Swine Flu in Memphis?

It's a possibility:

Officials say a "probable" case of swine flu found in a 12-year-old student at Incarnation Catholic School in Collierville is under investigation in Shelby County.

We're all gonna die!!1!

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You Know it's Springtime in Tennessee...

... when you carry your sunglasses and your umbrella into work.

Damn, I forgot my jacket.

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I Did Not Know This

I truly did not know this:

Las Vegas churches accept gambling chips!

This may come as a surprise to those of you not living in Las Vegas , but there are more catholic churches than casinos.

Not surprisingly, some worshipers at Sunday services will give casino chips rather than cash when the basket is passed.

Since they get chips from many different casinos, the churches have devised a method to collect the offerings.

The churches send all their collected chips to a nearby Franciscan monastery for sorting and then the chips are taken to the casinos of origin and cashed in.

This is done by the chip monks.

/rimshot

Thankya, thankyaverramuch. Continue Reading

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes.

It's fast.

It's thorough.

It's free.

It's an important addition to your computer security program.

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Michael Caine, Going Galt

Mister Caine tell is like it is:

"The Government has taken tax up to 50 per cent, and if it goes to 51 I will be back in America," he said at the weekend. "We've got 3.5 million layabouts on benefits, and I'm 76, getting up at 6am to go to work to keep them. Let's get everybody back to work so we can save a couple of billion and cut tax, not keep sticking it up."

Emphasis mine.

Reminds me of the time I was overseas, chatting up a young English girl:

Me - "So, what's the population of London? Three, four million?"

She - "That's our unemployed."

Oops

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The Journey of Cigar Discovery Continues

So, in my quest to find the perfect cigar, I've taken a few more steps. One thing I did was go here and do a quick read-up on cigars. Cigar 101, if you will. There's a lot of terminology I was unfamiliar with, and this helps a lot.

After finding out I like maduros, I elected to take advice and get this humidor starter set. This package had everything I needed to get up and running, but I really wanted it just for the lighter.

After priming my humidor per Ravenwood's instructions, I filled it with the stash and then decided which to smoke next. To keep this post relatively short, I'll just give a thumbnail on the ones I didn't care much for, and that would be the Edge Corojo and the Cameroon. Didn't' care for the Edge at all, the Cameroon I would smoke if offered to me, but it didn't excite me very much.

The one I did like? It was another maduro (duh), the Vintage 1990. This one initially shocked me, as starting out, it wasn't very flavorful. Once I got into it, it developed into a really nice smoke. Really nice. The second half of it was like drinking a nice Russian Imperial Stout. Real thick 'n chewy.

Which brings me to why I'm doing this. I love beer. I'm not talking Bud Light (although I drink that, too), I'm talking brews by Stone, AleSmith, Avery, etc. Good stuff with lots of character.

I can't drink it any more, the demon gout jumps my ass every time. Every. Single. Time. So, I've decided to channel my interests elsewhere. Besides, it's new, has lotsa cool toys, and a lexicon similar to, but not exactly like, the craft beer scene. I think I'll like it here.

Now, on to my last two in the stash, the Sun Grown and the Vintage 1992, then, who knows? Maybe another sampler (CAO and Ghurka look interesting), or maybe I'll just fill up the humidor with maduros and Connecticuts.

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I Must be Qualified for Higher Office

When I first heard of the Great NYC Fly-Over, I thought "What's the big deal?"

Thick as a brick, that's me.

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QOTD

Via JR in comments here:

I'm sorry I gave one single dime to John McCain's Prez campaign. He lied when he said he would fight for America. Instead he put everything controversial about Obama off limits, and left Palin hanging out to dry after the campaign as well. He can kiss the deepest, darkest part of my a$$, and that's the mildest thought I have of him today.

Yeah, that's about how I feel, too.

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Memphis Commercial Appeal - as Anti-Gun as They Wanna Be

I mean, I haven't even started reading it, and they already are spinning their nonsense:

Local parks safe for now: With any luck, the debate will continue over the details of the legislation until time runs out.

