No words needed.....

Typical of the current news paradigm

We find ourselves in the middle of yet another cycle of invented news, contrived drama and faux outrage. I refer of course to the flap over comments made by Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty".

Now, watching a scripted "reality" show about some good ol' boys who done got rich making audible lures to entice other ducks to come hither looking to score some tail feather, isn't remotely factored into my leisure time. But to each their own.

What I do find rather fascinating, is that while this doesn't qualify as news for me [and as such further grows my disregard for cable "news"], are the various reactions to those comments and the actions of A&E.

Robertson had every right to speak his mind. He was asked a question, and I respect him for giving his honest opinion, whether I agree or disagree with it. A&E however, also has every right to take action against an employee who's words or deeds can be detrimental to the goal of the company, which of course, is ratings and profit. This is not a 1st Amendment issue, as some politicians and pundits [who should know better] claim. The 1st Amendment protects the citizen against adverse actions by the Government, based on what that citizen thinks or states. Likewise, using the bible as a shield to hide behind, doesn't disqaulify one from being a dick. Being a dick is protected in our society by our Constitution [indirectly].

That this issue is taking up so much bandwidth and airtime by those who ostensibly exist to bring news to the masses....is simply sad.

The 15 Commandments of Operational Security

I. Thou shalt not park thy helicopter in the open, for it bringeth the rain of steel.

II. Thou shalt not expose thy shiny mess gear, for it bringeth unwanted guests to chow.

III. Thou shalt not wear white T-shirts, or thine enemies will dye them red.

IV. Thou shalt provide overhead concealment, for thine enemies’ eyes are upon thee.

V. Thou shalt cover thy tall antenna, for fly swatters groweth not in yon wood.

VI. Thou shalt use a red lens on thy flashlight, or it shall appear as a star in the East.

VII. Thou shalt cover the glass on thy vehicle, for the glare telleth thine enemy thy location.

VIII. Thou shalt blend with thy surroundings, for trees groweth not in yon desert.

IX. Thou shalt cover the tracks of thy vehicle, for they draweth pretty pictures.

X. Thou shalt cover thy face, hands, and helmet, for thine enemies maketh war not on bushes.

XI. Thou shalt not drape thy net on thy tent, for it looketh like tent draped in net.

XII. Thou shalt hide the wires of thy commo, for they pointeth to thee.

XIII. Thou shalt practice the art of dispersion, or one round will finish you all.

XIV. Thou shalt pick up thy trash and litter, for they exposeth thy presence.

XV. Thou shalt conceal the noise of thy generator, for thine enemies are listening.

via Gun Free Zone

The Best 2nd Amendment Speech. Period.

Movin' on up......

With work going at breakneck speed, and never-ending projects around the house, I have been a Slacker Blogger of late. Though nobody is depending on my musings to get through their day, I do apologize nonethess.

To add to my list of all-things-not-blogging, I have finally taken the leap and become the proud parent of a shiny new Apple Macbook Pro. She was delivered without complications [other than UPS being a day late due to snow], and has barely made a sqawk. She certainly seems to require far less care and feeding than her older [and learning disabled] brother.

So, before I get back to blogging with any regularity, I'll be relearning basic computer skills [skillz?] and transfering music, pictures and movies to another drive...or cloud...or clouddrivegooglebox....whatever works bestest and fastest.

World War C: It's that time of year again

Time for the alleged "war on Christmas". Brought to you by those looking to be offended over nothing, and/or those selling ironically timed books about the alleged "war on Christmas".

The Daily Show
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Loss #2 for the Oregon Ducks

Perhaps after talking shit just before both losses, the Duck players will learn to shut the fuck up and concentrate on playing football.

"Histagrams"

So my internet/social media world revolves solely around this blog and America's Debate. So I'm not really down with the instatwitterbookfacegram nonsense, but I did find Histagrams quite funny.

Check them out here.

"Anti Gun Hypocrites"

Reposting this blog entry in it's entirety, from the excellent Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest:

In the whole freedom/ gun rights discussion there are many groups. There is a whole spectrum of gun owners with varying beliefs as well as some folks who are genuinely anti gun. Then there are elites who either by political position or wealth have access to all manner of things us common folks do not. These privileges include cash and connections (arguably the same thing) to hire private security who can jump through hoops for places like NYC or even foreign countries.

I disagree with but can respect the anti gun folks who do not own or want to own guns. They have a belief which is part of their life and 'practice what they preach'. Personally I do not think their beliefs are based on reality however that is not my problem. They make the choice and have to live with the consequences after all this is 'Merica. These folks do not worry me anyway, push comes to shove I am armed and they are not.

The people who irritate me are the elites who have excellent ARMED security but wish to usurp my rights to protect myself. The elite's seem to believe that common people like us should not be allowed modern tools for self protection. The rich get well armed security but common folks can 'dial (911) and die'. Look, if I had all the money in the world I would hire private security. Like really, really good private security. Wifey and the kiddo's would go to the park to play in a pair of up armored SUV's with a fire team of ex JSOC Jedi's. However regrettably our budget will not support that so protecting our family falls to Wifey and I.

While a privileged status should have many advantages basic human rights are not one of them.

Slow clap.....well said!

Spoiler or Spoiled?

We in Virginia are finally free of the erroneous and obnoxious ads from the Cuccinelli and McAuliffe campaigns. The 'Cooch' lost by a much smaller margin than most polls had predicted, but he lost nonetheless...and to a rather smarmy and schlocky McAuliffe.

But, predictably, the Virginia GOP supporters have turned their ire on those who voted for Libertarian Robert Sarvis, who garned a Virginia record high 6.6% [or so] in his third party bid for the Governors job. Unfortunately, this is short of the hoped for 10% which would have given the LP automatic ballot access in the next general election, much to the chagrin of the duopoly.

The GOP meme is that Sarvis voters enabled McAulliffe to win. This is a false argument. To believe this line of thought, one's logic has to be provably predicated on the assumption that those voting for Sarvis would have otherwise been more likely to vote for Cuccinelli, had Sarvis not been in the race. Exit polling says otherwise:

And no, Cuccinelli can't blame his loss on scandal-plagued outgoing GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell or third-party libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis.

Despite his scandals, Virginia voters said they approve of McDonnell's job performance by 11 points, 52% to 41%. And if Sarvis had not been in the race, exit polls indicate McAuliffe still would have beaten Cuccinelli by two points, 48% to 46%.

And:

Finally, while it didn’t change the outcome, the third-party candidate in the race, Libertarian Robert Sarvis, may have made it closer for McAuliffe than it would have been otherwise. Had he not been on the ballot, a third of his voters said they’d have supported McAuliffe – slightly more than twice as many as said they’d have gone for Cuccinelli.

Additionally this tired line of excuses presumes that votes are proprietary to the Democrats or the GOP in the first place, which is rather elitist and presumptive reasoning. Republicans should be asking themselves and their party, why didn't more registered Republicans show up to the polls? Why didn't more doners give to the Cuccinelli campaign?

Scott Shackford at Reason sums it up nicely:

Once you wade out of the red team versus blue team fight, you have to set aside the mentality that comes with it. Too many folks were still making the argument that Cuccinelli was better than McAuliffe when they needed to be making the argument that Cuccinelli was better than Sarvis.