Get Outta Here

Are you bored? Need something to get your blood flowing faster? It is time to do something about it. Head over to Armed & Christian and read his excellent post on 21 Reasons to Deport Illegal Aliens.

Education?

I can't imagine what this school teacher wrote in her diary the next day. Maybe, "Note to self: when text messaging your drug dealer, make sure you actually send your message to the dealer, not to a state trooper."

Trooper Trevor Pervine was at dinner with his wife and parents, celebrating her birthday when his phone started buzzing.

Pervine was getting text messages about buying marijuana Thursday night, Kentucky State Police spokesman Barry Meadows said. The person sending the messages had the wrong number... a teacher at Murray Middle School is accused of sending the messages and has been charged with conspiracy to traffic in controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, Meadows said.

Pervine initially thought the messages were from friends playing a joke, Meadows said. A couple of phone calls put that idea to rest, so Pervine began responding to the messages to set up a meeting, Meadows said.

When she arrived at the meeting point, she found Pervine and other law enforcement officers waiting for her, Meadows said.

And out of Florida, what's up with this:

A middle school principal made a deal to buy $20 worth of crack cocaine in his office Thursday while students were still on campus, authorities said... arrested in the school lobby at 3:45 p.m. Thursday after buying drugs from an undercover police officer, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

I always thought "higher education" referred to college, not strung-out teachers and principals.

Old Military Guys Are Still Heroic

An American senior citizen killed an alleged mugger with his bare hands, and his traveling companions aboard a tour bus fended off two other assailants in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said.

This man, retired U.S. military, about 70-years old, put the 20-year-old armed assailant in a head lock and broke his clavicle. The headlock was so tight, the assailant died from asphyxiation.

Not too bad. 70-year-old ex-military man beats the crap out of 20-year-old thug armed with gun and knives. After he subdued the attacker, the other 12 senior citzens on the bus went after the thugs two accomplices. They couldn't take on the old timers and fled.

Golden Screw-up Award

Let's get to it. Our nominees this week include:

Al Gore
Our buddy, Mr. Internet, is not only a perpetual nominee, but unleased his personally-trained minions on Michigan this week to shut down whatever industry remains in my economically depressed State.

Nancy Pelosi
Our favorite Speaker of the House - by the way, she's a woman in case she hasn't reminded you in the last five minutes - for her "we support our troops but won't fund them so they'll get butchered out there and we can bring them home and let radical terrorists then come into this country but they'll only attack Republicans never Democrats because we are tolerant and understanding" resolution.

Brittany Spears
Bald looks much better on me. Need I say more?

And our winner is...

Ex-veep Albert Gore, Jr. Congratulations on your efforts to shut down businesses in the State of Michigan.

© Wayne Stayskal/Tribune Media Services

© Wayne Stayskal/Tribune Media Services

Freak Show

This out of Miami, FL:

The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm. But Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or "Daddy" as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he is God.

"The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth," de Jesus says.

De Jesus' claims of divinity have angered Christian leaders, who say he is a fake. Religious experts say he may be something much more dangerous, a cult leader who really believes he is God...

De Jesus, 61, grew up poor in Puerto Rico. He says he served stints in prison there for petty theft and says he was a heroin addict.

De Jesus says he learned he was Jesus reincarnate when he was visited in a dream by angels.

"The prophets, they spoke about me. It took me time to learn that, but I am what they were expecting, what they have been expecting for 2,000 years," de Jesus says.

The church that he began building 20 years ago in Miami resembles no other:

Followers have protested Christian churches in Miami and Latin America, disrupting services and smashing crosses and statues of Jesus.

De Jesus preaches there is no devil and no sin. His followers, he says, literally can do no wrong in God's eyes.

The church calls itself the "Government of God on Earth" and uses a seal similar to the United States.

...

And what about the tattoo of 666 on his arm?

Although it's a number usually associated with Satan, not the son of God, de Jesus says that 666 and the Antichrist are, like him, misunderstood.

The Antichrist is not the devil, de Jesus tells his congregation; he's the being who replaces Jesus on Earth.

