tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64043051871768816352024-03-08T06:33:57.114-05:00Wandering Thoughts<i>Endorphins and Alcohol</i>J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.comBlogger699125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-28334652631032057792017-10-30T12:26:00.000-04:002017-10-31T17:51:30.418-04:00Letting Go<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I love this set. I find the blue and black mingling of colors, with other shadings subtly creeping in, to be absolutely stunning. I remember the shopping trip when we picked this set out, in a Target near Largo, Maryland in early 2011.<br />
<br />
It may not seem like a big deal, but every time I look at this set, it hurts a little. That loss of what was in most respects a wonderful relationship, and loss of a someone who had become one of my dearest, closest friends, hurts.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LMMlJ8MJ3Ac9876bQbK5ySsa5SI_IiIrBVpEuUQhbaoLEjKfdLIICessd7_yylnHXYVPdz6_yf3IMz9_SUvlFqfrh8d44Sw1UaLBvoTdN9mqGWeFqjOrjGQ3a-tcq0D6vlcfBax306uH/s1600/20171030_121041_HDR-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LMMlJ8MJ3Ac9876bQbK5ySsa5SI_IiIrBVpEuUQhbaoLEjKfdLIICessd7_yylnHXYVPdz6_yf3IMz9_SUvlFqfrh8d44Sw1UaLBvoTdN9mqGWeFqjOrjGQ3a-tcq0D6vlcfBax306uH/s320/20171030_121041_HDR-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
As much as I treasured that relationship, it's time to stop reminding myself daily that life is not As It Was.<br />
<br />
Life is change. There are new seasons, as certainly as old ones fade and recede. And life goes on.</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-64529343277574851802017-01-03T01:45:00.001-05:002017-01-03T01:48:41.200-05:00Beginnings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnXOu9pF6YVsSh0yQIdy_0WFehZzRo2ixAEsWht2C1cjFTr3jdKecwAt9TCJZ947zqRrtPVzCMjQGBF7Q35IOWkzDSME1V7M12JS8kmuhwWyMmG8-GYdARLIemPR119kyUCTL6ov7Ml0HT/s1600/20170102_134944-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnXOu9pF6YVsSh0yQIdy_0WFehZzRo2ixAEsWht2C1cjFTr3jdKecwAt9TCJZ947zqRrtPVzCMjQGBF7Q35IOWkzDSME1V7M12JS8kmuhwWyMmG8-GYdARLIemPR119kyUCTL6ov7Ml0HT/s320/20170102_134944-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Dice jalapenos. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzri5Y0KW_lOSOgx8kEGBXZm4QqQ5NLTMzKB9Y4vs28AQsmesLFLLtnlx18LZxHUAb6DkyEU2bq9PfjuJxVh-yMgi3H_1TmO2UaRyNUZ-2p1cF3KVK5SEUvLs3oiA91xjaQI2vJoGZbaA/s1600/20170102_140353-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzri5Y0KW_lOSOgx8kEGBXZm4QqQ5NLTMzKB9Y4vs28AQsmesLFLLtnlx18LZxHUAb6DkyEU2bq9PfjuJxVh-yMgi3H_1TmO2UaRyNUZ-2p1cF3KVK5SEUvLs3oiA91xjaQI2vJoGZbaA/s320/20170102_140353-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Cut two slices of bacon into strips about 4" long, and saute. Add jalapenos and about a tablespoon of diced onions after the bacon is halfway cooked. When the onion is browned, turn the heat up briefly and add either 1 whipped egg or 3 tablespoons of egg white. After about 40 seconds, reduce heat and add a tablespoon of shredded 2% cheese. Cover. <br />
<br />
Toast a sliced bagel or another bread about the same size. I used a sesame kaiser roll.<br />
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Fold edges, flip. Cut heat off. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqpypYjDrESX6Z7CLqjPrw48XD8qB_VwsHNFwCNcjyO8JxIzdJ3wgTkRxrznfRabS8qNbXa-cpHxzQ8HdRNebkOTa2ZO3kQPPUZ-S9xPyLtwoE1L3SgbkubzRN3DaQMKbbLQAapS4GpJYo/s1600/20170102_152005-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqpypYjDrESX6Z7CLqjPrw48XD8qB_VwsHNFwCNcjyO8JxIzdJ3wgTkRxrznfRabS8qNbXa-cpHxzQ8HdRNebkOTa2ZO3kQPPUZ-S9xPyLtwoE1L3SgbkubzRN3DaQMKbbLQAapS4GpJYo/s320/20170102_152005-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Pull toast out of toaster over, and apply a thin coating of <a href="http://www.franklinfoods.com/greek-cream-cheese/nutritional-information">Greek cream cheese</a> to each side. Place your mini omelette atop your toast. Enjoy. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxspTBkACZZhdPxolVJ7qbqyMvDc8ge-sKMdC-IqXCBP8yeUDetkLANqitzhK18lh6JEFiJAiitDn4u0TiW77t1v8fX44p_iYZjdtCz3X9SksrQ6jAL36uDWpXaH3KvjgCNIOufUxpzPcX/s1600/20170102_152310-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxspTBkACZZhdPxolVJ7qbqyMvDc8ge-sKMdC-IqXCBP8yeUDetkLANqitzhK18lh6JEFiJAiitDn4u0TiW77t1v8fX44p_iYZjdtCz3X9SksrQ6jAL36uDWpXaH3KvjgCNIOufUxpzPcX/s320/20170102_152310-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-36308346244946917002016-03-24T10:20:00.000-04:002016-04-07T16:14:26.736-04:00Kill 'Em All<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">On Tuesday, there was a
horrible attack in Brussels. At least 30 people have been killed, and
hundreds injured. It's a tragedy and an outrage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">After shocking events
like this, the phrase "Kill 'Em All" is frequently uttered. We
should kill them all. Those terrorists. Frequently, the phrase is
directed towards a larger social group the terrorists sprang from, whether it's
Arabs, Muslims, Latinos, homosexuals, neocons, "liberals" or whatever
the scapegoat <i>du jour.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">That's natural, right?
That we should want to kill them all. To be sure we get all the
ones who hate and are trying to hurt us. Because they're terrorists, and
they have it coming, and if some people who are actually completely innocent
are killed in the process, oh, well. At least we'll get the terrorists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">On 22 July, 1209, every
human in </span><span style="background: #FAFAFA; color: #252525; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Béziers
was slaughtered. It was claimed that the Abbot of Cîteaux, when
ordering the attack, said, “Kill them all! God will know his own!”
