Brainwashing Our Youth…

So while writing a blog earlier Stardock decided to throw up an ad. 

AwesomeGame1

Now we can train your kids that road blocks and searching your vehicles are normal.  This is definitely a game I would NOT buy.  Not only because it looks like the mechanics were crapped out by some high school coder, but the whole concept just bugs the crap out of me.  I understand the stopping smuggling, though legalization would help fix that problem wouldn’t it?  I understand preventing unlawful entry.  I’m fine with that, but the whole concept of making it a game just bugs me.  Not to mention this line from the description:

  • Outfit, arm and train your guards with top-of-the-line life-saving security.
  • That sentence just doesn’t make sense.  How do you outfit and arm someone with security?  What does bug me though is this game could easily be used to twist people into thinking that everything DHS comes up with is a good idea.  Such as making people think the TSA scanners will actually make us safer. 

    Though I must say this is probably better than say “Homeland Defense: TSA Agent”. Where you goals are to find out if little Tiffany is smuggling coke in her cooch. 

    Let No Good Crisis Go Wasted

    It took no time at all for the left and right to start dancing in the blood of those that died in the tragic events of yesterday.  Now that the initial blood dance is over, our fearless leaders are already figuring out how to get the most mileage from this tragedy.

    “My staff is working on looking at the different legislation fixes that we might be able to do and we might be able to introduce as early as tomorrow,” McCarthy told POLITICO in a Sunday afternoon phone interview.

    This is the same woman who informed all of us in the gun community a barrel shroud “is the shoulder thing that goes up”.

    It is despicable to take an even such as this and use it to your own political gains.  Even more despicable when your political agenda is the destruction of a specifically enumerated right.  This whole mess gets even better though.  Because while Ms. McCarthy attacks the Second Amendment, the Pima County Sheriff is attacking the First Amendment.

    “I think the vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from people in the radio business and some people in the TV business and what (we) see on TV and how our youngsters are being raised, that this has not become the nice United States of America that most of us grew up in. And I think it’s time that we do the soul-searching,” the sheriff said.

    Translation: If you are not broadcasting something that does not tote the party line, causes one to question what they have been told, or questions the authority of the government, it is counter to the public good and should be censored. 

    Both of these responses two the shooting are by no means surprising, especially Ms. McCarthy’s considering she danced in the blood on the day of the Virginia Tech Shootings.  On the contrary it was immediately what I expected when I first heard about the shooting.  Not only is it not surprising they have one strong corollary shared between the two, which goes to show their goals are not what they claim.  The Sherriff and Ms. McCarthy both blame various tools completely ignoring the responsibility of the individual himself.  As Rob Allen showed earlier today though, the choice of tools is actually irrelevantThe greatest weapon in the world is the human brain, for that is what actually does damage, without it a weapon will remain motionless and inactive.

    Quote of the Day–The Inconvenience: 01092011

    Says Obama, “What we do know is that such a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society.”

    -Well bub, if we lived in a free society you wouldn’t have to worry about this.

    [Everyone is dancing in the blood of that most traumatic event, even fearless leader.  The fact of the matter is, calling ourselves a free society because relative to the rest of the world we still are doesn’t make it so.  In a free society, the TSA, ATF, and DHS wouldn’t exist.  I would be free to purchase what ever I want as a law abiding citizen, and discharging a firearm with a suppressor wouldn’t result in Jail time.  Those little problems are just the tip of the ice berg.  -B]

    Red Light Cameras

    So reading through the blogosphere yesterday Uncle posted about someone getting 5 red light tickets, but they weren’t his.  I had meant at the time to do a blog post on the subject but never got around to it.  Uncle’s post gave me renewed vigor.

    Red light cameras strike a special nerve with me.  The arguments for their use are much like the arguments for gun control, it makes everyone safer.  The actual numbers from the field though show the complete opposite however, again, just like gun control.

    My mom got a red light ticket back home.  It was actually her vehicle in this instance.  A couple weeks later some friends of hers who live out of town called and asked about the same intersection.  The interesting thing though about these tickets is they were for turning right on red, which is legal at that intersection.

    As it is a sequence of still photographs as opposed to video, you can not defend yourself by showing you came to a complete stop.  You’re stuck paying the ticket.  Ahh, a ticket, maybe it is done for revenue.  Camera tickets are not reported to insurance companies or otherwise scored in your driving record.  It’s the equivalent of getting a parking ticket(California and Oregon excluded).  You are requested to pay this please for doing X, it’s a penance, except they’re charging people now a penance for something that is legal.  I voiced my displeasure by preaching to the choir and then it happened.  An article was posted in the town paper from where I grew up.  I read the article and damn near had an embolism from my blood pressure going through the roof.

    Those who question the program’s validity will admit that there does seem to be a relationship between the cameras and the safety of people. Unfortunately, some politicians and pundits are inserting a “but …” and making claims that just are not true.

    After my initial rage subsided I decided that I needed to bitch beyond the choir, to the no talent ass clowns politicians pushing this garbage.  After forwarding the article to “The Short Lady with the Grey Hair” she decided to send a letter as well.  Here is a copy of my letter for the internet to retain for all eternity.

    Mr. Lewis,
    There are some other issues you do not cover in your statement regarding photo enforcement at intersections.