"Antichrist is the best person in the world," he says. "Antichrist means don't put your eyes on Jesus because Jesus of Nazareth wasn't a Christian. Antichrist means do not put your eyes on Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Put it on Jesus after the cross."

And de Jesus says that means him...

"If somebody tells us drink some Kool-Aid and we'll go to heaven, that's not true. We are already in heavenly places," follower Martita Roca told CNN after having 666 tattooed onto her ankle.

So if you find your church kinda boring on Sunday mornings, be glad.

Tax Hikes Are Not "Investment"

I live in Michigan, a state in great economic trouble. Our state government is in a budget shortfall and instead of trimming the fat, our governor wants to raise taxes. But, she maintains, these taxes are really “investments.”

How will raising taxes help our ailing state? It won’t.

First, taxation is never investment. Period. Ever. “But aren’t taxes to build libraries and schools investments?” No. “What about roads… we need to pay to maintain our roads.” No. Taxes are taken from people by force, not consent. Most of us pay taxes because we don’t want to face consequences of disobedience. I obey and pay rather than throw my life away.

Investments, however, are something I make voluntarily. I choose to invest. I can choose to avoid investments. I control, at least to some degree, my investments and how they work for me.

Taxes are not investments.

Michigan, economically, looks like Rocky Balboa in one of those “Rocky” fight scenes where he gets beat up savagely by Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang or Ivan Drago. It isn’t a pretty picture. Raising taxes will only make the pounding worse.

Already businesses are experiencing trouble collecting from their customers. Raising taxes, and adding new taxes to our service industries, puts many financially-struggling companies in a terrible position. Now they will owe the state while still fighting to collect from customers. This is a terrible time to exacerbate cashflow problems.

When states add taxes, they must build their infrastructure to oversee the collection of these taxes. Now, in addition to a government that won’t cut, we see more layers will be required to collect these taxes.

Michigan businesses will need to pass the burden on to the consumer. Consumers are already hurting with taxation.

Tax hikes are not the answer.

I Gotta Hand It To This Guy...

What more can I say?

Detroit police Sgt. Omar Feliciano said an argument between the couple occurred around 7:30 p.m. in the Randor and Chandler Park area on the east side. Feliciano said the man was standing outside of a Dodge Caravan minivan being driven by his girlfriend, who also is in her 20s, when the argument escalated and she sped off down the street while he hung on the running board.

Police say the woman swerved and hit another vehicle, lost control of the minvan, and then hit a cyclone fence and metal sign.

At some point during the accident, the man lost his hand. It was later found by police and reattached after surgery.

More Global Warming BS This Monday Morning

If you are reading this post, stop, because the world is coming to an end and you should spend your time protesting businesses and productive people.

I had to laugh when I read this in my morning Free Press:

A dozen Michiganders are helping Al Gore carry the message of his movie "Inconvenient Truth," preaching the gospel of global warming with his slides and their words.

Gore has personally trained 1,000 disciples. Part cheerleaders, part angels of gloom, they are fanning across the country with copies of his climate change slide show (330 slides) and the goal of getting their audience roused enough to demand action from their leaders.

If I ever have trouble sleeping, I'll know what to watch to get sleepy. Wow. Personally trained by Al Gore? How... boring.

The Free Press even included a cute little graphic to illustrate how awful the future is going to be in Michigan.



How wonderful... walleye and large mouth bass are supposed to increase in numbers! Looks like I'll get to do a lot more fishin' with my free time, now that I won't have to shovel snow. And with the money I save not needing winter clothing, I'll have so much more to spend on fishing gear.

What's going to happen in 20 years when we are back in the "A New Ice Age Is Coming" mode? And why are we still using fossil fuels? They were supposed to be completely gone by 2000, because my teachers back in grade school in the 70's told me so.

Click on the image to expand it to readable size.

Image is Copyright Detroit Free Press.

Remembering the Best

It is hard to believe, but Dale Earnhardt died six years ago today at the 43rd Daytona 500. He suffered a crash while about half a mile from the finish line and his Number 3 Chevrolet spun out of control. He died instantly from head injures.

I remember watching the crash and thinking it didn’t look too serious - serious by NASCAR standards.

