRA. Naturally, they asked why. You can only imagine their shock and horror when I told them that I thought the NRA was too liberal when it comes to gun control. I don't think that any of them had ever heard the NRA characterized as liberal before.

The truth is that the NRA has signed off on just about every major gun restriction passed in this country. They are a centrist organization that is bent on compromise. Maybe they view strict Constitutionalists like me as counter-productive, but I don't believe in compromising when it comes to individual freedom.

The New York Times talking head Bob Herbert is taking offense to being labeled as anti-gun. Check out this passage from his latest column where he attacks the NRA for naming names.

All of the groups and individuals listed are supposed to be anti-gun. I can't speak for the Kansas City Chiefs or Moon Zappa, but I'm not anti-gun. I think soldiers, the police and certain other law enforcement officials should have guns. Civilians, however, should be required to demonstrate a good reason for having firearms. We should go to great lengths to keep guns out of the hands of children, criminals and insane people. All guns should be registered. And all gun owners should be properly trained and licensed.

Perhaps we should institute similar restrictions on freedom of the press. The Times should only be permitted to publish Bob's column after the government has approved it, and he's justified his reason for wanting it published. I mean, why should the Second Amendment be the only one we ignore.

By the way Bob, wiping out the First Amendment and taking away all that freedom of the press that you enjoy every day will be much easier once the government is the only one with the guns.

Happy Columbus Day.

For those of us with the day off, this is a day where we celebrate Columbus discovering America, kicking the Indians off our land, and his claiming the land for our beloved Queen of Spain. Just how do we celebrate this? Why, by shopping for new cars and cheap matresses of course.

Now, if you are one of the poor saps stuck working today, check out today's PC Watch. Apparently some Native American groups in Denver what Columbus' name kicked off their annual parade.

The protesters likened Columbus to a Nazi and a slave-owner who brought genocide to the Americas.

It looks like the Missouri Democrats, who could not win in the legislature, have taken it to the courts. STL Today reports that a judge has suspended the new CCW law, pending constitutional review.

The fate of Missouri's concealed weapons law, which was to go into effect Saturday, has now landed squarely in the lap of the Missouri Supreme Court.

It will be up to the seven judges on the state's highest court to decide whether language in the Missouri Constitution bars the carrying of concealed firearms or if the law passed by the Missouri Legislature last month - over Gov. Bob Holden's veto - can go into effect.

Now the question is, will the justices decide based on the law, or their own ideology.

"Any woman who devotes her life to making one man miserable instead of a lot of men happy, don't get my vote" -- John Wayne as Sam McCord on marriage in North to Alaska.

It looks like Rush Limbaugh is addicted to painkillers.

Conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh reportedly told his listeners Friday that he does have an addiction to painkillers and will be checking himself into a 30-day drug treatment center.

THE CONSERVATIVE talk-radio host also admitted that he is being investigated for trying to buy narcotics illegally. The disclosure came during the nationally syndicated broadcast of his widely followed radio program. "Immediately following this broadcast, I am checking myself into a treatment center for the next 30 days to once and for all break the hold this highly addictive medication has on me," he said.

CNN has his full statement.

Here is a quick update on the Jackson County Sheriff who unilaterally opted not to take concealed carry permits, thus breaking state law. Somehow, Tom Phillips has found a way to start taking and receiving applications in compliance with the new state CCW law.

Sheriff Tom Phillips said Thursday he is rearranging people within his department to help meet the early demands once the law goes into effect Saturday.
[...]

Issues brought forward during the meeting included the different interpretation of the law. According to the statute, the $100 application fee can be used only for equipment and training.

Phillips got the go-ahead to use part of the money to pay for the $38 fee connected to fingerprint checks, required in the statute.

Related articles:
MO Sheriff refuses to take CCW applications -- 10/09/2003.

Hawk is picking on the mental midgets at DU. I tried reading everything, but got to laughing so hard after the first part, I had to stop. Check out this amazing feat of intelligence and humility:

What we MUST realize in order to win - Americans are stupid and uninformed

Janekat: "This is very important because in order to win we must understand the way the average American thinks. I'm afraid WE have nothing in common with them.

I came to the two following conclusions when I saw the large number of people who voted for Bush back in 2000.

#1 - I would dare to assume that most of us here are in the upper 1%-20% of the population intelligence-wise. We must come to the realization that the majority of the population is in the lower 80% to 99% percent of the bell-curve. WE are not the norm.

If you can figure out what's fundamentally wrong with that statement, as Walter Williams would say, go to the head of the class.

From what I can tell, the rest of it is a hoot as well, so go, read, and enjoy the stupidity of "upper 1%-20%" percent percent percent of the population.

