Reuse, recycle?

Watching the second episode of "The Time Tunnel" on Hulu.

The heroes get time-portalled onto the first manned mission to Mars in 1978. They get to work on the ship after a meteorite strike holes the "service module". They get into spacesuits and take a walk outside.

Hey - wait a minute - I've seen those suits before! I've seen that whole ship before!

Irwin Allen evidently was an early adopter of recycling back in 1966 - he used a goodly chunk of footage from 1950's "Destination Moon", based on Heinlein's "Rocket Ship Galileo". The space suits and other sets and props are either the same used 16 years earlier, or good reproductions.

I had forgotten how cheesy this show - and most of Allen's sci-fi - was. Entertaining for a kid, and fun as something to look back on fondly, but I can't help but pick nits - like where the bad guy (a Soviet, of course! - but not explicitly called such) pulled a 1911 out of a locker in vacuum with full sound effects of the door opening, the magazine releasing, and the slide working.

Now. I've got to check out 'Lost in Space" and see how badly that matches up with my memories...

Start 'em young

This kid's going to have great stories to tell his buddies. What a neat way to start out!

Apology

Who the heck is Chris Brown, anyway? Never mind - this is good:



H/t From the Barrel of a Gun

Now we know how she REALLY feels!

Rep. Maxine Waters: 'The tea party can go straight to hell'

August 20, 2011

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) came out swinging against Republicans in Congress on Saturday as she addressed the unemployed during a forum in Inglewood.
The event occurred a day after new statistics were released showing that California's jobless rate last month went up to 12%, from 11.8%.  California now has the second-highest rate of unemployment in the nation, trailing only Nevada at 12.9%, and its jobless rate is well above the U.S. average of 9.1%.
Waters vowed to push Congress to focus on creating more jobs. "I'm not afraid of anybody," said Waters. "This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the 'tea party' can go straight to hell."
++++++++++++++++++
I wonder if she ever considered that HER party is the source of most of the anti-business legislation that has chased so many US jobs offshore, and has eliminated and prevented so many jobs that could so easily be "created" here. Offshore of Los Angeles is a whole lot of easily accessed oil - but you know, Mother Gaea don't like it if you poke holes in her ocean floors.

The fact that your party has led the charge to raise taxes and the national debt, causing ever more businesses that might hire people to back away out of fear of the future might also be something to think about, Maxine.



CONgress creating jobs - I'm sure they can - but can America afford the kind of jobs they create?

So GM isn't going to honor their warranties?

GM to ignore Impala defects

But Osama promised!

Science Fiction reading list

Saw this at From the Barrel of a Gun - NPR's 100 top sci-fi books.

Books I have read in bold.

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin (watching Game of Thrones...)
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle (Osama's bio?)
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard  (a couple of them)
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey (the first one)
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
++++++++++++++++++++

I have pretty much everything Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein wrote. Read some King, but not a big fan of horror. 


One of these days, I'm going to look up "Discworld"...

Finally - some gun content

Fixed the stock on my home-made AK-47 today. When I made the receiver, I had the top stock tang coming straight off the back of the receiver - not tilted down at around 5 degrees as they ought to be. I bent the lower tang down to fit the standard AK stock, and had to trim off the square plug at the front end of the stock to make it match up. Result - the gun sat too low on my shoulder to get a natural sight picture.

I milled out the bottom tang cutout on a spare stock until I got the proper angle. Trimmed the front of the stock to match to the back of the receiver. The top tang rides above the stock now. I could heat it up and bend it to get a clean fit, but I don't want to ruin the heat-treating and finish of the receiver.

Got to refinish the modified stock. Next time I make up one of these, I'll know better how far to bend the tangs.

For my next trick, I want to make up a bump-fire stock similar to this.

Here it comes

Higher power costs, just like Osama promised!

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Utilities warn of higher rates because of pollution rules

By Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 19, 2011 |(24) Comments

Plugged In

Energy writer Thomas Content keeps you current as you adapt to changes in the world of energy, climate change and efforts to build a greener economy.

