At the Gunbloggers Rendezvous. Blogging will resume later. Off to a poker tourney.

Advertising is often used to reshape public opinion, to shore up a weakness. When customers complained that the new Beetle was cramped inside, Volkswagen ran a bunch of ads emphasizing how roomy the car was. Everybody knows frozen meals are crappy, which is why there’s a poster on my block telling me some brand of frozen food is so good that chefs don’t want me to know about it. Every company that strip mines brags about how many trees it plants.

The problem here is that everybody knows the truth. The reason people think Beetles are small is because you get a leg cramp immediately upon entering one. Frozen meals are crappy. And strip miners don’t really care about saving trees. In each instance, the advertising message runs directly counter to the widely-known truth. It’s a lie, and the hope is that if they repeat it enough, somebody will believe it.

And that’s why Dennis Hastert held an entire press conference about the Foley matter to say “The bottom line is we’re taking responsibility.”

In that conference, he did everything he could to smear responsibility on as many other parties as possible. He “reached out to the Democrat leader and shared with her some of the ideas”. (When was the last time the Republicans turned to the Dems for help on anything?) He “turned this whole thing over to the FBI … to try to find out what happened.” He also asked the Justice Department, the Ethics Committee, and the State of Florida to help figure it all out. You’d think Foley was Kaiser Sose, a criminal mastermind eluding an international manhunt, rather than a pedophile trying to plea bargain down from jail time to AA meetings.

It is too late for Hastert to take responsiblity. The buck went zooming by months ago. Accountability would have required a real investigation when the problem first arose. Look at his old emails, look at his old instant messages. Interview past pages, his staff and him. This isn’t hard in any way except politically, which seems to be the only thing that mattered to the Speaker.

The National Rifle Association has endorsed Governor Phil Bredesen (a Democrat). Not surprising as the Gov. is pro-gun and not just in that sportsman/hunter kind of way. He signed shall-issue NFA into law:

The sheriff or chief of police of the city of residence of a person purchasing any firearm, defined by the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. 5845 et seq., shall execute within fifteen (15) business days of any request all documents required to be submitted by the purchaser if the purchaser is not prohibited from possessing firearms pursuant to § 39-17-1316.

In other words, your local sheriff cannot deny your application to purchase NFA weapons, like machine guns, suppressors, and short barreled rifles.

Update: They also endorsed Democrat Gov. Bill Richardson.

When I heard that Republicans were backpedaling and pointing fingers, each trying to prove that he didn’t put politics over pedophilia, I wasn’t much surprised. If Foley were a Democrat and the underage boy was an adult woman, I’m sure GOP leadership would have been aghast. Instead, what makes them squirm is the uncomfortable questions more than the allegations they never investigated.

Fortunately, Tom Reynolds has a way to deal with the questions. He brought a bunch of children to his press conference to ensure that the discussion never strayed beyond topics appropriate for the ears of children. You almost have to admire the man for doing something so clever, transparent and brazen.

The sheer shamelessness of such a maneuver tells you all you need to know. These guys have gotten too secure in their power, too comfortable in their incumbency. They’ve destroyed even the pretense of accountability. It’s time to see them gone.

Netvibes looks pretty darn neat. I’ve not played with it yet but will probably start. Via Der Commissar.

WBIR did:

Bob Corker also “took 3 pay raises for himself,” according to the ad. This claim is true, but it doesn’t mention that the mayor of Chattanooga’s pay is linked to that of the Hamilton County mayor. When the county commission gives the county mayor a raise, Chattanooga’s mayor gets one as well. The raises Bob Corker received amount to approximately 3% a year (Chattanooga mayor’s pay, 2000-2005 document to be posted soon).

The ad then says Bob Corker froze the pay of Chattanooga’s police and firefighters. That claim is a stretch.

In two budgets, Bob Corker changed the pay structure for police and firefighters. Police and firefighters got small cost-of-living raises instead of their regularly-scheduled moves up the pay scale (Budget FY 2001-2002, Budget FY 2003-2004 documents to be posted soon).

Nylarthotep’s joint:

In Mr Stein’s case, he was pounced on as the crew and other travellers looked on. The drama unfolded less than an hour into the flight. As he settled down with a book and a ginger ale, the father-of-three was grabbed from behind and held in a head-lock.

“This guy just told me his name was Michael Wilk, that he was with the New York Police Department, that I’d been acting suspiciously and should stay calm. I could barely find my voice and couldn’t believe it was happening,” said Mr Stein.