By the way, for some reason I was reminded of this:

For those of you enjoying the long weekend, Happy Columbus Day. I'm off to Blacksburg tonight for tomorrow's VT-Syracuse game. The game is at noon, so we've got to use the morning to squeeze our tailgating in. They are calling for "sprinkles" during the game, but after surviving the Hurricane Isabel Bowl vs. TAMU, I'm confident I'll survive.

Back in January, the UK announced that police were no longer able to investigate "trivial" crimes such as home invasion and assault. According to the UK Telegraph, police have apparently been keeping that promise.

A chief Constable admitted yesterday that his officers are being forced to ignore thousands of burglaries, thefts and car crimes because they are swamped by increasing drug and gun violence.

The public's perception that the police were not interested in low-level and non-violent crime was underlined when Steve Green, Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire police, said there was not enough money or officers available to investigate all crime.

The Montgomery County (MD) repeal of property rights started yesterday. The Washington Post reports that restaurant owners will have to play cigarette police and start enforcing the county smoking ban. Proponents of the ban claim that restaurants are going to reap a financial windfall as anti-smokers, who have apparently been held hostage in their own homes, are going to be lining up in droves outside bars and restaurants.

"It's not Puritanism," said Eric Gally, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. "Secondhand smoke kills."

Nancy Floreen, (D-At Large), who attended the court hearing, said the ban seems commonplace given the broad shift in public attitudes toward tobacco in recent years.

"Nobody would think twice about permitting smoking on a plane now," she said. "It used to be a way of life, but we have slowly but surely moved in this direction."

What really makes the ban seem unnecessary was this statement by County Executive Doug Duncan:

He said many restaurants in the county are already smoke-free.

"Clearly, pressing your [SHIFT] key is a violation of the DMCA law against circumventing copy protection." -- Ravenwood, 09/08/2003.

"SunnComm to sue 'Shift key' student for $10m - Alleges DMCA violation, damage to its reputation" -- The Register, 09/10/2003

When is Congress going to come to their senses and repeal the DMCA? The wording of the hideous law is so weak, that if you can read this you can be sued for cracking my encryption technique.

It's bad enough that worker's show up at these "gun free zones" to hunt down and kill their fellow employees, but now the shooter's relatives are trying to hit them up for cash.

The mother of a man who killed three people and wounded five at a factory before committing suicide filed a workers' compensation claim, saying her son suffered "death by gunfire" at work.

On the standardized claim form, Tichelkamp-Russell wrote that her son suffered "death by gunfire while on company clock (time)." The form gives no more details of how the death occurred.

The Carnival of the Vanities is up and running at Dancing with Dogs.

Whenever you give the government the power to regulate something, you give them the power to deny. Some Missouri residents are finding that out, as the local Sheriff is violating state law by refusing to receive and process concealed carry permits. The Examiner notes:

Citizens hoping to file an application on Saturday for a concealed weapon permit will have to wait at least another month or two, because Sheriff Tom Phillips hasn't had enough time to properly set up a system of oversight.

Phillips said there was no way he would be able to have employees organized to handle the permitting process in time for the Saturday deadline imposed by state government.
[...]

Phillips said he will refuse to accept applications until a system of handling all this is properly organized and his department can process applications in a speedy and efficient manner.

Unfortunately, government officials refusing to do their job as a way to deny freedoms is all too common, especially when it comes to firearms. Recently Massachusetts increased the cost of permits for firearms and pepper spray 400%, while Taunton (Mass.) Police Chief Raymond O'berg unilaterally put a moratorium on permit applications because of staffing cuts. Meanwhile, the ATF refuses to process reinstatement requests to restore firearms rights to those that have lost them, because Congress cut off ATF funding for that function.

Fox News has resorted to taunting CNN over Paula Zahn's sinking ratings. The AJC reports that Fox has purchased a billboard across from CNN headquarters, taunting the second rate news network.

Paula Zahn's new show on CNN is performing so poorly that even archrival Fox wants CNN to bring back Connie Chung.

At least that's what a comical new billboard Fox erected late Tuesday catty-cornered to CNN Center says.

"Come Home Connie. CNN Needs You," the billboard reads. "Brought to You by Your Friends at Fox News."

Here is a green-red map of California, similar to the blue-red "Bush" map from the 2000 election. San Francisco went 80% against the recall, as did most of the coastal counties.

God bless those music pirates.

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- A Princeton graduate student said Monday that he has figured out a way to defeat new software intended to keep music CDs from being copied on a computer -- simply by pressing the Shift-key.

Kevin writes about the Oregon gun turn in program thingy, whereby people who don't want their guns, just turn them in. I want to know how I can get on the receiving end of one of these gun turn-ins? I wouldn't mind people giving me their unwanted guns. (as long as they're legal, of course) It'd be like Christmas come early.

