Mob Ties

Doug, over at the Daley Gator, has been exposed as a member of the "mob".

Congratulations!

I'm not linking to the Media Matters story Doug talks about. Too much crazy in too little space, even for me. Continue Reading

Link Update

Please note that the Kim and Connie Show now has a link over on the left.

Welcome to the Internets, kids. If you need any pointers, I'll be glad to help. ;-)

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Titan Thoughts

What on earth is wrong with the Titans?

I have no idea, but they better get their heads screwed on straight by next week, 'cause if we lose to the Jags, we're pretty much done.

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Congrats to Former Titans Coordinator Jim Schwartz

... for getting the Detroit Lions their first win in almost two years. We all knew you could do it.

Now, can you head back to Tennessee? My Titans need all the help they can get.

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Yes, I Am

A Tenther, that is:

the “Tenther” smear, aimed at lumping those who, horrors!, still take seriously the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in with the Obama birth certificate deniers and 9/11 truthers.

Thanks to Elliot for the pointer.

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Finally Found a Sports Writer I Like

Sports writers are about the most pack-oriented group in media - just ask the New England Patriots or Brett Favre, both of which had their best years two/three seasons ago.

According to the writers, they are still numero uno, facts notwithstanding.

Well, not this guy. He calls it as he sees it, pack be damned*. I especially agree with him on his views of the Raiders, and this:

• Ochocinco is good for the NFL. There's no way -- no way! -- I'd jump into the Lambeau stands, but Chad Ochocinco is good for this game. Chad's antics don't come from anger. He's all in good fun. He's all about entertainment.

I agree 100%. (emphasis mine) There's nothing wrong with having fun while playing a game, even if you're vastly overpaid to do it.

* It helps that he's backing Eddie George for the Hall of Fame and (rightly) thinks the Titans will turn things around. Continue Reading

A Handy Guide

Go here for a handy, interactive guide on how Mayors Against Illegal Guns supports gun control. I'll highlight a few points and expand a bit for anyone who might not know:

Criminalize private gun transfers - They don't actually say this, they say they want to fix the "gun show loophole". The problem is, the only way to fix this "loophole" is to criminalize all private gun transfers.

As anyone who has attended a gun show can tell you, gun dealers do background checks on the spot when they make a sale, and gun dealers make up the majority of sellers at gun shows. Once in a while, two private citizens make a sale or trade, just like they would do at their homes. This is the "loophole" politicians are talking about. If they make it illegal at gun shows, how can they not make it illegal anywhere else?

Prohibit gun sales to those on terrorist watch list - sounds like common sense at first glance, doesn't it? Who wants terrorists to have guns?

But think about that list - who is actually on it? 400,000 people, that's who. How many of them are actual terrorists? No one knows because they haven't been charged with anything. According to the ACLU -

Sen. Edward Kennedy, Georgia Congressman John Lewis, Alaska Congressman Don Young, and Yusuf Islam (the pop star formerly known as Cat Stevens)have been caught up by these lists, as have ordinary Americans with common names such as Robert Johnson, Gary Smith, and John Williams.

The whole "innocent until proven guilty" concept? Right out the window.

Require lost or stolen reporting - This, too, may sound OK at first, but this requirement also carried punishment if the theft is not reported in a timely manner. Who decides what is timely? Not me or you, that's for sure.

Quick story - a friend of mine (not a gun person) had a couple firearms stored in his attic (hey, I said he wasn't a gun person). He had visitors stay over for a few weeks. Those visitors stole the guns. He didn't know for almost a year. How would he have been treated under a lost or stolen law?

Support regional data-sharing on gun owners - Ok, tell me how you do this without creating a gun registry? Or, more like a gun owner registry? Why do the regional authorities need data on gun owners in the first place? Sounds like Big Brother to me.

I'm still hoping someone will bring Memphis Mayoral candidate AC Wharton's membership in the group to light, so he can explain why he supports a group that supports gun control.

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I Did Not Know This

CAO, the makers of some damn fine cigars (I'm partial to the America) is headquartered in Nashville.

I'll be there in a couple weeks. Wonder if they give tours? Free samples?

I will find out.

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New Rifle From Ruger

Got an an email from Downrange TV (emphasis mine):

Southport, CT September 21, 2009 – Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. (NYSE:RGR) announces the introduction of the Ruger® SR-22TM Rifle, an autoloading, rimfire rifle that combines the legendary reliability of the Ruger® 10/22® with the ergonomics and configurability of the new AR-style Ruger SR-556™.

Check it out here, with video.

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Gun Polls

Via SayUncle, we find a roundup of gun polls. This is a really good roundup, and while I encourage you to check it out yourself, I'll give you a quick rundown:

• Most Americans understand the Second Amendment means what it says.
• Too many Americans still haven't figured the term "assault weapon" means "a regular rifle that looks cool".
• Most Americans support "stricter gun control" until it is put into more detail, then they oppose it.
• Most people understand guns don't cause criminal behavior
• About half of America thinks gun laws should be more strict
• But then only about a third want new gun laws passed.

