How NERDY Are You?

According to this test, Carnaby and I are high-level Nerds -- 93rd and 83rd percentiles, respectively; that makes Carnaby a "Nerd King," actually. No news there. I could have scored higher, only I traded my lovely HP 48G for Carnaby's TI-85.

Try it and see how NERDY you are.

Yeeeeaaah!

I don't know if it was me, but SmallestMinority (thanks, Kevin), PowerLine, and Instapundit are on it.

The blogosphere is here, and it is good. It's the best thing for those who are truthful, honest, and right that has come along in a long time.

CALLING ALL BLOGS!!

I'm putting out an ALL BLOGS BULLETIN to please make some note of our ridiculous gubernatorial election process in Washington State.

I am a small and pithy blog without much readership, but I hope that my ALL BLOGS BULLETIN, not to be taken lightly, can pull things together. I don't need links to me, but serious coverage of the work over at Sound Politics would be helpful. I'd like to see this eventually get covered at the national level, since my own local news outlets are ignoring the problems in their entirety. We need some big guns on this, lots of "chatter" and all that.

Calling the big guys: Instapundit, Kim du Toit, LGF, PowerLine, SayUncle, SmallestMinority, Geekwitha45, anyone on my blogroll or with an interest in seeing actually honest and fair elections.

If you got here searching for "eggnog pancakes" or "7.62mm semi automatic rifle" then please link up to Sound Politics. If you're a lefty and you hate my guts, then link there too, the more noise the better.

Final note, just so you know I'm not kidding myself, I (the blog) am pithy more in the sense of definition #2

pith·y Audio pronunciation of "pithy" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pth)
adj. pith·i·er, pith·i·est

1. Precisely meaningful; forceful and brief: a pithy comment.
2. Consisting of or resembling pith.

Update: I don't think that I was clear in that the desired outcome is a new election.

Update: Kevin suggests hot links, so here they are:
Say Uncle, Instapundit, Kim du Toit, PowerLine, Geekwitha45, LGF

Get 'em while they're hot!

Ballot-thaumaturge

That sounds funny, but I have no idea what it means. Lessee, dictionary.com has:

thau·ma·turge Audio pronunciation of "thaumaturge" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (thôm-tûrj) also thau·ma·tur·gist (-tûrjst)n.

A performer of miracles or magic feats.

Heh heh, that's a good one. And apt too; just have a look at what's going on in King County elections. Sound Politics is great, I only just found it. Please go have a look, and see for yourself that our election is a ginourmous joke.

American 'Stinginess'

So, we're stingy, are we? Is this what Egeland means by "stingy"? I'm in awe.

This is the same reasoning my beloved mother (God rest her soul) tried to use on me when I was a child: a poor woman who donates her last dollar is more charitable than a rich man who gives an easily-afforded $1000. I understood her point, which was that the poor woman sacrificed the most in terms of what was donated/what was available. But I still thought that if I was in desperate need of help to rebuild my house or buy medicine, I'd really appreciate that $1000 even though it represented a smaller portion of the giver's income. And I also wondered what that woman was going to do now that she no longer had any money; the alternatives were for her to starve or to become the recipient of charity herself. Hardly helpful. It would have made more sense for her to invest that dollar, build up some capital, and then donate $1000 herself. Better yet, she could use that capital to start her own business and provide employment and low-cost goods for people in need, and still make enough money to afford $1000 donations.

This is what's great about America (the Protestant ethic): we believe you can better help others by working toward being in a better position, yourself. I'm a student, so money is tight and I only donated $10 to the tsunami disaster relief fund. I'm pretty sure some wealthy individuals out there have donated $1000 or more each. Whether or not they could have afforded more means nothing to the people who are receiving this aid: overall, $1000 helps more people and does more good than my $10. And that's all that matters. Someday when I am a professional, I'll make more money and be capable of helping in a larger way. In the meantime, it makes no difference to someone who needs hospital care or a roof over his head that a wealthy donor could have afforded more. What matters is that they got what they needed.

The fact is that American "greediness" enables us to help more people than any other nation, and this just sticks in the craw of U.N. toads like Egeland.

Meanwhile, the French drain their bank accounts to send an emergency shipment of tutus to Sri Lanka.

I was gonna, I swear...

