While I was chatting up one of the LPN’s at a recent doctor’s appointment, we got on the subject of history. She mentioned that she regularly listened to a podcast titled simply “The British History Podcast” and suggested it was well worth the time to catch it.
And so I did. And it was very good.
Now I need to get caught up on it.
A group in Russia is making a project of marking the last residences of people murdered by the Soviet regime with plaques.
The rectangular plaques are small and simple. Etched into the metal there is a name, date of birth and occupation: radio technician, journalist, student.
Then come the dates of arrest and execution.
Fixed to buildings across Russia, the nameplates are gradually restoring the memory of some of the hundreds of thousands of victims of Joseph Stalin’s political repressions.
The initiative of a group of activists, it is also a direct challenge to the growing number of Russians who see the Soviet leader in a positive light.
…..
The Last Address project has received more than 1,000 applications requesting plaques to those who perished in Stalin’s paranoia-fuelled purge of supposed traitors.
The group of activists involved seek the agreement of residents before arriving with their electric drills but it is not always easy.
I’m not sure if they’re accepting donations, or if I’d trust sending donations to anywhere marked (dot)RU, but I do like the idea of reminding folks what bad things can happen when you give government too much power.
A welder can do it.
A couple weeks back I discovered that my EOTech was not firing up as it should. I opened the battery cover to find this
A battery took a leak all over the insides. Having never had a problem with it, I was worried that it may have needed to go back to them for repairs.
But after doing a quick bit of internetting, I found that I was being silly, because the engineers at EOTech had thought of this problem and made this user repairable.
$13 worth of parts took care of the problem.
I decided that I even had enough cash to spring for the $7 top cover replacement screws since the factory ones had begun to get rusty and crusty looking in the decade I’ve owned it.
All is now well in my ShortHeavy AR’s world now.
But, I really want to add that there are only two companies listed by EOTech as parts retailers. One of them has a website that doesn’t list parts for the sights, and the other one will charge you more for shipping than you’re paying for the parts (yes, $20+ for standard USPS shipping in a bubble envelope). I’ve written EOTech, but I haven’t heard back and don’t expect to.
That if you live your life without making enemies, you did it wrong.
Antonin Scalia did it right
Antonin Scalia’s Enemies Only Prove His Greatness
Scalia was a good Catholic, and a sine qua non of good Catholicism is recognizing that one is under authority: under God, under the pope, under authority. In his vocation on the Supreme Court, Scalia also rightly saw himself as under authority—that of the U.S. Constitution. First and foremost, the Constitution separates the various powers inherent in government.
The power of the Court is not the power to make laws, nor is it the power to execute them. Those powers the Constitution reserves to those who must face political consequences for infidelity, overreaching, or foolishness.
The judicial power, that of interpreting the law and applying it to particular cases, is at once greater and, more importantly, less than the legislative and executive powers. It is greater in that it can undo what the other branches have done. Carried out properly, it is the last defense against predatory, unconstitutional government, save the people themselves. It is less than the others because it rightly can do nothing against unwise government, unenlightened government, or even unjust government, to the extent the injustice is lawful under the Constitution.
Scalia understood all of this, and lived it. His judicial conservatism was, above all else, a refusal to violate the Constitution’s separation of powers, to extend his own power beyond its authority.
Hit the link above and RTWT.
Courtesy of David, I have a copy of the Heller decision’s cover page signed by Justice Scalia hanging on the wall in my home. It is and will always be one my most prized possessions.
I regret to inform you that Buster, our big friendly couch monster of nearly four years has passed on.
Buster was a handsome fellow who came to us from a local rescue where he was staying with his brother, Chance. Their previous owner’s home was foreclosed on. The guy took the appliances, but left behind the boys. Unfortunately, Chance was a bit of a bully, so we only adopted Buster. He seemed to appreciate that.
Buster got along with everyone: Canine, feline, or biped and really just wanted butt-scratches and belly rubs.
Buster had always had a problem with getting large fatty growths and benign tumors under his skin. Two years ago we spent a large amount of income to remove three of these tumors. Over the last couple weeks, after Buster slowly stopped finishing eating all of his breakfasts and dinners, we knew something was wrong. We had hoped it was just that he needed some dental work done. Then, over the weekend, he stopped wanting to do much but lay on his couch
We dropped Buster off at he vet last Tuesday and told the veterinary assistant about the loss of appetite and a dislike of movement, and she said she’d let the doc know. Around midday, they called to tell us that they had found another tumor, also benign, but unfortunately rather large and attached to his stomach. Also, that an attempt to remove this tumor would likely be fatal.
We got off work and joined Buster at the vet’s offices. We talked with the vet for a bit to see if she’d tell us how much time he had or how much pain he was in, and got unwanted answers to both those questions. We decided that bringing Buster home in his that condition was not a good idea.
