Claire

BOOM!orIf it ain’t one damned thing, it’s another.

Published September 12, 2014 7:00 pm by Claire

So there I was this afternoon, waiting for BHM to come back online (seems that failed security update was a doozy), listening to the sound of roofers overhead. Scrape, scrape. Thud, thud. Bang, bang.

Then — suddenly — BOOOOOM! Absofreakinlootly sonic. What? What? What on earth have those guys done? But the sound seems to have come from the front of the house and they’re working on the back. They also go very, very silent very quickly.

I look out the front window and there are … wires. Not just wires. Big, thick cables hanging down.

I look further:

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The tiny house movement …

Published September 12, 2014 6:28 am by Claire

… has definitely

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Friday links etc.

Published September 12, 2014 5:52 am by Claire

Sorry about the loooooong BHM-wide downage yesterday, guys. Oliver the webmaster tells me it was the result of a security update gone awry at the hosting company. But all should be well now. —– Today is the day The Great Roof Project begins! Two stages. The first involves returning part of the roof to its original form (after a long-ago “improvement” done by a committee of chimpanzees on a no-bid government contract). After that, the actual roofing crew comes in. Crews must coordinate with each other on timing. Weather holding so far. Might have a few nervous-making days. But winter…

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The opportunity to sell out

Published September 10, 2014 1:42 pm by Claire

This morning I was offered the “opportunity” to sell out. I was asked to do something that (if it worked out as my correspondent hoped) would make Alan Gottlieb and his “JPFO Lite” look better than they are.

It would not change anything in any material way. It would not restore principle to JPFO or protect Aaron Zelman’s legacy.

It was merely the opportunity to create an illusion — to have people say, “Hey, maybe Gottlieb’s not going to wreck JPFO after all!”

And what would I get for doing Mr. Manchin-Toomey (and not coincidentally, the correspondent proposing the idea) such a favor?

Why, I’d get influence. No, let’s capitalize that. I’d get Influence — that much-craved prize of wheeler-dealers everywhere. If I just sold my integrity (which, after all, isn’t worth anything on the market), I might gain the privilege of suggesting to the new powers at JPFO Lite that (pardon my French) it might be better if, for now, they just chopped off one of JPFO’s b***s and not both.

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Pitfalls

Published September 9, 2014 7:21 am by Claire

One last comment on JPFO’s death. In last week’s SAF news release, Alan Gottlieb made the bland, mealy-mouthed statement that JPFO would continue “educating people about the pitfalls of gun control.” It’s not surprising that Mr. Manchin-Toomey-SCHUMER would fail to acknowledge that JPFO’s submersion in SAF is in fact itself a pitfall — a trap for the unwary. But given Gottlieb’s support for gun control victim disarmament measures as long as he judges them to be popular and comfortably mild, I believe Aaron Zelman (may he rest in peace once he stops rolling in his grave) would answer Gottlieb’s milquetoasty…

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You and JPFO: Last ways to protect yourself and register your outrage

Published September 9, 2014 6:46 am by Claire

The sellout of JPFO to SAF will be complete as of this Friday, September 12. The remnants of JPFO will be hauled away to Washington (and, I picture in my mind’s eye, be stashed away like the Lost Ark at the end of that movie). While Gottlieb promises JPFO will continue to operate “independently,” in fact SAF is making no attempt to learn anything at all about how the organization functions. Surely they’ll keep some JPFO-ish thing going and it may even look good for a while, but it’s clear that what they’re really after is mailing lists — of…

19 Comments

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

Published September 8, 2014 2:42 pm by Claire

Actually lemon grass, sage, oregano, chamomile, catnip, and thyme. 🙂 All from MamaLiberty’s garden. The package was so aromatic I’m surprised somebody didn’t call out the SWAT team. Thank you, ML. First thing on the agenda tonight will be to brew me a nice cup of chamomile tea.

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Working up to something

Published September 7, 2014 7:58 pm by Claire

Got the last of the absolute-must outdoor house projects done today. There are probably 10 more small things it would be gratifying to finish outside before the rains come. But if winter struck tomorrow, I’d be satisfied.

Well, not quite. The roof isn’t done yet. Still trying to get on the roofer’s schedule. But thanks to you, the roof won’t be a worry for much longer — and won’t have to be my sweat-n-blood project. Oh, glory!

I am soooooooo tired. This most recent burst of work was therapeutic, post-JPFO. Now it’s just … work. It’s been hot, too, which is great and unusual hereabouts. But not so great when you’re up and down a ladder under the noonday sun.

—–

I’m also working up to something … some change. Not for the first time, of course. You’ve heard me go on about “change” as much as Obama used to (not hope, though; never was very big on hope). You’ve also heard me ~~whine~~ ~~complain~~ ~~bitch about~~ dispassionately discuss how mysteriously busy-busy-busy I’ve been for the last 16 months.

27 Comments

Friday links

Published September 5, 2014 6:45 am by Claire

“What I did after police killed my son.” The food insecurity lie. 12 graphs showing why people get fat. Oh, Canada. What you’ve reduced your people to. Airhorns? Seriously? Airhorns against thug barbarians? (H/T L.A.) Couple of weeks ago I linked to Ryochiji’s farewell to his Serenity Valley cabin as he prepared it as best he could against approaching fires. Good news; his cabin survived. Barely, but it made it. Yep, that would be about par for the course for U.S. surveillance priorities. Um … I’m really not sure why various news media keep presenting this as amusing. I know…

11 Comments

The sellout is now complete

Published September 4, 2014 12:53 pm by Claire

The Second Amendment Foundation just announced on its F*c*b**k page that it has subsumed the once-great Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. (Thank you, digidavid, for reporting the news.) Carl-Bear has the first take. And a sadly true take it is. I knew a couple of days ago that the JPFO board was in the process of signing and that it was just a matter of sending paperwork to SAF’s lawyers. That shoe has now dropped. I’ll have more to say later, but for now thank you for everything you did to try to prevent this. Thank you for…

26 Comments

Author: Claire