Chronicling the depravities of the State.
So I got my new Evo 4G and one question that I’ve been curious about is how durable the screen is. Thankfully somebody was willing to sacrifice for science and performed a scratch test on the screen of his Evo 4g.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeoAl-94bks]
Yes it passes with flying colors. If a razor blade won’t scratch the screen nothing I do to it should cause any trouble either.
I don’t play guitar but I do appreciate the style of this one. Unfortunately it required demilling an AK-47. Still it looks awesome.
A Wisconsin man was held a gun point while he was open carrying. Now I’m all for open carry but there are consequences to every action. Open carrying a gun probably does work as a deterrent most of the time, but if it doesn’t deter the criminal they are going to see all the cards in your hand. That’s the main reason I don’t open carry most of the time (sometimes if I’m really lazy I’ll open carry while taking my trash out or something along those lines), I like the element of surprise.
I’m cagey with information to begin with and the last thing I want some random criminal to know is that I’ve got a gun (of course if that criminal knows me and reads this page he’ll know I have a gun but that’s targeted not random). This means I’ll have a few seconds upon drawing it where the criminal will be dealing with the new and unexpected criteria of an armed victim whom was thought a harmless threat.
But again if a criminal believes somebody is armed they are most likely going to go after somebody easier. Heck the story is so scarce on details we don’t even know if the criminal targeted the man because he was openly carrying or didn’t see the gun (you would be surprised how many people lack basic perception) until he was already sticking the man up.
One of the comments made by somebody who apparently knew the guy was interesting:
“It was kind of scary to just see him walking around all the time with that gun kind of just out in the open,” said Shambria Mayham Autman. She lives near Teutonia and Good Hope and said they called him “The guy with the gun.”
Well if it’s scary seeing the gun you should be helping to get concealed carry laws passing in Wisconsin. Right now the only way to carry a gun for protection in Wisconsin is openly. They are one of only two states that lack any form of concealed carry laws (even The Peoples’ Republic of California has a form of concealed carry law on hand).
Somebody decided to make ear buds that look like 9mm casings. Of course they’re gold plated and won’t chamber in any 9mm currently on the market.
Whether you’re on Israel’s or the Gaza Strip’s side in the recent incident you should agree with my sentiment: why the fuck are we giving either of them taxpayer money:
US President Barack Obama has said the situation in Gaza is “unsustainable” and promised millions of dollars in new aid for the territory.
Seriously we have a massive national debt. I know $400 million isn’t even on the register of our debt by why the fuck are we giving money to other countries when we don’t have any money? Shouldn’t we use every dime we can get to lower our outrageous spending? Cripes!
Apparently the Star Tribune doesn’t realize criminal cases aren’t the only things our court system can be used for. In their effort to sell more papers to avoid their quick spiral into bankruptcy the are trying to scare people into thinking the legal system is being illegally used to collect debts:
You committed no crime, but an officer is knocking on your door. More Minnesotans are surprised to find themselves being locked up over debts.
Apparently the paper is up in arms over the use of what is akin to debtors’ prisons. Honestly this isn’t happening nearly as much as the paper is trying to scare you into believing but alas they’re making a big deal out of this. Let’s step through the article and pull out some interesting quotes:
As a sheriff’s deputy dumped the contents of Joy Uhlmeyer’s purse into a sealed bag, she begged to know why she had just been arrested while driving home to Richfield after an Easter visit with her elderly mother.
No one had an answer. Uhlmeyer spent a sleepless night in a frigid Anoka County holding cell, her hands tucked under her armpits for warmth.
So this woman was arrested and held overnight without being told what she was being arrested for? I believe that’s illegal. I’m pretty sure you must be informed of why you’re being arrested as you’re being arrested. If this case is true maybe she should sue the police department. Oh and I love this:
“They have no right to do this to me,” said the 57-year-old patient care advocate, her voice as soft as a whisper. “Not for a stupid credit card.”
Congratulations you are a potential victim of police abuse. There is a support group down the hall. Cookies and juice are being served. I’m glad your eyes have been opened to what happens when law enforcement is held unaccountable. Or are the police acting illegally?
Remember these people broke no laws right? Not so much:
In Illinois and southwest Indiana, some judges jail debtors for missing court-ordered debt payments. In extreme cases, people stay in jail until they raise a minimum payment. In January, a judge sentenced a Kenney, Ill., man “to indefinite incarceration” until he came up with $300 toward a lumber yard debt.
