Wednesday, April 30, 2003
My Buddy And I Were Speaking The Other Month,
Noting that "politically, something's gotta break. You can smell it in the air. Some days to can't distinguish Republican from Democrat, and other days it seems all they want to do is take 40% of my money, and spend it on things I'm not particularly interested in, like making me an obedient citizen of an behaviouraly homogenous state, or a dependent citizen of a socialist nanny state".
And then along comes Robin GoodFellow to articulate that sense.
A quote:
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I predict that by 2010 the big political issues will be drug legalization, gun rights / control, big government vs. (truly) small government (with the difference in proposed sizes being in the neighborhood of a factor of 2, if not more, and a similarly dramatic difference in proposed levels of government power and regulation), public vs. private services (especially K-12 schools), and probably a renewed debate on immigration (namely, how much we should allow). That's just a guess, but I am very confident that a major "axis shift" is in the works. It's bound to be quite interesting times politically for the next few years.
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Personally, I'm not sure how it's gonna play out, or if it's gonna be along these lines, but it sounds pretty on target to me. I've seen these sort of "nexus of potential change" just go poof, and it winds up being biz as usual, but ya never can tell for sure.
And that, I think, is why this time, something just might change. People are sick to death of biz as usual, and pseudo change. They want to see real, substantial changes, the kind that brings it on back home where we live, in the American Core.
What's gonna be interesting is to see how large corporate structures fit into the axis switch, as corporations tend to take on a life of their own, being more than the sum of their parts.
It almost seems that the major players in the political scheme of things are The Incumbent Party, the Corporate Party, the Undying Government Bureacracyand the The Disorganized, Dissaffected Rabble, whose interests aren't directly aligned with any of the above (The group formerly known as We the People? Hmmm.....Now THAT merits some thought...)
And personally, I'd hate for the Socialist Democratic Party to miss its opportunity to implode messily, after suffering discredit and disgrace around the War On Saddam, their complete failure to produce any credible candidates of Presidential caliber, and the general failure of statist collectivism to do anything at all worthwhile.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45  
Lt. Smash Calls Out Chirac
The Full Letter
------------------------
Your actions have grave consequences, sir. Like so many others, this American had to leave his home and family and go to war – a conflict from which over one hundred Americans will never return.
Today, in a newly liberated Iraq, we are learning the true extent of your betrayal.
Damning documents have been discovered. Reputable media outlets have reported that your government provided intelligence assistance to Saddam Hussein. This assistance allegedly included briefings covering confidential conversations between yourself and President George W. Bush.
These are not the actions of a trusted ally, much less a friend.
You, sir, have no honor.
- LT Smash
------------------------
Why on earth isn't the press, and the American people screaming for BLOOD?
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Wow! How Offensive!
How offensive is this?
Opening quote:
---------------------------
With their dominance in sport, at work and at home eroded, Bush thought white American men needed to know they were still good at something. That's where Iraq came in...
---------------------------
I'll tell you. It's deeply offensive to flat out say that we go forth to kill people because we're dissatisfied as males with our experience watching sports.
Like most misguided commentators, he doesn't grapple with the real fact that Saddam & his monster boys ran amok, raping, killing, and torturing.
America engages in a large scale principled action, and this feller has the blind gall to say it's about white male egos?
It's pure leftist drivel, makes a great sound bite, but is ultimately vacuous.
Norman Mailer: A spokesman for a failed ideology, and no friend of mine.
---------------------------------
Addendum: I just looked him up. He was born in NJ. That explains a lot.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Holy Shit! (Sorta Literally!)
Bacteria Harvested From Panda Poop converts garbage to water and C02.
Plans are afoot to wrap this together into a hyrdogen power cell, (Ya'll listening @ GM?)
Things are gonna get really interesting in the next 10 years as hyrdogen cars start rolling. :)
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Righteous War Casualties
The power & influence of:
The credibility of:
- The United Nations
- France
- CNN
- Left Wing Statist Scum
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Monday, April 28, 2003
Victory.
I continue to stand in awe of Bill Whittle.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Revoking An Award For Perfidy
Click away, my mighty readers!
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Saturday, April 26, 2003
One Hates to Lower One's Standards....
But perhaps that is the wrong way to think about it.
Loyal reader John has pointed out to me that perhaps I have set the bar too high for my rifle giveaway.
I don't think the bar is really too high, what I think is the problem is the NJ FID. (New Jersey Firearms Purchaser ID card)
For those of you who don't know, and way long story short, all firearms, and just about anything else that might be considered a weapon, including sling shots, and summarilly banned and prohibited in New Jersey.
Thats right. I said summarily banned and prohibited, and I meant it, because that's how the law around these parts is structured.
