Sandra K has taken up the cause for Walter Gaya of the Gun Guy's Walter-Adam fund. Sgt. Gaya was injured by an IED in Iraq just days before he was to be sworn in as a U.S. citizen. Since he missed the ceremony, he's now in legal limbo with the immigration department.

The guy was good enough to serve our country and fight in Iraq, but we may not let him come back to the States. Nice.

UPDATE: Sandra K reports that everything is under control.

Lame Halloween Games for the truly bored.

Soccer dad Martin Smith stands accused of sucker punching a referee from his kid's soccer match. Jeffrey Rousseau, the ref who was attacked, suffered a dislocated jaw and says he never saw the attack coming.

History appears to show that Martin Smith seems to have trouble controlling his temper.

In August, Smith, 41, pleaded innocent to charges he tried to run down a woman with his car following an argument at a gas station, Police Sgt. John Delaney said. He is due back in court for a hearing on that charge next month.

Witnesses told police that Smith shouted threats at the referees during Wednesday's soccer match between Central and Westfield High School. They said he was upset because a yellow card warning was issued to one of his sons, although Delaney said the other referee made the call.

The victim, Rousseau, who is also an off-duty cop wasn't even the right referee.

In the land down under, it's government inspection time for gun owners.

Western Queensland gun owners will face a safety audit to ensure their weapons are being stored correctly.

The six-month state-wide audit will see police make appointments with randomly selected licenced weapon holders to inspect their storage facilities.

Weapons licencing branch Inspector Mike Crowley says the move is all about positive re-inforcement.

"The legislation is very clear on how firearms are to be stored, and this is purely put in place to act as a safety guideline, for not only the individual but the community at large," he said.

"It's very important that people who have firearms secure them so they do not fall into the hands of inappropriate people or those people not authorised to possess them."

Think of all the other dangerous stuff you have around your house, and imagine the government coming in to make sure you've properly baby-proofed everything.

A gun rights activist has been arrested and charged for scaring the bejesus out of gun fearing wussies by wearing a fanny pack. (Italics and snarky comments in original)

I think you will be at first amused, and then appalled, by the charges which I now give you verbatim from the Criminal Complaint filed in the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit, County of Winnebago, Case Number 05-315.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT: in that Shawn (SIC) Kranish knowingly did an act in such an unreasonable manner as to alarm or disturb Janna L. Shwaiko and provoke a breach of peace to wit Shawn (SIC) Kranish walked into the Presidents (SIC) office and requested from Shwaiko a meeting with the President. Kranish was wearing a blue jacket with the words "I Carry" on the front of the jacket and he was also wearing a black nylon pouch or handgun holster (Note: Can't officer Crumb tell the difference?). Shwaiko believed Kranish to be carrying a gun and it alarmed her in violation of 720 ILCS 5/26-1(a) of the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

Officer Edward Crumb, #167
Complainant

So if you're walking down the streets of Illinois don't make any scary moves or you might find yourself locked up for startling the easily startled.

Contra Costa County (Calif.) is planning to ban felons from owning dogs.

The Contra Costa County board of supervisors unanimously supported on Tuesday prohibiting convicted felons from owning any dog that is aggressive or weighs more than 20 pounds, making it all but certain the proposal will become law when it formally comes before the board for approval Nov. 15.

The legislation also treats law-abiding dog owners the same way they want to treat gun owners; calling for training, registration, safe storage, mandatory inspections, waiting periods, and presumably background checks to ensure you aren't a felon trying to buy a gun dog.

Under the new law, the county could require owners of dogs exhibiting certain behaviors to attend obedience classes, to keep the animals in secure confines that have been inspected, and to register their dogs with the county. Dogs that do not repeat egregious behavior for a three-year period would be eligible to have their "potentially dangerous" designation removed.

Contra Costa County's attempt to regulate ownership of dangerous dogs follows an effort to mandate spaying and neutering of pit bull and pit bull mixes and the signing of a new state law that allows local governments to pass such laws.

Dog aggressiveness actually has more to do with upbringing than breeding. Yes, the grip of a pit bull can be dangerous. But any dog can be aggressive, and no amount of breed specific legislation cannot prevent savage maulings like this.

It won't be a Happy Halloween at Underwood Elementary School in Newton (Mass.). They've cancelled Halloween to kowtow to the easily offended.

The school's principal said yesterday he acceded to the complaints of a handful of parents who said that because the school's traditional Halloween celebrations offended their religious beliefs, they would not send their children to school if the revelry continued this year.

"Not everyone is going to agree with the decision, and I really understand that," said principal David Castelline, , who last year grew a beard and dressed up as Johnny Damon. ''But I felt the goal was really important to make it a respectful and open and welcoming place for all members of our community."

Castelline, who met yesterday with the Parent Teacher Organization to explain his decision, said three teachers told him they had children in their classes who were not going to come to school if the Halloween celebration was held. The celebration, which has been going on for at least 14 years, involves teachers dressing up and lining the hallways and children making Halloween-related arts and crafts.

Maybe I just don't get it, but how is cancelling the event to cater to the sensibilities of the three sets of parents who are offended respectful to those who aren't? In trying to please everybody, they end up pleasing nobody.

An Oregon lottery winner could end up losing, after it was alleged that she purchased the winning ticket with a stolen credit card.

Christina Goodenow, 38, of White City in southern Oregon faced numerous theft-related charges, forgery and possession of methamphetamine, said authorities, who searched her home Thursday. The card belonged to a deceased relative, they said.

If convicted of any of the charges, Goodenow will not be able to collect prize money from the winning ticket, said police Lt. Tim George.

I can't believe they let people purchase lottery tickets with a credit card. Maybe they are the ones that should be in jail.

When it comes to the BCS (a/k/a Revenge of the Nerds), Tommy Tuberville says what everyone else is thinking.

Tuberville believes ESPN and ABC -- sister networks owned by the Walt Disney Company -- have decided they want Southern Cal to play Texas in the Rose Bowl, this season's BCS championship game.

He believes the networks are ensuring that scenario by repeatedly promoting those two programs to the exclusion of other deserving teams, ostensibly currying favor with voters who determine the championship participants.

ABC owns broadcast rights to the Rose Bowl...

"There are so many people (who) watch ESPN and ESPN Gameday," Tuberville said on Patrick's show Wednesday. "They do a great job, but I'm just saying the bias sometimes overcomes what I think needs to step the bounds of helping people vote. We don't have a playoff system. Therefore the way our situation works, the talent at ESPN, several people on ESPN Gameday, you never hear anything about other teams. Virginia Tech, Alabama, Georgia -- you've got a lot of unbeaten teams there. You've got to give everybody a shot."

While every death is tragic, James Na gives Iraq War deaths a little context.

For World War I, over 6,100 per month.
For World War II, over 9,200 per month.
In Korea, over 900 killed-in-action each month (non-battle death information is not available).
For Vietnam, over 600 per month.
For Gulf War I, almost 300 in one month.

The first Gulf War was noted for its remarkably low casualty rate. Some even observed that the death rate for the deployed American military personnel was lower than that during peacetime, making it "safer to be at war than at home."

In comparison, an average of 63 died each month in the current war.

Imagine if our anti-war media was around during World War II, when we lost nearly 800 souls rehearsing for the Normandy invasion.

Virginia Tech just played back to back Thursday night games on ESPN, and all week people have been asking me what the precedent is. I don't know (or have any way of knowing) if other teams have played back to back Thursday night games. But according to the Washington Post Virginia Tech is third in the number of Thursday night games, with only Georgia Tech and BYU having more. They also note that Tech (Virginia, not Georgia) has played two Thursday Night games in four of the last six seasons (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005). Last year they played Georgia Tech and Maryland on two Thursday nights in three weeks. With this week's win, Tech is now 12 for 13 on Thursday night, winning 11 in a row.

And speaking of Thursday night games:

Hokies fans proved how rabid and loyal they were when Virginia Tech beat Texas A&M, 35-19, on a Thursday night in September 2003. With Hurricane Isabel knocking out electricity to more than 1 million people in Virginia, a crowd of 65,115 still showed up at Lane Stadium and withstood a downpour and 37-mph winds.

No self-respecting football fan would let a little thing like a hurricane stand in their way. I was there, and I would do it again.

I'm going to a Halloween party tonight. I've been so busy lately I haven't had a chance to come up with a new costume, so I'm recycling one from two years ago.

Note: These photos aren't really safe for anybody!

[Ravenwood in 2003]

[Ravenwood attracting the ladies]

Yes, this monstrosity has been hanging in the back of my closet for two years.

Virginia Tech Tight End John Kinzer is 6'2" and weighs 245. So you can imagine BC Cornerback Taji Morris' reaction when he came up with nothing but thin air as the big man hurdled him and ran for a critical first down.

UPDATE: By the way, to whomever chooses the uniforms, please don't wear those ugly orange sleeved things again.

Countertop notes that since 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace was caught supporting anti-gun fundraisers and speaking out against gun ownership, he's been banned from reporting on the issue.

CBSNews Blog reports:

I spoke with Mason late yesterday and she told me how CBS News will deal with this issue in the future. Mason said that if Wallace "suggests a story that we feel is a potential conflict, we'll look at it and if we see a conflict, we'll turn it down." I take that to mean we won't be seeing Mr. Wallace doing any more stories involving Second Amendment issues...

When I first addressed this issue, it was with mixed feelings. I sympathized with Wallace and the explanation he provided me for his appearance. He emphasized what he saw as his humorous approach to his comments and his focus on his very good friend's 80th birthday party. But I also found the fact he had brought a video addressing the gun issue to be troubling.

I have since seen some of Wallace's remarks and am far less conflicted. In introducing the video, Wallace calls Heston the "self-righteous enemy of the Sarah and Jim Brady bunch." Coming out of the video, he mocks Heston's widely-seen comments that the government would take away his gun only from his "cold, dead hands." And he referenced, we assume, the relatively unknown position on gun control of Chief Justice John Roberts, calling him part of "the legions of the already convinced."

Wallace told me his appearance was "meant to be and was received as a joke." If so, it was one that was out of my range of humor... Even so, Wallace did make reference to the gun debate in a way that made him identifiable with one side of this issue.

Someone needs to tell CNN that W. can't run for re-election again.

A majority would vote for a Democrat over President Bush if an election were held this year, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Tuesday.

In the latest poll, 55 percent of the respondents said that they would vote for the Democratic candidate if Bush were again running for the presidency this year.

I wonder if the poll asked if a majority of respondents would vote for President Clinton in some hypothetical election held this year. Oh wait, Clinton never did get a majority of the vote.

Meanwhile, James Taranto opines:

Finally, a formula for Democratic success! All they need to do is (1) refrain from nominating a candidate, (2) arrange for the GOP to nominate someone who is constitutionally ineligible to run, and (3) hold the election in an off year. What could be simpler?

Nobody seems to mind that companies are discriminating against smokers in the name of health care. But Wal-Mart - being Wal-Mart - is sure to catch hell for trying to make their employees to get a little more exercise:

An internal memo sent to the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. board proposes numerous ways to hold down health care and benefits costs with less harm to the retailer's reputation, including hiring more part-time workers and discouraging unhealthy people from seeking jobs, the New York Times said Wednesday...

