45Superman Gets a Pistol
Posted 17-Aug-2008 10:39 AM by jed [permalink]

Hey, it’s the perfect thing for PSH from the gun-fearing wussies.

The dreaded .50 caliber ‘assault pistol’ — Cool!

tags: [guns]  [1 Comment]

More Quotable
Posted 16-Aug-2008 7:25 PM by jed [permalink]

I should review my quotations file more often.

The Republic is in very bad shape - probably the worst since 1776 — but it does us all well to remember that the principles of the Founding Fathers stand as sound and irrefutable today as yesterday. We must bear in mind that “they” cannot disarm us. They do not have the legal power, of course, but neither do they have the physical power. An army may be defeated by another army, but the people of a nation cannot be, as long as they are aware of their principles and maintain their determination to observe them. We hope, of course, that “they” never presume to try, because “they” simply cannot do it. What the American people need is the viscera to tell “them” No! God grant that we still have the courage! — Col. Jeff Cooper

And

You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go around repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the great struggle for independence. — Charles Austin Beard

tags: [RKBA, libertarian]  [2 Comments]

That ATF Mindset, the, uh, Prequel
Posted 16-Aug-2008 7:19 PM by jed [permalink]

So yeah, that Always Think Forfeiture snafu got the BATFE some bad publicity. But this goes back further than that. I was updating my file of quotations, and just scrolled up to read a few and refresh my memory. Here’s one from Col. Jeff Cooper (USMC Ret.).

We encountered what may be the ultimate in chutzpah. Down at Whittington, we were shown a BATF baseball cap crediting the wearer with attendance at “The Waco Siege.” Though we cannot believe it, it appears that at least some people in the nefarious organization are actually proud of what took place in Waco. One wonders if the KGB ever issued uniforms commemorating the massacre of the Katyn Forest or if the guards at Dachau or Buchenwald were issued commemorative T-shirts.

tags: [abuse of power]  [No Comments]

A Musical Interlude
Posted 16-Aug-2008 6:39 PM by jed [permalink]

After a mostly non-productive day in which I finally got completely caught up on stuff in Bloglines, and got only somewhat waterlogged twice — once in the morning, taking my bike to the shop for a tune-up, and again later in the day when I walked back to pick it up, and what the hell is up with this sort of weather in August in Colorado anyway? — I suddenly find myself with not much to do. I cooked up a supper consisting of 2 eggs fried in bacon grease, bacon (of course), on top of a couple slices of bread, and topped with peppered jack cheese and baked beans. Which doesn’t have damn thing to do with music, but I just wanted to set the stage.

One thing I did accomplish today was doing some housecleaning on the CLUE (Colorado Linux Users & Enthusiasts) website, which I maintain, well, without spending as much time on it as I could, and one thing I added was a book review written by one of our members for Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, which sounds like a good read for anyone who wants to get into using the GNU / Linux (see there, Stallman, I used “GNU”) operating system, which I highly recommend doing. The author of said book has the following sentence in his bio: “Rickford currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he spends his working hours as a teacher and his free time cycling, writing, and annoying his neighbors with his Nyckelharpa (Swedish keyed fiddle).

So I wondered what the heck a Nyckelharpa was, and set off to find out. Then I found a couple vids of guys playing Bach on them. I thought that was pretty cool. And it reminded me of one of my favorite musical artists for classical stuff, Rachel Podger. And after a sitting down to a fine supper such as I described above, it feels really good to kick back and relax, in the cool of the evening, with Rachel sawing away on a collection of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. Should that be the sort of thing that interests you, I can highly recommend picking up this recording. In a similar vein, and well worth listening to, are the same pieces transcribed for 8-string guitar and performed by Paul Galbraith.

tags: [Linux, music]  [5 Comments]

Thought for the Evening
Posted 15-Aug-2008 7:36 PM by jed [permalink]

I just read a blog post that put me in mind of this.

War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. — John Stuart Mill

tags: [freedom]  [No Comments]

Libertarian Quotations, #14
Posted 14-Aug-2008 7:36 PM by jed [permalink]

At least, I think I’m up to number 14. Another from Thomas Jefferson, via Ed Brayton.

Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.

.

tags: [libertarian]  [2 Comments]

I Suppose I Should Write Something
Posted 14-Aug-2008 7:12 PM by jed [permalink]

Obviously, I haven’t been much in the mood for writing lately. Might be some transitions in life have me pre-occupied, or maybe I’m just temporarily fed up. The whole Vanderboegh kerfuffle left a bad taste in my mouth. And then there’s crap like this.

Gitmo on the Platte, showing the cages prepared in advance of the DNC in Denver, in case the poh-leece have to round up the dissidents. And …

“Some infringement on constitutional rights is OK” which I saw this morning, and other than getting me pissed off, had me wondering just how it is that someone with so little grasp of the rational thought process is holding public office. That’d be Mayor James Valley, who apparently has his tongue hard-wired to his knee, rather than his cerebral cortex, who said,

The citizens deserve peace, that some infringement on constitutional rights is OK and we have not violated anything as far as the Constitution.

One wonders if perhaps it’s the Constitution of Venezuela, or Iran, or some backwater tyrannical state he’s referring to. I guess that the ability to form words is enough to get a person elected these days. They don’t have to make any sense.

OTOH, the Highland Park tastes as good as it always has. Some things are still right in the world.

tags: [RKBA, abuse of power, blogging, idiots]  [2 Comments]

Constitution? Eh?
Posted 14-Aug-2008 4:58 PM by jed [permalink]

Attempted FIJA fails. Nice try though.

Pete, at Drug War Rant notes, A juror tries to question the legitimacy of drug laws. Short version: a juror sends a note to the judge asking how it is that Congress has the power to ban mere possession of drugs. Juror ends up getting replaced, and the gubmint gets its conviction.

See, because we can’t have people questioning the legitimacy of laws enacted by Congress. That’d result in … fewer laws? And that’d put public servants out of work, resulting in lower government payrolls, and then maybe even a tax decrease.

No, can’t have that.

tags: [drug war, libertarian]  [1 Comment]

NOBama. Heh
Posted 13-Aug-2008 6:34 PM by jed [permalink]

Yeah, this is as good a response to the Obama hand gesture as any.

tags: [funny, politics]  [No Comments]

Ryan’s Got a Blog Again
Posted 13-Aug-2008 5:51 PM by jed [permalink]

Ryan’s Blog — Ryan Horsely, of course. And of course his first post is about the Grand Opening of the NEW Red’s Trading Post!!

Monday August 18th will be the Grand Opening of Red’s Trading Post at our new location at 203 5th Ave South in Twin Falls. There will be Free Food, Prizes and most importantly the reps from FNH USA will be here.

No Ryan, most importantly, you’re back in business. Wish I could be there to enjoy it.

tags: [RKBA]  [No Comments]