Local parks safe? I beg to differ.

At least they got one sentence correct, kinda:

Consider the latest development in efforts to get more guns into local parks, where they're now banned.

Let me edit that for clarity: "Consider the latest development in efforts to allow law-abiding people carry their guns in parks, where now only criminals do."

See? Better.

I mean, they way you wrote it clearly demonstrates the fact that you already know there are guns in parks, you just don't clarify which members of society are carrying them.

I realize this is an editorial, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised to read stuff like this:

Of course, the advice of police, sheriffs and prosecutors throughout Tennessee has been ignored by lawmakers who have been busy trying to increase the proliferation of firearms. Law enforcement authorities have consistently advised against the raft of bills that have marked 2009 as the Year of the Gun in the Tennessee General Assembly.

But you'd think that someone with the education necessary to write for the Commercial Appeal (quit laughing!) would know that our politicians are supposed to do what the people say, not a select few in places of power.

While the CA's anti-gun agenda is well known, it's still funny to see them so open about it.

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You are Coming to a Sad Realization

Your $1100 clothes dryer* cannot dry a full load from your $330 washing machine.

* In the interest of full disclosure, I paid about half that, but still.... Continue Reading

Sunday Music

Before there was Lynyrd Skynyrd, there was Merle Haggard, but seeing as I love them both, you get both.



Skynyrd after the jump.

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A Poll!

The Memphis Commercial Appeal has a poll up:

Should Tennesseans with handgun-carry permits be allowed to bring guns into local parks?

Go tell 'em what you think!

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It's Friday

The weather's great.

The bike's out in the parking lot.

I have to work tomorrow.

Looks like a little road time's in order. Back later.

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Israel, Meet the Underside of the Bus

Doubletapper shows us this:

TEL AVIV — A classified assessment relayed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Obama and his senior advisers would incrementally diminish U.S. strategic cooperation with Israel developed over the last 20 years.

If it weren't for ballerina boy's statement earlier. (relayed in this post), I'd take a wait-and-see approach on this. But, coming from two decidedly different sources, I'm not real comfortable with our allies' future.

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*Parking Tickets*

Via email, slightly altered:

The other day I went downtown to run a few errands. I went into the local Coffee shop for a snack. I was only there for about 5 minutes, and when I came out, there was this cop writing out a parking ticket.

I said to him, 'Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break'?

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket.

His lack of sensitivity annoyed me, so I called him a 'Nazi.'

He glared at me and then wrote out another ticket for having worn tires.

So I proceeded to call him a 'doughnut eating Gestapo...'

He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.

Then he wrote a third ticket when I called him a moron in blue
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This went on for about 20 minutes.

The more I talked back to him the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn't really care. I came downtown on the bus, and the car that he was putting the tickets on had one of those bumper stickers that said,*'Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.'*

I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. The doctor tells me that it's important to my health..

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Busy Now

Maybe later.

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And So it Begins

Could this be a harbinger of things to come for the Republicans?

"John McCain has failed miserably in his duty to secure this nation's borders and protect the people of Arizona from the escalating violence and lawlessness," Simcox said. "He has fought real efforts over the years at every turn, opting to hold our nation's border security hostage to his amnesty schemes. Coupled with his votes for reckless bailout spending and big government solutions to our nation's problems, John McCain is out of touch with everyday Arizonans. Enough is enough."

Can "Minuteman" Chris Simcox unseat John McCain in Arizona ? I dunno, but I do think the next two election cycles will have a substantial "vote the bums out" groove to it.

It will with me, anyway.

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Rahm Emanuel Tips His Hand

More allies under the bus?

Katz claims that in a private meeting with the unnamed leader, Emanuel said, "In the next four years, there will be a peace agreement with the Palestinians on the basis of two states for two peoples, and it does not matter to us who is the [Israeli] prime minister."

Wow.

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So That's What it Means!