Its all laid out in NJ S 2C:58-3 and 2C:39-5
The only reason the whole devious shebang isn't squished by higher courts is that citizens subjects of NJ can petition for a limited exemption to this general prohibition of firearms, and the first step is to obtain a FID. The exemption is limited, because the exemption only exists under a very limited set of circumstances, namely:
- While the FID is valid
- In one's home
- At the range/gunshop/gunsmiths
- In a valid hunting area, at a valid hunting time, with a valid hunting license
- When transporting a firearm directly to or from any of the above places, so long as the firearm is unloaded, separated from its ammunition, and locked in the trunk. No stops are allowed on the way from A to B
Step outside those lines, and you just might be a FELON.
The other evil little twist in the way these laws are structured is that the usual axiom of justice, that the burden of proof is upon the state no longer applies. The burden of proof is upon John Q honest citizen to prove that the exemption exists in his specific case.
To make matters worse, most NJ citizens are completely oblivious to the process for obtaining a FID, and some unscrupulous municipalities throw additional requirments, fees and administrative roadblocks into the unsuspecting citizen's path. (This practice is explicitly illegal, but common anyway) Although the face of the law reads as a "shall issue" policy regarding purchase (not carry) permits, to take place in less than 30 days, the reality is that it will generally take longer, and the NJ supreme court is just fine with that situation. In my case, it took TEN UNFORGIVEABLE MONTHS of bureaucratic follies to obtain my exemption.
Now, the ostensible goal of the FID, instituted in 1966, was to prevent firearms from falling into the hands of violent felons. Seeing as violent felons seem to regularly have firearms anyway, I'd have to say that the whole process is an abyssmal failure. Furthermore, the entire process places the honest citizen at the mercy of public officials, and there have been enough cases of corruption and bureacratic malaise over the years, that I'd say it's simply time to be done with it. The fact that there is now also an instant national check system (NICS, which you must also pass in NJ) that inherently makes the old, redundant FID system obsolete is yet another argument to question the existence of the FID.
Unless, of course, the goal of the FID is to reduce overall firearms ownership in the state of NJ, in which case it's been a smashing success. Estimates of legal firearm ownership in this state vary from 12-14 percent, well below the national norms of 30-40 percent.
Given that credible research has proven that crime decreases when the rates of firearms ownership, and especially with shall issue policies with respect to the right to carry, increases and therefore firearms are good public policy, and given the insulting perversions of law with respect to ban/exemption and burden of proof, I can only conclude that NJ is at best misinformed as to the right way to go, and at worst engaged in massive collusion to deny citizens their inherent rights, as protected by the Second Amendment.
To be frank, having grown up in a state that didn't have the gall to insult it's citizens so harshly, this pisses me off, to the degree that I have become a human rights activist focused on the right of self defense.
I'll make it simple:
- I exist.
- Inherent in my existence is my right to preserve that existence.
- This right exists wherever I exist.
- Implicit in this right is the right to use and have conveniently available the most effective and appropriate tool of my choosing.
- I choose a Sigarms P245.
I have educated myself on self defense issues, trained under expert tutelage with my tool of choice, practice regularly, and am a better shot than most police.
To the end of fostering responsible firearms ownership and proficiency, especially in the State of NJ
I will assist any eligible person of good character in:
-The process of obtaining a FID and or pistol purchase permits.
-Learning about firearms safety, orientation, and proficiency
-Learning about self defense and use of force concepts
-Selecting an appropriate sidearm
-And just about anything else that I deem reasonable.
Furthermore, I will "giveaway" the rifle, as consistent with law, to a person that I deem deserving.
And last, but not least, I will take any eligible person shooting who has never gone before, especially members of the press.
Ya'll know how to reach me. geekWithA45(at)Yahoo(nospamdamnit)dotcom.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Friday, April 25, 2003
Whatever you do...
Don't trust the public! They might panic! They might riot! They might not come to Hawaii, and spend their dollars!
From this article:
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"We know the public monitors our communications," said Donna Maiava, director of DOH's emergency branch. "For an ambulance driver to communicate over the radio that they have a possible SARS case, far from making the public feel safe, will raise the anxiety level of the public unnecessarily.
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This is yet another mild example of some axiom of nitwitism that says, roughly:
"The public is too (dimwitted/timid/stupid/fainthearted/whatever) to be trusted with raw information, and make their own decisions. Therefore, it is the duty of the authorities to determine what is best for them, and to supply the appropriate stamps of approval on publicly consumed information.
Gimme a break. There are so many problems with this sort of thinking I don't even know where to begin, and I'll leave most of them as a mental excercise for the reader.
What I will say, however, is that this kind of thing was decisively proven wrong, wrong, wrong.
On September 11, 2001, the passengers of flight 93, armed with nothing but guts, and raw information stolen via cellphone stood up and took the correct course of action, on their own initiative, in the face of "common wisdom" that was entirely out of touch with reality.
And because they did, a lot of people who would have died where saved, and our national pride and integrity was preserved.
This heroic action of the common citizens of the US should have driven a stake through the heart of that particular nitwiticism, but alas, stupidity is both painful and resilient.