I asked Bad News Bear about this and he delivered bad news as usual. Get this, if a court orders you to do something and you don’t they can issue an arrest warrant. HOLY SHIT! Did you know if you’re arrested for driving while intoxicated you can be ordered by the court to attend counseling? Did you also know if don’t show up for said counseling an arrest warrant can be issued against you? Yes if you are ordered to do something by the legal system you are legally obligated to do it. Also fire is hot.
On the second page we get this:
How often are debtors arrested across the country? No one can say. No national statistics are kept, and the practice is largely unnoticed outside legal circles.
This is the Star Tribune’s method of saying they found a couple of potential examples that there are a few isolated incidents of something happening but no proof can be found that the trend is increasing. In other words there are no facts to scare people with, not even crappy statistics made up to strike fear into your heart. But they need to sell papers which requires scary stories.
Those jailed for debts may be the least able to pay.
“It’s just one more blow for people who are already struggling,” said Beverly Yang, a Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation staff attorney who has represented three Illinois debtors arrested in the past two months. “They don’t like being in court. They don’t have cars. And if they had money to pay these collectors, they would.”
If that’s the case maybe they shouldn’t have obtained a credit card and used it to the limit. Maybe they should have decided to live within their means. I know a novel concept. Here is a lesson to learn, you don’t need a credit card. It’s that simple. If you can’t pay for something don’t get it. For instance I know you want that super awesome 50″ plasma T.V. but you don’t have the $8,000.00 to spend on it. Know what you can do? Not buy it! You don’t need that television to survive or even get by in life.
This process happens several times a week in Hennepin County. Those who fail to appear can be held in contempt and an arrest warrant is issued if a collector seeks one. Arrested debtors aren’t officially charged with a crime, but their cases are heard in the same courtroom as drug users.
No it’s not a crime, it’s a civil dispute. For instance if you are throwing shit onto your neighbor’s lawn they can take you to court over it. If you don’t show up for the court date a warrant can be issued to retrieve you and bring you to court. Crimes aren’t the only reason our court system is used. No, it’s also used to peacefully settle disputes between two members of society. In this case the court acts as a mediator and attempts to determine if one person has infringed on another person’s life in as neutral of a manner as possible.
“I was surprised that the police would waste time on my petty debts,” said Williams, 45, of Minneapolis, who had a $5,773 judgment from a credit card debt. “Don’t they have real criminals to catch?”
The police generally don’t get to determine what crimes they will work on and what crimes they will put on the back burner. If a judge issues an arrest warrant the police have to act on it regardless of what they think. It’s their job. You know what a job is right? It’s where you are paid money by somebody to perform tasks asked of you. If you don’t perform said tasks the person paying you can chose to no longer pay you and find somebody else to perform the task. It’s actually a very simple concept when you get right down to it.
“They may think it’s a mistake. They may think it’s a scam. They may not realize how important it is to respond,” said Mary Spector, a law professor at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in Dallas.
But the second you receive a court order you know it’s not a scam. That’s when you realize it’s important to respond. Also I’m just impressed some people have enough use of their brain to continue breathing:
Though she knew of the warrant and unpaid debt, “I wasn’t equating the warrant with going to jail, because there wasn’t criminal activity associated with it,” she said. “I just thought it was a civil thing.”
So you know there was a warrant out for your arrest but didn’t equate it to going to jail? You seriously fail at cognitive abilities. At this point I’m just pointing out stupidity:
“Thank God, the police had mercy and left me and my baby alone,” said Nielsen, who later paid the debt. “But to send someone to arrest me two weeks after a massive surgery that takes most women eight weeks to recover from was just unbelievable.”
Yes because I’m sure they obtained your medical records to see if you had a recent surgery so they knew whether it was OK to have you arrested or not. Oh wait they can’t because medical records are confidential. So they didn’t send the police after you because they knew you recently had surgery, they sent them after you because how the fuck are they supposed to know you just had major surgery? Sorry you aren’t so important that they keep constant updates on your well being.
He still has unpaid medical and credit card bills and owes about $40,000 on an old second mortgage. The sight of a squad car in his rearview mirror is all it takes to set off a fresh wave of anxiety.
“The question always crosses my mind: ‘Are the cops going to arrest me again?'” he said. “So long as I’ve got unpaid bills, the threat is there.”
Maybe you should pay off those bills then huh?
Seriously this article isn’t about abuse of power, it’s about civil disputes. Whether you like this system or not it’s established and if you live in this country you live under the system. This article is a perfect example of the main stream media blowing something out of proportion so they can make money. The actual moral of the story is this: if you owe somebody money and are ordered to appear in court you will be arrested if you don’t show up to court.
