Brehd of Knoxpatch is helping to organize a pro America rally this weekend. Info here.

In anticipation of Buy A Gun In Spite of Michael Moore Day, I’ve been weighing my decision. I want to build another AR (it’s addictive). I don’t know if I want this one or this one.

Some folks agreed/disagreed with my prediction below. I do like the idea of Frist/Rice in 2008. However, I think the more likely combo will be Uncle Fred/Frist. Just a guess, but not one I’m willing to bet on.

Bush’s overall job approval rating is at 71%.

The winner of the 2008 Presidential election will be from Tennessee. Any takers? Frist, Gore or Uncle Fred.

There was a local support the troops rally. However, on the news last night, they showed the KKK in attendance (which is absent the Knoxnews article). The Klan has to come along and screw things up for everyone.

I think that our rights are being slowly whittled away right out from under us all the while we are arguing over who is doing it.

From Scott over at the Metroblab.

Yeah, what he said.

In light of the post below, it got me to thinking. On the global stage, the difference between Democrats and Republicans is this:

*Republicans want to export US influence.

*Democrats want to import outside influence to the US.

Maybe I’m delusional, in that sorta hit the nail on the head kinda way.

Bubba makes reference to the pending global domination by the US. I, of course, think it’s not pending but is already upon us through economics (have a Coke and a smile, or a Big Mac, or some Nikes). But I digress.

If this is the case, the timing is perfect. Right now, bar none, the US is the only military superpower in the world. Countries that were formerly part of the USSR have nukes and weapons (some of which they can’t account for, by the way). Now, if these weapons made it into the hands of other nations (or groups of nations), it’s Cold War II. These nations/groups, however, aren’t currently that organized nor are these nations remotely close to being as militarily advanced as the US. And they’re not wealthy. However, the potential exists that in a few years and with some funding, they could be. Which may be why Bubba hit the nail on the head. Maybe in addition to a preemptive war on Iraq, we’re headed towards preemptive global domination.

Kind of scary, this new world order stuff. Of course, it’s all suspeculation.

Ah, the hubris of the French government is once again vomiting forth on the stage of the world (Yes, I meant to say it exactly that way!).

The foreign minister said Washington has “no choice” but to go through the United Nations. Obviously this guy hasn’t turned on a TV or picked up a newspaper lately.

I’m not anti-French or anti- any country. I’m anti-stupid-people.

’nuff said!

Originally posted by Korwyn

Update: Nevermind.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Syria on Friday to stop providing Iraq with supplies and weapons to use against coalition forces.

Target acquired? Since we’re close and all.

It seems that the U.N. wants to dictate to the Coalition forces what’s to be done with Iraq once the war is over. The gall of those people amazes me! I know it shouldn’t, but come on! At least Rep. David Vitter R-LA has it right, he asked Powell for assurances that once the war ends, the U.N. would not try to “grab that decision-making and control from the coalition that got us there” and give it “to the very group that refused to face reality.”

Originally posted by Korwyn

I am going to send a care package to Operation Shoe Box, who will then send it to our troops. They also provide a list of requested items at their site (noticeably absent is beer, guess those guys are mostly under 21). Apparently, you have to send items through an organization or to an individual soldier. The DOD has decided that sending packages to any soldier poses a security risk.

Feel free to do the same.

Tis the nature of a vocabularian:

Suspeculation – Sus*pec*u*la*tion – n. Combination of suspect and speculate. Contemplation of a subject and the formulation of a not-remotely defensible theory of outcomes. Synonyms: fortune telling, journalism, blogging, psychology, and economics.

I’m suspeculating that the end of this war will bring ruin upon some of our politicians. If they find absolute proof of WMD in Iraq, the anti-war politicians are finished. If they don’t, the pro-war politicians (and the administration) are done for.

The American legal system has been corrupted almost beyond recognition, Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, told the Federalist Society of Harvard Law School on February 28.

Well, no kidding. Sadly, the courts are citizens’ last, best hopes for, you know, justice. Too bad it’s perverted to the point where the Supreme Court has to actually consider whether consenting adults can do what they want.

But wait, there’s more:

Owners of a Pennsylvania dairy farm who oppose the national “Got Milk?” ad campaign must continue to help pay for it, a federal judge has ruled.

The USDA is forcing farmers to pay for these ads, which of course goes against the foundations of this country. The USDA is, in my opinion, too big for its britches. Sure, we need people to inspect beef and food. But we don’t need the government telling farmers what they can grow, how much of what they grow they can sell, and how much they can export. And this affirms my beliefs.

Thanks to Unknown News for the links. Everyone should be reading this site.

