A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. — Time Enough For Love
30 Days of Heinlein – Day 8
Posted by daddybear71 on December 11, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/11/30-days-of-heinlein-day-8/
Today’s Earworm
This man is a genius.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 11, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/11/todays-earworm-79/
This Day In History
On December 11, 2006, the Mexican Drug War began when Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent in federal troops to quell drug violence.
Since then over 45,000 people, including police, civilians, and drug gang members, have been killed*. Our own government has admitted that it has allowed guns and money to flow across our southern border, ostensibly in order to find, fix, and finish drug cartels. Violence in Mexico has bled across the border into our southwestern states, including the death of our own citizens on multiple occasions.
And why is this all necessary?
From where I sit, all of this is happening because our government can’t stand to let adults destroy their own lives. This is prohibition on steroids, PCP, and Viagra with all of the smuggling, murder, corruption, and human suffering that goes along with it. In order to save us from our own bad choices, the United States government is willing to criminalize the voluntary use of intoxicants by adults.
I am still very negative on the recreational use of drugs, and if they were legalized tomorrow, I would not use them myself and would stomp a mudhole in anyone who tried to give them to my children. I’m not going to play the old canard that heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine are no deadlier than alcohol or nicotine. They’re not, and anyone who tells you different is being less than truthful. I’m also not convinced that using cannabis is as safe as smoking tobacco or having a drink. But I’ve come to believe that the potential social ills that legal use of these drugs could bring would pale in comparison to the social ills that prohibition has brought to us in the past 40 years.
Yes, there will be addicts who get high and hurt others. There will be those who neglect their children because they’re too baked to care. There will be overdoses and diseases that will have to be treated. But we already have those things, and we will have them no matter how much blood, sweat, and treasure we pour into programs to keep them from getting their personal drug of choice. We are also dealing with a shooting war on our southern border, a huge government bureaucracy that arbitrarily decides what is a legal intoxicant, what is medicine, and what is forbidden for any use whatsoever, and other government agencies that justify further and further encroachments into our rights in the name of keeping us sober.
If nothing changes, either by drastically reducing the demand for the drugs smuggled into our country through Mexico or by taking away the profit motive of the cartels by legalizing their product, then in five years we will be marking the 10 year mark of a civil war in Mexico, with probably over 100,000 people dead, and violence splashing well into our own territory. Prohibition didn’t work in the 1920’s, and it’s been a disaster this time. I just hope we wake up to that fact before we do ever more serious damage to our republic because we can’t stand to let adults make mistakes.
*I’m not going to shed too many tears over the death of criminals, but I do know that when soldiers and gang members shoot at each other or gang members start murdering each other, a lot of people who just want to live their life end up dead along with the gang bangers.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 11, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/11/this-day-in-history/
Today’s Earworm
I need a break from Christmas Carols.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 11, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/11/todays-earworm-80/
Advice for Jennifer
Jennifer is looking for a little advice on a .22 pistol or revolver.
Her choices seem to be a Browning Buckmark, a Ruger 22/45, or a S&W 617.
My advice was to also consider a higher-end S&W 22A1, but she’s asking for a wider set of opinions.
So if you’ve got a few minutes, go on over and give her the benefit of your opinion.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 11, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/11/advice-for-jennifer/
Quote of the Day
There’s a lesson here. If anyone is willing to raise a hand to you in a relationship, you should assume that they will kill you if they get a chance to. The only acceptable reason to strike another person is self defense. That goes double if you are in a relationship with them. A person who will hit you in a relationship has already demonstrated that they don’t respect you. Get out, get away, and never come back. You are worth more than that.
Sean over at An NC Gun Blog. He makes an excellent point about domestic violence. The first part of dealing with an abusive partner is to get them out of your life. The next part is to protect yourself. No person has the right to raise a hand to another except to defend, and no person has a responsibility to take a beating or worse because they care about the attacker.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 10, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/10/quote-of-the-day-35/
30 Days of Heinlein – Day 7
There is no such thing as luck; there is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe. — Have Space Suit – Will Travel
Posted by daddybear71 on December 10, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/10/30-days-of-heinlein-day-7/
Movie List
Like I mentioned, BRM has a good list from NPR about the top ‘cult’ movies of all time. Although what makes a movie ‘cult’ is open to interpretation, but who am I to argue?
So here we go. The ones I’ve seen are underlined.
2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, 1968 The book was better.
Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988
Angel of Vengeance, Abel Ferrara, 1981
Bad Taste, Peter Jackson, 1987
Baise-moi, Virginie Despentes, Coralie Trinh Thi, 2000
Begotten, E. Elias Merhige, 1991
Behind the Green Door, Artie Mitchell, Jim Mitchell, 1972
La belle et la bête, Jean Cocteau, 1946
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Russ Meyer, 1970
The Big Lebowski, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1998 Honestly, a good movie, but I’ve never understood what all the fuss was about
Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, 1982 The first “sci-fi” movie I ever watched without a parent.
