Month: April 2012

Zimmerman Charged

All of you who have been demanding Zimmerman’s arrest can finally breathe a sign of relief, he has been charged with second degree murder:

A Florida neighbourhood watch volunteer has been charged with second-degree murder over the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

George Zimmerman turned himself in on Wednesday and is now in custody, special prosecutor Angela Corey said.

[…]

“Today we filed an information charging George Zimmerman with murder in the second degree,” Ms Corey told reporters.

“I can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly. Let me emphasise that we do not prosecute by public pressure or petition,” Ms Corey added, in a reference to the intense media scrutiny that has surrounded the case in recent weeks.

I wonder if Corey is being less than honest as I’m assuming the charges had, at least, something to do with the public outcry. Let’s face it, the chances of an LA Riot occurring in Florida if Zimmerman wasn’t charged was pretty high. With that said I fully admit that I have no grounds for my claim nor am I claiming that to be the sole reason Zimmerman has been charged. As I’ve been stating we really need to just put the evidence available before a jury.

My fear that a fair trial may be impossible considering the strong emotions felt by the public regarding this case still hold. It could make Corey’s career if she successfully prosecutes Zimmerman because nothing builds a career like ruling in favor of public opinion in a high profile case. Furthermore, if Zimmerman is ruled innocent it will likely lead to violence as people unhappy with the verdict, those demanding Zimmerman be lynched, lash out. From what I can see it’s in the best interests of everybody besides Zimmerman to rule him guilty. This all depends on the evidence presented through as Zimmerman may very well be guilty as hell.

The coverage of this case is likely to be phenomenal so should remain well informed as things unroll. In fact this case as the potential of being the next O. J. Simpson trial (although I hope it isn’t, that coverage was just insane).

Libertarianism Outside the United States

Many people often claim that libertarianism is a phenomenon restricted to the United States. This is hogwash. Libertarianism is everywhere people are burdened by the state they live under. Take for example India:


Picture found on Reddit

The list he’s holding is just a sample of the monetary burdens imposed upon him by the Indian state. When you read through it you become aware of just how many different taxes, fines, and fees a business man ends up paying to the state. Everybody who claims some people aren’t paying their “fair share” can shove it because the “fair share,” according to the state, is everything you’ve got.

Santorum Aborts His Presidential Race

It’s a good thing I learned about Lynne Torgerson when I did, otherwise I wouldn’t have any good punching bags:

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has bowed out of the race, leaving former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as the presumptive nominee.

The former Pennsylvania senator made the announcement at a news conference in Gettysburg in his home state.

I’m guessing he was contacted by an Inner Republican Party member and reminded that it’s Romney’s turn this election cycle. Last election cycle Romney was a notable challenge to McCain but McCain was old and it looked unlikely he’s live long enough to run for the presidency a second time. The Inner Republican Party probably asked Romney to step down so McCain could have one last hurrah with the promise of the nomination next election cycle. Now it’s Romney’s turn and that requires Santorum to get out of the way, likely with a promise of the nomination next election cycle.

While I’m glad he’s out I will miss his sheer idiocy. Everything he uttered was pure stupidity and made for excellent blog fodder.

The Four Rules of Firearm Safety

The four rules of firearm safety apply to more than traditional powder powered lead launchers:

A New Jersey man is making a quick recovery after accidentally shooting a 4-inch (10cm) nail into his heart.

Dennis Hennis, a 52-year-old self-employed builder, was working on his neighbour’s roof when his nail gun jammed and he tried to clear it.

The nail pierced the right side of his heart and he went into cardiac arrest.

Does the device you’re handling launch dangerous projectiles? If you answered yes then rule two applies, only point the muzzle at things you’re willing to destroy.

My New Favoritest Candidate Ever

I know I condem almost every politician on the face of the planet but I think I’ve finally found a candidate who speaks to me. Everybody, I present to you Lynne Torgerson, the single most bat shit crazy politician yet spawned from this glorious state of Minnesota. Her blog is a veritable comedy gold mine, made even better by the fact she’s serious. What’s that you say? Why did I think she was anything but serious? Because her listed positions and statements are so out there that I assumed she was running as a joke candidate, one who was trying to demonstrate the sheer absurdity of the neocon platform by taking it to its maximum potential. My assumption was incorrect though, she’s not trying to use reductio ad absurdum to demonstrate the sheer idiocy of neocons, she actually believes this stuff! Let me pull an exert from her blog post:

I have realized something lately . . . If Conservatives do not stand up for the right values, who will? No one, that is who. Therefore, we must. We must stand up for the right values, and, we must do so for the rest of our lives. If we don’t, there is no one who will. And then, our values will not be represented in the United States. And, it is our values that have made America great. Therefore, we must fight to keep our values ruling and reigning. They have given us all of the freedoms under which we live. We lived in the most blessed Country on earth. We are the best, safest, most free, and most prosperous Country on earth.