Reports on cable news last night from the talking heads that:

* Iraqi soldiers were wearing US uniforms and killing citizens as a disinformation campaign.
* Iraqi soldiers dressed as civilians make it difficult to determine who the bad guys are.
* Other reports that the bomb that killed 14 in Baghdad was actually Iraqi
* 1,000 of Iraq’s Republican Guard were headed towards US troops. Of course, if the press knows that, so does the military. In which case, the column will be bombed soon.
* And land mines (which are illegal) are blocking humanitarian caravans.

Iraq’s Elite Republican Guard is heading towards US troops. A soldier interviewed said he wasn’t afraid because The Republican Guard is not as dangerous as Iraq’s Democrat Guard. That’s who we’re worried about.

You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the Swiss hold the America’s Cup, France is accusing the US of arrogance, and Germany doesn’t want to go to war.

The above unattributed is pretty cool. Thanks to Ian at the Metroblab.

The U.S. Air Force reportedly hit Iraqi TV with an experimental electromagnetic pulse device called an “E-Bomb” in an effort to stop government propaganda.

Sorry K’orwyn, not Farscape.

The PR war that is. The stories before the war about Shock and Awe collectively made the world stop and think Damn! I still think Shock and Awe was mere propaganda to scare the bejesus (beallah?) out of the Iraqis. The press had said initially Shock and Awe began, but did it really? The answer is no. I don’t think anything we’ve seen is of the magnitude that Shock and Awe would have been. If the US went into Shock and Awe mode on day one, what would be happening now? Here’s my speculation:

· The war would have likely ended after only a couple of days with a little bit of cleanup guerilla fighting and occupation.
· There would have been massive civilian casualties and collateral damage.
· There would be no infrastructure left in Baghdad after it was done and the remaining people would have suffered.
· The world would be calling the US brutal murderers.

The US military has been doing some rather unconventional things in this war. They’re not bulldozing bunkers (which is effective but results in massive casualties). They’re not bombing the hell out of everything, they’re surgically using missiles.. They’re letting Iraqi media stay on the air (because the towers are on top of a hospital, according to a talking head on FoxNews). They’re leaving the infrastructue in place for future use. So the US is taking steps to make this a kinder, gentler war. The result? The world news apparatus is still accusing us of brutality. It’s to be expected.

Since we’re not using Shock and Awe, the results will likely be:

· A longer, more drawn out war.
· A longer period of US occupation (thus further infuriating fanatics).
· More US and coalition casualties.
· The world would be calling the US brutal murderers (but this is to be expected).

Regardless of the more humanitarian tactics used, one factor won’t change. The world media will not be kind to the US.

Hello, my name is K’orwyn. SayUncle and I go back a few years and he thought I might have something intelligent to say upon occasion (though, in reality, he knows better).

I’m really waaaaaayyyyyy too depressed to talk about the war or politics or anything like that. My favorite show was cancelled and last Friday was it’s last episode. I know, I know, how puerile of me, but darn-it-all! I invested 4 years of my life in that show! (My God, I sound just like my mother after one of her soaps was cancelled) Those who understand will realize this was Farscape, the rest of you never watched anyway and wouldn’t care one way or the other. For those who watched, be sure to drop by SaveFarscape for information on how to help save the show. Sure, it won’t be on Sci-Fi anymore, but is that such a bad thing? For God’s sake, their new “premier” show is Tremors! It was a lousy movie. How many ways can Michael Gross be expected to kill the worm weekly? Anyway, any support anyone can give would be greatly appreciated, even if it’s just hanging a poster up at work in the lunch room.

One note though, did anyone else see the story about the Iraqis threatening to behead any POW’s according to Muslim law? I sincerely hope they are reconsidering that action, otherwise the whole lot of them may be facing Allah a little sooner than they expected.

Originally posted by Korwyn

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner has agreed to sign legislation restricting illegal aliens from obtaining driver’s licenses, frustrating immigrants in Northern Virginia.

Supporters of the law say it is illogical to grant licenses to people who are in the country illegally in the first place, and suggest it will improve homeland security, pointing out that most of the Sept. 11 terrorists obtained identification cards that allowed them to move freely through the country.

Seems common sense to me. I support immigration to this country (who wouldn’t want to live here) but do it legally.

North Korea has warned that the situation on the Korean Peninsula was deteriorating to the “brink of a nuclear war” because of American-South Korean war games.

I thought our policy was to ignore them?

Heard two interesting things on the radio this morning:

1) FoxNews stopped buying Evian (yes, spell it backwards) for its correspondents because it’s French.
2) The latest Saddam videotape was analyzed by experts and contained a total of 57 splices (i.e., cut and pastes) implying that he may have pre-recorded messages to be spliced together based on current events.