So, it would appear that Arnold has won, and Davis is history. There have been predictions of legal challenges and more stalling by the powers that be, but the margin of victory might be large enough to quell such attempts to subvert California's constitutional gubernatorial election. As for the results, I am personally a bit worried for California about having Arnold in there. While he may have an (R) by his name, Schwarzenegger is certainly no conservative.

From the beginning, I've felt that California should take one of two approaches. The first approach would be to tough it out with Gray Davis. It was Gray that got them into this mess, and perhaps they should have had more time to live with the consequences of their choice. The second approach would be to bring in a conservative like McClintock who, right or wrong, would take the state in a different direction as far as policies go. Liberals and Conservatives can argue back and forth which be the better choice, but both should agree that the two are polar opposites.

Arnold, however, is more of a compromise vote, which probably explains his success. Unfortunately however, compromise typically doesn't make either side happy, and often doesn't solve any problems. As a conservative, I would be remiss to sell out my principles like the Democrats and Republicans have done in the Golden State. To me, Arnold is too much like Davis, and will not be very successful. Given that he will likely face a very bitter and devided legislature, he may not have much of a chance to be a very effective policy maker either.

Perhaps I'm being overly pessimistic, but an idiot is defined as someone who does the same thing and expects a different result. I think the California voters may just have done something very idiotic.

U2 front man Bono slipped up and used the F-word at the Golden Globe Awards. Fielding complaints, the FCC has ruled in Bono's favor, reports the AP. I'm not one really care much about "offensive" language, however, I cannot help but smile at the FCC's reasoning.

The FCC, using the F-word more often to explain its decision than Bono did on the air, said the word "may be crude and offensive, but, in the context presented here, did not describe sexual or excretory organs or activities." That distinction is a key test to measure whether a statement meets a federal standard for broadcast indecency.

David Solomon, chief of the FCC's enforcement bureau, said in the ruling that Bono used the vulgarity as an adjective or to emphasize an exclamation and that "the use of specific words, including expletives or other 'four-letter words' does not render material obscene."

Anheuser-Busch, who was recently lauded for supporting concealed carry legislation in Missouri, is a little hypocritical on guns. As the VCDL reports (via email), the Anheuser-Busch theme parks, Busch Gardens, don't permit concealed carry holders to bring their firearms. While they have every right to ban guns on their property, Anheuser-Busch seems a bit two-faced for supporting concealed carry legislation in Missouri (where they are based) but not in Florida and Virginia, where their theme parks are located.

Of course, the CEO doesn't live in Virginia or Florida, he lives in Missouri. Even if enough public pressure is put on Busch, they are likely to claim "insurance reasons" or some other frivolity for not allowing guns into their theme parks.

Related articles:
This Bud's for you -- 10/03/2003.

Ted Nugent has teamed up with the Star Spangled Ice Cream Company to make "Gun Nut" ice cream, reports World Net Daily. The ice cream company is the conservative answer to Ben and Jerry's, and $1 for each until sold goes to help the Gun Owners Foundation Gun Safety Project. The best thing about the ice cream, may be the unusual "endorsement".

In the statement, the company made a point to note who was not endorsing the new ice cream flavor: "Among the celebrity non-endorsers of Gun Nut are Barbra Streisand, Rosie O'Donnell, Alec Baldwin, Al Franken, Al Gore, Michael Moore and the Dixie Chicks."

I don't get it. What is wrong with their advertisement or their acronym for that matter? What other acronyms are parents mad about? SIHT, DANM, COKC?

It has been 8 weeks already. If you are on the same blood donation schedule that I am, that means you gave a pint yesterday as well.

Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, a school bus driver who found a pistol laying in the road during his route was fired, reports ABC13 News. Rather than leave the gun laying in the street ouside a nearby prison, Erik Danna retrieved the firearm, and turned it over to police. Because he handled it around children, however, he was terminated, as was his father, who also handled the firearm.

"I did what any good citizen would have done. I picked it up. I got it out of a dangerous situation. I kept it from falling into the hands of a prisoner. I kept it from falling into the hands of a child," said Danna.

I'm not sure which story is more bizarre. This one about women who believed that "Limited Edition" Barbie dolls were limited production and not limited to the number Mattel can sell.

Or this one, about a man who is fighting a custody battle over a parrot, and wants the bird to testify in court.

Leave it to the LA Times to bitch about the Bush tax cut, claim our deficit is too high, and lecture about socking our children with a huge bill in the future, and never once suggest cutting spending, or even practicing fiscal restraint. In fact, spending was never even mentioned at all.

The administration's tax cuts are the economic equivalent of steroids; they may quickly pump up the economy, but the long-term effect on fiscal health will be dire.
[...]

