I hear that lately the “weapon of choice” among criminals and terrorists is the Multiple-Launch Solid-Fueled Kinetic-Energy-Warhead Ballistic Missile System. No word yet on whether Congress is considering a ban.

A while back, I was pretty critical of one Michael Zitz. In fact here’s a summary. Turns out, he is the bigger man because he stated that an article of his may have contained some factual errors. Yes, he finally did the noble thing and admitted that his research may have been mistaken and he thanked me for my time.

No, I jest. He did no such thing. He left more childish comments and attacked me personally again. He has a history of saying dumb things. Says the ever mature Michael Zitz:

Just to show how pathetic you are, Ace, I’ve received one email generated by your ramblings in the three weeks since you posted this.

But you did get the message? Right? Who’s pathetic? The guy with a column who feels the need to come onto my pathetic little website, fail to prove me wrong, and point out that my pathetic little website is a pathetic little website; or me, the guy with the pathetic little website. I should point out that on Google’s ranking system, my site ranks 5 out of 10, as does the site that Michael Zitz works for. I score the same in Google ranks as his employer? Not bad for a pathetic little website.

And, my, my. Did you make a mistake? I guess your Google search produces different results from mine.

It’s been three weeks since I posted the link and three weeks ago I was the number one google for Michael Zitz. After this post, I’m sure I’ll be back up there again in a week. But notice that unlike Michael Zitz, I addressed the issue. On a related note, in October of 2003, I was the number one google for spiked bracelets but that has changed too. Google’s data changes all the time.

How about an apology for your lack of attention to detail, Mr. Media Watchdork?

Dork? Nice, coming from a professional writer who is known to the public. No apology needed. I did give an explanation (i.e., google changes searches all the time), which is better than you have when confronted with your own inadequacies.

And about your attention to detail: Before, I thought that you were ignorant and merely responded poorly to criticism. Now that we’ve had a few exchanges, I realize that you must be aware of the factual inaccuracies and are choosing not to address them. Therefore, you are a liar.

In fact, to continue with the theme of posting his email, which I don’t really do because I think swarms of people will email him (though I am disappointed only one of you did), I do so on the off chance I might be heard, which happened. But email him if you must, I will:

Email Michael Zitz.

And I like the phrase Media Watchdork, I think I’ll use it.

I saw this on Rebecca Blood’s site. It’s a rather old piece from Harper’s titled On the Uses of a Liberal Education.

It’s a long read, but I found it very interesting. It describes, as Blood puts it, how “New York journalist Earl Shorris developed the Clemente Course in the Humanities, designed to use the classical liberal arts education to bring equity to the economically disadvantaged.” Shorris describes his motivation thus:

Numerous forces–hunger, isolation, illness, landlords, police, abuse, neighbors, drugs, criminals, and racism, among many others–exert themselves on the poor at all times and enclose them, making up a “surround of force” from which, it seems, they cannot escape. I had come to understand that this was what kept the poor from being political and that the absence of politics in their lives was what kept them poor. I don’t mean “political” in the sense of voting in an election but in the way Thucydides used the word: to mean activity with other people at every level, from the family to the neighborhood to the broader community to the city-state.

His solution: teach them Humanities: “the study of human constructs and concerns, which has been the source of reflection for the secular world since the Greeks first stepped back from nature to experience wonder at what they beheld. If the political life was the way out of poverty, the humanities provided an entrance to reflection and the political life.”

He puts together a course, bringing in Real Life Professors, to teach to ex-convicts, single mothers, drug-abusers, and AIDS victims. They read Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides. They read poetry, visit museums, watch slide shows of great art works. And it works:

One Saturday morning in January, David Howell telephoned me at home [about a dispute with a co-worker].

“Mr. Shores, she made me so mad, I wanted to smack her up against the wall. I tried to talk to some friends to calm myself down a little, but nobody was around.”

“And what did you do?” I asked, fearing this was his one telephone call from the city jail.

“Mr. Shores, I asked myself, ‘What would Socrates do?'”

David Howell had reasoned that his co-worker’s envy was not his problem after all, and he had dropped his rage.
…
In the last meeting before graduation, the Clemente students answered the same set of questions they’d answered at orientation. Dr. Inclan found that the students’ self-esteem and their abilities to divine and solve problems had significantly increased; their use of verbal aggression as a tactic for resolving conflicts had significantly decreased. And they all had notably more appreciation for the concepts of benevolence, spirituality, universalism, and collectivism.