Back in the late 90s, I saw his car flip upside down in a much more horrifying crash, but he wasn’t seriously hurt. Yet, this seemingly minor crash took his life. How strange.

Certain men personify their craft long after they are gone. Say “cowboy” and everyone pictures John Wayne. Say “boxing” and most people think of Muhammad Ali. Say “NASCAR” and we all think of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. It’s been six years since he died, yet his face is still NASCAR’s identity. I hope I can leave a legacy like that some day.

Shocking

Almost all moral education is indoctination. It's the reason we have public schools.
- U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf

What was Judge Wolf talking about? He made this comment on a lawsuit brought by parents who object to their 5-year-old son being taught in kindergarten to approve of homosexuality. The school district is asking Wolf to dismiss the lawsuit. Regardless what you think of homosexuality, the statement is shocking.

HT - World Magazine.

Kick Them When They're Down

I love it. Here is a Detroit Free Press article about the possible sale of Chrysler because of decreasing sales - and they put a Saturn (GM product) ad at the bottom right corner. Bitterly ironic.

It Wasn't Police Brutality

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a local story involving the shooting of an alleged armed robber - shot by the police 18 times - and how I thought the police were justified. Wow - did I receive hate email! Everyone thinks 18 shots are "excessive" and "brutal."

First off, isn't armed robbery brutal? Excuse me, alleged armed robbery.

Next, isn't it just plain stupid to wave guns at cops? Isn't there some personal responsibility required?

Let's look at the facts, then we'll get to the update.

• (Name withheld)allegedly robbed Passport Pizza at gun point
• He led police on a car chase
• At the conclusion of the car chase, he fled his car with a gun in hand
• It turns out the gun was actually a BB gun
• The BB gun looked like a standard issue lethal weapon
• Police officers, multiple times, ordered him to drop the gun and get on the ground
• He ignored them and pointed the gun at an officer
• Five police officers fired multiple times, hitting him 18 times

Ok, here's the update, then we'll look at analysis:

The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday that five township police officers were "justified in the use of deadly force" in the shooting of a 35-year-old Mt. Clemens man, according to Clinton Township police.

The officers have been on administrative leave since the Jan. 27 incident.

Most people wrote emails saying the cops should have shot the gun out of his hand. Since 18 shots seems to make people upset, let's analyze why the police were justified:

1. Police can't shoot the alleged perp in the hand and disable him for three reasons. First, this was a life-and-death situation according to the information they had at the time. This man had, according to their information, just committed armed robbed at a store (a violent crime, not some jay-walking ticket). He had a gun. Second, he pointed the gun at them. Officers are trained to shoot at the center-of-mass and continue shooting until the threat has ended. Third, if the cops could just shoot the gun out of his hand, trial attorneys would be all over the township with lawsuits. The police may not discharge a firearm except to end the threat by firing at the center-of-mass.
2. He pulled a gun on five cops... 18 shots means each officer fired three to four times. Since the "double tap" isn't taught anymore, even among civilian self-defense classes, there is no way three or four shots from an officer can be construed as "overkill." Sure - there were 18 shots total, but that came from FIVE police officers.
3. All five officers had to fire. You can't have one guy shoot and the rest watch.
4. He pulled a gun on cops (felony) after fleeing in a car chase (felony) - after an (alleged) armed robbery (felony).
5. After Clinton Township officers shot (name withheld), deputies from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office shot him with a Taser because he was still holding the gun after being shot.
6. He didn't die on the scene. The police really did shoot until the threat had ended.
   
7. Witnesses corroborate the police version of the story.
8. So what if it was a BB gun? That is irrelevant. This man created his own problem when he produced a threat to police. Imagine if this happened in your house. You walk downstairs and this guy pulls out a gun, you shoot him, the cops come and find out it was a BB gun. Do you go to jail for murder or did you have reasonable belief this guy was going to shoot?

It wasn't police brutality. It was legitimate self-defense and appropriate action taken by policemen put in a potentially life-threatening situation based on all the information they had. Case closed.

As a sidenote, I personally want to thank all the LEOs out there for working to keep our streets safe.