What these everyday folks did made all the difference between us being a nation of victims and a nation of dignified, free, competent and heroic people.
Their actions were not anomalous. Their actions were indicative of our national character, and although unhailed by the press, it was one of the most defining moments of that whole crappy, horrible day.
In NY, and DC, folks neither paniced, nor rioted, and even the criminals took the day off. The common folks of America pulled together, and did one amazing right thing after another.
I don't ever want to hear any intimation that the American public is incompetent, ever again.
God Bless The Heroes of Flight 93, Now and Forever, Amen.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Here's a Thought:
My right to swing my fist does indeed end where your nose begins. (Actually, I'd even argue that it ends about a foot from your nose.)
But I still have a right to have a fist.
And furthermore, my right to have a fist exists wherever I stand, and to suggest I need to leave it locked up in a safe at home is sick and immoral.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Strike A Blow Against Darkness and Fascism
Buy this stylish shirt, and support the New Jersey Coalition For Self Defense!
In New Jersey, no one can hear you scream, and the would be rapist gets less jail time than the woman who maced him.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Political Correctivism
Right Then. Enough of This Crap.
(Props to my buddy Vulpes, who pointed this one out)
Are you a thought speech criminal?
- Do you harbor "unconscious attitudes toward individuals which surface through the use of discriminatory semantics"?
- Do you use "presumptive statements"?
- Is there any possibility your conduct or attitude might annoy another person or group?
- Do you not adhere to a specific orthodoxy of thought, speech and behaviour?
Well, then, you just might be a thought speech criminal.
Finally, some folks are banding together to put a stop to this crap.
Now, for the record, I'm neither a racist nor a chauvinist of any stripe, just to head some of ya'll thoughtless reactionary types off at the pass. Go peddle that bullshit elsewhere.
I strive to judge each sentient I encounter on their own merits. Some stand to honor, many to shame, and most to mediocrity.
What I absolutely will not do is take responsibility for what reaction another might have to whatever thoughts I harbor, in whatever manner I choose to express them, nor can I, even in principle. It just doesn't wash.
The dark underbelly of Political Correctivism is precisely this: You are not responsible for yourself, but you are somehow magically responsible for everyone else, no matter how valid or ridiculous, no matter how self inflicted, or thrust upon them their plight might be. Furthermore, this tenet of Political Correctivism goes even a step further: it presumes to take offense on behalf of some theoretically oppressed party, and thus relieves them of any actual responsibility they have to actually take offense, and the appropriate action that comes with being offended. Political Correctivism robs us of the opportunity standing in our own defense, and the dignity of so doing, and finally, it robs the "offender" of the opportunity to recieve feedback on their behaviour.
I reject this proposition utterly, on first principles.
Ultimately, by failing to distinguish real from imagined and trivial from consequential, Political Correctivism completely undermines and destroys any theoretical laudability of goal it might have possessed.
It is time to be done with Political Correctivism. It has no place in a free and open society of dignified, self reliant people.
If someone does something to offend you, it's your responsibity to confront that person, if you so choose.
Confrontation, done properly, is not an act of agression, it is an act of communication, and that is ultimately what is called for.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
It Doesn't Get Any More Politically Incorrect Than This:
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
NJ's Darkside: A Petty, Mean Spirit
An addendum to part 1 of X
Whilst running about the country, I gathered some data.
Miles from here to Mom & Dad's in Florida, both ways: 2136.4 miles.
Miles in NJ: 20
Traffic enforcers in NJ: 4
Traffic enforcers in DE,MD,VA,NC,SC,GA,FL: 2
Not a pretty picture it paints, is it?
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Good Grief!
Doesn't anyone in my massive following know any new shooters in NJ who wants a free rifle?
Or is the hi-point just too damned ugly?
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Behold! I Return, in Complete Accordance With Prophecy!
Here's some stuff I wrote whilst upon vacation. I sunned, funned, thought much, and wrote little. I'm still brewing a couple of things, including the one I thought I was gonna write when I left.
Disbelief on The Arab Street
This is a topic that deserves a bit more attention than I’m probably going to give it, but there are some interesting trends to take note of.
The first most prominent trend is the disappointment the Arab street feels at the rapid demise of Saddam. They feel as if somehow Saddam betrayed them, gave up too easily, and generally didn’t give a good accounting of himself.
Let us all proceed forward on the basis of reality, rather than nationalistic fantasy.
To set the record straight:
Saddam didn’t sell ya’ll out. He was bombed out, and he never had a realistic chance.
Saddam gave as good an accounting of him self as he could. His resistance quickly collapsed into small unit maneuvers and homicide bombings because we took away from him the ability to do anything else, and we did this with all deliberate speed.
This was helped, to a large extent by the fact that people simply will not give their all to a tyrant, and that any regime based on such is ultimately a castle built upon sand rather than bedrock.