Washington Watch tracks how much legislation in Congress costs.

Kim notes the Military Channel did. Kim offers his own rankings. I’ll be taking the Military Channels number 1 & 2 to Reno.

Seen at the KNS, The Tennessee Republican Party darkened an image of Harold Ford, Jr. Kinda lame. They also allegedly used code words. Though I’ve opined that I didn’t think Tennessee would elect a black senator, I haven’t seen race made much an issue until now. I’m disappointed it has now shown it’s ugly face.

Conservatives for Corker wants folks to go shill at the Bob Pope Gun Show:

The Bob Pope Gun Show is this weekend, and we need you! We need volunteers on Saturday and Sunday to pass out Sportsmen for Corker Stickers at the event. If you’re willing to help for a few hours either of these days, Tennessee Victory will pay for your admission.

You get free admission. I wonder if you’d also get any hard info on what Corker thinks about gun laws? I doubt it.

Over VV, AC asks:

My question is: under what circumstance is it appropriate to print the word? Obviously, not as a slur but is it okay in other circumstances? Should it be asterisked as though it were a curse word or should one use the political correct term “N-word”?

Now, AC blogs for the man, the MSM, part of the problem. So, he has to cater to the delicate sensibilities of people. I don’t. He asked this question in reference to my post in which I (intentionally) said gays and godless heathens are the new niggers. You, if you were a smart person, probably realized that I was using inflammatory language to reference the widespread dehumanization of blacks by using a derogatory term. You, if you were a dumbass, thought I was a RACIST!!!! (for examples of such dumbassery, see comments at AC’s joint).

And Brittney, who also blogs the man, the MSM, part of the problem, has a pretty funny image here. I thought it was funny. And even thought I may snag a copy. I notice the name of the files was respectthecock.gif. I thought it was funnier. I commented on how funny I thought the name was and she said that was almost the title the post. I assume she thought the people who watch WKRN wouldn’t find it so funny.

If I worked for the man, I couldn’t say things like that. Or talk about a bunch of stuff I talk about here.

This time, at NewsDay.com:

Police and other law enforcement agencies have been told to be on the lookout for two new gadgets — a tiny gun that looks like a key chain trinket and easily could be smuggled onto a plane, and a plastic handcuff key that looks like a pendant.

The NYPD issued a Sept. 29 memo about the factory-produced gun — a 2½-inch-long replica of the Colt Python that, police sources note, can be tossed, along with keys and cell phone, for instance, into a plastic basket before passing through an airport metal detector. The gun has not been found in New York City, authorities said.

Bear in mind some things about this gun (from an earlier post):

They cost $5,000

They’re illegal to import

The ammo is less powerful than an Airsoft pellet

They fire the round at an underwhleming 420 FPS

Gunblogger (and a whole lot more) James at Hell in a Handbasket has returned.

Blaming Harry Potter for school shootings.

quote

And another question: Why will the basically conservative people who think Tom Selleck is a great choice say that it’s terrific for the popular nonentity to stump for unbridled license to guns, but that liberal actors should shut their pie holes?
Every time a Barbra Streisand or Dixie Chick takes a stand, the right screams and hollers and says that actors should act, singers should sing, and that entertainers should firmly place their opinions where the sun don’t shine.
But Tom Selleck, well, that’s another story. Obviously his well-groomed mustache and masterly performance in “Three Men and a Baby” make him just the dude to cross the nation delivering his opinions on this most political of issues.

I admit that I say the same things about Streisand and her ilk. Are we being fair to the voices from the other side?

Over at Nashville is Having Technical Issues with MySQL (scroll down, it’s broken), Brittney ponders staying home on election day:

I can only imagine the reaction of voters who are not part of the political scene to the onslaught of negative campaign ads, with their ominous music and foreboading narrators. It damn near makes me want to stay at home, and I always vote.

Or a post about life, the universe, and everything. But mostly the universe.

This post will be rambling in nature, you’ve been warned.