...really, I was going to go get that eggnog pancake recipe from the store, but then Wife Swap came on the TV and that was the end of that. In fact, it's on right now and I gotta run. Besides, I'm not even on the first two pages of Google searches for "eggnog pancake" after one day, so forget it. If there's no ego boost in it for me then I'm out.

Speaking of which, it looks like Rossi is calling for a revote; I agree. When you have three counts, and three outcomes, each significantly different while being insignificantly different, essentially within the margin of error for counting votes, you need to do it over. I doubt it will happen.

I did talk with some election observers who saw things going on in King County that didn't look too good. Lots of opportunity for votes to get added fraudulently. Too bad there's no evidence that they actually were added. Truthfully though, the system is not trust-inspiring. Once a ballot makes it into the system, there is absolutely no way to tell if it got there legitimately or not. I'd like to see a move to electronic voting; it at least seems like it should be trickier to simply add votes, like what appears might have happened here. We'll see.

Now, back to Wife Swap. It's not my fault, my wife watches it, then I get sucked in. It's actually quite a good show. Often the same stuff. They bring a stern wife into a house with fat, lazy kids, and they protest even the slightest restrictions or work imposed on them. By the end the fatties find out their lives are happier and emotionally healthier with the added discipline, while the ultra stern households learn to lighten up a smidge. Sometimes, it's a real win-win thing and both families benefit. I really enjoy seeing that.

Eggnog Pancake II

It seems I'm getting a lot of attention for my post on "eggnog pancakes." I'm, like, the 7th hit on Google for that.

I need to find that recipe, I lost it. I'll make a quick run to the store tomorrow and try to track it down. I think it was on the Lucern Gourmet eggnog carton. My apologies to those of you who can't live without this



IIRC, it used an entire stick of butter, and yep, those are yummy sliced almonds, which really do add a nice little something to that munger.

Update!: I checked out those other lame recipies (like this one) and they suck, using only one egg and no stick of butter. I think the recipe I used called for 4 large eggs, whoot!

UN Assholes

So we're stingy are we? There's really nothing to comment about this one, either you get it or you don't.

In a news conference at U.N. headquarters in New York, Egeland called for a major international response -- and went so far as to call the U.S. government and others "stingy" on foreign aid in general.

"If, actually, the foreign assistance of many countries now is 0.1 or 0.2 percent of the gross national income, I think that is stingy, really," he said. "I don't think that is very generous."

When are we going to kick these bastards out?

My First Rifle

Christmas was very good. My father coughed up the beans to buy me a new rifle, so I chose a nice Winchester model 94 30-30, built in 1972. I haven't taken it to the range yet, but I'm looking forward to some good rifle practice.



You can see the rifle nicely matches the fake wood paneling in my family room. I wonder what's on TV? Notice also the nice double-stack magazine of fire logs beside the fire (I'm not beyond gun allusion dorkyness).

On another happy note, Stickwick got Mr. Stapers a nice present for Christmas.

[image redacted]

That's right, a somewhat eeeeevil and soon to be more eeeeeevil SKS 7.62 x 39mm semi-automatic rifle.

(Stickwick's note: It's a Yugo 56/66, and never used. We took it to the range on Sunday and found that, aside from shooting a little high, it's fairly precise for a commie rifle.)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good rifle!

Brady comments on something

Ohio: Ohioans Reject Concealed Handguns – No Interest in NRA’s CCW Law

While the NRA keeps pushing state lawmakers to force police to let people carry concealed handguns in public (CCW), very few people actually want to walk around with a hidden handgun. Applications to carry handguns has lagged far behind expectations, according to law-enforcement data from states that have recently relaxed their handgun laws. "They're down 30 percent [from projections]," said Robert Cornwell, executive director of the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association in Columbus, Ohio. The same lower-than-expected numbers on gun license applications have come out of Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri, each of which has approved new concealed carry laws since 2001

The Brady idiots are a good example of people who'd find anything bad to say no matter the outcome of CCW laws being passed. I suppose they'd report that "Ohioans Approve Concealed Handguns - Interest High in NRA's CCW Law" if CCW applications were up 30% from projections. We all know that if that was the case, they'd be reporting "Ohioans expecting blood in the streets!!" or some other nonsense.

Not that we don't expect this sort of behavior, par for the course, I guess.

Jake the Army

So my 4 year old son got some camo pants from his Auntie Stickwick and now he's become "Jake the Army." I wish I knew where that came from, probably some variation of "GI Joe" I suppose. I turn out to be his pal "Weekago" which I figure he made up after "Tonto" and "Kemosabe" from playing the Lone Ranger.