Golden Screw-Up Award

Let's cut right to the chase. Our prestigious nominees this week include:

Al Gore, our earth-lovin', internet-makin', dirty lyric censorin', internal combustion engine bannin' buddy from Tennessee - who enjoys an automatic weekly nomination for just being Al Gore.

Tim Hardaway, the retired NBA star who single-handedly created the worst public relations nightmare since TrimSpa lost Anna Nicole Smith last week. Come on, Tim. Use your brain when you are doing interviews - and while your at it, why don't you try working out some of those hate issues.

Democratic Senator and Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama, who announced his candidacy on Saturday and followed up right away with a statement that soldiers who died in the War on Terror "wasted" their lives.

And the winner is...

Oh, wait, this just in. Senator Obama gets a free pass this week. He gave the media sources something besides Anna Nicole Smith to talk about. Plus, I give him props for ticking Hillary Clinton off so much and ruining her big-time presidential candidacy announcement.

Congratulations, Tim Hardaway. You may hate it, you may think it shouldn't exist in the United States or the world, you may not want to touch one, but you just won a Golden Screw-Up Award. Now go see someone so you can get rid of the hate burning inside you.

You Think You've Had a Bad Day?

Doesn't this thing look a lot like those gun-grabbing politicians?

















You think you've had a bad day? Check this out:

Diver says he was partly swallowed by shark

Jan 23, 2007 — SYDNEY, Jan 23 (Reuters Life!) - An Australian abalone diver told rescuers he was partly swallowed head-first by a Great White Shark on Tuesday but managed to fight his way free, suffering a broken nose and bite marks around the chest.

Diver Eric Nerhus, 41, was underwater with his 25-year-old son and other divers off Cape Howe, near Eden on Australia's southeast coast, when the 3 meter (10 foot) shark attacked...

Nerhus told fellow divers he didn't see the shark coming as the water was so dirty that visibility was severely limited.

"It was black. He didn't see it coming, but he felt the bite and then started getting shaken, and that's when he knew he was in the mouth of the shark," said local diver Michael Mashado.

The shark bit Nerhus around the head first, crushing his face mask and breaking his nose, fellow diver and friend Dennis Luobikis told Reuters.

"He was actually bitten by the head…the shark swallowed his head," said Luobikis, adding a second bite by the shark saw it clench its jaw around Nerhus' torso.

"The brunt of the bite was taken by his lead-weight vest. Its all over your torso. Eric said to me at the wharf that his weight vest saved him," he said...

Nerhus fought frantically to free himself from the shark's jaws and was eventually pulled back aboard his boat by his son.

Dang.

And I Quote...

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." ~ John Adams

As seen in this week's Concealed Carry Magazine weekly newsletter.

Mitt Romney for President?

photo © Detroit Free Press

















Mitt Romney is running for President.

Does anyone know where he stands on the gun control issue?

We know where our "friends" John McCain and Rudy G stand. It would be nice to have at least one serious candidate I could support.

Hype

It is snowing outside as I write this. Not hard. In fact, we aren’t supposed to get over three inches of accumulation.

But, it is snowing.

I was on the road half an hour ago, and I made the mistake of tuning in the local all-news station to get an idea of the traffic.

“Happy Tuesday to you on this Winter Survival morning. Bitterly cold temperatures combined with heavy snow make for a miserable morning… please, if you don’t have to go out, stay inside this morning. The snow is making conditions dangerous. Allow yourself a lot of extra time. Now, off to Frank for our winter-survival traffic report…”

And so on.

I listened to this while the traffic flow was driving about 5 miles below the posted speeds. No slick spots at all. For crying out loud, I could see the grass on the ground still! It wasn’t a big deal. Nothing catastrophic was happening. It was simply lightly snowing in the northern part of the US. Hype. Pure hype. No substance.

Ironically, they followed up the report of our “bitterly cold morning” (note to the radio station: it is December) with a national report on global warming. Hmmm.

It is February 14. All winter long I've seen my grass blades pop-up through the snow - which didn't start falling until the very end of January. For crying out loud, what is three inches of snow in Michigan in winter? It isn't like we are in Miami!

