Dysfunctional families come in all shapes, sizes, and all manner of chaos. But they all have one thing in common: When some truthteller finally gets fed up enough to name the core problem (whether it be Daddy’s drinking or Mom’s kleptomania or Auntie’s chronic lying or all of the above) — the entire clan will turn on the hapless truthteller, en masse, and blame that person for causing the problem. A long-ago neighbor woman once came to my house raging because her husband had been caught committing incest with their daughter and her teenage son had been accused of molesting…
14 CommentsMonth: October 2010
I’ve yielded to all the commenters who said I should go ahead and paint my old 1950s kitchen cabinets rather than labor to strip them to bare veneer and varnish them. (See, now if I don’t like the result, it’s your fault.) As I contemplate what colors might go interestingly with pink sparkly formica countertops and faux copper, it occurs to me that the 1950s simply weren’t about good taste. In fact, the whole era was all the more tasteless because it envisioned itself as being so very, very tasteful. Young householders who’d trudged their way through the drear of…
14 CommentsJoel is right, of course. And as Kevin Wilmeth notes, the way he says it is sheer poetry. Self defense isn’t ever about the Second Amendment. It’s about being a mature, self-responsible creature. On the other hand, when you’re a mature, self-responsible, sapient creature living in a land of laws (even if it’s no longer a land that has much use for the rule of law), the Second Amendment is one potential self-defense tool. Especially if you’ve already been captured by the state. I know. All this goes back to the endless old anarchist/minarchist debate among libertarians and OMG, let’s…
3 CommentsYesterday I posted that there were only 12 more of the two-book specials available. Figured it would take a few days to work through all those. Yikes. Eight orders so far this morning for the two-book deal. Four left. I’ll keep offering other specials. But looks as if this one will be over by the end of the day today, or early tomorrow morning at the latest. Sorry. But also THANK YOU. Four … Three … Two (as of 1:00 p.m. PST) … One (as of 3:30 p.m. PST) … Zero! You can still buy the two books together, but…
5 CommentsA trial court judge decides a concealed carry case on constitutional grounds. Sure, it’s just a little ripple, currently disturbing only a very small pond in Wisconsin. But this could get interesting. Anyhow, it’s an amazing thing these days to see any trial court even allow the constitution to be mentioned, let alone to honor the Bill of Rights. How many earnest pro se defendants are in prison now because they naively believed they could raise the Second Amendment as a defense — only to have their entire defense pitched out? Hollis Wayne Fincher comes to mind (he’s the subject…
4 CommentsRandom musings … You might remember (and possibly even care!) that I’ve been sanding cabinets in hopes of returning my kitchen to its 1950s splendor. You guys have been more than helpful with advice. It was so good I even took most of it! Today’s been dry and sunny, so I spent the afternoon outside with cabinet doors, paint stripper, and an orbital sander. Pleasant work in pleasant conditions. But I got depressingly little done, and when I look at the acres of cabinets left to do, I quail (and perhaps even mallard and condor). So I had a bloody…
24 CommentsI haven’t done more than blog a mention of the Cheyenne Irish case because facts seemed too thin. But obviously it was malicious and outrageous to cite the parents’ involvement with Oath Keepers as one reason to grab the newborn. That was just plain creepy. Well, after a rousing few days on the Internet and an eloquent response from Oath Keepers, baby Cheyenne is home. Thank you, -T for the word and the link to this good (if sometimes acrimonious) discussion. Will Grigg as usual, has some tragically good things to say about this case and similar ones. What were…
3 CommentsThe Chilean miners’ story will no doubt become more amazing as details emerge of how they survived and organized themselves underground, particularly in those first weeks when they had scant hope of rescue. But here’s a freedomista angle the mainstream media doesn’t seem eager to cover. (Discoveries of multiple mistresses battling startled wives are much more titillating.) You know how I sometimes like to link to “footnote people”? Well, how about a footnote building? And photos of it (pdf). It seems that some scammed investors didn’t notice (or thought it was an innocent error) that the oil-boom skyscraper was to…
7 CommentsI know. Bread isn’t exactly the No. 1 item on a primal diet. In fact, its not anywhere on a primal diet. But once in a while even a caveperson needs a ham & swiss on rye. That’s a simple fact of life. So there I was in this town’s mini-supermart — which is a neat little store, but definitely little — scanning the bread rack. The first (and for a while only) rye bread my eyes lighted on cost six bucks. Ack! It was an interesting, even funky, unknown brand. All organic and containing nothing but Actual Ingredients. Still…
10 CommentsGroan. Time magazine is going hysterical on its cover — again. And it’s about militias. Again. Jesse Walker shreds ’em. Dropped into the comments section by Philalethes, but far too funny to be buried there: The Mortgage Bankers Association, which rails against strategic defaults … strategically defailts. (Video.) “I can afford higher taxes. But they’ll make me work less.” Hm. Ya don’t say. (Actually, there’s some pretty good analysis here that makes the impact of taxes on high-income people look even more painful than we already know.) “Abolish drunk driving laws!” Sez Radley Balko. Per Pat, the indestructable Happy Meal.…
14 Comments