Unless Congress shakes its tax cut fever, it will indeed taketh away - from future generations that must pay back a mountain of debt while trying to sort out health care and the other costly problems that this government has decided to ignore.

While they use social security as a scare tactic for seniors, they place the bulk of the blame on Bush and corporations; as if corporations are huge nameless, faceless organizations. With a straight face, the LA Times suggests that corporations have a civic duty to pay higher taxes, and are somehow un-American for looking for ways to avoid paying income tax. Of course, anyone who knows anything about economics could tell you that corporations are made up of people. While company's first duties are to the shareholders, both employees and customers have a vested interest in a corporations success. Corporations do not hold wealth, and any savings or lower cost structure is distributed between shareholders, employees, and/or customers.

To hear the Times, however, corporations are robber-barons, raping the land and stealing money from peasants who are forced into servitude.

No matter who wins in today's gubernatorial election, I'll be glad that it's finally over. The side show was fun while it lasted, but it's time to put it all to bed.

Get your last minute jokes in now.

Fox News reports that the government, as part of it's "ready" campaign, is encouraging people to have "go kits" put together in case of an emergency. A quick glance at the government's idea of a ready kit, and you'll notice that they don't seem to think taking a basic firearm with you is necessary.

Now, I don't know about you, but if the shit ever hits the fan, you can bet I'm not going to rely on the government for protection. I've always kept some sort of ready kit at hand, even before 9/11. But after seeing this one, I need to rethink my planning.

Phil at The Speculist takes a look at what life will be like in the future.

Phil at Delusional Duck notes that Missouri doesn't want certain people to participate in their highway cleanup program.

Robert Prather of Insults Unpunished says that the Kyoto treaty is dead. Apparently those countries that were foolish enough to ratify it are having buyer's remorse.

Robert Smith at Gut Rumbles thinks the Wal-Mart snake bite story is a load of bullshit. I'm inclined to believe him.

Scott Chaffin at The Fat Guy thinks Shiner Bock Light is quite the oxymoron. What's next, Guiness Light?

Neal at Random Nuclear Strikes notes that gun grabbers and the CDC aren't about to let the lack of results stop their anti-gun agenda. They are claiming that gun control works, dammit, they just cannot find a way to prove it yet.

What's with the ESPN NFL Countdown show today? They did everything but burn Rush Limbaugh in effigy. What is really sickening is that all the announcers, starting with Chris Berman are claiming that they never look at QBs as black or white. Tom Jackson trashed Limbaugh and his "divisive" radio show like he'd been called Uncle Tom Jackson by his buddies in the press.

Topping it all off, they claimed that Rush was hired for his football expertise, and not just to raise the ratings. Rush does know football, but lets be honest, we all know why he was there. Each announcer also individually claimed that he was angered and hurt by Limbaugh's comments, and that the NFL has come a long way in 20 years. Race is no longer a factor. Berman might has well have said, "Donovan McNabb is black? I had no idea."

All this brings me to wonder if they are watching the same NFL that I'm watching. Are they watching the NFL that fined the Detroit Lions $200,000 for not interviewing any black candidates for the head coaching spot? So much for a color blind NFL.

Most likely, the response was highly coordinated and scripted. The ESPN announcers appeared to have either been pushed by the NFL, or Disney (the owner of ABC/ESPN), or perhaps by their own desire to squelch the negative press they've received over the past week. Either way, they seemed to be parroting the same script, that what Rush said was racist, and that they are glad he's gone.

Now, I can accept that they may not like what Rush says or stands for. I can even accept that being a bunch of dumb jocks, they mistook Rush's comments as racist. But trashing someone (anyone) after they've left the show is in poor taste. It's as if they hope to elevate themselves back up by attacking a guy that's not even there to defend himself. They were chastised for not reacting last week, so they made up for it with over-reaction this week. None of them had the courage to debate the statement.

Maybe their shock and awe campaign will get them back in favor with Clark, Dean, Sharpton, and the rest of the liberal elitists. It didn't work on me, so I'll just change the channel.

UPDATE: FOX reacted to the hoopla by airing a puff piece defending McNabb's stellar quarterbacking like ability. (Which ironically serves to bolster Rush's point that the media is over-rating him.)

UPDATE2: FOX announcers also weighed in against Rush. Jimmy Johnson disagreed with Rush's opinion, but hit it right on the head that, Rush was "doing exactly what the people that hired him wanted him to do, be controversial."

Howie Long responded that, "you make the team and if you're fortunate you can attain a certain level of greatness based solely on your performance on the field... regardless of color." Tell that to the NFL, Howie, which issues fines if you don't at least play lip service to minorities, instead of hiring the best available candidate for the job.

