- John Silveira’s famous Backwoods Home classified ad continues to live on 18 years later. It’s already become an indie movie and helped launch a director’s burgeoning career. (H/T DD)
- Kentucky Authoritahs grab 10 kids, apparently just because they’re unschooled and live off grid. Hearing today. Wish this family good fortune.
- So lessee. Reading to your kids is about the best way in the world to give them a head start. Better than fancy private schools. Which means that the proper response is … quit doing it and maybe even eliminate families. Huh? “Harrison Bergeron” indeed. I’ve just added a new blog category, “Cultural insanity,” to cover this sort of thing.
- Along the same lines, why assume poor kids must all be art deprived?
- I usually admire Bob Owens, but when I read his L.A. Times op-ed blaming Glocks for the way cops handle them (badly), my jaw dropped. My reaction was the same as Firehand’s. Blame the gun because the shooter ignores the basic rules of firearm safely? Isn’t that straight from the playbook of Bloomberg and his Meddling Mommies?
- There’s a new, gold-backed cryptocurrency in town: The Hayek, courtesy of Anthem Blanchard. Anthem Hayek Blanchard, in fact. Freedomista-born, you think? It’s actually been in the works a while but is just getting more mainstream notice. Hope it does better than egold.
- Let people think that shelter mutts are pricey petstore pooches and they’ll fall in love. (H/T SC)
- Per jed in comments: The Oatmeal on if my dogs were middle-aged men. Oooookayyyyy …
Re Kentucky –
Like so many ‘agency’ actions lately, apparently there were no charges filed (an alleged violation is all I could find in the article) yet the kids have been kidnapped by officials and placed (split up of course) in foster homes.
Just one more example of pig-brained bureaucrats attacking anyone who wanders off the designated path for all.
Reading to my kids –
I started reading to my girls before they were two. They were learning to read by the time they were 3. (Thanks to a great book called ‘See The Bee’.)
In elementary school they had high school reading levels.
But only a pure Pinko could suggest I harmed (“disadvantage”) someone else’s kid by reading to mine. I’m responsible for helping mine to reach their potentials, but I took zero potential from any other kid. It’s just not my fault those other parents don’t give a shit about if their kids grow up stupid merely from lack of mental stimulation. You would have to patently stupid yourself to think like that.
The middle aged dog-men was the best laugh I’ve had in weeks. I had tears in my eyes. Thanks for sharing.
“I took zero potential from any other kid …. You would have to patently stupid yourself to think like that.”
Patently stupid or deliberately destructive. I agree. The idea that everyone should be held to the lowest level is terrifying. If I thought it was just one nutball’s idea, I’d ignore it. What’s terrifying is the evidence that this kind of thinking is growing — and growing in places where it can be influential.
Good for you and your girls. God help the kids of the future.
That’s funny about John’s ad. It’s so strange to see what memes have staying power among the humans, and how creative people like to run with them. I hadn’t encountered that one, but I’m a great fan of all the “Hitler reacts” videos. BTW here is a site, “Know Your Meme”:
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/downfall-hitler-reacts
That story about the Child Kidnapping Services in Kentucky makes my blood boil. This is one of those lines in the sand we were talking about earlier. If fathers are worth a damn, they will go to war over this (perhaps first trying to get their kids back other ways first). I had read of two cases in Massachusetts where the fathers killed the social workers who stole their kids. The more that happens, the less kidnapping there will be.
I’m less worried about the inequality police. Statists have been trying to force people into government schools ever since Pierce v. Society of Sisters (brought to us courtesy of the Ku Klux Klan) and people have resisted since then. No, homeschooling is not going away, nor is private schooling. And people won’t stop reading to their kids, sheesh.
I’m no fan of Bob Owens.
[As opposed to storing coins and bars at home… we offer clients professional-grade storage in Salt Lake City and 100% insurance through Lloyd’s of London against any loss by natural disaster or theft at very competitive storage rates.]
This is madness after the 1mdc/e-gold fiasco (one in which I personally had a fair amount of money stolen). If there is anything we have learned, gold should not be stored in the USA, other than small personal caches.