Courtesy of Roberta X, we learn what " Ninth Circuit panel opinion incorporates the second amendment" means (emphasis mine):

the Second Amendment, as interpreted in Heller, applies to State and local governments.

Not that big a deal in states where there's a provision for firearms in the State constitutions, I guess, but the 9th does have at least one state hostile to gun rights....

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Thoughts

In this post over at Instapundit, he shows pictures of people in attendance who are other than white. One comment he got was:

‘You found photos of 6 black people at tea parties! Thats proof that there isn’t any racism going on at the protests. Take that Dems! Keep up the good work.”

I do see the point - one could easily see that post as a case of "some of my best friends are ______ ". It's also easy to throw that accusation whenever the issue is brought up.

The fact remains most attendees were white. That's undeniable. But one thing I want to point out is the few non-white people in attendance, be them black, islander, Asian Indian, Arab, etc., came, attended, and went without a single incident.

Would that have happened if the tea parties were a racist event?

Just askin'.

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On Columbine

To those who survived or were otherwise impacted, I hope you have found peace or soon will. I don't use words like "closure" because there's no such thing.

To the Legacy Media, get over it. Your ghoulish fascination is revolting.

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Sunday Music

Found in this morning's Wiki-wander, here's a song many consider to be the first Rock n Roll song produced outside the United States:




Cliff Richard and the Shadows - "Move It". Continue Reading

Another Picture - No Words Needed

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Maybe DHS is Right

I did spot a group of guys at the Memphis Tea Party that looked kinda suspicious.

• They were wearing uniforms.
• They study and discuss the US Constitution.
• They know all about the American flag.
  
• They have engaged in marksmanship training.
• They learn and practice survival skills.

Take a look at the picture below the fold, then you tell me. Was I looking at a group of potential terrorists?


Yep, this group looks like trouble.

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Your Motivational Poster of the Day

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Cigar Blogging

No, this probably won't be a regular feature on the blog, at least not after I settle on a favorite style, but I have to say - so far, smoking a decent cigar is a Good Thing.

I tried the first of my stash yesterday. That one was called a "Connecticut", which had the lightest wrapper. I fired it up on the way to the Tea Party, and I have to say I enjoyed it. It was smooth, not hot, and didn't give me that weird feeling in the back of my throat like my uncle's Roi-Tans did.

So now, I'm going in the complete opposite direction, and trying the "Maduro". It's short, and the darkest of the lot. There's a long dark one too, but I figure if I didn't like it, it wouldn't take me long to finish it. =)

The smell of this one, before lighting, reminds me of chewing tobacco. Not that sissy loose leaf shit, I'm talking plug tobacco, like Black Maria or something. It's a good smell.

The taste is surprisingly mellow, and I can see why cigar smokers also fancy Scotch. They would go together well.

At any rate, looks like I'll be buying a real humidor soon.

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More Memphis Tea Party Pictures

Here's round two of the Day in Pictures. There were a buttload of Gadsden flags there, but very few guys in kilts:



This sounds like a plan:



Heh:



This is the "Make Your Sign" table.



Finally, here's the Lone Libertarian, who has pictures of his own: (we missed you, Squeaky)


And, like I read elsewhere, there isn't a tour bus to be found.

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Memphis Tea Party - The Day in Pictures

Quick update - I had estimated the crowd to be over 2000, and, from what I've gotten via email, I was right.

Just 2500 short.

Folks in a better position to know this stuff estimate the Memphis crowd to be at 4500. Damn fine showing, folks.

Here's the stage:



A good indication of the size of the crowd. Of course, that's about a third of what was there:



These were the "street greeters" who were getting folks to honk in support. They got an earful:



I have to say, the irony of the location was not lost on me:



A view from behind the stage:



Protest mom and protest child:



Protest babes:



Truer words were never put in print:


More to come, including a guest appearance from a dormant blogger!