Hidden within the Arab streets feeling of betrayal sentiment are some additional insights.
The first is a certain denial. The Arab street cannot acknowledge that Saddam Hussein, Arabia’s greatest hero was profoundly and fairly beaten without simultaneously acknowledging that they simply cannot compete militarily. I expect to see a great deal of hemming an hawing over this, and accusations of deal making and so forth. Sure, deals might have been made, because people will sell out a tyrant in a minute, whereas selling out one’s ideals takes years.
The second insight is that the Arab street, to a large extent, was only marginally supportive of the regime, and what half hearted support there was is largely based on a misguided Anti US agenda.
While there are those in the Middle East who would use the Anti US agenda as unifying principle for Muslims and Arabs, I must address you directly and warn you that this is a false path that leads nowhere.
America is not what’s wrong with the Middle East, and uniting against it does not create anything that will raise you up or sustain you. The more of your blood and treasure you waste on it is a crime, when you could be guiding the energy of your youth and your treasure into creating an honorable, sustainable future for yourselves.
Find your bedrock, build your future upon it, and co exist with us in peace. We would happily welcome this, if for no other reason than we have better things to do than chase around the desert looking for the WMD we will not allow anyone to use against us.
Written Apr 17
Study History.
You have a choice: If you don’t study history, you’re doomed to repeat it’s mistakes. If you do study history, you’re doomed to watch those that haven’t repeat history’s mistakes.
At least you’ll get a good laugh. ;)
Written Apr 16, AM
Crime Shows
While my house and cats are being looked after by my heavily armed friends, the wife and I have hit the road, to hang out with my folks, living in retired splendor in Florida.
Having spent the segment of my life since college traveling by jet everywhere I go, we decided to connect with America, and actually take the drive from the Dark & Fascist state of NJ to the sunny free state of Florida.
To experience that the road outside my door does indeed actually connect to far-flung places that I’ve gotten to in the past by plane is a comforting reminder of the continuity of all things.
Retired folks get to do a lot of things that we the working stiffs don’t have time for, like watching network television, something that ranks so low on my priority list it simply drops clean off.
So, being in vacation mode, I stayed up late with Dad, watching the latest crops of crime shows, and after having sat through 3 of them, I see some fascinating, common threads.
I consider that far too many people allow their reality to be defined for them by CNN, and that what little they know about citizenship is the abbreviated Miranda warning they get on TV.
While these crime shows vary in crime, criminal, and method of detection, they each hammer home relentlessly one lesson, over and over again.
This lesson is that “innocent people don’t need to rights, and in fact, exercising their rights is an obstruction of justice.”
On no less than six occasions in these shows, the following pattern was repeated:
Investigator: “Do you mind if we (insert intrusion, ranging in degrees of outrage from tossing through the suspect’s dwelling to collecting DNA samples)”
Invariant reply of suspect, word for word: “Sure. Go ahead. I have nothing to hide.”
There where two exceptions to this pattern, the entire evening. In one, the investigator simply hands the suspect a warrant, saying, “This is a warrant”. (Huzzah! That’s what warrants are for!)
The other exception was even more telling:
Investigator: “Do you mind if we (insert intrusion, ranging in degrees of outrage from searching the suspects dwelling to collecting DNA samples)”
Suspect, who turned out to be innocent: “Actually, I’m sorry. I do mind. At this point, I want to consult with my lawyer”.
This was immediately followed by a scene in which the investigators, speaking among themselves drove home the point of this little morality play:
“Well, if he is innocent, he’s certainly making it hard for himself. In fact, if he is innocent, he’s wasting a lot of our time and resources while the guilty party is free to strike again.”
And there ya have it.
General purpose integrity forces me to concede that the there is a certain minimal amount of truth to this point, but where this is all going to my point, which is that all truths come in flavors of greater truths, and lesser truths, and that this lesson, hammered home again and again, that “innocent people don’t need rights” is a lesser truth that borders pretty clearly on a lie.
The greater truth is that the rights of the People are not to be trivialized. Freedom of Speech has absolutely nothing to do with free phone minutes. They serve serious, sober and far-reaching purposes, for the greater, long term health and freedom of society.
They are a bulwark, against the historically inevitable abuses of Powers granted to government. These abuses creep in, sometimes by the designs of corrupt humans who only value power, by the insanity that sometimes springs from the unintended consequences of bureaucratic structure, and also by humans of good will and intent, who fail to grasp the larger picture, or who willingly sacrifice the long view for the short run.
They also keep the authorities in their place. Simply put, except under some fairly specific circumstances, the affairs of the citizens as they go about their pursuit of life, liberty and happiness are no one’s business, most especially that of the powerful mechanisms of governance.
Ultimately, they embody the deep understanding that the freedom a society enjoys springs directly from the freedom possessed by its individual members, and that there is no collective freedom if the individuals are not assured of their prerogatives.
