“Survival Mom” Lisa Bedford had a dream about that, then asked a bunch of knowledgeable people for their $.02 on when it’s time to get out of Dodge. Balloon going up part 1. Balloon going up part 2.
18 CommentsMonth: June 2013
Well, look at that. Here all these years you thought Microsoft products were just buggy. But where the NSA and MS are concerned, those aren’t bugs; they’re features. (H/T H) New: Prism-Break.org. Products to use instead of the Usual Suspects.* One of those is StartPage, of course. And while you’re in the position of having to take their word for it, this is a pretty good statement of principle. Why skipping college could be a good idea. And UnCollege.org. Jim Bovard (that is, Mr. Bovard, according to the WSJ bio; have I been too informal all these years?) on the…
3 CommentsIt’s starting to feel as if “20,000 at the bottom of the sea” isn’t even a good beginning.* A requirement of the 2008 law is that the NSA “may not intentionally target any person known at the time of acquisition to be located in the United States.” A possible interpretation of that language, some legal experts said, is that the agency may vacuum up everything it can domestically — on the theory that indiscriminate data acquisition was not intended to “target” a specific American citizen. NSA admits pretty much the whole shebang. Filthy, lying, spying, Orwellian, totalitarian, anti-Bill of Rights…
22 CommentsJust because Shel brought it up in comments and it’s always been a great song. Source for those who can’t see the embed. Yeah, the video’s a little “1980s” now. But still … —– ADDED: I suppose it’s a plus (although a pretty weird one) that this song has been banned on the BBC for many years “…due to its address of war, nationalism and religion, as well as a direct reference to weaponry in the line, ‘There’s a gun and ammunition just inside the doorway.’” Geez, I knew the Brits had gotten lily-livered in the last few decades (no…
15 CommentsI’m not going to trumpet, “You did it!” or anything like that. But Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval vetoed the notorious bill, SB221. It would have, among other things, have imposed de-facto gun registration and created thousands of new “criminals.” Worse, though, it would likely have become a model for other states. Sandoval intended all along to veto it, I’m sure. The interesting thing was that he set up a call-in hotline to allow anyone, anywhere to v*te for or against a veto. Billionaire Bloomberg tried to rally his (ahem) grassroots anti-gunners while gun groups and the gunblogosphere rallied the real…
6 CommentsOne of the problems with reviewing a cookbook is that to do it properly you have to try at least a few of its recipes. That’s why I’m late to the party reviewing The Prepper’s Cookbook by Tess Pennington whose ReadyNutrition.com is rightly beloved among preparedness devotees. When her publisher, Ulysses Press, sent the cookbook … oh, back in April, I think … it sure looked like a great (and even fun) resource. But I had to try a few dishes to be sure. Having done that, I can say it cooks as good as it looks. —– The full…
3 Comments(Source And big H/T to WL.) —– I’ve been trying to figure out the worst thing about the NSA revelations and it’s been hard to put my finger on that. It’s not the loss of privacy. I hate that. I really, really hate that and I assume that everybody with a brain hates that. But it’s Not News. It’s not the destruction of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Again: hate, hate, hate — but Not News. It’s not the lies or the preposterous Hollywood scenarios the securitators are cooking up to obfuscate the fact that they’re spying on…
20 CommentsWhat with the cascading chaos of IRS-gate, Snoop-on-the-media-gate, Benghazi-gate, and now the whopper of them all, NSA-gate, perhaps you were worried that Your Beloved Leaders might be too distracted to function. But never fear, Dear Citizens! Your Public Servants remain fully dedicated, on the job, and as always, Devoted to their Sacred Responsibilities to We the People. And lest you have any lingering doubt about that …* —– * Anyone with lingering doubts about government can be expected to be discovered by the ever-helpful algorithms of the NSA and aided toward a better future by the FBI, DHS, ATF, and…
9 CommentsJust in case you were wondering — you know, for future use and all — at least two publications have recently weighed in on the best places to seek asylum from the U.S. government. Business Insider has a list. But then, they would. They’re a bit (a bit!) sensationalistic and love to come up with pictorial twists on things in the news. Really surprised me, though when the staid old National Geographic came up with such a list. Some crossover, some differences, in their choices. Did you ever think you’d see the day when seeking asylum or “defecting” from the…
1 CommentThis is Mercy, formerly named Trouble. I wasn’t going to foster again, but I armtwisted myself into this one. Although two rescue groups, furrydoc, and her staff have already gone several extra miles for her in the last couple of weeks, she’s a little hard case who needs all the help she can get. How to count her disadvantages? * Pitbull * About 10 years old * Overbred * Deaf (or nearly so) * Not housebroken * Suffering antibiotic-resistant skin sores (though fortunately furrydoc, who’s very good at such things, persuaded a local pharmacy to donate meds that appear to…
28 Comments