Month: June 2006

This is an open trackbacks post, open all weekend long, through the Fourth of July. Link to this post and track back. More below the post body.

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In part 1 of “Mending Walls: Faith” I very, very briefly discussed the faith (fides) covenant meme so lacking in today’s society. In part 2, I even more briefly outlined how this lack has affected the three realms of legitimate governance in society, civil government, marriage & family and, for Christians at least, the church.

In this last installment, I’ll once again very briefly mention some examples that illustrate how the current culture of faithlessness affects everyday life and how the moribund state of the faith covenant in civil government, marriage & family and in churches affects everyday life.

Keep in mind: I will NOT explore this topic in depth, although this will still be a tad long as compared to most blogposts. It’d take a full length book for each of these three parts to cover the topic seriously. That being said, and knowing it’ll be a tad longer than the majority of blogposts you may read today, either page on off or CLICk to read more at the link.

Continue reading “Mending Walls: Faith, Part 3”

This week’s Stop the ACLU featured post from John Stephenson.

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If it is a tool we use in the fight against terror one can bet that the ACLU will be against it. When the NY Times revealed classified information that we are trying to track international phone calls of suspected terrorists, the ACLU took that ball and are still running with it. When the NY Times leaked classified information that we are trying to track international bank transactions in order to catch terrorists the ACLU jumped on board with that too. If the NY Times doesn’t leak it to everyone, the ACLU will do its best by filing freedom of Information Act requests. Continue reading “Stop the ACLU”

Whaddya wanna bet this guy’s flag says, “Don’t tread on me”?

CLICK for larger image

2nd Amendment advocate? Ya think? (Ya know the Framers saw the 2nd Amendment as a check on oppressiver government, of course… That means, ya know, that I want my own Abrams M1 and an MLSRS… or three. *heh*)

Now, pop quiz: how does this post fit in with my stated theme for the week?

Shootin’ off… my mouth at Diane’s Stuff

(BTW, I have no provenence for the lil vidclip. Was sent me in email and sender’s not sure of its provenence, either.)

This is a first for twc—playing in the Carnival of Vanities. Oh, it’s not that I’m not vain enough to have entered a post before (alla the mirrors cracked as I glance at them in p-assing could attest to that), it’s just that no one asked so nicely before now. :-). Mama Duck has the Carnival of Vanities up at Lil Duck Duck, along with My Open Letter to Instapundit (is that guy still around? :-)).

Just a little blip saying “Carnival of the Vanities is up” will do, I’m not asking for anything fancy…..

*heh*

Indeed.

This is an Open Trackbacks Alliance open trackback post. Link to this post and track back. but for heaven’s sake, take time to READ the thing! Your children and grandchildren will bless you. Seriously.

In today’s Fair tax blogburst, Terry Dillard knocks down some of the anti-Fair Tax boogeymen–the scary arguments some trot out without giving them much thought. Well, Terry deals these boogeymen some mortal blows with just a little thought.

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by TD of The Right Track

With any proposal, sooner or later the naysayers start their doom-and-gloom predictions. The FairTax proposal is no exception. There are those out there whining and crying about how “it won’t really work that way”, despite the fact that the current income tax system isn’t working the way it’s supposed to work. I suppose their fear is exchanging the devil they know for the devil they don’t know. In this article, I’ll highlight some of their worries and attempt to dispel them.

A national sales tax will create a huge black market.

Among all the arguments to be made against the FairTax, perhaps this one holds the least water. Arguments are made that this “black market” will spring up, with people “illegally trading DVDs, cigarettes, canned foods” yada yada yada. OK, illegally trading? What’s illegal today about trading those items? Nothing! So what’s the problem?

“They’ll be avoiding the tax!”

And that’s bad, why? My wife buys romance novels at a used book store now. She’d be avoiding the tax, too. She’s also reading books that everyone else read weeks or months ago. I say, “Come on, black market!” Only the market won’t be black. It can be right in a store front, advertising used books, consignment shops for clothes, furniture, camping equipment, you name it! A whole new type of business will emerge! That will be great for the economy, right? Right!

Continue reading “Fair Tax/Open Post”

There are a lot of wrongs in this world, ranging from acts of assinine stupidity to unspeakable evil perpetrated by the lowest scum of the earth. You judge which this is *shudder*

Now, try to get the &%^$ song outa your head…

Crying “Fowl” at Blue Star Chronicles

(A lil “drive-by posting” amid a jammed up day. *heh* I love having “spare posts” saved for days like today.)