Two state utilities said this week new federal pollution rules will lead to higher electricity costs come January.
Wisconsin Public Service Corp. of Green Bay said its residential customers can expect an increase of more than $4 a month next year, including about $2 linked to the new rules designed to limit air pollution from coal-fired power plants.
The utility said it would see higher costs of about $32.6 million in 2012 from the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule that was finalized recently by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That will result in rates going up by 6.8% instead of 3.4%, the utility said.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
The EPA must be defunded, better yet, completely disbanded. CONgress needs to pass a law requiring CONgressional oversight and approval - 75% majority sounds about right - for ANY regulation proposed by ANY agency.

Put CONgress back in control, as the law requires. Force these slugs to earn their pay. Maybe if they have to spend a significant part of their time OK'ing new bureaucratic bullshit, they won't have time to pass more bullcrap like Osama's next round of "stimulus".

The article also states "But the EPA estimates the nation will see $120 billion to $280 billion in annual health and welfare benefits beginning in 2014.". How the hell do they figure that? Less on-the-job injuries due to mass closings of plants already operating on pennies?

Basic chemistry

If inorganic chemistry gave you problems in school, this might help:



H/t Ace of Spades

Walker recall in trouble?

The Demonrats might have to scramble...
+++++++++++++++++

COMMENTARY: Feingold Senate decision raises odds against Walker recall

August 19th, 2011

By Kevin Binversie

It was not the type of wake-up call Democrats in the Badger State wanted to have on Friday.

In an email from his Progressives United political action committee, former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin announced he would not be running for any public office in 2012, and he was “thoroughly enjoying the life of a private citizen in this great state of Wisconsin.”

With Feingold finishing a book on foreign policy and continuing as a professor at Marquette Law School, he will not be trying to return to his old job with a Senate run for the seat of the retiring U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Milwaukee.

His exit makes a list of potential big-name candidates in any recall effort against Gov. Scott Walker even shorter. 

Can this be true?

Sounds about right.
++++++++++++++++++
 
++++++++++++++++++

Rick Perry wants to change the Constitution

Mostly, I agree with him.
+++++++++++++++++++

Seven ways Rick Perry wants to change the Constitution

By Chris Moody

Political Reporter

(Kelly West/AP)

Rick Perry has many ideas about how to change the American government's founding document. From ending lifetime tenure for federal judges to completely scrapping two whole amendments, the Constitution would see a major overhaul if the Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate had his druthers. Perry laid out these proposed innovations to the founding document in his book, Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington. He has occasionally mentioned them on the campaign trail. Several of his ideas fall within the realm of mainstream conservative thinking today, but, as you will see, there are also a few surprises.
++++++++++++++++++++
I agree with all of his ideas here, except the last two.

Like it or not, America was founded to preserve individual freedom, and there is no justification for the federal government defining marriage or interfering with reproduction.

I have never understood how the feds managed to force the Mormons to abandon polygamy, with the First Amendment in place - but if that was acceptable, why can't we outlaw radical Islam and "churches" like Osama attended for so many years?

The fleebaggers reap the whirlwind?

All those Demonrats who ran away rather than face the music get their just deserts...

+++++++++++++++++

AWOL lawmakers could see expensive penalties

August 18th, 2011

 

 t

By Alissa Smith | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON — In February, 14 state senators thought their best bet to stop the governor’s budget-repair bill dead in its track was to leave the state.
That move failed and the bill became law. And now similar actions may have an expensive consequence.
State Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth, co-authored a bill, AB 153 – known as the Leave Law – that would penalize any lawmaker who is absent without approved leave for three or more days.
A proposed fine for unexcused absences has Wisconsin Democrats worried that Republicans may take away traditional privileges in the legislature.
AB 153, known as the Leave Law, was less than gracefully received in its first public hearing Thursday before the Assembly Committee of Judiciary and Ethics.
The proposed law, August said, is “pretty simple.” The measure was debated Thursday during its first public hearing before the Assembly Committee of Judiciary and Ethics.
“If any legislator from either house (of the General Assembly) would be absent without leave for a period of three consecutive session days or more, they would be subject to a $500 fine per day” after the first three days, August said.

+++++++++++++++++

They get elected to serve us - if they are AWOL, let them suffer. No more running away from their responsibilities.

Now, if we could also get "castle doctrine" passed before the Demonrats try to get Walker recalled...

Ruger enters the new century

Ruger finally produces a large-capacity magazine for the 10-22 and similar guns.




Carolyn McCarthy must be weeping. At least Ruger hasn't started marketing that shoulder thing that goes up.

Next up; a Ruger Beta drum clone for the 10-22? 500 rounds would be nice.

