Ebert's Brains are Leaking onto the Floor

Link

Link

I don't think I need to say anything here.  Two pictures are worth two-thousand words.

Trolling the Interweb: A Clarification

Just to be clear:  When my labels say "Trolling the Interweb," what I mean is this:

Not this:

Or, heaven forbid, this:

Now you know.

More Max Baucus

I mentioned Max Baucus a little while back here.  But wait, there's more!  

Money quote from Are We Lumberjacks:

...You probably remember the YouTube video that started the rumors of drunkenness last December. At that time the Senator's office denied  guilt and characterized the video as an "untrue personal smear". Me, I took the denial with a grain of salt. But Baucus took it with a dash of salt, a slice of lime, and a shot of tequila, and with a dash of salt, a slice of lime, and a shot of tequila, and with a dash of salt, a slice of lime, and a shot of tequila...

I wish I was a MT resident.  Then I would get in-state tuition and I would be able to vote him out! Double whammy!

...a reciprocation dingle arm to reduce sinusoidal replinaration...

This is engineering at it's finest! And the last line pretty well sums up everything.

Read all about the turboencabulator at (where else?) Wikipedia.

Pomplamoose

This band is awesome...



From wikipedia:

"Pomplamoose are an American indie music and indie jazz duo consisting of multi-instrumentalists Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. The band was formed in the summer of 2008. The name of the band derives from the French word pamplemousse, meaning grapefruit."

Thanks to Alan

Hundedth Post! w00t!

I didn't think I'd make it this long. 

I'm messing around with my colors and such around here.  It may change at ANY MOMENT!

Comments/suggestions welcome on what it looks like...

Conspiracy Theories

Larry Corriea.
Money conspiracies!

Jay G.
Gun conspiracies!



Update: And now Kevin Baker goes back in time to a 2005 Possible future disturbingly similar to our own... he says it's an interesting coincidence, but I'll call it what it is: a conspiracy!

How to wake up a Room Mate

We're supposed to go to church early today, but my room mate went moonlight skiing last night. I am now blasting away:



I warned him what would happen.

Palm Sunday

Today: People rejoiced as Jesus came to town.
This Friday: People taunted and rejected Jesus as he was tried, convicted and murdered.

Man, humans can be dumb and mean.

Bacon Explosion: an Explosion of Flavor!

"Yum. Ack!" *heart attack!* "An explosion in my chest!"

Where We Were and Where We Are

The world premier of my cartooning ability!  Something said in the latest Vicious Circle (yes, I listen to them) piqued my imagination, and I made a simple drawing to explain our situation.  Alan and Jay G pointed out that this health care monstrosity is only the latest in a long train of abuses and usurpations--this wall of bull has been built so slowly that people got used to the smell.

It remains to be seen if we are content to be safely behind the wall, no matter how cramped and disgusting it is, or if we the people are tired of being walled in and will do the distasteful act of climbing over--even if bears and wolves might live in the mountains on the other side.

Let's see what happens.

A Christian Joke

A man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door.  She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him..... I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk; naturally...I assumed you had stolen the car."

 From an email going around.

I Like My Timezone

Because when I get up in the morning, people on the east coast (poor saps) have already put up several posts, then it rolls across the country, and in the evening the westerners (though a lot of them seem to be Arizonans) put up one last post before bed, right when I am winding down for the night.  There doesn't seem to be much in the way of bloggers who interest me on the west coast, so it doesn't matter that they are another hour off in the other direction.

It's too bad there are only 24 hours a day.

A Pirate Joke

What do trumpeters and pirates have in common?


They both do murder on the High C's.

Say it with a pirate accent--it's better that way!

Uh oh...

I don't know if this is a good sign or a bad one...

SPACE NAZIS!

This looks strangely awesome in ways previously unexplored.

Iron Sky.

From the Website:

Towards the end of World War II the staff of SS officer Hans Kammler made a significant breakthrough in anti-gravity.