About once every few years, I go through this phase wherein I ponder the nature of the universe. As opposed to the rest of the time, when I could apparently give a fuck less because I got shit to do. Since this is the first time where I’ve gone through that phase while having a blog, I figured I’d bore the shit out of you err entertain you with it. Now, it’s been a while since I’ve read any Hawking or Sagan, so a lot of this crap is from memory, and mine is usually faulty. If I’m wrong about something, let me know as it may make my pondering easier. So, a few notes on my understanding of the universe based on crap I read many years ago:

1 – At one point in time, there was this big ass thing. Well, we don’t know really if it was big ass but it was massive. And they don’t really know what this thing was but take their word for it, it was massive. This thing may not have actually been a thing either as it currently is viewed as a mathematical concept. Apparently, it was so massive that all the stuff that is currently in the universe comprised this big ass thing, which seems to indicate it was a big ass thing and not a big ass mathematical concept. So, it was probably at least as massive as a 1965 Buick Wildcat. At some point, the big ass thing got so big ass that, instead of crushing itself under its own big assness, it exploded, which makes no sense. But that’s what they say. This explosion (called either The Big Bang or Let there be light, depending on who you talk to) created the universe as we know it. All that stuff in the big ass thing turned into a bunch of small ass things that were immediately hurled out into space – and don’t even get me started on space. Nevermind, I’ll get started on space. That’s the other thing about the universe: sure there’s a lot of stuff in it but there’s more lack of stuff than anything else. They call this lack of stuff space.

2 – At some point all that stuff created will get as far as it can get and then it will turn around and head back to the middle to rejoin the big ass thing that it was once a part of, kind of like a paddle ball. This is referred to (by me, anyway) as a collapse but people who study this crap call it The Big Crunch or Armageddon, depending on who you talk to. This happens due to gravity or invisible men in the sky, again depending on who you talk to. We’re apparently still in the exploding phase of this process as (they say) the universe is getting bigger. Which is good news, I suppose. I mean it beats knowing that we’re collapsing. That’d be depressing. So, at some point, all things will rejoin the big ass thing and we’ll all die at the hands of a mathematical concept.

3 – This process perpetuates, which is to say that this big ass thing explodes, collapses, explodes again, and collapses again. Seemingly, forever.

4 – The universe is definitely finite. Or definitely infinite. There’s some disagreement on that. Regardless, it’s pretty fucking big. It has to be since it holds all our stuff. But I think most people seem to think it’s finite.

5 – The universe is really, really old. It’s so old that we (well, I) can’t even begin to fathom how old it is. It’s been around an estimated 13.7 billion years (± 200 million years).

6 – The universe (and I’m not making this up, I swear I read it in a Hawking’s book) is shaped roughly like a banana. It’s not important to the discussion but I thought you’d like to know. And, of course, it implies that the universe is finite.

So, this leads me to my pondering:

In the life of the universe, I am (heck, the whole of human existence for that matter is) totally insignificant. This, of course, leads me to wonder about my own insignificance. Am I insignificant in the way that feminists are insignificant in elections? Which is to say, I serve no greater purpose? Or am I insignificant in the way a red blood cell is insignificant? Which is to say, that while an individual red blood cell is in fact insignificant, the totality of all red blood cells is quite significant. Or, put another way, am I a cog in well-oiled machine? Or just a byproduct of the machine’s production.

If the universe is, in fact, finite, where the hell is it? If we assume it’s not everything, well, it has to be somewhere. And if it is finite, are there more? And where are they? And will we ever run into another one? And if it is finite, where the hell did all the space come from. And where exactly is it?

If the universe is infinite, then there has to be infinite me’s. Which makes me not insignificant, after all there are an infinite number of me’s out there. Spooky. Also, if it is infinite (which I don’t really buy, by the way), well, I can’t comprehend that as it would still have to be somewhere as far as I’m concerned. And, of course, if it is infinite, the big bang seems to imply that while it is infinite in terms of space, it’s probably not infinite in terms of the stuff in it, which means there likely aren’t infinite me’s out there. ETA: And, if infinite, it may just be a bunch of space with an inifinite number of big ass things exploding and collapsing all the time.

Since it’s really, really old, what was around before it was? You know, what was here, say, 15 billion years ago? Just a big ass thing and some space?

This leads me to my conclusion, which is that the existence of the universe [which seems to be perfectly aligned to create itself, create life, and create cool things (like Double Stuf Peanut Butter Oreos and Buick Wildcats)] indicates the existence of a higher power. Or that everything (including Oreos and Buick Wildcats) is a remarkable series of coincidences. Either seems likely to me.

If there is a higher power, where did it come from? Does God have a God? Does God’s God have a God? And we start the pondering infinite and perpetual loops again. Not only does the universe perpetuate itself, it perpetuates the pondering of itself.

In comments to my original post, Sigivald sayeth:

Is 16 a “young boy”?

That’s the age of consent in DC and in many states (including, I think, those the boys were in when emailed/IM’d), so it’d be legal for Foley to actually diddle the boy in question, which he did not.