It cost about $2,000 for a student to attend the Clemente Course. Compared with unemployment, welfare, or prison, the humanities are a bargain.

Now, it’s almost a cliche to gripe about the “state of our schools,” so I won’t do that.

Step 1: Say something irretrievably stupid and offensive.

Step 2: Wait for the outrage.

Step 3: Rejoice as you are suddenly relevant again.

Turns out that story about us poor Americans choosing between food and gas was made up:

The Associated Press reported that financially pressed consumers were willing to spend less on food in order to pay for gasoline, according to a survey by the Food Marketing Institute. The institute’s report said that high oil prices, both at the pump and for home heating, were depressing consumers’ ability to spend more, but did not specify where that added spending would have occurred. The institute said it had no evidence that consumers were choosing to spend less for food in order to pay for gasoline.

Ravenwood tells me that I’m a terrorist. That is seriously ridiculous.

Rodger found a beauty.

Boortz is reporting that some military persons are stating that some of the torture images (this time of British troops doing the torturing) may be fake:

the pictures have all sorts of inconsistencies in them. Military experts say the SA80 rifle shown in the images was not issued to British soldiers currently serving in Iraq. Strike one. They also say the alleged captive’s shirt depicts the pre-1988 Iraqi flag, and is too clean to be that old. Strike two. And what about the location of the photos? It looks like they were taken inside of a Bedford truck, which, you guessed it, is not being used by British forces in Iraq. Strike three. The conclusion: the pictures are fakes. Somebody made it all up.

Any takers on the life expectancy of Playgirl’s proposed adult channel that targets women? My guess is not that long.

Did you know Dennis I’m so moonbatty I make Nader look middle-of-the-road Kucinich is still campaigning? If not, don’t feel bad. No one else did either.

Remember, we anonymous bloggers have no credibility but it’s OK for a fairly prominent newspaper to spew forth unreasoned and unsupportable arguments to further an agenda. They just call it an editorial:

The law, which is set to expire Sept. 13, was put in place following a 1993 incident in which an unhappy client burst into a law office at 101 California St. Armed with two assault weapons, he killed eight people and wounded six others.

Those two assault weapon were Tec DC9s, which are 9MM handguns. Would they have felt better if he had used a couple of Glocks?

Just a few weeks ago, young San Francisco police Officer Isaac Espinoza was shot to death by a killer with an AK-47 rifle.

But we have the assault weapons ban in place now and still someone was killed with an AK-47?

Opponents often portray the ban as a sweeping infringement on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, but in fact the legislation affects a very limited number of weapons. Most are useless for hunting and too dangerous for home defense, and some are not even accurate enough to make for good target shooting.

… the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. makes no reference to sweeping infringements. It says shall not be infringed. The legislation affects no weapons, it affects the features some weapons can have. The second amendment has nothing to do with hunting.

This bill does not prohibit those weapons that might arguably be most useful for defending a person or a home; it does not affect the guns sought after by the vast majority of reasonable hunters and target sportsmen; and the precautions it requires of retailers are minor, considering the potential for destruction and loss of life such guns represent in the wrong hands.

New strategy for the anti-gunners, minimizing the impact. Remember, DiFi said that if she could have gotten 51 votes she’d have told Mr. and Mrs. America to turn them all in. And target sportsmen use M1As and AR15s in competition shooting, these weapons’ allowed aesthetic features are affected by the ban. And these guns are no more dangerous than comparable hunting rifles. A Ruger Mini 14 is functionally identical to an AR15 (same ammunition, semiautomatic, and same magazine capacity) but one is banned and not the other.

In reality, the assault weapons ban asks gun makers, sellers and purchasers to shoulder a very slight burden of responsibility in exchange for a potentially very large benefit for public safety.

Continuing with the theme of minimizing the impacts of the ban, it should be noted that slight burden is sacrificing your rights. There has been no evidence to suggest the current Assault Weapons Ban has affected crime at all. Gun crime has been on the decrease for a while and these weapons were used in less than one half of one percent of crimes.

The anti-gunners are trying to put a reasonable face on the legislation. They’re saying C’mon, it’s just a little gun control. This is an attempt to keep the foot in the proverbial door. Do not be fooled.

I guess it’s going to take someone actually finding one and using it in a hijacking before these instances become a big deal.

The VPC held a press event that had, uhm, only a few people. It was for federal legislation to ban 50 calibers. I thought it was funny.

