I guess this has been around a while, but I just saw it: David Codrea’s Physician Liability Form. Print this out and hand it to any boundary-violating doctor who tries to poke into your gun ownership!
I found that via Kurt Hofmann who delivers a hearty smackdown to Mike the anti-gun “Gun Guy.” Anti-gun Mike’s latest BS is that the doesn’t think disabled people should be “allowed” to defend themselves.
Speaking of people who want to determine what’s good for you, the push to data-mine more of our health info is getting stronger and creepier.
Larry Page of the increasingly Don’t Be Evil Google thinks he could save “100,000 lives” a year if we’d all just trust him more. This is the same Google that’s basically an arm of the NSA. The same Google that just announced plans to ban all “dangerous” advertising. Which (she sighs with weary resignation) of course includes ads for you-know-what.
Oh yes, and it’s the same Google whose already-creepy surveillance products can be hacked so pathetically easily that real hackers wouldn’t even consider it a challenge.
But that ain’t nothin’, folks. Ain’t nothin’. You want to see real fanboy worship of Total Control Through Technology (TM)? Read this Economist article on birth-to-death e-ID. Wow. Such glowing. Much foolish. (Doge meme for anyone who thinks I’ve just lost all sense of grammar.)
The federal no-fly list is unconstitutional. So says a judge. Not (apparently) because the fedgov is arbitrarily and secretly denying people their right to travel, but because it’s not offering a good enough appeals process for arguing our way off. Don’t expect much to change.
Gadzooks, it appears that the pampered darling Chelsea Clinton is even more out-of-touch than Mommy C. (Via Never Yet Melted)
Church knowingly hires registered sex offender (pedophile) as pastor. The predictable happens. But I suppose you could say this dude was a step above their previous pastor. Or … um, maybe not.
The security state as a bumbling giant. Gads, I love you, Borepatch. Love that bit of coding you blogged about, too.
Happiness is being a loser. Well, maybe not exactly. But this 2012 article nails how I perceive matters. I know positive thinking works for natural-born positive thinkers. But those of us who were born to see the glass as half empty have reasons — and a certain wisdom. Trying to force optimism has never done anything but make me grumpy from disappointment.
If you’re wondering when part II of my “observations on being obsolete” piece might be coming along — fear not. I’m working on it. it’s just that I’m also deadlining on three articles, too. So a little more patience.
I hope Tesla’s recent bold move of open-sourcing its patents pays off. History and a good guess says it’s likely to greatly benefit the electric vehicle industry as a whole, but not Tesla, specifically.
I know, I know. Don’t remind me. I’m in de-stuffing mode. Just moments ago, it seems, I wrote about how burdened I feel by all my excess stuff — how utterly, urgently, madly desperate I am to rid myself of clutter. Oh, poor, poor, poor pitiful me!
Yes, yes, I know I claim to crave some zen-like purity and simplicity of thought and environment.
Still.
Some thrift-store items truly are like pound puppies, practically whining and giving that big, sad-eye “Oh, please take me home ’cause I need you so badly!” look. To wit:
You have to understand. It’s not the trayness of this tray that made me have to give it a home this afternoon. It’s the story.
Bloomberg’s (now-former) head anti-gun honcho blames victim disarmament failures on Obamacare and Edward Snowden. And admits that none of his efforts could have stopped a mass shooting, in any case.
It seems that shooting helpless dogs is no longer enough. It’s apparently more good, sadistic fun to cut their throats. Can you even imagine? (Via David Codrea)
Ten tricks to make your life better today. (James Altucher does this stuff better than anybody.)
“I Love My Guns.” JPFO reprints a “recent classic” from MamaLiberty. Nice going, Susan.
That fascinating musical group Ok Go (they of the mind-bendingly geeky videos and the slightly forgettable music) have done it again. They’ve released their first new video in several years. Despite its sad dearth of dogs, this maze of optical illusions done in their standard one-shot (or so they make it appear) technique is still pretty awesome.
Okay — show of hands. How many of you believe the IRS “accidentally” lost two years of Lois Lerner’s emails? Sharyl Attkisson offers a list of very specific questions Congress should be asking.
The middle class is even more screwed than the numbers show.
Could the mythical cancer wonder drug be on the horizon, or is this just another typical bit of overhype? Concept seems good: turn your own immune system against the cancerous invader.
Hm. So how do I get an order to prevent Feinstein’s body guards from buying or possessing guns? Clearly they must be dangerous loons to work for a person like that.
What’s lost as cursive handwriting goes away? Intelligence … memory … turns out handwriting isn’t just some bugaboo in stuffy, old-fashioned teachers’ minds.
In Thailand, protestors salute with the touching gesture borrowed from The Hunger Games. The junta doesn’t like it.
Hm. I dunno. I guess if you’re too busy, have the bux, and don’t mind your dog pigging out on treats, this could assuage your guilt. Frankly, though, if I had the money and no time, I’d go with an automated fetch machine, instead. Keep ‘em lean and well-exercised. (H/T ML)
If you held out some tiny hope that Obama might not be as complete an economic moron as you thought him to be, read this and Lasciate ogni speranza. Yes, a raft of new federal controls will make energy cheaper!
Speaking of economic moronism: Under the inspiration of a Socialist city council member and waves and waves of trendy blueness, Seattle gone went and done it — raised the city’s minimum wage to $15/hour. For a while they may be saved by all the ifs, ands, and butts they included.
And on the other side of governmental asininity: Court official in Virginia refuses to perform a marriage because the couple aren’t Christians and therefore have no right to get married.
But wait! Governments have no monopoly on idiocy. Seems that hurricanes with female names kill more people, and it may be because people don’t think “girly” hurricanes are as dangerous, and therefore don’t flee or take as many precautions against them. (Oh, human beings, you are so very strange!)
Oh man. I didn’t realize that the latest baby-burning cops were also the preacher-killing cops from a few years back. I just love how the sheriff dismisses all this with, “Bad things can happen. That’s just the world we live in.” A fine statement from the guy who’s making the bad things happen. Tear ‘em a new one, Mr. Grigg.
This one’s already gotten around a lot, but what the heck. It deserves all the attention. Bloomberg’s “Moms” demand action at a Tulsa Chipotle — and they get it. :-)
Not so funny: Bovard on the “soft racism” of setting lower expectations for minorities in the classroom. Ugh.
Heck, if they were going to ban the poster, it should have been for stupid gun handling, not the shadow of a nipple. (Mildly NSFW.)
Suit says V.A. cops stomped on an old vet’s head because he was tired of waiting for treatment. Well, that’s one way to get rid of pesky, resource-consuming patients. You don’t even have to take the time for “death panels.”