He looks pretty serious. This kid loves to dress up as heroes and action figures. His old favorites include all the super heroes especially Batman, Frodo and Sam, various knights and pirates, cowboys including the Lone Ranger and generic astronauts, doctors, and now Jake the Army. I always get to play the sidekick of course.

The Greatest Canadian

The CBC (Canada's version of the beeb) has a reader poll on The Greatest Canadian. And the winner? Can you guess? Can you even think of any great Canadians?

Well, Canadians have a tough time of it too. Within the top 100 we see 11 hockey players (apparently toothless grins and hitting a piece of hardened rubber with a stick makes you great), 28 entertainers, various writers, political activists, politicians, a few military people and a couple scientists.

And the winner is? Well, I should've known this in advance. You see, Canada has a for real sacred cow. More than anything, Canadians (the type that vote for "The Greatest Canadian" on CBC polls), have, at the top of their list for things that bring them national pride, the marvelous and wonderful Canadian Health Care System (CHCS). And the winner of the poll is the guy who's thought to be the most responsible for said CHCS, Tommy Douglas. To quote from the CBC website:

After nine years in the House of Commons polishing his fiery public-speaking talent, Douglas was elected the leader of the provincial CCF in Saskatchewan. With interest in socialism peaking in post-war Canada, the party won a landslide victory in 1944 and Douglas found himself an instant celebrity as the head of North America's first-ever socialist government.

So he was the leader of the provincial government in Saskatchewan. Although he is identified with the CHCS, it was actually Lester B. Pearson's Liberal government that gave Canada the CHCS.

This post is becoming kinda lame, but the important thing is this. Canada's health care system SUCKS, to put it mildly. I lived there for 15 years, and I saw the thing first hand many times. It lags the US system (admittedly flawed, but due to government intervention more than anything) in availability and high tech gadgetry and all that. It is dominated by waiting lists for expensive but necessary procedures (my old roommate's girlfriend had to wait over a month for surgery to remove her cancerous thyroid tumor), unless of course you are the son of the prime minister, then you go right to the front of the line. All sorts of other bad things can be said of the CHCS, but the worst is this:

In Canada, it is ILLEGAL to provide or to purchase health care privately. No kidding, you can be on death's door, one procedure away from living, but if you're at the bottom of the waiting list, you cannot purchase on your own the medical procedure that would save your life. You must wait (unless you are wealthy enough to purchase American health care) and hope for the best. When I hear Americans fawn over Canada's version of "Universal Health Care," not once has one of them understood this aspect of it. And they are always surprised to hear it.

So if you're in Canada and you talk to a proud Canadian about the CHCS, expect to hear the phrase "no two tier health care system," and don't be surprised at their lack of interest in people with political connections moving to the front of the line of their one tier health care system. And note that for the most part, if you pose this question to the average Canadian mother: " would you sell everything you own and take your child to the USA for a procedure if they couldn't get it in time in Canada because of a long waiting list?" the answer is always "YES." So really, they have a two-tier health care system but are not willing to admit it.

and that's all I got.

A Testosterone Christmas

I just finished shopping for all of hubby's Christmas presents, and, I must say, I'm rather proud of myself. It required a heroic effort, but I managed not to buy him a single LL Bean sweater or package of new underwear. Selecting the gifts was actually kind of easy, once I figured out how to do it -- just think of the exact opposite of what I'd want, and bingo! So here's the extra-manly stuff that ended up under the tree:

• Gift card for his favorite store, Half-Price Books
• Halo 2*
  
• SureFire flashlight
• Star Wars Battle Machines calendar
  
• The Green Berets on DVD
• SKS 7.62 x 39mm "assault" rifle
• Ammo
  

The last two were kind of impulse buys. We've both been wanting to get an eeeevil "assault rifle" ever since the AWB sunset, and for the price I just had to get this one. It's the only item that wasn't an exact-opposite-of-what-I'd-want gift, and I can't wait to take it to the range. (This isn't hubby's SKS [or our dirty carpet], but that's exactly what it looks like.) As for the rest of those gifts, he'll be enjoying them all by himself. :-)

(Imadope: I forgot that we have a Game Cube, not an Xbox -- gotta go back to the store and get a different game. Argh!)

The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms...

