Rules for Rulers

RIP Mr Heston

2008-04-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

Stolen shamelessly from Grim:

LT G Can Write

2008-03-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to Blackfive for pointing me here. Lt G from Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal has excellent writing skills. Here's a sample but I suggest you go over there and read it yourself.

I didn’t want to spend the next decade at Fort Leavenworth cutting stone, and certainly didn’t want any of my men to do that, either. Maybe that’s what would have happened if I had ordered them to shoot then. Maybe not. Anything now is just surmising, reflecting back with the benefit of hindsight on decisions made in mere seconds during a black tempest of confusion. We employed proper rules of engagement, just like we’re taught to by the Army lawyers hired to teach us how to avoid jail-time and war crimes and sensationalized scandals reported by a clueless, leaching mass media to an equally clueless public addicted to shock and awe. For every Abu-Ghraib there are hundreds of stories like this; unreported acts of trepidation brought on by the castigation of our combat operations in the name of nation building.

Danes in Afghanistan

2008-02-29T14:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of youtube clips of the Danish forces in Afghanistan. They are fighting a hot war and their contribution is appreciated. Brazo Zulu.

With English subtitles:

With a music track in Dutch:

No English at all:

Jeff Beck and Tal Wilkenfeld

2008-01-31T14:54:00.001-08:00

This is an amazing video of one of the best guitarist, Jeff Beck, and a new to me talent, Tal Wilkenfeld. She is just amazing on bass. Her album is pretty good too. Check her out on myspace. Check out this Jeff Beck classic from the Crossroads festival.

Mark Steyn on McCain

2008-01-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

NRO has a great little snippet from Mark Steyn. I especially liked this part:

As for his line about "some greedy people on Wall Street who need to be punished", aside from being almost entirely irrelevant to the subject under discussion (the subprime "crisis"), it reveals, I think, one of the most unpleasant aspects of McCain. For a so-called "maverick", he's very comfortable with the application of Big Government power, and the assumption of Big Government virtue. Undoubtedly there are "greedy people on Wall Street". Why should he and his chums be the ones who decide whether they need to be "punished"? If greed is to be punishable, why doesn't he start with a pilot program applied to, say, the United States Senate and report back to us in five years how that's going?

The wolves are guarding the hen house...

Happy Birthday Marines!

2007-11-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

Living in San Diego, we have lots of Marines around here. They are quality people and good neighbors to San Diego. Happy Birthday to the Corps and many more.

Shirley Katz - My Kind of Teacher

2007-10-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

This story will probably be making the rounds in the MSM soon. Shirley Katz, a teacher in Medford, Oregon, is challenging her school districts policy banning firearms. She has a concealed carry permit. The link I provided is from MSNBC and is pretty fair to her story. I expected breathless reporting about a gun nut. We'll see how the story progresses.

She is afraid of her ex-husband and of a Columbine type of event. Statistically, she is probably right in fearing her ex. I support her argument.

Chaser Breach at APEC

2007-09-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

The Chaser's, an Australian comedy show, breached the security perimeter of the APEC summit last week. Although I don't like the way they portray our President, they are very funny. Here is a clip from Youtube on their prank. H/T to Hotair for this one.

Trouble in Brussels?

2007-09-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

This video shows a very courageous female journalist of Moroccan decent and the results of her undercover investigation on the streets of Brussels.

Thanks to Hotair for the video

Pat Dollard - One of the good guys

2007-07-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

I just discovered Pat Dollard's blog. For those that don't know, he was a highly successful agent and manager in Hollywood who left everything to cover the war in Iraq. He's an amazing guy who survived an IED (some of his mates in the Humvee did not) and is apparently coming out with a documentary called "Young Americans". In the spirit of BlackFive, Pat Dollard is someone you should know.

I Usually Hate Opera

2007-06-15T15:33:00.001-07:00

But not this time. This guy is amazing. Check it out for yourself. His name is Paul Potts. H/T to CDR Salamander.

I'm with Fred!

2007-06-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Fred Thompson campaign site is up and running. There's a donation window on the right (hard to miss). IMHO, he's the best candidate out there. He's a straight shooter and that's important today.

Purity Test

2007-05-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

I took the purity test that I saw on Blonde Sagacity. Interesting.

You Are 69% Pure

You're pretty pure, and you have no plans on changing that.
You do have a devilish side though... and it will probably get the better of you.

