Know Your History

You Are a Smart American

You know a lot about US history, and you're opinions are probably well informed. Congratulations on bucking stereotypes. Now go show some foreigners how smart Americans can be.

Are You a Dumb American?

Quit'cher Snivelling!

I have some bad news for you.

If you are one of the people who look at Virginia's recent apology for slavery and expect the next thing we will be talking about is reparations, I'm talking to you.

If you wonder why the Islamists hate us, and think that if we can just open a dialog with them things will be happy joy joy in fuzzy bunny land, listen up.

If you think you deserve my money and attention because you aren't as "lucky" as me, perk up your ears.

I'm your worst nightmare. I am a man without guilt.

I never owned any slaves, and you were never owned as a slave, so I owe you nothing. Get used to that idea.

Islamists hate us because we have what they want, and if they can't have it then they are determined that we shan't have it either. While you are listening to them with your eyes closed, they are slitting your throat. And you deserve it.

They can't have it. I'll die first. But I won't die alone. My prayer will be "Lord, let them come at me in large bunches so that I can kill more of them at a time, Amen."

Luck is something you make, not something that happens. Luck is a combination of opportunity, preparation and timing. Every second there's an opportunity. If you aren't prepared for it you aren't unlucky, you are stupid.

Want an example?

If you are pregnant with your third child and you aren't real sure who the baby daddy is for the first two, much less the current one, you aren't unlucky. You are stupid.

If you never finished high school, and now you can't figure out why you can't get a job paying more than minimum wage (especially since you don't keep it for more than a couple of weeks), you aren't unlucky. You are stupid. (This is where the preparation comes into play.)

OK, that's two examples. Another opportunity.

I don't feel sorry for your poor choices and bad decisions. More importantly, I don't feel responsible for them. You have no right to welfare and SSID in my world. In my world, stupidity is not only painful, it's fatal.

I have no use for those of you who will "yeah but" my country's history. We are the greatest nation in all the world, period.

"Yeah but" what about all the things we have done on our way to becoming what we are? Can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. That's the way things work. If you aren't strong enough to hold, you get swept away by the tides of history. It's neither right nor wrong, it just is.

So might makes right? Yep. Cause that's the way it is. And if you don't believe it, stand on the tracks. Right here. Don't worry about that noise.

Fair? You want fair? Sorry, can't help you. Children's games have rules to make sure everything is fair. Life doesn't.

Did I hurt your feelings? Get over it. Nobody cares. I'm not your priest, and you aren't paying me nearly enough to be your shrink. I'm not interested in your pathetic problems, I have troubles of my own that I'm dealing with.

We have become a pansified shadow of an excuse of what we were. We are afraid of making people angry, the law is now our master instead of our servant, and we have gotten to the tipping over point where most of the voters have figured out they can vote themselves treasures out of the nation's coffers.

We have created our own group of masters, called politicians, who think they are above us, and we are letting them get away with anything.

Meanwhile, someone somewhere is going to be the world's biggest dog. Count on it. Nature and politics both abhor a vacuum.

The big dog that is currently the USA is acting more like a lap puppy. Somewhere out there is a bad-tempered junkyard mongrel who is going to rip out the soft underbelly we are showing them as we lay on our backs.

I have my lifeboat picked out.

The rest of you can go straight to hell.

No Cigar Yet

By way of PawPaw's House, Jim Zumbo has offered yet another apology on Ted Nugent's site.

In doing so, he demonstrates that he still does not fully understand the problem.

He has been fired from Outdoor Life. He has lost sponsorships and his television program. He says he can't understand how he could have been "so ignorant and out of touch with reality in the world of hunting and shooting".

He then goes on to say he didn't realize how many people used "black rifles" for hunting.

Large sigh.

Jim, Jim, Jim. It's not about hunting. There are many "black rifle" owners who have never, ever, so much as pointed their evil bad guns at any living thing.

It's about shooting, Jim.

It's about putting a large amount of lead a couple of hundred yards from where you are currently standing. It's about spending quality time with your 14 year old daughter, while incidentally teaching her a skill that may one day save her life. It's about getting together with your buds and swapping a few lies and making some noise.

It's about taking some time to hone a skill that may one day be of vital importance. It's about relieving the stress of a normal ordinary life. It's about the smell of cordite and the feel of a well balanced machine.

It's about competition. It's about cameraderie. It's about doing something that you enjoy, for no other reason than you enjoy it.