Folks, do not look to TV for lessons in citizenship. You’d be better served to read the links to the documents of liberty. In a pinch, lay hold of the Boy Scouts of America’s citizenship merit badge book. A lifetime of liberty awaits those who know their rights, and exercise them at every opportunity. Rights aren’t just for the guilty. They are for all of us. Guard them jealously.
Written Apr 15, 4pm (ish)
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Friday, April 11, 2003
Blogus Interuptus...
I'm off on spring break, so blogging will be sporadic if at all for the next couple of days.
I DO have something on the cooker, though. Stay tuned.....
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Thursday, April 10, 2003
I Think I Like...
The Arab tradition of beating on things they detest with their shoes.
I hope it catches on. I'm seriously considering keeping an old pair of sneakers, dipped in dogshit and sealed in plastic in my trunk on the chance such an opportunity might arise.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Safire
From "Jubilant V-I Day"
-------------------------------------
WASHINGTON — Like newly freed Parisians tossing flowers at allied tanks; like newly freed Germans tearing down the Berlin wall; like newly freed Russians pulling down the statue of the hated secret police chief in Dzerzinsky Square, the newly freed Iraqis toppled the figure of their tyrant and ground their shoes into the face of Saddam Hussein.
All these pictures flow together in the farrago of freedom's victories over despotism in the past two generations. Just as video of human suffering understandably triggers demonstrations against any war, unforgettable images of the jubilation of enslaved people tasting liberty drives home the wisdom of just wars.
Even in the flush of triumph, doubts will be raised. Where are the supplies of germs and poison gas and plans for nukes to justify pre-emption? (Freed scientists will lead us to caches no inspectors could find.) What about remaining danger from Baathist torturers and war criminals' forming pockets of resistance and plotting vengeance? (Their death wish is our command.)
The most insulting question is this: considering their Islamist religious schisms and tribal hatreds, their tradition of monarchy and obedience to dictatorial regimes, their turbulent "street," easily inflamed by demagogues — how can any population of Arabs be entrusted with democracy?
The answer to that is the experiment on which the Iraqis are now embarked. Most start with the advantages of being literate, not fundamentalist and extravagantly oil-rich.
If Iraqis are able to adopt a system of free enterprise and representative government, they will become the center of an arc of freedom from Turkey in the north to Israel in the south (with Lebanon freed from Syrian occupation, if France will liberate the state it created). Egypt, the largest Arab nation, could not long resist such a tidal wave of liberty.
A parade of former U.S. ambassadors to Arab nations pooh-pooh this vision, deriding the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz idealists as the four horsemen of hubris.
But consider one example of a big segment of Iraq's population that proved itself willing to ally itself wholeheartedly with the coalition, and showed under fire its eagerness to make sacrifices for its freedom.
Nobody came out of this war more nobly than the 3.5 million long-suffering Kurds of Iraq. After Gulf War I, we at first left them to the poison-gas savagery of Saddam, then expiated that sin by provided them air cover for the next decade. In that time, this ethnic group built a model state: a lively parliament, schools, hospitals, a thriving economy built on farming and a little smuggling on the side.
Their rival leaders, Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, realized that what they call "our friends to the north" — the Turks — suspected a plot to declare an independent Kurdistan, which might encourage Turkey's Kurdish minority to break away.
Because the U.S. believed that we would get Turkey's cooperation against Saddam, we refused to arm the Kurds, even though they were under attack from terrorists affiliated with Al Qaeda. Despite this, when we launched our invasion, the 70,000 Kurdish pesh merga troops volunteered to serve in the coalition under the command of our small airborne units in the north. The Kurds were and still are the only indigenous force fighting against Saddam's regime.
One tragic test of loyalty came last week when one of our aircraft mistakenly bombed a convoy carrying pesh merga to engage Saddam's troops. Nineteen Kurds died, with two of the Barzani clan wounded. A Barzani aide, Hoshyar Zabari, told me by cellphone afterward: "We do not blame anyone. This happens in war. We are fighting together for our freedom."
That's an ally. The Kurds have decided their cultural autonomy — and their future safety — lies not in independence but as part of Iraq's new confederation, with its capital Baghdad. "We will always retain our Kurdish identity, but we are Iraqis," emphasizes Barham Salih, Mr. Talabani's prime minister.
My guess is that the urbane Mr. Talabani will serve in Iraq's national government, with the locally rooted Mr. Barzani in its regional capital in the north. They have learned how democracy works, and have earned a seat at the governing table. They also know, and will bear witness to their Iraqi compatriots in this great experiment, that the U.S. and Britain are freedom's best friends.
William Safire is an op-ed columnist for the New York Times.
-------------------------------------
geeks note: NY Times? Eww.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
Wow!
From Niel Cavuto's Common Sense,
-------------------------
Stomping on Saddam
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
By Neil Cavuto
I want to talk to the French right now and the Germans and the Russians. I want to talk to all those who opposed the liberation of Iraq. I want to show you all something. I want to show you the joyous scene in downtown Baghdad today.