What values is she speaking of? Is it free enterprise? Is it individual liberty? I’m not sure, but I can tell you what she doesn’t think are American values:

We also need to keep Ron Paul Libertarians out of the Republican Party! It appears that they are trying to take over my district, and perhaps the Minnesota Republican State Party. I have been told that there is a majority of delegates in my district who are Libertarians! We cannot let this happen. Libertarians are PROGRESSIVES! For example, they say they:

Want to get rid of the Patriot Act!
Want to get rid of the TSA!
Don’t want to support our friend and ally Israel!
Want to legalize illegal drugs
Want to legalize prostitution
Bring all the troops home
They are anti-war
Don’t want to prevent a nuclear Iran
Won’t protect the life of the unborn with legislation
Are pro gay rights

What? These are PROGRESSIVE positions. They have no business in the Republican Party. And, now, one of them is challenging me for the Republican endorsement.

Due process isn’t an American value, which is why real conservatives support the PATRIOT Act! The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are fucking heros and we absolutely need them! I’m not kidding, just ask her:

We need the TSA and to fund it. Of course we need to fund the TSA. We need the TSA. That is beyond question. Also, it performs police like functions. These are typically funded by the gov’t. Rand Paul has it wrong. Why is just trying to stir up trouble? The Pauls act like they are funded by George Soros.

The Pauls are acting like they are funded by the same George Soros who is profitting greatly from the TSA body scanners!!!!! [extra exclamation marks added for effect and a demonstration of sincerity]

Seriously though, we should be downright grateful to those who sexually molest everybody from the youngest child to the oldest adult:

We should be grateful to the TSA, who protects us day in and day out . . . we shouldn’t want to get rid of it.

Speaking of real conservative values, opposing war isn’t one of them! We need war! If we don’t blow up the brown people in the Middle East who will? Those bastard libertarians want to live peacefully and oppose the initiation of violence! Thank God in Heaven Lynne Torgerson is here to ensure our country continues killing people! After all, what would a great empire be if we didn’t go around killing people?

That’s not even the worst problem America faces, not by a long shot:

We must oppose gay rights legislation. If we do not have a strong moral foundation, it does not matter what economic policy you put on top of it, it will crumble. That is part of what is wrong with this Country today . . . our moral foundation is crumbling.

Those damned gays are ruining our economy!

The gays aren’t our only problem, we also have a bonafide terrorist sympathizer representing the 5th Congressional District of Minnesota right now:

And, we shall eventually win in this district, against radical Islamist Keith Ellison. I am in this for the long haul.

Keith Ellison is a radical Islamist. What is a radical Islamist? A radical Islamist is someone who wants to have Sharia Law supreme in the United States, and will use political means or terror, to accomplish that goal. Keith Ellison, when asked, refuses to say that our cherished US Constitution should remain supreme over Sharia Law. He also recently said that the US will eventually have no borders. Well, if the US has no borders, there is no United States of America! What an anti-American thing for a sitting US Congressman to say.

It’s true, just read through all the citations she… um… doesn’t provide… but are true damn it!!!!! [again, extra exclamation marks tossed in to show the serious nature of her claim] It gets worse, he also funds terrorism:

Keith Ellison is also tied to CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations, which has been a named co-conspirator to funding terrorism, in the Holy Land Foundation Trial, which resulted in convictions for sending $12,000,000.00 to the terrorist organization Hamas. Keith Ellison is the keynote speaker for CAIR annual dinners. CAIR also helps Keith Ellison raise campaign funds. So, we have a sitting Congressman who helps a named co-conspirator to funding terrorism raise funds!

My god, we have an islamist terrorist extremist in Congress and we don’t even realize it! Why hasn’t this man been brought up on charges of treason? This is unacceptable! I bet he’s also in league with those gays who are ruining our economy! I know we’ve covered a lot, so let me remind you of her strong held true conservative values:

To remind you, I am a true conservative who will adhere strictly to being a proponent of:

    America the Beautiful

    Strong Homeland Security

    Pro-Life

    Traditional Marriage

    Israel

    Cutting Spending

    A 10% Tax Rate

    A Balanced Budget

    Our cherished US Constitution

    Fighting Radical Islamism

    Individual Responsibility

America the Beautiful, it’s not just a song, it’s a mother fucking value! Lynne is also pro-life as hell… unless you’re a brown person living in the Middle East, but then you’re obviously a extremists islamist terrorist Muslim so you don’t count!

Of course no neocon advocate is done until they’ve pulled out the word patriot a few times:

Patriots need to keep their businesses in the US, and employ US workers.

So, my fellow Patriots, I’m turning to YOU to help me defeat Keith Ellison and the Ron Paul Libertarians.