Whether he said it or not, all of the townsfolk were slaughtered, all
20,000 of them.<br />
<br />
When people say, "Kill 'em all, let God sort them out," they mean
they are willing to kill innocent people, so long as the target is eliminated,
as well. Declaring an intent to wage war on a group that includes an
innocent population meets <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/terrorism/terrorism-definition"><span style="color: blue;">the US definition of terrorism</span></a>. People
saying this are declaring their own willingness to be terrorists. They
are declaring themselves <b>my </b>enemy.<br />
<br />
So, consider adjusting your rhetoric to be sure your theoretical "fire on
target" is on the actual bad guys, and that you are not, in fact,
declaring yourself to be a terrorist. I don't like terrorists. I
really want to kill them all.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_383083994"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/carcassonne-falls-albigensian-crusade">Albigensian Crusade</a><br />
<a href="http://www.cathar.info/cathar_wars.htm">Cathar Wars</a><br />
<a href="http://maisonneuve.org/article/2010/03/16/kill-them-all/">Kill Them All</a></div>
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I would like to think of myself as relatively enlightened. I'm a live-and-let-live sort of guy. I don't really care, ultimately, what religion any person gives lip service to, or not. What I do care about, is whether any person treats other people well, because, as one revered religious teacher is <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A16-29%2CEphesians+5%3A9&version=NASB">quoted</a> as saying a couple of thousand years ago, "By their fruits" (the actions people take) "you will know them." <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/sharia-law-usa-states-ban_n_3660813.html">Shariah law </a>is law based upon Islam. I am not a Muslim, but even if I was, I don't think others should be required to live according to my personal beliefs. The people I hear most adamantly protesting about Shariah law are Christians,<br />
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<br />
<br />
but I also don't want to live under Shariah law.<br />
<br />
I have nothing against statues and sculptures.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span><br />I don't think people who swear should be executed.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span><br />
I don't even think cursing out your parents should be punishable by death<span style="font-size: xx-small;">.3</span><br />
I'm a historian, and I think I should be able to discuss other gods.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">4</span><br />
<br />
I don't think children should be held accountable for mistakes their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents made.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">5</span><br />
I'm rather horrified at the thought of slaughtering animals to "atone" for mistakes.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">6</span><br />
I think it's pretty silly to be allowed to eat grasshoppers but denied that most divine of foods, bacon.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">7, 8</span><br />
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<a href="https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/150818_em_shortages_bacon.jpg?quality=75&strip=color&w=1012" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/150818_em_shortages_bacon.jpg?quality=75&strip=color&w=1012" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
I will plant more than one kind of grape in my garden if I damn well please.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">9</span><br />
<br />
I think a human is as good as another human, until the actions of that human make him worth less than others. I think a female is as good as a male, even if there is necessarily some sex-specific things each is better at, like climbing ladders or carrying a child to term. Patriarchal systems that make it clear a woman is property instead of a real, actual person really piss me off. Some things that would make me especially angry might include<br />
<br />
Women having to leave the community while on their period.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">10</span><br />
A married female slave being beaten for having been raped by her master (this one <b>especially </b>pisses me off!).<span style="font-size: xx-small;">11</span><br />
I don't think a woman not bleeding on her wedding night is reason enough to stone her.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">12,13,14,15,16</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://www.chicagohistory.org/wetwithblood/images/bloody/sheet/191folded_sheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.chicagohistory.org/wetwithblood/images/bloody/sheet/191folded_sheet.jpg" height="176" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
Being forced to marry your rapist is just sick and sadistic (though the rapist does have to pay the father a fine for, you know, <i>damaging his property</i>).<span style="font-size: xx-small;">17,18</span><br />
<br />
There are other things I don't agree with. I think I should be able to wear clothing made of more than one type of thread,<span style="font-size: xx-small;">19</span> Wiccans may dress funny, but I don't think that alone is usually worthy of death,<span style="font-size: xx-small;">20</span> and if they're both adults and it's consensual, I certainly don't think same-sex relations should end with stoning the participants.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">21</span><br />
<br />
I don't want Shariah law. Of course, everything I've just described are <i>commandments from the Bible</i>, but I don't want Shariah law, either.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/20-4.htm">1</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/leviticus/24-16.htm">2</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/leviticus/20-9.htm">3</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/23-13.htm">4</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/34-7.htm">5</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/leviticus/1-5.htm">6</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/leviticus/11-7.htm">7</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/leviticus/11-22.htm">8</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-9.htm">9</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/leviticus/15-19.htm">10</a><br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19%3A20&version=KJV">11</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-13.htm">12</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-15.htm">13</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-17.htm">14</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-20.htm">15</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-21.htm">16</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-28.htm">17</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-29.htm">18</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/22-11.htm">19</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/exodus/22-18.htm">20</a><br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/leviticus/20-13.htm">21</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124494788">Additional</a><br />
<br /></div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-73530182794192019922016-01-06T12:48:00.000-05:002016-01-06T17:44:46.122-05:00Politician Sets New Record<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How many lies can fit
into a speech?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let's see:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. "(The USA is)
the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt
with this kind of frequency. It doesn't happen in other advanced countries.
It’s not even close."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: the US, when
adjusted for population, is well behind the top 5 countries in mass shootings.
All of these top 5 have somewhat or very restrictive firearms policies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://static.ijreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Screenshot-6_18_2015-9_43_12-PM.jpg?_ga=1.211649942.2026751451.1452084690" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.ijreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Screenshot-6_18_2015-9_43_12-PM.jpg?_ga=1.211649942.2026751451.1452084690" height="233" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. "There’s a
general consensus in America about what needs to be done"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: there is no
"general consensus" about what needs to be done. Of random people
I've discussed the topic with- NOT known supporters of my political views- no
more than 1 in 3, at most, say anything about further restricting firearms
access to the general US populace. More intensive scrutiny of incoming
immigrants and better US mental health care are mentioned much more frequently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. "We don't need
to be talking past one another. But we do have to feel a sense of urgency about
it. In Dr. King’s words, we need to feel the “fierce urgency of now.” Because
people are dying. And the constant excuses for inaction no longer do, no longer
suffice."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: the obvious
insinuation is that violent crime is rising in the US. The FACT is that the
most recent FBI data (2014) shows the exact opposite. I don't like graphs, but
this makes the point at a glance: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/figs/violent-crime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/figs/violent-crime.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. "To prove that
the vast majority of Americans, even if our voices aren’t always the loudest or
most extreme, care enough about a little boy like Daniel to come together and
take common-sense steps to save lives and protect more of our children."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: this is a
