Given my experience with worthless headhunters, I was glad to see Recruting.com has a blog and they mentioned my post.

I used to lambast the Christian Science Monitor for being, well, stupid. I think I even said lying was Unchristian and Unscience. I eventyally just decided not to bother with them because they were just hacks. But Denise lets them have it.

I’ve long held that John McCain is certifiably fucking looney. I was right:

I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I’d rather have the clean government.

At least he wants a clean government, I suppose. Other politicos damn all the amendments and prefer the government dirty.

Some crime figures from countries which recently enacted gun bans shows that, unsurprisingly, gun bans don’t reduce crime. I wouldn’t call it proof, per se, but it does indicate that guns aren’t the problem.

Fugger calls it quits. Bummer. Says he:

To the 50-60 people (not the 20 bots) who came by every single day and read every article I posted, I saw your IP’s every day, my software tracks them so I could see who had how many visits, and I could see everything about you, right down to where you lived, what page you clicked on next, etc etc, I just never heard a peep from you. So here is a suggestion – next time you enjoy a free website so much that you read it every day, or 2-3 times a week, leave the guy writing it a note of thanks, or a comment or two every once in awhile!

I concur that folks should comment more. But the facts are that most blog readers are other bloggers. They could spend time commenting or spend the time blogging. Since they’re bloggers, they usually do the latter. So, don’t take it too badly if you don’t get comments but do get multiple hits. It’s just how it is. I know for a fact that I have far more readers than commenters and, though I do wish those non-commenting lurker types would at least say hi or good job or tell me to fuck off just so I know what they what they think, that’s OK. Heck, I don’t comment much at other blogs I read but I seem to comment a lot at a few other blogs. Also, given that some folks have lost their jobs and received death threats over comments at blogs, I see why folks tend to not comment so much.

One of the cool things about blogs is that you can get out info on scams quickly, like Xrlqy Wrlqy did. I seem to recall South Knox Bubba (now R. Neal) saying something similar in the past but his archives are gone. Any chance you’ll bring those back?

With the second child due roughly next week, we need more vehicle. The Mrs. needs a SUV with third row seating. We were looking at the Lincoln Aviator because we like our friend’s Navigator but don’t like fact it is gigantic. But, the Aviator gets some crappy reviews from Consumer Reports (of course, the Navigator does too). Plus, I’m not real keen on spending $40K on a ride.

We want third row seating, leather interior, roomy and smooth ride. Optional features we want include V8 and 4WD. Anyone have a recommendation?

Update: Thanks for all the comments. But we’re simply not gettting a minivan nor a station wagon. I suggested a van but the Mrs. absolutely refuses and station wagons aren’t practical.

The Guardian:

A growing number of gay and lesbian Americans are being forced to leave the United States and resettle in Britain, where new immigration rules grant them the same rights as straight couples, according to the New York-based civil rights organisation Human Rights Watch

I don’t think they’re being forced. It’s more for immigration rules than for gay marriage:

When US citizens’ foreign partners are not permitted to live with them in their country, Americans are forced to uproot themselves and leave their families, their jobs, their communities and country. Often, they turn to one of the 19 countries with laws that let citizens sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration purposes

And, no, I have nothing real insightful to say. I just wanted to use that title, which is stolen from The Family Guy.

The Brady Campaign will soon have a new president. Paul Helmke, who was the Republican mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiany, will take over July 1. Jeff has more. So does Bitter.

SeattlePI sums it up in one paragraph:

While police wouldn’t say whether any of the weapons on display were actually used in crimes, they were effective props for the mayor’s lobbying effort.

Yup, that’s pretty much what happened.

Standard Mischief asks us not to link The Gun Guys unless we use nofollow. Ok, then how about this: The Gun Guys.

Eric notes that a CCW hero was buried in an anti-gun story. Seems a CCW holder was what captured a murder suspect.

WTVM:

It’s just another day at Carver Heights Child Development Center in Columbus. But this day will be different. These pre-kindergartners will come face to face with a handgun. We’ve placed an unloaded simulated gun into a hidden place in the classroom.

We put it in a chair. Two hidden cameras have also been placed in the classroom. The children have just come in from recess and the teacher is now giving them an assignment before she leaves the room.

“I t’s a gun, don’t touch it, I know what is all about, do not touch it, its dangerous,” screams little Natasha Fanning. She takes charge, telling her classmates repeatedly to stay away from the gun.