To discourage unhealthy job applicants, the paper said, Chambers suggests Wal-Mart arrange for "all jobs to include some physical activity (e.g., all cashiers do some cart-gathering),"

The memo also proposed that employees pay more for their spouses' health insurance, called for cutting the company's 401(k) contributions to 3 percent of wages from 4 percent and for cutting company-paid life insurance policies.

Like I said before, picking on smokers is only the tip of the iceberg. As soon as you accept that they have an interest in how you live your life, they're going to start making you eat better, get more exercise, or whatever. The slippery slope is clear.

"During the Vietnam War, enemy body counts became a regular feature in military statements intended to demonstrate progress. But the statistics ended up proving poor indicators of the war's course. Pressure on U.S. units to produce high death tolls led to inflated tallies, which tore at Pentagon credibility." -- Washington Post, October 24, 2005.

"A U.S. Army sergeant died of wounds suffered in Iraq, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. The death _ along with two others announced Tuesday _ brought to 2,000 the number of U.S. military members who have died since the start of the Iraq conflict in 2003." -- Washington Post, October 25, 2005.

Vat a difference a day makes... ah, ah, ah.

Well, it's like this. I worked very late last night, have plans tonight, am having my car worked on Wednesday night, and will be in Blacksburg on Thursday night and Friday for the Virginia Tech game.

So the blog may get a little dusty this week.

UPDATE: If any of you happen to catch the Virginia Tech-Boston College game on ESPN this Thursday, look for the drunken fan yelling obscenities at the ref. I'll be standing next to her.

Sportswriters and football coaches say that USC is #1 and Texas is #2. The BCS whirling dervish says they're wrong. Sure, they've devoted their lives to the game, but that doesn't mean that writers and coaches know anything about football.

The BCS is a system of computers programmed by geeks who've probably never even played football. They calculate who the best teams really are without worrying too much about minor things like points and who actually won the game. For instance your team can win all their games but still finish below a team that lost some of their games, because the guys you played weren't as good as the guys they played. Or worse, they guys your opponents played weren't as good as the guys their opponents played. Or if you thumped one team and they thumped another, they get more points than you because they had more first downs.

Not surprisingly, the sportswriters were a little bit upset at being included in this convoluted farce of a ranking system and threatened to sue the BCS for souring their name. This was quickly followed by ESPN pulling out of the BCS. (They didn't even bother to call the next morning.)

Not to be dissuaded, the BCS went out and got anyone who could spell the word 'football' to rank the schools and make up the infamous Harris Poll, named after actor Ed Harris who's head is shaped like a football. This new poll was filled with voters who proceeded to rank their favorite 0 and 4 teams above some undefeated teams.

I think the fact that they've managed to hijack college football with a bank of computers - who pretend to know more about football than the people who actually earn their living playing, coaching, or reporting about the sport - is the ultimate revenge of the nerds. This is revenge for every kid that was ever taunted or beat up by some dumb high school jock.

And if it just so happens that the #2 and #3 team end up playing for the so-called "National Championship" instead of the #1 team, than so be it. Computers are never wrong.

Reader Bruce submitted this story which shows that nobody ever accused criminals of being too smart. The Smoking Gun reports on two hapless Australian bandits who gleefully posed for the cameras with loot in hand after pulling off a $130,000 bank heist. They used unloaded BB guns and took several digital photos of themselves after the robbery. (click for photos)

The robbery has received extensive coverage in the Australian press, where the pair has been dubbed "Dumb and Dumber" in light of the hair-brained plot. Along with their distinctive Down Under accents, when they robbed the bank, the men were wearing work badges from the ski shop where they were employed. And, minutes after the stickup, they even used their Vail ski passes to board a getaway chairlift just blocks from the WestStar branch.

The two men were quickly caught and were each sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison.

Isn't this the same media that keeps a running tally on the number of U.S. soldiers who've died in Iraq?

Eager to demonstrate success in Iraq, the U.S. military has abandoned its previous refusal to publicize enemy body counts and now cites such numbers periodically to show the impact of some counterinsurgency operations.

The revival of body counts, a practice discredited during the Vietnam War, has apparently come without formal guidance from the Pentagon's leadership...

During the Vietnam War, enemy body counts became a regular feature in military statements intended to demonstrate progress. But the statistics ended up proving poor indicators of the war's course. Pressure on U.S. units to produce high death tolls led to inflated tallies, which tore at Pentagon credibility.

It takes a bit of chutzpa to bitch about the military keeping a body count, and then have a link to your own body count in middle of the story. Keep in mind that the media's body counts includes any and all soldiers who've died, whether it be at the hands of the enemy, in car accidents, or even of natural causes.

The fear of violence has gotten so bad in New York, that fans were banned from a high school football game.

Cheered only by their teammates, two rival football teams competed Friday morning in front of two dozen police and an otherwise empty stadium - a precaution sparked by the schools' worry that violence might occur.

Mount Vernon and New Rochelle school officials rescheduled the Saturday afternoon game and banned fans, although most were in class anyway.

As New Rochelle built a big lead, birdsong could be heard during plays. Police officers at the main gate permitted only reporters and school officials to enter the stadium...

Mount Vernon Superintendent Brenda Smith said there was some tension stemming from the killing of a Mount Vernon resident in New Rochelle last month, although the killing did not involve students.

"We don't like to penalize our young people," she said. "It's unfortunate. But we still have to be careful."

Earlier this year, gun grabbers in Brazil claimed that 80% of the people supported a wholesale ban on the sale of guns. With the GFWs confident that it would pass, they put the measure on the ballot.

Well, the votes have been counted and Brazilians soundly rejected more gun control.

With more than 92 percent of the votes counted, 64 percent of Brazilians were opposed to the ban, while 36 percent backed it, said election officials, giving the 'no' position an insurmountable lead.

The proposal would have prohibited the sale of firearms and ammunition except for police, the military, some security guards, gun collectors and sports shooters. It would complement a 2003 disarmament law that sharply restricts who can legally purchase firearms and carry guns in the street.

Gun control seems to be having expected results in Maryland. That is, gun crime continues to be a big problem. So, being the deep blue state that they are, they're going to try doing it again only harder.

Handguns were used in 83 percent of the homicides in the county this year. County police are still analyzing how many were illegal gun possessions and whether any of the guns involved in these cases were registered to the alleged shooters is still under investigation.

The increasing homicides in the county � a 17 percent increase from this time last year � many of which began over trivial conflicts, have led Ivey to seek a one-year minimum sentence for all first-time illegal gun possessions, even if the defendant was not involved in any other criminal activity.

So Maryland is going to crack down on gun possession with stiffer penalties. Well, just so long as jails don't get too crowded.

"At 1,500, we would be pretty crowded," said Vicki Duncan, public information officer for the Prince George's County Department of Corrections.

Even if the illegal gun prosecutions cause the jail to swell beyond capacity, Duncan said there are always creative sentencing options to consider. Alternatives include pretrial release and electronic monitoring with ankle bracelets for detainees awaiting court sentencing.

"You could get that kind of sentence, but then that sentence can be served on home detention," Duncan said.

In related news, Richmond (VA) bank robbers seem to be enjoying Wachovia's anti-gun policy.

Two Wachovia banks were robbed within 15 minutes yesterday in Henrico and Chesterfield counties. Police don't believe the holdups are related.

The first robbery occurred about 10:15 a.m. when two men entered the Wachovia at 5610 Brook Road in Henrico County. Both suspects wore facial coverings; one was armed with a pistol. No shots were fired and no one was hurt. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken.

At 10:30 a.m., two suspects entered the Wachovia at 11124 Midlothian Turnpike near Chesterfield Towne Center and ordered customers and employees to the floor. One of the suspects jumped the counter, removed cash from teller stations and placed the money in a bag.

They then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was hurt.

I guess they didn't see the "no guns" sign on the door.

I'm planning on going to a show this week, so I purchased the tickets online. Now normally purchasing stuff online saves you money. There are no customer service reps to deal with or brick and mortar stores to maintain, so you usually save a few pennies. It's easier for you and easier for the retailer. That is, unless you're trying to buy tickets from the Spawn of Satan, a/k/a Ticketmaster.

Now, I don't mind spending the money to go out to a show. But being forced to deal with Ticketmaster really gets under my skin. First of all my tickets carried a 20% "convenience" fee. That means I had to pay 20% extra because I'm too lazy to drive down to the box office and buy the tickets in person during normal business hours.

Then, as if the "convenience" charge wasn't convenient enough, I had to pay an extra $2.75 for "order processing". That's nearly three bucks just to ring them up and charge my credit card.

Now I've dealt with Ticketmaster before, so the added "convenience" charge and "order processing" fee were no big surprise. But when I elected to get e-tickets instead of paper tickets, Ticketmaster tacked on another $4.00 "delivery" charge. That's not shipping and handling, because it's an e-ticket. That's an extra charge for automated delivery via email. Nobody had to print the ticket. Nobody even had to manually process my credit card or send out the email. From beginning to end, everything was handled by computer and it cost an extra 30%.

Normally I don't complain about these kind of things. After all, Ticketmaster has employees, computer systems, phone banks, and has to charge something to pay for it all. But is there any other way to buy tickets? For most venues and promoters, Ticketmaster is the only choice. And thus far they've managed to convince just about all the venues and promoters to sign exclusive agreements. So if you don't want to use ticketmaster, tough. You have to either use them or take your chances at the box office.

We can only hope that as the exclusive agreements start to expire that more venues and promoters will start to look for other ticket vendors. Ticketmaster's days of domination and high fees are numbered. It's just a question of when their stranglehold on the ticket market will be broken.

The Greenland ice cap has actually thickened due to increased snowfall. You would think that the thicker ice cap would contradict the environmentalist wacko's claim that the ice caps are melting and global sea levels are rising. Well, you'd be wrong.

they said that the thickening seemed consistent with theories of global warming, blamed by most experts on a build-up of heat-trapping gases from burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars.

Warmer air, even if it is still below freezing, can carry more moisture. That extra moisture falls as snow below 32 Fahrenheit.

You see, being an environmentalist wacko means you're always right. If it gets warmer, that's global warming. If it gets colder, that's climate change (a/k/a global warming_. If we get more snow or less snow, it's all your fault for driving your evil SUV too much last year.

Kudos to Senator Tom Coburn, R-OK, for at least trying to divert some of the money from pork barrel projects to Hurricane Katrinarita Relief. Coburn went against the grain of politics and suggested that the infamous $220 Million Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska be cancelled. Of course, politicians don't like it when you mess with their vote buying schemes. Alaska Republican Ted Stevens threatened to resign if his pork projects were cancelled. It went up for a vote, and was defeated 82-15. These 82 Senators have no right to complain about the budget deficit (but you know they will).

Rep. Tom Delay was not on hand to vote because he was busy with his indictments in Texas. Oh, and he's not a member of the Senate.

Say Uncle confesses to violating a few of these weblog usability rules. I think I'm pretty good on most of them, except for number 9.

I can think of other people who deserved to be nominated, but for the most part, I am neutral on the Miers nomination.

Reader Derek from Northeastshooters sends this link that shows how much this blog is "worth". I wonder if I could get the bank to give me a blog equity loan.

