An intersting article

Amid Obama's change, there's also more of the same

Jellyfish Wind Power

There's a neat idea from a company named Clarian Technologies, generating power at home using wind.  I haven't read the specs or seen much more than the YouTube video.  I can't say whether it's all hype or not. 

For more info: http://www.clariantechnologies.com/main/page_home.html

 

U.S. Warns N.K., Again.

Once again North Korea is flexing its little tiny muscles, trying to get world attention.  Once again, the world responds.  I wonder why, though?  What's the point?  North Korea clearly does whatever it wants to and there can't possibly be anything more the world can do to punish them.  I think at this point the world is playing into their hands whenever NK's acknowledged for their bad behavior. 

So how does N.K. respond?  By threatening to "punish" their critics.  Seriously.  That's what they said.  I don't know if their isolation has actually caused senior leadership to believe that or what, but that's their official stance.

 

North Korea lashed out at critics warning it not to test a long-range missile on Thursday, saying that it would punish those trying to disrupt its plan to send what it calls a satellite into orbit.

Here's the story:

FOXNews.com - U.S. Prepared to Shoot Down N. Korean Missile - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

This is OUTRAGEOUS.  The term "ASSAULT WEAPON" is semantic at best and is used to describe how a rifle LOOKS, not works. 

This is feel good BS and I'm NOT standing for it... I am FURIOUS! 

The "BAN" is a bunch of retarded legislation aimed at semi-automatic weapons... Eric Holder uses violence in Mexico, describing AUTOMATIC weapons, as an excuse to implement the ban in THE UNITED STATES.  Semi-auto and Fully Auto ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

The "Ban" bill doesn't even address the functioning of a fire-arm... it gets into what kind of attachments and magazines you can buy... IDIOTS, I can BUY 30-round and 100-round mags ANYWHERE!!!

I AM SO PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW...

TO HELL WITH THIS ADMINISTRATION!

Watch this video if you have NO idea what I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysf8x477c30

Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban

Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

Sen. Begich co-sponsors concealed carry bill

 

 

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Sen. Begich co-sponsors concealed carry bill

via NRA-ILA News by NRA-ILA on 2/25/09

In an effort to secure the rights of individuals to lawfully carry concealed firearms across state lines, Sen. Mark Begich is co sponsoring the Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

 

 

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The Houston Tea Party

If you're not working Friday, check out the Houston Tea Party.  The Discovery Green Park is right in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center.

The Houston Tea Party

Join us in Protesting the Stimulus Package
No Taxation without Deliberation!

Friday, February 27, 2009
Time: 11:00am - 2:00pm
Location: Fondren Green at Discovery Green Park!!! Right in front of Amphitheatre!!
City/Town: Houston, TX

Bring a sack lunch and a pitcher of iced tea to "share" with Porkulus. Come party and join our citizen's revolution! Economic Liberty is Personal Liberty!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=52553704859

Additional Resources:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1039849853
http://houston.craigslist.org/pol/1049471021.html

New York Times -- Dangerously Wrong

 

 

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New York Times -- Dangerously Wrong

via NSSF: Aiming for Accuracy by Ted Novin on 2/20/09

Today's New York Times ran an editorial blasting a law enforcement protection measure, the Tiahrt Amendment, which secures federal firearms trace data from the general public.  According to the Times, the Tiahrt Amendment should be repealed because it only serves to " ???protect shady gun dealers and gun traffickers from detection, arrest and punishment.???

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.  The Tiahrt Amendment (which is supported by ATF and the Fraternal Order of Police) only limits general public access to firearms trace data so as to protect ongoing criminal investigations and to save the lives of law enforcement officers and others.  No law enforcement agency in the country has ever been denied access to firearm trace data about their community by ATF. Not a single one.

One would think that the New York Times, sharing a home with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would remember the damage caused by the mayor of Gotham when he misused tracing data to launch so-called ???sting??? operations against firearms retailers ??? without the knowledge of either ATF or his own police department.  Mr. Bloomberg interfered with as many as 18 on-going criminal investigations forcing ATF to pull agents out of the field for their own protection.

This morning NSSF fired off a letter to the editor. You may want to do the same.

 

 

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Disposable Mugger's Wallet Gets You Off Scott Free or Gets You Beat Up [Clev...

Here's a better solution:

Purchase a concealable handgun. Take it to the range and practice shooting. Go home and practice drawing from a concealed holster. Take a Concealed Handgun License class, pass, receive your Concealed Handgun License. Next, always carry your pistol with you.

If you're mugged by an unarmed mugger, draw down and make a citizens arrest (yes, you can do that).

If you're mugged by an armed mugger, drawn down and "stop" the perpetrator.

This does three things:

1). It keeps you from becoming a crime victim statistic
2). It doesn't reward the thug, thereby increasing the chance that he will do it again.
3). It cleanses society of thuggery and undesirables.

Take control of your own security and stop relying on the government.

 

 

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Disposable Mugger's Wallet Gets You Off Scott Free or Gets You Beat Up [Clever Uses]

via Lifehacker by Adam Pash on 2/18/09

A mugger's wallet is a disposable second wallet that you're more than happy to give away to a mugger. It contains a few bucks, a non-essential ID, but not much else that would endanger your identity.

