Hey! I Resemble That Remark!
Artist is Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press
Category: Uncategorized
And This Would Be Different…How?
Artist is Mike Ramirez, Los Angeles Times
I Have an Idea:
Clayton Cramer links to this Reuter’s report:
Carrying the message of “Control population growth, pay attention to sexual health, prevent AIDS,” a bright yellow condom covering the facade of a 20-story hotel in the southern Chinese city of Guilin marked United Nations World Population Day on Friday. The roundness of the three-star Fragrant River Hotel provided the perfect shape for erecting the giant condom, according to the hotel manager, who declined to give her name. “The initial plan was to cover the whole building, but because the wind was so strong they could only cover the front half,” said the manager. The Guilin Latex Company has applied to the publishers of the Guinness Book of World Records to recognize their giant condom, which is nearly 330 feet around and 260 feet tall, said the Xinhua wire service. Local activists and international experts agree that more publicity and government leadership are needed to avert an AIDS catastrophe in China.
My idea? Let’s call a joint session of Congress and then put a condom over the Capitol building. They are airtight, right?
In Their Eyes, I Don’t Doubt It
Threat rating: Medium. Your total lack of decent
family values makes you dangerous, but we can
count on some right wing nutter blowing you up
if you become too high profile.
What threat to the Bush administration are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
(Bad spelling is Quizilla’s, not mine.)
“The Myth of Man The Killer”
Armed and Dangerous has an outstanding essay up on the nature of man and the erroneous belief that man is a natural killer.
Some quotes:
The Rousseauian myth of technological Man as an ugly scab on the face of pristine Nature has become so pervasive in Western culture as to largely drive out the older opposing image of “Nature, red in tooth and claw” from the popular mind. Perhaps this was inevitable as humans achieved more and more control over their environment; protection from famine, plague, foul weather, predators, and other inconveniences of nature encouraged the fond delusion that only human nastiness makes the world a hard place.
—
Another, darker kind of romanticism is at work as well. To a person who feels fundamentally powerless, the belief that one is somehow intrinsically deadly can be a cherished illusion. Its marketers know full well that violence fantasy sells not to the accomplished, the wealthy and the wise, but rather to working stiffs trapped in dead-end jobs, to frustrated adolescents, to retirees — the marginalized, the lonely and the lost.
To these people, the killer-ape myth is consolation. If all else fails, it offers the dark promise of a final berserkergang, unleashing the mythic murderer inside to express all those aggravations in a gory and vengeful catharsis. But if seven out of ten humans can’t pull the trigger on an enemy they have every reason to believe is trying to kill them, it seems unlikely that ninety-seven out of a hundred could make themselves murder.
—
The man who fears Hobbes’s “warre”, who sees every one of his neighbors as a potential murderer, will surrender nearly anything to be protected from them. He will call for a strong hand from above; he will become a willing instrument in the oppression of his fellows. He may even allow himself to be turned into a killer in fact. Society will be atomized into millions of fearful fragments, each reacting to the fear of fantasied individual violence by sponsoring the political conditions for real violence on a large scale.
That’s enough – go read the whole thing. It is, I must say, a perfect companion peice to “A Mistake a Free People Get to Make Only Once.”
U.S. v Miller in Detail
Publicola links to this detailed explanation of the U.S. v Miller decision on the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) site. It’s very, very good.
Not Quite, Mr. Koch
Instapundit points to this Newsmax column by former New York Mayor Ed Koch. In it, Koch warns the Democrats that they’re making an error in beating the “Bush Lied!” drum, but something else in the column caught my attention:
At the core of the Democratic ideology is a belief in helping the less fortunate among us. The Republican mantra, on the other hand, is “I made it on my own, and you will have to do the same.”
Not quite, sir.
The core of the Democratic ideology is a belief that the GOVERNMENT must help the less fortunate among us. The Republican mantra, on the other hand is “I made it without a government handout, and so should you.”
Charity is all well and good, but when the government takes from some for redistribution to others, it’s not charity, it’s extortion. There’s no such thing as “obligatory charity.”
