- From the “And The Band Played On” Department – The House of Representatives narrowly defeated an amendment to defense appropriation legislation that would have stripped funding from the NSA’s program of domestic surveillance. You’ll recall that the NSA has worked with technology and telecommunications companies to vacuum up data on all communications in the United States, and some, including me, call that an eggregious violation of the public’s trust. Now that we know which of our representatives are not with us, I look forward to someone in the Senate introducing a similar amendment to the legislation so we can know who in that august body stands on the side of the people and who stands on the side of an over-arching government surveillance state.
- From the “Tuning Up the Fiddle” Department – The city council of Detroit, which recently became the largest city in U.S. history to declare bankruptcy, took a good chunk of its time in what most people would consider a crisis to draft, debate, and pass a resolution about the Martin-Zimmerman case in Florida. Apparently fiddling while Detroit burns is considered a civic virtue in the Motor City. In related news, the city council is putting off discussion of how they’re going to keep the city from imploding under the pressure of decades of mismanagement in favor of debating great taste versus less filling, Helvetica versus Comic Sans, and kerosene versus gasoline as an accelerant in burning down abandoned homes at Halloweentime.
- From the “Only Ones” Department – A panel in Illinois, which is looking into allegations that members of the Chicago police department coerced and tortured confessions out of suspects in murder cases, has announced that several more people have been found to be convicted and imprisoned based on evidence gained through beatings and intimidation. Most troubling to me is the propensity of these ‘peace officers’ to attack and exploit the mentally ill. It is my sincere hope that the bottom of this particular cesspool is successfully plumbed, and that the people involved get justice, either by being released from prison due to police misconduct, or being thrown into prison for that misconduct.
- From the “Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste” Department – Ohio governor Kasich is blaming the murders of women, whose bodies were recently found in Cleveland, on ‘poverty’. You see, apparently when you have poor people, people get murdered and buried in a shallow grave wrapped in a plastic sheet. It can’t be the fault of the piece of crap that killed these poor women, can it? This wretched urchin couldn’t control himself, being poor himself. So of course he stalked, killed, defiled, and discarded these people to work out his issues brought about by the abject ‘poverty’ of the American inner city. I would remind the good governor that what we call poverty is considered unthinkable luxury by a huge portion of the human population, and that there have been poor people since there have been people, and I haven’t heard of epidemics of serial killers in the slums of Rome. Then again, they had better ways of dealing with mad dogs who slaughtered young women in Rome, so maybe they were just better at this than we are.
- From the “Shrinkage” Department – Former congressman Anthony Weiner has lost his impressive lead in the campaign to become the next mayor of New York City after revealing that he continued the scurilous behavior of sending nude pictures to women other than his wife even after being driven from office. It’s not often that I agree with Nancy Pelosi on anything, but she hit it on the head when she said “The conduct of some of these people that we’re talking about here is reprehensible”. I’m wondering what excuse Weiner will trot out this time to explain his behavior and abject stupidity. Apparently “The Internet is forever” means nothing to this twit.
- From the “Four Rules” Department – A man in England was killed recently when the zipper pull of his boot caught the trigger of his rifle and caused it to fire. Remember, ladies and gentlemen, all it takes is a moment of inattention to cause tragedy. Keep stuff, including fingers, away from the trigger, and be careful to not let the muzzle of a weapon go across anything you don’t want shot.
- From the “Sauce for the Gander” Department – A man in California has pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of an elderly man in a traffic accident. What makes this a novel situation is that the death was not caused by a motorist, but rather by a cyclist. The cyclist admits that he struck the man, but maintains that the light was yellow when he entered the intersection. Having, at several points in my life, used a bicycle as a primary means of transport, it makes me cringe when I see cyclists blow through lights or stop signs, fail to signal, or cut between cars in traffic or through a crowd of pedestrians. If you want to be respected in the same manner as those who use powered vehicles, you have to follow the laws of the road and accept responsibility when called out for not doing so.
- From the “What Caliber?” Department – A CNN reporter misspoke the other day and avowed that people had hunted dildos to extinction as an example of our impact on the environment. He quickly corrected himself, and changed his assertion that we had hunted the contraceptive sponge out of existence.
News Roundup
Posted by daddybear71 on July 26, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/26/news-roundup-198/
Today’s Earworm
I really need to go to the beach for a decade or two.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 25, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/25/todays-earworm-396/
Thoughts on the Day
- Today was one of those days where I needed someone to stop me from cutting the blue wire.
- “Cut the blue wire that reaches from the detonator to the blasting cap” snip, turn page “after removing the batteries from the circuit.”
- We may have to clear out the frogs in the big pond. One of them has tasted human flesh.
- Irish Woman is fine, but she apparently screamed like a school girl when that thing bit her while she was cleaning out the pump and filter.
- I took the stuff for the CARE package over to my friend’s house for packing and shipping. She is so thrilled and wanted me to thank everyone who contributed. I’ll be posting pics once she’s got it all boxed up.
- Not sure what’s going on down the street, but one of my neighbors is either shooting .22’s at night or they’re using up some fireworks.
- Nope, it’s fireworks. Yet another reason to move where the nearest human being is miles away.
- It’s a beautiful evening here tonight. Nothing beats sitting in your living room, windows open, gentle breeze from the ceiling fan, and listening to millions of tree frogs try to find a mate.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 24, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/24/thoughts-on-the-day-153/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on July 24, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/24/todays-earworm-395/
Providing for the Future
How many of you have attended a hunter’s safety course or had their kids attend a gun safety program? Maybe your child participates in a shooting team at school or an after-school organization. Maybe you’ve attended a shooting clinic or gone to a nice, well-built and run shooting range? Chances are, if you’ve done these things or a myriad of others, the NRA has helped to make that possible. In a lot of ways, the NRA Foundation works to provide the resources we need now so that we and our children can enjoy the shooting sports in the future.