Here’s an update to the story on exploding Glocks I covered here and here.

Keep your finger off the trigger (warning: Mrs. Bubba says I should warn people that link may be inappropriate) unless you’re ready to shoot. That is a definite no-no!

Des Moines Register:

The gun was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The gun, a concealed .32-caliber handgun, was brought by a guest to a party at Cooper’s home to celebrate the end of the spring soccer season.

The gun was pulled when the guest was questioned about some missing shot glasses.

The gun introduced violence into the dispute. The gun provided the means for murder.

Wow. A gun did all that by itself? No blame for the person pulling the trigger. Nancy Clark, the reporter (and I use that term loosely), is an idiot. Seriously, to paraphrase Archie Bunker: Would you feel better if she was pushed out the window?

But there’s more lunacy from the anti-gun fanatics:

I don’t know about you, but I am glad that at least someone appreciates the easy availability of guns in America.

I mean, it’s too bad that person happens to be Osama Bin Laden. But a fan is a fan, right?

In the Al Qaeda training manual, it says, “In the U.S. it’s legal to own certain types of firearms. Attain an assault rifle legally, preferably an AK-47 or variations.”

Thanks for the plug, Ossie. Buy American!

AK47s are not readily available in the US and haven’t been for a few decades. Strangely, box cutters are. The attempt at scaremongering to push an agenda is unbelievable.

More:

The fact is, Congress voted to outlaw the sale of semiautomatic assault weapons back in 1994.

No, it didn’t. It voted to restrict the features some semiautomatic rifles have. None of those features impact the rifle’s lethality. Her article contains a few other factual inaccuracies as well.

It’s a good thing Lenore Skenazy is cute because her ability to get the facts straight and reach conclusions is questionable.

Thanks to Jay because MT Blacklist has been working some major overtime in the last couple of days.

I have speculated in the past that television crime drama, in addition to public schools, are indoctrinating Americans to believe certain things. I don’t think it is intentional but it definitely is the result of something cultural. Regardless, in December 2002, I wrote using the example of CSI Miami:

It’s no wonder that the citizens of our country aren’t more upset by violations of our civil rights since the masses are shown these violations in our popular television programs. What’s actually worse is that these shows actually make these violations seem OK. I mean, who wants to see a child murderer go free? The cops did the right thing here. They caught the bad guy (actually, in the show the guy arrested didn’t turn out to be the perpetrator). Who cares if they threw civil liberties to the wind! They got their man! And this is perfectly acceptable.

I think the real kicker is that they could have had these scenes with no mention of ‘rights.’ Random Guy#2 could have asked ‘so, we’re free to go?’ and the cop could have just said ‘no.’ But the show actually brought it to our attention that the perps had rights and that the cops violated them. Quite curious if you ask me.

I also noted that kid’s aren’t being taught their rights at school. And H&HH wrote about Judging Amy abhorring freedom a while back.

It continues. The Mrs. had TiVoed an episode of Third Watch (a program she loves but I don’t particularly like). One of the issues in the show was that Male Police Officer was off duty and was robbed at gunpoint. Male Police Officer apparently drew his weapon and robbed his robber. Cool, I think, until Male Police Officer has his confessional with Female Police Officer. He tells her about it and she tells him that it’s wrong for him to do that. It is wrong for him to rob the robber. Fair enough. But then he says (and I am paraphrasing):

I’m not gonna take that like some regular citizen!

What? Regular citizens should just take it? And you’re OK with that? We’re different? I’m not sure what city Third Watch takes place in, but it’s probably New York (since roughly 90% of all TV shows happen there. Knoxville is probably not an exciting place to base a sitcom on – there are other cities in this nation, you know). And in New York, only the cops, criminals, and rich people carry guns (DeNiro’s got a permit, ya know). TV is (though not intentionally) telling us that if you’re robbed, you’re powerless. Is it possibly subliminally telling citizens to arm themselves? No. Just that you’re powerless and you’re different from police. You can’t defend yourself but a policeman can.

Kim is asking some questions about guns (more like a survey). Though I agree with Kim’s politics on guns, when it comes to guns we like, we couldn’t be more different.

For example, look at my arsenal here. Notice anything? No wood. Lots of plastic, K coat covered steal, and aluminum. Don’t like wood. It’s an aesthetic thing, I suppose. Regardless, to answer his questions:

1 – If you could only have one handgun, which would it be?