From a secret base built in the Antarctic, the first Nazi spaceships were launched in late ‘45 to found the military base Schwarze Sonne (Black Sun) on the dark side of the Moon. This base was to build a powerful invasion fleet and return to take over the Earth once the time was right.

Now it’s 2018, the Nazi invasion is on its way and the world is goose-stepping towards its doom.

The Vaguaries of the English Language

Here's a word.  Ghoti. 

What is it?  Some sort of Buddhist chant for good chi?  A type of noodle made in Northern Italy?

How do you pronounce it?  "Goe-tee?" "Goht-tye?"

It's actually just a word that is in common usage, but spelled differently.  What word is it?

Fish.

"Gh" as in "tough," "O" as in "women," and "Ti" as in "motion."  That's "ffff-iiiiii-shhh."

Random fact for the day.  Check it out on Wikipedia.

Books of 2010: Monster Hunter International

I needed to have something to read on the plane for my trip back east last week, and this one was at the top of the pile: "Monster Hunter International," written by Larry Correia, copyright 2009. I read it last year, then I gave it to my brother and he read it, then I gave it to my mother, and she read it.  Everyone, despite our different tastes in books, have loved it.

MHI is about a group of people who destroy evil using violence. Apparently, the classic holy symbols sometimes work, but "...are dependent on the faith of the user. Most Hunters opt for violence over faith; [they're] kinda like soccer fans that way."

This book forever made me hate Twilight--the whole time I watched that movie (I was forced into it, don't judge me), all I could think of was silver tipped .45 ACP and napalm. And the movie would have gone from "worst" to "first!" Hollywood producers take note!

My only quibble is the use of the words "torn asunder" in too many places. It was almost distracting.

Anyway, it is a fast paced book with much mayhem, plenty of illegal weapons (a souped up shotgun, named "Abomination," is described as breaking every firearm law), great dialogue, and the defeat of evil. What more could you want in a book?

I award this book 11 out of 10.  And an A++

Today's Doonesbury

I was looking through today's newspaper, just because my school gives out free ones, and saw this:

It's just that NOTHING LIKE THAT EVER HAPPENED!

But I suppose we all knew that Garry Trudeau had a hard time getting a clue.

Come on, Montana!

For a state that has a history of standing up for states' rights, you are being mysteriously silent on healthcare.  11 other states are doing something that you should have started! Just because you have a Senatecreature who doesn't live in MT and has been a career creep, and a Democratic Governor (who has been amazingly able to stand up for the people thus far), doesn't mean you have to suddenly shut up.  Stand up for your rights!  And if the politicians won't do it--VOTE THEM OUT!  I'm rooting for you!

Calm Down. Calm Down...

I recently saw "The Book of Eli," and thought that is was a pretty good APOCALYPSE!!!! flick, though with a somewhat weak ending. It had a really cool machete in it.

Lops off some hands and such.  Anyway, I was very enamored with the soundtrack, which is best described as "Atmospheric Techno." It is very good background noise for studying (at least in my opinion, I know that music while trying to concentrate isn't for everyone). I thought I would find my favorite song off the album and share it with you.



Anyway, I thought it was cool.  And I needed a break from looking through the National Electrical Code.  Blech.

YES!

http://www.papadeltabravo.com/blog/?p=1111

Read it!  It's time to get up!

Healthcare, and the Long Slow Death of the Citizen

So here is my struggle. As a Christian, I can say that none of this stuff on Earth matters--I've got a get out of jail free card. I can sit back and watch as the government slowly turns the citizens into subjects... and it doesn't matter in the long run, because in the end I will die, and I will dance.

But does it mean that I should just sit back and watch?

What we have in theory is the form of government that best respects humanity, and which I believe was set up with divine providence. All of the founding fathers, whether or not they were "Christians," all believed that there was something greater than themselves guiding them. They went against the established government (which was disconnected from them), fought, and set up something better.