It's about spending some time with the Marine in your life doing something that you are both familiar with, and being able to say "I love you, son, and I'm proud of you" without speaking a single word at all.

It's about the Second Amendment to the Constitution of these United States.

It's about shooting, Jim.

The Hits Keep Rolling

I am really enjoying this counter. I get more visits than I ever imagined.

I have hits from Texas and California, Ohio and Florida, from all across these great United States. Welcome one and all, thanks for stopping in!

No offshore visitors so far, but hope springs eternal.

One of my visitors hails from "deep in the heart of" Waldorf, Maryland. I am familiar with Waldorf from time (mis)spent at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Lexington Park MD in the early 90's.

Another comes by way of friend (smile when you say that) James's website. Since the visitor is from Louisiana, I know it's not James himself visiting from the link on his own site.

And he thinks no one is paying attention.

UPDATE: As of 24 February I have had visitors from the UK and NZ, so paragraph 3 above no longer applies. Welcome to all my visitors! Does this mean I've gone international?

Hail To The Chief

I just found out on the news last night that the President is coming to town. It's probably the most exciting thing to happen to little Franklinton NC in it's entire history.

The President will be visiting Novozymes, a biotech firm that is involved in making, among other things, the enzymes to produce ethanol out of renewable energy sources from cellulose, found in such things as cornstalks and switchgrass. President Bush is visiting to support these efforts, since one of the goals he has set forth is weaning the nation from it's dependence on foreign sources of oil.

I think that ethanol mixed with gasoline will yield small benefits, if any. Ethanol doesn't have the energy content to directly compete with fossil fuels in our current internal combustion engines. Where I think ethanol, and other similar biofuels, will come into their own is with fuel cells, when that technology matures. One hundred years from now I see our primary energy source to be fuel cells, powered by synthetic fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

But back to the Presidential visit for a moment.

Of course you can't have a visit of the VIPs without having the usual collection of nitwits. One of my recent visitors came by way of a Google search for "protest march in franklinton nc". I hope he left disappointed. And I am happy to say that my own search came up with negative results as well.

The President's policies and politics are probably not much appreciated in heavily Democratic Franklin County NC, but I could wish that people would put aside politics long enough to appreciate the fact that he is visiting to support the reduction in dependency on foreign oil.

Unfortunately there are people who are professional bitchers, and to them this man can never do anything that will be right. If God himself came down out of His heaven and placed His hand on George W. Bush's shoulder and proclaimed him to be the right man at the right time, there are those who would not be able to see past the separation of church and state.

I was not a big fan of the last President, but I was always willing to give the man credit when it was due him. It's a crying shame that the "loyal" opposition cannot bring themselves to do the same for President Bush.

I hope he has a good visit.

What's That Smell?

By way of the Lawdog Files, it appears as if some fellow named Zumbo has stepped in it.

I must admit that it's been forever and a day since I've looked at an Outdoor Life magazine. I am a member of the North American Hunting Club, but the last time I went hunting was at least 15 years ago. For one reason or another I just haven't been.

That being said, it's not my place to say what type of gun you own or what you should use it for as long as you are not robbing banks or doing something just as stupid with it. If it pleases you to own an AK or an AR, I see nothing wrong with it. If you want to own a Howitzer, I see nothing wrong with that, either.

Much has been said against the Second Amendment regarding private firearms ownership, everything from "It's not an individual right, it's so the state can have a National Guard" (established about 140 years after the Second Amendment was ratified into law) to "You can't use one of those to hunt ducks". Every one of those arguements are disingeneous at best.

The attitude of the founders where private weapons ownership is concerned comes, as did many other views, from England where it was once the law for every household to own a longbow and a collection of arrows for it. This is the equivelent of owning a .50 cal BMG with 5000 rounds. The English longbow was the premier weapon of it's day, and it was not a suggestion that every household own one...it was the law.

Not only was it law to own one, one also had to maintain proficiency with it. The reason for this is simple, in a time of war a decent army of archers could be assembled in short order.

Fast forward to the present day, many libs will say that there is no longer any need for such a requirement (which gives you the "can't hunt ducks" anti gun school of thought). The founders intended us to be a nation of riflemen, and for good reason. I'll just leave it there.

As for Zumbo, others have taken him to task and he has issued an apology. Methinks he will have a way to go before he can work his way back into Lawdog's good graces.

But the Brady campaign seems to be happy with him. Nice work there.

