Overnight Open Thread (11-10-2013)

Fired Guns & Ammo Editor Also Doesn't Understand the First Amendment

I never called for his firing but then I'm not upset over it either. Dick Metcalf was egregiously wrong in his interpretation of the Second Amendment which is bad enough for a professional gun writer - but he also was arrogant in his ignorance as he explained the 2A down to the rubes and well, that's just asking for a paying audience revolt.

And in his response to the firing it's clear he's learned nothing and is unclear on the First Amendment and modern business as well. Given his age perhaps it's best if he simply retires.

How do I feel about that? Disappointed. If a respected editor can be forced to resign and a controversial writer's voice be shut down by a one-sided social-media and internet outcry, virtually overnight, simply because they dared to open a discussion or ask questions about a politically sensitive issue . . . then I fear for the future of our industry, and for our Cause. Do not 2nd Amendment adherents also believe in Freedom of Speech? Do Americans now fear open and honest discussion of different opinions about important Constitutional issues? Do voices from cyberspace now control how and why business decisions are made?

Quote of the Day - Happy 238th Edition

"I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all."

  -- Marine Gen James N Mattis to local Iraqi leaders

The Community Organizer Who Can Only Work Alone

Successive flights of frustrated senior aides to both the president and the First Lady have battled the Obamas' persistent assumption that supporters (and staffers, for that matter) don't need to be thanked-a battle fought largely in vain. Five years into their tenure, the couple has a social reputation few would have envisioned when they came to town: more standoffish than the Bushes, and ruder than the Clintons.

Another Anal Rape in Search of Drugs

The ACLU is representing a New Mexico woman in her fifties who was subjected by federal agents to a two-handed (!) vaginal and anal examination, an involuntary X-ray and CAT scan, and was forced to defecate in front of strangers. The woman was suspected of being in possession of drugs, on the basis of a drug-dog alert at the Juarez/El Paso border-crossing. No drugs were found. The federal agents -- it's not clear what agency they were with -- did not obtain a warrant. The doctors at University Medical Center in El Paso performed the procedures without the victim's consent, including the CT scan, which subjects people to a high dose of potentially harmful radiation.

The Great Unraveling Begins

A Obama-pushed bad deal that lets Iran to go nuclear isn't just a threat to Israel - it could destabilize the entire region starting with Saudi nukes.

Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight.

While the kingdom's quest has often been set in the context of countering Iran's atomic programme, it is now possible that the Saudis might be able to deploy such devices more quickly than the Islamic republic.

Earlier this year, a senior Nato decision maker told me that he had seen intelligence reporting that nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery.

Comeback of the Whig Party?

Well Whig candidates now hold two local offices which puts them on par with the Libertarian party I think. (also note the H/T of the story)

In Philadelphia, Whig Robert Bucholz defeated his Democratic opponent by 36 votes to 24 to become an election judge in the Rhawnhurst neighborhood, where he will be tasked with overseeing their local precincts. Though election records may be unreliable for many local offices, the city's last recorded Whig mayor was in 1856, four years before the party officially dissolved. Bucholz said he joined the party because it matched his economically conservative and socially liberal views.

According to the Modern Whigs chairman, Bucholz is the party's second elected official nationwide after J. Brendan Galligan won a school-board position in Westfield, N.J. last year.

EPA Makes Most Wood Stoves Illegal

Now you have to get black-market light bulbs and wood stoves?

"The Environment Protection Agency has lowered the amount of fine-particle matter per cubic meter that new wood stoves are allowed to release into the atmosphere by 20%. Most wood stoves in use today are of the type that is now illegal to manufacture or sell, and old stoves traded in for credit towards new ones must be scrapped out. This shouldn't be much of a surprise since more and more local governments are banning wood-burning stoves and fireplaces entirely, citing smog and air pollution concerns."

Professionalism: FBI Loses Sniper Rifle, M-16 to Teenaged Boy, Pays $20,000 to Get Them Back

Don't Do It Georgia - We Know How This Turns Out

MA Selectman: Hey, is there any way we can infringe on 2nd and 4th Amendment rights at the same time?

The Next Book

From horde-member Christoper Taylor sounds pretty promising:

Now that Snowberry's Veil is on the shelf, I am back to writing.  The present project is actually an old one that showed up here first. 

...The concept was a simple one: what if a werewolf were caught in one of the death showers at Auschwitz?  From there the book began to develop as my work always does, by asking questions.  Why was he there?  What would the Germans do about it?  What would the allies think if they got news?  Where would the werewolf go next?

The Second Rise of Speed

The first amphetamine epidemic ran from 1929-1971 and was largely based on easily available over-the-counter speed in the form of 'pep pills', widely abused decongestant inhalers and amphetamine-based 'anti-depressants'.

The idea of giving speed to depressed people seems quite amazing now, especially considering its tendency to cause anxiety, addition and psychosis in the doses prescribed at the time, but it was widely promoted for this purpose.

...As it happens America is in the midst of another phase of massive stimulant popularity - in the form of street methamphetamine and prescribed Ritalin. In fact, use is at virtually the same levels as when you could buy speed over-the-counter.

Mr. Raft-Fucker Also Enjoys Pumpkin Displays

Luckily for him his 11-month sentence will run out just in time for Halloween 2014.

Weekly AoSHQ Commenter Standings

Top 10 commenters:
1 [565 comments] 'Vic' [79.31 posts/day]
2 [454 comments] 'sven10077'
3 [423 comments] 'Nip Sip'
4 [400 comments] 'Mike Hammer'
5 [369 comments] 'Jane D'oh'
6 [356 comments] 'Thunderb'
7 [343 comments] 'FenelonSpoke'
8 [338 comments] 'EC'
9 [292 comments] 'Niedermeyer's Dead Horse'
10 [289 comments] 'logprof'

Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [88 names] 'phreshone' [12.35 unique names/day]
2 [56 names] 'The Political Hat'
3 [53 names] 'Brandon In Baton Rouge'
4 [48 names] 'Doctor Fish'
5 [44 names] 'Islamic Rage Boy'
6 [42 names] 'logprof'
7 [38 names] 'noone, really'
8 [37 names] 'Leno blando'
9 [33 names] 'toby928?'
10 [32 names] 'Nip Sip'

The group. Yeah.

Where it's at - the Twitter

Tonight's post brought to you by the view from my hotel balcony in Liechtenstein:

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Please e-mail overnight open thread tips to maetenloch at gmail. Otherwise send tips to Ace.

posted by Maetenloch at 10:39 PM

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