Around the blogs: 2013-03-14

Here are some recent blog posts and articles that caught my eye.

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In the light of the current debate furore over firearms rights, possession, etc., Ambulance Driver had a particularly good post about what should be the normality of the situation.  I couldn't agree more.

In similar vein, Baboon Pirate reminisces about a plan that offered off-duty cops, working as security guards, a new gun and $1,000 in cash if they 'successfully ended an armed robbery'.  Worked then - would probably work just as well today, except for a certain lack of political correctness . . .

Finally (as far as firearms go) The Miller puts up a picture of an awesome-looking sawed-off over-and-under shotgun that's been converted into a pistol-like weapon.  I daresay the kick might be enough to dislocate my wrist, and the muzzle blast would probably light every cigarette within a ten-foot radius, but dang! - it looks like fun!  (I suspect, too, that any bad guy staring into those two yawning ¾" muzzles might have a sudden change of heart . . . which is the whole idea!)

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I wasn't aware of it, but according to Grouchy Old Cripple, there was another candidate for the recent Papal elections in Rome.  Birth certificates were involved.

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Jane (whose blog, Rational Preparedness, I've only recently discovered, but am enjoying very much as I browse her archives) describes our current economic situation as 'living in the disconnect'.  She begins:

We are living in the United States in a strange time.  For example, if one happens to watch morning or daytime television in the United States, then you are soaked with a bevy of fashion, expensive bags, cosmetics, and plans for your vacation.  Statistics tell us that the middle class in the US is shrinking or crashing badly.  As food, insurance costs and other things rise, families find they have less and less disposable income.  And yet, The Today Show continues with precious Easter outfits for only $200. each per precious tot.  There is a definite disconnect between genuine US life and life as portrayed on the news, and on television in general.

There's more at the link.  Worthwhile reading.

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Protein Wisdom describes how our tax dollars are being 'used against us' by being funneled (without so much as a 'by-your-leave') to an organization that I'm sure many, if not most, of my readers would never support voluntarily.  Furthermore, this is only one such organization - odds are there are many others receiving the same privileged treatment.  He concludes:

These systemic and institutionalized Marxist Trojan horse viruses inside the body politic can’t be rooted out without tearing the whole thing down, nuking it from orbit, and then rebuilding over the glassy remains once the fallout has cleared.

Word.

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Some salespeople never know when to shut up . . . particularly when the customer knows more about their product than they do.  Dr. Grumpy illustrates.

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Sean Linnane updates the old 'give a man a fish' metaphor.

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Greylocke brings us news of a real estate scam that boggles my mind.  He describes only one incident.  How often is this happening elsewhere?  Are we taxpayers being fleeced by thousands, or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of others in the same way?  It looks very much as if Mitt Romney's comment about the 47% was right on the money . . .




EDITED TO ADD: According to Snopes, this information may not be accurate. You'll have to decide for yourselves, based on the available evidence.

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Following news reports that most New York City high school graduates aren't academically prepared for college or university, several bloggers have reacted with thoughtful analyses of what's wrong with the US education system.  Among them:

• Sarah Hoyt asks whether the problems are due to malice or incompetence, and describes her own nightmarish experiences in getting her kids through the Colorado school system.
• Karl Denninger notes that 'In the 1990s I observed the same thing in Chicago.  I required a High School diploma or GED to apply for a job at my company in the city.  Of the applicants approximately 80% could not make change for a $20 in their head nor could they write a basic, grammatically-correct business letter.  In other words they could not read, write and calculate at the level of basic competence expected of 8th graders ... The teachers unions and public school administrators have all argued they're "essential."  When you fail 8 times out of 10 you're not essential, you're a public menace and a fraud.'  I couldn't agree more!
• Borepatch calls the US education system an 'unshifted paradigm', and argues for a new approach that I think sounds very interesting.  See whether you agree.

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Finally (and most emphatically NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!!), Wirecutter posts a picture that was clearly not planned, but which had me spraying coffee through my nostrils.  It's very rude, but also extremely funny.  View it at your own risk - and not at work!



Peter