So at what point does a person decide to stop being apathetic? Apathy, even when justified by salvation, is a sin of selfishness. Shouldn't we want the best, not only for ourselves, but for all future generations?

What was voted on yesterday is a step in the wrong direction. It is moving toward a state where everything is supposedly "taken care of" by some bureaucratic tower. It is moving toward 1984, and the Soviet Union, and V for Vendetta, and every other dystopia, fiction and non-, where the people are treaded upon and told that things are all OK, and the only reason they go along with it is that they just... don't... know any better.

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.

What choice to make? Do we, whatever our backgrounds and religions, go along with something like this? I may be saved from hell, but that does not excuse me with sitting back and letting evil take over the world. As a Christian, as a human, I should be in the front lines of the fight against evil. This is my conclusion. Apathy kills.

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength but irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.
...
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

--Patrick Henry

"Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels."
--Revelation 12:7

War always will rage between the two great sovereignties until one or other be crushed. Peace between good and evil is an impossibility; the very pretence of it would, in fact, be the triumph of the powers of darkness. Michael will always fight; his holy soul is vexed with sin, and will not endure it. Jesus will always be the dragon's foe, and that not in a quiet sense, but actively, vigorously, with full determination to exterminate evil. All His servants, whether angels in heaven or messengers on earth, will and must fight; they are born to be warriors--at the cross they enter into covenant never to make truce with evil; they are a warlike company, firm in defence and fierce in attack. The duty of every soldier in the army of the Lord is daily, with all his heart, and soul, and strength, to fight against the dragon.

The dragon and his angels will not decline the affray; they are incessant in their onslaughts, sparing no weapon, fair or foul. We are foolish to expect to serve God without opposition: the more zealous we are, the more sure are we to be assailed by the myrmidons of hell. The church may become slothful, but not so her great antagonist; his restless spirit never suffers the war to pause; he hates the woman's seed, and would fain devour the church if he could. The servants of Satan partake much of the old dragon's energy, and are usually an active race. War rages all around, and to dream of peace is dangerous and futile.

Glory be to God, we know the end of the war. The great dragon shall be cast out and for ever destroyed, while Jesus and they who are with Him shall receive the crown. Let us sharpen our swords to-night, and pray the Holy Spirit to nerve our arms for the conflict. Never battle so important, never crown so glorious. Every man to his post, ye warriors of the cross, and may the Lord tread Satan under your feet shortly!

--C. H. Spurgeon, from "Morning and Evening," November 30 pm

Ugh. Reality Check.

I went on vacation for a week, didn't do any of my homework, and now it is catching up to me. I don't think I am going to have very much free time this week, but I hope to have a few more pictures and thoughts up about my trip back east in a few days...

Thought of the Day

Those who are willing to give up some liberty for some safety will end up with neither. Sign me up for the dangerous track, baby. Besides, it’s way more entertaining!

Philadelphia

Independence Hall

The inside, where everything was signed.

Toured Philadelphia today, I'll update in a bit with some thoughts, maybe. Time for dinner, though.

Oingo Boingo!

Why?  Because I can!



Wake up! wont you listen to me
Wake up! wont you listen to me
Wont you listen to me
Wake up! wont you listen to me
Wake up! wont you listen to me
Wont you listen to me

Big brothers watching, we watch him back
We see right through his disguise
He tries to scare us, with angry words
But we all know that they're lies
Whole world is waiting
Just see the fear in their eyes

Whole world is watching, observing every move
Is it beginning or the end?
Just like a chess game, but so intense
That I just don't understand
Anticipation
Its much to big to pretend

Chorus
(wake up), its 1984
(wake up), but we've been here before
(wake up), its 1984
(wake up), but we've been here before, (here before)

Big brothers screaming but we don't care
Cause hes got nothing to say
Think of the future, think of the prophecy
Think of the children of today
Big brothers marching
So we all stand in his way
Open your eyes, sisters and brothers
Neatly disguised, so far away
Open your heart, try to remember
Two worlds apart, but so close

(wake up), its 1984
But we've been here before
(wake up), its 1984
But we've been here before
All our lives leading up to this day, watching and waiting

Wake up! wake up!
Wake up! wake up!