I think this speaks for itself.

August 24, 2004

MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

...we conclude that the Second Amendment secures an individual right to keep and to bear arms. Current case law leaves open and unsettled the question of whose right is secured by the Amendment. Although we do not address the scope of the right, our examination of the original meaning of the Amendment provides extensive reasons to conclude that the Second Amendment secures an individual right, and no persuasive basis for either the collective-right or quasi-collective-right views. The text of the Amendment's operative clause, setting out a "right of the people to keep and bear Arms," is clear and is reinforced by the Constitution's structure. The Amendment's prefatory clause, properly understood, is fully consistent with this interpretation. The broader history of the Anglo-American right of individuals to have and use arms, from England's Revolution of 1688-1689 to the ratification of the Second Amendment a hundred years later, leads to the same conclusion. Finally, the first hundred years of interpretations of the Amendment, and especially the commentaries and case law in the pre-Civil War period closest to the Amendment's ratification, confirm what the text and history of the Second Amendment require.

[Hat tip: Kim du Toit.]

The Dark Side of Paradise, Part I

My husband, Mr. Stapers, is a Finn. For many Americans, Finland conjures up images of attractive blondes, skiing, Sibelius, vodka, and saunas. Finland certainly has those things, and more besides. The nature is beautiful, and Finland has a lot of interesting history -- if you get the chance, you should definitely see those things. Sadly, however, one thing I hear far too often from Americans is, "Yeah, Finns are taxed pretty high, but they have a great welfare system." The "free" healthcare and education are always singled out as things the USA should have, too, but keep reading to see how this stuff isn't really free.

Anyway... Finns think pretty highly of their welfare state. They're supposed to, anyway. "It is like winning the lottery to be born in Finland," Finnish schoolchildren are told by their teachers. Maybe so, but Finns are forced to buy a heckuva lot of tickets, and the jackpot isn't very big.

Finland's economic policies would make your average American Democrat feel queasy. In order to pay for all the wonderful social benefits Finns receive, they have innumerable taxes: 40-75% income tax, 22% sales tax, 15% food tax, 120% car tax, 120% gasoline tax, death tax, property tax, gift tax, etc. There are also absurd labor laws, like the one that says every employer has to pay 150% of the payroll to the government. Of course, this means that everything in Finland is ridiculously expensive (except for pizza, for some reason). How, you ask, could any nation that once whupped the entire Red Army allow themselves to be fleeced like this? You make them think it's to their benefit, that's how, and to do this, the state's gotta get Finns when they're young. Hence, stuff like the "lottery" meme, which is hammered into schoolkids from day one. Individuality is ruthlessly surpressed, because, as all those Dewey fans know, individualists make lousy socialists. And in case anyone gets the fool idea of moving to someplace like America, well forget it. Kids find out that America is an evil, dangerous place, where you're likely to get gunned down in the streets, where there's a tiny wealthy elite and everyone else lives in refrigerator boxes, where you can't get any health care or go to school unless you're rich.

I never realized the power of indoctrination until I was told by a Finnish friend of ours on a recent visit, how good the system is -- right after he finished telling us how he's been wearing the same ratty old coat for the last ten years, because he can't afford to buy a new one, and how he couldn't afford to buy his girlfriend a pair of mittens on their trip through the Arctic Circle. Plus, his ancient car is barely running, and nobody else but him can drive it, because it's got all these bizarre quirks. But, he's getting a "free" education, and doesn't have to work while he's going to school.

This is just for starters; there's an even darker side to social paradise. And this is where our story begins.

Mr. Stapers and I have begun a battle to win custody of his sister, who is in the evil clutches of the Finnish social services gremlins. How she got there is still a mystery, but what we actually do know of this case is straight out of 1984.