This reminds me of another hyped story (at least it was hyped locally). The Big 3 automakers posted record earnings at the beginning of this decade. The very next year was the second best financial year in Big 3 history - but the only reports coming out were “earnings plummeted by 8%,” and so on.

There is one major problem with news reporting - not everything is news worthy. Unfortunately, you can’t have a 24 hour news station without news, so news-unworthy stories become “news” and minor inconveniences become a “crisis.”

History in the Making

The anti-gunners and anti-self defense people like to perpetuate the stereotype that all gun owners are Rambo-wannabes. We aren't. In fact, most gun owners I know are Annie Oakley wannabes. And who wouldn't? She is certainly one of the best shots in American History.

If you are "lucky" enough to live in the Detroit area, you can see Annie in person - well, actually, her historian twin, Charlotte Austin.

It was about six or seven years ago, she said, when she decided to compete in a fast-draw competition at the Double OO Riders Association's annual picnic in Davisburg.

Austin hadn't handled a gun before, and since she is left-handed, a holster had to be jury-rigged for her. She was shown how to shoot and fan the gun just before she climbed on a wagon, shot, jumped and screamed. She eventually won, beating out the men.

Shortly after that, Austin, who lives in Plymouth and is a member of the Plymouth Historical Society, met Jack Leeds of Novi, who videotapes meetings and events at the Plymouth Historical Museum.

The pair came up with the idea of dressing like 19th-Century sharpshooter Annie Oakley and Oakley's marksman husband, Frank Butler, offering historical presentations to community groups, schools and fairs. They call themselves the Visiting Historians.

The couple travels the state and often is joined by Austin's sister, Eileen Fagan of Novi, who portrays Cattle Kate, as well as Austin's friend Jane Pence of Kalkaska who portrays Calamity Jane.

Pretty cool. I wonder how many publik skuulz keep her away because of zero-tolerance policies?

In addition to Oakley and Butler, Austin and Leeds portray other people from the 1830s to the 1920s. They study the history of a particular town and wear historically accurate clothing. And if the occasion calls for it, Austin will bring her two Arabian horses.

"If I'm asked, I'll do it," she said.

Can she do a Mae West? For historical purposes only, of course.

The Inaugural "Golden Screw-Up" Award

We used to have a dubious trophy at work constructed of a gold-plated screw and a block of 2x4. We called this trophy "The Golden Screw-up Award" and had lots of fun passing it around to each other when someone, well, screwed up. I was the not-so-proud recipient of the award on many occasions, some work related, some personal.

Then one day, a new boss came in and told us this award created a "threatening and hostile atmosphere," doled out some corporate discipline, and made us give up the trophy. So, of course, in a last act of rebellion, we made the new boss the final recipient of the Golden Screw-up Award. At least, those brave enough to get fired... I wanted my job, so I shut up and pretended I didn't know what was happening.

In honor of my old compatriots, and in a desire to do something that will give me an easy post once a week, I have decided it is time for a rebirth of The Golden Screw-up Award, paying appropriate tribute to one national or international figure/group for their attention-worthy action(s).

As a side note, I was going to make Al Gore a perpetual nominee, but this week he announced he wouldn't run in 2008, so I'll cut him some slack.

Our nominees this week:

Arkansas Judge Jimm Hendren, who disallowed mention of the Constitution in a court case.


Liberal columnist Molly Ivins, but since she died this week, I'll remove her from consideration.

The entire Detroit Lions organization for achieving the worst record in professional football over the last seven years.

This one is a no-brainer. The winner is...

Arkansas Judge Jimm Hendren, a man who threw the Constitution out the window!

The lights are going out all over the United States. Another one went out Jan. 12, when “Compassionate Conservative” Judge Jimm Hendren kicked the Constitution (U.S. and Arkansas) out of his courtroom by disallowing its mention, then made the jury leave the courtroom during Wayne Fincher’s own reasoned, knowledgeable defense of his militia and his weapons. Evidently the judge believes he knows the law (arbitrary unconstitutional laws passed by Congresses), and juries don’t (they might question some statutes violating constitutionally guaranteed rights?), and so he decided what they may hear and what they may not (judge and jury?), according to the desires of the federal prosecutors.