The 100 Question Purity Test

Parker Decision

2007-05-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

The DC Circuit Court has decided not to hear the Parker case En Banc. Eugene Volokh has the information here. Very good news for Second Ammendment Supporters. I don't think, however, the Supreme Court will hear this case. They are very good at deciding not to decide. Although, the Rush song says, if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

Sorry Sorry Sorry

2007-05-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Posting has been little to none. I've had some big changes in my personal life. Things are settling down so I hope to get back to my usual random posts.

Meanwhile, here is a great post from Hotair about the Democrats in Congress re-tasking the CIA to study Global Warming. No need to worry about these guys.

What Age Do I Act?

2007-01-31T11:40:00.000-08:00

I knew it. I'm young at heart.

You Are 26 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Speaking of...

2007-01-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

Mostly Cajun has posted a very nice rant on the current state of our Union and the seeming use of our beloved Constitution as nothing more than bird cage liner. Here is a small snippet:

The War on Poverty ( cursed forever be the name of Lyndon B. Johnson!) assaults my wallet.

The War on Drugs assaults several clauses of the Bill of Rights.

The new Congress wants to take away my freedom to even post my thoughts on the internet.

A freakin’ FEDERAL AGENCY tells me how much water I can use to flush my freakin’ TOILET!

Both parties are willing to sell this country to illegal Mexicans just for the votes to keep themselves in office.

Go read the whole thing.

Constitutional Originalist - reprise

2007-01-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

In a book review of On Beauty by Zadie Smith on the website Author Trek, my post on Constitutional Originalism was referenced by the reviewer (you'll have to scroll way down in the post to find it). Here is the quote:

On Beauty and Being Wrong 5 p. 327 – a “constitutional originalist” is one who wants the US Constitution to be enacted as the drafters originally intended. Although, given that the drafters left room for further amendments to be made, this seems to be a somewhat ridiculous stance.

The author is correct that the drafters left room for further ammendments, however, a constitutional originalist objects to the current process that is used to circumvent the meaning of this important document. To add or change the Constitution is a long and difficult process. The document has an entire section titled Article Five that outlines in great detail, the process of adding to or ammending the constitution.

This seems like a reasonable thing to expect. The supreme law of the land should not be allowed to drift in the wind of public opinion or political expediency. 3/4 of the states must ratify any change. Truly an act of citizens, not subjects.

Instead of changing the meaning of the constitution by a thousand papercuts using Stare Decisis, those that want to abolish the Second Ammendment, curtail freedom of speech (McCain-Feingold), or take private property by force for the benefit of other private entities (Eminent Domain - Kelo), should use the process outlined in the Constitution and not snake around it in the courts. To summarize, the clear language of the Constitution of the United States of America should be used to change said document. I hope that this clarifies my stance on Constitutional Originalism.

Wilderness Survival

2007-01-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

From Mostly Cajun. I would survive. Yeah!

Would you survive in the wild? Your Result: Yesiree!.... You could live in the wild if you wanted to! You know what to eat, do, and stay away from! You could get shelter, food, water fast and easy-and the right treatments to injuries, snake bites etc...You know the outdoors like the back of your hand!!
Most likely you'll survive....
Not to sure...
Wouldn't last 2 minutes!.....
Maybe........
Would you survive in the wild? Quizzes for MySpace

Dispatches: Undercover Mosque

2007-01-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

Little Green Footballs has posted the UK documentary "Dispatches: Undercover Mosque". Scary stuff. I wonder how much of that sort of thing happens here in the US. Go watch. This is slightly scarier than the "I, Muslim" documentary from August.

Merry Christmas and Happy Channukka 2006!

2006-12-24T16:27:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and had a Happy Channukka. It's been a great year and I look forward to a great 2007. Now go check out Mostly Cajun. He's had some great jokes the last few weeks.

Jerry Miculek

2006-11-21T08:41:00.000-08:00

Like Bob Munden, Jerry Miculek is a very fast shooter. I had the pleasure of seeing him in action last year and he is as nice as he is fast. He's from Louisiana too and that's always a plus in my book (Brittany Spears excluded)... Check it out.

I'm a C-list Blogger?

2006-11-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

Cool. I made the C-list. I thought for sure I was D or F (if it exists). H/T Mostly Cajun.

2006-11-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Marines!!

Which Musician Shares My Taste?

2006-10-30T10:50:00.000-08:00

The Cure. I used to be a huge Cure fan. Their old music is excellent. Head on the Door, Disintigration and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me were standards for me back in the day.

The Cure Shares Your Taste in Music

See their whole playlist here (iTunes required)

Which Musician (or Group) Shares Your Taste in Music?