two-fer, in which the President uses an emotional appeal to suggest that if you
don't support his political agenda, you don't care about the lives of children,
and adds the lie that his suggestion are "common sense" (which I'm
pretty sure he wouldn't know if it bit him). This president may lie more per
sentence than even Bill Clinton.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. "I believe in
the Second Amendment. It’s there written on the paper. It guarantees a right to
bear arms. No matter how many times people try to twist my words around -- I
taught constitutional law, I know a little about this."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: "weapons
that were designed for soldiers in war theaters don't belong on our
streets." In other words, President Obama "believes in the Second
Amendment", he just doesn't believe US citizens should have modern
firearms. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.ontheissues.org/Archive/2012-2_Barack_Obama.htm">2012 Issues.</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. "We all
believe in the First Amendment, the guarantee of free speech, but we accept
that you can’t yell “fire” in a theater. We understand there are some
constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people. We cherish our
right to privacy, but we accept that you have to go through metal detectors
before being allowed to board a plane. It’s not because people like doing that,
but we understand that that’s part of the price of living in a civilized
society."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: no matter how
much US citizens may dislike it, airlines are private entities, and are
entitled to whatever restrictions they wish to place on those who choose to use
their service. Now, whether any US governmental agency should be allowed to
dictate what policies must be enforced on all airline customers is a different
question altogether, but the airlines themselves could enforce any restriction
they wanted, so long as it was equally applied to all of their clients, without
any infringement on Constitutional rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. "If a father
wants to teach his daughter how to hunt, he can walk into a gun store, get a background
check, purchase his weapon...A violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over
the Internet with no background check, no questions asked."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: this is one of
the most blatant lies in recent history. This has not been legal since before
Al Gore invented the internet. Selling modern firearms through the mail to
anyone but licensed dealers except in very controlled circumstances ALSO
requiring documentation has been <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg1213-2.pdf">illegal for almost 50 years</a>. You get to choose whether you believe the President is willfully lying, or is
ignorant of something I've known since before I was a teenager. Current law
showing that firearms purchased from out of state and shipped must be received
by a firearms dealer (FFL) is <a href="https://www.atf.gov/questions-and-answers/qa/how-may-unlicensed-person-receive-firearm-his-or-her-state-he-or-she">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8. "A recent
study found that about one in 30 people looking to buy guns on one website had
criminal records -- one out of 30 had a criminal record. We’re talking about
individuals convicted of serious crimes -- aggravated assault, domestic
violence, robbery, illegal gun possession."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: if you read
carefully, and think about it, you'll see that the President suggests one in 30
people looking at this website have a violent or disqualifying criminal record,
but THAT'S NOT WHAT HE SAID. Most of you reading this have a "criminal
record", even if it's only for speeding. You've probably looked at one or
more gun sites, too, you criminal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9. "So we’ve
created a system in which dangerous people are allowed to play by a different
set of rules than a responsible gun owner who buys his or her gun the right way
and subjects themselves to a background check."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: repetition of
previous blatant lie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10. "Senator John
McCain introduced a bipartisan measure to address the gun show loophole."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: there is no
"gun show loophole". Requirements for licensed gun dealers are the
same whether they are selling from their shop or at a show. <a href="https://www.atf.gov/file/56651/download">Here</a> are the ATF
requirements, which the President is either blissfully ignorant of, or is lying
about: It would be statistically
improbable that almost every so-called gun control advocate would be ignorant
of the truth, so the obvious conclusion is that they are all lying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11. "Some of you
may recall, at the same time that Sandy Hook happened, a disturbed person in
China took a knife and tried to kill -- with a knife -- a bunch of children in
China. But most of them survived because he didn’t have access to a powerful
weapon. We maybe can’t save everybody, but we could save some."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: the suggestion
is being made that firearms are very dangerous weapons, the most dangerous
weapons an ordinary citizen might have access to. Not a claim that stands up to
scrutiny when comparing a projectile with from about 190 up to about 2400
ft-lbs of energy (common firearm caliber projectile energy at the muzzle) with
any car. A <a href="http://www.smartusa.com/models/pure-coupe">Smart Car FourTw</a>o with a single passenger, traveling at only 30 mph
has 60,500 ft-lbs of energy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/21/us/las-vegas-strip-pedestrians-hit/">December, 2015</a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://fox17online.com/2015/10/24/car-hits-crowd-at-oklahoma-state-parade-witness-says/">October, 2015</a><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12. "we know that
background checks make a difference. After Connecticut passed a law requiring
background checks and gun safety courses, gun deaths decreased by 40 percent --
40 percent. Meanwhile, since Missouri repealed a law requiring
comprehensive background checks and purchase permits, gun deaths have increased
to almost 50 percent higher than the national average. One study found,
unsurprisingly, that criminals in Missouri now have easier access to guns."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: the <a href="http://www.nhregister.com/article/NH/20141110/NEWS/141119992">Connecticut violent crime rate</a> has been declining since at least 2009, with an uptick due
to the 2012 Newtown killings. The rate of decline from 2012-2013 is very
similar to the rate from 2010-2011.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The President
conveniently "forgot" to give any authentic sources for his fuzzy
facts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13. "And the
evidence tells us that in states that require background checks, law-abiding
Americans don’t find it any harder to purchase guns whatsoever."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: <a href="http://nws.mx/Pvtzsx">Analysis of NICS flags</a> (denials to purchase) in 2009 show about 94% of the flags were
false. Described another way, out of 71,010 initial denials, 77 people were
prosecuted for attempting to illegally purchase a firearm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14. "The evidence
tells us that in states that require background checks, law-abiding Americans
don’t find it any harder to purchase guns whatsoever. Their guns have not been
confiscated. Their rights have not been infringed."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: in California,
in particular, laws passed in 2013 and 2015 have resulted in seizures of
legally purchased firearms, sometimes due to complaints filed by parties who
had other disputes with the firearm owners. Veteran Rick Bailey had his
firearms seized after a neighbor filed a harassment charge against Bailey as a
result of Bailey's complaints to the city about the neighbor's waste disposal
business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The 2015 law allows
local authorities to seize guns for up to 21 days while a determination is made
as to whether the gun owner is fit to possess them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/19/california-gun-confiscation-bill_n_3117238.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/19/california-gun-confiscation-bill_n_3117238.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/09/right-to-bear-arms-gun-grabbing-sweeping-nation.html">http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/09/right-to-bear-arms-gun-grabbing-sweeping-nation.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/29/california-gun-violence-restraining-order-law-goin/">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/29/california-gun-violence-restraining-order-law-goin/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15. "When it
comes to an inherently deadly weapon -- nobody argues that guns are potentially
deadly -- weapons that kill tens of thousands of Americans every year, Congress
actually voted to make it harder for public health experts to conduct research
into gun violence; made it harder to collect data and facts and develop
strategies to reduce gun violence. Even after San Bernardino, they’ve refused
to make it harder for terror suspects who can’t get on a plane to buy
semi-automatic weapons."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: according to
the FBI, there were <b>8,124</b> murders with firearms in the US in 2014. There were
<b>721</b> justifiable homicides. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to the CDC,
in 2014 there were <b>586 </b>accidental shootings and <b>21,334</b> suicides with firearms.