I see the problem with physical gold to be a simple one. The person who has possesion of the gold ultimately owns that gold. If you can’t get it when you want or need it, the gold is not yours. If you can’t redeem your scrip for a piece of gold you aren’t much better off than with fiat money. I believe in the long run a small hoard of coins, jewelry and raw gold will hold better than gold in someone else’s safe.
Great article on “Safety Not Guaranteed.” I’ve been meaning to see the movie; I’ll have to search it out. Thanks for the reminder.
Regarding the family in Kentucky, I have to admit when I do tell people we homeschool, I NEVER tell them what we really do is unschool. It can be wearying to always weigh every interaction with the neighbors against “anonymous” tips about my kids being around the house or at the park or the grocery store during the day. But they also see building materials going in but not inspectors, so….. The price of living free. 🙂
Part of that unschooling is reading to the kids and making sure they can read. Even though the oldest is 14, we all still get together for “story time” before bed. With three, one didn’t care to learn to read until he was almost nine. When he was ready he picked it up right away because he wanted to. In any case, if someone else doesn’t take the time to be a parent that couldn’t be less my doing, so rather than think about that even a little bon, I’m just going to think anyone who says it is an idiot and move on.
I applaud Bob Owens for his involvement with Project Appleseed but he lost me with his spittle flecked rants against open carry.
Don’t read the oatmeal anymore fstance author’s more general antigun stance.
I know what you mean Alan. However I just went ahead anyway talking about unschooling, even to a neighbor who worked for the school district (“Fools rush in…”). Still no bad thing happened. Maybe it was because her husband knew I was a shooter, or maybe she heard me practicing my shooting skills from time to time, in the gully behind my house. I also occasionally had mentioned on the homeschooling list (certainly monitored by bureaucrats) that I wouldn’t tolerate anyone messing with my family. Perhaps I just had good luck with my choice of neighbors, heh, or maybe most government employees are cowards. Or maybe nobody was paying attention to what I say! 🙂 But we weren’t living in a shack like those Kentucky folks, that’s always a factor too. Those in government always figure they can get away with tormenting the poor and the marginal.
I was initially a fan of Bob Owens. Gave up on that PDQ upon reading his commentary on the Dorner affair.
Couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve encountered Silviera’s ad. Always good for a chuckle.
“One of our neighbors was a fireman, and he of course supported every tax hike for fire “protection” when he was still “working”. After he retired, he admitted to my other neighbor, his close friend, how maybe they were asking too much after all!”
I suspect that’s what this retired cop is doing. It amazes me how many ex-elites “get religion” AFTER they leave the nice cushy jobs! From fed level down to the local house inspector, they whine, give interviews, and write books (and shake their fists at town meetings; I heard one told to sit down and shut up, he had no room to complain, he caused the problem in the first place) when they become ‘private citizens.’
As for the increased taxes, it won’t be just the neighbor that raises them. It takes only a small idea for momentum to take hold. One new business, one ‘liberal’ pissant who yells louder than the others, one fastidious person with a clean-up agenda to start the ball rolling – and soon the whole town sees gift shops, art shows, tourists, *and dollar signs* in their coffee. I’ve lived in two towns that were taken over like this, riding in on a wave of “improvement” – and it grows like Topsy.
Laird — If you like indies, Safety Not Guaranteed is a pretty good one. It’s low-budget and unassuming, but charmingly weird.
Seems to have given a boost to a number of careers, too: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass (a face we see everywhere even if we’re not sure of his name), and above all director Colin Trevorrow, who is about to hit the big time if Jurassic World is a success at the box office.
On the homeschooled children-the local news gave the reason as “no running water” as to why those children were taken into custody. As if outhouses and wells are all that uncommon in rural areas-especially the eastern part of the state. Off grid houses are becoming more and more common as well-cheaper than stringing wires to remote areas.
Homeschooling isn’t illegal-though vaccinations maybe required by the state. I’m not sure on that point. Sounds like a grudge thing by a nasty neighbor, to me, more than concern for the children.