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Unbiased Coverage From the Commercial Appeal

No, I haven't lost my mind, nor have I taken to drink before noon:

Bipartisan tea party doesn't vote for big-spending government

Brown said the event is nonpartisan, meant to welcome all along the political spectrum.

"It's not a conservative-minded gathering. We're hoping for a big mix of people," she said.

"We're not getting into any of the social or moral things. We really just want fiscal responsibility and low taxes."

Well done, CA.

Comments on this, as you would imagine, are a mixed bag. Most are positive. The anti's are, as usual, a hoot:

Fox (Nazi) news has created this mess.

Dear embraerjetpilot, be advised - starting any comment out by violating Godwin's Law will do you no good. Most people (like me) quit reading at that point. Learn to form a cogent argument, and people might listen.

Next we have UseYourBrain (who inspired me to post this a while back, now you see why):

The teabaggin' thingy is just a bunch of NUTS offering a SACKrement to the icons of greed.

Not hard to figure out what's on his chin mind, is there?

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Good Job Mr. President

You let the Navy do their job, and the results were just about perfect. However, now that we've taken that step, we're more or less in the "you broke it, you own it" category.

The Somali Pirates responded by doing it "The Chicago Way".

What are you prepared to do?

Update: Between the time this was written (last night) and now, we've had another ship attacked:

The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship bound for Mombasa, Kenya, was attacked Tuesday by Somali pirates, according to a NATO source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Time to go over there and have a talk about "enthusiasms".

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Eyewitness News, the Anti - Commercial Appeal

Kudos to Eyewitness News for putting up some firearm information that can actually save lives:

Firearms Experts Offer Advice for First Time Gun Buyers

MEMPHIS, TN - Buying your first gun. If you're not a gun person or you haven't grown up around guns, the purchase of a firearm can be daunting.

Three local firearms experts talked with myEyewitnessNews.com about the best gun to buy if you're looking for a weapon to keep in your house for security.

And thanks to Unc for the pointer.

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Important Note on the Memphis Tea Party

We all know the Memphis Tea Party is tomorrow, at 5 PM in Audubon Park, right?

We also know that the Tennessee Guns in Parks bill isn't law yet, right?

Act accordingly, leave your heater at home.

Thanks to SayUncle for putting my brain in gear on this issue.

Update - Although I'll be there with camera charged and ready, feel free to send pictures of the event.

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An Interesting Idea

The Atlas Shrugged Books-to-Politicians Campaign

Be Counted ... by purchasing one or more copies of the book Atlas Shrugged to spike its sales ranking

Be Visible ... by sending these books to your politicians so that they can
see that you do not support their current policies andproposals.

Be United ... in delivering the message that we want our individual rights
and freedoms protected, not plundered.

About the site:

Go-galt.org is a grass-roots effort focused on protecting individualrights and freedoms. The Send-a-Book-to-Politicians-Campaign is running simultaneously with the Tea Party Tax Protests. Complete details can befound at go-galt.org.

Tea Parties and Atlas Shrugged - that's what it's all about.

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Quote of the Day

Via Mick Wright:

I love the irony of a paper company getting rewarded by the fascist environmentalists for increasing their consumption of fossil fuels while cutting down trees. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Indeed.

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Cigars!

I gots 'em.

Now to make my makeshift humidor* and pop 'em in!

* Makeshift humidor:

Put a wet paper towel in a small ziploc. Place that ziploc with but a bit open into a larger ziploc and put your cigars in there. They will keep for a few weeks.

(Courtesy of the Uncmeister). Continue Reading

Phone/PDA Bleg

So, my Palm TX crashes when I try to go Wi Fi, the battery is lasting less than half of what it used to, and it's needing a soft reset on a regular basis.

My phone still works, but it's three years old and I figure it's only a matter of time before it starts acting up.

So, what device should I look at to replace these devices? I presently use AT&T, but am not against changing providers if the price/service is right.

What I need is a phone with good battery life and reception, and something to take the place of my PDA. Specifically Wi Fi, calender, phone book, etc.