Several months ago we got a mysterious message from Mr. Stapers' younger brother, 23, saying that their mother had been committed to a mental institution, and their little sister was now in a "youth house" (a pleasant welfare-state euphemism for "orphanage"). Apparently, Young Mr. had gone to visit his mother and sister one day only to find that they weren't home. Nobody knew where they were or how long they'd been gone. After about a week, Young Mr. finally learned of their whereabouts from the sister's teacher. This is Disturbing Detail #1: the teacher knew about the committals before any of the family. Young Mr. went to visit the sister in the orphanage right away, but was not permitted to see his mother, "on doctor's orders." In fact, D.D. #2: no one was allowed to see the mother for months or know anything of her condition or why she had been committed in the first place. When Young Mr. was finally able to see her, D.D. #3: she couldn't remember anything that had happened to her from the time she was taken by the state until Young Mr. was allowed to see her. Apparently, nobody will tell him why the mother and sister were seized by the state, and why they continue to keep them. The mother does have a history of alcoholism, and it's plausible that she's experiencing problems because of it. However, if this was the case, then it would be reasonable to assume that her doctors would simply tell this to the family. Or if it's some other condition that makes her committal legitimate, then why all the mystery and refusal to allow family visits? Why was there no hearing? Why was the family not informed of her committal? Why was Young Mr. not allowed to see her for months, and why is there now a gaping hole in her memory? Nothing about this situation seems right.

I'm trying to find out what more there is to this story, but am frustrated by an annoying trait peculiar to Finns: they are reticent (and patient) in the extreme. If this was my mother, I'd have been screaming and throwing stuff and demanding to know what's going on. Finns, on the other hand, calmly wait for the information. They ask little and wait long. I'm not saying patience is a bad thing, nor silence. But there's a time and a place for those things, and a time and a place to make a gigantic ruckus over something and to me this is one of those times and places. But it's not my fight, and we just have to make use of the information as it (slowly) becomes available.

I should note here that the father is a non-player in this situation. The mother had an illicit affair with a married man, got pregnant, and refused to name him -- the sister is effectively parentless right now. Young Mr., therefore, immediately petitioned for custody of his sister, only to be told that he is too young for such a responsibility. He did, however, manage to win custody of her on weekends. And it was during one of these weekend visits that Mr. Stapers was finally able to speak with his little sister. She is clearly very unhappy at the orphanage, and starved for a loving environment. When Mr. Stapers asked if she would like to come and live with us, the response was overwhelming: she said it was her dream to live with us in America. Without hesitation, we said we'd do everything in our power to make it happen. Mr. Stapers asked his sister to find out who her legal guardian is, and ask what he should do to start the process of transferring custody. I thought this was going to be a simple matter of paperwork. Afterall, Mr. Stapers and I are both in our 30s, have been married for three years, are both professionals with good jobs and good incomes, and live in a nice home. But, about a week later, we received a message from the sister explaining that the social worker said transfer of custody was impossible, because (get this) Mr. Stapers is not her father. No questions about his age, marital status, income, type of residence, etc. Just flat-out no. Mr. Stapers wasn't surprised by this response, but I sure was. As little as I think of American social workers, I know with absolute certainty that an American child in this situation would have been immediately placed with the closest capable adult relative.

So, what kind of idiot actually believes that a child is better off in an orphanage than with her family? When Mr. Stapers told me that if the Finnish government had its way, all children would be raised by the state instead of by their parents, it hit me. Finland is on its way to becoming Plato's Republic. Marriage is on the decline, and it is now quite common for couples to have children out of wedlock. With the traditional family on the way out, Finland is systematically relieving parents of their duties, including: education, healthcare (children are given full physical examinations at school), nutrition (children receive two of their daily meals at school), discipline, sex education, and instillation of values and political views.

So, the government has its grubby clutches on at least one child, and plans to keep her. Lest anyone think the social worker's iron grip on the sister is entirely based on the government's twisted code of ethics, Mr. Stapers does point out that the sister also represents a source of revenue for these people and their institution (as does the mother), and they won't give this up without a fight. Well, we won't give up period. One way or another, this child is getting out of Finland and that stupid orphanage so she can live with her family.

What's the next step? Getting the child her passport, while we gather more information on Finnish law so we can challenge the sister's social worker. Often it is the case that American social workers are ignorant of the law, and make things up as they go. Hopefully, this is true of our case, and Finnish law will turn out to be on our side. If that doesn't work, we'll start contacting amnesty groups, child welfare groups, and lawyers who handle this type of thing. Finland is probably the last nation on any group's watch list, but then again, I didn't even know that Finland recognizes no right to due process, no right to a hearing, no duty to keep next of kin informed. Seems as though the Finnish state has absolute power, and that's double-plus ungood.

We'll keep you posted on stuff as it happens.

NRA Nature Calendar

I got a swell "nature" calendar from the NRA with a hunter holding a dead goose upside down by the leg on the cover. I presume they're trying to get SayUncle to contribute.