This is a grand total of <b>30,765</b> deaths caused with a firearm in 2014. Oddly
enough, this is <i>less than the number of traffic fatalities</i> (<b>33,736</b>) and
considerably <i>less than poisoning fatalities</i> (<b>42,032</b>). and even a bit<i> less than
deaths from unintentional falls</i> (<b>31,959</b>), but the President refuses to call for
more "common-sense" regulations of motor vehicles, deadly chemicals
and ladders. Where is the outrage?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 13.5pt;">Those "terror
suspects" the President references include US National News Anchors who
travel worldwide. You know- to report stories. Because that's their job.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_735174580"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/expanded-homicide-data/expanded_homicide_data_table_8_murder_victims_by_weapon_2010-2014.xls">VCS, Homicides.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe">http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe</a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/12/11/democrats-misleading-claims-about-closing-the-no-fly-list-loophole/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/12/11/democrats-misleading-claims-about-closing-the-no-fly-list-loophole/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/stephen-hayes-terrorist-watch-list_n_5870474.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/stephen-hayes-terrorist-watch-list_n_5870474.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">16. "Number one,
anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct
background checks, or be subject to criminal prosecutions."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: <u>anyone who
sells functional modern firearms (made after 1899) must have a license and
comply with state background check law</u>, which either requires a per-transaction
background, or that the purchaser hold a firearm permit which required a
background check, depending on the state. President Obama does not specifically
state that businesses selling firearms currently may not possess FFLs, but he
does insinuate it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/does-federal-law-regulate-firearms-businesses">Firearm Sellers</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">17. "We’re also
expanding background checks to cover violent criminals who try to buy some of
the most dangerous firearms by hiding behind trusts and corporations and
various cutouts."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: trusts can be
set up to make firearms purchase and transfer easier and less hassle, but a
<i>violent crimina</i>l (any felon or someone convicted of domestic violence) <i>may
still not legally purchase or use any modern firearm</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/04/jim-barrett/idea-of-the-day-setting-up-an-nfa-gun-trust/">Setting up a gun trust.</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.atf.gov/file/61721/download">Felons and guns.</a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">18. "We're going
to require firearms dealers to report more lost or stolen guns on a timely
basis."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: FFLs are
required to report lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.atf.gov/file/61331/download">https://www.atf.gov/file/61331/download</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">19. "We’re going
to ensure that federal mental health records are submitted to the background
check system, and remove barriers that prevent states from reporting relevant
information."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: what the
President is describing is a violation of current Federal law. "Mental
health records" are protected just like any other medical information, and
the fact that the President wants to take your confidential information and put
it in government databases should alarm everyone. The Department of Health and
Human Services <a href="http://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocr/office/lettertonationhcp.pdf">has already clarified</a> that health providers are allowed to give
patient information to " law enforcement, family members of the patient,
or other persons, when you believe the patient presents a serious danger to
himself or other people".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some veterans are
already losing their firearms or are being denied firearms purchases because of
VA reporting, such as veteran John Arnold being entered into NICS as ineligible
after he suffered a stroke. President Obama wants to expand this reporting,
which is already clearly causing problems for some fully competent lawful
Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/mental-health/index.html">http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/mental-health/index.html</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.khq.com/story/29726937/priest-river-community-stands-up-for-veteran-facing-gun-seizure">http://www.khq.com/story/29726937/priest-river-community-stands-up-for-veteran-facing-gun-seizure</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/04/17/senator-veterans-still-losing-gun-rights-because-of-va-reporting.html">http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/04/17/senator-veterans-still-losing-gun-rights-because-of-va-reporting.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">20. "Nearly two
in three gun deaths are from suicides."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Truth</b>: <i>this is
absolutely true</i>, and it's nice that President Obama managed to say at least one
true statement during this recitation of lies, insinuations, and half-truths.
Mr. Obama does not, however, mention that only half of suicides are committed
with firearms. What about the rest, Mr. President?</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm">CDC 2014 Suicide Stats</a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, there you have it.
There are even more untrue or, at best, deceptive statements in what President
Obama said, but I'm just too tired to point out any more, and if you're honest,
you've already been convinced that the President is deliberately lying to the
American people. He does want to restrict your firearms freedoms, he does not
want you to have capable modern firearms, and he is perfectly willing to take your
confidential medical information and put it in a Federal database, which we
have seen even this year is fully susceptible to access by hackers. Because
screw freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/05/remarks-president-common-sense-gun-safety-reform">Full text of speech.</a></div>
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-87263049297980782282015-12-22T10:17:00.000-05:002015-12-22T10:17:44.796-05:00Late Shopping<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's three days until Christmas, and you're almost out of time. What to do?<br />
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It may already be too late for some options, but Amazon may still save you.<br />
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It's hard to go wrong with a good water bottle, and Camelback makes a very good one. Mine lasted for several years of use. Pay no attention to the rumors that its demise were hastened by putting beer in it on more than one occasion. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ZT8YFI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006ZT8YFI&linkCode=as2&tag=wanderin00-20&linkId=RHD2V7CDSLOYZ2KT" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B006ZT8YFI&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wanderin00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wanderin00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B006ZT8YFI" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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When you care about people, you want to help them through the dark places. The little Fenix and Pelican lights are good ways to do that. <br />
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The Fenix is a very compact, inexpensive light that's good for keychains.<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=wanderin00-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00BNUBDKW&asins=B00BNUBDKW&linkId=FBO4L4HVF5GUDC57&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
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The Pelican is an exceptionally good light that is slightly larger and more expensive, with a push button on/off. It's suited for pocket carry, and still economical.<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=wanderin00-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B005OLVDJC&asins=B005OLVDJC&linkId=JCERM5PKDSELNA5B&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
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The Boker Magnum Li'l Friend Micro is a tiny, cute knife for less than $20. It has 440A steel, which isn't great but also isn't terrible on a knife that will probably be mostly used for opening mail. The Li'l Friend comes with a ball bead chain for neck carry, or it can be put on keys, or carried in or on packs. This is a useful small knife for things you don't need bigger knives for. It's also a good gateway drug to begin to acclimate people who are afraid of tools.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=wanderin00-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00FAI53G8&asins=B00FAI53G8&linkId=L4S2RQQ5IDWGXY7F&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></p>
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The <i>Kershaw Cryo</i> is a very nice folder with a "flipper" at an attractive price. Smooth scales, "deep carry" pocket clip, and relatively thin despite heavy duty construction mean you can carry this even in nice pants at most jobs.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0074FI28Q/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0074FI28Q&linkCode=as2&tag=wanderin00-20&linkId=XZKUB2XS3KW6Y566" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0074FI28Q&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wanderin00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wanderin00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0074FI28Q" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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The larger <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AU6NWP4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AU6NWP4&linkCode=as2&tag=wanderin00-20&linkId=W7CBK4V4ZF6BHIZX" rel="nofollow">Kershaw 1556TI Cryo II <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wanderin00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00AU6NWP4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> is only a couple of bucks more.</a></div>
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The Byrd brand is Spyderco's super bargain line of knives, made in the PRC with Spyderco quality control. The consumer gets Spyderco quality and ergonomics for what you would expect to pay for a crappy Winchester knife. The Cara Cara is the Byrd version of Spyderco's very popular and strong but light for size Endura. It's a bargain for less than $25.00</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049AYJP4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0049AYJP4&linkCode=as2&tag=wanderin00-20&linkId=3RGFZCQFZ6KTJBZU" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0049AYJP4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wanderin00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wanderin00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0049AYJP4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>
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The smaller, Delica-sized <a href="http://amzn.to/1JrCznD">Meadowlark </a> is less than $20. </div>
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If you have more discretionary income, the Spyderco Manix 2 LW black is my favorite folding knife in the entire world. It is light and strong, has good steel that resharpens extremely easily, is fast into action, and has a good grip but won't eat your pants like G10 models can. Not "cheap" at a bit over $70, but I think still a bargain for what you get.</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=wanderin00-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00AHF6MJG&asins=B00AHF6MJG&linkId=ABMQJ2FR7RGUGOU4&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></div>
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As a last resort, you can always email them an Amazon gift card. That way, you know they'll have it on Christmas.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014S24B28/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B014S24B28&linkCode=as2&tag=wanderin00-20&linkId=EW75S4NOIRACPXO3" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B014S24B28&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wanderin00-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wanderin00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B014S24B28" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div>
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Happy Holidays, y'all.</div>
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-75200443387007729112015-11-10T09:06:00.001-05:002015-11-10T23:11:51.887-05:00Veterans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
I knew veterans, growing up.