Pappy used to tell me "Never miss a chance to shut the hell up."

Good advice from a true Virginia gentleman.

Photo from the North American Hunting Club

A New Toy

I have a new toy, a site meter from sitemeter.com.

Looking at my sitemeter I see that I have bugs. It's counting as visits the times I log in from my own computer. I had selected the option to not have it do that, but it doesn't seem to be working.

I have 3 hits from people doing websearches for Ron Paul. I'm humbled and honored that you took the time to stop in.

One of my visitors is from Bellevue, NE. Bellevue is just a bit south of Omaha and is the home of Offutt Air Force Base. I grew up in a little Iowa town about 70 miles east of there.

One of the tenant commands onboard Offutt AFB is Strategic Air Command, now called U.S. Strategic Command, or STRATCOM in MILSPEAK. SAC had clouds of B-52's at Offutt at one time. Not so much now. It was conventional wisdom in my neck of the woods that if the Rooskies ever launched their missiles we had just as well see if we could reach our lips to our backsides to kiss our butts goodbye.

When I joined the Navy I used to drive up to the recruiting station for the Delayed Entry Program meetings. I would cross the old one lane toll bridge and go through Bellevue to get there. Pretty little town.

Ah, the good old days.

Gen. Curtis LeMay building, US STRATCOM headquarters, Offutt AFB, Bellevue NE

Another One Down

Ron Paul, Congressman from Texas, is running for President.

Ron Paul, Congressman from Texas, doesn't get the Global War On Terror.

Ron Paul, Congressman from Texas, who's otherwise Libertarian stand on the issues I appreciate, has just demonstrated why he will remain a Congressman from Texas. If that.

Congressman Paul, if I can't count on you to fund the troops that are doing the President's bidding and killing terrorists, how could I count on you as President to protect my interests overseas?

Ron Paul will not be getting my vote. Duncan Hunter still looks pretty good though.

The Joys Of Socialism

Bill Lumaye, local radio personality, had a bit on his show a couple of days ago about a magazine that is being distributed by Wake County schools. In this magazine was an article about Hugo Chavez, current strong-arm dictator to be in Venezuela.

The article was a touchy-feely feel-good about Chavez's efforts to socialize the economy there. It talked about socialism being based on cooperation rather than competition. However, it failed to mention that this cooperation is coerced. This is the point at which Bill took offense.

Now I must admit that I have not read the article in question. I can't even recall the name of the magazine, for what that is worth. Everything I am saying here is based on Bill's paraphrasing of the article in question, so don't ask for exact quotes.

Along these same lines is a posting by His Imperial Rottiness about the predictable results of price fixing. It seems that as soon as Senor Chavez fixed meat prices, meat started disappearing from supermarket shelves. For those of you who don't understand why, go read the article. I found that it explained things quite well.

As I was discussing the issue with my associate, he came up with a good question. Since price controls inevitably cause the dearth of the product being price controlled, and given that the same people that try price controls also vehemently oppose private ownership of firearms, why don't they try price controls on firearms?

The answer (and of course he understood this when he asked the question) is that the same fuzzy heads that like price controls and dislike firearms don't understand the effects of price controls. They want to fix prices so that everyone can afford to buy the product, damn the manufacturers who unfairly expect to make a bit of filthy lucre off of their labors. Since they don't like guns, they don't want anyone to be able to afford them, therefore they would never institute price controls on them.

In Venezuela some sort of compromise seems to have been reached, as supermarkets promise to have meats back on the shelves within a few days. It appears as if Hugo is going to subsidize with oil dollars.

That will work for a little while, I guess, but things are not looking good for Venezuela's oil industry, either. It seems as if there's a brain drain going on as the smart people that run the oil company in Venezuela are looking for more posh (and less restrictive) digs elsewhere...like Mexico or Canada. Details on Tom Delay's blog.

What I just can't figure out is why these people have so much influence.

Dragonwatch link

Just took a look at Dragonwatch and found this little gem.

My favorite parts of the post would be the Navy's gunfighting rules.

1. Go to Sea
2. Send the Marines
3. Drink Coffee

Oooh. Rah.

That's gooooood coffee.

Dragon picture shamelessly stolen from Dragonwatch.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I have switched (under protest) to the new blogger, at the insistance of Google who now refuses to let me sign in under the old blogger.

They say I'll like it better.

Their bat, their ball. We will see, and if I like it I'll stay.