Meanwhile, James Brown had this to say: "Considering what the prevailing attitude was not to long ago, about the inability of a black quarterback to handle the job, lacking the cerebral qualities to do so, maybe a little media pandering wouldn't be so bad." Brown then went on to say that he'd never witnessed the media coddling McNabb or any other black players.

Editor's Note: I should note that I've never liked Donovan McNabb. As a Hokie fan, I hated Syracuse, and as a Redskins fan, I hate Philly. Perhaps my bias affects my thinking that 71 TDs and 41 interceptions in 57 games is mediocre.

Related articles:
Throwing politics at a bunch of jocks -- 10/02/2003.

Hmm. Does the Federal Election Commission know something we don't? They seem to think that Hillary is running for president.

(link via Boots and Sabers via Kevin)

In a last minute effort to win re-re-election, California Gov. Gray Davis claimed that Arnold Schwarzenegger sexually harassed him at a Democrat fund raiser. This is just one of many recent allegations of sexual misconduct against the Republican candidate for governor.

Davis claims that Arnold showed up to a $1000 a plate Democrat fund raiser with his wife Maria Shriver, a long time Democrat and Kennedy relative. Davis said that Arnold quickly became bored as his wife's trophy, proceeded to get drunk, and groped and harassed Davis in a stall of the men's room. Schwarzenegger decried the allegations as a left wing conspiracy to smear his campaign, and accused Davis of using dirty tactics to try to save his job.

The actor turned politician also told the press that he couldn't possibly have groped Davis, because at the time he was busy fondling Arianna Huffington.

Related articles:
Will Davis be Terminated? -- 08/07/2003.

For those of you interested in the Rush Limbaugh drug abuse story, Hawk has the best skinny I've seen. Basically, things look pretty good for Rush, although anti-conservatives will still try to crucify him. For me, I'm holding any comment, just like I haven't commented on the Laci Peterson murder, (where Scott has already been convicted in the press).

All I will say is that if Rush is screwing up his life for a drug habit, that's too bad. If he's kicked the habit (or never had one to begin with), than bully for him.

A Virginia Police firearms instructor accidentally shoots himself unloading his firearm prior to entering a gun range, which was range policy.

I would note that CCW opponents in Ohio want people who carry a firearm in their vehicle to unload it first, for the safety of children.

The Daily Times (TN) provides more evidence that traffic violations are more about revenue than safety. Seventy-five year old Harlie Walker, from Nashville, was ticketed for "interfering with the duties of a police officer" when he flashed his lights at oncoming traffic. The officer observed his behavior and pulled him over for messing up his speed trap.

Walker went to city court and admitted he flashed his lights, but pleaded not guilty to interfering with the officer. He was found in violation of the ordinance and fined $10, plus $65 in court costs.

You could probably also argue free speech rights, but that would be a stretch. Still, it is very telling that they would convict Walker for engaging in an activity that would actually reduce speeding on our nation's roads. It reminds me of those meter maids that arrest people for feeding other people's meters.

Related articles:
That pesky First Amendment -- 08/14/2003.

I've been wanting a lever action rifle ever since I shot my roommate's .30-30 in college. When Kevin started harping about it, and then Kim went out and bought one, I figured it was time to seriously consider taking the plunge.

So, I went to the gun show down in Dale City today, and got a pretty good deal on this beauty. It is a Browning BLR in .308 Winchester that was made in Japan (there are also Belgian models). I'm not sure what year it was made, but according to Browning, this model came out in 1971. This one doesn't have the folding hammer feature, so I'm pretty sure it is one of the earlier models. It has modest wear, but no major scratches, and the wood is in excellent shape. As you can see, it came with a scope, but what you cannot see is that it also came with three boxes of shells and a hard side case.

The best part is that I got a terrific deal on the rifle. I only paid $325, and as you can see by these auctions, they usually sell for $500 or more, sans scope, case, and ammo. Of course, I bought it from a private owner, so I got to utilize the evil gun show loophole as well.

As an aside, I also considered a pre-'64 Remington 1894 like this one. It was a .32 Special made in 1940, and had some war history to it, but the seller was asking too much for it.

UPDATE: After doing some research, the RT in the serial number indicate 1976 as the year of manufacture.

"It's hard to study whether gun control laws work in this country because we have so few of them. Talking about studying gun control in this country is like talking about studying democracy in Iraq." -- Peter Hamm, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Ownership.

For the record, there are more than 20,000 gun control laws in the United States, and the firearms industry is heavily regulated. Perhaps someone from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms could call Hamm to let him know.

This guy still shops at CompUSA. Call me ultra-nitpicky, but I stopped shopping at CompUSA because of their stupid insistance on checking my receipt at the door, which is usually just 5 feet away from the register.