Open your eyes, sisters and brothers
Neatly disguised, so far away
Open your heart, try to remember
Two worlds apart, but so close

Chorus

Whole world is watching
Anticipating
Big brothers marching
Is it beginning or the end?

Explosion: Small Diameter Bomb

I almost forgot!  Continuing the military theme from last week, we've got another explosion.



The F-22 is pretty sweet. Too bad they are cutting back on it's deployment. I'm not a big fan of the F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter), it just seems to be stuck in development limbo--behind schedule and over budget. From Air Power Australia:

A mature production F-22A in the 2015 timeframe, one which has absorbed avionic, engines, materials and production technologies paid for by the JSF program, will incur its principal production cost differences against the JSF in additional structure, and an additional engine/nozzle. The order of magnitude difference in cost between mature JSF and F-22A could be around US$10M to 15M flyaway - this estimate fitting very closely to cited flyaway numbers for F-22As post the current build number cap, vs the more conservative JSF estimates. If the then JSF comes in at 50 to 75 percent of the flyaway/FMS cost of the then F-22A, buying the much less capable JSF would be a folly.

 Here they are talking about purchasing the fighters for Australian military, but you get the drift.

And now I'm probably going to be put on every security list know to man, for putting up something about explosions and airplanes right after talking about things that I can't bring on airplanes.  Oh well.  Perhaps I will hope that a real person with a brain reads it, instead of an automatic computer thing.

Oh, and here's some more info about the problems with the JSF.  Wow, I like that website.

Books of 2010: Neuromancer

Another one for the list: "Neuromancer," by William Gibson, first published in 1984. I went to the used book store a couple days ago, and it was one I picked up.

Neuromancer was the first book to win the Phillip K. Dick, Hugo,and Nebula Awards. I thought it was pretty interesting, but I don't know if I thought it was that good. It was interesting to see how so many of the modern dystopias got their ideas from William Gibson. There were mega-corporations (Blue Sun, anyone?), a huge electronic information net, hackers, body-augmentation with cybernetics and genetics, AI's, and some mention of a nuclear war.

It was good to read a bit of scifi after my recent string of non-fiction; I always fly right through these types of books. This one was enjoyable, but I don't think I would have bought it new.

I'm trying to decide what to read next--it will probably be something light again.  Maybe a Steven Brust, or maybe Monster Hunter International again.

Oh, and I was counting them, and I think I'm up to 9.

Safety and Security

Sigh. These things are normally in pockets, but won't be when I go to the airport.

I know the knives are a no-no, and the strike anywhere matches, but I'm not sure about bicflicklighter. The TSA says something about they have to be in an approved case, or something.

By the way, did you know that hand grenades are prohibited? Who knew?

Rock, Rock On!

I will give you a fair warning. This video may or may not contain: guitars, drums, crazy eyes, an organ, long hair, a flute, a mad yodeler, and possibly some furious whistling.



And for those of you who grew up listening to this music, I don't know whether to feel sorry for you, or to think that you are totally awesome.

It's Coming! It's Coming!

Spring break is so close I can almost touch it!  Unfortunately, it means I am saddled down with homework in every possible form.  Two take home tests, two reading assignments, the everpresent senior design, a review assignment for The Big Test that I have to take in April, and two regular homework assignments.  And I am going to Delaware/Philadelphia/New York City for a mini family reunion/my brother is singing at Carnegie Hall (I know!) with his school's (U Dub, of the Cowboy kind) choir.  I don't know how I am going to get everything or anything done, but it's still SPRING BREAK!

