Month: July 2011

Transformers 3

I finally got around to seeing Transformers 3 and have to say the beginning of the movie had me worried but the ending was fucking awesome. Obviously there are going to be some spoilers in this post so if you’re not watched it yet and don’t want minor points of the story ruined stop reading now.

As with the previous two Transformers movies the weakness in this one is the fact that the human characters are given too much screen time. I don’t think Michael Bay understands the fact that people don’t go to a Transformers movie to watch humans do thing, they go to watch giant transforming robots do things. The movie also took a bit of time to jack-off Obama. Whatever, I like to think of how he likely ran and cowered in some shelter when Megatron decided he had enough of the human’s shit for a while and started his killing spree again.

Thankfully, things improve greatly once the actual story beings to move along. The Decepticons go balls out in trying to take over the world which is pretty typical Transformers stuff. I do appreciate the part where Megatron blasts the Lincoln Memorial because that man was a tyrannical asshole who didn’t give two shits about freeing the slaves. In all honesty I have more respect for Megatron because he’s a tyrannical asshole but he’s honest about it.

The movie gets very good right around the time the Decepticons take over and blow the shit out of Chicago. After all of the destruction I must say Chicago looked better then it currently does.

Obviously, being a Michael Bay movie, lots of shit is blown up. That’s why I feel Michael Bay is the perfect directory for the Transformers movies, he knows very little about plot and story but he can blow the living shit out of anything which is what Transformers is honestly all about (if you’ve watched the original cartoons you know story was entirely second nature). Transformers 3 has a slightly more involved story than the other two but it still can be summed up as Decepticons trying to take over the world for some evil purpose and the Autobots stop them.

If you’ve enjoyed the previous two Transformers movies you’ll enjoy this one. Cinema snobs need not apply, this movie simply isn’t for you. The characters are fairly one dimensional, the story is bare bones, and every dollar was poured into special effects. On the other hand if you’re like me and enjoy mindless action films that feature completely implausible characters and story lines you’ll enjoy this film.

How it Should Be Done

I am in no way an advocate of initiation violence but I am an advocate of self-defense. In my opinion anybody storming into your home without at least identifying themselves first has initiated violence against your person by first violating your property rights and then by making an implied threat against your life. My biggest problem with no-knock entries is the simply fact that they create a situation where violence is almost guaranteed as the homeowner, unaware of the identities of those breaking into his home, takes measures to defend himself.

Although I feel a homeowner in such a situation should be free of legal repercussions in such situations that’s now how the state sees it. Thankfully some grant juries are better than others because on in Texas recently declined to indict a man who go caught up in this type of scenario:

A grand jury has declined to indict Steven Ray Jones after he was accused of intentionally shooting at Dallas police officers last month at a Pleasant Grove apartment complex.

At the time of the shooting, Jones, 27, was on the phone begging a 911 operator to quickly send the police as men tried to kick in the door. Jones said he believed attackers who critically injured his cousin had returned to the apartment.

[…]

On the night of the incident, a brawl broke out and Jones’ cousin was shot by an unidentified gunman. Jones and his cousin fled into his cousin’s apartment. Jones called 911 to say his cousin was shot and told the operator that attackers were beating on the door.

Moments later, Jones told the operator that someone was kicking the door. The operator, unaware that police were on the scene, told him officers were on the way. Jones then yelled to the people kicking at the door that police were coming.

The officers, believing that someone lay inside bleeding and possibly dying, had decided to kick in the door. But they did not let the dispatcher know that they were doing so.

In this case the no-knock entry wasn’t for the execution of a warrant but notification was still not provided when they busted in the door. Considering this situation the police were in error busting down the door without first announcing themselves or alerting the 911 operator to inform Mr. Jones that police had arrived. Obviously the police department saw things differently:

The Police Department instead arrested Jones on three counts of aggravated assault on a public servant. He has been in jail since the incident June 13.

“Although the person was not indicted, we still believe it was the right course of action because three Dallas police officers were injured during the course of this incident,” said Deputy Chief Craig Miller.

What is left out by Mr. Miller is that the police were injured because of errors in how the situation was handled by the Police Department. Since Mr. Jones was in a situation where an attacker was beating on the door of the apartment he was occupying it was very reasonable for him to assume the person who finally kicked in the door was the attacker. The 911 operator did not forward information to the officers that the attacker was beating down the door, this was the first error. The police apparently didn’t announce themselves before kicking in the door, this was the second error. The police apparently didn’t inform the 911 operator that they had arrived at the scene, this was the third error.

I wouldn’t even say Mr. Jones made a mistake in this case, he took steps necessary to defend himself but wasn’t given all the information to make an informed decision. His actions, based on the information he had available, was completely justified. Thankfully the area Assistant Chief sees the situation different than the Deputy Chief:

“She leaves out some critical information,” said Assistant Chief Vince Golbeck, who oversees the city’s seven patrol stations.