Requirements: reliable, durable, accurate, concealable and adequate stopping power. Choice: Glock 30 (which I have). While Sigs are my favorite guns, I have to go with the Glock in terms of ruggedness. Unlike comparable Sig 45s, the Glock also has a ten round magazine. A compact, accurate, reliable 45ACP. And a ton of after market products.

2 – Ditto for a rifle

While currently my rifle’s are an AR15 and 10/22, if I had to choose only one, it would be a Springfield M1A Scout. Respectable caliber, the barrel is the right size (at 18 inches, it’s not too small to impair accuracy and not too big to affect versatility). Parts and ammo are cheap and plentiful from military surplus.

3 – If you were told you could only drive one car or truck for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

I’m contemplating that right now. I need to lose the convertible and get a daddy mobile with the daughter on the way. It will be a four door truck, the only choice now is which one. I like the new F150 but the con is that it takes up a lot of garage space. I also like the Dodge Dakota with the V8 because it has the features of the full size trucks (big engine, towing power, etc.) but is easier on garage space. Regardless, it would be a four door truck.

Despite my issues with Neal Boortz (i.e., he calls himself a Libertarian but toes the Republican party line 90% of the time), I have to give credit where it is due. Our media have been noticeably absent on property rights abuses. Eminent domain stories never make the big news. A town in Alabama takes someone’s land to build a Wal-Mart and the only coverage is by a local newspaper and a blogger.

That is tyranny. Period. Yet, no outrage because it’s not covered in the press to any significant degree. I guess if Paris Hilton was smoking someone’s pole while fondling a 40 year-old Janet Jackson boob on the property, 20/20 would have been there in two seconds.

Enter Boortz who is actually using his radio program and some articles to address the issue and raise awareness. Here’s the latest. Good for him.

Spoons notes this pretty hideous bit of reporting:

The authors describe the weapon ominously as, “A Military Weapon,” and write “The gun that killed Angel Thomas was built for people who fight wars.”

Heavens! What is this fearsome implement of destruction? An M-15? An AK-47? LAWs rocket?

Worse! It was the dreaded Smith & Wesson Victory!

Again, is it distortions to promote a bias or does the press not do research? Either is inexcusable.

Since it doesn’t happen that often, here’s some good news in the war on terror:

Turkish police have detained 16 suspected members of a group linked to Al Qaeda who were believed to have been planning a bomb attack during a June NATO summit in Istanbul that President Bush is expected to attend, police said Monday.

And there were a couple of other recent such plots foiled.

CNS writes:

A full-page ad in Monday’s Washington Post implies that “unless President Bush acts” soon, children will bring “assault weapons” to school in the fall.

“When your kids go back to school, will assault weapons, too?” the ad caption says. The caption is printed over a photograph of a young boy wearing a backpack who is walking away from the camera — and appears to be heading to school.

Paid for by the Million Mom March, the ad promotes a Mother’s Day march for “sensible gun laws.”

“On Mother’s Day, May 9th , join thousands of mothers and others as they gather on the West Front of the Capitol to demand that President Bush and Congress save the assault weapons ban,” the ad’s text says. “Unless President Bush acts, these weapons of war will be legal again — just as America’s children go back to school.”

In fact, the ban on certain semi-automatic weapons will expire in September unless Congress — not President Bush — passes a law extending the ban.

The Million err twenty four mom march apparently thinks that on 9/13, it will be legal to sell guns to kids. They don’t believe that but they want you to. It’s quite pathetic and wreaks of desperation.

However, it is kind of cool:

18 year old Amber Manis graduated Summa Cum Laude from Walters State Community College Saturday, two weeks before she will graduate as valedictorian from Rutledge High School.

For the last two years, Manis has been taking college level classes through an advanced studies program for high school students.

She did that while parenting a two year old daughter.

Good for her.

Jeff has the weekly check on the bias up, a day early.

I’m blogging from the toilet.

That is all. It’s a private moment but worth noting.

My sister sent me a tube of this stuff. She swears by it.

I’ll find out in about 4 months.

Get home to find out that while the Mrs. was balancing the checkbook, the computer caught on fire. I assessed the problem as a faulty power supply. Went out and bought a new power supply. Hooked it up, turned it on and the motherboard caught fire.

Said to Hell with fixing it. Went to Office Depot and bought a new laptop and a WiFi router. I’m blogging from the patio while enjoying an adult beverage.