Web service outside of Wi Fi is not necessary, as I mostly use web based email.

What's out there, besides the iPhone?

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Yeah, it's Full Tilt Boogie for Gun Control

... at our legacy media outlet last weekend. While most of their idiocy has been addressed all over the Internets, this one quote made me chuckle (emphasis mine):

"The Department of Education and Secret Service tell us that in 81 percent of school shootings, four out of five times, there were kids that knew of the plan of gun violence,"

Freudian slip, or poor punctuation? You make the call.

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Dear Diane Sawyer

I'll take your little test.

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Blogiversary

Not here.

Here.

Happy first, Turk!

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CMP Update

Via email. The short version? They're swamped.

LATEST CMP SALES NEWS:

SOLD OUT - 415-CN. As a result over 9,000 orders already in estore and the many hundreds of other orders (received through the mail and via phone) that have not yet been entered into our system, and the number of orders estimated to already be in the mail coming our way, we have posted item 415-CN as sold out and removed it from the Estore. M2 Ball, HXP, 240 rounds in 20 round cartons, in spam cans. We will be able to fill all orders already received and in the pipeline.

.30-06 M2 BALL PURCHASE LIMITS ESTABLISHED. Effective immediately, CMP is setting a purchase limit for items 407-CAN (.30-06 M2 Ball, HXP, clipped, in spam cans) and 407DCAN (.30-06 M2 Ball, clipped, in .30 cal ammo can). The new purchase limit is total of 10 cans of HXP ammo per year, per customer, regardless of item numbers ordered.

ORDER BACKLOG. For the past six months, the number of orders received by CMP for rifles, ammunition, and all other products has been unprecedented. As of today, 10 April 2009, our Sales Order Processing Dept is up to processing / shipping orders received at the end of Jan 2009, with several thousand orders still to go for Feb and Mar. Because of the large volume of orders that we continue to receive daily in the mail and through the estore, customers should not expect any acknowledgment of our receiving orders for
30-45 days after mailing the order, and should not expect delivery for 90-120 days from placing an order. We ask our customers to bear with us. We will eventually recover from this surge. The CMP staff thanks you for your support and patience.

COMMUNICATION RESPONSE DELAYS. CMP is receiving hundreds of calls a day, as well as hundreds of emails. Each morning there are dozens of voicemails from the night before. Because of the large volume of constant calls in the daytime, it may take a few days for response. We have a state of the art phone system for a company our size, but the volume of calls is causing the system to do unexpected things. We apologize for any delay in responding to emails or telephone calls.

Thank you for your support of the CMP in these historic times.

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Sunday Music

Funny how, in comments, people are talking about George Lopez. I always thought it was the Crash Bandicoot song. =)

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Another Medal of Honor Recipient has Passed

Russell E. Dunham

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.

At about 1430 hours on 8 January 1945, during an attack on Hill 616, near Kayserberg, France, T/Sgt. Dunham single-handedly assaulted 3 enemy machine guns. Wearing a white robe made of a mattress cover, carrying 12 carbine magazines and with a dozen hand grenades snagged in his belt, suspenders, and buttonholes, T/Sgt. Dunham advanced in the attack up a snow-covered hill under fire from 2 machine guns and supporting riflemen.

His platoon 35 yards behind him, T/Sgt. Dunham crawled 75 yards under heavy direct fire toward the timbered emplacement shielding the left machine gun. As he jumped to his feet 10 yards from the gun and charged forward, machine gun fire tore through his camouflage robe and a rifle bullet seared a 10-inch gash across his back sending him spinning 15 yards down hill into the snow.

When the indomitable sergeant sprang to his feet to renew his 1-man assault, a German egg grenade landed beside him. He kicked it aside, and as it exploded 5 yards away, shot and killed the German machine gunner and assistant gunner. His carbine empty, he jumped into the emplacement and hauled out the third member of the gun crew by the collar. Although his back wound was causing him excruciating pain and blood was seeping through his white coat, T/Sgt. Dunham proceeded 50 yards through a storm of automatic and rifle fire to attack the second machine gun.

