I've always considered XKCD to be apolitical. The alt text to this comic though appears to be a jab at the Teleprompter Jesus.
Maybe it's just my politics coloring my judgment though.
Update – After reading it again, it's my political preferences coloring what I see. Knowing the author, he's more concerned about the failures of the process than Obama getting a shiny medal.
This is always something that's hard for me to discuss in public because so many people are unable to segregate my personal feelings from my political views.
I'm not gay. Never have been, don't think I'll ever really develop a hankerin' for trouser sausage. Many years ago, I was fairly homophobic. Didn't want to be around gays, didn't want them sashaying their gayness all over the place, didn't want them serving along side me in the Marine Corps (dear President Obama. It's pronounced mah-REEN core, not corpse. Just a hint in case you ever need to speak about those icky military branches). I was quite happy with gays staying in the closet.
When I started working in Corporate America, I started working with many open homosexuals. Now this is anecdotal to be sure, but the vast majority of the gays I've personally known have been of the flaming, in your face, I'M QUEER AND I'M HERE GET USED TO IT BREEDER!!!, kind. Exactly the thing I was against all those years ago.
The problem was it wasn't all of them. In fact, I worked with many people who it took years to realize they were gay. Then it dawned on me that the loud ones probably weren't the vast majority, just the most prominent.
As I continued to mature, I began to realize that my own personal prejudices were just that – my own. And as I've become politically awake, I've realized it behooves me to not consider my own personal shortcomings as something to inflict on the rest of society.
In the Marine Corps, we knew there were gays with us. 99% of them were women and there was this one guy who everyone just assumed putted from the other side of the green. It creeped me out that he showered with us, but I got over that fast enough (I had a job to do and that was more important).
The people in the Corps today are generally not the same ones I served with. Today's Marine is more likely to not be as uptight about the gay cooties as I was. And as liberty minded as I am now, I see no reason to not allow gays to openly serve their country. Will it make some people uncomfortable? Sure. And my response is "Fuck 'em". I've learned that discomfort is not a valid reason to trample other people's rights.
I'm still not into the gay thing. It's not my particular bag of tea and I'm just as happy to not immerse myself in that culture. But I have no desire to eradicate that culture or to pass laws that makes people who are different than I am second class citizens. I won't join the Pink Pistols, but I'll be damned if I wouldn't stand side by side with a feather boa wearing drag queen to protect their rights.
It's time to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell.
There is no justice in breaking the law to ensure a conviction. Gene Weingarten tells his tale of police misconduct in the courtroom
Last week I was a juror in the trial of a man accused of selling a $10 bag of heroin to an undercover police officer. At the end of the two days of testimony, I concluded that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. I also concluded that he should be acquitted.
Read the whole thing for all the details, but rest assured I would have been right there with him in agreement.
The drug war is a failure of epic proportions. The assault on our freedoms has not deterred the drug trade and has only made our society poorer than if we simply worked on education and treatment. Alas, the need to convict someone over $10 has turned our police force against us. As Gene says
I think a police officer willing to cheat is more dangerous than a two-bit drug peddler.
I think he's right.
Before I hurt my neck, I was on the treadmill on a fairly regular basis. I had managed to get a 3 mile run (with 1/4 mile warm up walk and a 1/4 mile cool down walk added on) without thinking I was going to keel over and die.
Stopped doing it after my shoulder started hurting out of fear of damaging it. Then I found out it was my neck, and never got back on the damned thing.
I did tonight. And a mile just about killed me.
I'm also starting simple exercises like push ups and crunches. I don't need to buff up, but my body is starting to look like the 40 year old I'll be in short notice. It's too damned easy to fall into a funk where you simply stop exercising, especially when you have a family and whatnot. But those are just excuses.
Besides, when they finally get around to doing the beefcake "Gun Blogger Guys" photo calendar, I want to look damned good for the October spread.