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The natives are restless. Growing weary of proprietary formats that lock ’em outa using their media the way they want to, cranky about irretrievable corrupted files written in formats that defy recovery and reconstruction but encourage corruption and failure, some Apple product users—including power users and Mac gurus—are abandoning ship.

Just in time, another Linux-based product for media addicts. The Linux-based Omni, from Titan Global Entertainment is a PMP (portable media player) that TGE is positioning as

“…a more featureful, lower-cost alternative to Apple’s iPod Video product.”

Check the feature set:

4.3-inch “HD quality” LCD

30GB hard drive

Bluetooth wireless

USB 2.0 interface

Lithium ion battery offering 8 hours of video or 15 hours audio playback

Weight — 15.2 ounces (260 gm)

Audio/video I/O supports MPEG4, DivX, XviD, WMA, MP3, OGG

DVD recorder functionality

Photo wallet functionality

Will it be a video iPod killer? No, of course not. But it may offer one avenue of escape for those held in iPod slavery. And as more alternatives come along (hopefully more and more alternatives in the open source community), I think more people will welcome an escape from iPod hell.

Yeh, I do seriously hope for more Linux-based media options. In fact, as we continue to upgrade things here at third world county central, I’m even looking at building a media PC using a Linux-based solution. It’ll be a while before we want or need that, but I can see it coming, and there are some decent open source media center solutions out there, now.

For handheld devices, this lil Omni looks like a really nice deal. DivX a few videos, DVDs (Yeh, I bought ’em, I should be able to view ’em where and when I want), mp3 a few more [pieces of my music recordings collection, even interface the puppy with my car stereo (yeh, there are $30 USB devices for that)… I could see it working not only for me but for a lot of other people.

Especially since it uses standard formats I can manage and easily and safely backup.

Too much going on today. This is an open trackback post. Link in some good stuff for me to read later. You know the drill: link to this post and track back.

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Didja know… the average American tosses nearly 1,500 pounds of garbage out each year? (Drive-by update: Oh, and that was according to stats from four years ago… think it’s more or less, now?)

Why! That’s almost as much garbage in a year as Michael Moore-on spouts in a day! Scary. Try to cut down on your trash, eh?

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As I said, this is an open trackback post. Link to this post and then track back. If you want to host your own linkfests, check out

Also note the other fine blogs featuring linkfests at Linkfest Haven.

Ya know, I’ve not been able to mention the wall treatments that I’m (just now) finishing up in our home to local folks, neighbors, friends and the like. Why? Because America’s Third World County has a communication system that is faster than light. As soon as (if not slightly before) I said something like “I just finished plastering the walls, working evenings over the past few weeks… ” it’d be all over the county about how I spent all my evenings getting plastered.

Count on it. Communication that’s faster than light, just not all that reliable.

*heh*

Knocking back a few at Consevative Cat

“The nation blest above all nations is she in whom the civic genius of the people does the saving day by day… ”

The following article is reprinted with permission via Minuteman HQ email.

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An Update from the Minuteman Fence Project Manager

First, let me say thanks to the brave ranchers who are stepping up to put their lives on the line to stop the illegal invasion. They live and work within spitting distance of the Mexican border every day. These brave men and women are working side by side with Minutemen in this war zone they call home, allowing us to secure America.

Second, let’s be clear. Not every single mile of the border or every ranch or rancher is the same. The full-on Israeli-style Security Fence is our primary design and first choice for construction. However, when circumstances dictate adjustment to a Border Fence with barbed wire and a vehicle barrier or another design to meet local requirements, we will make the necessary adaptations—and keep building.

Our plan: Do the job until our government does its duty.

• Announce the need for the Minuteman Border Fence.
• Ask again that President Bush do his duty and secure the border.
• Schedule a groundbreaking to get the Border Fence launched.
• Begin raising the $55 million needed for 70 miles of fence in AZ.
• Work with ranchers to design fence to meet specific private landsite requirements.
• Get steel and contractors to manage the sites.
• Register and vet fencing volunteers.
• Build a Minuteman Fence Security Plan to patrol fencing.
• Set up Volunteer Crews administration and crew management
• Continue to build fence as fast as resources allow.
• Start more sites in TX, CA and NM as donations and olunteer capacity permit.
• Continue Border Watch and Fence Operations until the border is secure.

Click to view details of fence diagram.


A Comprehensive Design
Continue reading “Guard the Borders”