Assuming that Sigi is correct, there’s nothing illegal that went down (heh! it’s so easy to toss off some gay jokes – see, I did it again). Now, Foley is likely a dirty old man. And he likely used his position and authority to exert a bit of influence. So, he should go. And it’s not because he’s gay or anything. It’s because his actions were inappropriate for a man in his position (I tell ya, they keep coming).

It’s also looking like the Republican leadership’s supposed knowledge that this was happening was mostly non-existent.

The Independent asks:

The Big Question: Can America ever be weaned off its love affair with guns?

No. See, unlike the Brits, it would require weaning. In England, it happened despite their gun culture. Bear in mind that England is a country whose press is terrified by BB guns and knives. And check this out:

There’s no question that the gun culture – stemming back to the frontier spirit of the 19th century and justified, at least by gun-ownership advocates, by the Second Amendment of the Constitution – plays a major role in perpetuating the high numbers of violent deaths.

Err, no. The gun culture (of which I am part) plays no role in gun deaths. Criminals do.

Cam says expect more suits from Mayor Bloomberg. I found this interesting:

Expect more cases and out-of-state lawsuits against gun dealers. The $800,000 contract for the James Mintz Group, the P.I. firm hired by Bloomberg, lasts until June 2008.

The ATF says of the simulated purchases (which is a euphemism for committing a felony):

Joe Green, a senior special agent and the New York spokesman for the ATF, questions the initiatives’ effectiveness. “It was useless,” he says. “We didn’t even know they were doing this until the day of the press conference” in May, when the mayor announced his sweeping civil lawsuit against fifteen out-of-state gun dealers he claims sold guns that were traced to New York crimes. “They never told us at all.” Green says that federal authorities subsequently had to sort out whether their own undercover investigations may have been jeopardized. Then again, the ATF might just be angry at Bloomberg for calling it “asleep at the switch” in a news conference

Seen at Bruce’s:

Gunman chose Amish school because it was easy target

Seen at David’s:

I think we should all understand, no proposed law, none that I would think of or none that I’ve seen, could have ruled out this situation

Bush is calling for a summit on school violence.

CJ has the dope:

The banking industry response to the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act is something in which we can take some heart. The banks were initially afraid the bill would hold them liable for not enforcing the law. Now, bankslawyers are telling them that it appears the banks’ exposure is limited.

AC says that The Mayor of Franklin has declared that neither Confederate Flags nor any antique guns shall be seen at a commemoration of the Battle of Franklin.

But one gun a month remains up for a vote.

Apparently, gays and godless heathens are the new niggers. Via the Roginator.

I know people fear gay cooties but why not atheists? Just curious.

Something is missing from the list. I notice Middle-Easterner isn’t on there.

Tam:

The fringe elements that propagate those theories seem to forget that they are accusing the same government that can’t get a letter across town in a week (or even keep a presidential blowjob a secret) of orchestrating a machiavellian plot worthy of the next Dan Brown novel.

Der Commissar:

I have decided to vote Democratic this fall.

I am a conservative and a Republican party member. I believe in small government, free markets, strong defense, etc., but Bush’s snafu in Iraq is just too much. It overwhelms those issues which for 30 years have made me vote GOP.

Or, the shorter version, Bush is no conservative. The GOP controlled congress isn’t either. I’ve been weighing this one myself. My only request to Der Commissar is at least make a protest vote: Vote third party. Throw your vote away in protest. I did it in 2004 when I wasted my vote on this guy. I think it’s a statement that I am willing to vote for a crazy man over the two candidates offered by the two major parties. This leads us to the quote of the day from Der Commissar:

I must hand it to Bush … I never would have thought there would be a Republican president that could ever persuade me to vote for the Democrats.

Preston Taylor Holmes notes that this seems to be a trend among conservative bloggers.

I’ve been that way since about 2002.

Update: Stuff like this doesn’t help either:

It took the Republicans a little more than a decade to achieve what forty years of Democratic rule accomplished – the institutionalization of corruption. The major difference is that the elephant masqueraded as a reformist, moral revolutionary.

I will. The group Vote No on 1 advocates opposing Tennessee’s pending constitutional ban on gay marriage. Glad they have a real webpage now. From their site:

Writing discrimination into the Tennessee Constitution hurts lesbian and gay families denying them the right to make a legally recognized commitment to love and family.

I don’t do much knife blogging. I don’t do any sword blogging. Neither is my thing. I mean, I have knives but only for the same reason I have toilet paper, because I need them. I’m not an aficionado.

But here’s a blog on knives and swords.