Pretty amazing way for a 16-year-old to live. (H/T JB) OTOH, some people may just have too much time on their hands. And hatchets and beer in them. (H/T ML) Speaking of too much time and hands … did you know there’s a (not joking) world of rock-paper-scissors competition? (Tip o’ hat to jed) Looking for some good hard science fiction? (H/T MJR) Get businesses freaked out enough about “discriminating against the disabled” and they’ll fall for anything. 12 lessons to learn and hang onto forever. (Especially for business, but plenty have applications in the rest of the world, too.)…
Author: Claire
Meant to get to the library for blogging earlier. But it was a good morning for burning. Just enough rain last night to keep the ground damp but not enough to soak the wood. And hooboy, have I got wood. Last week a minion came and spent a whole day breaking down and stacking all that deconstruction rubble and since then, I’ve been getting rid of it the good, old-fashioned, no-dump-fee way. Today was my fifth construction-rubble fire. These aren’t exactly bonfires, but couldn’t pass as humble little campfires, either. BUT. In addition to getting rid of the unsightly rubble…
As of now, BHM is no longer paying me to write this blog. Just got word on Saturday. They’re not closing the blog down. I can continue to write it on my own, if I wish. And Dave Duffy has offered me “behind the scenes” types of work and possibly print work to make up for the loss. (BHM is like a good family that way.) Jackie Clay has also been offered similar terms. Only Mas Ayoob’s blog is unaffected, far as I know. Of course, because the Duffys have always allowed me those wonderful Amazon links and occasional use…
This Looney Toon of a presidential election takes me back, gods forbid, to elections past.
It takes me to Nixon-Humphrey, the previous absolute-worst political pairing in my lifetime. Before that, I was political, but only because my mom was political and I took after her. All Democrats were good, all Republicans were Eeeeevil, and John Kennedy was the best Democrat of all because he was handsome and a Democrat and he came to our town campaigning and I almost got to touch him. Life was simple.
I was still too young to v*te when the major parties threw up Nixon and Humphrey. But it was the first time I knew something was rotten on both sides. And Mom’s adoration for the tubby hack from Minnesota merely made me wonder what she’d been smoking (or rather, not smoking, since the smoking people of 1968 were as horrified by Hubie the Mediocre as they were by Milhaus the Whining Retread).
I think I may have even declared my intention to leave the country — years ahead of Alec Baldwin and his ilk, but just as insincerely. The fact that I was too young to get a passport excuses me, right? And shortly after that, there were Libertarians and retreaters (the name back then for prepper-survivalists) and cool non-political newsletters from the heady combo of Rothbard and Hess, and many other things besides politics-as-usual to put hopes in.
But this utterly hope-less election of 2016 — with its likely pairing of two megalomaniacs who use government for incessant personal gain and whose “principles” are light enough to blow wherever the next breeze takes them — also takes me back to the one-and-only national election where I felt an actual stirring of hope.
Yes, I’m a little late getting the news and even later passing it along, since Passover (Pesach, to those of the persuasion) ends Saturday evening. But this is fascinating. As The Times of Israel puts it: getting baked is not just for matzah this year. A top Israeli rabbi declares medical marijuana kosher for Passover.
Still sick. More than two weeks now. Whatever you do, don’t catch this thing. It may also be that springtime is complicating matters. I don’t usually get hay fever, but Old Blue looks like Old Green every morning thanks to its daily dusting of yellow pollen, and I’m wondering whether things that normally wouldn’t bother me are affecting me now because my respiratory system is already sensitized by the virus. Whatever this is, please don’t catch it. —– I finally found a dose of OTC meds that knocks the symptoms down maybe 50% while only reducing me to stupid and…
A 24-hour round-trip drive. But a wonderful thing for friends whose next meeting can only take place “on the other side.” If you haven’t yet sent Mike a gratitude offering for all he’s done for gun rights and freedom — for all the inspiration, ideas, leadership, and strength he’s shown even as his body betrayed him — this would be a good time. Even if you can afford only $5 or $10, it would be a great opportunity to say thanks to Mike.
Old friend Elias Alias has been busy redoing The Mental Militia site from top to bottom. This weekend might be a good time to check it out. Some elements remain familiar: there are the forums, of course. Other familiar features are gradually being updated. There’s a membership program. A new logo that emphasizes the “mental” in Mental Militia. Some good links, including onsite links to Allied Camps. Some history of TMM. And the thing I think Elias would most like you to know about (and contribute to): a a new movie he’s hoping to complete with a little help from…
I got to thinking yesterday about how preparedness tends to get emphasized more in late Summer and fall. Heck, these days there’s even a whole month observed in prepping’s honor (September, of course). Makes sense. Crops come in. Time to preserve food. Weather’s going south. Time to check the vehicle emergency kit. And so on. But we who “think prep” in ways that go beyond canning and emergency preparedness have extra preps for this time of year, too. Replace stashed water supplies for those hot months. Check and use up the veggies that have survived in the root cellar since…
Happened to be at the library and happened to have collected a bunch of interestingly open tabs. So here you go … Five tips for making your social justice pecksniff hoax a success. 🙂 Barefoot Bandit boy, I’ve always felt kind of fond of you. As criminals go, you’ve got style and brains. You reimbursed your victims and you gave $100 to my favorite vet to help animals. But this is just dumbass stupid. Your mother smoked and drank herself to death on government money. Who, other than you, would want to bring her back to life? (H/T CB) What…