I can't get to the link over at GunPundit, so I'm going to have to base my perception on what Murdoc has posted. This is a comment about Open Carry in Michigan
bewise wrote: I think only police, FBI, CIA, and whoever has to deal with secret documents or big amount of money, should be armed, and no body else. The reason I say that is based on a personal experience in Europe. I could have killed someone who kept half of the money from my job that he liked a lot, but saying that he was very short in money. We had not made a written contract, so he was taking advantage of that. He owned me 8,500 Euros. Over the hot debate I could have sent him to meet with Saint Peter, and I would have spent the rest of my life in jail. I know that you will bring me thousands of counter arguments, but still, I will not be convinced.
I want to focus on two parts here. First
Over the hot debate I could have sent him to meet with Saint Peter, and I would have spent the rest of my life in jail.
This is nothing but tough guy, Internet chest puffing. It is generally difficult for humans to kill another human. There is an instinct in all of us that keeps us from doing this wantonly and it's based on survival. This is why we train soldiers, to overcome the natural aversion to killing our own kind. It's part of why we stress the enemy as being less than human, as being the 'other'.
Now, people can get angry enough to override their good judgment. That's why we have 'crimes of passion'. However, in most arguments, you may find yourself saying things you don't really mean, but to act upon actually murdering someone is beyond most people's ability. A gun doesn't change that equation.
If Mr. Tough Guy is serious about what he said, then he already belongs in jail as he is a danger to society at large.
Second part
I know that you will bring me thousands of counter arguments, but still, I will not be convinced.
He admits that people may be able to come up with overwhelming amounts of facts, but he has already decided to not listen to any of them and disregard any opinion that runs counter to his point.
Here is a 'man' who beats bases his desire to infringe on everyone's rights based on a lie he is well aware of and intentionally refuses to change his mind based on any facts that might be presented.
Let that sink in for a minute.
If you really want to kill a lot of people you'll find a way
A BUS dispatcher in northern China killed nine people and injured 11 others when he hijacked a company vehicle after a feud with his boss. The man, surnamed Zhang, got into a fight with his boss and injured him with a dagger before stealing the bus and driving away into the streets of the city of Tianjin, the official Xinhua news agency said. The 40-year-old motored through the streets, ramming into people and killing nine bystanders, the report said.
A BUS dispatcher in northern China killed nine people and injured 11 others when he hijacked a company vehicle after a feud with his boss.
The man, surnamed Zhang, got into a fight with his boss and injured him with a dagger before stealing the bus and driving away into the streets of the city of Tianjin, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The 40-year-old motored through the streets, ramming into people and killing nine bystanders, the report said.
Luckily, the guy didn't have a gun or he could have killed someone.
Ry
Can’t do the math here (on bus), but someone claims that the lifetime of a barrel is 4 or 5 seconds – the bullet in contact for a fraction of a second with each shot, and 10k shots or so. Higher-end barrels last a shorter time, of course.
Maths are hard, but I did some basic calculations. Granted, muzzle velocity is not constant through a barrel, it's kind of interesting to think of how long the bullet stays in contact with the metal.
Looking at standard .223 mv's, considering a 20" barrel
3,200 fps = 38,400 inches per second. 20" of barrel contacts the metal for .00052083 seconds. 10,000 rounds = 5.2083 seconds.
I'm sure I forgot to carry the two somewhere, but that's pretty damned interesting.
California Pizza Kitchen decided to not allow open carrying in their restaurants. A group has decided to boycott them. Some people find the boycott silly.
So far, I like the blog in the link above. It's got a pretty good mix of politics with a bit more of a left leaning flavor. Generally, the comments have been more discussion than poo flinging. Feel free to drop in join in the conversation.
Vicious Circle #37 is up with alan, JayG, aepilot Jim, Stingray & Labrat, and myself.
Fun times with Beer Nuts and pickles in ZipLoc bags.
Not really. I'm just whoring for hits and apparently, iPad (look for the smaller iTampon soon) is the way to do it.