I saw something last night that truly shocked me. On my drive over to a friend's house, I find myself waiting at a stoplight in the left turn lane, behind about 6 or 8 other cars. The sun has set, and it's dark out. About 3 cars ahead of me, the sliding door of a minivan opens, and out pops this kid. She's maybe 6 or 7 years old. She hops out of the back of the van and starts dancing and jumping around on the median. Now this isn't one of those wide medians. It's a thin concrete divider about 2 feet wide. There isn't much traffic coming the other way, but what I saw was still shocking.

The little girl is hopping around chatting with the woman driving the van through her open driver's side window. (Presumably this is the child's mother.) The little girl hops back into the van, then back out a few times, and is basically just practicing jumping off the median strip as if it were an ordinary curb in her neighborhood cul-de-sac.

The light turns green and the cars in front drive away. The cars immediately behind the van start blowing their horns to get her to go. The little girl hops into the van and the driver drives away, with the sliding door still open. She makes her left turn, and I can see the door slowly being closed from the inside. It was still part way open, however, as I passed by and gave the driver a disapproving scowl.

A huge Southern California gun possession case was dismissed by the trial judge, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Apparently, much of a gun dealer's inventory was said to be illegal under California law. Check out the gun bigot's description of what was seized.

Sun, 49, was indicted last year on 55 felony counts of possession and sale of illegal assault weapons.

Authorities seized two machines guns, two grenade launchers, 26 assault rifles, one assault pistol, 482 assault shotguns, 388 rifles, 10 shotguns, 527 pistols, and 23,572 high-capacity magazines, according to the attorney general's office.

Sure they weren't high-capacity assault magazines? Now, an assault rifle is defined as an automatic rifle, aka a machine gun. But only two machine guns were seized. So the 26 "assault rifles" were probably semi-automatic rifles that look like assault rifles. I'm not even sure what an "assault shotgun" is. If I had to guess, I'd say it's either a semi-auto or pump shotgun that's "scary looking". It's probably black, might be a bullpup, and has a folding stock and a few rails for mounting lights, scopes, and other scary looking devices. But overall, it's just another shotgun.

Then there's the "assault pistol", which is defined as a fully automatic pistol. Glock and other manufacturers make them to sell to police. They look just like a regular pistol, but are full auto and blow through a 20 round mag in a second or two. They are technically a machinegun, and I don't think that's what they're talking about. Most likely Californiastan is referring to a scary looking semi-auto variant of a subgun, like a semi-auto mac or uzi. Scary looking indeed, but no more functional than a regular pistol. You'd think they'd be less "dangerous" considering they're larger than a regular pistol and thus harder to conceal. But their scary lookedness probably classifies them as an "assault" gun under California's convoluted law.

I'd be willing to bet that all the guns are legal under Virginia law, and with the exception of the two machineguns, are all Title 1 guns (meaning they're just regular old guns).

The two grenade launchers are irrelevant. A grenade launcher without grenades is just a tube. Yugo SKS rifles sell for less than $150 and have a grenade launcher permanently mounted on the barrel. Basically you insert a blank grenade cartridge in the chamber, pop a grenade on the end and fire. But without the cartridge and the grenade, its just another 6 inches of barrel that keeps the gun from fitting into your gun safe. It's harmless, which means of course that it's illegal in California.

Sun looks like he's going to get away with it because he declared the guns on his ATF audit paperwork, which was then used to obtain a search warrant. That smacks of Fifth Amendment violations as he was basically forced to incriminate himself. If he escape this incident with his FFL license intact, he should relocate out of gun-unfriendly California.

The newspaper publisher, Gannett, provides it's employees with health insurance benefits. They figure that entitles them to tell employees how to live their lives.

Gannett Co. Inc.'s employees this month are receiving a notice that tells them to kick their nicotine habit or pay an extra $50 for their health insurance each month next year.

The McLean-based publisher of USA Today and 98 other daily newspapers nationwide is the latest company to institute a smoking disincentive to encourage healthy lifestyles and curb rising health care costs.

"This is part of a health and wellness initiative the company started a few years ago," said spokeswoman Tara Connell. For the past two weeks, the media company has sent letters explaining the policy to its estimated 40,000 U.S. employees. The surcharge will go into effect in January.

So why just pick on smokers? As long as you're running people's lives why not make them pay a surcharge for exhibiting any reckless behavior? I'll repeat something I first said back in October 2002. Under the guise of decreasing insurance premiums, here are some other regulations they should impose:

No skydiving, water-skiing, motorcycling, hang gliding, or bungee jumping.
No reading or watching TV in the dark.
No going to loud rock concerts.
No running with scissors.
No burning candles after 9 PM.
Employee's homes must be properly equipped with bath mats.
No electrical outlets without a safety cover.
Employees must always use the handrail on the stairs.
Employees must wash hands, regardless of whether or not they are returning to work.
No frayed extension cords.
No answering the door without knowing who it is.
No talking to strangers.

Anyone caught participating in any of the listed activities without paying the surcharge should be fired on the spot.

Congress finally passed the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which will keep the anti-gun lobby from suing the gun industry out of existance. The lawsuits were akin to suing Ford because someone ran over you with a Ford.

Of course the gun banners are in hysterics.

"This legislation will make the unregulated gun industry the most pampered industry in America," said Kristen Rand, director of the Violence Policy Center.

That's right, she actually said "unregulated". More than 20,000 gun laws on the books in this country, and she calls that "unregulated."

Then there's these gems from Laurie Kellman of the AP, who seems to think it's all about Bush:

The bill's passage was the NRA's top legislative priority and would give Bush and his [evil] Republican allies on Capitol Hill a rare victory at a time when some top GOP leaders are under indictment or investigation...

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, did not vote. He is in Texas in connection with his indictment in an alleged scheme to violate state election law.

Five other Congressmen also did not vote, but for some reason Kellman doesn't say why.

The company that runs the scoreboard for North Carolina State has found itself in hot water for non-politically correct joke. The company, called CanesVision because they also run the scoreboard for the Carolina Hurricanes NHL team, has issued a formal apology and reprimanded several employees.

The incident occurred during the Wolfpack's 31-10 loss to Clemson last Thursday. After several fans were featured on the video screen with titles such as "Kissing Cam" and "Fan Cam," an image appeared with the title "Mexi-Cam," according to an editorial Monday in N.C. State's student newspaper, The Technician.

The person featured on the video screen was a CanesVision employee, and company director Pete Soto has sent a letter of apology to the university, Hanlin said.

I wonder how many of the "offended" were actually Mexican.

The shire's been such a lonely place ever since Samwise, Frodo, and Pippin left on their quest to lay a really tall chick.

Earlier this year, lawmakers in New Mexico passed a law that allowed felony charges against owners of "dangerous" dogs. The law targets owners of dogs deemed dangerous or potentially dangerous toward humans or other dogs. Bob Schwartz helped write the law and was instrumental in getting it passed. But something tells me that as a member of the privileged class, he won't be charged under his own law, after being attacked by his own dog.

Bob Schwartz, who also is Gov. Bill Richardson's crime adviser, was hospitalized at University of New Mexico Hospital on Sunday night with bites on both his arms, said Pahl Shipley, a spokesman for the governor.

The hospital declined to release Schwartz's condition, but Shipley said Schwartz is "going to be fine."

Schwartz has three dogs registered with the city: a boxer and two English bulldogs, said Denise Wilcox, who oversees Albuquerque's animal care centers.

Schwartz was instrumental in getting a law passed this year that would allow felony charges against owners of dogs deemed dangerous or potentially dangerous and that seriously injure or kill another animal or person.

The law was designed to make dog owners accountable, said Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, who worked with Schwartz to pass the bill.

"But I guess when it happens in your own family, that's another story," she said. "That's tragic."

The U.S. Senate voted 92-6 to forgo their automatic pay raise this year. (Senators and Congressman get automatic raises unless they vote against them.) They view the move as a cost saving measure to help pay for Hurricane Katrina. (Indeed it will save $310,000 this year.)

No word yet if their pork barrel spending programs and vote buying schemes (like the $250 Million bridge to nowhere in Alaska) will be cut.

Sorry for the lack of posting, but I warned you that this would be a busy week for me. Here are some offerings you may want to take a look at:

Affluent Can Go Home Again -- The Washington Post claims that Hurricane Katrinarita struck the poor and minorities harder than anyone.

After word got out that D.C. police would arrest people for driving after having had a single drink with their dinner, a lot of people started cancelling dinner reservations. Now the D.C. City Council is moving to suspend Washington's "zero tolerance" policy on booze.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrinarita, doomsayers were claiming that region would suffer record unemployment. But as businesses in New Orleans reopen, opportunity abounds.

Apparently buying too much ammo makes you a suspect.

For those of you who are wondering, the move went pretty well. The movers took care of most of the stuff on Saturday. On Sunday I spent most of the day cleaning out the miscellenous stuff from my old apartment and getting it ready for the next person to move in. Hopefully the smell of disinfectant will come out of my clothes, and the chemicals won't have any long term effects. I still have some small stuff to move over from the old place, but for the most part I'm done moving. I am now officially an "inside the beltway" blogger. (If this website takes a sudden sharp left turn, don't blame me; it's whatever they put in the water.)

Cleaning is another story. If anyone knows any tips on how to get cosmoline out of carpeting, I'm open to suggestions. So far, a lot of it has come up using warm water and Sunlight dish liquid. It's a grease cutter, and with some vigourous scrubbing, the dark orange stains have turned into light orange stains.

The gun safe isn't fireproof, and some nasty goo had leaked down through the bottom where the power cord comes through. At the new place I put down an old rubber doormat which should keep the floor underneath it nice and clean.

Any way, I'm extremely busy this week so posting will be light. I've also got plans every single night this week, which for me is unusual.

Posting should return to normal soon.

At nearly 60 years old, Sylvester Stallone plans to return to boxing in Rocky VI (presumably after Rambo IV is completed).

In the new installment, Rocky, lonely and retired in Philadelphia, comes out of retirement, intending to fight a few low-profile local fights. He's approached to fight a match with reigning heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon, and soon his comeback ignites a media firestorm.

" 'Rocky Balboa' is about everybody who feels they want to participate in the race of life, rather than be a bystander," Stallone said in a statement. "You're never too old to climb a mountain, if that's your desire."

Yes you are. Rocky was 30 years ago, and sixty is too old. Big George Foreman was able to do it at 45, but that was pushing it. The bigger question is how will Rocky be received at the box office? My guess is that he'll be TKO'd.

After a parent open carried his pistol to a York County school board meeting, the chairman is asking for permission to ban guns wherever he feels like it.

The York County School Board is asking several state legislators to consider prohibiting firearms at board meetings - regardless of whether they are held on school property.

That means if you're carrying your gun while enjoying dinner in a local restaurant, you have to leave should they decide to have an impromptu meeting there. It seems to me that the school board could circumvent all of this by simply having their meetings - oh I don't know - at school.

The letter asking for the amendment to state gun laws came last week after a local resident attended the board's monthly meeting on Sept. 26 with a .45-caliber gun strapped to his hip.

You ever notice that whenever someone uses a phrase like "strapped to his hip", you know right away what side of the issue they're on?

"We're not infringing upon people's rights to bear arms," said board Chairman Mark Medford. "It's just a common-sense issue. We don't want to have weapons at our School Board meeting, because if someone decided to snap or got angry about a decision we make, we don't want the worst-case scenario."