Blue Sunshine, Jeff Lieberman, 1978
Brazil, Terry Gilliam, 1985
Bride of Frankenstein, James Whale, 1935 Saw it on a real movie screen in a theater that probably showed it during its first run. Just can’t beat watching classics the way they were meant to be seen.
The Brood, David Cronenberg, 1979
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Robert Wiene, 1920
Café Flesh, Stephen Sayadian, 1982
Cannibal Holocaust, Ruggero Deodato, 1979
Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, 1942 Saw it on a real movie screen in a theater that probably showed it during its first run. Just can’t beat watching classics the way they were meant to be seen.
Un chien andalou, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí,1928
Coffy, Jack Hill, 1973
Daughters of Darkness, Harry Kümel, 1971
Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero, 1978
Deadly Weapons, Doris Wishman, 1974
Debbie Does Dallas, Jim Clark, 1978
Deep Red, Dario Argento, 1975
Dirty Dancing, Emile Ardolino, 1987 Yes, I went to high school in the late 1980’s. Yes, I had a girlfriend. Yes, I got dragged to this gilded turd. On the flip side, it made for a really good excuse to dance with said girlfriend in a way what would normally have gotten me slapped.
Django, Sergio Corbucci, 1966
Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly, 2001
Don’t Torture a Duckling, Lucio Fulci, 1972
Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton, 1990 Saw this one as a double feature with Rocky Horror one Saturday night. Girlie Bear recently watched it for the first time, and pronounced it a wonderful love story. I now have fear about my future son-in-law.
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, Aristide Massaccesi, 1977
Emmanuelle, Just Jaeckin, 1974
Enter the Dragon, Robert Clouse, 1973
Eraserhead, David Lynch, 1977
The Evil Dead, Sam Raimi, 1981
Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999 I tried, I really did, but it just bored me.
Flaming Creatures, Jack Smith, 1963
Freak Orlando, Ulrike Ottinger, 1981
Freaks, Tod Browning, 1932
Ginger Snaps, John Fawcett, 2000
The Gods Must Be Crazy, Jamie Uys, 1981
Godzilla, Ishirô Honda, 1954
The Harder They Come, Perry Henzell, 1972
Harold and Maude, Hal Ashby, 1971
Häxan, Benjamin Christensen, 1922
Hellraiser, Clive Barker, 1987 A great date movie, if the point of your date is to have the girl in your lap with her head buried in your shoulder.
The Holy Mountain, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973
The House with the Laughing Windows, Pupi Avati, 1976
I Walked with a Zombie, Jacques Tourneur, 1943
Ichi the Killer, Takashi Miike, 2001
In Bruges, Martin McDonagh, 2008
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don Siegel, 1956
Invocation of My Demon Brother, Kenneth Anger, 1969
It’s a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra, 1946
The Killer, John Woo, 1989
Lady Terminator, H. Tjut Djalil, 1988
The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson, 2001–3
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, George Miller, 1981
Man Bites Dog, Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde, 1992
Manos, the Hands of Fate, Harold P. Warren, 1966
The Masque of the Red Death, Roger Corman, 1964
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, 1975
Near Dark, Kathryn Bigelow, 1987
Nekromantik, Jörg Buttgereit, 1987
Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero, 1968
Pink Flamingos, John Waters, 1972
Piranha, Joe Dante, 1978
Plan 9 from Outer Space, Ed Wood, Jr, 1959
Re-Animator, Stuart Gordon, 1985
Reefer Madness, Louis Gasnier, 1936
Repo Man, Alex Cox, 1984
Ringu, Hideo Nakata, 1998
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jim Sharman, 1975 I admit nothing. Absolutely Nothing!
Rome Armed to the Teeth, Umberto Lenzi, 1976
The Room, Tommy Wiseau, 2003
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975
She Killed in Ecstasy, Jesús Franco, 1971
Showgirls, Paul Verhoeven, 1995 The Good Feel movie of the year. Otherwise, a waste of good celluloid and silicone.
Soul Vengeance, Jamaa Fanaka, 1975
The Sound of Music, Robert Wise, 1965 Every Bloody Year Since I Can Remember. Made me not want to visit Salzburg.
Star Wars, George Lucas, 1977–2005
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Todd Haynes, 1988
Suspiria, Dario Argento, 1977
Tank Girl, Rachel Talalay, 1995 In a theater in Helsinki, drunk as a monkey, with Finnish subtitles. Need to watch it again sometime because for the life of me, I don’t remember much.