Your generous contribution will bring my campaign that much closer to unseating Ellison and installing a devoted patriot into Congress.

P.S. To be sure we are better positioned for victory against this radical incumbent, we will need sacrifice and participation from fellow patriots like YOU.

She’s super serious, look, she used the word patriot four times! Four mother fucking times! How much more patriotic could one possibly get? Shit, she’s the most patriotic patriot that’s every been a patriotic patriot!

My fellow Americans, our mission is clear, so clear that it could only have been delivered by God himself. We much elected Lynne Torgerson less our nation fall at the hands of radical gay libertarian islamist extremist terrorists! She, and she alone, is our only hope! Without her we will not have a steady flow of LULZ patriotism protecting this fine nation! She even has something for you greenies out there:

Lynne Torgerson the only true conservative in this race supports individual responsibility, free market solutions, balancing the budget, cutting spending, peace through strength, is pro life, 1 man 1 woman marriage, fighting radical Islamism, pro Israel, pro women’s rights, greenish on environment and food.

Emphasis mine. She’s greenish! Sure it’s not green but it’s close enough for government work! I do have to contact her campaign though, she’s using some improper verbiage. It’s not peace through strength, it’s peace through power:

I would also have accepted strength through unity:

I’m sorry, I have to stop now. My sides are hurting from all the laughing I’ve been doing at the sheer absurdity of her campaign literature and blog posts. I can hardly breathe! In fact I hope, nay, I pray she never takes down her site because it’s one of the largest sources of comedy I’ve found on the Internet. It’s like she wants to point out the absurdity of the Republican Party but doesn’t realize she wants to do it, yet is doing it.

I Feel Better Now

I take a great deal of pleasure in pissing off the enviro-nazis. Environ-nazi is a term I use for those who claim they’re environmentally friendly but in actuality are not because they oppose real methods to improve the environment. Needless to say it always puts a smile on my face when I can mention the average 17mpg my Ford Ranger gets to one of these individuals. With that said I’m not a fan of paying for gas and I do want to get some physical exercise so I periodically ride a bike. Riding a bike is a double-edged sword in my book because it does offer great exercise and transportation but only at the cost of gaining approval of the enviro-nazis. Thankfully some researchers have my back:

Substituting bicycling for driving is frequently promoted as a means of reducing energy consumption and the associated degradation of the environment. This paper estimates the magnitude of this effect. The analysis takes account of the first-order effects due to the dramatically lower energy requirements of transportation by bicycle relative to automobiles. The environmental benefits of human power are, however, strongly coupled to the environmental costs of increased population, due to increased longevity of those who engage in physical activity. Paradoxically, increased use of human power for transportation is unlikely to reduce substantially the use of energy because of this second-order effect. Human powered transportation is therefore less an environmental issue and more an issue of public health. The interplay between longevity and environmental impact is a central feature of the conflicting societal objectives of improving human health and increasing environmental sustainability.

Since riding a bike leads to a longer life it gives me more time to use energy and increase my carbon footprint. Therefore I can continue riding a bike in good conscious knowing it ultimately goes against everything the enviro-nazis support (which is to say it lets me increase my carbon footprint).

Quote of the Day: Wind Turbine Edition

This quote from Tam is downright golden:

Likewise, wind turbines are not meant to actually be an efficient way to supply the power grid, rather they’re prayer wheels for New Age iBuddhists, their whirring blades drawing white guilt from the atmosphere and pumping it safely underground. This is why they put them out in farm fields in the country and not, say, off Martha’s Vinyard or out on the back nine, in view of the clubhouse: What good is a shrine if you don’t have to make a pilgrimage to get to it?

The Empty Words of Mitt Romney Coming to an NRA Convention Near You

It’s a presidential election year and the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) convention is upon us. That can only mean one thing: a presidential candidate will try to win the support of gun owners by speaking at the NRA convention. Lo and behold Mitt Romney is going to be lying at the convention this year:

Mitt Romney will address the National Rifle Association‘s annual meeting later this week, a speech that comes at a crucial time for the candidate who is working to appeal to the conservative base of his party as he inches closer to clinching the Republican nomination.

Romney, who tells voters on the campaign trail that he believes “we have all the laws we need” in regard to gun control, revealed for the first time just over a month ago that he owns two shotguns. When asked about his stance on gun control during a town hall meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in February, Romney said, “I believe in the second amendment, I’ll protect the second amendment. I have guns myself.”