Twenty-five yards from the emplacement he hurled 2 grenades, destroying the gun and its crew; then fired down into the supporting foxholes with his carbine dispatching and dispersing the enemy riflemen. Although his coat was so thoroughly blood-soaked that he was a conspicuous target against the white landscape, T/Sgt. Dunham again advanced ahead of his platoon in an assault on enemy positions farther up the hill. Coming under machinegun fire from 65 yards to his front, while rifle grenades exploded 10 yards from his position, he hit the ground and crawled forward. At 15 yards range, he jumped to his feet, staggered a few paces toward the timbered machinegun emplacement and killed the crew with hand grenades. An enemy rifleman fired at pointblank range, but missed him.

After killing the rifleman, T/Sgt. Dunham drove others from their foxholes with grenades and carbine fire. Killing 9 Germans--wounding 7 and capturing 2--firing about 175 rounds of carbine ammunition, and expending 11 grenades, T/Sgt. Dunham, despite a painful wound, spearheaded a spectacular and successful diversionary attack

And that's just the first part, here he teaches us the meaning of the Code of Conduct, Articles 2 and 3:

Dunham returned to the front before his wounds healed. On January 22 his battalion was surrounded by tanks, forcing most of the men to surrender. The following morning, two German soldiers discovered Dunham hiding in a sauerkraut barrel outside a barn. When their search of his pockets turned up a pack of cigarettes, they fought over it, overlooking his pistol in a shoulder holster.

Later that day as he was being transported toward German lines, the driver stopped in a bar, giving Dunham the opportunity to shoot his other captor in the head and set off toward the American lines. Dunham suffered severe frostbite completing his escape.

Yep, we lost a good one there.

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Some Bad News/Good News on TN Gun Bills

After some gratuitous NRA- bashing and reporting on the TN Guns in Parking Lots bill (Bad News - it's been shelved), we discover some Good News:

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill allowing people with handgun-carry permits to take their guns into restaurants that serve alcohol -- places where they are currently banned by law.

Details

The committee stripped out restrictions that remain in the House version of the bill, including one that bans guns in the restaurants between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and one banning guns in restaurants that restrict admissions to minors. (Under state law, restaurants that allow smoking may prohibit minors from entering.)

The committee sent the bill to the Senate for a floor vote that hasn't been scheduled. But the House and Senate must reconcile difference between the two versions before it can become law.

(emphasis mine)

That's a Good Thing, of course. I just hope folks don't get all wrapped around the axle over this.

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Squirm, Barney, Squirm

This kid rocks Barney's world, and not in a good way (for Barney)



Priceless

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Tea Party Gear

While attending a Tea Party, it is imperative to adhere to an appropriate dress code. Here are some places that can provide you with suitable attire:

Simon Jester

Shirts4Freedom

Patriot Depot Tea Party Gear

Feel free to add more links in comments, I'll do an update periodically.

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Memphis Tea Party - Updated

Update - Facebook information in comments

Update II - Welcome Instapundit readers!


Via email:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Area Residents Plan Memphis Tax Day Tea Party Rally

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (April 5, 2009) - A tax day tea party rally will be held at 5 PM, April 15^th at Audubon Park at the corner of Southern and Perkins Extended. The theme for the family friendly event is “Cut the Pork, Reduce Taxes.”

Tea parties have been triggered by comments made by CNBC’s analyst Rick Santelli on February 19^th. While discussing the Stimulus Bill and the mortgage rescue plan, Santelli called for a Chicago Tea Party to protest “government promoting bad behavior.” A video of Santelli can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA .

Since February, tea parties have been springing up all over the country. Groups of concerned citizens make up the grass roots, non-partisan effort. Stephanie Brown, a Shelby County resident, is spearheading the Memphis Tea Party. According to Brown, “The purpose of the tea party is to let our elected officials know we are tired of our government over-stepping boundaries, over-spending, and over-taxing. The tea party is not about blame or political party. We encourage all Memphians and Mid-Southerners to bring posters and signs, and get their message to Washington.”