My mother’s father had served in the Army Air Corps in World War
II. My mother’s stepfather had been a
sailor in the same conflict. My father’s
father had been a Soldier in World War II, and my father’s older brother had
fought in Korea as a paratrooper. I
admired the service of these men, and eagerly listened anytime they felt like
talking about their experiences. My
maternal grandfather had been a navigator on bombers, and his stories mostly
involved pleasant experiences in the air and while training in Florida. My paternal grandfather was a man of his
hands, and he would talk about the guns he used, and what they could do, while
my mother’s stepfather never talked about his service. My mother explained that he had served on
destroyers, and was haunted by the screams of men who had drowned when their sealed
compartment had flooded. Service clearly
left survivors with stories, but some of them no-one would want.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was very interested in the service, but was talked out of
joining when I was nearing high school graduation. I went into the civilian workforce. When I was about 28, I again considered
enlisting, but decided military service would not help me further my goals.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I had been working for a telecom company for several years
by September of 2001. On the morning of September 9, one of my coworker friends called me as I was about to leave for
work. He said a light airplane had
crashed into the World Trade Center. I
headed into work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the call center, we had overhead monitors hung where they
were visible by everyone. Most of the
time, the monitors displayed call center stats or regional information, but today
they played the news. We saw the second
airplane go in moments after it happened, and then saw it from different angles
as more footage came in. We hoped and
prayed for the lives of thousands trapped in the enormous buildings as they
burned, and then crumbled. As the events
of the day continued to unfold, I fielded many calls that my care reps were
struggling to handle. I found myself explaining
again and again to callers desperate to reach friends and family in New York
the problems we were facing: a phone system flooded with calls, antennas lost
on the World Trade Center, and available signal in use by thousands of emergency
responders. </div>
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When the day was over, I waited to see what my country’s
leadership would do. I admired President
Bush’s strong stance, while being alarmed at his “with us or against us”
national rhetoric. I waited to see if we
would take substantive action, or just fire some cruise missiles as token
retribution for our thousands of innocent dead.
I supported a strong national response, believing that forceful action
was necessary to deter future attacks on my civilian countrymen.</div>
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When it became clear that the US would respond with major
force, I went to talk to a recruiter.
The recruiters looked at my test scores, and suggested high-tech
specialties, but I knew what I wanted. A
new young soldier at the recruiting station tried to persuade me to choose
Psychological Operations, telling me the day of the foot soldier had
passed. I knew better.</div>
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Superior vehicles make a difference. Air superiority can crush infrastructure. But winning a war, now and in the foreseeable
future, requires Soldiers on the ground.
I arrived at Fort Benning, Georgia for Basic Training the month before
my 30<sup>th</sup> birthday.</div>
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Service is a gift, and a burden. Service members may be called upon to give
their everything, and are expected to do it without question. In return, we get a family that will die for
us, if need be. We forge bonds that will
last a lifetime. We see places, and do
great things, and boring things, and horrible things, and at the end of the
day, we have our conscience and our duty.<br />
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War is mud and blood, months of boredom and work, and
seconds and minutes of adrenaline, muscles screaming as they are pushed to the
limit to enable an overwhelming response to silence the enemy, and protect our
brothers and sisters in uniform. <br />
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I know a lot of things I didn’t know when I enlisted. I learned that pain alone is not reason to
quit, that I have mental and physical reserves that can carry me if I build
them up, and that I have to stay strong enough to carry my fellow
Soldiers. I learned that training is
better than raw courage, that you always need more water than you thought, and
that a good plan executed at the right time beats a great plan that starts too
late. I learned that two soldiers are
four times as effective as one, SPORTS, General Order Number One.<br />
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I learned that I was weaker than I had thought, and much
stronger. I learned that I would never
be truly alone, that if I ever became separated from my team, millions of my
countrymen would keep looking for me until I was found. I learned that officers eat last. I learned that some of the toughest soldiers
need an encouraging word now and then. I
will never stop learning, because there is always more to learn, but I know the
most important things.<br />
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My name is John, and I am a Soldier of the United States of
America.<br />
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-6005487724608977852015-05-04T13:00:00.000-04:002015-06-05T14:07:12.827-04:00Ladies and Gentlemen, I Give You...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The <a href="http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=921">ARK</a>.<br />
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So much thanks to Sam Owens, and Sal Glesser and the other good folks from Spyderco.</div>
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-3564540953526904042014-05-15T10:44:00.000-04:002014-05-15T10:56:58.343-04:00Muses of May<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yes, it has been forever. I know.<br />
<br />
<br />
Life happens. I could say some of it's good, some bad, but that's not really true, is it? It's truer to say that life goes on, and we <em>call</em> some parts of it good, and others, bad, but it's all just life. <br />
<br />
<br />
In any case, I know I haven't been writing much online. Which doesn't actually mean that I haven't been writing. I am 25,000 words into writing a novel that I began two years ago. At my current pace, I'll be through within three months.<br />
<br />
<br />
I'll call that good.<br />
<br />
<br />
In other news, I am excited to say that pictures of the ARK prototype can now be publically shown. There are several good pictures in <a href="http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?63001-Amsterdam-Meet-2014-Report-of-Upcoming-Spyderco-Prototypes&p=923348&viewfull=1#post923348">this post</a>. The ARK is already listed at <a href="http://www.gpknives.com/spydercoarkneckknife.html">GP Knives</a>, which is an online retailer known for letting customers pre-order Spydercos..<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Peace, y'all.</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-47326442046658074572013-12-12T23:07:00.000-05:002013-12-12T23:07:37.898-05:00Interlude<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Winter is in full force here in Maryland. M kept looking out the window Sunday morning, hoping for snow. Which fell, dropping nearly three inches on us by one o'clock in the afternoon. I looked crossly at the icky cold stuff, and sternly admonished her: <em>You have brought this white pestilence upon us.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
My current earworm has a silly video, but I find the song itself very...well, it won't go away.<br />
<br />
<em></em> </div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hT_nvWreIhg" width="640"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
The band is One Republic.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B89WXYS/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00B89WXYS&linkCode=as2&tag=wanderin00-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00B89WXYS&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wanderin00-20" ></a><img src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wanderin00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00B89WXYS" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-74566748308125283482013-11-28T11:37:00.002-05:002013-11-28T11:38:23.413-05:00For All These Things...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I made it back from Captain's Career Course a little over two weeks ago, and have been busy at my civilian job since. I don't love my current job, but it pays the bills. Without hopefully sounding too much like a motivational speaker, one of the things that can really transform a life is an attitude of thankfulness.<br />
<br />
We in the US have it so good compared to most of the rest of the world. Even with the economic setbacks we have had in recent years, and despite some idiotic political policies that will be coming home to roost (pay people to have more children? Sure! Why not?), we still have a lot for which to be thankful.<br />
<br />
I am thankful for all the good things in my life, for warmth and companionship and love. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0ewS7wWDV3Yz6innIGQTSdyVTBYhYewqYnKbh0Tb-OY4qsyAdFFKXvSJZ5rm034IKbeeRRKrf2-Cqc6Ikk0XLovbL6TkskSj4qVT6cNBp3lvbDb11avuNkrBnvLFbEBEs-oeMAbyEtZq/s1600/Fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0ewS7wWDV3Yz6innIGQTSdyVTBYhYewqYnKbh0Tb-OY4qsyAdFFKXvSJZ5rm034IKbeeRRKrf2-Cqc6Ikk0XLovbL6TkskSj4qVT6cNBp3lvbDb11avuNkrBnvLFbEBEs-oeMAbyEtZq/s400/Fire.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-12221752117024251152013-10-19T11:41:00.001-04:002013-10-19T11:42:20.635-04:00Running Silently<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I know I've been very quiet for a while. I started a new job, and have sometimes been working a lot of hours. I'm also leaving tomorrow for a month at Fort Bragg. I'll see you when I see you~ please take care of yourselves in the meantime.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ep7W89I_V_g" width="459"></iframe><br /></div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-71036292203990510412013-09-21T19:57:00.000-04:002013-09-21T19:57:26.805-04:00Life: the Long Run<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
Sorry I've been so...<em>gone</em> lately, but we have moved a bit further from DC.
