The High Road is off the air
One of the best boards on the internet has been taken down by a rouge admin. Xavier has the details here, and there is info on The Firing Line. I’ve deleted THR from my link list, and added The Firing Line.
ABC News…your bias is showing
Shocking, I know.
Newsbusters story is here, and the transcript is here.
The money quote, I think (the bolded portions are the ones that were dropped from the interview):
PALIN: We have got to make sure that these weapons of mass destruction, that nuclear weapons are not given to those hands of Ahmadinejad, not that he would use them, but that he would allow terrorists to be able to use them. So we have got to put the pressure on Iran and we have got to count on our allies to help us, diplomatic pressure.
GIBSON: But, Governor, we’ve threatened greater sanctions against Iran for a long time. It hasn’t done any good. It hasn’t stemmed their nuclear program.
PALIN: We need to pursue those and we need to implement those. We cannot back off. We cannot just concede that, oh, gee, maybe they’re going to have nuclear weapons, what can we do about it. No way, not Americans. We do not have to stand for that.
Finally! Someone who is going to say, and I quote, “No way, not Americans. We do not have to stand for that.”
On the plus side, I was approached by a woman at the gas station who told me “I love your (McCain/Palin) bumper sticker,” and went on a 5 minute tirade about how wrong the way she was being treated in the media.
Quote of the day
Today’s quote of the day comes from Tam:
“Hate animals“? No, no! Palin loves animals. With mashed potatos.
Heh!
Gun show today
I’m heading to the Charlotte gun show today. See you there.
Tyrrany of the majority
In local news, Wesley Chapel, NC just unanimously passed an ordinance effectively outlawing target practice within the village. The new law prohibits the discharge of a firearm except in self defense, by a law enforcement officer on duty, to kill a dangerous animal, or by a licensed hunter. Target shooting is prohibited.
The ordinance is aimed at preventing one man, Dr. Michael Land, from using his private shooting range. Dr. Land bought his land in 1991, well before the current suburban encroachment. After safety complaints, Dr. Land had his range inspected by the NRA. The NRA found that the range was “no threat to the neighborhood.” But after complaints of noise, the village finally voted on the ordinance.
Dr. Land should have been protected by the North Carolina Shooting Sports Range Act of 1997, which prohibits lawsuits on the basis of noise complaints. The village chose to dodge the law, and instead of prohibiting the range, they simply chose to prohibit the USE of the range. Dr. Land has promised to respond legally.
Can’t find a link to a current article, but here is a link to an older story about the controversy.
If I were Dr. Land, I would have an awful lot of unsuccessful hunts on my land.
Understanding half the problem
Bitter has linked to a letter in the Philadelphia Inquirer that appears to be from a woman whose child was murdered in Philadelphia.
My beloved son was stolen from me on Oct. 4, 2006. I say “stolen” because that’s what happens. Our children aren’t “lost,” they are stolen from us by a horrid evil that lives in the hearts and minds of some human beings.
She then goes on a diatribe about how the NRA is to blame.
Who need guns to prove how tough they are – why don’t we put the blame where it truly belongs? They are an open, festering, rotten wound on the soul of this country that will never heal until something is done about them.
If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, they call themselves the National Rifle Association! We’ll continue to have a gun problem as long as we have people who are afraid of their own shadows.
No one in this nation is safe. No one!
Yesterday, I posted about my experience on 9/11, and how it took three planes crashing into buildings before I understood what was happening. Our minds reject horrible things…some things are so horrible that we simply reject the obvious explanation. The author of this letter suffers from this problem. She gets half of the problem right:
they are stolen from us by a horrid evil that lives in the hearts and minds of some human beings.
and later
No one in this nation is safe. No one!
Yes, that’s true. And unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to stop that. The UK has found that out. When you ban guns, you don’t stop the violence…it just becomes violence with knives, or hammers, or fists. And that is a very, very hard thing to face. It’s hard to face because it means that there isn’t a simple solution.
The only way, I believe, to stop violence is to make it ineffective. Make it costly. Make sure that anyone who plans to visit violence on another human being knows that they will have violence visited right back upon them. We need to make the thugs in this world as afraid of us as we are of them. And that takes the will and the fight and the courage to realize what is happening, and then resolve to do something about it. And that, my friends, is very hard thing to face indeed.
UPDATE:
I should have known. Turns out that there is more the story.
H/T to Days of Our Trailers
One last 9/11 post
Daughter: “Daddy, why does today make you sad?”
Me: “I’ll tell you someday, sweetheart, but not today.”
From Dod at American Manifesto:
“How do you explain evil and its apologists to a little girl? That’s a tall order.”
Another 9/11 post…
…this time from Marko.
Thoughtful and beautiful as always.
A presidential address
Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.
Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America — with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.
Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government’s emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it’s prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue efforts.
Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks.
The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight, and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business, as well.
The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I’ve directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.
I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance.
America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.”
This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
Thank you. Good night, and God bless America.
For all his mistakes, and there have been many, George W. Bush helped heal the nation that night. I can’t forget the moment when he went to round zero. Standing atop a pile of rubble he began to address the rescuers working on the still smoldering rubble. “Can’t hear you!” one of the rescuers shouted. GWB answered back:
“I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”
Oh, and to the truthers…
Go fuck yourselves. Seriously. I remember the acrid smell of burning jet fuel that permeated the city for weeks afterward. I lost friends in those attacks. Your silly conspiracy theory nonsense is not just tiresome, it’s offensive.
If you need to review the details, Ahab has linked to a Purdue computer model. Popular Mechanics has debunked most of the popular myths here and here. The truthers respond by coming up with more wacky theories. And the lack of evidence just proves the consipiracy, man!
Seriously, knock it off.
Do your part!
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