That's the beauty of a capitalist system. If I like what a company or organization has to offer, I'll join; if not, not.

At first I must admit that I was disgruntled, equating the forced switch to helmet and seat belt laws. Maybe it's a good idea, but I don't like being told to do it.

Unlike helmet and seat belt laws however, it's much easier to get out of the Google/blogspot arena. If I don't like it, I quit.

One thing I think I will like is the ability to label posts, and this will assumedly lead to the ability to link like posts under easy to find tabs, so to speak.

One thing I already dislike is the need to constantly "accept the terms of service" whenever I try to do things. Hopefully once I get everything set I'll no longer have to go through the hassles.

Change is the only constant.

That Was Fun

You Are 37% Misanthropic

You're a little misanthropic - but who isn't? Your reactions to other people are pretty normal. You enjoy being friendly with people you encounter, but if you're having a rough day, watch out!

How Misanthropic Are You?

Keep-Alive Posting

Not a lot going on at the Refuge. Nothing of interest at least.

There seems to have been some sort of flap about John Edwards hiring two blogsters for his campaign. Seems as if they are potty-mouths, but since they have promised to mend their evil ways he's going to keep them on. Good for him.

Anna Nichole Smith has died. Sorry to hear that.

My sister and brother in law are coming out for a visit next month. They want to see the races at Darlington. I tried to talk them into delaying for a week and seeing the race at Lowes instead, but they already had everything set. Looks like I'll be online for tickets.

Which reminds me that I haven't been home in quite some time. A fact that my mother is always bringing up.

Which brings to mind a conversation I had with my seven year old son recently, about how he is going to stay at home forever and take care of his mother. I recall telling my mother much the same thing. Soon after I graduated high school I joined the Navy and haven't been back, except to visit occasionally, since then.

Which is another factoid my mother can't resist reminding me of.

Life is good.

The Rise And Fall Of Civilization

I wrote a while back about the barbarians at our gates, and how "civilized" society inevitably falls to the mongol hordes. This is because the mongol hordes have no problems employing uncivilized behavior to attain their goal, which is domination, while "civilized" society flounders about the edges.

My thoughts on the matter are perfectly summed up in a post on the American Thinker. Lost of good stuff there, I highly recommend it.

Hat tip to His Excellency who has a word or two of his own on the subject.

The current struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil (depending on your viewpoint) is once again an arguement over who is going to be in charge. If we have become too soft and weak to enforce our will, we will lose, plain and simple.

If we all can see what the problem is, why can't we come up with the solution? There is a thing as too civilized, after all.

WAR! What Is It Good For!

The latest reported casualty of the never-ending drug war comes from Jacksonville, Florida where an 80 year old man was killed by undercover police. Seems that he took offense to their stationing themselves in his yard, and took a pistol with him to tell them to move along.

The investigation is ongoing, but this type of story is getting all too common. We hear all about the carnage in Iraq, but we ignore the body count of a truly useless "war" here at home.

How long do we allow the "security for freedom" mindset blind us to the fact that we have (and deserve) neither? How many of our essential liberties and our very lives do we sacrifice on this altar?

This is only the domestic cost. This doesn't even begin to address the foreign policy issues.

The Libertarians have long sought an end to the War on Drugs, but even they approach it from the wrong angle. They postulate that adults should be free to ingest any substance they choose.

Don't get me wrong, I think that drug use is a stupid waste, and only pathetic losers use drugs. Be that as it may, I think that the various forfeiture laws and the increasing use of "no knock" warrants are worse than the drug problem itself.

The only correct approach to the elimination of the drug war is to point out the toll it has taken on our Constitutional rights, especially as enumerated in the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. Additionally, there are studies done by various think tanks that show treatment of addicts to be far more effective and cheaper than busting dealers on the streets or trying (and failing) to prevent the entry of drugs into our borders. It's a simple supply and demand scenario, one that any Economics 101 student should be able to understand.

The sickness may not kill us, but the cure is doing a bang up job.

A Blog About Nothing

Too often I get so wound up in pertinence, the desire to write something earth-shaking, that I forget the purpose of this humble little blog is not to change the world, but just remember my little corner of it. Oftentimes I will go for a week or more because I can't think of anything relevant to write about. Kind of like right now.

I'm sure that exciting and important things are occurring even as we speak, not only in my little corner of North Carolina, but in the world at large. Such things are no doubt being covered in other blogs and news stories in media both large and small by persons of greater importance than I. Let them carry the water, so to speak, and if I see something that catches my interest be sure that I will say something.