I learned to read when I was 4. Why? So I’d know what Iron Man was saying in the comic books I was given..I bugged my Mom and Dad to teach me to read. I was taught by my parents to read-“learning aids” were Little Golden Books, comic books,billboards, road signs and car names ( while walking through a parking lot, my Dad would point at a car and ask “What’s the name of that car?”). Little expense involved, but no doubt plenty of time and thought went into it.
My Dad taught me to read a road atlas at 6-because I asked how. I recall these “everyday” learning sessions as a lot of fun-whether it was identifying a fish I caught, or learning how to set the gap on the lawnmower’s sparkplug. Teaching went on all the time….
I cannot comprehend how stupid Bob Owens has shown himself to be. As an owner of Glock pistols for many years, I have never had an AD or ND because I scrupulously follow safe practices. Mr. Owens also seems to not know that the first pull of a Glock trigger is a long one. The “short pull” that he complains about only becomes active after the first shot is fired. The 20% of cops that he says have ND or AD incidents are obviously incompetent and should have had their badge and gun removed immediately and told to seek another line of work. Mr. Owens also needs to hang up his “gun writing” hat and seek another line of work as he has shown himself to be a complete idiot.
i’mtypingasfastasicanbeforethatladygetsknockedupagain.
apparently they couldn’t find a picture of her not pregnant?
Mr. Owens also seems to not know that the first pull of a Glock trigger is a long one. The “short pull” that he complains about only becomes active after the first shot is fired.
Cite?
The pull on my G-30 is more than my Colt GM, less than my S&W 19. But it’s consistent.
“i’mtypingasfastasicanbeforethatladygetsknockedupagain.
apparently they couldn’t find a picture of her not pregnant?”
Barefoot and pregnant, you know.
I don’t condone stealing kids in the name of “child protection” – but it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to HER. Maybe it will break the habit.
IIRC, the reset on the Glock is short, but the full trigger pull is consistent. I should go to the gun safe to check.
“a significant percentage of law enforcement officers — some experts say as high as 20% — put their finger on the trigger of their weapons when under stress. According to firearms trainers, most officers are completely unaware of their tendency to do this and have a hard time believing it, even when they’re shown video evidence from training exercises.”
If that is true, Owens has a point. But it’s kinda late to bring it up, given that Glocks have such total dominance of the police market. Maybe a partial fix is to install that “New York trigger” on all the guns. Or to prosecute cops that have NDs just as the peons would be…
” Or to prosecute cops that have NDs just as the peons would be…” Heh. If they really can’t handle Glocks, make ’em carry wheel guns until they can. Failig that maybe just get rid of government trained and paid for cops altogether,
“Cite?
The pull on my G-30 is more than my Colt GM, less than my S&W 19. But it’s consistent.”
I don’t need to cite anything. I speak from direct experience. I own a Glock 17 and a Glock 26. They both operate the same way. The first trigger pull is a long one. As Paul B. notes, it’s the reset that is short. How Owens cannot know this is mind boggling.
The wife and I have been visiting shelters for the past several months in search of a dog to fill the hole left by the loss of our beloved Kojak. Kojak was a cattle dog mix that we rescued for $50. After a rocky start, he became the other son we never had. Good natured, loyal, playful, he was companion to our boy when young, and he was companion to us empty-nesters when he (and we) got old.
We have not been as fortunate again. The dogs at the shelter now come with a $200 price tag. Perhaps that’s the going price nowadays, but it is a bit rich for us. Additionally, not many of the dogs are local. Many of them are trucked from Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, etc., up to Wisconsin, and many (not all) of the dogs seem damaged. A beautiful border collie lives in a pen and spends his day jumping as if he were going to leap over his enclosure. He has already been adopted twice and always returned because the new owners can’t deal with the restlessness and the incessant jumping at the door. The English Setter was beyond beautiful, but so headstrong that there is no way my little wife was going to be able to handle him. He, too had been adopted and returned more than once. Other dogs had other quirks. Unfairly, we remember only the wonderful personality of our Kojak and we measure all other dogs against his yardstick.
I wonder if I would think differently about these creatures if they weren’t in a pee-smelling, loud, overcrowded shelter….
The cartoons about middle aged men as dogs hit rather close to home. I don’t think I’ll be showing that one to my wife, as she would enjoy it too much.