Who you gonna believe?

Teh One, or your own lyin' eyes?

Osama went on TV recently to tell us he had reversed the recession and gotten all those great jobs lined up and ready to go - but then BAD LUCK raised its' ugly head!

If it weren't for everything he's done so far, and the horrible state of the rest of the world's economy, everything would be just hunky-dory!

So - be sure to vote Hopenchange again in 2012! Obviously, NO ONE could have the run of bad luck Osama has experienced so far two Presidential terms in a row!

Looking at history - FDR, Osama's spiritual forebear, got re-elected by a landslide to a second term using many of the same ploys Osama has used - of course, FDR only had 20% unemployment and there was no modern media to expose his real agenda - a socialist America. Also, Americans did not have a clear image of what Communism actually was - the Soviet Union was still looked at as a miracle by many. His third term was "don't change horses in the middle of the river", I think.

Is Osama counting on a reprise of Pearl Harbor?

Let's hope not. Another term of The Lightbringer will finish the job FDR started, and we will all have to show our little books of Osama's wisdom to any secret policeman who accosts us.

 By the way - the word is DEPRESSION - not recession - and it's been going on since late 2008. We haven't hit the bottom yet by a long shot. Continued "help" from Osama and his buddies will only prolong the agony.

Small victory

For now, us rural folk don't have to worry about sharpening pitchforks and heating up that tar bucket, or getting a CDL in order to drive our tractors down the road from field to field.
++++++++++++++++++++

Feds back off commercial licenses for farmers idea

By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/17/national/a001942D54.DTL#ixzz1VVe9MLYM

Federal highway officials have decided that farmers who operate tractors, combines and semitrailers can keep driving on rural roads without the same kind of regulations that apply to long-haul truckers.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that it won't require farmers to get commercial driver's licenses after agriculture organizations and lawmakers from farm states flooded Washington with letters opposed to the idea.
It's a victory for farmers who argued that requiring them to carry commercial licenses would cost them time and money.
++++++++++++++++++++

It was just another illegitimate (Agenda 21) extension of federal power for no other reason than they thought they might get away with it...

Solar storm warning

Just found this:

+++++++++++++++++++++

Power cuts threat as sun storm hits earth

A huge mass of electrically-charged particles thrown out by a gigantic eruption on the Sun is due to strike the Earth tonight.
Scientists expect it to trigger one of the most violent geomagnetic storms ever recorded.
The result could be widespread power surges and even blackouts, disrupted TV and mobile phone signals, and broken down communication satellites.
At the same time the Northern Lights, normally confined to polar latitudes, may produce dazzling displays in the skies above southern Britain.
At least one satellite has already been knocked out of action by the storm. Japan's space agency said its Kodama communications satellite had been temporarily shut down after malfunctioning.
The solar flare that caused the eruption burst out of a sunspot at 10.54am yesterday.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-200952/power-cuts-threat-sun-storm-hits-earth.html#ixzz1VVce3art

+++++++++++++++++++++

Might be wise to unplug sensitive equipment this evening...

Please click on the ads

The ad content is courtesy Yahoo - not my choice - but every click supposedly sends me a few cents - and I sure need to buy some more ammo. Burned up quite a bit in the last couple range sessions.

You don't have to buy anything - just click!

Thank you.

Chuck

Excuses, excuses

Osama sure likes his excuses, don't he?



H/t Random Nuclear Strikes

Ouch.

Went out to fix the trailer jack on my utility trailer - it stopped working a while back, and I got tired of manhandling the tongue. Pulled the jack off and took it apart. Simple enough fix - the jack nut, which was staked into the top end of the foot. pulled out and was spinning free. Got everything cleaned up and greased, restaked the nut, and went over to the parts washer to clean the grease off my hands.

Tripped on the raised edge of the cover of my grease pit and stumbled over some VW bumpers I had laying there - fell head fist onto my hydraulic press stand. Put a nice gash in my right cheek. Didn't break anything. Bled like a stuck pig. Mari drove me to the emergency room.

Two hours and eight stitches later, I finished putting the jack back together and back on the trailer. Works good.

Got my tetanus booster shot - first one in about 30 years.

Now I see...

I never thought about how our dollar and gold got disconnected - always assumed it had something to do with FDR banning private ownership of gold in the US.

