The Smallest Minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. – Ayn Rand
HOME!
Everything’s unloaded, my shooting partner is on his way to his own domicile, and I’m wiped out. Just over 12 hours on the road today. Coming back through Nevada was not noticeably quicker than going through Utah. We saved maybe an hour.
Regular blogging resumes tomorrow.
I’ve added Found: One Troll to the blogroll on the strength of one post: “If I Only Had a Gun”. Excellent piece for those of us who were too (*COUGH!*) busy to watch it ourselves. Welcome, Eseell.
Damn! I nearly forgot that this was an excellent opportunity to drag out my favorite (OK, only) Diane Sawyer quote! Diane was the hostette for the hour-long Brady Campaign commercial opinion piece:
“You know, I wanted to sit on a jury once and I was taken off the jury. And the judge said to me, ‘Can, you know, can you tell the truth and be fair?’ And I said, ‘That’s what journalists do.’ And everybody in the courtroom laughed. It was the most hurtful moment I think I’ve ever had.” – Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America, 7/12/07
Good to know that the public’s opinion of Ms. Sawyer is still accurate!
Busy
Sorry for the lack of posting, but since I’ve got someone to actually, you know, respond to a debate invitation, I feel obligated to put out extra effort. Mr. James Kelly noted in his reply post that one reason he was reluctant to engage was to do so “at the very least would be extremely time-consuming”.
Don’t I know it.
Hopefully tomorrow. We’ll see.
Google: Still Evil
As most of you probably know, Google bought Blogsnot awhile back. Google also agreed to censor the web for those accessing it from China, at the insistence of the Chinese government.
I discovered something fascinating (in a creepy way) tonight. When I write a post, I put the title for it in a block marked “Title,” then repeat it as the header to the body of my post. The “Title” space, I suppose, goes out to RSS feeds and such, but if I don’t repeat the title in the body, you won’t see it. Whatever goes in the “Title” block is made part of the URL for that post, assuming, of course, that the title isn’t as long as many of my posts are. It’s truncated at twenty letters or so, and “the” and “a” are dropped out. My post last week “Made as China, Norinco”, should have carried a URL that reads:
http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2009/02/made-as-china-norinco.html
It does not.
Google truncated the link to http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2009/02/made-as.html
The words “China” and “Norinco” were redacted.
Kinda makes you wonder why, doesn’t it?
Work, Work, Work, Work, Work.
Sorry about the lack of posting. Lots going on with work. By the time I sat down tonight to eat dinner and check the blogs it was 8:00PM, and my bedtime is 9:00. I just don’t have time to A) read much, or B) write anything. But traffic is up.
This seems to be a trend – the less I say, the more people read it.
You’d think I’d learn something from this . . .
Over the five and a half years I’ve been writing this blog, the topic of Rights has been the most pervasive. In one of the earliest posts, I reprinted a short essay I wrote to win a year’s membership at AR15.com entitled What is a ‘Right’?. That essay inspired a lot of commentary, and a rather extended exchange with a professor of mathematics that makes up the next six posts below it in the “Best Posts” over there near the top of the left sidebar.
And I wrote one more überpost, The United Federation of Planets on that topic as well.
Those are just the ones I thought worth having permanent links to.
Now someone else has decided that the topic is interesting and important enough to dedicate an entire blog to, and since TSM is the current sole resident of his blogroll, I thought I’d give him a link and pass on his invitation to you, my loyal sixteen readers:
I believe that the root cause of many – if not most – of the problems we face today, both domestically and around the world, are due to a basic misunderstanding or misapplication of the concept of “rights”. This blog is my attempt to begin a wide-ranging discussion regarding rights in general, and fundamental / natural / God-given rights in particular. My most ardent hope is that as many people as possible will join me in trying to discover and define what the concept of “rights” actually means, what rights we all have, and how having those rights defines who we are and how we interact as human beings.