My last conversation with a CompUSA door nazi involved him rather rudely trying to grab my receipt out of my hand, and me telling him that it was mine and to keep his hands off. He never even identified himself as a CompUSA employee.

I stopped shopping there, mainly because I felt that the next time might include a punch in the nose, and me trying to explain to the cops that I thought he was a mugger.

I had a similar experience at Sam's Club, whereby my father and I each walked out with our purchases. The guard asked us to stop, so that he could mark our receipts. Dad stopped, whereas I just kept on walking. Outside, my dad questioned me as to why I just walked out without stopping, and I quite flatly told him that it's my damned receipt and he's not getting it.

I've decided to do a Friday Five this week:

1. What vehicle do you drive?
A kitten stomping, gas guzzing, overpolluting SUV.

2. How long have you had it?
Two and a half years.

3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?
The stereo. Not only is it an in-dash 6-disk CD changer, but the radio can automatically searches for "Oldies", "Rock" or whatever type of station you want.

4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?
Well, enviroweenies find it intimidating, but that really should be filed under "coolest feature".

5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?
That is one of the biggest bullshit questions there is. Money is always an object. Choosing between a $90,000 Hummer and my Ford with $70,000 shoved in the glove compartment, I'll take the Ford every time. Besides, think of all the guns I could buy with the extra dough.

It's almost time for Ammo Day again. This year it is going to be an Ammo Week. Help support the cause by purchasing some ammo the week of November 15 - 23.

The mud is really flying at Arnold. The character assassination is typical in the last week of any Gray Davis campaign. Amazing how these stories just pop up out of nowhere, right before the voting starts, isn't it?

The GOP did Davis a huge favor by endorsing Schwarzenegger. Now that the mud is flying, they cannot exactly switch their endorsement to McClintock without looking like complete boobs. And, as someone who has lived his life in the spotlight, digging up the dirt probably wasn't too hard. Actually, the Davis campaign had most of this before Arnold even decided to run.

We'll find out next Tuesday whether or not any of Davis' mud sticks to the muscle bound actor. It probably won't, but with any luck it will. I like Arnold, and I like his movies. I just don't see him as being a good Governor.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch is reporting that brewer Anheuser Busch is dropping support for Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, because he vetoed concealed carry legislation.

Republican and Democratic sources say the brewery's decision not to support the governor's re-election next year is highly unusual in light of its long-standing reputation as a donor which gives generously to both parties and their candidates, regardless of their views.

Before Holden vetoed the bill last summer, sources say, a brewery lobbyist showed up at the governor's office to tell him that such action would end the long-standing support he'd enjoyed from Anheuser-Busch and its executives. Holden confirmed that position later in phone conversations with Anheuser-Busch Cos. Chairman August A. Busch III and corporate group vice president Stephen K. Lambright, sources said.

Here's a story that would upset most gun grabbers. The North Jersey Media Group reports:

It was after Andrew Greene left the gay bar in Philadelphia that he heard the guys behind him.

They were drunk and carrying metal pipes. When Greene got to his car, one of them shouted, "Hey, faggot."

Greene pulled his gun. The men ran.

Johnson reached inside the left breast of his jacket with his right hand and pulled out a handgun, waving it in Gross' direction.

"It looked like a semi-automatic and he was asking me, 'You the big man? You the big man?'" Gross said.

Gross said he ducked behind his car and pulled out his cell phone to call 911.

"I was on one knee and he was yelling in my ear," Gross said. "Then he took my phone and hit me. Or he hit me and took my phone. I really don't remember. I started yelling for someone to call 911."

It is no secret that Americans will sue anyone for anything and everything. Just check out this latest example of the need for tort reform or a loser pays legal system.

Andrew Bourne, now 23, of Liberty was paralyzed after the goal post fell on him, breaking his back. Bourne has been paralyzed since then, said his attorney, Scott Montross.

"All we want for [Gilman] to do is build goal posts that don't snap and that don't come crashing down on people," Montross told The Star Press..

Nobody likes to see college kids get hurt, but it is not the responsibility of the NCAA, Ball State, or Gilman Gear to keep Bourne from hurting himself. College campuses don't usually allow students onto the field after games, and they certainly do not permit them to vandalize the stadium. Yet that is exactly what Bourne was doing when he went out onto the field after the game. He put himself in harms way, and he has only himself to blame for his injury. The school probably should have had him arrested and charged for trespass.

As an aside, I will note that goal post manufacturers and some venues are taking measures to prevent just such a tragedy. For instance, Virginia Tech's goal posts are hinged. When fans rush the field, the stadium crew simply pulls out the hinge pin and lowers the 500 lb. goal posts to the ground before they get there. To date, the system is only installed at 4 stadiums across the U.S.