Spending Other People’s Money Always Is
Artist is Chuck Asay, Colorado Springs Gazette
Update on the Story Below – The Government Responds to People Defending Themselves
Apparently they’re worried about people “taking the law into their own hands,” as this report explains:
When it’s O-K to shoot to protect yourself and your family
There’s debate into when it’s O-K to shoot to protect yourself and your family after a recent rash of shootings involving homeowners. One deadly robbery started at the Union Planters Bank on Quince Road and Perkins Friday night. That’s when the victim’s ATM card didn’t work. The suspects took the man to his home just a few blocks away on Dunn Avenue. That’s where the victim got a gun and shot the two suspects, killing one. The District Attorney ruled the shooting justifiable homicide but issued a warning about cases like this one. And don’t forget the infamous Cat Burglar, gunned down by a home owner in the Hickory Hill area just last month. With a series of home defense shootings this summer, D-A Bill Gibbons wants to make sure the public is aware of the law.
Rosevone Bird knows all to well about deadly force. Last week, a man pushed his way into his home and attacked his wife’s caretaker. Bird responded with one shot from his 357 magnum. “I shot him.” Despite protecting his family, Bird says he is not proud of what he did. “Hell no, I feel bad.”
The shooting was ruled justifiable by the District Attorney’s office. But Bill Gibbons has a warning, protecting your property with deadly force is not justifiable. Gibbons said, “Essentially a person cannot use deadly force in self defense merely to protect personal property. A person has to believe that his or her life is in jeopardy.” In fact, state law spells it out: The person must have a reasonable belief that there is an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. “If we face a situation where someone does use deadly force simply to protect property we will be prepared to prosecute that person.”
Rosevone Bird has already made that split second life and death decision. Would he do it again? “If I had to I sure would.” But for others who use deadly force in the future, a warning your actions will be carefully reviewed. It is very hard to say on a case by case basis what is justifiable and what is not. The bottom line, you have to believe that you or someone your with is in danger of serious injury or death if you don’t take action.
In Friday night’s shooting, the homeowner shot and killed Ricky Ricardo Wilborn. Another suspect was shot and is in critical condition. Prosecutors say if he recovers, he could face charges. Last month, two people died in two separate home invasions on the same night, the first on Lark where the homeowner shot and killed one man, another suspect injured, the second on Wildwind Cove, where the homeowner shot and killed the man known as the east Memphis cat burglar.
How about this: Let the people shoot to protect their property. I bet crime goes down.
The More of This There is Now, the Less There Will Be in the Future
AlphaPatriot mentioned this story, but I had to hunt down the link.
Home invader shot to death
By Bill Dries
[email protected]
July 12, 2003One man was shot to death and another was wounded after they forced a man inside his East Memphis home Friday night, police said.
The shooting was at 4555 Dunn near Perkins and Willow.
Insp. Richard Sojourner said the shooting came after two men confronted the resident of the Dunn home at a Union Planters ATM at Perkins and Quince. They ordered him to withdraw money, but the machine kept his ATM card.They forced the man back into his car, Sojourner said, and went to another ATM, where the same thing happened with a second ATM card.
The two then forced him to drive them to his home to get some money, and when they went inside, the resident pulled a gun and shot both of them.
Police would not release the identities of any of the three.
The shooting marked the latest in a series of incidents in which homeowners have shot attackers who broke into their homes or forced the residents inside.
Among them:
William Ronnie Payne, 45, was shot to death when he tried to force his way into a home at 4212 Warbonnet Wednesday night.
Kevin Martrell Humphrey, 19, was killed and a second suspect was injured June 13 when they tried to force their way into a home at 2959 Lark.
David Ronald Washington, 44, identified by police as the so-called East Memphis cat burglar, was shot to death when he broke into a home at 3980 Wildwind Cove about 2:35 a.m. June 13.
Gee, it almost looks like a trend! And two in one day!
The unnamed shooter had big brass ones, and I applaud his efforts.