We're not infringing upon people's rights, we just want to.

In the letter, Medford wrote, "Our concern is for the safety and well-being of the students present at this school-related activity. Thankfully, nothing happened. But it would seem prudent to take action before a tragedy occurs."

Ah yes, lets do it for the children. Because wearing a gun around kids is dangerous. That's why cops are instructed to not get within 50 feet of kids. It was fortunate that the evil mind control rays that guns emit didn't make this guy go postal.

For what it's worth, I think the school board just doesn't like being told what they can and can't control in their own little fiefdom.

This is fashion?

Society has become so impatient, that waiting for the microwave isn't fast enough.

A Walgreens employee allegedly stabbed a co-worker in an argument over who could microwave her soup first, authorities said.

Both women wanted to use the microwave in the employee break room Wednesday afternoon, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

While they were fighting over who could use the microwave first, Mellesia Grant grabbed a large kitchen knife off the counter and stabbed Merloze Tilme in the abdomen, the sheriff's office said.

Grant was arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and held on a $50,000 bond. No word on whether or not she was also fired.

Really.

Rob Smith is mad at MADD, and those that are congratulating the neo-temperance group for a job well done.

I really like THIS piece of "proof" about how effective that organization has been.

He rightly congratulates them on a job well done, noting drunk driving deaths are down more than 35% since the 80s. He goes on to tell us by the mid-90s the deaths began to level off, thus validating MADD's success in changing public priorities and perceptions.

Yep. MADD deserves all the credit for that. Better designed cars with more safety features didn't have a damned thing to do with the statistics. Mandatory seat belt laws and air bags didn't have a damn thing to do with it. Anti-lock brakes didn't have a damn thing to do with it. Front seat headrests didn't have a damn thing to do with it.

It was ALL acomplished by MADD.

If you get a DUI in the state of Georgia now, you are REQUIRED to pay $10 and attend a MADD class, where people tell horror stories about drunks with a BAC of .350 going the wrong way down the interstate at night, at 120 MPH and no headlights on, then wiping out a good, loving family. That's sheer tragedy, caused by sheer stupidity on a selfish person's fault.

But that's not the driver MADD attacks today. I had to attend one of those classes in 2001. I didn't hear ONE SINGLE STORY about someone with a .08 BAC doing something like that. In fact, I compared notes with some people sitting around me in the meeting, and I had the highest BAC (.14--- almost "twice the legal limit," don'cha know.)of anybody I talked to. Most of the people in there were caught by revenue enhancers "random roadblocks," where they blew a .09 or a .10 on a breathalyzer.

Prohibitionists have collected many a dollar to spend lobbying for lowering the legal BAC from .10 to .08. The money would be better spent combating the real drunks instead of pushing for zero tolerance.

The C.D. Hylton High School marching band has yanked Charlie Daniel's 'Devil Went Down to Georgia' from their lineup lest it be considered an unConstitutional establishment of a national religion.

This year, the marching band is performing a Georgia-themed halftime show, to celebrate their upcoming trip to perform at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta in December, band director Dennis Brown said.

Until recently, the Charlie Daniels Band song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" was in the marching band's line up of Georgia-themed music.

The lyrics of the song describe the devil's attempt to steal the soul of a fiddle player in Georgia by challenging him to a fiddling duel.

On Oct. 2, The Potomac News & Manassas Journal Messenger published a letter to the editor arguing that while no one objected to that song about the devil, there would be objections if the band were to play a song about God or other spiritual beings.

After that letter ran in the paper, Brown dropped the song from the marching band's program.

CNN points out that this year's budget deficit is going to be below "last year's record". The problem is, last year's record wasn't a record at all.

The White House and most economists say the truest measure of the deficit is relative to the size of the economy. In those terms, the deficit measured 2.6 percent of gross domestic product. The 2004 deficit, by contrast, equaled 3.6 percent of GDP. That is well below the post-World War II worst-ever record, a 6 percent figure set in 1983 under President Reagan....

Of course you can't talk about "record" budget deficits, without harping on the mythical budget surplus under the Clinton administration.

Indeed, the deficit picture remains far worse than when President Bush took office in 2001, when both White House and congressional forecasters projected cumulative surpluses of $5.6 trillion over the subsequent decade. Then, the White House forecast a surplus for 2005 of $269 billion.

Those earlier estimates assumed the revenue boom fueled by the surging stock market and worker productivity gains would continue. But that bubble burst and a recession and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist assaults adversely affected the books.

Several rounds of tax cuts, including Bush's signature $1.35 trillion, 10-year 2001 tax cut also contributed to the return to deficits three years ago after four years of surpluses.

If it rains when the weatherman forecasts clear skies and lots of sun, you don't blame the weather for not doing what he said it was going to do. You fire the weatherman.

The surplus was never there. It was a forecast that depended on the stock market continuing to climb with no end in sight. They declared the Bear Market was dead when they should have been warning people about runaway P and Es.

As for the tax cut, it's primarily responsible for the mildness of the recession. Had Bush raised taxes like the Democrats and the media wanted, we'd likely still be chalking up economic losses. Bush proved that you can cut taxes and increase tax revenue. It's clear that the media either doesn't have a clue about economic growth or is deliberately lying to the American public.

"But six of the last seven years we've started 6-0. Down the stretch here is going to determine how we feel about ourselves in the end." -- Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech Head Coach.

The Hokies are loaded, and could go undefeated this year. But there is so much parity in the ACC, that any one of their remaining games could derail their season.

Rob Smith over at Gut Rumbles is dying. He's checking himself into a hospital and probably won't be blogging for a little while.

Geek notes that San Francisco Police Officers have come out against the citywide handgun ban. The SF Police Officers Association released a statement saying that not only do they think that banning handguns from law abiding citizens would do little to stop crime, but that they have deep reservations about carrying out the door-to-door confiscation.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Yes, I am still talking about the Hokies, even though they didn't play this weekend. You have to appreciate the class of Head Coach Frank Beamer. He knows the value of good assistant coaches, and refused to sign a contract renewal unless his supporting coaches were taken care of.

He's gotten his wish, because not only is he getting $2 Million a year with incentives for post-season play, the assistants will also get substantial pay raises and bonuses. Beamer is 58 now, and will be 65 at the end of this contract. It sounds like he's looking forward to retirement.

"I am very appreciative to the university for allowing me to finish my coaching career at Virginia Tech," said Beamer. "This is the only place I want to coach, and it's a great place to coach because of the administration and our great fan support.

"I'm also appreciative to the university for helping me with my assistant coaches. I think we have the greatest staff in the country and I want to keep them."

Beamer has coached at Virginia Tech for 19 years. Check out the tenure for his assistants:

Billy Hite, Assistant Head Coach, Running Backs Coach: 28 years
Bryan Stinespring, Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator: 12 years
Bud Foster, Defensive Coordinator: 19 years

Tech also has a few other coaches with 10 years experience, and Bud Foster and Beamer coached together at Murray State.

Sorry for the lack of posting today. Ravenwood's Fortress of Solitude is moving this Saturday and I've had a hell of a week trying to work, pack, and update the blog.

I'm upgrading from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom condo with about 50% more space. It's a bit much for just little ol' me, but the rent was right so I couldn'a turn it down.

Moving day is Saturday which suspiciously falls on a Virginia Tech bye week. I've already got high speed interweb access installed, so everything should be back to normal next Monday or Tuesday.

Anti-war peaceniks have been claiming time and time again that Iraq and the War on Terror are unrelated. Well, someone needs to tell that to al Qaeda, because they've got Iraq on the brain. USA Today reports:

In a letter to his top deputy in Iraq, al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader said the United States "ran and left their agents" in Vietnam and the jihadists must have a plan ready to fill the void if the Americans suddenly leave Iraq.

"Things may develop faster than we imagine," Ayman al-Zawahri wrote in a letter to his top deputy in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam � and how they ran and left their agents � is noteworthy. ... We must be ready starting now." [...]

"More than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media," he wrote. "We are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our umma," or community of Muslims, he wrote.

So Iraq is another Vietnam, says the media, the anti-war left, and al Qaeda. Now, I would never question the patriotism of the anti-war crowd, but it makes me wonder which side they're on.

Washington D.C. has a zero tolerance policy against drunk driving. That means (according to D.C.) they can arrest people for drunk driving, even in they aren't drunk. The Washington Post reports that Debra Bolton was arrested for DUI after admitting to having a single glass of wine with dinner. A breath test showed she had a BAC of .03. "Bolton thought she might get a ticket. Instead, she was handcuffed, searched, arrested, put in a jail cell until 4:30 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol."

D.C. Police are defiant.

As D.C. police officer Dennis Fair, who arrested Bolton on May 15, put it in an interview recently: "If you get behind the wheel of a car with any measurable amount of alcohol, you will be dealt with in D.C. We have zero tolerance. . . . Anything above .01, we can arrest." [...]

Fair acknowledged that many people aren't aware of the District's policy. "But it is our law," he said. "If you don't know about it, then you're a victim of your own ignorance."

Apparently getting arrested for being drunk when you aren't drunk is pretty common in Washington D.C., a city which incidentally has one of the highest murder rates in North America.

Neither the police department nor the attorney general's office keeps detailed records of how many people with low blood alcohol levels are arrested. But last year, according to police records, 321 people were arrested for driving under the influence with blood alcohol levels below the legal limit of .08. In 2003, 409 people were arrested...

Bolton said she didn't know. But defense lawyers who practice in the District do.

"Even one drink can get you in trouble in D.C.," said Thomas Key, a lawyer who successfully defended a client who had a blood alcohol level of .03. "They might not win a lot of these cases or prosecute them, but they're still arresting people."

Ms. Bolton fought to get the charges dropped, but her troubles didn't end there.

In August, after Bolton made several fruitless appearances in D.C. Superior Court, prosecutors dropped the DUI charge. But then she had to battle the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, which warned that it would suspend her driving privileges at the end of this month unless she went through an alcohol prevention program.

Even the DMV was defiant:

Since what she refers to as her "unfortunate incarceration," Bolton has spent hours in D.C. Superior Court and at the DMV and $2,000 so far fighting the DUI charge. Her refusal to submit to the 12-week alcohol counseling diversion program has sent her on a "surreal" odyssey.

Twice, after hours of waiting, prosecutors told her that they had lost her file and that she would have to come back.

On Aug. 22, after four court appearances, prosecutors dropped the charge. But she spent all of September battling the DMV to keep her driving privileges from being suspended for three months.

Corey Buffo, the DMV's general counsel, explained that the agency drops its procedures only after a case goes to trial and is dismissed on its merits. "Our burden of proof is lower" than the Superior Court's, he said. "Not enough evidence for them may be enough evidence for us." Yesterday, the DMV decided not to suspend her privileges and issued her a warning instead.

That's right the DMV has a lower burden of proof than the courts. Even if you aren't convicted of a crime, you can still be punished as though you were. (ASIDE: Unless of course that crime is violating immigration laws, in which case they'll probably register you to vote while they're bending over backwards to accommodate your driving privileges.)

The ordeal for Ms. Bolton - who now goes out to eat in Virginia instead - is finally over.

UPDATE: After word got out that D.C. police would arrest people for driving after having had a single drink with their dinner, a lot of people started cancelling dinner reservations. Now the D.C. City Council is moving to suspend Washington's "zero tolerance" policy on booze.