People oppressed. Now people free. People once hopeless. Now hopeful. People you forgot. But we remembered.
If you had things your way, they'd still be under the thumb of a dictator. And you were fine with that. We were not. You had no problem telling them, "live with it." We had a big problem telling them, "get over it."
Look at their faces. See their smiles. And feel their joy, their freedom and their fervor. How do you feel now? Still sure going the extra mile for them wasn't worth it? I don't think they'd agree.
While you were debating, they were suffering. While you were kowtowing to a dictator you knew was an ogre, they were enduring under a dictator they knew was even worse. They lived in huts and tenements. He lived in castles. But that didn't bother you.
They scraped by to get morsels. You skulked by to get contracts. They couldn't realize a penny from the oil that made Saddam rich. You didn't seem to care, as long as it made you rich.
You opted for profit over principle and deals that made a dictator richer and his people poorer. You argued the world had no right to interfere in a sovereign nation. But you won't waste a nanosecond to worm your way into this new nation. Now you want in, when for so long the masses have been kept out.
You are as crass as you are cunning, as phony as you are pathetic.
I ask you to look at their faces. Then look at your own. See the triumph of the human spirit and the coalition soldiers who fought and died for it. Then see your own pathetic selves, who -- even now -- can't come close to appreciating it.
---------------------------
When I heard this on air, he had added something like:
(close approximation, from memory)
"You where pathetic then, when you opposed us freeing these people and you're pathetic now as you try to worm your way into the spoils"
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Ultimately,
It is the people of Iraq who make themselves free. To be certain, they needed our help and military muscle to make it a reality, but it is they themselves who embrace this freedom.
Even if we had killed or taken prisoner every Baath party member, the people of Iraq would not be free, in their hearts and minds, until they threw off whatever demons of fear and repression had infested them, and stretched out their hands (or shoes) to take their freedom.
From what I saw today, for a great many Iraqis, that process took about 20 seconds, before they acknowledged their secret, innermost hopes, and proclaimed a new day by beating any handy Saddam image with their shoes (a mortal insult).
Ultimately, freedom can never be given, only taken.
It's good to remember that.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
A Fox commentator hit it on the head...
As he watched the newly freed people of Iraq try to pull down the statue in the square:
"It doesn't matter whether Saddam is alive or dead to these people, they clearly don't care. Their first act of freedom is to pull him down".
BOOYA!
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
God, I Love Live TV!
I just saw an Iraqi man lift his robe and piss on a poster of Saddam before they could cut away!
I shit you not!
Wild day in Baghdad....
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
The most significant thing I've seen this morning:
As the tanks rolled into the square, a young couple was walking through the square, hand in hand, with their little boy.
They simply looked around, smiled, and carried on with their morning walk.
Clearly, not the behavior of folks who believe that the Imperialist Yankee Swine have come to Kill Them All, Eliminate Islam, blah blah blah.
In general, people are pretty smart, and don't buy bullshit.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Capt. Steve: Homecoming Wishes
Capt. Steve Tells it straight.
I can't say it any better, so I won't try.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
"Go Home, Human Shields, You US Wankers"
A sign unfurled in Baghdad central square by Iraqis shortly after US tanks rolled in.
Speaks for itself.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
bin Laden: martyr yourself for Iraq
By all means, please do.
If you unfortunately happen to believe this bullshit, please, go to Iraq, bring as many weapons as you can carry, and charge screaming at the first group of Marines you happen to see.
I would consider this a personal favor, because I'd much rather have our guys take care of you in the desert, than be forced to do it myself, in a shopping mall full of kids and innocent people.
Now as for the rest of ya'll, who are willing to ante up the bare minimum necessary (don't kill, don't steal, accept No for an answer) to live and play in a civilized society, welcome.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
This rings of truth...
From Michael Carrol, A Republican Senate is Good For New Jersey
I'm not 100% with everything in this article, but the paragraph I've pasted below rings of truth. Too bad no one listened, and he got re-elected, along with the last minute switch n bait mummy Lausenberg. Doh, I mean, Lautenberg.
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"On guns, Torricelli’s position probably more closely mirrors that of New Jersey voters than does that of the national GOP. In this case, the voters are wrong. Freedom is ALWAYS preferable, and the fundamental right of self defense ought to be recognized. The liberal media, beset with hoplophobia (OK, it’s a neologism, not in my dictionary either. It means “an irrational fear of weapons”) has infected much of the populace. The emphasis, in this definition, is on the word “irrational.” Most of the rest of the Country is—on this issue anyway—more sensible and respectful of freedom than is New Jersey. Why folks in Vermont or Pennsylvania should be so much more enlightened on this subject than are the people of New Jersey is not patent; perhaps we actually read The New York Times editorial pages for something other than comic relief. Besides, gun policy tends to be a state, rather than a national, issue. New Jersey is free to be as benighted as it wishes to be, to treat its own citizens as if they were children. Nothing the feds are likely to do would have much effect on our ridiculous gun laws."
