Overnight Open Thread (6-16-2015)

Quote of the Day

There were two films of that era that in retrospect are particularly of note: 1997's Air Force One, which starred Harrison Ford as a 50-something American president who knew his way around the cockpit of a jet aircraft, refused to take any guff from terrorists, and had a woman as a vice president to boot. And 1999's Three Kings, which starred George Clooney, and denigrated George H.W. Bush for not toppling Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

No wonder Hollywood has been so miserable after 9/11; they got everything they has previously wished for in a president and as a result, thoroughly hated his guts.

-- Ed Driscoll in Apollo 13 and DNC-MSM-Hollywood 1995

In Defense of Missile Defense

The technology that leftist scientists assured us in the 1980s could never possibly work seems to be working very well and saving lives in the process.

Three decades ago, there were nine countries that fielded ballistic missiles. Today, there are 32. Several of them are unstable (Pakistan and Egypt) or unfriendly (Iran and North Korea) or both (Syria).

...In battle, U.S. missile-defense assets intercepted nine inbound Iraqi missiles in the early stages of the Iraq War, shielding the coalition's headquarters in Kuwait from a decapitation strike. Saudi Patriot batteries recently knocked down missiles fired by Iranian-backed militia in Yemen. Israel's Iron Dome rocket-defense system -- relying on the same basic principles as longer-range missile defense -- intercepted 735 inbound threats and registered a kill rate of nearly 90 percent during the most recent war with Hamas, Aviation Week reports.

In testing, this system of systems has scored successes on 66 of 82 hit-to-kill intercept attempts since 2001 -- an 80-percent success rate. The Aegis sea-based system has achieved 29 successful intercepts in 35 attempts. The ground-based interceptor (which targets inbound threats near their highest point) has hit 9 of 17 intercept attempts. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD, which targets threats near the end of their flight trajectories) has scored a perfect 11 out of 11 in testing.

 

Bookworm: Why Must Hispanic Names in America Be Pronounced in a Fake Spanish Accent?

Anyway, back to the graduation. When the speeches and songs were over, and it was time to hand out diplomas, the task went to two of the school's multiple vice principles, both women with Anglo names. The women began reciting the students' names - Anglo, Jewish, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, etc. - all in flat, totally American accents. That is, they did this until they got to students with Hispanic names. Every time that happened, the women suddenly sounded as if they were applying for a job on one of Rosetta Stone's newest "Learn Spanish" video. Every "R" was rolled, every guttural consonant was coughed out. And then, after the student with the Hispanic name accepted his or her diploma, that flat, American accent returned.

I've commented before (although I can't find my earlier comment) about the exact same phenomenon on NPR - and I can guarantee you that two administrators at a public school in Marin regularly tune in to NPR. The NPR talking heads make no effort with German names (it's "Munich," not "Munchen"), or Russian names, or French names (it's "Paris," not "Paree"), or Chinese names, or American-black names, but when it comes to Hispanic names, they all sound as if they're trying to outdo Mel Blanc's over-the-top Speedy Gonzalez accent.

And she references one of the better Key & Peele skits:

Feminist Scolds Drop the Mask: It's Not About Rape-Rape, It's About PIV

More Coordinated Fiber Cutting Attacks in the SF Bay

Guess What - It's Illegal to Jailbreak Your Grid-Locked Hot Water Heater

Eh - I don't want any appliances in my house that I can't turn off or on when I want to.

For example, it makes it illegal to "unlock" a grid-enabled water heater so that it can be used without being part of a demand-management or thermal-energy storage program. And the government can still bar the sale of such water heaters if it determines that the number of them being sold is 15 or more percent greater than the number of them involved in the kinds of programs they were designed for.

So the lesson should be clear. Jailbreak your iPhone if you want, but don't jailbreak your grid-interactive water heater or you'll make it bad for everybody.

"A Liberal is someone who is determined to reach into your shower and adjust the water temperature for you" - William F. Buckley

Writer: Reagan Carried a Concealed Gun While President

So there I was, on my tour of Secret Service headquarters. The agents had taken me into a small museum they have on the premises. It's a room lined with photos of Presidents and archival exhibit cases filled with Secret Service artifacts. A newspaper with a "Kennedy Dead" headline. A replica of Lee Harvey Oswald's rifle. The pistol used to try to kill President Gerald Ford. They even have the actual car door from the limo when Reagan was shot.

It was an eerie keepsake for sure. But not nearly as eerie as the next detail they told me. We were talking about Reagan and that day he was shot. Then one of the agents offered this secret: When Reagan was President, he carried his own gun.

I couldn't believe it.

"It's true," they said. A .38. Reagan used to hide it in his briefcase and take it on Air Force One.

Whatever you think of Reagan, you have to admit, he had a black belt in badassery.

In his youth Reagan was known to wield a .45 as well.

FDA: Transfats Are Banned Starting Next Year

Note transfats are not toxic in any way but are only linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease via long-term consumption. And now cue the lawsuits.

The local bans set the precedent for FDA's move, but the federal government's decision has much broader implications, especially if it can be interpreted to mean there is no safe level of trans fat, said Michael Reese, an attorney and partner at Reese LLP, a firm that regularly sues food companies for misleading consumers.

FDA's ruling on trans fat is likely to change the legal landscape and "really open up the floodgates on strict liability claims," he said.

WeaponsMan on the State of the Art of 3D-Printed Guns

They've come a long way and printed AR-15 receivers are now functional and can be made by anyone with a 3D printer. Which drives the anti-gunners crazy. And which is why they're trying require 3D printers to be government registered and to make publishing detailed firearm information an ITAR felony. Now might be a good time to download the linked .stl files while you still can.

Did the St. Louis Cardinals Hack into the Houston Astros Computer Network?

White Like Me: Eddie Murphy in 1984

Eddie was transracialing before it was cool.

PA Bridge Closed Due to Mayfly Swarm

High School Student Discovers the Best Way to Hide Evidence of Murder

The Yahoo group is for closers only.

Teh Tweet!

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posted by Maetenloch at 10:57 PM

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