Blog, April, 2010
   By Carl Bussjaeger

April 30, 2010 2:40PM
Net Assets now available in additional formats
For the Kindleless, who don't want to wait another two weeks for the paperback release, you can now get Net Assets in Epub (open industry format;Stanza reader and others), LRF (Sony Reader), and PDB (Palm reading devices).

April 28, 2010 2:15PM
"It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control,' [Brigadier General H.R. McMaster] told the New York Times. 'Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable."

...said the soldier without any sense of irony.

He's talking about Power Point. I happen to agree with him, too. PP can be useful, used properly; but I'll be sent to DC and used like an intern if I can think of more than a handful of times I've seen it used correctly.

Too bad the generals and politicians can't figure this out regarding physical bullets. They're great when used properly in defense. But you don't do much nation building by shooting people and blowing things up.

And here's a great quote from Gen. McChrystal: "When we understand that slide, we'll have won the war.".

April 24, 2010 11:10AM
Boobquake bid to prove cleric wrong
A US student has attracted 30,000 supporters for a Facebook campaign urging women to show as much cleavage as possible to prove that breasts do not cause earthquakes.

Jen McCreight's Boobquake day on Monday April 26 is in protest against an Iranian cleric who claimed that women who do not cover up were to blame for predictions that Tehran would be hit by a quake.

I, for one, found Sedighi's argument very persuasive^*; beautiful women certainly rock my world. So, ladies, I'm going to need a lot of convincing, a lot of lovely exposure.

Please?

Added 4/26, 1:45: Ladies, nothing much is happening. You need to try harder. I think you should strip down all the way.

Please?

April 23, 2010 1:00PM
That was refreshing.
I went to the mailbox a a little while ago, and one of the town police cars drove by. It backed up and pulled into the driveway. The driver introduced himself as the police administrator. We've spoken on the phone, but this is the first time we've met in person. One of the first things he said, as he gestured towards my handgun (yep, open carrying as usual), was that he was glad to see that, and that he completely supports open carry. He mentioned receiving mailings from national police chief groups pushing to restrict guns, and expressed his disapproval of such a thing.

We had a nice little conversation. Town, neighbors, a troublesome dog, a little politics. Nice guy.

Our town, and especially the PD, are much better off since we got rid of the police chief's postion, and the guy who had it.

April 18, 2010 12:20PM
Near Space Press Releasing Net Assets April 23, 2010
Kindle e-book releases April 23, followed by trade paperback on May 15.

At (very) long last.

April 15, 2010 11:25AM
Scratch one news aggregator
For years, I made daily visits to KeepAndBearArms.com for firearms-related news. It was a great place for discussion, too; KABA had some readers with excellent insight. Past tense.

A while back, KABA changed its posting policy; you had to register to post comments. OK, lots of sites do. I went to the registration form, and was taken aback at the amount of information required. I read the privacy policy: KABA reserved the right to give your information to anyone. They specifically said they'd give it to law enforcement if they felt like it, no court order needed. There was no opt-out provision for info sharing. As you might guess, very few people post comments anymore. What gets posted tends to be abusive; lies, insults, defamation.

Over the past several months, I've noticed two things: That by the time a useful article makes it to KABA, I've very often already seen it. And that more and more of the articles are about police misconduct that has nothing to do with firearms. I can (and do) get that information elsewhere. KABA lost its focus.

And it just lost another loyal reader.

April 14, 2010 3:20PM
Samsung: Don't Watch 3D TV While You're Drunk
Samsung also warned people to stop watching 3D if they experience any of the following symptoms:

Said symptoms include confusion, nausea, and disorientation. Heck, most prime time programming on old fashioned flat, pre-HDTV networks had that effect on me. That's why I pretty much stopped watching TV years ago.

Very light posting, as I'm sure you've noticed. Seeing as I finally got a publisher, I'm putting in more time writing than beating my head against the screen keeping up with all the world's news. But if you see something you really think I should comment on, let me know. Emaill link below, left.

April 6, 2010 6:10PM
Unruly passenger disrupt Qantas flight
Crew on a flight from Sydney to Singapore were forced to physically restrain a disruptive passenger who, according to media reports, threatened to down the plane with the power of his mind.

If he's using his awesome psychic powers, handcuffs and leg irons aren't going to help.

OK, I refuse to check any more news today.

April 6, 2010 5:15PM
Michelle Obama: "...his home country in Kenya..." (YouTube video)

I've pretty much stayed out of the whole "where's the birth certificate" debate, since it doesn't really matter. As demonstrated by the nationalization of banks, auto manufacturers, health insurance, and student loans, constitutionality doesn't mean anything to these people.

Still, one couldn't help noticing little things: a statement from a Hawaiian official that the only reason they haven't released the birth certificate is that Obama refused permission, sealed records in Kenya, a Kenyan family member who claimed to remember Obama's birth in Kenya, and a news article from the days of Obama's Senate run saying he's Kenya-born (which is allowed for Senators, but not the Presidency).

Sure, the sealed records could be innocent; an understandable desire for privacy. The relative could be misremembering, confusing Obama with another child. Reporters are notorious for getting facts wrong, although this one would be odd even for the National Inquirer.

But when the man's own wife asserts that Kenya is his home country, you've got to wonder. Still, refer to my first paragraph. It doesn't matter anymore.

(Hat tip to Chris Woodard)

April 6, 2010 4:40PM
It's about bloody time.
FairPoint Communications Inc. said Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Alfred Giammarino has resigned.
The resignation of Giammarino, who is leaving the telecommunications company for personal reasons, takes effect immediately.