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Ding, Dong, The Dick is Dead!
Ding Dong! The Dick is dead.
Which old Dick?
The Wicked Dick!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Dick is dead.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the Wicked Dick is dead.
He's gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below.
Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know The Wicked Dick is dead!
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Monday, April 07, 2003
And the award for best comedic actor in an evil regime goes to...
Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
Let's look at some of his work, shall we?
I laughed, I cried. I....had to take a poop.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Self Explanatory
Any questions?
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
More Fun With Iraqi Propaganda
Sayeed Al Sayef said : "They have no control even of themselves."
My Buddy K said: "like we are just running around like kids lost in a mall"
I said: "Soon, he will lose control of his bowels, as the Marines charge up the stairs."
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
A Conversation With My Sister
My amazing sister, who is a left leaning moderate said today,
"Ya know, I'm not a fan of the death penalty, but that Saddam is evil, evil, evil. We should just kill him and get it over with".
My reply was "Well, I'm not a big fan of the death penalty either*, but I do reserve it for the monstrous. And lets face it, even if he came out with his hands up, fine, we throw his ass in jail forever. Since that ain't gonna happen, Yipee! We get to kill him! Yay!"
*Surprised, huh? A pistol packing, "evil" black rifle owning, anti death penalty guy? What gives?
Long story short, and I'm too pressed for time to give this the attention it deserves, is that despite our most deliberate efforts to only apply the death penalty where warranted, there are still too many utterly questionable executions taking place, too many folks on death row proven innocent and released, and so forth. There are 3 rationales for the death penalty, protection of society, revenge, and to disuade others from offending. My take on it is that revenge is an unworthy motive for a noble society, that the dissuasion argument doesn't work, and that an incarcerated person is no longer a serious threat to society. That, coupled with questionable executions and also the principle that its better for society as a whole to let a guilty man go than hang an innocent man pretty much writes off capital punishment for me.
Now, some of you might wonder how I square that with carriage of firearms for defensive purposes. It's simple. My sidearm is the single most effective way, bar none, of quickly stopping an attack upon me or mine. And if the goblin should die as a result of his attack on me, his bloods on his hands, and I'll sleep just fine, thank you for your concern, genuine or otherwise.
"A man charging you with murder in his eye and an axe in his hand brings a certain moral clarity to the situation, and removes all doubt of guilt and culpability."
-unknown, possibly me.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
More Disinformation Minister Fantasy...
Some friends suggested that we oughta shoot him, but I argue that he's more fun alive. Then we can film him saying more things that aren't true, such as:
"I am not being spanked by a muscular woman".
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Sunday, April 06, 2003
In Hollywood,
The movie would end as Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, the Iraqi disinformation minister was escorted from his stage in cuffs by coalition troopers, in full view of his audience, immediately after proclaiming, "There are no coalition troops here in the studio with me. They have been defeated and destroyed by martyrs."
That would be aesthetically satisfying.
This war, however, is reality, and reality is a messy, untidy thing.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Open Your Eyes
To what is actually on the faces of normal Iraqis when the coalition arrives.
These are not the faces of the conquered, shuffling into darkness.
These are the faces of happy people, shaking off a long nightmare.
Look closely.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Friday, April 04, 2003
A Nation of Riflemen...
Kim DuToit's recent site change, and Mick's Gratuitous Gun Giveaway have inspired me (again).
I'll go one better.
I will "buy" a new shooter a Hi-Point carbine. I'll do it in the form of a gift certificate, to be redeemed from an FFL in full accordance with all laws. (Why Hi-Point? Because they're cheap, decent, defensively useful, and I'm not made of money) If you can't deal with how ugly the Hi-Point is, I'll put $150 towards the rifle of your choice.
Rules:
1) This offer is automatically void if I find it violates any laws. The objective is to return us to a nation of riflemen, one person at a time, not to turn me into a criminal. (Jake: please SCREAM if I'm heading for trouble here, I'll be dialing you up later about this...)
2) The winner must be a new shooter, of good character, who is a resident of the oppressive gun gulag of NJ. This person must have a valid NJ FID. (Which for those of you who don't know, is the yellow permission card we beg from the state for permission to buy any sort of firearm)
3) The person who wins must show me a certificate of safety training, NRA or equivalent, and be able to recite and demonstrate the 4 rules.
4) The person must publicly affirm before me and others that he or she will not use this rifle for evil.
5) The winner must accept this obligation: At some point in the future, he or she will hold a similiar contest, and help another new shooter start out.
How to enter:
Email me (geekWithA45@yahoo.com) with the following:
Name, physical address, email, phone number, age, shooting experience, if any, and an Essay.