Seconds later, the door flew open and Jones fired two shots as three officers rushed inside. Jones apologized to the officers and begged them not to shoot him.

Golbeck acknowledged that the incident reveals a communications breakdown. The department is now considering requiring that officers notify the dispatcher when they’ve decided to kick in a door.

“We’re not trying to point fingers, but we’re just saying, ‘Folks, this is how we can do better next time,’” he said.

The error was entirely with the Police Department in this case. I’m glad that the second grand jury understood this and decided not to indite Mr. Jones as it would have created an expensive legal battle for him to fight.

Hit Them Where it Hurts

Some interesting news has finally developed as a result of the state government shutdown. This news perfectly demonstrates the folly of allowing the state to interfere with the free market. It seems that many bars in Minnesota are running out of beer because they were unable to renew their alcohol purchasing licenses before the shutdown:

Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes — a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown.

In the days leading up to the shutdown, thousands of outlets scrambled to renew their state-issued liquor purchasing cards. Many of them did not make it.

Now, with no end in sight to the shutdown, they face a summer of fast-dwindling alcohol supplies and a bottom line that looks increasingly bleak.

This is how you hurt somebody, take away their fun and entertainment. I highly doubt that the state didn’t realize a possibility such as this could occur. In their eyes taking away peoples’ liquor would be the perfect argument for the need of the state, and many people will believe it. In actuality this is the perfect argument against allowing the state to regulate every industry on the fucking planet.

I’ve talked about the dangers of having government hold a monopoly control on anything in the past and this situation demonstrates that. I believe this is only one real option here; liquor stores need to go out and just buy the alcohol they need to continue doing business.

This is known as civil disobedience and we as Americans should practice this artform far more often. Just think about it, if every bar in Minnesota just said, “Fuck it!” and purchased alcohol without a license (either from current distributors or liquor stores as private individuals if the distributors won’t play ball) what could the state do? If the state decided to enforce their liquor license laws during the shutdown the court system would be overloaded with bar owners who could make a very valid case about how not buying that liquor would destroy their business and thus their livelihood. It would be difficult, I believe, to get juries to find these bar owners guilty as most people understand there are times you have to do what you have to do in order to survive.

Another side-effect of enforcing the license requirement in such a scenario is the fact it would likely cost far more to collect the fines than the state would make on the fines. There are numerous ways you can take a simple $30.00 fine and cost the state thousands to collect it. It would make little monetary sense for the state to prosecute the bars that purchased alcohol without a valid license.

If ever bar simply ignored the liquor purchasing license requirement the only real option the state would have is to “forgive” the “transgression.” Whether or not the state chose “forgiveness” or prosecution the people of Minnesota would have a good demonstration of how meaningless these licensing laws are.

When the state makes your life hard or impossible then it’s time to make the state irrelevant. Requiring bars to purchase a license in order to purchase liquor server no purpose other than filling the state’s coffers with pilfered money. Minnesota, nay the United States, ill needs government bureaucrats looting productive private businesses. We the people should be willing to say, “Enough is enough!” Fuck those bean counting pencil-necked bureaucrats, they do nothing for us and much to harm us.

Oh Hell

My only response to the news I’m about to present is FUCK! Congressman Ron Paul has stated he wont run for re-election in 2012.

The reason I’m dismayed by this news is because Ron Paul is the only person on Capitol Hill that I respect (I’m slowing developing hearty respect for his kid, Rand, but it will take far more time for him to prove himself). Combining this with the fact that I don’t believe he’ll get the Republican nomination (the Republican party plays too many games in order to keep him off the presidential ticket) and I’m afraid the only good politician will be out of Washington come next election cycle.

Although Dr. Paul has been unable to turn the tide of government tyranny he at last presented a voice for the liberty movement. Without him at the Capitol debating the wrong of imperialism, the need to return to sound money, and the need for liberty as a whole the American people are left with nothing but authoritarian scum who wish nothing more than to rule us with an iron fist.

By Thor in Valhalla I hope I’m wrong about him not getting the nomination.

Government Doing What Government Does

Hear ye! Hear ye! The Department of Justice (DoJ) has decreed that all firearm dealers in states lying on the border to Mexico report multiple long-gun sales to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF):

The Obama administration implemented its most aggressive and controversial gun measure to date Monday when it ordered dealers in four Southwestern states to report multiple sales of semiautomatic rifles to the federal firearms bureau.

The rule, which had been opposed by the National Rifle Association and many members of Congress, takes effect immediately and is meant to stem gunrunning to violent Mexican drug gangs.