Everyone is fact checking his rotundity.

Buy a gun for Michael Moore Day

Update: Apparently Steve H. at Little Tiny Lies hosted the original image as a favor to Aaron and I failed to give credit and all that. So, apologies to Steve. The image was to promote Buy a gun for Michael Moore Day and you can find it here.. Note to self: Link to images instead of just putting them here. And give credit where it’s due.

By the way, what’s with Aaron’s site today?

This article states:

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Justice Department and FBI have dramatically increased the use of two little-known powers that allow authorities to tap telephones, seize bank and telephone records and obtain other information in counterterrorism investigations with no immediate court oversight, according to officials and newly disclosed documents.

And this one states:

The Supreme Court refused Monday to be drawn into a dispute over the boundaries of a law giving the government broader surveillance authority after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Apparently, the ACLU took the case by filing an appeal on behalf of people who don’t even know the government is monitoring them. The justices won’t let them do that so, at least on the surface, it could make it back to court.

Thanks to Michael and The Idiot over at the Metroblab.

In light of Bowling for Columbine winning an award, it got me to thinking about an issue the SayUncle household is facing. Me and Mrs. Uncle have decided that the world needs a few little Uncles. We hope this comes about by the end of the summer and pray that we don’t have any difficulties.

It has, however, led to (as anyone should who owns guns) a discussion about firearms safety and children. The wife has friends (who watch a little too much Oprah) who are aghast at the fact that SayUncle will have children and firearms in his house. They ask questions like: You’re going to keep guns in your house? I say absolutely. You’re going to keep one loaded? I say: Yup, if it’s not loaded then it’s just a paperweight.

Children fatalities with firearms are not quite as common as people make them out to be. They do however make the news and are in most cases due to parental negligence. If you don’t take steps to prevent children’s access to arms, you’re an idiot. Gun safety with children depends on two things: 1) what the parents do and 2) what the kids do. I tell the Oprah crowd this and they shrug and say Oh. Their husbands are more receptive though. It may be a gender thing.

A few safety notes: Even though a small child is physically incapable of pulling most double action triggers and racking a charging handle on an AR15, we will not leave arms lying around where children can get to them. I have trigger locks to prevent their access just in case they find them. We will also likely purchase some sort of safe or a lock for the closet in which we keep guns. In other words, we will not place the weapons in a place where the kids can get them. We’ll do the same for chemicals, knives, and anything else that can hurt a child.

Also, teaching children what to do if they find a gun is important. As Eddie Eagle likes to stress, teach your kids to Stop, Don’t Touch, Leave the Area, and Tell an Adult.

I grew up in a house that always had guns. My dad was career military and is now in law enforcement. At a young age, he taught me about guns. He taught me the four rules of gun safety:

Treat all guns as if they were loaded.
Never point a gun at anything you don’t want to destroy.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to pull it.
Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

When I was about eight, dad took me out to a field and showed me his Smith and Wesson 38. He showed me how to load, unload, and fire it. He emphasized not to ever play with it, in the event I found it. And he told me in no uncertain terms that the gun could kill me and that if he caught me playing with it, he’d kill me if it didn’t. After I shot it, the novelty was gone (and it scared the crap out of me). I was over it and had gotten it out of my system. I never looked for the gun in the house because the curiosity involved was no longer a factor (that and fear).

At about age 10, he bought me a BB gun. I was told that I could target shoot with it anytime I wanted, as long as dad was there with me. If I did something stupid with it (like aim at a target with a house behind the target, thus violating one of the rules, which I did once), he’d take it away for a period of time and ground me. I learned to respect firearms early.

At age 12, he bought me a single shot 20 gauge shotgun and took me dove hunting. This terrified me as (at that age) I didn’t really want to kill anything. I thought I did, until I held a lifeless bird in my hand that I had killed. Again, the realization that I used a gun to kill something made me respect firearms more. And I realized I took no joy from killing things.

I knew about guns very early and not by just watching people shoot each other on TV. If a child’s only exposure to arms is through television and action movies, I think they’re more likely to be enticed into doing something stupid with them. After they watch Mel Gibson gun down 36 bad guys, the have an image that guns make them cool and powerful. Couple this with the fact that they weren’t ever taught to respect them, and the situation could get bad if they ever found one. Children often don’t realize that dying is as permanent as it gets.

I have told the wife (and she has accepted it) that I will keep the guns, I will take our children shooting, and that I will likely purchase them guns as well. She’s Ok with it, but is, understandably, a bit worried. I’ve explained to her how I learned about guns and that has eased her concerns considerably.

