So, if a law [e.g., a statute or treaty] be in opposition to the Constitution, if both the law and the Constitution apply to a particular case, so that the Court must either decide that case conformably to the law, disregarding the Constitution, or conformably to the Constitution, disregarding the law, the Court must determine which of these conflicting rules governs the case. This is of the very essence of judicial duty. If, then, the Courts are to regard the Constitution, and the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the Legislature, the Constitution, and not such ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both apply. — John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison ruling, 1803
Quote of the Day
Posted by daddybear71 on February 14, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/14/quote-of-the-day-102/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on February 13, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/13/todays-earworm-317/
More Blogs
Me no brain today, all stuffed with cotton. Go read good writers!
- Jay and Matt are absolutely correct – If we segment ourselves and only look out for our own personal interests, then we are simply asking that someone come along and take us down one notch at a time. We have to hang together, for we will surely hang separately.
- Michael Z. Williamson expands on something I quoted a while back. Those who demand that we stand up for their rights, and to whom we’ve given support, should be shoulder to shoulder with us now that our rights are being threatened. If they don’t respect our rights, even if they disagree with how we exercise them, why should we make the effort to defend theirs?
- Sean is making a list of gun companies that are refusing to do business with states that suppress gun rights. York Arms just crossed that line, and I hope they are far from the last.
- CJ gives us some information on PTSD from someone who is dealing with it. Ladies and gentlemen, if you need help, get help. We need all the good people we can get, and letting yourself be destroyed by this or even worse, hurting yourself or someone else, will take you away from your family, friends, and the rest of our tribe.
- B sends us to The Polemocist, who does an excellent job reasoning out why gun rights should not be a liberal or conservative issue, because we all depend on all of our rights.
- John Lilyea reminds me why I’m glad that the units I train with at Fort Knox use weapons that have been modified to make it impossible to fire real ammunition. Even the best checking will eventually miss something.
- Danger Room kicks over my giggle box not once, but twice!
Posted by daddybear71 on February 13, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/13/more-blogs/
Blogs Roundup
- Officer “Smith” gives a good run-down of the mass-killings that have happened in the United States in the past few decades, and how little those evil black rifles have contributed.
- OldNFO has found a White House petition I can put my support behind.
- Brigid lists out some amusing answers to the “Why do you need?” questions, although I’d have to see the sports bra she mentions in use before I’d pass judgement on it.
- Peter has some excellent advice for those who want to make their already uber-cool lever guns better.
- 58 Scout brings up some good points. Going back to “Yes, sir! Yes, sir! Two bags full!” is meaningless if the actual combat skills aren’t kept and honed.
Posted by daddybear71 on February 12, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/12/blogs-roundup-27/
Innocent people in Los Angeles have been shot at by police in California because the police thought they were Christopher Dorner, the man who has killed several people, including police officers, in the past week. Dorner has posted his grievances with the LAPD on-line, and promises to keep killing policemen and their families until he is stopped. A massive manhunt is underway and a large reward for his capture has been offered by the city of Los Angeles.
In these incidents, police have shot at people in vehicles that resemble Dorner’s truck, which is now known to have been driven up into the mountains, then abandoned and set on fire. Police maintain that the officers involved were justified in their actions because of the dangerous nature of the situation. Apparently being a slender Caucasian or a Hispanic grandmother makes it easy for you to be mixed up with a heavy-set man of African descent.
These police officers have abandoned their roles as enforcers of the law. Rather, they’ve decided that because some nutjob is making threats against LAPD, they have the power to be judge, jury, and executioner. Know your target and what’s behind it doesn’t come into play if what you’re shooting at doesn’t present a clear and present danger to you or other innocents. Even if Dorner was the person being shot at, if there isn’t a reason to believe that innocent life is in peril, then shooting at him isn’t justified.
Thanks to the policy of qualified immunity, they probably have very little to worry about. I sincerely doubt that a prosecutor will charge them, and if they are sued for their actions, even if they lose, the taxpayers will pick up the tab.
If the rest of us can’t be justified in preemptively murdering someone who scares us, then neither should the police. I want this whackjob locked away as much as everyone else, but shooting him on sight, and even worse, shooting anyone that the police think is him, is beyond the pale.
Posted by daddybear71 on February 11, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/11/6564/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on February 11, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/11/todays-earworm-316/
Thoughts on the Day
- It’s a sad state of affairs when you go to work before the doughnut shops are open.
- In related news, I’m out of decent coffee at the house.
- No, I’m not going to cut into my end-of-the-world stocks. This is a mess-up in grocery shopping, not the apocalypse.