Tetsuo, Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe Hooper, 1974
This Is Spınal Tap, Rob Reiner, 1984
Thriller: A Cruel Picture, Bo Arne Vibenius, 1974
Thundercrack!, Curt McDowell, 1975
El Topo, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970
The Toxic Avenger, Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman, 1984
Two-Lane Blacktop, Monte Hellman, 1971
Two Thousand Maniacs!, Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1964
The Vanishing, George Sluizer, 1988
Videodrome, David Cronenberg, 1983
The Warriors, Walter Hill, 1979
Witchfinder General, Michael Reeves, 1968
Withnail & I, Bruce Robinson, 1987
The Wizard of Oz, Victor Fleming, 1939 One of my favorites. Used to count the days until it would come on TV, sponsored by Dunkin Donuts Munchkins. Now have it on DVD and watch it as often as I want to.
So, what about all of y’all?
Posted by daddybear71 on December 10, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/10/movie-list/
Covert War With Iran
Fox News is speculating that the United States has been conducting a covert war of intelligence, sabotage, and assassination against Iran. They point out Stuxnet, the recent loss of a surveillance drone over Iran, explosions at Iranian military and nuclear facilities, and the killings of Iranian scientific and military personnel connected with missile and nuclear weapons research.
Now, I think it’s pretty clear how I feel about Iran. If we’re in a covert war against them, I see it as an escalation of the war they’ve been fighting against us since 1979. Iran and the United States have been fighting each other through proxies for 30 years, and now it appears that things might be getting more sticky.
One question though: Is this campaign, if indeed we are flying surveillance aircraft into Iranian airspace, attacking their infrastructure, and killing their citizens, no matter how justified it is, legal?
Let’s work from the position that we are indeed attacking Iran through non-traditional means. I’m assuming that President Obama, if not President Bush, gave permission for such missions to occur. Does the President have the power to order the military to commit acts of war without an authorization from Congress? Remember, the power to declare war rests with the legislative branch, not the executive. If the President is indeed prosecuting a shadow war against Iran, then what piece of legislation can he point to in order to cover his butt? Not going to argue that Iran has been committing acts of war against us for decades, because they have. But we hold ourselves to a higher standard than that to which we hold our adversaries. We are a nation of laws, and the law states that before the President can start a war, he must go to Congress for authorization.
We also have to ask, will blowing up a couple of installations and killing some key personnel be enough to slow down Iran’s weapons programs enough for other means to dissuade them from going down that path? I guess the question could be posed this way: Could damaging Oak Ridge and Los Alamos, along with killing Oppenheimer and some of his top scientists and engineers have been enough to prevent the United States from developing the atomic bomb in time for it to be useful against Japan in 1945?
If not, then are we willing to take the next step in order to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them? Are we willing to move away from low-level sabotage and assassination and send in large formations of troops, ships, and aircraft to either occupy Iran or to damage their capability to do this research to the point where they have to start over from square one? Is that even possible?
All of this is conjecture, of course. It’s quite possible that the explosions and deaths in Iran in the past few months have really been accidents that can occur when you do research on high explosives and solid fuel rockets. You just have to look at our own early attempts to put a rocket into orbit to see how catastrophically things can fail. Or it could be another country such as Israel that is conducting covert attacks in Iran, and we’re just providing intelligence and other support.
But if the United States truly is conducting a low-level war against Iran, either independently or in concert with other nations, then the President needs to make sure that the representatives of the people are in on the plan and give their legislative approval for it. He also needs to do a gut check to make sure that if the current strategy, whatever that may be, doesn’t meet the goals set out before committing to violating the sovereignty of another country, then he is willing to either admit defeat and deal with the consequences, or take the attacks to the next level and deal with those consequences.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 10, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/10/covert-war-with-iran/
Blogs Roundup
Borepatch does an excellent job laying out the options available to our European cousins.
Big Hollywood discusses how the Red Cross is worried that the violence in video games might have an impact in war crimes.
JayG is going to be doing a test and evaluation of the Ruger LCR. In the words of the Joker: Where does he get such wonderful toys?
Lawyer does his best to make me feel my years.
Nancy R. shares a bit of her family history with us, and shows us how wicked smart our forebears could be. If all the modern conveniences were to go away tomorrow, how long would it take for someone to figure out how to do something like that?
Flopping Aces wins the “DaddyBear Should Buy More Kleenex” award for the day.
BRM is starting another internet meme which looks interesting and might fuel some mid-winter movie watching at Case de Oso.
OldNFO has a rather comical conversation with a couple of hipsters.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 10, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/10/blogs-roundup-10/
DaddyBear