I have no idea how I will teach my children about politics. Ugh, I dread that day!

And now, back to the war!

I really do. If you wish to protest the war, great! Have at it. I applaud your diligence. I will however condemn your views based on their merits. When you protest and start destroying people’s homes (even if it is Rumsfield’s) or blocking traffic, your rights end (you know, at that point where others’ begin).

Do you really think Bush is sitting there in the White House thinking: Man, they’ve blocked off traffic on Lakeshore Drive, call the war off!! Ugh!

Justin over at Elephant Rants has apparently awarded me the Most Politically Incorrect Blogger Award (it’s better than an Oscar) because I have an evil assault weapon and a politically incorrect bulldog. Well, I also have high capacity handgun magazines, porn, an American flag hanging from the front porch, and the wife’s sport utility vehicle. I’m evil and must be stopped.

Apparently, Michael Moore said something stupid. That is nothing new. He’s good at it. The surprise is that he got booed. He won an award for best manipulation of data and interviews in an effort to support a fallacious point of view err documentary. Ok fine, he’s just a liar.

I was worried as the Baghdad blogger stopped updating for a while. He’s back today.

Here’s a pic of the new AR:

Note that the wife made me sweep the kitchen floor before taking that pic.

And here’s a pic of the complete SayUncle household security system:

I’ve seen speculation that some missles fired were scuds but none confirmed, until now. The German Defense Ministry said an examined missile was a scud.

Wonder if Dubya has started calling Chirac, saying nanny nanny boo boo, and hanging up?

Update: Bubba says it ain’t so!

One year ago today, Mrs. Uncle and me tied the knot. It’s been the happiest year of my life. How time flies. Happy Anniversary, sweetie.

The Fox News channel is reporting that British satellites have confirmed that on 3/19 Saddam was taken out of a building on a stretcher to an ambulance. His injuries reportedly were minor.

Finished my AR today. Pix coming!

Bush wants them and the Senate wants to scale them back. Sure we have a war to pay for, but our economy is just now recovering. These cuts are what we need.

Saw the talking heads on Fox questioning why the lights were still on in Baghdad. They thought that, militarily, it wasn’t smart as the US military could see where activity was. I wonder if they really think the lights will affect our laser guided missiles ability to hit a target?

There’s been some talk about the Oscars (or whatever award show it is) and whether that will happen due to the war. I am torn about this issue, mostly because I never watch these award shows. It’s a lot of gratuitous promotion for people who don’t really need promotion; and it’s big dollars. So basically, I don’t care about the Oscars and wouldn’t watch them anyway. I’d likely be glad if they didn’t interrupt my regularly scheduled line-up of mediocre television programming.

The Oscars should continue on principle though. If they don’t, then it is an indication that our country can’t function as usual in the event of conflict. We should continue to do what we do, yet remain aware and mindful of the situation. I’m not going to take time off from work just to watch the war, as an example.

So, America, keep doing what you do. And that goes for you too, Will Smith!

Don’t get so caught up in the war that you fail to notice the other things happening in this country. War is often justification for violations of civil liberties. Nor is it a reason to not be mindful of other current events.

Glenn Reynolds has more.

This could be bad! Or an indication.

As many as three U.S. missiles aimed at targets in Iraq may have landed in Iran, two officials at the Pentagon said Saturday.

We here at SayUncle were listed in the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Some protests over this cartoon about Rachel Corrie.

Update: More to come. Stupidity that is.

This is disheartening. Thanks to C&S for the link.

Assuming he’s not powder, what are his options?

1) He can fight with all he’s got, and lose. Doing this, he will basically show the world he’s in violation of UN Resolutions. As Bubba points out, there is some uncertainty as to whether the missiles fired were in fact scuds (which violate UN resolutions). This of course would discredit any of his claims. He may do this as he is delusional enough to believe that he can win.

2) Refuse to use scuds while prolonging the war however he can, and still lose. This option would serve to discredit the US, particularly if Saddam destroyed his missiles (assuming he has them). He could essentially attempt to discredit the claims of the US. In addition, by prolonging the war, he will increase the likelihood of civilian casualties and collateral damage. This again makes the US look like a bunch of bullies. He could do this in an effort to further the hatred of the US among the Arab world.

3) Run and hide.

The ball is clearly in his court. I hope for everyone’s sake that the war does not draw out. Some good news is the reports that essentially the command infrastructure of Iraq has been wiped out.

US intelligence officials say Saddam Hussein’s TV broadcast after the start of bombing is authentic, but they are unclear when it was made.