The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform may suggest tax increases, reports he Washington Post.

Meeting in Washington, the nine-member panel agreed that it would be wise to reduce the total amount of mortgage debt for which interest is deductible. The limit now for a couple filing jointly is $1 million. A better cap might be $350,000, the panel said.

The panel also said that it might recommend limiting tax deductions for employer-provided health insurance. It discussed putting a cap of about $11,000 a year per employee on the amount of premiums that employers could deduct.

As of yet there has been no justification offered for these numbers, so presumably someone just pulled them out of their ass. And while they thresholds might be high enough to not impact you now, there is no promise that they won't slide down the slippery slope even further or go away completely in the future. Personally, I oppose any and all tax hikes, no matter whether they impact me or not. And while neither of these appear to impact me directly, they will have a chilling effect on the economy.

And how much do you want to bet that when employers start dropping medical insurance for their employees, socialists in the federal government will be right there proposing a "Hillary-care" style national health care system.

Say Uncle is shocked, I say shocked, to report that 60 Minutes is biased against guns. Of course we all knew that already, but now it's official. Mike Wallace and the 60 Minutes "news" program - which sometimes relies on "fake but accurate" documents to support their outlandish claims - appear to be making direct contributions to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership.

Via Cam Edwards (of NRA News fame):

At the [Brady Campaign fundraising] event, held at the French Embassy, Wallace played a clip of his "60 Minutes" interview with then-NRA president Charlton Heston, whom he described as the "self-righteous enemy of the Jim and Sarah Brady Bunch". Afterwards, he mocked Heston by holding his hands above his head (as if holding a rifle), and said "in my dead hands... remember when he used to hold up..." while the crowd tittered. He told Buchwald he'd made his $250 contribution to the Brady Center. And I haven't seen any mention of this at CBS.

I should have known the French would be involved in this too.

Reader mikem asks me why I continue to stress that taxes are seized using the threat of lethal force. Well, I think that it helps bolster the point. When it comes to taxes, a lot of people don't even think about how much we pay to the government. Sales taxes, excise taxes, gas taxes, etc are all rolled into the price of goods so that we no longer see them. Even payroll taxes are seized before your paycheck is even deposited to your account.

That has desensitized people to just how much money is grabbed by the different levels of government. Ask someone how much income tax they paid last year, and they aren't likely to know. Or worse, they'll say something asinine like "I didn't pay anything, I got money back!"

So when discussing taxes, I like to remind people that they aren't voluntary. Whether it be a 10-cent latte tax, or a diaper tax, or the fees they pay when they register their car, taxes are collected using the threat of lethal force.

You may consider them voluntary. You may say, I just wont buy a latte or drive a car if I don't want to pay the tax. But then you've sacrificed your freedom to avoid action taken by the government. That's a form of tyranny. And if you tried to buy a latte or diapers or use your car without paying the proper tribute, the government would come and put you in jail. They are saying to the American taxpayer, that the money you've earned is better spent by politicians than by the person who's earned it. Not only that, but they feel so strongly that they deserve your money more than you, they are prepared to kill you should you try to avoid paying it.

I'm not advocating violence, but it wasn't long ago that the tax man faced being tarred and feathered for unreasonable taxation, or that Americans would rather dump tea into Boston Harbor than pay a tax on it. Now-a-days people just shrug it off, especially when it's a tax on somebody else and not them.

Taxation should be a rare event, reserved to pay for core services that the government has been authorized by the citizenry to provide. What's more, people should not be able to use their vote to take money out of their neighbor's pocket. I'm not promoting anarchy, simply smaller, less intrusive, government.

That 40% of all economic output of the United States is seized by the government should be appalling. Much more so than my rhetorical reminders that they aren't taking it willingly.

UPDATE: See here for more.

UPDATE2: Speaking of collecting taxes at the point of a gun, the IRS raided the Jewish Mother Restaurant in Virginia Beach on the word of a disgruntled employee with a history of embezzlement. Men in black uniforms with machine guns took forks out of people's mouths, arrested the owners, and closed their business for 6 months. The claim turned out to be groundless, and no charges were filed.

Via Compass Points:

What Muppet Are You?

You are Gonzo the Great.

You love everyone, and still you get shot
out of a cannon on a regular basis. Oh,
and you are completely insane and have a
strange fascination for chickens.

ALSO KNOWN AS:
The Great Gonzo, Gonzo the Great, Just Plain Weird

SPECIES:
Whatever

HOBBIES:
Tapdancing blindfolded on tapioca while balancing a
piano on his nose, backwards, five times fast.

FAVORITE MOVIE:
"From Here to Eternity...with no brakes."

FAVORITE TV SHOW:
"Touched By An Anvil"

QUOTE:
"No parachute? Wow! This is so cool!"

Quick quiz: What is the most profitable internet business of all time? If you said pr0n, give yourself a gold star. If it weren't for easy access to dirty pictures, Al Gore's internet probably would have died during the 1999 dot-bomb. So it is with much surprise that authorities would arrest a Florida man for obscenity. Christopher M. Wilson, of Lakeland (FL) apparently runs an adult web site. The site has also allowed soldiers to post photographs of people killed in Iraq.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said late Friday that the 300 obscenity-related charges against [Lakeland's Christopher M. Wilson] -- which include counts of distribution of obscene material, offering to distribute obscene material and possession of obscene material with intent to distribute -- involve sexual content posted on his Web site, and not graphic war-scene images posted by soldiers.

"It is the most horrific, vile, perverted sexual conduct," Judd said. "It is as vile, as perverted, as non-normal sexual conduct -- which rises to the level of obscenity -- as we've ever investigated."

Judd, however, said he could not describe the sex acts because "they really can't be printed in the newspaper."

Approximately 40% of the nation's income is seized by the government in the form of taxes and fees. That means that nearly half of all the income generated in the United States is forcibly taken and spent by federal, state, and local governments. Most of it goes to vote buying schemes intended to keep the current slate of politicians in power. Politicians spend your money on social programs and services that you may or may not use. Instead of making that decision for yourself, you have it provided "free" by the government whether you like it or not. Its an incumbency protection racket, and it will probably get worse before it gets better. Joseph Bast of the Chicago Sun-Times says that government spending isn't just increasing, it's spiraling out of control.

The federal budget grew 14 percent in President Bush's first three years, with discretionary spending growing nearly 50 percent. The 2006 Bush budget would increase the Department of Education budget by 40 percent since 2001 and the Department of Commerce budget by 85 percent. Bush's 2006 budget was supposed to be an "austerity" budget that finally would rein in spending, but it started with a proposed 3.6 percent increase in federal spending and has taken wing from there. The energy and transportation bills signed by the president are budget busters, and the just-announced spending to "rebuild New Orleans" is likely to make 2006 another record-breaker.

If government is too big, as Republicans love to chant, why is it growing larger and at a record pace with a Republican president and Republicans in control of both houses of Congress? Why did it grow at a slower rate when Bill Clinton was in the White House?

Meanwhile, state governments have been indulging in their own spending orgy. Between 1990 and 2000, total state spending grew by a staggering $512 billion, or 89 percent. All of that new built-in spending is moving through today's budgets like a pig through a python, causing state politicians to cry about "budget cuts" even as they reap record revenue increases due to the reviving national economy.

At all levels of government, it would seem as though partisanship is largely to blame. The party that has power wants to hold onto it, while the party that's out of power is trying to regain it. That means that both political parties are spending large bundles of money on their constituency. They're trying to solve all the world's problems before the problems are even identified. In some instances, such as gas prices, they are creating the very problem they claim to be able to solve.

Government spending is such a touchy subject among lawmakers that they won't even consider tacking the Boortz Addendum onto spending bills.

"The undersigned sponsors of the foregoing legislation do hereby state and affirm their belief that it is more important for the federal government to spend the funds necessary for the implementation of this legislation than it would be for the taxpayer who actually worked for and earned these funds to retain them for use in caring for and investing in the future of their own families."

Keep in mind too that taxes are seized using the threat of lethal force. If you don't believe me, try not paying your taxes and see what happens.

Montgomery County Utopians are trying to pass a law against mansionization of neighborhoods by the [evil] rich.

The bill, introduced two years ago by Howard A. Denis (R-Potomac-Bethesda), is designed to eliminate loopholes and ambiguities in the law that have allowed some builders to exceed the limits of 35 feet and 2 1/2 stories...

Telling people what they can and can't do with their own property; the new American past time.

Current law places some restrictions on construction of new, large houses, requiring in many cases that builders put eight to 10 feet between a new house and neighbors on both sides.

But the law also makes what would seem to be a fairly straightforward matter -- measuring the height of a house -- almost impossibly convoluted. There are ongoing disputes over what constitutes a story, when a basement is not a basement and where measurement of the 35 feet should begin.

Builders also have been able for several years to rely on a county regulation that allows them to tear down almost all of an older house except two exterior walls. They can then label the new construction an addition or renovation and avoid stricter requirements on new houses.

Denis's bill would simplify the way heights are measured.

Of course the environmentalist wackos are going nuts over the issue.

[Delightfully named] Carol Green, an environmental lawyer who lives in a section of Bethesda where older houses are rapidly being supplanted by towering, multistory dwellings, said lack of strictly enforced height limits has given builders free rein.

"The character of lovely older neighborhoods has been changed as a result of very clear loopholes in the zoning ordinance that everyone admits exist," she said.

You gotta love the arrogance of these people. They want to force people to live in ramshackle old houses because of the character it adds to their neighborhood. Notice that Green is perfectly willing to preserve these houses with someone else's money. Why doesn't she put her money where her mouth is, by buying the houses herself and renting them out to tenants. Then she could ensure that they wouldn't be torn down to make way for new construction (save for Montgomery County seizing the houses through emminent domain).

Fox (search) News and the Ass. Press are reporting that *gasp* Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers owned a gun without a license. Nevermind that there is no ownership license in Texas.

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, who once owned a .45-caliber revolver, is not licensed to carry a concealed handgun in Texas. State officials refused Monday to reveal whether she has ever been licensed.

Miers' brother gave her the Smith & Wesson handgun when he was worried about her living alone in Dallas. Judge Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court, a longtime friend of Miers', has said she kept the gun for a long time.

State law requires the release of information about license holders but not former license holders, said Pamela Smith, assistant general counsel for the agency.

A person in Texas can own a gun without a concealed handgun license. Texas is one of 43 states that allow concealed weapons, and more than 230,000 residents are registered under the law.

Trust me when I say that way more than 230,000 Texans lawfully own guns. The number of law-abiding citizens who regularly carry a gun is much less than those who have actually been granted permission to carry a gun. And that number is much less than those who own a gun. The number of permit holders is miniscule compared to those who simply buy a gun and put it away for a rainy day.

Of course the bigger question is: "Why is this news?"

UPDATE: Kudos to Uncle with the memory. "I never recall one story about the Chinese assault rifle that John Kerry may or may not have owned."

Murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals in Boston are being treated to circus acts. A Christian outreach group is providing the entertainment, aimed at helping violent convicts deal with their time in prison, reports the Boston Herald.

The traveling circus has infuriated correction officers who complain that in addition to the violent maniacs they are dealing with every day, they now have to trip over Bozo in the prison yard.