The topic of essay will be:
"Why I want to be a rifleman (or woman) in a nation of riflemen (or riflewomen): The importance of firearms proficiency in a peaceful, free society"
Winners will be chosen by me, my decisions are final, void where prohibited, this offer may be withdrawn at my whim. If this works out, I will select the winner sometime in early May, 2003.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Who We Are...
Part X of Y
We are Citizen Soldiers, the best trained, the best equipped, and arguably the baddest asses on the planet.
In most times and places throughout the world and history, the mightiest warriors did as they pleased, took what they wanted, and viewed mere citizens and non warriors as subhumans to be exploited, ignored, or eliminated if they became a nuisance.
That is most definately not us.
We who are warriors know that we serve The People, and that We The People are our reason for being. It is because of this long tradition of service to civilians that our mighty, bad assed warriors found no shame in kneeling before an agitated mob, weapons turned away, to show them that we meant them or their mosque no harm, as I saw on MSNBC last night. (If anybody has a link to this event, please email me, can't find it....)
The local Imam saw this might, self contained by humility, and it convinced him that we are for real. He and others know that the pride and avarice of the Saddam/monster-warriors of the world would never do such a thing, and that if Saddam held all the cards we had, it would have been a slaughter.
The Imam reversed his previous fatwah, calling for the citizens to resist the coalition, and issued a new fatwah, calling for the citizens to assist the coalition.
Winning hearts and minds isn't about pretending to be something we aren't, it's about being and living the highest aspiration of who we really are; True humans imbued with nobility, justice, fairness, and freedom.
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Yes, we have power. This is a fact. We have quite a lot of power actually, and that makes many in the world afraid and uncomfortable. Many folks, like Saddam and his monsterboys should be rightfully terrified. However, the number of people who should be terrified is actually very, very small.
Everyone else should remember that we have always wielded that power with more humility and self constraint than the world will ever know or acknowledge, and that the wielding of this power is often on the behalf of, and to the benefit of strangers.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Marksmanship is important...
Because Ammo doesn't mean bunkus if you can't hit anything.
"Iraqi troops may have courage and tenacity, attacking heavily armed U.S. columns with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, but U.S. Marines say there is one thing the Iraqis do not have — the ability to shoot straight."
I guess they don't have boy scouts in iraq. That's where I learned how to shoot. How 'bout you?
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
A Few Words To The People Of Iraq...
We're in Baghdad.
Soon, you will recieve from us the precious gift of your own future. This gift is coming, at the price of our blood, and yours, mixed into the sands and streets of your land.
Very, very soon, you will stand at the crossroads. You can make a worthless future filled with tribal squabbles, intolerance and hate, or the glorious, prosperous future you deserve.
Do not squander this gift.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Al Jazeera Asked To Leave
With no reason being given.
Well, I'll give you a big reason:
Al J has credibility with the Arab world, and they don't want the credibility of Al-J put up against the incredibility of Saddam when Al Jazeera films American tanks rolling through the streets of Baghdad.
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Posted By: geekWithA.45
Some Unhappy Business.
For the reader new to my blog, I refer them to my second post, which I hope sets the tone.
In particular, I direct your attention to this sentence:
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This blog's about Mindful Patriotism. It's about knowing and living the noble aspirations of a dignified, free people, and fearlessly opposing the flaws and things that endanger that nobility and freedom.
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I cannot think of anything more un American than midnight raids that disappear people and hold them incommunicado. Although I can't swear to the truth of this situation, which has been brought to my attention, I have not seen any information that leads me to believe otherwise.
Now, I don't have any problem with our government going about it's business to defend and protect our asses, but to perversely exploit loopholes in the powers granted to government to do so in a manner which is inconsistent with American values is not acceptable.
If you suspect a citizen of committing a crime, go to a judge and get a warrant. That's what judges and warrants are for.
If you've got enough evidence that a citizen has commited a crime, arrest him and charge him, and bring the evidence into the light of day, to a jury of the defendant's peers.
Anything else is utter and complete bullshit, and the outrageous elements of the Patriot I & the coming Patriot II acts don't absolve our government from its central contract with We The People.
Mike Howash might be completely innocent, or he might be a Saddam sleeper agent.
Mike Howash's guilt, innocence, or value as a material witness is not what's at stake here.
What's a stake is much more serious. It is our Life, Liberty, and our ability to Pursue Happiness. What's at stake is whether the people who administrate our government are breaking faith with us, by circumventing the deep principles and American values of openness and fair play as layed out by the Constitution and BOR.
Flushing Liberty down the toilet in exchange for some vague assurances of physical safety is the worst idea I've ever heard.
We're Americans, and being a free people is sometimes dangerous, but given a choice between danger, or a paranoid, secretive, spirit crushing society, I'll take danger every time.
"We have to fight the terrorists as if there were no rules,
and preserve our open society as if there were no terrorists."
Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times, September 13, 2001
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