In response to Romney’s quote that “we have all the laws we need” I must say we don’t have all the laws we need, we have too many laws. A presidential nominee isn’t going to win me over… no matter what he says, but really isn’t going to win me over by taking the safe ground on gun rights. Saying we have enough laws or we should be enforcing the laws we already have are two of the biggest copouts in the fight for gun rights. There is no reason the provisions outlined in the National Firearms Act (NFA) should be enforced and the Hughes Amendment should be discarded faster than an unwanted pregnancy on prom night. I would go so far as to say we shouldn’t enforce any laws on firearm ownership as firearms are inanimate objects and the actual issue is bad people using firearms, which requires dealing with the bad people.

Likewise, the mere fact one owns a gun doesn’t mean one is a proponent of gun rights. Sarah Brady, gun control advocate supreme, purchased a rifle for her son. Saying “I have guns myself” is an entirely empty statement as far as I’m concerned. I know a number of people who hunt, owner rifles for their sport, but are supportive of banning any weapon system they don’t own. We need to remember that this is the same Mitt Romney who supporter Massachusetts’s extremely restrictive gun control laws.

It is unfortunate that Romney will likely walk away with a great deal of support from the NRA convention. A large number of gun owners appear to have very short members, especially when a political candidate has an (R) after his name. After his speech I’m expecting a great deal of posts on various social networking sites from convention attendees proclaiming their support for Romney. Some may justify their support by claiming Romney isn’t great but he’s better than Obama while others will outright claim Romney is a strong proponent of gun rights. I do not have a short memory, in fact I rarely forget a transgression. Under no circumstance will I support Romney in any way, shape, or form. He’s scum, in fact he’s worse than scum, he’s a politician.

Don’t fall for the scam artist’s tricks. If you truly believe the Republican Party is our best chance of expanding gun rights then send a message to them, let them know you will not support them unless they have a strong proponent of gun rights. This means refusing to support Romney, even if you believe he’s “better” than Obama. When you settle for the “lesser” or two evils you just encourage both parties to run candidates who are evil.

Zimmerman Case Not Going to Grand Jury

I must say that this is an interesting turn of events:

A prosecutor says she will not hold a hearing to determine if a Florida neighbourhood watchman should be tried for shooting dead unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

Angela Corey says her office is still investigating the incident. She could file charges or drop the case.

This decision is a big concerning merely because of the consequences it could reap. Those of us who favor law and order have been saying we can only wait for a grand jury trail, where all the evidence will be presented to the jurors, before we can decide whether or not to condem Zimmerman. Now that the grand jury isn’t happening it could spark even more outraged in the community that has been screaming for Zimmerman’s lynching, even though Zimmerman isn’t entirely out of the woods as Corey can still file charges.

My main concern is the public’s reaction to this news. Let us not forget the LA Riots were sparked from a situation not entirely different from this one. Hopefully violence doesn’t come from this decision but considering some of the demands made by those who have ruled Zimmerman guilty already I wouldn’t be too sure.

Mobibro IQ Scam

I come to you with warning about a text message scam. Last night I received a text message from the number 584-98 that stated:

MobibroIQ Fun Facts billed at $9.99/mo. Msg&Data Rates May Apply. Reply HELP for help. Enter UR password on the website to continue: 4647

Yeah, they have a website. No, I’m not linking to it. I merely ignored the text message as I figured it was a fishing expedition trying to get a reply from my phone to confim it’s a valid number. Fifteen minutes later I received the following message from the same number:

MobibroIQ: Welcome to IQ! For HELP call 18888906150 $9.99/mo. for 3msgs/wk. Reply HELP for help, Reply STOP to cancel. Msg&Data Rates May Apply

Then I received a third text message from the same number that stated:

Guest What? Unlike humans, crustaceans, insects and spiders have their skeleton on the outside of their body called the exoskeleton. For HELP call 18888906150

The first thing you need to know about any kind of scam, be it text message delivered or e-mail delivered, is that you should never respond to them. Instead I went straight to my AT&T billing statement and lo and behold a mystery charge for $9.99 appeared. The charge was listed under the AT&T Monthly Subscriptions section and had the following details:

03/13 Multiple Types
MistyMobileAlerts
Short Code: 94408 ID: 10186
Provider: Dream Audio
Contact: http://www.mxtelecom.com
Renew Date: 04/13/2012

It should go without saying that I didn’t sign up for anything, but it appears that the default behavior of an AT&T line is to allow random entities to sign you up for monthly subscriptions. As I’m not a very tolerant man when it comes to crap like this I called AT&T’s customer support and dialed 0 to talk to a real human being. After explaining my situation the customer support agent credited my account for the charges and put a block on text purchases. I didn’t even need to mention my ultimatum: credit my account or I’m leaving (as I said, I have zero tolerance for these kinds of scams).

Check your billing statement (you should be doing this every month anyways), especially if you receive any text messages from Mobibro IQ or the number 584-98. If you’re receiving the text messages I typed above then you’re likely being charged $9.99 a month on top of your regular bill. Give you carrier a call and I’m sure they will credit your account and block the number without much hassle.