Well, I was wrong. Nixon also gave us the EPA and OSHA, which have done immense harm to our country by overreaching regulation.
++++++++++++++++

August 15, 1971: A Date Which Has Lived In Infamy

• 

  

  Brian Domitrovic, Contributor

   
  In their impossibly good book Money, Markets, and Sovereignty (2009), Benn Steil and Manuel Hinds make the point that over the last four thousand years, the only period in which humanity has not consistently based its currency in metal, specifically gold, is the last forty. That’s right. Ever since President Richard M. Nixon announced forty years ago today, on August 15, 1971, that the U.S. would no longer officially trade dollars for gold, we have been enjoying a new era of human history.

Must read

Osama's newest ghostwritten book!

Seen at Ace of Spades

All you ever need to know about Algore

Go here.

US Day of Rage

European riots coming here?


Day of Rage website

Watch and be prepared.

Commies in CONgress

Here:
+++++++++++++++++

Socialist Party of America Releases The Names of 70 Democrat Members Of Congress Who Are Members Of Their Caucus

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Conservative Byte

This should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. The radical Marxist-progressives (communists) took control of the democrat party some time ago. They’ve only become more emboldened with the election of Barack Obama, who was raised as a communist from birth.
With their new found leader, Barack Obama, the Socialist Party of America felt secure enough to announce the names of 70 democrats in Congress that belong to their caucus.
Other than Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who openly ran as a socialist, the rest of this lot ran as “moderate democrats.” I think it’s time we put the myth of the “moderate” democrat to bed. They are all Marxists, or Marxist leaning. They all are big government totalitarians hell-bent on destroying America, the Constitution, and our way of life. One needs no other proof than the way Congress has acted since the Marxist-democrats took control four years ago, and the tyranny that has been championed since Obama was sworn in.
Read the entire document here.
+++++++++++++++++
To my great surprise (not), my favorite US Representative, Tammy Gay Baldwin is a member...
+++++++++++++++++
DSA-Members: American Socialist Voter - Democratic Socialists of America - 10-1-09

How our betters think...

Jeffery Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere opines:

Many times I've riffed on a dark, delicious fantasy about rounding up Tea Bagger types and sentencing them to green re-education camps for minimum one-year terms. Not to punish per se but to expose these contemptible morons to facts, to truth, to the way things really are and how they're being played by the rich, and the fact that Boomers have taken almost everything and that diminished lifestyles and economic security are being bequeathed to Genx and GenY for decades to come, and that the best is definitely over. The infra-structure that once provided decent, fair-minded quality of life to middle-class people in this country is disintegrating. The game is rigged. This is the fall of the Roman Empire.

++++++++++++++++++++

This creature seems to think that the crumbling of our society, which has been ongoing under "bipartisan" leadership for many of the last forty years, is completely due to the machinations of the Tea Party, which only has existed since 2008. The fact that many of "the rich" are the leaders they turn to for their funding and marching orders escapes him.


The fact that the "green" push for control is dominated by people who stand to profit immensely also escapes him.

He goes on:
++++++++++++++++++++
All largely because of impediments to logical, intelligent governing put up by the knee-jerk, mule-like, corporate-kowtowing mentality of Tea-Bagger types and their 60 or so looney-tunes Congresspersons now in office. We've truly become a South American society of rightist oligarchs, angry lefties, disillusioned wage-earners, retirement-age fuddies and struggling, debt-smothered have-nots, and the rightist boobs will never understand that they're primarily the problem.
++++++++++++++++++++
Osama certainly has "kowtowed" to GE - billions in profits and zero taxes paid, and their chairman and CEO, Jeffrey R. Immelt, is his good buddy. No mention of THAT.

I've got a dark fantasy of people like  Mr. Wells being forced to take responsibility for ALL their actions and opinions, and being forced to earn a living in a world where only truly productive people actually get paid...

H/t Sharp as a Marble 

Seen in a job description

I was looking through the Job Center of Wisconsin web site, in search of a paying job. Came across this in one posting:

	Experience/Qualifications:	previous exposure in an Engineering discipline; must have working knowledge and proven ability of items in job description. Occasional driving, valid driver's license must be good in math

I guess I'm not eligible - my driver's license can't add...

Go Electric!