My goal is threefold. First, I need to get all of my thoughts and ideas out of my head and put down in writing. This forum will allow me to pick a topic and run with it until I get everything out. Second, I wish to persuade as many people as possible that my ideas are correct, and that adopting them will improve the quality of their lives and the lives of all those with whom they come in contact. And third, the “comments” function will allow for anyone who wishes to do so, to add their own thoughts and ideas regarding whatever I have written. I do not just encourage this – I need it. You see, I believe what I am writing to be objectively true, but in order to test my ideas and beliefs, I need feedback. So please, feel free to comment on anything I write.
He goes by the handle John Galt and blogs at The Rights Project. If you’re interested, take him up on his offer.
UPDATE: Broken link fixed. D’OH!
My appearance on Charles Heller’s America Armed and Free is now posted on his site, and I’ve copied it to The Internet Archive for (hopefully) permanent access.
I didn’t do too badly, but there’s definitely a reason I prefer the written word. It’s much easier to get that witty, brilliant point across when you have ten minutes to think about it, rather than having to respond extemporaneously.
The most interesting thing about the show? The call in by Phil (Phil R., I think) who called in from Oxford, England to report on the English gun culture. Too cool!
A Face for Radio, a Voice for Print
Just a reminder, I will be on local radio tomorrow afternoon, 1:00PM Mountain Standard Time on Charles Heller’s “America Armed and Free” show, KVOI 690AM. The show will also be streamed live at http://kvoi.com/listenlive.php.
We’ll be discussing blogging and gun rights.
Here’s hoping I don’t embarrass myself.
RKBA Event Announcement
Do you live in North Carolina? (I used to.) A group of gun rights supporters will be holding a gathering on the afternoon of February 4 from 2-6PM in front of the legislature building in Raleigh. (I used to live in a suburb of Raleigh.) From their information page:
Join with hundreds of fellow Americans, peaceably assembled to seek a redress of grievances from government officials who are not respecting our Constitutional Civil Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
As American citizens, We have a responsibility to protect and preserve ALL of the rights, freedoms and protections guaranteed ALL Americans by the Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments. These are our Constitutional civil rights and liberties, they are a birth right of ALL Americans extended to all naturalized citizens.
Call them Constitutional Rights, Civil Rights or Civil Liberties they are one and the same and mean as much to tens of millions of gun owners, conservatives and Constitutionalists as do other Civil Rights to other groups of people.
And, though I’m sure they’ll be seen as sell-outs by some, they understand that frightening the (*ahem*) is counterproductive:
Rules of Engagement
In order to maintain compliance with applicable regulations, some “Rules of Engagement” will be in effect.1 – Firearms: No firearms will be present, concealed or otherwise.
2 – Dress code: No paramilitary style clothing, no uniforms, no hunting gear. Dress normally. Remember that the media usually tries to portray pro-gun advocates as dangerous kooks. Don’t give them anything to work with.
3 – Signage: Some signs will be made available, but you are welcome to bring your own. Keep them clean – you know what I mean. I have no intentions of having signs printed or manufactured. Hand made signs are more effective and personal. So the number of signs available will depend on how many I can personally make in the time available. I will have blank posters and markers/pens for anyone who wishes to make their sign on location. Verbage can be stern and blunt but not provocative. Again, remember the media will be looking for something to highlite on their reports that reinforce the bigotry against gun owners.
4 – Flags: American flags are always appropriate so bring them large and small. Gadsden flags are also appropriate. Do not bring any others. Do not bring any American flags that have been descecrated with symbols, words or imagery. American flags will be flown right-side-up.
5 – Press Spokesman We will have at least one designated press spokesman present. I ask that no one speak with media reporters but to refer them to the spokesman. Once again, dont give media the opportunity to use you and your words in a negative manner.
I wish them all the luck in the world. There’s a lot more at the site, so I recommend you spend some time there and perhaps consider setting up one of these things if you live in the capital city of your particular state.
This was brought to my attention by one of the organizers, Bubba of What Bubba Knows – one of the few really good aggregator sites out there, and one that has sent me a ton of hits over the last couple of years. Help him spread the word.