I'll post a picture later.

The rest of the calendar has nice live animals on the inside. Of course it was the usual money grubbing scheme. I gave them a few bucks for the election, and now I'm tapped for NRA donations, what with contributing to the Walter / Adam fund at Kim du Toit's and saving for my own 2nd Amendment Rifle.

All I want for Christmas...

The VPC has kindly provided us gun-enthusiast types with the following helpful link. You'll find nice pictures and website URL's for all the best manufacturers of handy military style rifles for civilians, from here forward to be known as 2nd amendment rifles. For example



Please use the link to find a nice Beretta, H&K or Les Baer Custom for yourself or loved ones this Christmas!

Washington Governor Election Recount a Nail-biter

Well, it's expected to take at least until Christmas, but some results are already coming in. With about 250,000 votes counted, of the approximately 3 million votes cast, Republican Dino Rossi has gained 120 votes while Democrat Christine Gregoire has gained 102 votes. I'm pulling for Rossi, but this thing is too close. It will all come down to the 900,000 or so votes from super-Democratic King County (where I live).

Stay tuned...

Wow

One link from The Smallest Minority and I've got all sorts of traffic. Neat. I hope everyone is enjoying the new format (thanks to Stickwick).

Please stay tuned, Stickwick and her husband are trying to import his 13-year-old sister from Finland where she lives in a state-run home for kids who have no parents or unfit parents. Anyway, they want to adopt her and bring her to the US because she's all alone and the state-run home is really awful (understatement).

The problem is that as a ward of the state, she brings in tax dough for the bureaucrats, and they are not interested in giving her up, even though it is obviously in her best interest. Stickwick and husband have just started the process and it isn't pretty. Stickwick's husband left Finland because it is a socialist shit-hole. We'll post some facts that go along with that with each update.

Lastly, check out this archive post, it's one of my favorites (I need a favorites section), about Ted Rall Caught in the Act of Being an Idiot. I know, the picture is huge, but you can't make out the necessary detail otherwise.

Please Welcome Stickwick Stapers

Please welcome aboard our new poster, Stickwick Stapers. Stickwick will be in charge of revamping the blog's style, something I'm sure will be appreciated by all the poor suckers who get here by searching for stuff like:

jingle bell fudge picture

I'm the #1 hit for that search on Yahoo!. I'm so proud.

Closer to Home

David Horsey gives us this cartoon to ponder:



Why is he such a jackass? I don't know, but he's implying that because a person votes Democrat for national offices but Republican for state offices, he must be a Ralphie Mushpie or something. In reality, this is not uncommon. Just look at New York and Massacheeeewsetts, two more liberal places I can't imagine. They vote explicitly for Dems for national office -- to the point that Repubs often don't even bother challenging -- but both have Republican governors (well, RINOs, but still).

Seems they know something that Washington voters know as well. It seems that at the national level, liberal ideas are all well and good. They FEEL good, for the liberal voter. But when that crap comes too close to home, the liberal voter, subconsciously at least, seems to know that liberal policies are a disaster and thus they are treated like, in the words of Dilbert, a dead raccoon. Too bad this doesn't manifest in the conscious mind of liberals. But then they wouldn't be liberal, would they?

That and Christine Gregoire looks like she was brought back from the dead -- and scares small children.

UPDATE: I have it on good authority that two of the persons caricatured in the above Horsey comic would not have voted for Patty Murray either. So thpppt.

Traffic Adjustment

Look, the traffic here is essentially nill. I got a few hits from Google searches for "SKS 7.62mm x 39mm semiautomatic rifle" oddly enough. Seems logical that if I do a quick recount of interesting news I'll get a few more 0:00, 0 page view visits, and I need the comfort. I got some traffic, and I need more. I don't want to work for the traffic, oh no, so I'll just be lazy and note that in the news we have:

1. Ohio makes Bush victory official. Like, duh, I was worried, right.

2. New drug, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb put 86 percent of patients who tried it into remission. Nothing but good things to say about that one. In other news, North Korea's communist economy (if you can call it that) managed to produce three grains of rice for its citizens (if you can call them that).

It also appears that Lost sleep equals gained weight. Probably because you eat more while you're awake. They say it's due to hormones.

3. In Iraq, the Red Crescent Aid group 'told to freeze' Falluja work. I'm going to start a French aid group and call it the "crescent roll with red jam and butter."