Well, if it was made before hand, he’d have probably made an effort to make himself look a little better.

Once more, K-Town bloggers are featured in the KNS and no mention of yours truly. Maybe it’s because I intentionally didn’t blog about the war? Maybe it’s because I’m a little fish in a big pond? Or maybe it’s because I suck?

We here at SayUncle are going through some changes. Starting sometime soon, there will be two new bloggers to your irregularly scheduled line up. Hopefully, they will add a level of class and sophistication that we’ve been lacking (but I doubt it). Please give a welcome to Tree Fitty and Anonymous Coward.

You ever wondered what would happen if you crossed South Knox Bubba with Snoop Dogg? Well, the handy Shizzolator to the rescue. Check it out.

Courtesy of AskSnoop.

It’s been absolutely agonizing attempting to stay loyal to the Republican Party while watching the Bush administration trash our individual freedoms via Campaign Finance Reform, the Patriot Act, and Homeland Security legislation. There is no need to go to war – our freedoms have been destroyed and the 19 Muslim punks have resoundingly defeated us. They are dead, but we lost!

Liberalism blocked the most effective safety measure that could have been employed: armed pilots. But liberals used their gun hysteria so effectively that the airlines and their insurance companies were terrified allowing pilots to be armed. Truth, honesty, and what is in the best interests of Americans are never a consideration.

Published originally at EtherZone.com

Some of the rest of it may need a fisking, but those statements ring true.

Here at the office, I’ll work fifteen minutes then check the news sites. Every time I hit a site, the headlines change. Everything from: Troops Seize Port Town, Oil Wells Aflame, etc., etc. Up to the moment media, I suppose. Amazes me how quickly information about this war is in print and ready for dissemination. I’m in awe at the wealth of coverage, truly the electronic age. Reporters keep saying things like Remember, this is not a video game. Too much, too fast to blog about. See for yourselves:

FoxNews
CNN
Instapundit – Yeah, he’s news
Drudge
Ananova
Google

Of course, if I were at home, I’d be flipping through the cable news channels.

Interesting stuff at Dear Raed.

It is truly overwhelming.

If the nation escalates to “red alert,” which is the highest in the color-coded readiness against terror, you will be assumed by authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home, the state’s anti-terror czar says.

Thanks to Jesse over at the Metroblab for alerting us to this nonsense.

I won’t add much since all the other bloggers are doing fine job. However, some points:

* I saw on the news this morning where Iraq has already used weapons it didn’t have. Must have made them yesterday
* I wonder if Shock and Awe was just disinformation to scare Iraqis (and apparently liberals)
* Precisely how surgical can missiles be?

I’m speechless. This is hysterical!

Kevin tells us how those sworn to interpret the Constitution are perhaps misguided. Kinda reminds me of how during the early 90s in Florida, a court ruled that because homes have toilets (which can be used to flush small amounts of contraband), law enforcement therefore was not required to knock before entering with a warrant. Has that very Big Brother flavor, don’t it?

Does anyone know why the permalink for the first post on a blogspot blog never seems to work?

Update: Fixed the glaring errors and added Bubba’s idea.

And one last note for the Rocky Mountain News: these laws don’t expand gun rights, they’ve restored them . .

Bjorn draws our attention to some tree huggers that spent almost a year living in trees to prevent the trees from being chopped down.

Of course, my questions about the incident are not related to their cause, but rather consist of:

* How’d they go twosies (or onesies if they were female, I mean a guy could just yell look out below and whiz away)?
* Did they have sex?
* Does Dominoes Pizza deliver there?
* Did they have cable or any other form of entertainment (like Uno cards, ’cause man those games can last a year)?
* Did they leave their high level executive jobs to do this?

Enquiring minds wanna know, I wanna know.

Update: What about hygiene? Did they just reside in the fact that they’d spend a year smelling like ass?

Apparently, PayPal can no longer be used to purchase firearms made after 1898, kits that can be turned into a firearm, gun powder, high capacity magazines, ordnance, mines, and grenades. No need to prohibit the last two, as those are already destructive devices. Well, guess I’ll no longer patronize PayPal.

It’s getting difficult for me to shop.

To Rodger over at Curmudgeonly and Skeptical for linking to me a few times (and sending many hits my way). I enjoy his site and you will too.

Mind you, I like him even though our peoples are technically at war. Maybe, in this case, peace will prevail.

Drudge links to a story about the first shots fired. Of course, the fighting started before that.

The Comedian celebrates his one year anniversary today. Well, he sorta celebrates.

Check it, yo.

Saw the speech and nothing surprised me. The language was stronger than the last one and he didn’t muddle through it. But ferchrissakes, the word is pronounced noo klee er. Not noo kyoo ler.