Confused? Yeah, me too. There's more, but it's mostly the same questions, asked by different people.

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Titan Thoughts

Ouch. Losing to the Texans is bad, but scoring 31 points and losing to the Texans is damn near traumatizing.

How did that happen? Simple - for the second week in a row, our pass defense was non-existent. Part of it has to do with the loss of Albert Haynesworth (there, I said it). We simply can't get pressure on the opposing teams quarterback with a four man rush. Without the pressure, their QB has time to find the open receiver.

I still stand by my earlier statement concerning Haynesworth - his loss shouldn't be that much of an impact. The rest of the Defense is the same as last years.

Except the Defensive Coordinator. Don't get me wrong, I think Cecil will turn out to be an excellent D Coordinator. But, right now it looks to me like his reputation for aggressiveness has rubbed off on his players - in a bad way.

Griffin is a prime example of what I'm saying. In an attempt to get a jump on the play, he'll bite on a pump fake or a play action and be out of position when the ball is thrown.

Cecil needs to get his squad settled down.

The upside? Our Offense is pretty damn good. Chris Johnson had a career day. Of course, 91-yard touchdown runs tend to help in that regard.

On a final note, I love me some Music City Miracles, but it looks like they are paying the price for success. Namely, they've gotten themselves some weeny-whiney poo-butt commenters over there who can't handle a loss and have no perspective whatsoever. I'm not going to quote any of them (they know who they are), but I will give a shout out to commenter "guilded" and credit him with the Quote of the Day:

please stop feeding each other heapings of stupid

You got that right.

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Happy Rosh HaShana

Doubletapper has an interesting video to mark the occasion.

Jewish Muppets.

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File This Under "Questions I'd Like to See Asked"

... but probably never will:

Memphis political reporter:

"Mayor Wharton, New York City Mayor Bloomberg's group, Mayors Against
Illegal Guns - of which you are a member - has been called out by the National
Rifle Association as being an anti-gun group.

What are your thoughts on this?"

Shelby County Mayor A.C. Wharton, an otherwise decent candidate, is running for Memphis Mayor. He is the clear frontrunner.

He is also a member of Bloomberg's group.

I wonder if the Memphis media will address this in any way?

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Dear Eastern Europe

What you are seeing now is the underside of the bus.

Hope you enjoy the view.

Sincerely,

BHO

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Here's Your Card

I finally handed out one of these cards yesterday.

Why'd it take so long? Well, I'm not a Crusader, really. I'm not gonna go out of my way to get to places that don't allow guns to be lawfully carried. If I happen to be around one I have patronized in the past, I'll drop a card, but I'm not driving to Memphis just to hand one out.

Truth be told, most of the places I usually go to (when I go) allow carry. All the places in Millington/Munford/Atoka do, as far as I know.

Huey's in downtown Memphis does. That's about the only place I go when down there (Steelers memorabilia notwithstanding). Beale Street? Puh-leeze.

Anyway, I was out by the Hooters at Wolfchase yesterday, and spotted the sign on the door.

I went in, asked for the Manager, and told his sign prevented me from patronizing his place in the future.

He was very courteous and apologized back to me for the inconvenience the sign caused.

I wasn't there for a debate, so I thanked him and left.

The next time I'm in Midtown, I'll have to go to Bosco's and do the same.

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RIP Mary

Mary Allin Travers

November 9, 1936 – September 16, 2009

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Jimmy Carter, Once Again ...

... showing the world why he was a one-term President, and considered by most to be one of the worst Presidents we've ever had. He's the worst one since I've been alive, and that goes all the way back to Eisenhower.

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Link Update

Over to the left, I've added Bison Armory to the linky list, and deleted Brighton Arms, as they are no more.

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Amazon.com and Freedom States Alliance in Cahoots?

Conservative Scalawag tells us that Amazon.com and the anti-gun group Freedom States Alliance have an agreement where 5% of any purchase made from the FSA link will be donated to the FSA by Amazon.

I checked the FSA site (no link for them, screw 'em) and there is a link that says just that.

So, is this a partnership, or something anyone can set up with Amazon? Time to find another online retailer?

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RIP

Sadly, the Wolverines have lost their leader:

Patrick Wayne Swayze

August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009

He put up a hell of a fight. Pancreatic cancer usually kills quickly, he held on for almost two years.

If you haven't seen the A&E biography on him, I strongly suggest you check it out. He was a good man - a rarity in Hollywood.

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Bleh

Nothing to post today, life intrudes.

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9/11 Roundup

Like Curt said, I don't have a lot to say about today that hasn't already been said.