Congratulations, from all us peons around the country.

pe·on [pee-on] - noun
any person of low social status, esp. one who does work regarded as menial or unskilled; drudge.

Someone Doesn't Get It

Gov. Jennifer Granholm set the stage Tuesday for a tax increase and state budget cuts -- but no cuts to public schools -- as she called for more spending to diversify the economy and to send more children to college...

"My proposals will include a mix of solutions -- cuts, reforms and revenues," she said. "The tax changes I will propose are simple, fair and progressive."

Granholm implored lawmakers to set aside partisanship -- even as she took a few partisan shots -- and to cooperate to resolve a fiscal crisis she said has put the state in danger of falling behind a global economy that puts a premium on education.

In a speech many called her most important as governor, Granholm was solemn about the state's economic ills and optimistic about its ability to rebound. With many small particulars, but only hints of big-ticket plans -- such as tax increases and large budget cuts -- Granholm used the word "invest" numerous times in pleading against tax cuts and for the state to act as an agent to reshape its economy, with emphasis on education.

There is an old saying - "businesses don't pay taxes," which means they simply raise their prices and pass the burden to the customer. In a state that is economically down-the-toilet like Michigan, businesses are not in a position to raise their prices any, nor are the average Michigan citizens in financial position to shoulder a heavier tax load.

As for "investment" - I choose what to invest in. Taxation, on the other hand, is taken from me. No tax is ever an investment. Period.

If It Looks Like BS and Smells Like BS...

I had to laugh when I looked over at the ACLU's web page this morning.

A prominently displayed sign read, "The ACLU is challenging the Bush administration's illegal spying, which violates the Fourth Amendment and other constitutional protections guaranteed to every American."

Fine, I thought. The Fourth Amendment states:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

But then, reviewing their Second Amendment position, I had to chuckle. Of course, the 2nd Amendment states," A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Now, the ACLU doens't believe in this protection of our individual liberties.

We believe that the constitutional right to bear arms is primarily a collective one, intended mainly to protect the right of the states to maintain militias to assure their own freedom and security against the central government. In today's world, that idea is somewhat anachronistic and in any case would require weapons much more powerful than handguns or hunting rifles. The ACLU therefore believes that the Second Amendment does not confer an unlimited right upon individuals to own guns or other weapons nor does it prohibit reasonable regulation of gun ownership, such as licensing and registration.

So, throughout the Bill of Rights, "the right of the people" indicates an individual right - except for the Second Amendment, where it is a "right of the state"?????

Let's take a brief trip through the Bill of Rights:

1. RIGHT OF AN INDIVIDUAL / THE PEOPLE to worship, enjoy free press, redress grievances, peaceably assemble.
2. RIGHT OF AN INDIVIDUAL / THE PEOPLE to keep AND BEAR arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED
3. Military cannot be quartered in private housing during peacetime without the CONSENT OF THE OWNER.
4. RIGHT OF AN INDIVIDUAL / THE PEOPLE to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
5. RIGHT OF THE AN INDIVIDUAL / THE PEOPLE to be free from double jeopardy, testifying against self in a criminal case, and be free from deprivation of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; private property may not be taken for public use without just compensation.
6. RIGHT OF THE AN INDIVIDUAL to a speedy public trial, and ability to face the accusers and witnesses.
7. RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE to a trial by jury.
8. RIGHT OF AN INDIVIDUAL to be free from excessive bail and unusual punishments.
9. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or TO THE PEOPLE.

Where is this "collective right" BS in the Second Amendment?

Why is "protection against the central government" anachronistic? That's just BS. And by the way, in my state of Michigan, we have 1,000,000 firearms-deer season hunters. If those hunters united and made a protest against the state, our hunting rifles would be enough to get us noticed. And by the way, I am not advocating this, I am simply stating a fact. No arrest warrants, please.

Where does "shall not be infringed" allow "reasonable regulation of gun ownership, such as licensing and registration."

You know what they say... if it looks like BS and smells like BS...

From the "No Kidding" Files

The Detroit Free Press seemed shocked. The headline reads "Michiganders favor cuts over taxes."

