pop quiz

took a GoToQuiz off a facebook link today … some of the questions I think could have been worded better.  I find that these quizzes tend to lead you into things. I prefer more specific wording.

1. Laws should restrict abortion in all or most cases.
– morals should restrict the numbers of pregnancies.
– abortion should never be used as a form of birth control
– we should not pass laws for the masses because individual responsibility is lacking.

2. Unions were indispensable in establishing the middle class.
– the unions were indispensable.
– the unions did not establish a middle class.
– the function of unions seems to be duplicated by government agencies in many cases today. we don’t need both.

3. In nearly every instance, the free market allocates resources most efficiently.
– most efficiently? perhaps not. Does that make it bad? no.

4. Public radio and television funded by the state provide a valuable service the citizens.
– state funded public radio and television can and should provide valuable services to the citizens. Emergencies, Amber alerts, severe weather, etc.
– do our state funded stations do things they shouldn’t? yes.

5. Some people should not be allowed to reproduce.
– I agree with this. The problem is that I have no trust for the political body that would have to be formed to oversee the selective concept “SOME”.

6. Access to healthcare is a right.
– Access to something someone else provides is not a right. EVER.

7. The rich should pay a higher tax rate than the middle class.
– every person should pay the same rate.
– the rich should not be able to avoid taxes by buying loopholes.
– there is no way to determine where the rich begins and the middle ends.

8. Sċhool science classes should teach intelligent design.
– School should teach children to think independently, not to regurgitate the opinions of others.

9. Marriage must be heralded for the important role it plays in society.
– for what purpose? by whom? what role?

10. Sometimes war is necessary, even if it means you strike first.
– Striking first is not war, it is an attack. War is the result of a failed first attack or a failed defense.

11. Patriotism is an overrated quality.
– hard to say until I know who is doing the rating and how high the ratings scale goes before it reaches overrated.

12. Radio stations should be required to present balanced news coverage.
– privately owned radio stations are a business and as such should be able to present whatever coverage they desire.
– I can change the channel if I don’t like the message or the method.

13. Government should do something about the increasing violence in video games.
– the video game industry is a business and as such should be able to produce any product they want to market.

14. If our leader meets with our enemies, it makes us appear weak.
– if our leader meets our enemies on his knees with his pants around his ankles we appear weak.
– if our leader meets our enemies with his foot on their throat then no.. we don’t appear weak.

15. We must use our military from time to time to protect our supply of oil, to avoid a national crisis.
– we should use our military daily to protect what is ours.
– we should not consider things outside our borders to be ours.

16. Strong gun ownership rights protect the people against tyranny.
– people protect people against tyranny
– people have used many tools to fight tyranny.

17. It makes no sense to say ‘I’m spiritual but not religious.’
– huh?

18. It is not government’s responsibility to regulate pollution.
– it is the governments responsibility to minimize the infringement of our rights.
– poor ethics cause pollution.
– we’re all swimming in the pool .. don’t pee in it.

19. Gay marriage should be forbidden.
– marriage is a church thing, if your church says it’s ok fine…. i’m goin to a different church thank you.
– the fact that the gov makes you be married and fill out paperwork is the gov meddling in church business.
– the fact insurance companies and ER nurses can’t or won’t deal with some ‘domestic partnerships’ is a symptom of too many rich lawyers.

20. It should be against the law to use hateful language toward another racial group.
– see bill of rights item # 1
– nowhere in the constitution does it say I have to be careful to not offend you.
– you have the freedom to be as p/o’d at me as you’d like. enjoy.
– ‘ignorant dumbass’ works just fine if I have a problem with someone. I don’t need to color code it.

21. Government should ensure that all citizens meet a certain minimum standard of living.
– some corrupt political agency will have to be formed to determine ‘minimum standard’.
– people should have the freedom to live as they choose. (choose meaning choose to work hard or not, make good decisions or not)

22. It is wrong to enforce moral behavior through the law because this infringes upon an individual’s freedom.
– you cannot enforce moral behavior.
– you can prosecute immoral behavior, but shouldn’t unless said behavior infringes the rights of another citizen.

23. Immigration restrictions are economically protectionist. Non-citizens should be allowed to sell their labor domestically at a rate the market will pay.
– I don’t know what economically protectionist means but if it means restricting immigration protects the economy then I doubt it.
– Illegal immigrant is just a fancy term for successful invasion of our territory by a really small enemy force.
– legal non-citizens should be allowed to ‘sell their labor’ (we call it ‘work’ here in Texas) just like anyone else.