I will be praying for the lost souls and the heroes of that day and I will never forget the selfless sacrifices that so many made.

The Breda Fallacy

I bet I'll have to go into work this morning and remind the library
administrators that they need to lower the flag to half mast, like I did last
year.

I haven't forgotten...and never, ever will.

The Ten Ring has the Pentagon flag picture

At View From the Porch, Tam has a good point:

This should be "Massacre Day" and stir righteous anger, not endless naval-gazing and hair-shirting.

God, Guns and Free Speech has a really good picture of the Towers.

Conservative Scalawag has pictures from all three sites.

The Liberty Sphere says:

I would suggest that all view the informative, riveting, sad, and enraging film
'United 93' in loving memory of those who lost their lives.

Walls of the City has the story of a 9/11 hero, Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis.

I, of course, will post a little bit of 109 Minutes:

United Flight 93 did not hit a building. It did not kill anyone on the ground. It did not terrorize a city, despite the best drawn plans of the world's most innovative madmen. Why? Because it had informed Americans on board who'd had 109 minutes to come up with a counteraction.

....

They did whip us. And maybe those of us who've demanded to be let on airplanes at the last minute fed a culture of convenience that made it possible.

But they only had us on the mat for 109 minutes.

Damn skippy.

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John Stossel - "I'm Moving to FOX"

That's what he's saying here.

Good deal. It'll be nice to see him on TV again.

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Titan Thoughts

Here we are, first game of the season, playing the reigning champs on the season opener. so, what are folks saying about us and them?

The big story on us is how we lost Albert Haynesworth. Folks say our defense won't be as good as last year. I say, tell that to the ten-man rotation we have going on this year. Yes, we'll miss Albert "I'm playing in a contract year" Haynesworth, but not as much as people think.

The knock on the Steelers? Big Ben's legal woes. I don't know him well enough to say if that will be a distraction. A couple of years ago, maybe. Now, I'm not so sure.

I have revamped my score prediction, however. This being the first game of the season and all, I think the score will be higher than I first predicted.

Rusty's revamped prediction:

Titans 24 - Steelers 17

And, Greg, if I win, I'd prefer a Stone 090909, if you please.

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Yes, I'm Ready for Some Football

Tomorrow night, the NFL season opens (no, I'm not going to say "kicks off") with my beloved Titans playing the Super Bowl champion Steelers. Even though there are a lot of turncoats Steelers fans here in the Memphis area, I'm predicting a Titans win. I know it might incite the bandwagon jumpers local Steelers fans down at Hueys, but I don't care.

Pittsburgh Steelers 10

Tennessee Titans 17

There you have it. Hopefully Music City Miracles will post the weekly schedule in a format I can cut and paste so I can do my weekly predictions again this year. I'd be here all day if I had to type it myself.

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Un - Freakin' - Possible!

This could not have happened. Memphis banned guns in parks!

Weapons charge follows shooting

Guns are not allowed in Memphis parks, and that includes a sawed-off shotgun fired Sunday in a park near Raleigh and again in a neighborhood from a moving Mustang.

I almost linked from the Channel 3 website and said there was no mention of it in the Commercial Squeal, but after some due diligence, I found it. You won't find it on the front page, and you'll have to scroll a bit, but it's there.

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Outta here!

Long weekend, here I come!

See ya'll Tuesday, if not before.

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ROFL of the Morning

From August West over at Music City Miracles (emphasis mine):

The Titans have already made a fan out of Mike Silver, and now Pete Prisco is on board with our boys! Check out his camp wrap, where he rates the Titans as the best team he saw. Now, unfortunately he didn't get to 'see' the Patriots camp because of low visibility from across the river Styx in Hades. (h/t to smashville)

I'm really excited about the Titans' chances this year. Barring catastrophe, this team could go all the way.

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Bacon Bra

Ok, I was cool with Spam with bacon, but this is a tad much for me.

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Sick Kids

Blogging will be minimal today.

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Robo-Calls Now Illegal?

I heard the other day that robo-calls would be illegal, starting today. Sounded good to me, I hate those damn things.

Well, poking around the 'tubes today, I find my elation short lived:

Automated "robocalls" that come from companies will become illegal starting on September 1. Any company that places unsolicited or automated calls to consumers in an attempt to sell products will be violating the law and subject to a fine of up to $16,000 per call. Some exceptions apply. Banks, telephone carriers and charities are allowed to call consumers, and calls from politicians or public service announcements* will be allowed through.

Emphasis mine, with double emphasis on the politicians. Looks like robo-calls are illegal, except to the ones whose abuse of the system led to public outcry in the first place.

* PSA's are the only valid reason for a robo-call. I've gotten two at the house. One to inform me school was being dismissed early due to snow, and one to alert me that a mentally handicapped man had gone missing in my area. Both are perfectly acceptable reasons to use robo-calls. Continue Reading