Photo by jenlight.

Web site wikiHow walks through how to put together your own mugger's wallet to minimize the impact of a mugging—that is, rather than losing your cash, credit cards, and driver's license, you just lose a few bucks and other items you won't miss parting with temporarily.

The idea is clearly clever, but keep this in mind: Getting mugged is a big deal, and none of us at Lifehacker HQ want to see any of our readers get hurt. If you decide to try the mugger's wallet, do so at your own risk, and make sure you cobble together a seriously convincing mugger's wallet. If you've already built something similar to the mugger's wallet, share your tips and tricks in the comments.

How to Make a Mugger's Wallet [wikiHow]

 

 

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Federal obligations exceed world GDP

MONEYNETDAILY
Federal obligations exceed world GDP
Does $65.5 trillion terrify anyone yet?

---

Posted: February 13, 2009
11:35 pm Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

As the Obama administration pushes through Congress its $800 billion deficit-spending economic stimulus plan, the American public is largely unaware that the true deficit of the federal government already is measured in trillions of dollars, and in fact its $65.5 trillion in total obligations exceeds the gross domestic product of the world.

The total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account.

The real 2008 federal budget deficit was $5.1 trillion, not the $455 billion previously reported by the Congressional Budget Office, according to the "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" as released by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The difference between the $455 billion "official" budget deficit numbers and the $5.1 trillion budget deficit cited by "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" is that the official budget deficit is calculated on a cash basis, where all tax receipts, including Social Security tax receipts, are used to pay government liabilities as they occur.

But the numbers in the 2008 report are calculated on a GAAP basis ("Generally Accepted Accounting Practices") that include year-for-year changes in the net present value of unfunded liabilities in social insurance programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Under cash accounting, the government makes no provision for future Social Security and Medicare benefits in the year in which those benefits accrue.

"As bad as 2008 was, the $455 billion budget deficit on a cash basis and the $5.1 trillion federal budget deficit on a GAAP accounting basis does not reflect any significant money [from] the financial bailout or Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which was approved after the close of the fiscal year," economist John Williams, who publishes the Internet website Shadow Government Statistics, told WND.

Find out what's behind the chaos at the White House, in the No. 1 best-seller "Obama Nation"

"The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fiscal year 2009 budget deficit as being $1.2 trillion on a cash basis and that was before taking into consideration the full costs of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, before the cost of the Obama nearly $800 billion economic stimulus plan, or the cost of the second $350 billion in TARP funds, as well as all current bailouts being contemplated by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve," he said.

"The federal government's deficit is hemorrhaging at a pace which threatens the viability of the financial system," Williams added. "The popularly reported 2009 [deficit] will clearly exceed $2 trillion on a cash basis and that full amount has to be funded by Treasury borrowing.

"It's not likely this will happen without the Federal Reserve acting as lender of last resort for the Treasury by buying Treasury debt and monetizing the debt," he said.

"Monetizing the debt" is a term used to signify that the Federal Reserve will be required simply to print cash to meet the Treasury debt obligations, acting in this capacity only because the Treasury cannot sell the huge of amount debt elsewhere.

The Treasury has been largely dependent upon foreign buyers, principally China and Japan and other major holders of U.S. dollar foreign exchange reserves, including OPEC buyers purchasing U.S. debt through London.

"The appetite of foreign buyers to purchase continued trillions of U.S. debt has become more questionable as the world has witnessed the rapid deterioration of the U.S. fiscal condition in the current financial crisis," Williams noted.

"Truthfully," Williams pointed out, "there is no Social Security 'lock-box.' There are no funds held in reserve today for Social Security and Medicare obligations that are earned each year. It's only a matter of time until the public realizes that the government is truly bankrupt and no taxes are being held in reserve to pay in the future the Social Security and Medicare benefits taxpayers are earning today."

Calculations from the "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" also show that the GAAP negative net worth of the federal government has increased to $59.3 trillion while the total federal obligations under GAAP accounting now total $65.5 trillion.

The $65.5 trillion total federal obligations under GAAP accounting not only now exceed four times the U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, the $65.5 trillion deficit exceeds total world GDP.

"In the seven years of GAAP reporting, we have seen an annual average deficit in excess of $4 trillion, which could not be possibly covered by any form of taxation," Williams argued.

"Shy of the government severely slashing social welfare programs, federal deficits of this magnitude are beyond any hope of containment, government or otherwise," he said.

"Put simply, there is no way the government can possibly pay for the level of social welfare benefits the federal government has promised unless the government simply prints cash and debases the currency, which the government will increasingly be doing this year," Williams said, explaining in more detail why he feels the government is now in the process of monetizing the federal debt.

"Social Security and Medicare must be shown as liabilities on the federal balance sheet in the year they accrue according to GAAP accounting," Williams argues. "To do otherwise is irresponsible, nothing more than an attempt to hide the painful truth from the American public. The public has a right to know just how bad off the federal government budget deficit situation really is, especially since the situation is rapidly spinning out of control.

"The federal government is bankrupt," Williams told WND. "In a post-Enron world, if the federal government were a corporation such as General Motors, the president and senior Treasury officers would be in federal penitentiary."