Michiganders think the state government's financial crisis should be fixed mostly without raising taxes, The Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll found.

Nearly two-thirds -- 64% -- would prefer to rely mostly on spending cuts to solve the state's budget problems.

Gee, with our "booming" economy (booming as in blowing up, not the good type of booming), Ford losing $12 billion last year, why can't we expect the government to face up to the fact that the golden goose is comatose and not laying anymore golden eggs?

Wise Words

One of my favorite 2A essays was written by Jeffrey R. Snyder, titled "A Nation of Cowards," from his book "A Nation of Cowards: Essays on the Ethics of Gun Control."

Snyder details how the modern American simply accept status quo crime problems and buy into society's admonition to simply give the criminal what he wants. We do this, he says, because we have become a nation of cowards, afraid to defend ourselves and afraid to stand up against crime.

“Cowardice” and “self-respect” have largely disappeared from public discourse. In their place we are offered “self-esteem” as the bellwether of success and a proxy for dignity. “Self-respect” implies that one recognizes standards, and judges oneself worthy by the degree to which one lives up to them. “Self-esteem” simply means that one feels good about oneself. “Dignity” used to refer to the self-mastery and fortitude with which a person conducted himself in the face of life’s vicissitudes and the boorish behavior of others. Now, judging by campus speech codes, dignity requires that we never encounter a discouraging word and that others be coerced into acting respectfully, evidently on the assumption that we are powerless to prevent our degradation if exposed to the demeaning behavior of others. These are signposts proclaiming the insubstantiality of our character, the hollowness of our souls.

It is impossible to address the problem of rampant crime without talking about the moral responsibility of the intended victim. Crime is rampant because the law-abiding, each of us, condone it, excuse it, permit it, submit to it. We permit and encourage it because we do not fight back, immediately, then and there, where it happens. Crime is not rampant because we do not have enough prisons, because judges and prosecutors are too soft, because the police are hamstrung with absurd technicalities. The defect is there, in our character. We are a nation of cowards and shirkers.

My New Favorite Children's Book

Hockey used to be my favorite sport. Due to overexpansion and other general stupidity on the ownership/commissioner level, I can't stand the NHL product anymore - although I do enjoy minor league and college hockey.

The mighty Detroit Red Wings were just a shell of a team in the 60's and 70's. Monickered "The Dead Wings," I couldn't stand to watch my hometown team and quickly adopted the powerful Montreal Canadiens as my favorite team (they still are).

What a joy it was to find that there is a wonderful children's book about the Montreal Canadiens jersey. I bought it and I love it. And how couldn't I? As Uniwatchblog writes,

I just got myself a copy of the book’s English translation, and it’s pretty great. It tells the story of Carrier’s youth in the mid-1940s, when he and his French-Canadian friends all wore Montreal Canadiens sweaters with Maurice Richard’s number. When his sweater gets too old and threadbare, his mother orders him a new one from the Eaton’s catalogue. But when the package arrives, it’s a Maple Leafs sweater instead of a Canadiens model, much to Carrier’s horror. His mother convinces him not to make her return it because, as she puts it, Monsieur Eaton “is English and he’s going to be insulted because he likes the Maple Leafs.”

So Carrier wears his Toronto sweater down to the local rink, where everyone makes fun of him. When the ref calls a penalty on him, he blows his stack and complains that he’s being persecuted because of his sweater. The ref ejects him and sends him off to church to pray for forgiveness. So Carrier heads off to church where — and this is my favorite part — “I asked God to send me right away, a hundred million moths that would eat up my Toronto Maple Leafs sweater.”

And that’s it. The end. No happy conclusion, no uplifting moralizing — just a bitter, pissed-off kid refusing to learn his lesson and unrepentantly praying for a heavenly pestilence to destroy something he hates. Now that’s a children’s book.

Amen.

Sad Story out of California

Bad news out of California.

USC kicker Mario Danelo died in an auto accident.

The autopsy report said the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries, but "because of the unanswered questions, we are stating the manner of death as undetermined," Deputy Medical Examiner Jeffrey Gutstadt of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office wrote in the report.