One of the ways that the NRA Foundation raises funds for these and other programs is through the Friends of the NRA program. The FNRA is basically a coalition of local groups that put together fund-raising activities that fund firearms education, youth shooting teams, and many other activities that help to ensure the longevity of the shooting sports. Half the money raised by the groups in a given state are guaranteed to be spent in that state through grants, while the other half is used to fund activities with a more national scope.
In Louisville, the local FNRA group has been busy setting up their annual banquet, but they’ve also been holding drawings for guns and gear, as well as manning a “Wall of Guns” booth at the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot. The drawings and such are an important way to raise money for the program, but the big-ticket item is the annual banquet. For a relatively low cost, you get a good dinner, entertainment, access to a silent auction and drawings, and get to have a great time. The bonus is that all of the proceeds go to the Friends of the NRA, with at least half of it being spent right here in the Commonwealth. You can buy individual tickets, but there are usually great deals on group packages, where you get admitted to the banquet, tickets for the games and silent auction, and possibly even a bonus such as a firearm or other gear along with it. If you’re not close to Louisville, there are FNRA events all over the country, so I’m pretty certain there’s a banquet somewhere near you..
So, if you’re of a mind to have a good time, take a chance on getting some great guns and gear, and want to help out a good cause, please buy yourself a ticket or three to the banquets, buy some drawing tickets, and help the Friends of the NRA pay for programs that plant the seeds of our future in the shooting sports. Even better: contact your local committee and get involved.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 24, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/24/providing-for-the-future/
Thoughts on the Day
- You know, it may seem strange when our dinner-table conversation consisted of a discussion on the differences between Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukoshima, the history of the Manhattan Project, and the difference between an implosion and a gun-type nuclear weapon, but in this house, it’s not.
- I started this morning out not working this weekend, then I was, then I might not be, then I might be, then I learned that I will get the weekend off.
- That condition is subject to change at any moment, up to and including sometime during the weekend.
- Project planning status Gumby achieved – Flexible, but not limp.
- There are few things I like to eat more than a buttermilk biscuit with Irish Woman’s strawberry margarita jam.
- That reminds me. I need to buy more Cointreau.
- Whoever signed Boo up to get the “Young Explorers” catalog, I will find you, and I will cut you.
- It should have been titled “The Catalog of Annoying Toys That No Parent In Their Right Mind Would Buy”.
- Note to self – The object of the exercise was to blanch and peel the skin from the peaches, not to peel and core my left middle finger.
- Of course I sharpened the knife before I started. That’s why I didn’t feel it until I had pretty much encircled my finger with a line of red.
- I never claimed to be a smart man.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 23, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/23/thoughts-on-the-day-152/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on July 23, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/23/todays-earworm-394/
Thoughts on the Day
- There may be a reason why 14-year-old girls aren’t in charge of planning much.
- I need to be downtown at 7:30 tomorrow morning
- No wait, I think that’s wrong
- Now I need to be at the school at 6:30, and we’ll be back around 4.
- And I forgot to tell them I had a prior commitment on Friday.
- Not sure what’s going on with Moonshine lately, but no stick of butter or shoe left unattended is safe.
- Not sure how we’re going to do 25 hours worth of work in 18 hours in a couple of weekends, but I’m sure we’ll muddle on through.
- I am DaddyBear, Master of Project Planning!
- We’ve already put up more pickles than we did last year, and the cucumber patch is just now starting to become plentiful.
- Irish Woman picked about a bushel of peaches tonight, and the tree is still laden with fruit that’s almost ready.
- mmmmm, peach jam.
- The applesauce we made a few weeks ago is quite tasty a couple of weeks after canning. I hope it’s as good in a few months.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 22, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/22/thoughts-on-the-day-151/
Blogs Roundup
- With a H/T to Drang – This is a touching story of a young woman who has escaped a horrible situation, and the comments have a good discussion of how women are treated in the Islamic world.
- Robb does an excellent job concentrating the entire gunnie internet down into a few cogent remarks.
- Michael Z. Williamson gives a good lesson on how to act, especially in environments that are supposed to be open and friendly.
- Borepatch compares today’s cultural and political mess with how Europe looked during the Reformation. I can only hope we can find a solution to our problems without getting as soaked in blood as our Catholic and Protestant forebears.
- BRM has a new book out, and I heartily recommend it. I can’t wait for further installments.
- Brigid gives us yet another example of how she is one of the better writers out there.
- Auntie J. brought a smile to this old curmudgeon’s face with good memories of the first time Little Bear called me “Daddy”.
- Massad Ayoob is putting out an excellent series about the Zimmerman-Martin case from his expert perspective.
- Weer’d strikes gold, not once, but twice!
Posted by daddybear71 on July 21, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/21/blogs-roundup-36/
Today’s Earworm
The President of the United States, the Attorney General, prominent black ‘leaders’, the Black Panther Party, the NAACP, and every dimwit on the street who doesn’t take the time to look at the facts are calling for George Zimmerman’s head, either in the courts or in the streets.
This seemed appropriate, and would have been familiar to Mr. Zimmerman’s black grandparent.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 19, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/07/19/todays-earworm-393/
DaddyBear
DaddyBear’s Den 