There's also a lot of other crap about why Hamid Karzai's hat looks so dumb, warnings or something about flu shots, and a whole bunch of crap about Michael Jackson.

4. Oh, almost forgot, we're starting a hand recount of the votes for Washington governor. We should have a new governor by New Year's. Go Rossi, you only have to win three times in Washington, we promise.

Now, if that doesn't net a few bored web surfers, I don't know what else to do, short of posting real commentary (ha! yeah, thppppt). Maybe next time I'll pull something from somewhere other than smelly CNN.com.

Hey, did anyone else see the Fear Factor with the 140 pound pit bull? That was cool. Those poor bastards trying to stuff the presents in the boxes got their asses handed to them. Pretty neat.

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell CRAP

After over 30 years of being subjected to seasonal torment, I have to finally get something off my chest:

I HATE fricking "Jingle Bell Rock." Especially, besides the so-called music, I loathe and despise, feel utter contempt and hatred for, and wish to do serious physical and emotoinal harm to the person who penned:

Mix and mingle with a jinglin' beat... that's the jingle bell rock!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!!

Now back to a good dose of rum... and eggnog.

Spray 'n' Pray

From the über-reliable, objective VPC we learn:

Assault weapons did not "just happen."

In other news, toilet paper did not "just happen." Now back to our story...

They were developed to meet specific combat needs. All assault weapons, military and civilian alike, incorporate specific features that were designed to provide a specific military combat function. That military function is laying down a high volume of fire over a wide killing zone, also known as "hosing down" an area. Civilian assault weapons keep the specific design features that make this deadly spray-firing easy.

OK.

The next section explains why civilian semiautomatic assault weapons are no less deadly than military automatic assault weapons. In fact, they are arguably even more deadly.

The civilian versions are more deadly! That must have been those mean gun makers exploiting the "more deadly" loophole in the 1934 weapons act.

Another expert's explanation of the Army's reasoning sheds light on one of the principal dangers of assault weapons on civilian streets,"spray and pray" firing:

The studies showed that...in spite of the huge amounts of money spent by the military services in training combat infantrymen to be marksmen, few were capable of firing effectively beyond ranges of 200 to 300 meters in the heat of battle. "Spray and pray" would come to be the practice on the future battlefields of Vietnam.

Only by John Kerry.

Bushmaster's version of the AR-15 achieved new heights of notoriety in 2002 when it was revealed that one model was the weapon used by the infamous Washington, DC-area snipers.

But they didn't use "spray and pray"!!! They obviously didn't read the VPC website. Boy will they feel stupid when they find out.

Pistol grips on assault rifles and shotguns help stabilize the weapon during rapid fire and allow the shooter to spray-fire from the hip position.

Musn't forget that proper spray-fire is done from the hip position. Of course the other expert in the field, the Brady Campaign, affirms what we and the VPC knew all along:

"Spray-firing" from the hip, a widely recognized technique for the use of assault weapons in certain combat situations, has no place in civil society. Although assault weapon advocates claim that "spray-firing" and shooting from the hip with such weapons is never done, numerous sources (including photographs and diagrams) show how the functional design features of assault weapons are used specifically for this purpose.

So let's have a look. Lemme see, the battle of Fallujah is probably a good place to start. Lots of close quarters combat, presumably lots of spray firing from the hip, since, we're told, they were trained by the military to "spray and pray." Here's the pictures I found of our troops:

I guess they didn't get the VPC memo that "spray and pray" is the new wave in combat effectiveness at close range.

The Israelis apparently didn't get the memo either

And neither did the Palestinians

You'll just have to take my word for it, but I didn't see a single example of "spray and pray" or firing from the hip in any photos that came up under Google searches for "iraq combat," "fallujah marines" or any such thing. Just check for yourself if you don't believe me.

Is it just me, or do the VPC and Brady Bunch get their info from Rambo movies?

Notice the proper VPC-approved spray 'n' pray technique. Rambo really knows how to lay down a high volume of fire over a wide killing zone, also known as "hosing down" an area. Excellent. US Army, Marines, Special Forces, please make a note of it. As it says, "No man, no law, no war can stop him." It must be the spray 'n' pray.

Iraq Body Count Project

Check it out here .

That, and Great Satan is celibrating Kwanzaa. Hmmm, lots of links to smut 'n' stuff. Well, I guess it is Satan, so what'd I expect?