He is home now and will join the other animaniacs we had the pleasure of living with on the shelf of honor by this weekend.
RIP Buster. So long big guy.
Running a website can be like trying to figure out how to keep one of those Cadillac V8-6-4 “Variable Displacement” engines working properly.
So, I re-registered the domain (last time we went down), then the registration folks went back to using the original nameserver whom I’m not paying to host it any more. They took a couple days to figure it out before they unplugged me, and then I couldn’t unlock to make the changeback stick.
Believe me, I really did swear.
I’ll have some sad news tomorrow about a death in the family while we were down. But for now, let’s all be happy about getting the good ship RNS out of moorage.
It’s actually made of iron.
Black Lives Matter meetings run afoul of library’s policy
Library officials have told Nashville’s chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement that meetings restricting those who attend by race aren’t allowed on public property.
The decision has outraged Black Lives Matter members. But Nashville Public Library officials said they’re following a library policy that specifies all meetings at their facilities must be open to the public and news media.
“The library didn’t cancel anyone’s meeting,†said library spokeswoman Emily Waltenbaugh, referring to a Black Lives Matter meeting Saturday that has been moved to a church. “We’re taxpayer funded. We have to be open to anyone any time.â€
Of course, since irony is to SJW’s as sunlight is to vampires, they had to blame something.
Don’t think about that for too long. It’s meant to only be understood by other SJW’s and will shut down your synapses.
Of a desperate adversary?
Quite possibly.
Now that the standoff in Oregon is over, the anti-civil rights leftists have connected the dots and think that they have discovered a unicorn.
It is time to demand that the NRA open their books and come clean about how much of this so-called “patriot movement” they are supporting. Take, for example, Gavin Seim, the broadcaster who kept the live stream of the remaining four Bundy militia members’ surrender going, while bringing in Michele Fiore and Franklin Graham, of all people.
To quote the “patriots'” favorite book, by their fruits, shall ye know them. In this case, Seim’s “fruits” appear to be in line with the same goals as the NRA.
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For years now, these “Patriots” have been able to move around the country, broadcasting live with no visible means of support. Selling reverse mortgages, as Santilli did for awhile, might keep the bills paid but it certainly won’t fund an opulent lifestyle. Seim appears to be a young guy with no job beyond watering the trees of liberty with other “patriots'” blood, sweat and tears. So how does he pay the bills?
My instincts aren’t enough in this situation. Intuitively, I believe the NRA probably funds these guys directly or indirectly, either through ad buys on their shows or through other means of support. Grants, contract deals, whatever. The problem is, we can’t know whether they do or don’t fund them without a full, transparent, and public audit.
…..
I have created a petition at the White House petition site, calling for a public audit of the NRA. I need 100,000 signatures by March 12, 2016 to receive a response. Please sign and share it.
I’m not quite sure what they expect a petition at the WH petition site is going to make the NRA do. I doubt that even Dear Reader has the cojones to bring this bs up.
Of course, it is very likely they won’t get their 100k signatures.
The EPA wrote a fat stack of new regulations on how coal plants are to operate in the near future that would shut a large percentage of them down.
This caused the corporations who operate them to call their lawyers and have them put the brakes on the implementation of these regulations.
The fate of the single biggest piece of President Barack Obama’s climate change legacy was thrown into question Tuesday evening when the Supreme Court blocked the president’s carbon emissions regulation for existing power plants from moving forward.
In a 5-4 decision, the court granted the stay to 29 states and a slew of industry groups that are appealing the rule. Oral arguments at a federal appeals court in Washington will take place in June.
In August, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the rule, which mandates existing power plants reduce carbon dioxide emissions 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. The administration estimated that once in effect, the regulation would reduce carbon dioxide pollution by 870 million tons — equal to the amount produced by 108 million homes or 166 million cars.
The Supreme Court’s decision does not mean justices will ultimately strike down the regulation, but it doesn’t bode well for the EPA.
Not a single one of these regulations was voted on by an elected representative. They were pulled straight from the wet dreams of every eco-socialist to ever warm a government office chair, typed up on official letterhead, and rubber stamped into law by bureaucrats.
The left, as you’ll see if you follow the link, is screaming both the “right-wingers hate the planet”, and the “crooked conservative justices” lines, because they hate democracy if it doesn’t serve their purposes.
When you you have to monetize good behavior in adults, it means there is something wrong with how they were raised as children.
DC bill would pay people stipends to not commit crimes
They say crime doesn’t pay, but that might not be entirely true in the District of Columbia as lawmakers look for ways to discourage people from becoming repeat offenders.
The D.C. Council is voting on a bill Tuesday that includes a proposal to pay residents a stipend not to commit crimes. It’s based on a program in Richmond, California, that advocates say has contributed to deep reductions in crime there.
It’s the new Danegeld!