While it is nice of Virginia Tech to take such a precaution, they have no obligation to do so. Especially since sometimes no matter what you do, you cannot protect people from themselves.

Reading this report, it is fairly obvious that some lawmakers and anti-smokers plan to ban tobacco. A "deal" with anti-smokers broke down, because they didn't think that the FDA would have been given enough control over regulation of the tobacco industry. Anti-smokers would like a government agency like the FDA to have the final word on banning tobacco, and apparently Congress was not ready to give them that power.

"The vague language was a loophole that could prevent FDA from taking any steps to reduce the harm caused by tobacco," said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Mark Berlind, a lawyer for Philip Morris parent company Altria, rejected that. He said health groups wanted FDA to be able to ban tobacco products, something that was in a previous bill sponsored by Kennedy.

"We're disappointed that these talks broke down over a last-minute insistence that FDA be able to ban all cigarettes for adults," Berlind said.

If smokers don't want to quit, they don't have to. In fact, it is impossible to make them. The end result will be an underground market of illegal cigarettes, and absolutely no government regulation on quality or marketability. Once tobacco is banned, black markets will take over, and the government will be powerless to control who cigarettes are sold to, or whether or not they are laced with other drugs.

In the immortal words of Leia Organa: "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

Site traffic increased in September. Here are some raw numbers:

The Ravnwood.com page counter also went over 120,000 last month, with very little fanfare.

There were 139 posts in September, compared to 143 in August, 120 in July, 169 in June, 140 in May, 127 in April, 124 in March. The high is still 186 in November, 2002.

The differences between Europe and the U.S. are staggering. As much as Europe would love to emulate our success, they will never succeed as long as they don't respect even the most basic individual freedoms. While most people know that guns are banned all across Europe, few people realize that so is freedom of expression.

The Sun Times reports that Katarina Witt is in hot water with German authorities over her political beliefs.

Katarina Witt, the former Olympic ice-skating star and communist sex symbol, has come under fire from conservative German politicians for wearing a "politically provocative" blouse on television.

Gunther Nooke, culture and media spokesman for the Christian Democrat Union, has threatened to prosecute the double gold medalist for wearing a blouse of a communist youth group, the FDJ, while presenting a show extolling the delights of the former East Germany.

The rest of Western Europe is also full of modern day censorship. Modern day censors want to cite people for 'hate speech', or any speech that someone might find "offensive". Even in America, freedom grabbers want inflammatory and unpopular speech to be made illegal, despite the fact that political and unpopular speech are exactly what the First Amendment was created to protect.

In fact, our own Congress recently passed the McCain-Feingold Incumbent Protection Act, which limits political speech 60 days prior to a general election. It's no surprise that politicians would pass a law that enhances their job security, but it was sad to see the President sign it into law. It was even more depressing to see several Federal judges uphold the speech ban provision, which may ultimately be left up to the SCOTUS. If the Supremes uphold the law, what then?

"In a world of mass migration, with cheaper travel and all the problems of fraud it makes sense to ask whether identity cards were no longer an affront to civil liberties but a way of protecting them." -- Tony Blair, commenting on the UK National ID Card.

So, the British government thinks that National ID Cards, which could only be used to track and catalog the movements of law abiding citizens, actually preserve civil liberties, but private gun ownership does not.

Ruston Eastman of Conservatives... is changing the name of his web site, and he points to some words I wrote about him well over a year ago. Yada yada yada...

Any way, I am intrigued by this Cost of the War javascript thingy he's got going on. Apparently anti-war liberals are all up in arms over the cost of liberating Iraq, securing our nation's well being, and preserving our way of life. It is the first time I remember lefties being worried about the cost of anything. According to these fiscal (cough) conservatives, the current cost of war is hovering right around $77 Billion.

I wonder why real conservatives haven't come up with a "cost of unconstitutional vote-buying schemes". Out of our $2.3 Trillion budget, I'm sure that at least half of it could be chalked up to social programs that seize money from "the rich" to give to "the working poor" in exchange for votes.

Cost of Unconstitutional Vote-Buying Schemes
$ ,,,

"I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team." -- Rush Limbaugh voicing his opinion on Donovan McNabb.

Naturally, CNN is hoping to crucify Limbaugh and brand him as a racist. (Had a lefty said it, it would have been ignored, just like Rep. Jim Moran's anti-Jew comments.) McNabb said he isn't bothered by the comments, but that he is bothered by the comments. In one breath he brushed them off, and in another breath he voiced concern over how bad black Americans would feel about him being criticized.

"My worries were not about what was said, but just what about the people who were watching. What about them? What about the African-American homes ... the kids, the parents, when they hear something like that on national TV, on ESPN. What do they think?"