<br />
<br />
I was running two nights ago, and thought that maybe life is like a run. At the beginning, you think, "This sucks!" Halfway through, you think, "I didn't realize <em>x</em> miles was so far!" And at the end, you think, "Well, that wasn't too bad."<br />
<br />
</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-6554056970411630482013-08-11T16:16:00.000-04:002013-08-11T16:42:56.976-04:00Why We Fight<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There has been a good deal of rhetoric, and quite a few studies, about why people fight in wars. I think there are actually two questions to answer here. The first is, "Why does anyone volunteer to fight in a war?" The second is, "Why do troops fight in battle?" I think the answers are very different.<br />
<br />
People volunteer to fight for their country because of patriotism, a search for adventure, and sometimes, even just because it's a way to survive financially or support a family. In the moment of battle, though, troops fight because of training and love for their fellow troops. "You don't fight for your country, you fight for your buddy next to you."<br />
<br />
I think this picture from Friday illustrates this vital sense of team spirit and cooperation...which sounds very PC, doesn't it? But <em>when the chips are down, you fight and bleed for your brothers and sisters in green</em>. It's that simple.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbZoihyz98WlU-jsERhHyIWjgLj1g_MPllHcu9JYi3lr7QL6frlfXXqKwkqGZa6nqov7_QpeNx_6TeXByD15-08WKZ7RRHAfQShZVqFKULbhx3-2jqVpZoj19WF3y_W96hLtEq8w9X4Uw/s1600/11+AUG+13+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbZoihyz98WlU-jsERhHyIWjgLj1g_MPllHcu9JYi3lr7QL6frlfXXqKwkqGZa6nqov7_QpeNx_6TeXByD15-08WKZ7RRHAfQShZVqFKULbhx3-2jqVpZoj19WF3y_W96hLtEq8w9X4Uw/s320/11+AUG+13+016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-60453915552519383632013-08-11T16:04:00.001-04:002013-08-11T16:04:53.999-04:00Army Training, Sir!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We all have rituals we do before certain things. Some of these rituals are a way of psyching ourselves up for whatever challenge we're about to go through, and some actions are just things we check off a "pre-flight" list we have based on past experiences. Ensuring I have all the needed toiletries before a couple of weeks of active duty is definitely one of the latter for me.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nGNCEaOJiE1a_G5TR6VxSBroubGFjIpPdhHDLnWBj3xgzHvuU2D0ZfKMTwxXmrA51nfHQx21n9sv8Oe2ox8OiUpaoaoD8AA9sO3n6pjimqc6TtS4_ZVGIXF6b5wt5mQEoIgC7KsFxSnQ/s1600/3+AUG+2013+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nGNCEaOJiE1a_G5TR6VxSBroubGFjIpPdhHDLnWBj3xgzHvuU2D0ZfKMTwxXmrA51nfHQx21n9sv8Oe2ox8OiUpaoaoD8AA9sO3n6pjimqc6TtS4_ZVGIXF6b5wt5mQEoIgC7KsFxSnQ/s320/3+AUG+2013+003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-49582665921400343832013-08-02T10:34:00.002-04:002013-08-02T10:35:08.478-04:00Breakfast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://twitpic.com/d62osv" title="mushroom, sausage, and carmelized onion omelette with feta on Twitpic"><img alt="mushroom, sausage, and carmelized onion omelette with feta on Twitpic" height="150" src="http://twitpic.com/show/thumb/d62osv.jpg" width="150" /></a> <br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
That is all.
</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-40915952275588876822013-07-31T21:47:00.000-04:002013-07-31T21:47:16.530-04:00When the Last Sword is Drawn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm going to review several other movies within the next day or so, but this particular movie deserves its own separate entry. This film is at least loosely based on the life of Kanichiro Yoshimura, during one of many periods of great upheaval in Japan. During the era in which the film happens, the US and European nations have <a href="http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1750_perry.htm">forced Japan to acknowledge them</a> and open trade arrangements, which in turn led to internal power struggles and civil wars. <br />
</div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=wanderin00-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00B8PZWVI&nou=1&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFFFFF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<br />
There is some doubt as to what exactly happened to Kanichiro Yoshimura, but this movie can certainly stand on its own merits. We in the United States have certain expectations that we associate with honor. This movie ultimately asks the question of what <em>true</em> honor really is, and looks at the sometimes competing obligations of family, political allegiance, and even personal life.<br />
<br />
There is some good to excellent sword work in <em>Last Sword</em>, including at least one draw and cut by <a href="http://asianwiki.com/Koichi_Sato">Koichi Sato</a> that alone would have been worth watching the movie for. Star <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620018/?ref_=tt_ov_st">Kiichi Nakai</a> gives one of the best film performances I have ever seen. This film won the Japanese Film Academy's Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor awards for 2004, and they were all well deserved.<br />
<br />
I'll give this film five stars for an amazing plot, and perfect acting, and take back half of one for some of the flashbacks being confusing as to timeline. In Japanese with subtitles.<br />
<strong>4.5 of 5 stars.</strong></div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-73042443673453968482013-07-29T14:47:00.003-04:002013-07-29T14:49:04.483-04:00Feel Free to be Used<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recall losing the last vestiges of respect I had for someone a few years ago. This person claimed to be strongly in favor of women's rights, yet defended Bill Clinton when I mentioned the rape accusations against him (<em>by accusing Bush II of war crimes</em>, as though that was germane)! I cannot understand how some people are entirely willing to overlook public figures' <strong>actions</strong>, so long as they agree with them politically.<br />
<br />
Cold Fury <a href="http://coldfury.com/2013/07/29/democrat-socialist-women-pieces-of-meat/">has a blog today</a> about the Democratic Party's callous exploitation of over half the population...<br />
<br />
<br />
(To be fair, I don't like the Republican Party much, either, but at least they aren't the party of race hatred and engineered public dependency.)</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-26019210066126400532013-07-29T14:24:00.001-04:002013-07-29T14:25:30.187-04:00Pelican 1910<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We all have our failings and foibles. Me? I like lights.<br />
<br />
I have MagLites, SureFires, Pelicans, Fenixs, customs, and various random Chinese lights in varying levels of reliability and quality, in addition to my very favorite <a href="http://www.shootingreviews.com/ultimate-tactical-light-testing-the-elzetta-zfl-m60/">ElZetta,</a> the light I judge all high quality lights by. MagLites are quality lights, but have frequently not been the most compact or anywhere near the brightest lights available. SureFires are best quality lights, but are not cheap, and have all been 123s until recently. The Fenix lights have been reasonably priced and bright, and also offered in AA and AAA versions, but have not been as sturdy or reliable as other offerings. <br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=wanderin00-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B005OLVDJC&nou=1&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFFFFF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
I think many users will find the Pelican 1910 to be in a "happy spot" of size, power, and price, considering its very high quality. I've been using one for the last six months, and it's a damn good light. The review is <a href="http://www.shootingreviews.com/tiny-torch-the-pelican-1910/">here</a>, but if you don't have a lot of time and want to skip the verbiage, just click on the pic to order from Amazon. <br />