Another news item from The Firearm Blog. A company known primarily for making thin, tiny guys bought a company known primarily for their large, bloated guns.
Most science fiction movies like to take regular guns, attached a bunch of prosthetic to them, and call them laser guns! The movie Equilibrium did this well by attaching a large front spike to the Beretta 92FSs used by the Grammaton Clerics. Well somebody decided to do exactly that but to a 1911.
I found another good post by Bruce Schneier. This one deals with hiring people with previous criminal histories. More or less Mr. Schneier brings up the fact stating your won’t hire people with a previous criminal history is short sighted and rather ignorant:
The answer, of course, is “it depends.” It depends on the specifics of the crime. It depends on the ethics involved. It depends on the recidivism rate of the type of criminal. It depends a whole lot on the individual.
Then he goes further into the idea of hiring convicted malicious hackers:
Admittedly, there’s a difference between thinking like an attacker and acting like a criminal, and between researching vulnerabilities in fielded systems and exploiting those vulnerabilities for personal gain. But there is a huge variability in computer crime convictions, and — at least in the early days — many hacking convictions were unjust and unfair. And there’s also a difference between someone’s behavior as a teenager and his behavior later in life. Additionally, there might very well be a difference between someone’s behavior before and after a hacking conviction. It all depends on the person.
This is ultimately the key when hiring anybody. Having a criminal history shouldn’t be an instant disqualifies for a job. It all depends on such variables as what the crime was, when the crime was done, what has changed about the person since they committed the crime, etc. Many people with previous criminal backgrounds have very useful skills. It makes sense to hire a person who was convicted of bank robbery to review your bank’s security. The person obviously understands bank security and how to bypass it. Of course it still depends on his character and whether or not he’ll try to rob your bank later. Still he’ll have the hands on experience which is more valuable than theory and book knowledge.
There is also another paragraph that I found very interesting due to previous posts I’ve made about felons on the right to keep and bear arms:
Last winter, a Minneapolis attorney who works to get felons a fair shake after they served their time told of a sign he saw: “Snow shovelers wanted. Felons need not apply.” It’s not good for society if felons who have served their time can’t even get jobs shoveling snow.
The ostracization of people with felonies is out of hand in this country. Somebody who served their time shouldn’t have a problem getting a job again. As I’ve mentioned before if a criminal is still considered a danger to society that person shouldn’t be free to roam the streets. Likewise whether you hire a felon should be based on what the felony was. As I’ve mentioned before just because somebody has a felony doesn’t mean they were a violent criminal.
So having a blanket statement saying you will not hire people with criminal histories puts you and your company at a disadvantage. Sure you will run a slightly smaller risk of having a potential offender in your company but you’ll also not be able to hire some of the best people out there.
There has been a lot of talk about how we have to come up with a plan to save “journalism” in this country. I use the word “journalism” in the most loose of forms since anybody who reads most non-major media associated news sites (which includes blogs) know we really don’t have journalism in this country anymore. Most “news” produced by places like the New York Times is just regurgitated information they received from the Associated Press. They usually also add in more bias while they’re at it.
Steve Jobs recently spoke at D: All Things Digital where he said he doesn’t want to use us descend into a world of bloggers implying that blogs aren’t a legitimate source of news. The fact of the matter is blogs are a relevant source of news. How many stories do you read on this site alone that are never covered in any detail in major news media sources? Does the Star Tribune ever fairly cover upcoming Minnesota gun legislation? Nope. If you relied on them all you know about the “gun show loophole” is that it allows criminals to buy any gun at a gun show without a background check. Thankfully due to us gun bloggers you know that’s not true and that the “loophole” isn’t a loophole at all.
I was talking with somebody else about this subject and we came up with a rather interesting notion. Today’s bloggers are akin to Pamphleers in the days gone by. Back in the day news was spread often by people handing out pamphlets that they printed off. These pamphlets contained whatever information the printer wanted to portray to the public. You were free to take of leave them as you wanted. Of course it was up to you to determine the legitimacy of the information as it is with blogs, newspapers, and television news sources (the latter two seem to lie more from what I’ve found).
The bottom line is the concept of “accreditation and trusted” news sources hasn’t always been around. I don’t know exactly when it happened by at some point in our history we stopped doing our own research and just assumed whatever the major news outlets told us was fact. This is not how it’s always been.
So yes bloggers are legitimate news sources. We are not parasites preying off of the major media outlets. Many local stories originate from blogs. But as with popular news sources you have to determine what information is legitimate and what information is now.