- Being organized and efficient only helps if you use correct information. If you use incorrect information, being efficient and organized just means that you dig a hole that much quicker.
- Schadenfreude – The feeling you get when someone complains about having to do the really crappy thing that you told them they would have to do, but they discounted your advice and planned to do something else.
- Why must kindergarten teachers be so bloody cheerful on a Saturday morning?
- Today at the latest kindergarten preparatory meeting, we were told that Boo’s new school does not use the traditional methods for grouping children for learning.
- Apparently they’ve taken the prudent step of not roping the children into set study groups for each subject for the entire year, and try to tailor who works on what with whom based on everyone’s needs.
- When I was in kindergarten, we were all grouped together and organized by height and viciousness.
- It was a simple system, and worked for most kids, but heaven help you if you were short or easy-going.
- If we have one more orientation meeting for kindergarten, we will have officially done more planning for Boo’s move to a new school than I did for most of my deployments.
- I found the reason that the bathtub has been draining so slowly and the washing machine has been making those picturesque waterfalls in the basement.
- I won’t go into the gory details, but let’s just say that I’ve seen field mice without that much heft.
- Nap – A word used by another member of the family to describe what they want you to do while they use a power saw and a nail gun in the next room.
- Irish Woman and I are so romantic.
- I asked her if she wanted jewelry, flowers, or chocolate covered fruit for Valentines.
- She asked if I wanted alcohol, ammunition, or a new knife.
- She completes me.
Posted by daddybear71 on February 9, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/09/thoughts-on-the-day-95/
Overheard in the Living Room
Irish Woman, excitedly showing me the progress she’s made on her bathroom project – Oh! I got you something at $BIGBOXHARDWARE! It’s in my car. Let me run out there and get it.
Me, as I let her get outside of easy striking distance – Is it a blonde? I hope it’s a blonde! The $BIGBOXHARDWARE on the other side of town has a really nice one I’ve had my eye on for a long time.
Irish Woman – What?!?!?!
Fear not, I made my saving throw against death.
Posted by daddybear71 on February 8, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/08/overheard-in-the-living-room-17/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on February 8, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/08/todays-earworm-315/
Thoughts on the Day
- Irish Woman finally decided that enough was enough, convinced me to stay home from work, and got me off my butt and into the doc-in-the-box.
- I’ve only been sick since last Thursday. My immune system is just getting warmed up.
- Flu tests may violate the Hague Conventions.
- The doctor announced that I have the ick and should spend the rest of the day in bed.
- I figured the couch was good enough and besides, I can watch Sherlock Holmes on Netflix that way.
- If you put enough hot sauce in it, canned clam chowder is edible.
- You know, I’m getting tired of how every time some jerkoff commits some heinous act, the fact that they have military training is not only mentioned, but highlighted as a reason they’re especially dangerous.
- The military didn’t make me a jerk, I was that way before I got into the recruiter’s car to go to MEPPS.
- Not everyone who joined the military is a steely eyed, highly trained special warfare kind of dude. Most of us were just your average joe doing our job, which occasionally included some combat-type training.
- Intimating that because this dickhead has something special about him because he’s a veteran is like saying that the networking guy who murdered his wife will be hard to track on-line because he took a few programming classes in college.
- So, on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when our embassy in Cairo was violated and our consulate in Benghazi was in flames, with four American citizens being murdered, we are supposed to believe that either the President didn’t bother to reach out to his Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary didn’t think that it was noteworthy enough to reach out to the President to make sure he was informed of everything that was going on or to give him options.
- There is a third explanation, but no-one will ever have the means to find out if Panetta is lying. And to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if the amateurs who are playing jacks next to the nuclear button are just that incompetent.
- I’m not sure if I’m only just noticing this or if it’s something new, but I think Koshka is stalking the puppy. If I know my evil, psychotic Siamese, the puppy is in very real danger. Maybe he should get a restraining order?
- Walt Disney was an evil genius. We ordered a copy of Peter Pan the other day, and it just arrived. I popped it in as an after-school treat for Boo, and he was completely transfixed for the entire movie.
- It was released in 1953, when my mother was younger than he is now. Don’t tell me that some stories never get old.
- I’m not sure what Irish Woman has in mind, but the walls of my bathroom have lots of things sketched out in permanent marker.
- Either she’s summoning something, or I’m not even close to being done in there.
- There’s nothing like hearing a waterfall in the laundry room to get the old heart pumping.
Posted by daddybear71 on February 7, 2013
https://daddybearsden.com/2013/02/07/thoughts-on-the-day-94/
DaddyBear