By the way, anyone know of some good Revolutionary War sites around Philly/Northern Delaware/New Jersey?  We're obviously going to go to Independence Hall, but anything else? My friend the history major (who is obsessed with the Civil War) is advocating going to Gettysburg again, but I've been there before.  I want some good TJ and the Revo stuff.

Old Verse of the Moment: The Kinks

 I'm going to put up a new one on the sidebar, so this one gets it's own post to be saved for posterity!

...

Now another century nearly gone,
What are we gonna leave for the young?
What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do,
It's a crime, but does it matter?
Does it matter much, does it matter much to you?
Does it ever really matter?
Yes, it really, really matters.

Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Now another leader says
Break their hearts and break some heads.
Is there nothing we can say or do?
Blame the future on the past,
Always lost in blood and guts.
And when they're gone, it's me and you.

...

--Living on a Thin Line, The Kinks

Books of 2010:

I read another one like this one.  The kind where you're not sure if you should bring it up in polite company, because people will start assuming things, and then there you go getting all labeled as something that may have some interesting connotations. 

I will say that it has some ...planning things in it, and it's ...translated from a European country and ... it has a mostly white cover...

Good read, pretty short, somewhat dated, and not enough details for my liking.  It goes over how an occupying enemy will try to win over your hearts and minds, which has some interesting parallels to some of the things our government is doing.  I never thought of the government as an occupying force before, but it is kinda looking like it, isn't it?

Happy Birthday, Chuck Norris!

Chuck Norris just turned 70 today! 70!

I don't think I should put down any Chuck Norris jokes... you've probably heard them all before.

Well, ok.  In honor of Borepatch (see sidebar), here's a good one:  "There's no such thing as global warming.  Chuck Norris got cold so he turned the sun up."

Blech. Credit Card Fraud. I Blame California.

So someone in sunny CA has been spending my money on wedding videos and shoes.

A couple notes:

--This makes me hate you even more CA.  Don't make me actively work to push you into the ocean.  'Cause I will.

--Giving credit where credit is due, credit card people in India can sure press the right buttons on their computers, even if I can't understand what they say.

We'll see how this all turns out...

My Fair Share of Funds to Pay for Services I Need

 
I just got a letter in the mail from...drumroll... the Department of Commerce!  It says, among other things, that the "Results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each community get its fair share of government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs that you and your neighbors need."

Besides the fact that it's written so a fifth grader could understand it, I have a problem with the word choice here.  I can see many things here that I disagree with.  Like that they think I need all of these programs.  Like they think that all my neighbors think that they need all these programs.  Like the little redistribution thread I hear running through the word choice. 

While Robin Hood was a good guy, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, what we have here is a situation where the Sheriff of Nottingham has killed the hero, taken everything from everyone, and now doles it out where ever he feels fit as a service to society.

We'll see how this all works out.

And Here's Another Thought

The Second Amendment:  the Government's reset button.

Sunday Scripture

Another psalm, this time talking about judges!

I really like the Psalms in The Message, though you must be careful, as I said here.

The one that I found this time is Psalm 82, an Asaph Psalm:

God calls the judges into his courtroom, he puts all the judges in the dock.

"Enough! You've corrupted justice long enough,
you've let the wicked get away with murder.
You're here to defend the defenseless,
to make sure that underdogs get a fair break;
Your job is to stand up for the powerless,
and prosecute all those who exploit them."

Ignorant judges! Head-in-the-sand judges!
They haven't a clue to what's going on.
And now everything's falling apart,
the world's coming unglued.

"I commissioned you judges, each one of you,
deputies of the High God,
But you've betrayed your commission
and now you're stripped of your rank, busted."

O God, give them their just deserts!
You've got the whole world in your hands!

Hmmm... I wonder if there are any current events we could tie this one to?

By the way, that last article (from sunny San Francisco) has some pretty hilarious stuff in it (like "OH NOES!!!! GUNZ R BAD!!!!!").