"Picture a big clown car pulling up to MCI-Walpole with strongmen, clowns getting out and entertaining the murderers and rapists out in the yard," said Ken Ferullo, vice president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union.

"Morale is at an all-time low, and we have to watch inmates who are throwing feces and urine at us be entertained by a circus, having a great time," Ferullo said. "I have been in this department for 13 years and I have never seen anything like this. It's shocking."

Watch them once and then throw them away. Content nazis - who want total control over how you view and play their movies - have been busy developing the single play DVD.

Step forward one Alistair Baker, md with Microsoft in the UK. He claims that Microsoft's DRM software now gives the owner of content "total control over how it is viewed". That could mean that not only could the content be viewed only once but that the content could also have an expiry date and/or time of day.

Why would anyone want to introduce one-play DVDs, you might ask? To sell new hardware, of course. Baker describes the typical playing device as a "new DVD player from manufacturers like Toshiba supporting high-definition DVD and running Windows CE."

Will Microsoft also champion DVD recycling, or are they prepared to take on the environmentalist wackos? How many ducks with DVDs stuck around their neck will we have to see?

Front Page Mag is reporting that pigs are disappearing in England out of political correctness stupidity. Muslims might be offended at the sight of a pig, so they have to go.

How To Carve A Pumpkin, to the tune of everybody's favorite, Monster Mash.

Gas prices could be the big issue for the 2006 election, and Congress doesn't appear to be taking the issue very seriously. We haven't built a new refinery in nearly 30 years because of crippling environmental regulations, and Hurricane Katrinarita nearly destroyed what refining capacity we do have. In voting on whether or not to make it easier to expand U.S. refining, the House barely (just barely) voted in favor of "Big Oil". The bill seems certain to fail in the inept Senate.

The House narrowly approved a Republican-crafted energy bill Friday aimed at encouraging construction of new refineries, although opponents said it would do nothing to ease energy prices while handing unneeded benefits to a [evil] profit-rich oil industry.

Then what would ease energy prices? If you say conservation, prepare to be kicked in the nuts.

Supporters of the measure said that hurricanes Katrina and Rita made clear that the country needs more refineries, including new ones outside of the Gulf region. Critics argued it would allow the oil industry to avoid environmental regulations that would lead to dirtier air.

The bill passed 212-210. The Republican leadership allowed the voting on the House floor to continue for over 30 minutes, well past the usual five minutes allowed for such votes.

That means the bill probably doesn't stand a chance in the week kneed Senate. This should illustrate the real problem:

In 1981, the United States had 325 refineries capable of producing 18.6 million barrels a day. Today there are fewer than half that number, producing 16.9 million barrels daily. Still refining capacity has been increasing, though not dramatically, for the last decade. Imports have made up the difference as demand has continued to increase.

Refining capacity is lower than 1981 levels, yet it's said to be increasing. Foreign imports have made up the difference in consumer demand. But with volatility in the Middle East and demand in China and India skyrocketing, the cost of imports is not coming down any time soon.

The vote to expand U.S. refining capacity almost failed, but for two GOP lawmakers who switched their vote at the last minute. No Democrats voted for the measure.

Al Gore invented it, the U.S. controls it. But that could all change if the United Nations gets their way. They want the U.S. to give up control over the internet so that it can be run by committee, with the Sudan and China all getting a say in how it's run.

Old allies in world politics, representatives from the UK and US sat just feet away from each other, but all looked straight ahead as Hendon explained the EU had decided to end the US government's unilateral control of the internet and put in place a new body that would now run this revolutionary communications medium. [...]

It will be officially raised at a UN summit of world leaders next month and, faced with international consensus, there is little the US government can do but acquiesce.

What's the U.N. going to do, implement sanctions? Send in inspectors? Maybe it's high time we evicted them from their ivory tower in lower Manhattan.

Sheriff Dan Beck from Lima (OH) got an ear full from the Mexican Consolate in Detroit. It seems Beck had instructed his officers to crack down on fraudulent ID cards, which the consolate took to mean racial profiling. But the lecture may have backfired, as Beck was defiant and thumbed his nose at the political correctness stupidity.

After receiving a letter from the Mexican consulate warning him about profiling Mexicans, Sheriff Dan Beck said Monday his agency may increase enforcement against illegal immigrants.

"If this is the type of attitude he wants, it appears he's trying to coerce me into doing noth-ing. It tells me this is a more important issue. He just raised the priority here," Beck said.

Beck was talking about a letter he received from Antonio Meza, the consul for the Mexican Consulate in Detroit. The letter was sent to Beck last month after Beck announced a plan to train his deputies on recognizing fraudulent forms of identification.

In the letter, Meza said he's been informed that Beck's agency is targeting Mexican nationals living and working in the area. He also said Beck's officers have gone as far as to ask Mexicans for their immigration papers as they wait to be picked up by their employers.

"I cannot see being an [illegal] immigrant and a day laborer as reasons to be profiled," Meza wrote.

Meza went on to say Mexicans come to the community to work and do not cause problems. His office has advised Mexicans to respect and cooperate with police, he said.

"However, if they begin to mistrust you and believe that you are not interested in solving crimes but acting as deputy of Immigrations agents, it will make everyone�s jobs more diffi-cult," Meza wrote in the letter.

Neuticles - Prosthetic testicles for dogs that have been "fixed".

The AJC routinely takes unedited comments from online readers. It's called The Vent and sometimes provides some pretty unique content:

The smell of Korean food is breaking up my marriage.

It won't be long before the price of gasoline will be as much as bottled water.

Even though they are making money, Hooters Airlines is a big bust.

Hooters Airlines, where passengers pray for turbulence.

Chief Justice Roberts. Healthy-looking guy. Read the bio information. Missed the mention of military service. Was he too busy, like Cheney?

Accusing Roberts of being a draft dodger, that's a new one. Of course having been born in 1955, Roberts would have been 16 years old when the U.S. began withdrawing troops from Vietnam in 1971.

University anti-gun policies like those at Virginia Tech will probably come to a head during next year's legislative session. Virginia Tech and other colleges think that faculty, students, and visitors over 21, who have met the requirements for a concealed handgun permit should be banned from carrying guns on campus. But state law doesn't give them the power to enforce such a ban (although they're trying like hell).

Lawmakers on both sides of the issue said this week that they fully expect the issue to come up during the 2006 General Assembly session, which begins in January.

Del. Albert Eisenberg, an Arlington Democrat, said he plans to reintroduce legislation that would give public colleges the explicit right to regulate firearms on campus. Virginia code bans guns on K-12 school grounds in most circumstances, but does not mention college campuses.

Eisenberg said he realizes that attitudes toward guns likely vary from campus to campus. Students and employees of an urban university may feel less comfortable knowing guns are allowed on campus than those at a college in rural Virginia, where hunting is more popular, he said.

For that reason, his bill would not require college officials to enact a policy but merely grants them the authority.

Eisenberg sponsored identical legislation this year, but the measure died in committee.

"The issue is not for the state to dictate a one-size-fits-all policy," Eisenberg said. "It just makes sense for the institutions to decide for themselves. This is not pro-gun. This is not anti-gun."

Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, is considering the opposite: Legislation that would block colleges from prohibiting guns on campus, at least among visitors.

Eisenberg's record on guns is typical of Arlington Democrats. He proposed banning .50 caliber rifles, proposed banning concealed carry for university students, and voted for restrictions on gunowners picking up their kids from school (the gun in the glove-box law) before he voted against them. From Eisenberg's website:

According to the Justice Department, from 1995 to 2000, 410 assault weapons were traced to crime scenes in Virginia. Despite the national assault weapons ban, which President Bush and Senators Warner and Allen explicitly support, there are numerous such weapons that are available outside the current ban.

These weapons are capable of shooting down a commercial airliner and piercing the armor of public safety officers. They are 50 caliber, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, with more than twice the firepower of an AK-47 and an M-16.

Actually, although George Allen at one time voiced support for reauthorization of the Clinton Gun Ban, he eventually changed his mind based on the ineffectiveness of the ban. Also, Eisenberg's attempt to blur the line between so-called "assault weapons" and .50 caliber rifles is dishonest at best. The Clinton Gun Ban never addressed .50 caliber rifles.

Everyone's heard of citizen's arrest, but how about citizen's body cavity search? (entire article quoted below)

A gang of teenage boys who dressed as police officers to body search female visitors to the Munich Beer Festival have been arrested.

The fake cops pretended they were looking for hidden weapons as they ran their hands over the bodies of women they singled out.

But they were caught by the real cops after women complained about the intimate searches.

The three teenagers face charges of sexual assault, indecency and impersonating a police officer.

Remember, cops never like you horning in on their action.

Good political connections can get you out of just about anything these days. (Unless your last name is Delay.)

Two days after he was sentenced for smuggling classified documents from the National Archives, former national security adviser Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger violated his probation when he was ticketed for reckless driving in Fairfax County, according to court officials and records.

Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson admonished Berger yesterday for the traffic charge during a brief hearing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia but left him on probation as recommended by the federal probation office, according to court records.

Berger was clocked going 88 mph in a 55-mph zone while driving eastbound on Interstate 66 in Fairfax on Sept. 10, according to court records. Berger told court officers that "he was speeding because he was late to a meeting, and he was not aware of how fast he was traveling," according to a probation violation report filed in federal court.

What's that now, two mulligans?

Gun control has been having predictable results overseas. Violent crime is up, so now they are concentrating on something else. In the UK, home to King Arthur's Camelot, they are cracking down on swords:

A CAMPAIGN to stop shops selling Samurai swords has been launched by Devon and Cornwall police.

Police have written to retailers asking them to act responsibly and withdraw the weapons from sale.

They also hope to persuade people who own swords to surrender them at the police station to stop them falling into the wrong hands.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the concern is knives:

MORE than 500 illegal weapons had been discovered in Western Australia in the past month, Customs said today.

Officers at the Fremantle Container Examination Facility found a large quantity of weapons which had been imported from China on September 14, Customs WA regional director Paul O'Connor said.

He said the cache included 168 trench knives, 12 daggers and 110 knives with concealed blades.

After further investigation, Customs staff searched two premises in Perth on September 23 and seized another four trench knives, 161 knives with concealed blades, one dagger, one push knife and a finger claw.

That's nice:

Scientists have made from scratch the Spanish flu virus that killed as many as 50 million people in 1918, the first time an infectious agent behind a historic pandemic has ever been reconstructed.

Yesterday, this was the leading sentence of the Washington Post article. It has since been toned down quite a bit, but still contains this lovely passage buried in the middle of the story:

After 10 years of work, Taubenberger and his team reported they had successfully reconstructed the Spanish flu virus, responsible for the deadliest epidemic since the Black Death of the Middle Ages. "Reborn" in mid-August at a high-security laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the pathogen has already been shown in animal experiments to be just as lethal as it was out in the world 87 years ago.

The first draft of the article explicitly stated that the synthesized flu strain posed no danger to humans because immunities that people developed to the 1918 flu would still be hanging around in humans today; passed down from the generations. The current version of the story lacks any such disclaimer.

Since Hurricane Katrinarita was heralded as proof that Global Warming is intensifying, it only makes sense that the lack of hurricanes in recent weeks are proof that Global Warming is subsiding. In fact, I can safely predict that the Northern Hemisphere will undergo a general cooling period in the coming months, followed by several more months without any hurricanes at all.