An electric car that will fill all of Osama's unicorn-fart powered dreams:
++++++++++++++++++++

Commuter Cars Tango T600

Description

A unique 2 passenger car with inline seating and a range of 40-200 mi, depending on battery choice. The T600 will accelerate from 0-60 in just 4 sec, and charges with AVCON (old J1772) connector. The T600's retail price is $108,000 for a kit with some assembly required by customer. Tango is located in Spokane, WA.

Specs

Vehicle Type: 

Cars & Trucks

Drivetrain: 

EV

Range: 

200 mi

Target: 

Now Available

Top Speed: 

135 mph

Connector Type: 

Other

Price (USD): 

$108,000

Vehicle Website: 

Commuter Cars - Tango

++++++++++++++++++++
 Some of the creature comforts of a Smart Car, and most of the performance of a Tesla, with none of the class! Some assembly required. I wonder if $108,000.00 is with the cheap battery (lead-acid) or the good one (lithium ion). No word on how long either battery lasts before you have to spend a lot of $$$ to replace it.

Yeah, I'll sure feel safe at 135 MPH (where the hell can you do that in America, off a racetrack?) in a top-heavy s**tbox that makes a Messerschmitt KR200 look stylish...the website says it weighs 3,150 pounds.

He's concerned!

About rural jobs.
++++++++++++++++++++

The White House Blog

President Obama: Our Biggest Challenge Right Now Is Putting People to Work

Posted by Colleen Curtis on August 15, 2011 at 06:15 PM EDT

President Barack Obama addresses a town hall at Lower Hannah’s Bend Park in Cannon Falls, Minn., at the beginning of the three-day Economic Bus Tour in the Midwest, Aug. 15, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

During the first stop on his rural road trip, President Obama took questions on topics ranging from using renewable energy to create jobs and helping young farmers buy land and market their products effectively to the future of Social Security and his Administration’s plans to bolster education.

++++++++++++++++++++
As part of Mr. Osama's plan, his Department of Transportation wants to require federalized commercial driver's licenses for everyone who drives a tractor or other farm equipment. That ought to work out real good.

See a previous post for how well  "using renewable energy to create jobs" is working.

(Note to whom it concerns: You come on my land demanding to see my CDL when I'm out back working, and we'll see how fast you can run when I pump up some 12ga rock salt loads..)

Another myth goes down the tubes

NASA was where many of the original "glowbull worming" scares originated, so it's appropriate that they do some truthin'...
+++++++++++++++++++++

New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism

By James Taylor | Forbes – Wed, Jul 27, 2011

• NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth's atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed.

+++++++++++++++++++++
Thanks, Julie.

So much for "green jobs"

The only real green jobs out there involve farming. All else is illusion. When we find true "clean" energy sources, it won't be because leftie-liberal taxfeeders threw our money at the problem.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Evergreen Solar files for bankruptcy, plans asset sale

By Greg Turner And Jerry Kronenberg
Monday, August 15, 2011 - Updated 7 minutes ago

Evergreen Solar Inc., the Massachusetts clean-energy company that received millions in state subsidies from the Patrick administration for an ill-fated Bay State factory, has filed for bankruptcy, listing $485.6 million in debt.
Evergreen, which closed its taxpayer-supported Devens factory in March and cut 800 jobs, has been trying to rework its debt for months. The cash-strapped company announced today has sought a reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and reached a deal with certain note holders to restructure its debt and auction off assets.

American poor?

Not so much. Bill Whittle tells it:

Idiots.

Stupid idiots. Leave some people alone for just a little while, and this is what you get:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

West Baraboo bans weapons

By Brian D. Bridgeford | Posted: Saturday, August 13, 2011 3:30 am

Both open and concealed carry of firearms will be prohibited in all village buildings, including bathrooms at park shelters, the West Baraboo Village Board agreed Thursday.
Village Clerk Mary Klingenmeyer asked board members to ban concealed guns from village-owned buildings. She noted the board could not ban firearms from open areas of village parks.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

So, if you go to Baraboo armed, you better not have to go...

Stupid law, it's only effect will be to inconvenience law-abiding folks exercising their rights.

Boycott West Baraboo? My email to Maryklingenmeyer@villageofwestbaraboo.us:

Hello,

Please be advised that I will be sure to avoid West Baraboo when it comes to purchasing anything, next time I travel up Route 12 on my way to visit friends.

Banning open or concealed carry in a park bathroom, when by law you cannot do so in the PARK, just demonstrates a petty, vengeful spirit of a petty pocket dictator mindset.