The children are excited. They try to get a teacher’s attention. B ut not one of them touches the gun.

Good. Teach kids to do the right thing when they see a gun:

To KPCL because this is the first time I’ve ever known a reporter to look at both sides with respect to pit bulls:

Despite how you may feel about the American pit bull terrier, you may be surprised to find out that the breed is given more than an 83 % passing rate by the American Temperament Test Society. That is a group that tests how aggressive certain kinds of dogs are. Pit bulls were found to be less aggressive than the popular border collie.

7 News found some warnings about pit bulls, even on a pro-pit bull web site. The warnings included such things as never trusting your pit bull not to fight with other animals, always supervise your dog with small children, and that it is important to start socializing pit bulls while they are still very young. 7 News also found that pit bulls are often used as narcotic and bomb sniffing dogs, as well as in search and rescue efforts.

Pit bull advocates all seem to agree that it is important to punish the “deed, not the breed.” Others feel pit bulls are such naturally powerful animals, they are just too risky to have in neighborhoods.

Sweet! Seriously, that’s impressive.

Via PGP, comes this from (of all places) The Daily Kos:

Do you own a fire extinguisher? Why? Are you expecting a fire? Or do you have some sort of left-over juvenile desire to play fireman, a private macho image of rushing into a burning building to save a child? Don’t you know that improperly used, a fire extinguisher can be dangerous to yourself and others? And there have been “studies” done that show people who own fire extinguishers are actually more careless with fire risks, thinking that they’ll always be able to resort to their fire extinguisher to solve the problem. Besides, firefighters are always right there when you need them, and can put out any fire for you, so there’s no point in having your own fire extinguisher.

Update: Forgot about this:

Thanks to Thib.

109.1% of the US population will travel this summer.

So, my days consist of getting up early and getting home late. Minimal blogging from the client site since I’m busy and, well, they actually pay by the hour (yeah, someone actually does that these days – I’m used to flat fees). S0, I check email and address a few comments from the job but that’s about it. Plus, I agreed to blog at Michael’s for a bit while he recovers (but not much actual blogging there yet). So, I come home late. Play with Junior and talk to the wife. Have a mint julep or 5 then sit behind the computer once the rest of the household has gone to bed to blog and realize I just don’t have it in me, even though these guys are giving me shit.

In fact, you’ll see this at 12:10 am on Thursday but I’m typing it at 9:44 pm on Wednesday. It’s true, I cheat. I blog at night and publish in the morning, except for some stuff. And that trend will continue because I can’t figure out a way to get paid to blog that pays more than a few hundred bucks every couple of months (No, I’m not begging for money and I have no intentions of trying to make a living doing this shit. Just pointing out that I have priorities.). So, again, sorry for all the linky no thinky type posts but thems the breaks.

Oh, and apparently my post on Zachypoo not getting the death penalty got a bit of play in the blogosphere but I have to express disappointment that not one person took offense to the sentence that read:

Though I’d have no problem taking him out (and my method would involve duct tape and a pork chop), I think it’s for the best not to make a martyr of him.

So, no uber-sensitive, Phil Donahue type got mad over my obvious religious sleight? I must be slacking in my ability to offend.

The AP:

A federal jury rejected the death penalty for al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui on Wednesday and decided he must spend life in prison for his role in the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.

After seven days of deliberation, the nine men and three women rebuffed the government’s appeal for death for the only person charged in this country in the four suicide jetliner hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.

I wonder why they did not give the death penalty. Deny martyrdom? Don’t like the death penalty? To avoid any future legal wrangling? Beats me.

Though I’d have no problem taking him out (and my method would involve duct tape and a pork chop), I think it’s for the best not to make a martyr of him.

Update: Rusty says it’s a travesty of justice.

Les has a chart broken out by blue and red states. Looks like we’re being invaded.

I’ve said three days in a row now but gun control is about to kick up. Just go here and read the headlines.

I think the anti-gunners are mad because two states went CCW this year.

Tom takes me to task for not demanding ways to cut spending for tax cuts I support, or something:

Nobody’s asking that you fall into the false dichotomy Uncle falsely attributes to us. That is to say, nobody says you must favor all taxes and spending, or that you must oppose all taxes and spending. What you must do, however, is at least make an effort to bring taxes and spending into balance, and you cannot put the cart before the horse in doing this.