The biggest thing on my mind right now though is when can I get my adult children back out of my house so I can reclaim my train room, and more importantly, once claimed what will I do with it. Right now my layout is on a 4ft by 8ft table, which to some might seem big enough. The model railroaders reading this will agree that there is no such thing as "enough" real estate.

My plans are to construct benchwork around the perimeter of the room with an "island" off of one side, making an E shape. My problem is how much room to dedicate to standard gauge N scale and how much to dedicate to narrow gauge N scale.

I got into the narrow gauge N scale (Nn3) scene innocently enough I suppose, I have been a fan of the East Broad Top for many years now and a train enthusiast for longer than that. I started collecting N scale when I was in the Navy because I could set it up on a board and slide it under the bed in my barracks room. It didn't take much space, and was easily dismantled and stored when I was deployed.

I didn't collect much at first. A Bachmann starter set, the Jupiter 4-4-0 and freight train because I had the same set in HO as a boy. Before I knew it I had a Prairie Flyer set, another 4-4-0 but this one with passenger cars. One day I took the big step - an MRC throttle with pulse control. Really made the 4-4-0's perform. Then came the Long Hauler (now it's called the Explorer) with it's twin F-9 diesels, the Empire Builder with it's big 4-8-4 Northern locomotive, and not long after that, much to my shame, a locomotive by itself, not as a part of a set. Another Northern, in Union Pacific livery, with the Vandy tender and gray paint.

I didn't realize then that the Bachmann sets, even though they looked innocent, were gateway sets. Pretty soon I knew I had a real problem. I started collecting big steam, then Spectrums, then I got into the high dollar stuff. MicroTrains cars, Atlas locomotives, you know, the big stuff. Before you know it I was buying stuff off of Ebay and sneaking it into the house behind my wife's back. I even started detailing my locomotives, and repowering them with gearmotors.

That's not the worst of it though. The worst of it was when I saw Z scale and realized that it was about 3/4ths the size of N. Since narrow gauge is 3/4ths the size of standard, more or less, it stood to reason that I could use Z scale locomotives to build my beloved East Broad Top.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I wasn't the first to think of it! This only made the problem worse, because now instead of having to scratch-build everything I could get kits! If I had been forced to scratch build, I would have had to go a bit slower. Since I could get kits I could dive in headfirst.

Once again I started out small. A converted Bachmann 4-4-0. Then a scratchbuilt Mogul on a Marklin chassis. A narrowed Bachmann combine. A Republic Locomotive Works flatcar. A MicroTrains boxcar. Two feet of dual gauge track from JHM.

Then I got into it big time. I found out from the Ntrak books that a Bachmann 0-6-0 switcher shell fit nicely onto a Marklin 2-8-2 chassis and made a dandy Mikado that almost looked like an East Broad Top locomotive. Before you know it I had built combines and passenger cars from MDC and Bachmann standard gaugers, I had built an EBT boxcar and caboose from RLW kits, then some hoppers, then an honest-to-goodness EBT Mikado kit. Marklin turnouts from Ebay (expensive and JUNK) and Peco flextrack make a double-loop roundy round on a 3x5 board with two dead end sidings, and MicroTrain's new sectional track serves nicely for a test track.

Now I want some jigs so I can hand-build turnouts in narrow, standard and dual gauge. The narrow and standard run about 1 C-note a pop, the dual gauge is one and a half per (two required), so it will take some fast talking to convince the wife that I need them.

I kept telling myself that it was no big deal, that I could quit any time I wanted to, but even then I knew I was only deceiving myself. Now it's time for me to admit it, to myself at least.

I am The Scoundrel, and I'm a train junkie.

I even bring trains to work now to fiddle with between service calls. My co-worker expressed an interest in them until I told him how much I had paid for the Mikado ($100 for the used Marklin mechanism, another $100 for the kit, not including trucks and couplers).

He's going to stick to guns.

Watchers Council

It's time again to submit another post to the Watcher of Weasels. Last time didn't go so well, but in my own opinion the article submitted was pretty weak. As I said, I had not written anything I thought was Watcher material. But, as Bullwinkle says, this time for sure!

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher's Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around... per the Watcher's instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.

Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

Submitted for your approval, America the Beautiful.

UPDATE: It's official. I suck. I'm going home now.