One theory is that this is caused by decreased vehicular activity due to high gas prices. Still another would suggest that more people will simply be staying put due to other commitments like school and work.

Whatever the reason, we appear to have this global warming thing licked. And the absence of any severe hurricanes is proof of that.

Over at Grits for Breakfast, Scott Hensen notes that the War on Sudafed isn't quite going as planned.

Despite all the hype, Oklahoma's new anti-meth law turned out to be less than OK. Backers touted the idea as a national model. (Indeed, Texas followed the Okies' lead this spring by requiring pseudoephedrine, which is used to make homemade meth, to be sold only from behind the counter, and customers must sign for the purchase.) Now it turns out the much-ballyhooed new law hasn't worked at all, instead opening up the market for violent Mexican drug cartels.

Such is the law of economics. Increased regulation forced the price to go up and the black market naturally stepped up to the plate and meet the lucrative demand. Plus there's no regulation, no product safety, no disincentive to sell to minors, and you get all the goodies that come along with organized crime.

It's the same scenario that plays out year after year in ban after ban. During prohibition you could get a drink that may or may not make you go blind, for about 10 times the price of what it used to cost. In New York gangs are killing each other in turf wars over selling bootlegged cigarettes, while the state loses tax money and their regulatory power to keep minors from smoking. Whether your banning/regulating/taxing guns, cigarettes, or whatever, the same scenario plays out over again.

Banning sudafed is yet another classic example of insanity. That is, when something doesn't work, do it again only harder. (Apologies to Kevin Baker.) Meanwhile, the law-abiding are forced to live with head colds.

The Washington Post contends that they're all related, and that insurance companies are eyeing human factors for natural disasters. Steven Milloy, on the other hand, calls them out for their junk science. If insurers can make the case that natural disasters are man made, they'll have an inroad into lobbying congress into controlling our lives. We are already forced to wear seat-belts, buy cars with airbags, and watch what we eat because insurance companies have a vested interest in our not dying. Wait until they start hitting up the auto industry, energy companies, and "big oil" for financial reparations.

If you haven't read this yet, then do.

"This is inevitable. This is long overdue. This is a fundamental right." -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, on his plan to offer "free" wifi access to city residents.

That's right, the Mayor of the city that wants to ban pit bulls and handguns is calling wireless high speed internet access a "fundamental right".

GOP lawmakers are opting not to push for allowing more offshore oil drilling in the United States. They've also decided not to push for drilling in the section of the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) that was set aside for oil drilling.

So much for energy independence and lower gas prices.

Reader Mike A. sends this alarming story which he calls "simply frightening". It seems as though localities are moving from seizing property from homeowners to give to private developers, to seizing money from private developers to give to other private developers who just happen to be big time campaign donors.

On May 21, Albert G. Mauti Jr. and his cousin Joseph hosted a fundraiser for Assemblyman Joseph Cryan at the Westmount Country Club in Passaic County. The two developers and family members picked up the $10,400 dinner tab, donated another $8,000 and raised more than $70,000 that night for the powerful Union County Democrat, according to state election records.

Three days later, the governing body in Cryan's hometown of Union Township -- all Democrats -- introduced an ordinance paving the way for the Mautis to build 90 or so townhouses on six acres of abandoned industrial land along the Conrail line in town.

There is just one problem: Union Township doesn't own the land.

It is owned by Carol Segal, a 65-year-old retired electrical engineer. Over the past 10 years, the Union Township resident says, he has spent about $1.5 million to acquire the property, and he, too, wants to build townhouses there.

Segal said he met with Cryan, who is head of the township's Democratic Party, and other local officials "scores of times" over the past five years to discuss the project. He claims the talks turned adversarial after he rejected proposals to work with various developers they proposed.

On May 24, the five-member township committee voted unanimously to authorize the municipality to seize Segal's land through eminent domain and name its own developer.

"They want to steal my land," Segal said. "What right do they have when I intend to do the exact same thing they want to do with my property?"

Welcome to post-Kelo America. All your property are belong to us!

Cryan, 44, a rising star in state Democratic politics, denied any connection between the fundraiser and the committee's vote. He described the Mautis as "good friends," but said he played no role in shaping the township's redevelopment plan.

"My involvement is zero," Cryan said...

While Cryan holds no official position in Union Township government, he has been chairman of the local Democratic Party since 1995. When he took that job, Democrats were the minority on the township committee; now they control all five seats. As Democratic chairman, Cryan runs the candidates' campaigns and their fundraising.

Segal is fighting to stop the seizure, but in the face of Kelo, how far can he get?

After the May vote, Segal sued the township, and on Sept. 7 a Superior Court judge in Union County issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the township from hiring its own developer. Six days later, the township committee unanimously voted to start negotiating -- but not sign a contract -- with the Mautis' company, AMJM Development.

Segal, meanwhile, signed a contract last week to sell his property to Centex Homes for about $13 million, contingent upon local approval. Centex, a nationally known developer with projects in Middlesex, Morris and Monmouth counties, would then build 100 townhouses on Segal's property, with a potential for profits of $15 million to $20 million, Segal said. Township Mayor Joseph Florio and Deputy Mayor Peter Capodice, both members of the township committee, said they were unaware of Segal's involvement with Centex when they voted Sept. 13 to negotiate with the Mautis.

But a proposal Centex submitted to the township committee on Sept. 1 said the company "has been in negotiations with (Segal) for quite some time." When the item came up at the Sept. 13 meeting, the committee did not allow Segal's attorney to speak before the vote was taken.

Florio and Capodice said they preferred AMJM because it is a local company.

"I've never heard of Centex," Capodice said. "They're not Union County people."

If recent VCDL reports are accurate, the Culpepper Town Manager doesn't have much class.

As you recall from the VCDL Update over the weekend, Executive member Mike Stollenwerk sent an email to the Culpeper Town Manager, Brannon Godfrey, about the Culpeper web site's unlawful statements about a gun ban in their parks. Mike simply asked that the web site be updated to remove the offensive 'no firearms' wording.

In turn, Mr. Godfrey sent a letter to Mike in GERMAN!

I asked for a translation and approximately 30 of you responded. (Thanks to respondents for their help.) I now have the translation (verified word-for-word by 7 German speakers) and it ISN'T complementary to Mike:

Mr. Stollenwerk - many thanks for serving as our moral conscience.

Culpeper would be lost without the patronizing guidance of the people like you in Northern Virginia.

Long live the State!

Sincerely,

Brannon Godfrey

Some notes are in order: First, replying in German is clearly a slam at Mike because of his ethnic German last name. Second, the closing line, "Long live the State!" is the closing line used by loyal Nazis of the Third Reich! Yet another slam at Mike's heritage. And third, this was all done by a town official who was responding to a Virginia citizen on a town matter where the town was in violation of state law!

Countertop, who claims to be on hiatus, has the rundown on VCDL's trouble getting Gubernatorial candidate Kilgore (a Republican) to submit his gun survey. The Kilgore campaign even resorted to name-calling and seems to be shunning gun owners.

I never liked how Disney ripped off Hans Christian Andersen stories as their own (ie: The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Thumbelina, Ugly Duckling, etc.). But this looks like a blatant plagiarism.

Tezuka, 1965

Kimba, the White Lion

Disney, 1994

Simba, the Lion King

No conflict of interest here:

Under the contract terms, Redflex would receive 85 percent of all revenue generated each month, up to $4,500 from each intersection. Any more monthly revenues from a particular site would be split 50-50 between the vendor and the city.

Redflex, which was chosen by a city-appointed committee from among six companies� proposals, also would be entitled to 20 percent of all late fees received for delinquent fines.

Red light cameras are about revenue, not safety. The easiest way to increase safety at traffic lights is to increase the yellow time. But that doesn't generate any revenue.

(Via Say Uncle)

I just realized that the year is almost over, and we've not met any of our recruiting goals for 2005. Between creating hurricanes, wrecking the economy, and causing global warming we've just been too busy to recruit new members. So here is your chance.

If you want your very own VRWC membership card, send an email to vrwc -at- ravnwood -dot- com. Include a jpg or gif photo of yourself, preferrably one that's cropped and somewhat proportionally square. Also make sure it's big enough. I can size it down if need be, but not up. If you have a URL to link to, include that as well.

(You have to make your own foil-hat.)

UPDATE: Duh! Added the link for the VRWC page, for those of you who aren't yet proficient in level 6 mind-reading.

UPDATE2: Two new recruits have been added to the VRWC. Please welcome Monica Monroe from andbrainstoo, and reader Sam Pierce

(Delivery time is inversely proportional to the quantity requested.)

It's an honor just to be mentioned, but I've clawed my way up to number 7 on John Hawkins' Favorite 40 Blogs For 2005. If only there were some deathmatch style playoffs.

Canadian officials became alarmed when they discovered a website offering counterfeit gun registration forms. The site allowed users to enter information and print out the forms to mail into the firearms registry center.

A website that generated fake Canadian gun registrations continued to operate for more than a year after federal officials tried to shut it down.

A file from the website, registered in the United States, allowed visitors to fill in and print reproductions of Canadian firearms registration certificates.

Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act show that the government agency responsible for gun control knew about the website early last year.

Though real certificates are printed on a special watermark paper, the web versions "have the look of official documents," David Pimm of the Canadian Firearms Centre said in an internal e-mail.

That does sound alarming. Was the site collecting information on Canadian gun owners? Were they using the site to set up their own private gun registry? Well, not exactly.

Details on the. . .site suggested it was created partly to poke fun at the firearms centre.

Under gun type, the drop-down menu included "nail gun," "hair dryer" and "pointy stick."

The form also had a note that it was "Not a CFC (Canadian Firearms Centre) Document" and "Education purpose only."

Canadian government officials eventually got the site shut down, which is a big mistake. Without registration, Canuckers will now have to learn to fend for themselves against people armed with pointy sticks and fresh fruit. If the government isn't going to force people to register their pointy sticks, then they should provide them with a self defense class.

Sgt.: ...Now, self-defence. Tonight I shall be carrying on from where we got to last week when I was showing you how to defend yourselves against anyone who attacks you with armed with a piece of fresh fruit.

(Grumbles from all)

Palin: Oh, you promised you wouldn't do fruit this week.

Sgt.: What do you mean?

Jones: We've done fruit the last nine weeks.

Sgt.: What's wrong with fruit? You think you know it all, eh?

Palin: Can't we do something else?

Idle (Welsh): Like someone who attacks you with a pointed stick?

Sgt.: Pointed stick? Oh, oh, oh. We want to learn how to defend ourselves against pointed sticks, do we? Getting all high and mighty, eh? Fresh fruit not good enough for you eh? Well I'll tell you something my lad. When you're walking home tonight and some great homicidal maniac comes after you with a bunch of loganberries, don't come crying to me! Now, the passion fruit. When your assailant lunges at you with a passion fruit...

A whopping 20% of California public high school seniors cannot pass the graduation exam. Despite making it all the way to the 12th grade, 1 in 5 students may not get a diploma, reports the LA Times.

Students in the class of 2006, the first group to face the graduation requirement, must pass both the English and math sections of the test by June.

The exit exam � which has come under criticism by some educators, legislators and civil rights advocates � is geared to an eighth-grade level in math and to ninth- and 10th-grade levels in English.