Thanks for helping ensure West Baraboo parks will be innocent of law-abiding folks who just happen to be carrying their choice of emergency protective equipment. Perhaps Baraboo is more freedom-friendly.

Regards,
Chuck Kuecker
Beloit, WI

We can rebuild him...

Not $6M, but available now:



H/t Breda

From the horse's mouth

"Nuf said.

Osama's choice for Director of Counterterrorism

L Neil Smith has an interesting take on her:

THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 632, August 14, 2011 "Planned and controlled genocide"— She wants you dead! Previous Contents Next Ilse Koch "The Beast of Buchenwald" Audrey F. Tomason, Director for Counterterrorism for the National Security Council. (She wants you dead!) Democide Is Painless by L. Neil Smith lneil@netzero.com Attribute to L. Neil Smith's The Libertarian Enterprise The most dangerous and successful conspiracies take place in public, in plain sight, under the clear, bright light of day—usually with TV cameras focused on them. —L.Neil Smith, "Tactical Reflections" Meet Ilse Koch, the so-called "Beast of Buchenwald", wife of Karl Otto Koch, Kommandant of that notorious slaughterhouse, and later of Majdanek in Poland. When we were little boys, growing up in the shadow of World War II, my classmates and I, as little boys will, tried to make each other shudder over the gory details of the woman's sadistic cruelties to Jewish concentration camp prisoners. Most infamously, she is the one accused of making lampshades from the preserved skin of her murdered victims. It's said she preferred sections with interesting tattoos. Koch was imprisoned for the rest of her life for having done what she did. Eventually she committed suicide in 1967 at the age of 60. Many more Nazis like her were hanged, as she probably should have been. But what would we do today—and how would the media react—if somebody were to travel around the country delivering passionate, and repulsively well-received speeches in defense of Ilse Koch, demanding that what she did be done again, as a matter of government policy? You think you know, don't you? Meet Audrey Tomason. Reportedly Barack Obama's Director for Counterterrorism, the diminutive 30-something Tomason is said by Wikipedia to be "one of the most secretive women in U.S. intelligence circles", so much so that her master's thesis, written while attending Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, is now classified by the U.S. government as top-secret, as reprehensible a violation of academic principles as possible. +++++++++++++++++ Read the whole thing.

I'm No Communist!

This song came out the year I was born. It sounds like it could have been written for today.



Seen at Green Mountains Homestead
via Borepatch

Demonrats running scared!

They are trying to keep conservative ads off TV by hook or by crook. The TV stations are not cooperating.

Demonrat press release

The threatening letter

If you have spare $$$, send some to Kim Simac.

I just clicked on an Obama ad...

Using my tried and true email - ahitler@nazi.org -
Here's what showed up:


 

thank you for signing up This campaign belongs to you.
How large we grow, how far we reach, how successful we become — it's all up to what you do. Let's re-elect the President. Make a donation today.

first name last name address city state zip email address phone number Amount $10 $50 $250 $1,000 $25 $100 $500 Other:  (USD) Credit Card American Express Discover MasterCard Visa card number expiration  Employment Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle. employer occupation Legal Compliance Check this box to confirm that the following statements are true and accurate: I am a United States citizen or a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States. This contribution is not made from the general treasury funds of a corporation, labor organization or national bank. This contribution is not made from the treasury of an entity or person who is a federal contractor. This contribution is not made from the funds of a political action committee. This contribution is not made from the funds of an individual registered as a federal lobbyist or a foreign agent, or an entity that is a federally registered lobbying firm or foreign agent. I am not a minor under the age of 16. The funds I am donating are not being provided to me by another person or entity for the purpose of making this contribution.

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible. Obama for America can accept contributions from an individual of up to $2,500 per federal election (the primary and general are separate elections). By submitting your contribution, you agree that the first $2,500 of a contribution will be designated for the 2012 primary election, and any additional amount, up to $2,500 will be designated for the 2012 general election.

• © 2011 Obama for America, All Rights Reserved

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All that's missing is a tab marked "ENTER" or "DONATE" or "SEND" or something...how do you give these idiots money without such a button?

I tried to copy the page with my bogus info showing, but it would not copy. I put "Democratic National Committee" and "Community Organizer" down for employer and occupation.

Up until now...