From the Wonderful World of Longmire.

While watching the prez last night, Mrs. Uncle looked at me and said: Thank God Bush is giving this speech and not Gore. Werd!

Former attorney general Ernest Borgnine is at it again:

”We will not solve the world’s problems by might. What has happened to the Bill of Rights? What has happened to due process? What has happened to the Geneva Convention? If they’re not prisoners of war, what are they? And what rights do they have?

Well, wasn’t that pretty much your MO during that Waco and Elian Gonzalez thing? Since you asked, I mean.

Peggy has given up:

Does it occur to the average warmonger that he or she is now ‘out of work’ too? Maybe, maybe not.

I am not out of work. I still will hope and I will pray for the lives of our troops and the lives of the people of Baghdad.

Surely only the most ignorant and hateful among them can be feeling good about all the brand-new suffering and horror about to be unleashed in Iraq, right?

That’s fairly self explanatory. However, some folks are likely feeling the relief of getting it over with.

And surely the most honest among pro-war intellectuals would admit that they, too, fear the unknown and unknowable costs -human, spiritual, cultural, political, economic – of this invasion, right?

Sure they do. But they’ve weighed those costs against the known costs of not invading.

With the partial birth ban on the table, two presidential hopefuls weren’t there to vote:

Two Democratic presidential candidates, Senators John Edwards of North Carolina and John Kerry of Massachusetts, who have voted against the ban in the past, were absent today and did not vote.

Translation: Our pollsters haven’t told us what to think yet.

Justin may have uncovered a Blogger.com conspiracy!

Diplomatic ties are severed with respect to Iraq and Bush to address the nation. I guess maybe there was some credibility to those reports in Israel that the war would start on March 18.

Update: Inspectors urged to leave. Citizens asked to get out also. Yup, trouble’s abrewin’.

Update2: Even Saddam has been told to get out.

Update3: UN Staff ordered to get the hell out.

In addition to racial hatred in suburbia, a man was severely beaten in the old city because the attackers thought he was gay.

A man is recovering from four days in a coma after a group of men jumped him as he was leaving Cup-a-Joe in the Old City.

The Jonathan Rule’s family says the men attacked Jonathan because they thought he was gay.

But the crime can’t be classified as a hate crime because sexual orientation isn’t included in Tennessee’s hate crimes law.

First, this is horrible. I always hear folks (especially folks who just moved here) in East Tennessee talking about how nice people here are. Then crap like this happens. Second, I oppose hate crime legislation. The penalty should be the same for beating up a white guy as it is for beating up a black guy. However, our local news program decided to make it an issue. Homophobia and racism are still the problem, regardless of hate crime legislation.

I heard on the news that three men were taken into custody over this incident.

Sopranos’ star is near a contract deal. Good, now the second best television show ever will stay on the air. And the best show is on until 2005.

Some woman trying to prevent a bulldozer from running over a Palestinian’s house didn’t quite make it. Then I heard on the news last night that there would be an investigation into the incident. Well, here’s your investigation: She should have moved. I can appreciate someone being willing to die for what they believe in, but don’t be stupid.

Update: Bigwig has more.

I keep hearing the term antiwar protestor and it refers to the people protesting the impending war with Iraq. The last time I saw the phrase was here. An interesting read, by the way, courtesy of Michael over at the Metroblab. Read it, it’s worth it.

Wouldn’t an antiwar protestor be someone who protested antiwar (or peace)? So, I suppose I am an antiwar protestor.

Check it out! Sometimes, the Brits are cool, even without a war.

Bloom County is coming back? Cool

Green – You believe that small economic units
should control the goods, and that the
government should be permissive of
“victimless crimes,” respectful of
civil liberties and very strict towards big
business. You also believe in either a
socialist tax structure or more power to local
communities. You think that environmental
policies should be written into law. Your
historical role model is Ralf Nader.

Which political sterotype are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

You may notice some new things on the site. Do not adjust your set these things are intentional. For example, the Search function at the top and the countdown to the sunset of the AW ban. As always, criticism and comment on both content and form of this site are welcome.

The FBI and Customs seized (sans warrant and without notifying the AP) a FedEx package containing an FBI report intended to be delivered to the AP. Way to go guys, I feel real secure now that you’ve saved me from information.

Apparently, he wants lawmakers to actually wait and see how much dough the lottery will pull in before planning on spending the money. Wow, applying real world business concepts to gummint. What a novel idea. As Bill has pointed out on several occasions, most of Tennessee’s financial problems come from failure to accurately project revenue. Seems like Bredesen should also fire the guys that project revenue.