24. An official language should be set, and immigrants should have to learn it.
– An official language was set.
– Citizens should have to learn it.

25. Whatever maximizes economic growth is good for the people.
– economic growth is good
– there is no way to determine maximum growth.

26. Racial issues will never be resolved. It is human nature to prefer one’s own race.
– my crystal ball says never say never.
– my race is human .. so yeah, you sheepherders, I prefer my own race.

27. People with a criminal history should not be able to vote.
– agreed
– a lot fewer people should have a criminal history.

28. Marijuana should be legal.
– abuse of yourself shouldn’t be against the law
– abuse of another while under the influence (or not) should be a crime.

29. The state should fine television stations for broadcasting offensive language.
– people should stop watching television stations they don’t like.

30. It does not make sense to understand the motivations of terrorists because they are self-evidently evil.
– understanding the why helps to understand the who and the when.

31. The lower the taxes, the better off we all are.
– uh yeah .. duh

32. Minority groups that have faced discrimination should receive help from the state to get on an equal footing.
– oh hell no.
– they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps just like everyone else had to.

33. It is wrong to question a leader in wartime.
– it is wrong to hesitate during a battle.
– question before or after the battle.

34. Tighter regulation would have prevented the collapse of the lending industry.
– if my research is correct … the idiot driven regulation of the lending industry ultimately caused its collapse.

35. It makes sense and is fair that some people make much more money than others.
– it makes sense
– if by fair you mean equal, then how can it possibly be fair if one has more than the other?
– if by fair you mean morally right, then yes it makes sense.

36. Toppling enemy regimes to spread democracy will make the world a safer place.
– killing off enemy regimes makes the world safer.
– making enemies of people who leave us alone makes the world more dangerous.

37. The state has no business regulating alcohol and tobacco products.
– the gov has no business regulating products produced and marketed within the country.
– import / export is the gov’s business.

38. If an unwed teen becomes pregnant, abortion may be a responsible choice.
– um no – abortion is not birth control.
– abortion is not a last ditch way to buy your way out of consequences caused by irresponsibility.
– if the life of either the mother or the child is in jeopardy as determined by a qualified physician then abortion becomes an option (this is extremely rare).
– if the pregnancy was the result of a criminal act then abortion becomes an option (this should be extremely rare but is unfortunately all too common).

39. International trade agreements should require environmental protections and workers’ rights. (meaning: no free trade with countries that lack pollution controls or labor protections)
– its virtually impossible to police worker’s rights and environmental protections outside our borders.
– why is trade with countries that don’t self-moderate these areas desirable ?

40. Gay equality is a sign of progress.
– I’m pretty sure Gay people aren’t limited any more than anyone else.

41. The state should be able to put a criminal to death if the crime was serious enough.
– the victim should be able to put a criminal to death during the act.

42. The military budget should be scaled back.
– military waste should be scaled back. a lot.

43. Economic competition results in innumerable innovations that improve all of our lives.
– Economic competition results in innovations.
– improving lives is possible
– improving all our lives sounds like forced change or lack of recognition of others’ possible desire to not partake of the fancy new innovations.

44. It is not our place to condemn other cultures as backwards or barbaric.
– see bill of rights # 1
– say what you want, just remember there might be consequences.

45. When one group is slaughtering another group somewhere in the world, we have a responsibility to intervene.
– individual moral responsibility to respond ? yes, if I think group B doesn’t deserve eradication.
– collective political responsibility to respond ? yes, if group B is our ally.

46. We’d be better off if we could just lock up some of the people expressing radical political views, and keep them away from society.
– We’d be better off if we could educate our citizens well enough so they wouldn’t swallow bad advice from a pretty face or melodious teleprompter.

47. Unrestrained capitalism cannot last, as wealth and power will concentrate to a small elite.
– capitalism cannot last if corruption is allowed to be unrestrained.

48. It is a problem when young people display a lack of respect for authority.
– agreed
– it is a problem when authority figures are not deserving of respect.

49. When corporate interests become too powerful, the state should take action to ensure the public interest is served.
– the state should take action before corporate interests become powerful enough to coerce or control society.

50. A person’s morality is between that person and God only. Government should not get involved.
– a person’s morality is between himself and those he interacts with.