They only need to be proficient in 8th grade math and 9th or 10th grade English. But don't worry, they may end up receiving rubber diplomas.

"Clearly, we need to have some options for these students," said Lauress L. Wise, [President of Human Resources Research Organization], in a telephone interview with reporters.

The state, for example, could allow seniors to submit portfolios of work that demonstrate mastery of English and math, the report's authors suggested.

The report also proposed that schools allow students to spend an extra year in high school or earn diplomas by completing special summer school programs in lieu of the exam.

Additionally, the state could establish alternate diplomas or graduation certificates for students who pass part of the exit exam, the group said.

Students are allowed to take the exam multiple times, and only need to answer a little more than half of the questions correctly to pass.

"To More Inmates, Life Term Means Dying Behind Bars" -- NY Times, lamenting that a "life sentence" too often actually means life.

I will never understand why liberals insist on siding with criminals over their victims. The New York Times is siding with Jackie Lee Thompson who is spending life behind bars for murdering his girlfriend, 15-year old Charlotte Goodwin. Thompson was convicted of shooting her three times and then drowning her, after she told him she was pregnant with his baby.

We've all heard the stories about people being mistakenly accused for illegal file sharing by the Recording Industry Ass. of America. Now one of them is fighting back. Tanya Andersen was accused by the RIAA of downloading gangsta rap from her computer at 4 in the morning. The charges proved to be baseless, but Andersen is not happy with the "my bad" she got from the RIAA. She's suing them for violating the state RICO statute.

Tanya Andersen, a 41-year old disabled single mother living in Oregon, has countersued the RIAA for Oregon RICO violations, fraud, invasion of privacy, abuse of process, electronic trespass, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, negligent misrepresentation. She is claiming hurt feelings and "outrage", and deceptive business practices.

According to court documents here, Anderson said the record industry has been abusing the law courts and waged a public relations and public threat campaign targeting file sharing.

She claims that the RIAA hired an outfit called MediaSentry to invade private home computers and collect personal information. Based on private information allegedly extracted from these personal home computers, the record companies have reportedly filed lawsuits against more than 13,500 anonymous "John Does".

She claims the record companies provide the personal information to Settlement Support Center, which engages in outlawed and deceptive debt collection and other illegal conduct to extract money from the people allegedly identified from the secret lawsuits.

After the alleged hacking, came the alleged intimidation.

When Andersen contacted Settlement Support Center, she was advised that her personal home computer had been secretly entered by the record companies' agents, MediaSentry.

Apparently she had been up at 4:24am downloading "gangster rap" music under the login name "[email protected]." Andersen does not like "gangster rap", does not recognise the name "gotenkito", is not awake at 4:24 a.m. and has never downloaded music.

The Settlement Support Center threatened that if Andersen did not immediately pay them, the record companies would bring an expensive and disruptive federal lawsuit using her name and they would get a judgment for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At one point, Congress had planned to make the RIAA and their goons immune from prosecution, meaning they could break into your computer, peek at what you're doing, disable it if they wanted to, and you couldn't do anything about it.

A Florida town is planning to use emminent domain to force the eviction of about 6,000 residents from a waterfront area. The Washington Times reports that Riviera Beach hopes to revitalize the waterfront area by turning it over to private developers.

"This is a community that's in dire need of jobs, which has a median income of less than $19,000 a year," said Riviera Beach Mayor Michael Brown.

He defends the use of eminent domain by saying the city is "using tools that have been available to governments for years to bring communities like ours out of the economic doldrums and the trauma centers."

Mr. Brown said Riviera Beach is doing what the city of New London, Conn., is trying to do and what the U.S. Supreme Court said is proper in its ruling June 23 in Kelo v. City of New London. That decision upheld the right of government to seize private properties for use by private developers for projects designed to generate jobs and increase the tax base.

What makes these emminent domain seizures so astonishing is that they are able to displace poor people, so that the property can be used by the rich (formerly the evil, hated, rich).

Viking spokesman Peter Frederiksen said the plan "is to create a working waterfront," adding that the project could take 15 years and that "we would only use condemnation as a last resort."

Viking has said it will pay at least the assessed values of homes and businesses it buys.

Other plans for the project include creation of a basin for megayachts with high-end housing, retail and office space, a multilevel garage for boats, a 96,000-square-foot aquarium and a manmade lagoon.

Mr. Brown said Riviera Beach wants to highlight its waterfront.

"We have the best beach and the most attractive redevelopment property anywhere in the United States," he said.

Mr. Frederiksen said people with yachts need a place to keep and service them. "And we want to develop a charter school for development of marine trades."

The National Rifle Association is actually supporting a Democrat, reports the Washington Times with amazement.

The National Rifle Association of America yesterday endorsed state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds for Virginia attorney general, its first Democratic endorsement in Virginia in many years.

Mr. Deeds received the nod over Republican candidate Robert F. McDonnell. The election is Nov. 8.

The NRA said its endorsements are not decided by party affiliation, but the group has endorsed just one Democrat in the past four statewide elections.

"Creigh Deeds has had a history of being supportive of the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment," said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.

Mr. Deeds, a state senator from Bath County, sponsored a state constitutional amendment that guaranteed the right to hunt, fish and trap game. Voters approved the amendment in 2000.

Of course this is not astonishing in the sense that the NRA is some Republican political hack. No, it's astonishing because the Democrats so rarely come down on the side of the Second Amendment.

This year's BCS formula has barely gotten off the ground, and it's already stirring up controversy. CNN/SI reports that while the ballots are secret, it's still obvious that poll voters are being less than objective when ranking the teams.

Illinois picked up 13 votes despite being 2-2 and fresh from a 61-14 pummeling by Michigan State. Arizona got 10 votes with a 1-2 record, though maybe the Wildcats were mistaken for that 3-1 team that's two hours up the road.

But how do you explain Bowling Green, which received five votes even after a 48-20 loss to Boise State dropped the Falcons to 1-2? Or worse, Idaho, which is 0-4 and scored six points in its last two games, yet still got five votes?

Granted, the votes are minuscule and won't affect the BCS standings, which begin next month. But the geniuses who thought Bowling Green and Idaho should be in the top 25 this week will be the same ones helping decide who's playing in the Rose Bowl for the national title.

Two words: Playoff.

Policemen have a very difficult job, so it's a bit surprising that New Jersey police officers would take such offense to being stopped for speeding in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

A speeding New Jersey police convoy should not have been warned to slow down here, its superiors say, despite numerous 911 calls from motorists claiming they were forced off Interstate 81.

An incensed New Jersey sheriff called an Augusta County (VA) deputy a "disgrace" for pulling over officers returning home from a Hurricane Katrina relief mission Sept. 18.

Augusta Sheriff Randy Fisher and the Virginia State Police defend the stop because the New Jersey officers were traveling 95 mph with their lights flashing.

Virginia law requires an emergency before officers can speed and activate their lightbars. Instead of a warning, the speeding officers could have gotten citations.

Should have is more like it. Other officers ignored the deputy and just drove away. Imagine the response if you or I had done that.

"Five or six of them did not stop, they just continued northbound," the Augusta sheriff added. "I think they were in a hurry to get home."

Roane ordered the officers whom Fisher described as belligerent -- in the remaining six cars to cut off their lightbars and slow down. A Virginia trooper telephoned their New Jersey departments requesting that the homeward-bound officers slow down...

The news of the Augusta County stop incensed Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale, who, in a taped telephone conversation with Roane, lambasted the deputy for stopping his officers.

"If you think that that's not a disgrace, you should take that badge off your shirt and throw it in the garbage," Speziale said. "This is unacceptable, and I'll tell you what, I hope I get the opportunity to show you the same courtesy up here in New Jersey."

Speziale told Roane that "law enforcement is all about supporting each other" and said he was reporting the Augusta County stop to the National Sheriffs' Association.

Speziale ended the call after cutting short Roane's attempt to detail the incident. "I don't talk to deputies," the New Jersey sheriff said.

If police in New Jersey are threatening to retaliate against police officers, I'd hate to be just an ordinary Virginian traveling up there. Hell, I'd hate to be up there even if the Passaic police weren't jerks.

(Via Geek with a .45)

Say Uncle notes that you can't even call those little dots at the beginning of an itemized list "bullets" anymore. From a NY teacher:

Today in our weekly PD it was mentioned that the region doesn�t want us to use the term "bullet points" anymore because it has a negative connotation.

I wonder if they'll have zero-tolerance for bullet points, whereby teachers and students using the marks will be automatically extricated.

It's always a shame when people fall from grace. I remember Super Bowl XXII like it was yesterday.

Former Washington Redskins running back Timmy Smith, who broke the NFL record for most rushing yards in a Super Bowl in 1988, was arrested in Denver Thursday for allegedly distributing cocaine, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (sic).

Smith, 41, now lives in Denver. He and his brother, Chris Smith, 35, of Lakewood, Colo., were both charged Friday with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, U.S. attorney's spokesman Jeff Dorschner said Friday.

Authorities said the investigation has resulted in the seizure of 1.3 kilograms -- or about 2.8 pounds -- of cocaine and unspecified assets worth about $100,000. Search warrants were executed on houses in Denver and Lakewood, authorities said.

Do you remember a few months back when President Bush was catching hell for adding to the strategic petroleum reserves? MSNBC reported on the heated debate back in May:

With oil prices stuck above $40 a barrel, attention has turned to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a vast stockpile of oil stored underground that the U.S. continues to add to. While Democrats call for releasing some of those reserves to help ease oil prices, President Bush Wednesday repeated his long-standing position that the stockpile should only be used in the event of a critical cutoff of fuel needed to maintain the country's national defense.

At the time, market analysts were divided. Many said that the oil reserves were too insignificant to affect prices, while others said it would boost morale among traders if Bush sold off the reserves.

But after a few hurricanes lawmakers are looking to play politics. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Dick Durban (D-IL) are calling for a gasoline and jet fuel stockpile. Prices are at an all time high, and they want the government to purchase mass quantities for future use.

If they wanted to make real progress, they would make it easier and more economical to build refineries. The last refinery in the United States was built nearly 30 years ago. It's currently estimated that building a new refinery costs $3 Billion and takes 10 years. Most of that is compliance costs due to environmental and government regulation.

John Hawkins notes that Texas Prosecutor Ronnie Earle - who indicted Rep. Tom Delay on the non-specific charge of "conspiracy" - has been making a Michael Moore style Mockumentary. Via Byron York:

"For the last two years, as he pursued the investigation that led to Wednesday's indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Travis County, Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle has given a film crew "extraordinary access" to make a motion picture about his work on the case.

The resulting film is called The Big Buy, made by Texas filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck. "Raymond Chandler meets Willie Nelson on the corner of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in The Big Buy, a Texas noir political detective story that chronicles what some are calling a 'bloodless coup with corporate cash,'" reads a description of the picture on Birnbaum's website, markbirnbaum.com. The film, according to the description, "follows maverick Austin DA Ronnie Earle's investigation into what really happened when corporate money joined forces with relentless political ambitions to help swing the pivotal 2002 Texas elections, cementing Republican control from Austin to Washington DC."

Imagine the cries you'd have heard if Ken Starr had been making a movie about the Clinton impeachment.