Got this in an email...

"Thomas Paine" on the budget deal

Good advice!

The commie plot against America

Back in 1958, a book was published that backs up this guy's observations:



Looks like someone predicted really well. Now, what do we do about it?

Did we just get shafted - again?

Remember the "Firearm Owners' Protection Act" passed in 1986, and signed by President Reagan?


That "protection" removed the right of the common citizen to ever again invent a better machine gun, and prohibited the future licensing of Class III weapons to citizens - so all the automatic weapons out there right now are all there ever will be - unless the law gets repealed. A last-minute amendment by Rep. William J. Hughes (D-N.J. - what did you expect?) did the dirty work.


Well the budget "compromise" has created a "super committee" with unlimited power. An email from Gun Owners of America:

August 5, 2011	Gun Owners of America
	How the Recent Debt Ceiling Law Affects Gun Owners

How the Recent Debt Ceiling Law Affects Gun Owners

Friday, 05 August 2011 11:26

Well, the hot debate which dominated the nation for several weeks has finally simmered down. The debt ceiling deal is now law, and both sides of the political aisle are arguing over who won and who lost.
But one thing you won’t hear about -- in fact, we may not fully know the answer for several months -- is how much gun owners lost in this recent deal.
To quote Kentucky Senator Rand Paul from earlier this week:

The Super Committee [created by the new law] limits the constitutional check of the filibuster by expediting passage of bills with a simple majority. The Super Committee is not precluded from any issue [including gun control], therefore the filibuster could be rendered moot.

Get that? The law raising the debt ceiling creates a Super Committee (in other words, a Super Congress) which will give its recommendations for balancing the budget. This Super Congress can include ANYTHING in its legislation, including gun control.
And none of it can be filibustered or amended!!
Well, you might think, the Super Congress’ recommendations still have to be voted on by each house of Congress. Surely, we can find enough congressmen to shoot down any anti-gun recommendations.
Maybe, maybe not ... because here’s the problem. Whatever this super-committee reports in November, including gun control, will HAVE to be passed -- or the Pentagon loses a total of $800 billion (effectively shutting it down).
How many pro-gun congressmen will feel they have to “hold their noses” and vote for the Super Congress’ legislation to prevent a total of $800 billion from being cut from the Department of Defense?
The key will be who gets appointed to this Super Committee. Senator Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi will pick six members -- as will House Speaker John Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell, for a total of 12 members.
But if the six Pelosi/Reid Democrats can cower a single Republican into going along with their radical agenda -– using the threat of a massive defense cut totaling hundreds of billions of dollars -– then we could be stuck with additional gun control.
We already know that the six Pelosi/Reid Democrats are going to vote in lockstep. What if the only Republican vote they need is a RINO like John McCain or Lamar Alexander?
The question answers itself.
By the way, this debt ceiling deal was not a compromise. A real compromise would have repealed the anti-gun ObamaCare law which (in addition to being a trillion dollar boondoggle) will compile everyone’s health-related medical records into a massive computer database. This centralized information could allow the FBI to determine whether any American has a medical condition justifying a gun ban.
Please check and see how your Representative and Senators voted, and make a point to speak to them during the summer recess.
ACTION: Your representative and senators will be holding town hall meetings in August. Attend them. Speak at them.
Tell your representative and senators, politely but firmly, that you are disgusted by Congress’ debt limit “compromise.”
TALKING POINTS:
1. There is NOTHING in the debt ceiling deal which prevents the Super Committee from including other issues like gun control in its legislation. (The Super Committee has virtually unlimited authority under subparagraph 401(b)(3)(A)(i).)
2. Whatever the Super Committee puts in the bill is unamendable and non-filibusterable. In other words, the House and Senate must conduct an up-or-down vote on the Super Committee’s legislation.
3. You have put a gun to the head of every congressman by forcing them to choose between devastating Defense Department cuts ($800 billion in total) or blindly adopting the Super Committee’s legislation, which could include gun control, tax increases, etc.
4. This debt ceiling deal was not a compromise. A real compromise would have repealed the anti-gun ObamaCare law which (in addition to being a trillion dollar boondoggle) will compile everyone’s health-related medical records into a massive computer database. This centralized information could allow the FBI to determine whether any American has a medical condition justifying a gun ban.
5. IF YOUR REP. OR SENATOR VOTED “YES” ON THE DEBT CEILING, THEN ASK HIM THIS: Considering the fact that two-thirds of the American people support a “cut, cap and balance” approach, why would you vote for a debt ceiling bill that could, ultimately, strap me with additional gun control proposals?