51. The state should not set a minimum wage.
– agreed

52. A nation’s retirement safety net cannot be trusted to the fluctuations of the stock market.
– shouldn’t be taxed to the point where you need a safety net for retirement.

53. Offensive or blasphemous art should be suppressed.
– again see bill of rights # 1
– don’t like it don’t look, vote with your patronage

my results are conservative libertarian.. .go figure

UI loud noise

here on the south side of suburbia we get weird noises and with all the brick walls we get some strange echoes at times.

it could have been firecrackers. Odd to have single firecrackers go off every 10-20 seconds for half an hour. On a misc day @ noon.

or

a nailgun. Some people fix their own fence. Pretty loud for a nailgun I think, I could hear it inside my house over the TV.

or

somebody target shooting in their yard. Occasional rattle after a bang… maybe a target falling?

Am I going to go verify? Nope, not my job.

I’m guessing since it stopped immediately when the B&W cruisers showed up it maybe wasn’t a nailgun. Coincidence maybe. I’m pretty positive it wasn’t anything large caliber, and I don’t think it sounded quite right for a .22.

Decent response time. Not faster than a speeding bullet by any means, but faster than breaking open a new box of ammo and reloading.

long morning the sequel

Someone apparently made a copy of my bank card and went to a casino, among other things.

light blogging will ensue as I deal with having a locked account at the end of the month. again.

longest morning ever

what next

I have to be honest people, I’m fighting total complete hopelessness.

They’re taking our money.

They’re taking our rights.

what do we do about it? write letters to the people who obviously aren’t listening to us? call the office of people who think we are cowards or illiterate or racist or just too stupid to spend our own money?

sigh…

Today I was at the VA clinic… y’know, the national healthcare system for veterans…. and I was in the break area watching Obama on the TV and I looked over and noticed the change machine was broken. It’s just poetic; no change for veterans (and hope is fading fast).

These elected officials have it all bassackwards. Their job is not to make rules and decisions about what’s best for us. Their job is to make rules and decisions so we have the freedom to decide whats best for ourselves.

Either they know this and are doing it wrong on purpose or they don’t know this and are doing it accidentally.

If they are doing it wrong accidentally, that’s negligence

1. the quality, fact, or result of being negligent; neglect: negligence in discharging one’s responsibilities.
2. an instance of being negligent: a downfall brought about by many negligences.
3. Law. the failure to exercise that degree of care that, in the circumstances, the law requires for the protection of other persons or those interests of other persons that may be injuriously affected by the want of such care.

Given the regularity with which they get it wrong and the fact these decisions seem to be nearly unanimous, my guess is they are purposefully doing it wrong. If they are ignorant and accidentally doing their job, they would get it right sometimes. Laws of probability and all that.

If they are doing it wrong on purpose, that’s betrayal of their oath of office.

The Constitution of the United States

Article. VI.

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

this constitutes treason

1. the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign.
2. a violation of allegiance to one’s sovereign or to one’s state.
3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.

Is there any doubt why there is money from the stimulus going to an organization whose major claim to fame is voter fraud?

Is there any doubt why our new batch of elected officials want to repeal the 22nd ammendment?

sexist bastard

insomnia has its uses….

It occurred to me while I was not sleeping that there was a serious lack of frilly girly stuff on ye olde blog site.

So, I decided to toss together some stuff. I stole borrowed the ‘Chicks with Guns’ label from Breda (librarians love it when you borrow stuff) and added a new section to the left sidebar. Then I poked around the link lists of various well linked gunnie folks (and by that I mean LawDog*) to find additional sites I’d previously neglected.

Then I went through my rss feeds and saw a new entry from Melody that led me to Femina Fortis for the first time. I found myself ashamed that this quote is true for so many people.

I know I’m vulnerable.  I know I could very easily be a victim, and I HAVE been a victim.

My first husband was/is abusive.  I know other women who have been or are abused.  I know women who have been raped, and I know women who have been otherwise victimized.  I recognize the danger, and I recognize that I am particularly vulnerable BECAUSE I’m a submissive.

Then I got mad. And I plan on staying good and mad. WE ALLOWED this nation to evolve in a manner where women and children can’t walk down the street safely. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH US?

I think its a crying shame that women are forced to protect themselves from criminals because our society’s values are so piss poor. I’m speechless to explain how OUR GOVERNMENT can think for a second we should be disarmed.