    As the rates of people committing infractions drop, revenue decreases.  Revenue is needed to maintain and operate the cameras.  As that revenue drops either the cameras are no longer maintained, or things are done which produce false positives to create revenue.  In either case people are or can be falsely cited for infractions.  Examples of this are ticketing everyone who turns right on red even though it’s legal.  As it is only pictures, NOT video it is impossible to prove guilt using them, however in a court room the images are looked at as divine judgment of guilt.

    I will not argue that they can help decrease accidents, however accidents are caused by people blowing lights as through traffic.  Making a right hand turn on red is perfectly legal unless specific sings are in place to indicate otherwise.  However when I hear of different individuals getting a ticket for something perfectly legal at the same intersection is shows corruption and greed within the system.  It displays the real need for these cameras is to increase revenue.

    Mr. Lewis, the facts of how these cameras are used and operated, coupled with the difficulty in defending yourself from a ticket for a legal procedure indicates a gross abuse by the local government against it’s citizens as well as visitors.  I grew up in Auburn and remember it prior to it’s explosion to it’s current state.  There is a reason I now live in a town with not a single stop light.  However when I talk to friends and relatives who still remain in the area about getting a ticket for turning right on red, where there is no indication it is illegal to do so, it makes me disappointed to say I grew up in Auburn.  It makes it obvious that Auburn’s intention with the system is not to increase safety, but rather to increase revenue by false citations to the citizenry.  Eventually the locals will know not to turn right on red, but what about people from out of town visiting.  Couple that with the distance and you have a guaranteed payout.

    This is completely independent of the fact that the idea of red light and speeding cameras are grossly Orwellian in nature and indicate a subservience of the public to the state.  In our “free” republic, people are elected to represent the will of the public, not do as they wish.  When issues are brought up it is your duty as a public servant to address them.  That includes saying you made a mistake instead of continuing to push public policy to preserve your public image.  I would suggest finding a local scout organization and sitting through the “citizenship” merit badges.  The questions of efficacy in this instance I do not feel center around preventing accidents, but whether those who are ticketed have actually committed a crime.

    Sincerely,

    TMM

    I haven’t seen or heard a reply and I’m sure it was probably just tossed the garbage.  So instead it will be placed on the internet, for all to see and enjoy.  This will also provide another case for others who find themselves in the same predicament to use in support of their case when fighting a ticket ill gotten penance required by the force of government.

    State Department Changing Passport Applications

    Normally I wouldn’t care, however this for some reason has just rubbed something the wrong way. 

    “The words in the old form were ‘mother’ and ‘father,’” said Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services. “They are now ‘parent one’ and ‘parent two.’”

    I initially didn’t think much other than, “The economy is in the tank and they have nothing better to do.”  Then I talked to my mom and she pointed out something that I hadn’t considered. You are now placing numbers on individuals, number 1 and number 2, primary and secondary.  You now will be placing an importance on which parent is more significant.  As my mother said, “Most of the time the father will always come first.”  From the continuing conversation she felt it a slight towards women in the home and belittling them into second place.  While some families may have an environment which supports such a description, most do not, furthermore many will feel slighted by it.  Note my mom made that statement as one of her first complaints when I informed her of it, she made that connection in her mind with very little effort.

    This is by no means the end of the world, but I do dislike it because it is the further infection of political correctness for the sake of political correctness,  much like rewriting Tom Sawyer.

    Update: Side comment from “The Short Lady With the Grey Hair”: If anyone asks about your mother’s feminist standing, you can state that you were raised in a traditional two parent home with each parent holding the traditional roles. She does support many of the actions of feminism but resents the actions of any group that attempts to neutralize the roles that others play in society or the home. Feminists or homosexuals or transexualts or religious nuts. There are too many more important things to be worrying about. Wake up and smell both the coffee and the roses.

    The White Stuff on the Side of the Road…

    Is a freaking clue.  Today there was a 52 car pile up in Virginia, the cause, less than an inch of snow.  When temperatures are near freezing, when snow is falling, even if it appears that the roads may not be slick, ice can be there.  The wife rolled the explorer a year ago when it was 40 degrees out and it had rained the previous night.  Black ice has no mercy.  If you are driving in the white stuff, just because the speed limit says 65, doesn’t mean you should be doing 65.  I also learned this the hard way, though I wasn’t even trying to do the speed limit in my incident.

    Internet ID

    Since our fearless leaders couldn’t pass the National ID bull crap.  Instead they feel that they can back door it.

    It’s “the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government” to centralize efforts toward creating an “identity ecosystem” for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said.

    So, the government should centralize the Identification system.  Then they say this though:

    “We are not talking about a national ID card,” Locke said at the Stanford event. “We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities.”

    How can you have a centralized Digital ID system without some sort of national ID if it’s all controlled by the government?  This idea violates the Jews in the Attic test and should be promptly dismissed.

    Time for a new M1?

    I saw on the blog roll last night from Lyle over at Joe’s place that there is finally an M1 Garand UltiMAK rail.  I was ready to start jumping up and down for joy and then the reality set in.  I love my M1, I love it so much I do NOT want to change it.  It was manufactured January of 1944 and the stocks appear to be original. 

    The thing is I do shoot that M1, I pull it out for CMP, and I do enjoy having a rifle around with iron sights to practice with.  I would definitely shoot the M1 more if I put a rail on there, I just can’t bring myself to alter a piece of history.  I guess it’s time to add another to the collection.