</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-52323807710686794692013-07-22T23:27:00.002-04:002013-07-22T23:27:47.202-04:00It Begins Again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRd72XxCHNmXTXZ0WaBJNBwvzoCJ3P06DTiFuPnCdACa2qPFxZz5l4Guu2Pxr3lagtEURwfPJI5Lm-kmjMT8rB7jbG70gcevYRlWR6Z3eC4f5CkboG8ETRbbAGwW4gbOR4RfnrSmia9oo/s1600/MV1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRd72XxCHNmXTXZ0WaBJNBwvzoCJ3P06DTiFuPnCdACa2qPFxZz5l4Guu2Pxr3lagtEURwfPJI5Lm-kmjMT8rB7jbG70gcevYRlWR6Z3eC4f5CkboG8ETRbbAGwW4gbOR4RfnrSmia9oo/s400/MV1.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stuff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I moved to Maryland in early 2011, not eager to actually be <em>in</em> Maryland, but happy to leave my unhappy associations of Virginia behind. I've lived near Andrews Air Force Base since then, and in general, life has been very good. I've had a lot of really great times in a comparatively brief span, and for that, I'm grateful. <br />
<br />
I'm happy M and I were able to find a place quickly when we needed to, and it was comparatively affordable, considering the insane housing prices in the area. But, the rent is continuing to creep up here while we are running out of space to properly house us and Boy and Dog when they visit. I don't have room to set up a reloading bench. And the neighborhood here in Prince George's County isn't great.<br />
<br />
We're moving to Columbia next month. I would be happy to be in another state, but we will be in a much nicer neighborhood, close to many great restaurants, gyms, and within walking distance of a dojo I want to attend. And I will have space to set up my loading bench, finally. <br />
<br />
Life is change, but change can be good.</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-72750382306402893082013-07-20T14:08:00.001-04:002013-07-20T14:09:05.939-04:00Seen Recently <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was out walking a few days ago, and nearly bumped into this guy as he snoozed over his malt liquor. I politely backed away, and left him in peace...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFJqC5WRarIisJeGxsp6XF4wR54OdxZuiCG_caC3XtBVqPsgZf_rlBk6JCq_NPHJp-OicT7l6qA2EoFskFCEpFx19iGJHxWG3e4X3Pdrl2F3KQwk80M5kGdP-qkB1Mkzw_K5gLtUSXT2L/s1600/20130718_202008-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFJqC5WRarIisJeGxsp6XF4wR54OdxZuiCG_caC3XtBVqPsgZf_rlBk6JCq_NPHJp-OicT7l6qA2EoFskFCEpFx19iGJHxWG3e4X3Pdrl2F3KQwk80M5kGdP-qkB1Mkzw_K5gLtUSXT2L/s320/20130718_202008-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pen for Scale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-53682349854564802862013-07-13T22:40:00.001-04:002013-07-13T22:40:18.678-04:00Tie That Yellow Ribbon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am finishing my second post-deployment Yellow Ribbon Event. Fortunately, I didn't have to drive nearly as far as the last one I attended in Hershey, PA.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I've published an article about the old-new dazzle paint <a href="http://xabyssus.blogspot.com/2013/07/dazzle-u.html">here</a>. The concept now really seems like a slice of the early 20th Century.<br />
</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-23291997687009038202013-06-27T10:09:00.000-04:002013-06-27T10:11:01.822-04:00Power to the People<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<em><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-307_g2bh.pdf">United States v. Windsor</a></em> has been decided, and there are important and far-reaching consequences to the decision. I usually refrain from getting too political here, preferring to suggest general ideas about freedom and personal responsibility, but I am perfectly willing to call Democrats liars when the need arises. Since the Republicans are the primary party lying now, I am absolutely willing to treat them the same.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mvvT6uMfBQHGyIRVSl_PFm3zzQPwEeX2ojeiEgMMUpsjW2FoPwks0f9RdqA3seqQBZNWqz5GIh1fTAwbk5DVRGJomxM2oC-iKFTp3sEgLyZ6YlaMkCRIYCWOOwsqWAjFMJJ0wABgIHbl/s1093/Gay_marriage_-_Matrimonio_gay_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto_26-Jan-2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mvvT6uMfBQHGyIRVSl_PFm3zzQPwEeX2ojeiEgMMUpsjW2FoPwks0f9RdqA3seqQBZNWqz5GIh1fTAwbk5DVRGJomxM2oC-iKFTp3sEgLyZ6YlaMkCRIYCWOOwsqWAjFMJJ0wABgIHbl/s400/Gay_marriage_-_Matrimonio_gay_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto_26-Jan-2008.jpg" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>courtesy of Giovanni Dall'Orto</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Issue: Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer married in Canada in 2007, and moved to New York, which recognized the marriage as legitimate. When Ms. Spyer died in 2009, Ms. Windsor was forced to pay over $365,000 in estate taxes because the Defense of Marriage Act excluded same-sex couples from the definition of marriage. The IRS refused to refund the tax. Ms. Windsor then sued because her 5th Amendment equal protections were being denied. The US was not willing to defend the legality of DOMA in court, <em>but still refused to pay the refund. </em><br />
<br />
Decided: DOMA violates due process and equal protection laws. Same-sex marriages cannot be denied equal rights <em>at the <strong>Federal</strong> level</em>.<br />
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Who's lying: I have unfortunately been frequently listening to CSPAN radio while in the car, and since politicians are primarily the ones speaking, I hear a lot of lies. <em>In this case, some of the most blatantly false statements I have heard in years are being voiced by Republicans</em>. I heard several different Republican representatives say, with sincerity in their voices, that the Supreme Court had removed the right of states to decide what laws were proper for that state's residents.<br />
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<u>This is the opposite of what happened.</u> <br />
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Most of my readers, and indeed, most people who share any ideas with me at all, believe the Federal government has grown much too large and intrusive into states' business. These principles apply even if a particular Federal law enforces an idea you believe in, and DOMA is a terrific example of this. DOMA <em>removed</em> states' rights, refusing to acknowledge at the Federal level an agreement (marriage) that has <strong>always</strong> been granted by each state. <br />
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<em>United States v. Windsor</em> is a victory against intrusive politicians. It is a victory for states over our Federal government's overreaching powers. It is a victory for individual rights. It is a defense of our most basic and important legal document, the Constitution. And all of those things should be celebrated, no matter which consenting adults you choose to have sexual relations with, or not.<br />
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J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-69505329473848815262013-06-17T13:20:00.000-04:002013-06-17T13:27:05.027-04:00Consequences and the Nanny State<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I like recycling when possible, whether it's just things like aluminum cans or actually turning something that's being thrown away into something useful. I compost in a minor way, dumping all of my used coffee grounds, cigar remnants, plain white shredded paper, and sometimes bits of vegetable matter like seeds and stems into the planters on my patio. Here is a picture of one of my planters, enriched with coffee grounds, and planted with seeds taken from peppers I ate.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhrf9WLLtW-_zR_Ruf_cGGfMZpJguqnZDo8OmOQtJ8vq4nMKK_P7KlrsjM5G371kOfDvX_ZqBGXwENsJIhHfN3V77zUOnVZJD2474Qmrw6DFi1JniowvPH_G3ALSRTu0ESGkkjKNbddbE/s1600/planter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhrf9WLLtW-_zR_Ruf_cGGfMZpJguqnZDo8OmOQtJ8vq4nMKK_P7KlrsjM5G371kOfDvX_ZqBGXwENsJIhHfN3V77zUOnVZJD2474Qmrw6DFi1JniowvPH_G3ALSRTu0ESGkkjKNbddbE/s400/planter.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patio planter box</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/17/nyregion/bloombergs-final-recycling-frontier-food-waste.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130617&_r=0">This</a> <em>NY Times</em> story from 16 June tells of a plan by New York mayor Bloomberg to compost food scraps in the Big Apple. Hey, I'm something of an New Millenium guy, who likes alternative energy, "lower footprint" living, and thinking outside the box- I should <em>love</em> this, right? But I don't.<br />