Sandy Shakespeare

Under the heading of "Damn, I wish I had written that!" is a post from Teflon Don, a Combat Engineer with the United States Army, on his blog Acute Politics:

"I am a shameless romantic, a slightly better than average student of history, and there is a current of idealism under my skin that has not yet been dulled by reality. Sometimes, these qualities come together and leave me thinking to myself of times long gone and stories all but forgotten. Lately, I've been thinking of the paradoxical enormity and insignificance of my presence here."

What kills me is the tagline:

"I walk softly, for I tread on the ghosts of years."

James Wolcott doesn't appreciate aptitude when he sees it, but he's a no-talent hack that's managed to weasel his way into a writing job. He just wishes he was half this good.

I stand in the presence of greatness, a wordsmith of rare ability. I stand humbled, in awe.

Even if he is Army. No one is perfect.

Keep your head down TD, this old Navy guy is praying for you.

High Crimes And Misdemeanors

Good things always come in threes.

One, if you are employed as a weather guesser, one of your colleagues would like to ensure that you don't stray from the plantation. The Weather Channel's Heidi Cullen, Climate Expert, would like to see all weather guessers that don't toe the "Climate Change Is Caused By Evil Mankind" party line de-certified by the American Meteorological Society. That would be, I guess, most of you. Hat tip to Neal Boortz for the story and links. Like the man says, follow the money.

Two, for those of you still living in LaLaLand (otherwise known as California), spare the rod or face jail time and hefty fines. A bill introduced to the California legislature by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, would outlaw spanking as a means of punishment to children 3 and below. In my view, if the government is going to strip parents of their authority, how long will it be before they are relieved of their responsibility as well?

Ms Lieber states that the purpose of the bill is not for "mommy government" to tell parents what they can and can't do, but rather to codify the rights of toddlers. I had exactly two rights when I was a toddler, the right to sit down and the right to shut up. Or as my mother so succinctly put it, "children should be seen and not heard."

Three, from links supplied by James, Arizona lawmaker Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, has introduced legislation into that state to outlaw any civilian groups, such as the Minutemen, that dare to band together to detect illegal activity. The law, HB2286, would add "domestic terrorism" to it's list of activities prohibited under smuggling and organized crime laws. Domestic terrorism, according to the new bill, would be defined thusly:

"A. An individual or group of individuals commits domestic terrorism if the individual or group of individuals are not affiliated with a local, state or federal law enforcement entity and associate with another individual or group of individuals as an organization, group, corporation or company for the purpose of patrolling to detect alleged illegal activity or to individually patrol for the purpose of detecting alleged illegal activity and if the individual or group of individuals is armed with a firearm or other weapon."

(B. and C. omitted, they weren't important for this discussion anyway.)

"D. A violation of this section is a class 5 felony."

So not only the Minutemen, but also, perhaps, Neighborhood Watch? And woe be unto you, Arizona ranchers on the border, if you and the boys decide to go out and catch the rustlers that are stealing your stock! Such an attempt to secure your own property could be deemed a class 5 felony.

Take note that the bill specifies "armed with a firearm or other weapon." That 5 D cell MagLite that you are carrying as part of your neighborhood watch makes a dandy weapon. The bill also specifies "individual or group of individuals" and further states that said individual may be part of a group of like-minded individuals or may "individually patrol for the purpose of detecting alleged illegal activity", so in a pinch you may be subject if you are patrolling your own house with a firearm to investigate the sound of smashing glass in the middle of the night.

Maybe not, but then again the original law is being used to charge those who pay coyotes as well as the coyotes themselves. "None of us every dreamed it would be used in a co-conspirator fashion," Sinema said. And defense attorneys will try anything. What's especially galling is that Sinema acknowledges that the law is being used in unexpected ways, and wants to add more to it!

A coyote in this context is someone who is paid to sneak illegals across the border.

A Concurrent Resolution co-sponsored by Sinema, HCR 2011, would make Arizona a sanctuary state, or in the language of the bill, a "safety zone", "where all persons are treated equally, with respect and dignity, regardless of immigration status."

The same resolution resolves "That the Members of the Legislature express their desire that the United States government, on adoption of sensible and comprehensive immigration reforms, begin effective enforcement of federal immigration laws at the federal level so that Arizona is not forced to shoulder the costs of enforcing federal immigration laws."

Excuse me, but doesn't one negate the other? Current "federal immigration laws" would render the "safety zone" a violation of Federal immigration law, wouldn't it? Make up your mind here, do you want a "safety zone", or do you want the United States Government to enforce "federal immigration laws"?