Err, no. Actually, there is no requirement I do that. End of story. I can say something sucks and not offer an alternative. For example, abortion sucks but I have no better alternative. And neither do you. Period. Game over.

See, here’s the problem: the anti-tax crowd knows that it’s easy to get sympathy from people by railing against the “evils” of taxation and, at least in the general sense, of “excessive government.” The problem is, as soon as these folks start drilling down into the particulars (e.g., what specific programs would be cut in order to bring down spending and thus lower taxes), they lose. And they know this, so they expressly avoid drilling into the particulars. When pushed, they’ll gladly give a laundry list of those spending programs they oppose, and these programs generally fall into either of two categories: programs that are too small to make a noticeable difference (e.g., some half-million dollar local pork program), or programs that are wildly popular (e.g. Social Security and Medicare). But they never explain how they’re actually going to get the voting public to agree to such program cuts (because they can’t), much less how they’d actually implement them.

I was pretty particular when I said killing social security and almost any agency that starts with Department of. Tom apparently thinks I’m a politician. I am not and have no desire to become so. Therefore, there is no need for me to pander to any demographic to score votes. I’m not trying to convince the voting public. Just because something is popular, that doesn’t make it right or wrong.

When taxes and the programs they pay for are directly tied together, most people prefer to pay the tax and keep the program, rather than to lose the program and be spared the tax.

I think that depends on the program. The military budget would get more support than, say, international assistance.

Getting the types of tax cuts that they favor would require either cutting these large-but-popular programs, which simply isn’t going to happen

On that, I agree. But I’m not pandering to voters or popularity contests. Our politicians are and that is why the .gov is the leviathan it is today. They can take on person’s money and give it to someone else.

Bringing this back around to Uncle, this is why we find his position so frustrating and so irresponsible. It’s not that he supports reducing taxes but doesn’t support reducing spending. It’s that he (apparently, at least) supports reducing and eliminating various taxes even if spending isn’t cut to match, and even if doing so wrecks the budget and/or explodes the debt. In other words, it may be an overstatement to say that he doesn’t care at all whether or not the government is fiscally responsible, but it’s certainly fair to say that his aversion to taxation is more important to him than any sort of budget discipline or financial responsibility. If he can’t get the spending cuts he wants, he still advocates cutting taxes anyway. Maybe he’ll close his eyes, clap three times, and hope it all works out.

Well, that shit’s just made up. I support cutting all kinds of taxes and all kinds of spending. But to kill the leviathan, you have to cut off it’s food not it’s fingernails.

At the same time, the .gov does provide valuable services, such as roads and the fact I don’t currently speak Russian. Those items, I don’t mind paying for though some scrutiny is needed in those areas (particularly defense spending which is always very high). But telling me that taxes are all groovy and shit because they only waste a little bit when compared to the total they waste isn’t very convincing.

Ed note: This started out as a comment over there but since my blogging is light, I thought I’d put it here for you to read.

SM Says:

And hey, I enjoy reading his stuff even when he slips out of “rant mode” back into “aggregator mode”. In fact, his coverage is so good, it keeps me from having to cook up my own “guns and rights and stuff” news feeds.

Happy to help.

Gun Law News has some info on H.R.1384 – the Firearm Commerce Modernization Act and H.R.1415 – the NICS Improvement Act of 2005.

KTVA reports:

The Senate Monday passed a bill allowing the public sale of guns that were seized by police. Senator Fred Dyson (an Eagle River Republican) says most guns in the state’s possession are those that were evidence in criminal cases.

His bill would allow the state to sell or donate those guns that now can be sold just to licensed dealers or be destroyed under current law.

Michael Silence is home from surgery. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery after some much needed rest.

In a move only describable as lame as hell, Knoxville Sheriff Tim Hutchison has not cooperated with America’s Most Wanted to find Johnia Berry’s killer. There’s a petition to get him to do so. Les has the skinny.

CCRKBA says:

“The proposals unveiled by Mayor Nickels,” said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron, “are nearly identical to the wish list detailed by CeaseFire President Ralph Fascitelli on the Op- Ed page of the Seattle Times on April 20. It appears that a special interest group is pulling the mayor’s strings because he is mouthing every one of their demands.

See what I mean.

Tam discusses the blogger shoot. Say, when’s Alston gonna send that picture of Kirk sporting a bindi?