I am always amazed at the cryptic language used in cases like this. This guy had a .23 blood alcohol content and plunged over 100 feet off a cliff while driving drunk. The cause of death shouldn't be too hard to determine.

Robbing Students?

Detroit has a fairly negative image, and stories like this can't help.

Detroit residents Johnny Deshawn Orum, 22, and Theresa Antoinette Watson, 17, allegedly ambushed nine students Wednesday morning.

But these alleged robbers say they shouldn't get in trouble for all these robberies.

According to court records, a 17-year-old girl told police Orum and Watson took $18 from her as she waited for the school bus. It was, authorities say, the third robbery of the morning for Orum and Watson...Orum and Watson allegedly admitted to police they tried to rob the girl, but both insisted she had nothing of value.

Great. "Yeah, I pulled out a weapon and threatened her, but she didn't have a lot of money, so that doesn't really count as a crime." Unbelievable!

Three others were charged with robbing students before school in separate, unrelated incidents earlier this month. On Jan. 11, as many as 11 Webber Middle School students were robbed while walking to school or at bus stops.

From the "What Was I Thinking"Files...

We all know about the infamous Turner Broadcasting pranks that basically shut down the city of Boston last week. Turner Broadcasting Systems and Interference Inc. have agreed to pay $2 million for the bomb scare Cartoon Network advertising campaign.

BRRR

It was -7 degrees F this morning going into work. BRRRR.

Still, winter is a great season! I can't stand the news stations hyping their "winter survival" stories. It is Michigan in winter time. No big deal. In a few months, they will hype their "it is too hot outside to do anything" stories.

Global Warming

Global warming is so severe it will "continue for centuries," leading to a far different planet in 100 years, warned a grim landmark report from the world's leading climate scientists and government officials.

That's great news. I woke up this morning to -5 degree F temperatures.

I'd love to be able to motorcycle all year long - but these cold Michigan temperatures take the fun out of it. Now the long-term forecast looks great! I'll be able to ride all year long for the next several centuries!

Belated Update

I wrote about a shootout between Warren Police and a teenager last year. The official word was the kid pulled a gun on cops and they shot him "six or eight times."

Well, that was wrong.

A memorial this weekend for a teenager shot 27 times by Warren police last year will include youth poetry, music and questions about police brutality and racial discrimination...

(the teenager), 19, a Hmong, died in September when police say they shot the Warren resident after he pointed a gun at them in his home. A wrongful-death lawsuit against the Warren Police Department is pending.

27 times seems a little, well, excessive for self-defense.

Sorry, Rudy

Dubbed America's mayor after he led New York City's response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Giuliani had a 4-1 favorable rating among all those polled. In comparison, McCain had a 2-1 favorable rating, and the rating for Democratic hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was only a bit more positive than negative.

The question is this: Can the thrice-married New Yorker -- a supporter of abortion rights, gay rights and gun control -- win the nomination of a Republican Party that has become increasingly dependent on and influenced by socially conservative Christians?




Guarantee you this, 2A supporters won't back him. And get a load of that Yankees outfit - another good reason to vote for someone else.

Now, Who's Fault Is This?

Michigan State Police said this week that they're still investigating the shooting death of an armed robbery suspect last weekend by Clinton Township police.

Once the investigation is finished, the case will be turned over to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, State Police Detective Sgt. Edward Price said. He declined to discuss details.

Five township officers were placed on administrative leave after they shot (name withheld), 35, of Mt. Clemens in a confrontation that followed a robbery at Passport Pizza, 35510 Groesbeck, and a car chase. Police originally said (the alleged perpetrator) had pointed a gun at them, but it has since been revealed that it was BB gun that resembles a lethal weapon.

He was shot multiple times and died at a nearby hospital.

Now, it is tragic whenever anyone dies. How can anyone have any questions in this case, though? Come on, waving a weapon at police after an armed robbery? Who cares if it was a BB gun. That is just plain suicidal.

You Know Things Are Rough When...

Michigan's economy has been in the dumper for a few years.

Then, last week, Ford announced a $12 billion loss for 2006. Dang.

Now, this:
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group need to reduce the number of dealerships nationwide by 60% to 70%, a veteran financial analyst said today.

When will it all end?