McNabb said that the comments "pinpoint" all black players in the league and those in other sports.

One of the things that bother McNabb was that others who were on the set of the show didn't challenge Limbaugh. "I kind of worry about that aspect of it," McNabb said. "Somebody should have said something to the race issue."

Sure, Rush said something that is unpopular and inflammatory. But it wasn't racist, and it certainly shouldn't show disrespect for all black athletes everywhere.

UPDATE: Rush resigned from ESPN last night, after saying that McNabb wasn't as good as the media made him out to be.

I find it interesting that so many would call for Rush to resign as a mere sports commentator, but no such pressure was put on McKinney or Rep. Jim Moran (who currently still holds office) after they deliberately and publicly spoke out against Jews. As politicians, they are/were in a position of power to set national policy. It couldn't be because Rush was a conservative, now could it?

UPDATE: Neal Boortz analyzes Rush's statements piece by piece.

In case you forgot, today is the first day of the federal government's fiscal year. That means that the ass reaming government spending starts fresh all over again.

BTW, they still haven't passed a 2004 budget.

This editorial from the Columbia Chronicle Online, makes me wonder whats in the water up there in Chicago. (Or at least what color the sky is in their world.) Eric Alexy, the copy editor of this college paper, apparently knows everything and has the solution to all the worlds crime.

Starting at the root of the problem, it would seem reasonable to get rid of all the guns currently in circulation, not permit the production of more of them. [...]

Odds are that if all guns were slowly eliminated-banned, melted down, whatever-the problem with people dying from guns would eventually go away.

Eventually, cops wouldn't even need to carry guns. If guns were completely illegal, it would be a lot easier to tell which guy with a gun under the seat of his car or in his pants' pocket in line at the grocery store is a criminal: all of them.

Missouri businesses are mixed about whether or not to ban customers who carry concealed firearms, reports the Washington Missourian. The responses from businesses ranged to the inane, 'Banning guns will keep us safe' attitude, to the typical, 'What's the big deal?' response. What bugs me most was the response from Ruthie Holdmeyer of the Sensa Boutique in Downtown Washington. Ruthie has no plans to ban concealed firearms among customers or employees, but adds:

"I wouldn't hire someone who wants to carry a concealed gun," she said. "We don't have employees like that to make me worry about it."

Gun fearing wussies say that people don't need a gun for protection. They claim that you are more likely to be killed with your own gun. They say that women aren't smart enough to handle something so complex as a firearm. All of them should be made to read this ABC News story.

A Houston woman is furious after she says someone took a shot at her and her four children as they were riding on the South Loop Saturday night. But she's not just mad at the gunman. The victim is also angry Houston police took more than 12 hours to respond to her call for help.

The AP reports that New Jersey is cracking down on drowsy drivers.

As if staying alive were not enough of an incentive, motorists in New Jersey have another reason to make sure they are well-rested when they get behind the wheel -- a first-in-the-nation law against driving while drowsy.

Actually, this appears to be just another tool for the government to use to harass people who have commited no discernable crime. Imagine pulling through a check point, or being "randomly" stopped and then ticketed because you yawn while the cop is at your window. Just how do they measure drowsiness any way? Is there a machine they use to measure your brain activity? I don't know about you, but I sometimes yawn on my way into work in the morning. Could it be said that even though I just woke up an hour ago, I'm still somewhat drowsy?

New Jersey's new law will do nothing to curb crime, and do everything to harass otherwise law abiding motorists.

Last week, Tucker Carlson took a shot at Fox News by giving their phone number on the air, claiming that it was his own. Fox News responded by publishing his real home telephone number. Tucker later got Fox to remove his number, by issuing an on air apology. But as the AP points out, Tucker is still bitter about the ordeal.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Carlson called Fox News "a mean, sick group of people."

Fox spokeswoman Irena Briganti said Carlson got what he deserved. "CNN threw the first punch here. Correcting this mistake was good journalism."

Related articles:
Tucker Carlson: 703-519-6456 -- 09/25/2003.

Reuters reports that "scientists" (my scare quotes, not theirs) are claiming that global warming is killing tens of thousands of people each year.

About 160,000 people die every year from side-effects of global warming ranging from malaria to malnutrition and the numbers could almost double by 2020, a group of scientists said on Tuesday.

I wonder how many years will the enviro-weenies be spewing this bogus statistic while they make the big grab for our freedoms?

In other Scaring Ted Turner related news, CNN reports that Orangutans will all die out in 20 years. Of course since we're all dead in 50 years, what's the point in saving them. I've already gone 30 years without owning an orangutan, I could easily go 30 more.

Related articles:
Scaring Ted Turner -- 09/30/2003