Let me get this straight, gun dealers are supposed to report multiple gun sales of long-guns to the ATF in order to stem the flow of guns from the United States into Mexico? But the ATF is the agency that was caught allowing firearms to be smuggled across the border. Doesn’t that create a conflict of interest?

Remember that these gun dealers were the ones who tried to report suspicious purchases to the ATF and, instead of being told to not make the sale, were order to make the sale. This is a classic example of the government creating a problem, declaring the problem to be caused by a fault of the people, and then moving in with new regulations claiming that is the only way to fix the problem.

Make no mistake, these guns were not let across the border due to a lack of gun laws. The gun dealers tried to stop the sales but where ordered by the ATF to make the sales. That is what the congressional hearing over “Operation Fast and Furious” is about. The ATF were caught because two border patrol agents were murdered using guns that the ATF allowed to be smuggled across the border. The proper response to this situation would be to abolish the ATF immediately.

But blaming one of its own agencies isn’t what the government is all about; it prefers to use tragedies it has cause to further increase it’s control over the populace.

I Like This Idea, It Should Be Expanded

Although I’ve heard little talk about it I’ve found an interesting bill that I believe promotes a good idea. The H.R. 2411, The Reduce America’s Debt Now Act of 2011, would put a new entry on W-4 forms that would allow employees to voluntarily deduct portions of their paycheck to pay off the national debt.

What I like about this act is the fact it’s voluntary. In fact I like this idea so much I think it should be expanded to the point where all taxation is made voluntary. Do you think the government is doing a good jobs at spending your hard-earned money? Great, you can fork over money to them in order to continue receiving their services. Do you believe the government has done a horrible job at spending your hard-earned money? Great, you can take your money and buy services from a private provider.

I also hope this bill passes because I have an ulterior motive. I’ve mentioned that my circle of friends includes people who always say they would happily pay more taxes. When I point them to the address they can send their checks to I never hear them talk about all the money they voluntarily sent the government. Putting this on the W-4 form would make it easier for my friends to be hypocrites and to me that’s funny.

And This is Why I Hate the United Nations

Even though the United Nations (UN) exists as nothing more than a big circle jerk for state it’s not the only reason I hate them. Members of the UN also finds time in their business schedules to do really really stupid things like putting North Korea in charge of nuclear disarmament:

Canada is boycotting a UN body dedicated to disarmament to protest against North Korea being named its chair, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced Monday.

The Conference on Disarmament, where UN members negotiate disarmament and other arms control agreements, is heavily focused on the prevention of a nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament.

This is the same organization that put Syria on their Human Rights Council after the state butchered citizens, so putting North Korea in charge of nuclear disarmament is simply par for the course.

The UN doesn’t just exists so world governments can sit in a circle and jack each other off while talking about how great they are, it also exists to promote the ideals of hypocrisy.

Data Retention Law Will Backfire

There is legislation being proposed that would require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to retain data on what IP addresses have been assigned to whom for 18 months. Unfortunately for the government such data retention laws have been controversial so they’ve had to exploit the children loophole by naming the legislation, “The Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011.”

Ars Technica has a very good opinion piece posted about how this legislation will backfire. Instead of using home connections to download illicit data people will simply go elsewhere.

There is no shortage of open wireless access points. Instead of downloading illicit data from a home connection you can connect to your neighbor’s wireless network, a businesses wireless network, or through an anonymizing service such as the Tor network. The legislation is entirely pointless and only puts a data storage burdun on ISPs.

The government simply wants access to information the public doesn’t believe access should be granted to. Just like every other time this situation occurs the government simply abuses the children loophope and then looks at any opposing their bill and acuses them of supporting child pornography. It’s kind of like naming the PATRIOT Act what it is then accusing anybody who opposes it to not being a patriot.

Larry Correia Brings On The Funny

I really love Larry Correnia’s blog because he has a way with words. It’s almost as though he is an author of some really awesome books or something. Obama warned that New York Times bestselling authors (who he implied are as rich as hedge fund managers) aren’t off the hook when it comes to paying their taxes. Larry finally spills the beans:

Now you know the truth. A secret cabal of bestselling writers has been sabotaging the US economy all this time. Sure, you may have thought that our situation was caused by stuff like out of control government spending, or onerous regulations, or our complete lack of coherent energy policy, or the devaluation of the dollar, or people/companies living beyond their means and then expecting the tax payers to bail them out, or entitlements that are mathematically impossible to pay, or employers being afraid to hire because of fear of ObamaCare and coming taxes, or the quadrupling of our debt over the last couple of years, but NO. That would be silly!

It has been because of us bestselling authors all along.

My favorite quote from his post though is this one:

Michael Crichton was presiding (he’s not really dead, he just didn’t want to fill out his 1040ES for that quarter’s royalties).

So there is hope for a third Jurassic Park! My day has been made and all is good in the world again.