---

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You know what to do.

Mob action at the State Fair?

Gotta wonder if this kind of thing will happen less after November, when we will be able to get permits to exercise our Constitutionally protected, God-given inalienable right to self-defense...

Police Investigating Multiple Beatings Near State Fair Park

Several Law Enforcement Agencies Responded To Area Late Thursday Night

POSTED: 3:56 am CDT August 5, 2011
UPDATED: 7:20 am CDT August 5, 2011

MILWAUKEE -- Local law enforcement agencies are investigating several incidents near State Fair Park late Thursday night.Milwaukee police said that around 11:10 p.m., squads were sent to the area for reports of battery, fighting and property damage being caused by an unruly crowd of "hundreds" of people. One officer described it as a "mob beating."

Read more: http://www.wisn.com/news/28774396/detail.html#ixzz1UBJMyH8s

Want an FFL?

It's easy. Just fill out this form:

ATF F 5310.12 (Form 7) — Application for Federal Firearm License (FFL)

You have to send a copy of your completed form to your local police chief or sheriff. You also have to certify that you conform to all local laws and regulations, so if your community bans home businesses, forget getting an FFL unless you can find and afford a suitable commercial zoned site. You also must intend to be operating a for-profit business - hobbyists are not invited.

(Individuals and collectors CAN get a "C&R" license, with similar paperwork - and then can only get "curio and relic" guns - not anything modern.)

Then fill out this one:


ATF F 5330.20 — Certification of Compliance - stating that you are a citizen of the USA. Why this is duplicated on the "Form 7" is beyond me.

Then fill out two FD–258 fingerprint cards for every "responsible person":

Get some 2″ x 2″ passport pictures for every "responsible person":

Send them some money. For a garden-variety FFL, it's $200.00.

Once all this is done, you can expect to wait up to 60 days to get your paper license. It's good for three years. If you violate any of the thousands of (illegal) gun laws on the books, expect at the least crippling lawyer bills, if not free room and board courtesy of Uncle Sam.

The ATF website is innocent of any links to the form to renew an FFL, so I had to inquire of my local office in Milwaukee. Lucky for me, the renewal process omits photos and fingerprints.


And the antis still complain it's too easy to get hold of guns...

Proofreading is important

Interesting selection of aircraft that never made it past  R&D here - but this one caught my prooofreader's eye:

Ten Military Aircraft that Never Made it Past the Test Phase

By Andrea Leontiou, InnovationNewsDaily Staff
17 June 2011 10:34 AM ET

Credit: U.S. Navy

Convair XFY Pogo
Convair’s XFY Pogo looks a lot like a combination between the X-13 Vertijet and the XF-85 Goblin. The Pogo had three wings arranged as a triangle, and three-bladed rotating propellers
It was an experiment in vertical takeoff and landing. The plane was known as a tailsitter because it launched and landed on its tail.  Its developers believed that this would make it possible to operate them from small warships.
Issues with the Pogo’s design prevented it from leaving the testing phase. Because it was so lightweight and had no spoilers, it lacked the ability to slow down and stop efficiently after moving at high speeds.
Landing also turned out to be a problem. The pilot had to look back behind himself during a landing to properly stabilize the craft. So like the Aerocycle, the Pogo could only be flown by the most experienced pilots.

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I may be nitpicking, but "three wings arranged as a triangle" right under a photo showing two wings and two stabilizers, and "three-bladed rotating propellers". I think she meant "counter-rotating".

Also, not many aircraft have the ability to "stop", except for helicopters and VTOL. Light weight would make it easier to shed speed, one would think. I would also posit that a pilot provided with a couple of level indicators and a low-power rear-facing radar to give height above ground would have made landing reasonably easy...

Who's surprised?

Osama got his credit line increase, and the stock markets dive. Who woulda thunk it? Just because we are spending more than we take in now, why should anyone not trust our finances?

This guy has a heck of a re-election strategy. Perhaps the MSM will pull a rabbit out of a hat in September or October, 2012? Another 9/11? Another war? Invasion from Mars?

Wait a minute - the guy in the White House is so clueless, he might just BE from Mars...