The Memphis Tea Party will be held simultaneously with local tea parties nationwide. Popular talk show radio host Mike Fleming will be broadcasting from the tea party. Over thirty tea parties are scheduled for the tri-state area. Additional information about the Memphis Tax Day Tea Party Rally is available at http://www.reformpolitix.com/.

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Comment Fun

Over at the Commercial Appeal concerning the guns in bars restaurants bill.

Y'all come!

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Legislation To Restore Concealed Carry in National Parks Introduced

Legislation To Restore Concealed Carry in National Parks Introduced

On Thursday, April 2, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Bob Bennett (R-Utah), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) introduced legislation (S.816) to restore the Second Amendment rights of visitors in national parks and wildlife refuges (its companion bill, H.R. 1684 was introduced last week by Congressman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.).

Good news, let's hope it meets with success.

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Tech Bleg

Update - Thanks to everybody who lent help. He's gotten in touch with the right people.

My buddy Lew over at Seen Through a Glass needs some help:

There's a blog out there called Doc's Tavern that is copying beer blog posts (mine, The Beer Philosopher, and Musings Over A Pint, among others) in entirety and posting them without attribution, credit, or linkage. Can someone more technically adept than me find out who's hosting the site and find an address where I can send a Takedown Notice?

Anyone out there help a guy out?

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Bryan Brasher - The CA's Latest Gun Hater

And, he's using the tried (and, somewhat true) formula of pitting hunters against the rest of the gun-owning community. He starts out misrepresenting a proposed TN gun law:

As you've probably heard by now, Tennessee legislators are hard at work on a bill that would make it legal for gun owners to carry handguns into crowded bars and nightclubs where alcohol is flowing freely.

Except, Bryan, that alcohol won't be flowing into the person carrying the gun - it's against the law. And, you forget the provision where guns aren't allowed in any place that restricts admission due to age, like most real bars. Finally, you fail to mention where this will most likely take place - in restaurants.

What I really hear you saying is self defense nutjobs gun freaks gun owners can't be trusted in a place that serves alcohol, as they will certainly drink, even though they know not to.

People purchase handguns to protect their homes, their families and themselves -- and while those are rights I believe in whole-heartedly, they've got nothing to do with the outdoors.

Wanna bet? If you believe that, don't read this, this and this.

Here is a polarizing statement if I've ever heard one:

When gun owners and hunters get lumped into one great big category, hunters get dragged through the mud and the muck every time a gun crime is committed

But gun owners don't? Bullshit, Bryan.

Using such tragedies as ammunition in a fight against hunting is horribly disrespectful to the people whose lives were lost or affected when the guns went off.

Using such tragedies to drive a wedge between hunters and gun owners is, too, Bryan.

So if you're one of the folks who've e-mailed recently, asking me to speak out in favor of the new bill, you'll have to convince me first why it's any of my business as an outdoors columnist.

If hunters don't want to get caught up in public gun control, why would other gun owners get caught up in fighting EPA lead bans, protected lands, and the various other schemes being used to take away hunting land?

Throw us under the bus, and there'll be no one around to join you when they come for your land and rifles.

(h/t to the Conservative Scalawag)

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Sunday Music

This song makes me think of the beaches of Europe for some reason....



"Peaches" by The Stranglers Continue Reading

New Cocktail

I heard US Airways is serving a new cocktail called “The Sully”. Two hits of Grey Goose and a splash of water.

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Redneck Hearing Protection

One of the more cringe-inducing things I've seen recently. Love the hat.

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Blogroll Addition

Please welcome Gun Geek Rants to the Mighty Fine Blogroll.

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Coolest. Laptop. Ever.

Via email:

The Declaration of Independence was composed on this mahogany lap desk, designed by Jefferson and built by Philadelphia cabinet maker Benjamin Randolph.