Today's Explosion

I'm pretty sure this counts as an explosion of some sort.



Read up at Wikipedia!

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Isn't this the coolest political ad you've ever seen?

The "Why" of the United States of America

I took this challenge. I did not use a fountain pen; the words are more important. I did not use parchment paper; the words are more important. Will you take the challenge, and pass it on?

I have decided to take this seriously.  Read it again.  Decide what it means, how it applies to today.  What is in danger?  Write it out.

This is the founding document, the one that started it all.  Have we forgotten the "Why?" of the United States of America?  I pray that it is not so.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Scary Mary

You know, that's a good point. It's like those old Brothers Grimm fairy tales, in that a lot of weird and potentially frightening stuff happens, yet we market it to small children.

Here's an interesting one

I know you've probably read all those polls going around: "99 % of voters think that the govenment is outta control!" and the like. But here's one that I missed.

According to Rasmussen Reports, 87% of voters think that Washington is "broken," but 73% of the political class disagree.

Can you say: "Come back to Earth?"

Philosophotizing

I am going to administer a series of rapid fire questions to myself to observe the answers.

What do you do?

Right now? I just finished doing a bunch of random calculus stuff for Heat Transfer. Pretty soon it will be time for the Lent service down at church. They have soup!

No, what do you do in the big scheme of things?

I am an engineering student... Do you mean what do I like to do?

Not really... sure. What do you like to do?

I like to read books about many different things. I like to make beer, though it is a relatively new hobby for me. I like shooting, but I am completely inexperienced at that. I like to find out people's opinions on things, which is why I like this whole "blogging" thing. Though I worry about getting all of your news from one source. I really like to have differing opinions on things, just so I'm "well rounded." I like gaining knowledge and skills in all sorts of different areas. I think my goal isn't to be the glamorous leader, but to be the mad scientist who is "a good man to have at your back." Wow, that was a lot of quotation marks.

Favorite food?

Peanut butter and jelly.

What is the best way to pass time?

I really like walking in the woods. Sometimes it is good to go with someone else, and sometimes it is good to go alone with your thoughts. Sometimes it is good to go with a gun, so you can plink.

Where are you from?

I'm from Colorado, but I have been living in Montana for the past four years to go to school. I really love it here, and it is hard to think of myself graduating and getting a job somewhere else. I think I could probably live in four different states: MT, WY, CO, and ID. And maybe UT, though I disagree with their doctrine.

What's with all of the theology you sprinkle around?

Well, if you are going to accept Jesus Christ as your one and only savior, you had better learn what that means. If it's not a part of you, what's the point? Possibly I have spent a bit too much time debating free will vs. predestination (as I have come to believe all theological debates condense down into) during Bible studies. Possibly I haven't spent enough time doing that.

Thanks for your time. I hope to do it again someday.

Thank you! Not a problem.

I Desecrated King Herod's Tomb.

Sundays are bad for National Geographic's biblical history revisionism.

And on a slightly related note, my 10/22 works great with the new parts.  It shoots a bit high, and I need to tinker with it.  Also, there is an Appleseed Shoot in the area in May, the weekend after school gets out.  I'm thinking that I might go...

Books of 2010: The Winter War

I read another book yesterday. It was called "The Winter War: the Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940," by Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen, written in 1973.

This was a very good book--short, informative, and entertaining. It was full of entertaining anecdotes showing the Finnish "sisu," or "guts."

For example, this drawing, by cartoonist Jussi Aarnio, has the subtitle of  "I had no idea when I was a kid that it would be so much fun to be a grown-up."

The Finns, using guerrilla tactics, kept the massive Russian army at a standstill during the entire winter, and even though the cease-fire terms were extremely favorable to the Soviets, the Finns considered themselves an unbeaten army.

Anyone interested in military history would be well advised to read this book.  Highly recommended.