Of course, legislators are in a hurry to start buying votes err giving scholarships to Tennessee students even though they have no idea how much money the lottery will bring in. Seems pretty easy to determine how many scholarships they’ll have to give out by looking at past enrollment statistics in Tennessee. However, the big unknown is how many folks will play the lottery.

Now, I wonder if the gummint should even be in the business of giving scholarships. It’d be nice to have free scholarships in case I decide to have any little uncles but is that the place of the state?

Today is the six month anniversary of the UN Debate on Iraq. The UN is not an expeditious group, like the League of Nations before them, and I fear the UN is ensuring its own doom. Now we have a six step proposal for Saddam (proposed by the Brits):

• A televised appearance by Saddam in which the Iraqi dictator renounces nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

• Baghdad’s permission for 30 key weapons scientists to travel to Cyprus to be interviewed by U.N. weapons inspectors.

• The destruction “forthwith” of 10,000 liters of anthrax and other chemical and biological weapons Iraq allegedly possesses.

• The disclosure of full details regarding an Iraqi aerial drone recently discovered by weapons inspectors, as well as other unmanned aerial vehicles

• The surrender of and explanation about biological weapons production.

• A commitment to destroy proscribed missiles.

Apparently, some still don’t get it. 1441 calls for serious consequences if Iraq fails to disarm. Further, the inspectors are there to verify compliance and not look for needles in haystacks. Saddam should have proven that he disposed of the weapons and he has failed. But debate after debate and resolution after resolution continue and nothing is being done.

Russia, France and Germany have a material interest in trade with Iraq. They are financially better off with the status quo. For them, it’s about oil, as it were.

And the lunatic fringe in the US that says the war is about oil is nuts. The fact we’re not also putting pressure on Saudi Arabia is about the oil. Saudi Arabia is our number one oil supplier. They also pay off suicide bombers’ families (just like Saddam) and most 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. The US is kowtowing to the Saudis over oil; and France, Germany and Russia are kowtowing to Iraq over oil and trade.

Bush has made it clear that he’d like to have UN support for an invasion but he doesn’t need it. His responsibility lies with the American people and not European trade interests. Maybe after that, he can deal with that Saudi Arabia thing (or North Korea for that matter). Get it over with.

Reason: Disarming History: How an award-winning scholar twisted the truth about America’s gun culture — and almost got away with it.

A summary of the supposed outright fucking lies err errors in Bellesiles political beliefs err research.

I wanted to yap about Bredesen’s budget proposal. However, some folks did it already and probably did it better than I could. Bubba has a summary here. And Halfbakered weighs in here.

Good reading. Needless to say, I still think Bredesen is kicking some names and taking some ass. We need more Democrats like him.

The Beastie Boys have recorded an anti-war song. At least these guys are expressing the views through their music and not some other attention seeking public forum.

Barry is running a World’s Worst Blogger game (for those of you who are improv fans).

These are either getting boring, or my last noun choice wasn’t so good. Let me know.

Today’s noun: Lawyer

185 lawyers walk into a bar [add a punch line].

I used to buy the argument that we don’t know when life begins so the only way to know for certain when life exists is when a fetus is independent and separate from its mother. I’m not saying it’s correct but I am stating that it seemed to be the only objective measure of such an occurrence. I’m no longer so certain because this article suggests that the conscious mind could develop before 24 weeks. On a related note, Congress is debating a ban on partial birth abortions.

Next time someone tells you Heck, I’d get in the ring with Tyson for $15M, point them to this. It’s about neck muscles, folks!

Why the World’s Largest Athletic Shoe Store has no less than twelve handicapped parking spaces at its Knoxville store?

Head on over to The Daily Rant to submit for the Carnival of the Vanities. Decisions, decisions.

In September 2004, the Federal Violent Crime Control Act of 1994 will sunset unless it is passed again (actually, I’m thinking now that maybe all laws should sunset unless renewed). This act banned manufacture and import of Assault Weapons and high-capacity magazines. Unfortunately, its ban on assault weapons doesn’t really ban those weapons. Per this act, an assault weapon is defined as:

A rifle that can accept a detachable magazine and possesses two or more of the following features: folding or telescopic stock, pistol grip, bayonet mount, flash suppressor, threaded barrel, or grenade launcher.