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With any form of recycling, there are potential drawbacks. The blue bins in front of my apartment complex are for recycling, but <em>every damn time </em>I drop some cans or bottles in those bins, I see some dumbass has dropped some boxes in there, because some folks are too friggin' stupid to take two seconds to look at the illustration on the bins showing what they <em>do</em> take. Some of the boxes will be cardboard, which <strong>some</strong> recycle locations (not ours) collect, but sometimes there are waxed paper boxes, which <em>almost no-one</em> accepts. After our recyclables are collected, someone at the recycle location will have to go through and separate out all the extra crap that dumb asses threw in, thinking they were "helping". On my patio, I know that I can toss in a few stems or onion skins at a time, but that if I dump a lot of food scraps, I will have an insect problem, which will lead to a sanitation problem. I can't even dispose of all my personal food left-overs this way, much less M or RC's. Now, think of all the potential sanitation issues of collecting food scraps <strong>from an entire city</strong>. <br />
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Bloomberg has been one of the strongest driving forces behind recent so-called gun control efforts in the United States. Disinterested people outside the debate frequently say things like, "But is it really that big a deal? Do you need 30-round magazines?" There are several different issues to deal with in those questions, including the <a href="http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/10C13.txt">US legal ruling</a> that able-bodied males (not in an organized military force such as the National Guard, Reserve, or active military branches) between 17 and 45 years of age comprise the unorganized militia. Outside of those questions, and the obvious difference between the government's ability to control what I <strong>want</strong> to have regardless of need, you have the true root of the problem.<br />
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Probably the single most damaging idea to our freedom and ultimately preserving our national way of life is the mistaken idea that it is the Federal government's job to take care of our citizens. In 1935, the <a href="http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc_large_image.php?flash=true&doc=68">Social Security Act</a> was passed. This set the stage for the Federal government's assumption of a duty to take care of whole classes of people. This, and so many other harmful pieces of legislation, all arguably stem from the somewhat nebulous meaning of the phrase "<a href="http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/297/1/case.html#64">general welfare</a>". A particularly important note was made in the 1936 <em>United States v. Butler</em> case:<br />
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<em>If the novel view of the General Welfare Clause now advanced in support of the tax were </em><br />
<em> accepted, that clause would not only enable Congress to supplant the States in the regulation </em><br />
<em> of </em><em>agriculture and of all other industries as well, but would furnish the means whereby all of the </em><br />
<em> </em><em>other </em><em>provisions of the Constitution, sedulously framed to define and limit the power of the </em><br />
<em> United </em><em>States and preserve the powers of the States, could be broken down, the </em><br />
<em> independence </em><em>o</em><em>f t</em><em>he i</em><em>ndividual States obliterated, and the United States converted into a </em><br />
<em> central </em><em>government </em><em>exercising </em><em>uncontrolled police power throughout the Union superseding all </em><br />
<em> </em><em>local </em><em>control over </em><em>local </em><em>concerns.</em> <br />
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The Social Security Act was unconstitutional, and was not overthrown only because FDR attempted to "pack" the Supreme Court with additional appointees, thus pressuring the sitting justices to rule in his favor. The whole sordid story can be found <a href="http://www.ssa.gov/history/court.html">here</a>. The passage of the Social Security Act, and acts based on similar thought, have led to a <em>de facto</em> system of economic slavery lasting four or five generations, slavery that is in some ways more soul-crushing and dignity-robbing than the evil practiced 150 years ago. The net results have been higher crime, economic blight, national debt, and the loss of perhaps our single biggest national strength, individual self-reliance. The passage of the Social Security Act started us fully down the path to socialism. The question remains as to whether it is too late to salvage our great nation.<br />
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Does our national government have the ability to determine what is "best" for each of its citizens? No. Further, it doesn't have the <em>right</em>. We must take what actions we can to regain our individual self-reliance. I moved out of my parents' house at 21. I don't need a committee of parental units in Washington deciding what I should do, and enforcing those decisions with the enormous power of the Federal government. This country started with a national system of checks and balances. Each of us must immediately work to help our state regain its share of autonomy from the Federal government. We must support initiatives to reduce the size of the Washington bureaucracy from its current bloated size to an efficient, useful structure that is truly balanced with our local and state governance. And we must do it now, while we still can.</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404305187176881635.post-11988610355469964392013-06-07T13:26:00.001-04:002013-06-07T13:30:11.866-04:00The Best Movie You've Never Heard Of<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<em>Minor spoilers follow.</em><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T0OXWM/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005T0OXWM&linkCode=as2&tag=wanderin00-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005T0OXWM&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wanderin00-20" /></a><br />
<em>Triple Tap</em>, 2010.<br />
Trip Tap is really two movies that director <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0232504/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Tung Shing Yee</a> foolishly tried to combine. First, there is a fairly straightforward story about a world-class handgun shooter who stumbles into a bank robbery as he's returning from a competition. <em>This movie is extremely valuable, and it deals with some very important concepts: combat mindset, survivor's guilt, societal responsibility, and when moral people choose to act</em>. It shows a lot of knowledge about shooting in general, and also displays some of the best technical knowledge I've seen in a movie, some of it specific to the Asian market (for instance, Airsoft replicas are huge in Asia, and some of them are close enough in construction for parts to exchange with real firearms- the ATF has prosecuted at least one importer of M16 Airsoft replicas because the receiver can be used to build a working AR15 or M16). My only complaints are that muzzle discipline during the competition could have been better, and that the third round of a "triple tap" doesn't go next to the other two. This movie ends after a court scene.<br />
<strong>4.5 of 5 stars</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
The second movie in <em>Triple Tap</em> is a psychological detective thriller. In this movie, there's a good bit of implausibility in general. All the technically correct elements of the first movie are gone, replaced by typical Hollyweird nonsense like shooting weapons out of people's hands.<br />
<strong>2 of 5 stars</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
If you take this movie as a whole, it averages out to a reasonably respectable three stars, which isn't bad for a Hong Kong flick. I don't think this is truly fair, though, because the first half or so, extending to the end of the hospital scene, is <strong>great</strong>. It tells a complete story, and if you only ever watch this part, I think you'll enjoy this movie despite the subtitles and get a good deal of food for thought.</div>
J.R.Shirleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08498164179579546593noreply@blogger.com2