This is one of the masterminds who drove FairPoint into bankuptcy. If they had gotten rid of him last summer, the company would likely be in much better shape.

April 6, 2010 12:10PM
"court ordered inactive status"

I'd like to know what that's about. Given how disinclined lawyers are to discipline one another, you have to wonder what Michelle did.

April 4, 2010 11:45AM
Another angry voice:

What do you do when patient petitioning, protest marches and court orders fail? What do you do when all the protocols and cheat codes of democracy fail? This is what you do: you reclaim the language of democracy from the twisted bunch that have hijacked, cannibalized and subverted it.
[...]
We need to hit them where it hurts most, by any means necessary: through the power of our votes, our taxes, our wallets, and more.
[...]
The proper channels have failed. It's time for mass civil disobedience to cut off the financial oxygen from denial and skepticism.

If you're one of those who believe that this is not just necessary but also possible, speak to us. Let's talk about what that mass civil disobedience is going to look like.
[...]
We know who you are. We know where you live. We know where you work.

And we be many, but you be few.

Is this another "screed" from an angry tea partier? Another call to arms from Mike Vanderboegh? A civil libertarian extremist? Window Warriors reminding the Dems that we are everywhere?

No. It's Greenpeace, excerpted from an April 1 post.

Ironic name, wouldn't you say?

Isn't it odd that when Vanderboegh suggested smashing oathbreakers' office windows the Lefties freaked out. They even blamed him for an incident states away that occurred before his call to action. People threatened his life. When he proposed a nonviolent reminder that people who value the Constitution are everywhere, we were attacked in the media, without even being allowed to post honest responses.

So now that the leftist Greenpeace is calling for much more extreme action, where's the outrage?

Also, permit me to draw your attention to a subtle point:
"What do you do when all the protocols and cheat codes of democracy fail?"

The friends of liberty have generally been trying to play by the rules. That has become a disadvantage when our socialist opponents admit they're cheating. In fact, Congress is willing to toss the rulebook – the Constitution – into the trash.

If they toss the rules out, then... there's no rules for us to stick to either.

April 2, 2010 3:35PM
Liberal libel in full bloom

I encountered Wilson's collection of... factually-challenged misinformation and insults earlier, but didn't want to encourage more people to read it. But Mike Vanderboegh wants to clarify a few points.

Wilson claims to be an "investigative reporter" with decades of experience. But apparently he managed to avoid learning how to fact-check (and it seems not to have occurred to him that he could be fact-checked), or the careful use of "alleged" and "reportedly" to dodge libel suits.

Racist... Geat Ghu, in the real world, Mike is semi-famously anti-racist. Of course the SPLC never understood that, and that's likely where Wilson got his misinformation. But then Morris Dees reportedly told a Congressional hearing that J. J. Johnson is a white supremacist.

April 2, 2010 1:35PM
Hare rabbits from constituents
Congressman Phil Hare left a campaign stop in Quincy amidst a contentious exchange with attendees over the health care reform bill.
Rep. Hare cuts the man off and says "I don't worry about the Constitution on this to be honest..."
"I believe it says we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Rep. Hare tells him.

Would someone from Hare's district in Illinois please explain to me why you voted in a clown who violates his oath to uphold the Constitution and flees his constituents rather than give them an honest answer? Not that "my" congresscreep is any better (he won't meet with constituents in the first place, unless he knows they agree with him); he got elected purely because he wasn't a Bushite Repugnantcan.

In a way, his oath of office is a moot point, since he doesn't even know what the Constitution is. (Hint to visiting leftists/socialists: That bit about "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" comes from a different document. Try a web search on the phrase.)

April 2, 2010 9:40AM
Obama: US would go bankrupt without health changes
President Barack Obama says he did a full court press for a health care system remake because "this country was going to go bankrupt."
Obama said in a nationally broadcast interview Friday he isn't worried that his bold reach for a $1.3 trillion, 10-year makeover might cause his public approval ratings to plummet.

We were going to go bankrupt, so the proper response was... an additional $1.3 trillion in spending?

And am I the only one noticing that number grows with each telling? $938 billion, then $1 trillion, next up to $1.1 trillion. Now $1.3 trillion. And that still doesn't include the trillion or so in corporate and private spending mandated by this bill.

April 1, 2010 6:00PM
ATF Paperpushers Train on M-4 Assault Rifle

A hint for ATF agents and trainers, and other firearms ignorant non-gunnies:

That ain't an M-4.

At least we have a better understanding of why the ATF thinks airsoft toys are assault rifles.

They're freaking clueless. And when the agency that enforces firearms laws can't tell a 5.56mm M-4 carbine from a 12 gauge shotgun from a plastic pellet shooting toy is that incompetent, gun owners are screwed.

And why are unarmed paperpushers getting firearms training?

April 1, 2010 2:00PM

Click, and go read.

April 1, 2010 1:35PM
Oh, no! Not Guam!
My fear is that the whole island will be becoming so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.

So says Hank Johnson, congresscreep for Georgia's 4th district.

This pretty much illustrates the intelligence of a typical Demogoue. This is the quality of thought that brought us "health care reform". I'd have to say that the only dumber folks are the idiots who elected him.

And a special kudos to the Admiral for mostly keeping a straight face.

And yes, this being April Fool's Day, I checked snopes.com; this appears to be real.

ADDED: Best comment yet over at Anthony Watt's site: I must demand that you immediately remove this video since it is obvious that Congressman Johnson has accidentally revealed a state secret that is vital to our national security – Guam is in fact a floating battle island..