A folding or telescopic stock makes a weapon look mean. One would think that the ban aimed to make the assault weapons less concealable. It doesn’t. Only folding or telescopic stocks are an evil feature. Mind you, it is perfectly acceptable to just put a shorter stock on the assault weapons, which makes its concealment easier, but it can’t possess the magical power of changing sizes on its own. A pistol grip is, of course, easily bypassed by use of thumbhole stocks. Why a pistol grip makes a weapon more dangerous is beyond me. Of course, grenade launchers were already classified as destructive devices before this act and regulated accordingly. It is good to see that we’re all now safe from all those drive-by bayonetings. I can almost see a need for the threaded barrel listed as a criteria but anything questionable that would be threaded onto a barrel is already regulated (like silencers and flash suppressors). And flash suppressors do not make the flash invisible at night, they just disperse the flash to the sides instead of out the front.

The first result of this ban is that guns manufactured and imported now have detachable magazines and one of the above features. They function the same but don’t look as threatening. Mind you, these arms still accept thirty round magazines (these are readily available since the ban on them because of the sheer numbers that were produced prior to 1994) and their functionality is not at all impaired. What we have is a ban on aesthetics. You’re gun can’t look mean.

The second result of this ban is that the guns manufactured prior to 1994 (which you can still buy and there are still tons of them out there) are more expensive, only because they are cosmetically different.

The third result is that high capacity magazines are expensive. There are still tons out there and they are readily available. They just cost a lot more.

Assault weapons were never very popular in crimes anyway. Assault weapons were not used in crimes that much prior to the ban. In addition, the ban has had no effect on these statistics. And the reason is that most of these guns are expensive. A criminal will buy a cheap gun or steal an expensive one to maximize their return on investment.

Why assault weapons are constitutionally protected:

Because the purpose of the second amendment is to keep the citizenry armed to keep the government in check. The second amendment exists to give the people (as a last resort) the opportunity to overthrow a tyrannical government, so that what happened in Uganda doesn’t happen here. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that weapons of a military nature would be necessary for such an endeavor. In fact, from US v. Miller:

In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of “a shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length” at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument.

A sawn-off shotgun is not protected because it isn’t military in nature. It seems our assault weapons are more protected than our hunting rifles. But most people only seem to get upset when hunting rifles are at stake. And how do we ban hunting rifles? By labeling them sniper rifles. The only difference between the two is the target.

Nipping it in the bud:

And the best retorts of those who disagree with me will be:

Crime statistics manipulated by some anti-gun group (which will be wrong).

Why do you need one of those? (Because I’m free and I can).

You obviously have this assault weapon because your penis is small. (No, I built it to protest the Bushmaster lawsuit. Thanks to the Brady Campaign, there is now one more assault weapon running loose in America).

You’re not a lawyer: (well, duh, but I can read)

You’re a whacko, gun nut: Yeah, real intelligent argument you got there, Sparky.

Closing:

There is a website dedicated to allowing the ban to sunset. Check out AWBanSunset.com for info on getting this pointless ban out of the way.

Some ado has been made about this Calpundit post, in which he explains why he now opposes invading Iraq. To wit:

I just can’t align myself any longer with the folks who think the rest of the world are “midgets” who should be shoved unceremoniously out of the way whenever we feel like it.

I’m not inherently pessimistic nor do I believe absolutely that all humans are evil, nor the masses cattle, and all that state of nature stuff. But basically the statement above illustrates that the doctrine of Might Makes Right is wrong.

On a very fundamental philosophical level, I agree. And it would be nice if that were the case. But the realist in me can’t help but think that, to an extent, might does make right from a historical perspective. As for shoving the midgets aside, it depends upon what the midgets have done and not merely the fact that they are midgets. A point often overlooked is the view that we pick on the midgets, instead of the actions of the midgets that warrant a little might every now and again.

Today’s noun: UN Weapons Inspector

185 UN Weapons Inspectors walk into a bar [you know what to do]

BTW, if these are getting boring, let me know. And feel free to suggest nouns.

Beautiful weather this weekend and we cooked out Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, however, we ran some errands in Knoxville. While driving down Morrell, me and the Mrs. saw about 8 people out there with their little No Blood For Oil, Don’t Buy The Hype, Honk If You’re For Peace signs.

I saw them and started cackling a little bit. I then rolled the window down. At this point, the Mrs. says You’re not gonna say something are you? I said I hadn’t planned on it. She was, of course, referring to the fact I rolled my window down. Guess I needed the air. But I did not say any of the following:

Get a job and cut your hair
Free Iraq
Hippies Smell
I’m with the majority

I was proud of myself. A little restraint.

What he said!

Update: Link should work now

Today’s noun: Libertarian

185 Libertarians walk into a bar [insert punchline]

After this, I’ll dump the political party theme.

To all those people landing at my site while doing a web search for Dixie Chicks Tickets Knoxville. Not what you expected, I bet.