Jefferson gave it to Joseph Coolidge, Jr. (1798-1879) when he married Ellen Randolph, Jefferson's granddaughter. In giving it, Jefferson wrote on November 18, 1825: "Politics, as well as Religion, has it's superstitions. These, gaining strength with time, may, one day give imaginary value to this relic, for it's association with the birth of the Great Charter of our Independence." Coolidge replied, on February 27, 1826, that he would consider the desk "no longer inanimate, and mute, but as something to be interrogated and caressed."

Go here and scroll a bit. You'll see it.

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Blogroll Addition

Please welcome

I am Simon Jester
And so are you

to the Mighty Fine blogroll

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The US, Mexico, and Guns - Updated by Fox News

There's a lot of stuff flying around these here Internets about the whole guns in Mexico thing.

I hear 90% of the traceable guns found in Mexico were from the US. (I, for one, would like to see a real number there instead of a nebulous percentage)

I hear there's no way to trace most of the guns found in Mexico because the Mexican government isn't releasing the serial numbers.

I think, ultimately, a large part of these guns had their origin in the US.

Not from straw buyers at gun shows, hell no. That's just silly. Drug cartels don't have the time to mess with that. They also do have the money to circumvent any set of laws and procedures in place to prevent large shipments of arms from reaching Mexico.

Those machine guns, grenades, explosives, rockets, etc., probably did, at some point, come through the US on their way to Mexico. It's just common sense. We ship and receive more stuff on a daily basis than some countries do in a year.

Then, of course, is the fact that the US has supplied virtually all of the anti-communist forces in Central and South America for decades. Those weapons came from the US as well. Years ago.

We gun-fanatics gun rights people need to better define this argument. Letting the legacy media define the issue never helps anyone get closer to the truth. We need to pin them down on the issue, force them to explain things in a clearer manner in order to ascertain where these weapons are coming from.

Responding to someone saying the guns are coming from the US by saying "No they're not!" isn't going to work. It would be better, in my opinion, to elaborate on how these guns may be getting into Mexico - not by straw buyers in Phoenix, but by the large-scale shipments they are undoubtedly getting from wherever these shipments originate.

For the record, I was somewhat surprised at Michael Yon's posts on this matter, considering his military background, but what really shocked me was this:

The idea that "guns don't kill people, people kill people" should be saved for someone who will buy it.

Coming from a former SF guy, that really shocked me.

Being a Combat Engineer in a past life, I've spent some time with SF types, and the one thing I've noticed about SF guys was how they were based in the real world. I had one tell me he never used terms like "give 110%" because 100% was all we have and most people who use those terms have never even given 90.

At any rate, this topic is shaping up to be the tip of the spear for the gun control movement. It's time for us to get focused on how we can present our side of the story to the general public.

UPDATE - Fox News' William La Jeunesse and Maxim Lott (heh, Maxim) set the story straight:

You've heard this shocking "fact" before -- on TV and radio, in newspapers, on the Internet and from the highest politicians in the land: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States.

[snip]

There's just one problem with the 90 percent "statistic" and it's a big one:

It's just not true.

In fact, it's not even close. By all accounts, it's probably around 17 percent.

You don't say!

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Change in Terms

Elliot points out an interesting change in terms:

When Republicans were talking about preventing filibusters in the Senate…

…it was called the Nuclear option.

When Democrats talk about preventing filibusters in the Senate it’s called the ‘fast track’.

Sounds more like fast-talk to me.

Me, too.

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Memphis Tea Party! (Updated)

Looks like it could happen:

City: Memphis, TN (Shelby County)
When: April 15, 5:30PM to 7:30 PM
Where: TBA
Contact: Email Stephanie
Facebook Group: CLICK HERE

Thanks to Unc for the pointer.

UPDATE- Via email, I understand it will be at Audubon Park, starting at 5 PM, which is good for those of us who, you know, work and pay taxes.

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