Can anyone out there honestly tell me that McCain and Obama were the best choices on any list? Pick your race; mayor, congress, senate….. I WOULDN’T PAY A POLITICIAN TO PICK UP DOG POOP. What the hell are we doing to this country? Our children grow up in a make believe world and their idols are reknowned for beating the system. 200 years from now when the children are learning American History (I hope) which names and faces from this group of elected/appointed officials will they revere?

I’m a part of this society and I’m forced to realize through my lack of action in the past I’ve contributed to the current situation. I have not been idle, but I can do more.

There’s a serious lack of frilly girly stuff in the world .. and its our fault. There is no excuse.

Next time you want to complain about our situation, find a mirror and take a good look at the voter you see in it.

——–

*me adding stuff usually starts with a visit to LawDog’s as he was my primary inspiration for plunging into the blogging business in the first place.

longest morning EVER

I took a look at my online bank statement yesterday.
pending ………… $1.00 …………………Apple/iTune
hmmmm, I don’t buy stuff from iTunes.
[phone call] blah blah yes sir, no sir, that office is closed for the day, yes sir, no sir, tomorrow would be fine, ………….
grrrrr

friday dawns bright and shiny and I make my call….
There’s a charge on my bank statement for $1, according to your FAQ’s that’s standard procedure when there are changes made to an account.

yessir

OK, but I haven’t made any changes to my account recently. Has someone else accessed my account?

chaos ensues
[story edited to run in the time allotted and edited for content]

word of the day: fraud / identity theft

what to do when someone gets on the web and creates user accounts with your billing information

Call your bank

– tell story to nice lady that answers
– check statement for fraudulent transactions
– cancel card
– issue new card
– change PIN
– change password

Call the local PD non-emergency line

– make report
– get report #
– get officer’s name and ID#
– write down several numbers for more phone calls

Run Anti-Virus scan on computer

Call Federal Trade Commission 877-438-4338

Go to Internet Crime Complaint Center

Call TransUnion

– Request copy of credit report 800-888-4213 (repeat for Equifax and Experian)
– Request Fraud Blocking 800-680-7281 (TU will also notify EQ and EX for you, which rocks)

Call credit card company (repeat as needed)

– check statements for fraudulent activity
– cancel card
– issue new card
– change password
– change PIN

Call every entity you have set up to auto debit
– advise of card # change
– ensure no bill will be charged to your account until new card arrives
– ensure plan B of check by mail will work in place of auto debit system

Buy new document shredder when new card comes.

Laws, Safety & Freedom – Part 2

Do I think we all need formal training? Do we need driver’s training or parenthood classes or firearms safety? No.

[I know half of you just heard “say again?” in your head]

What we need is a high school diploma.

If I go into the Harley dealer and throw my money on the counter, instead of asking to see a driver’s license I should be able to show them my diploma.

Need a John Deere tractor? Got a diploma? yup. Sign here, come back any time Sir.

Need a Snowmobile? Chainsaw? Dynamite? Sailboat? Razor Blade? Got my diploma card right here. Sold.

OMG OMG you can’t teach all that in school, there’s too much to learn. shut up. I’m not done.

School (and parents) should teach how to recognize a dangerous tool when you see one. You should also get taught the ENGLISH language so you know how to READ THE F***ING INSTRUCTIONS; the one that says “Poison: do not take internally” or “Contains tobacco: May cause cancer”. If you can do basic reading comprehension you should be able to buy any item you want, hazardous or not, read the label and use it at a basic level of proficiency. For advanced proficiency do some research on your own [you should learn how to do research in SCHOOL], seek out others who are proficient, to learn from, and practice.

If you are thoughtless enough to drive drunk, your ability to make decisions impacting the freedoms & rights of other citizens is suspect and as a result society has a responsibility to restrict your access to other dangerous things. Can you still buy groceries? Sure. Can you live on my street? Sure. Can you buy a car? No. You’re the Mass-Transit Ranger bro. A car is a deadly weapon in the hands of a negligent driver, and you demonstrated your brain has no safety catch.

Again, we don’t need lawmakers to make more rules in an attempt to prevent stupidity from happening. We need to make the education system better. Face it friends and neighbors, stupid is gonna happen no matter what. Stupidity is a force of Nature, it’s like rain and wind.

We need less of this ‘no one left behind’ B.S. and a lot more ‘you stay here until you learn it’. Graduating underachievers is dangerous to the public. Drivers who can’t read road signs are dangerous. Parents who can’t read medicine bottles are dangerous.