I for one would like to see the current law actually enforced. That would indicate that the laws are actually laws, and not merely suggestions. But I'm funny like that.

Not enough criminals? Use the law to make more. No matter that the real criminals, the ones doing actual harm, are deucedly difficult to catch and prosecute, we will go after the normally law-abiding since they are easier to find and prosecute.

I'm hoping that California and Arizona defeat their respective lunacy laws, but if it's being introduced how long before it catches on?

I'll Sue!

This morning I have received two presents, the first is a light blanket of snow that has shut down the local schools (meaning I didn't have to get the kids off to school this morning) and the second was an Email of the TRUE Stella Awards.

The Stella Awards is a free subscription, and there is a sister publication called This Is True which is also free but offers a Premium subscription as well. Much to my shame I'm not a Premium subscriber, but I do have the Get Out Of Hell Free card, so that's got to be good for something.

Standard disclaimer here, I have no financial arrangement with Randy Cassingham, author of both Stella Awards and This Is True mailings. I just really like the stories.

The Stella Awards, for those of you not familiar with them, are true accounts of outrageous lawsuits filed in courts by people seeking to escape the consequences of their own actions or to get money they don't deserve. It is named for the woman that successfully sued McDonald's because the coffee cup didn't warn her that the contents were hot, so it may not be a good idea to wedge it between your thighs and pull the top off of it to put in the cream and sugar.

The reason I bring them up is because of a comment included in this issue from a man in the Netherlands who worries that this type of insanity will make it across the pond. He asks "Who wants to live in such a society?"

Good question. I know I don't. But today's society is extremely litigious, and the practice of paying off out of court to avoid the legal costs just encourages those who simply want a payday or to shake down large corporations. Lawyer turned talk radio host Neal Boortz has what I agree is the answer, loser pays. He talks about it a bit here.

Basically the way it works is that if you lose a case you pay all legal expenses, including lawyers fees, for both sides. The idea is that the cost of losing a lawsuit would curb the out of control shakedown type lawsuits. It may even get rid of the ambulance chasers that advertise on TV that they can get you money even if your injuries are your fault. That's called a windfall in my book, a real two for one deal.

Some (mostly ambulance chasing lawyers) will argue that this sort of system would prevent people from getting their day in court, that it would discourage those who would file suit for compensation from "big money" corporations. I say, exactly, that's the point. But it would not prevent you from filing any lawsuits you like, it would just penalize you severely for bringing a suit that has no merit. Attorneys would have to advise their clients against lawsuits if they had no chance of winning, most of which are currently settled out of court to prevent large legal bills.

One of the opponents brought up Kelo VS New London, pointing out that the people who brought suit would have been liable for legal fees for the whole thing. To which I say, they were losing their houses anyway, they had plenty of reason to fight it, nothing more to lose and everything to gain. My heart goes out to those people, I think that the city of New London was evil to condemn their property and that the courts decided wrongly in their case. They had every chance of winning, and in my opinion should have done so, and any lawyer would have told them the same thing. They are already stuck for legal fees, and they are still losing their houses. The only positive thing that I can see about the outcome is that many states are taking a good hard look at their own eminent domain legislation, which is all to the good.

On a related note, BB&T bank will refuse to deal with you if you plan to build anything on land seized through eminent domain. Now if only we could get them on the right side of the firearms issue. But I digress.

If the defendants were relieved of the burden of the cost of nuisance lawsuits, these lawsuits would dry up. However, if there were legitimate complaints, the award would be more because the legal fees would not come out of the settlement. Win-win, as far as I'm concerned. Except for the attorneys, of course, but they have nothing to complain about since they would get their fees. This may also bring the abuse of class action lawsuits under control as well.

By the way, if you are involved in a class action lawsuit, you are stupid. Half the money goes to the lawyers, the other half gets distributed among the plaintiffs. Most of these multi-million dollar settlements have a million or more plaintiffs, so after the attorneys get their multi-million dollar fees you might be lucky to see a couple of hundred bucks. Just saying. And I moderate my comments, so save me the trouble of deleting your hate mail, stupid.

The best thing about the loser pays system is that it would free up the courts to deal with real issues that get put on back burners due to courts being overcrowded. Just as with other issues, this solution is not perfect. I just think it's better.

There are not currently any bills to this effect in any legislature that I am aware of, either state or federal.