Clipmarks | Rustee's clips

Own a Gun

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:54:55 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

As one might expect of a man so brilliant, Thomas Jefferson had the perfect answer to modern politicians itchy to disarm the ordinary citizen.

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."

Having a gun won't guarantee you'll win a gunfight, but it will certainly guarantee that you will have a chance of winning.

There is a lot more to self-defense than I have space to talk about, so I will close with a story from the 1800s.

A man on his way to Texas asked an Arkansas store owner if he thought he would need a gun. "Well," the store owner said, "maybe you will and maybe you won't, but if you do, you'll need it in a hurry."

Tags: guns, self defense

Two Common Objections to Capitalism

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:39:49 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

The system of voluntary exchange and experimentation based on secure private-property rights — what we loosely call "capitalism" — expands rather than restricts our material and nonmaterial opportunities. Substituting elite power for voluntary exchange invites all sorts of epistemological problems and moral disasters. For these reasons, capitalism deserves to be defended.

Clip Source: mises.org

A lot of people object to what they call "capitalism," but their objections hold little or no water once they are examined critically.

Capitalism Exploits the Poor

economic historian Gregory Clark points out that if you look at real returns to land (rental rates), they have fluctuated but remain virtually unchanged. The same holds true for capital (interest rates). Real wages for unskilled workers, meanwhile, have exploded.

Sources of mortality have also fallen: infant mortality and maternal mortality are miniscule fractions of what they used to be, and life expectancy has increased radically.

Capitalism Is Structurally Racist and Sexist

Milton Friedman said about politics, commerce, and differences: commerce reduces and harmonizes our differences while politics turns those differences into a source of tension and violence.

Capitalism punishes sexism and racism.

Tags: economics, capitalism

The Forgotten Depression of 1920

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:04:35 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

The experience of 1920–21 reinforces the contention of genuine free-market economists that government intervention is a hindrance to economic recovery. It is not in spite of the absence of fiscal and monetary stimulus that the economy recovered from the 1920–21 depression. It is because those things were avoided that recovery came. The next time we are solemnly warned to recall the lessons of history lest our economy deteriorate still further, we ought to refer to this episode – and observe how hastily our interrogators try to change the subject.

Clip Source: www.lewrockwell.com

The economic situation in 1920 was grim. By that year unemployment had jumped from 4 percent to nearly 12 percent, and GNP declined 17 percent. No wonder, then, that Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover – falsely characterized as a supporter of laissez-faire economics – urged President Harding to consider an array of interventions to turn the economy around. Hoover was ignored.

Instead of “fiscal stimulus,” Harding cut the government’s budget nearly in half between 1920 and 1922. The rest of Harding’s approach was equally laissez-faire. Tax rates were slashed for all income groups. The national debt was reduced by one-third. The Federal Reserve’s activity, moreover, was hardly noticeable.

The federal government did not do what Keynesian economists ever since have urged it to do: run unbalanced budgets and prime the pump through increased expenditures. Rather, there prevailed the old-fashioned view that government should keep spending and taxation low and reduce the public debt.

Tags: economics, history, government

Fattening the Nanny State

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:13:49 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: reason.com

Obese people and public-health scolds have one thing in common: a compulsion to keep behaving in a way that does not produce helpful results.

One of the pet campaigns of the second group, ostensibly on behalf of the first one, is forcing restaurants to provide accessible nutritional information about their offerings.

But the early evidence suggests that people don't choose high-calorie fast foods because they don't know any better. They choose them because they like them, and they don't really care if others disapprove.

That's the implication of a new study in the journal Health Affairs conducted by researchers at New York University and Yale University.

Architects of intrusive policies, like those at the New York health department, may wonder how on earth someone could be given valuable information and not use it to make better decisions. But we could ask the same thing about them.

Tito's vs. Grey Goose

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:17:43 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

The clear winner here is Tito's Handmade Vodka. I implore anyone who is biased towards spirits and their perceived quality because of high price or brand recognition alone to please do yourself a favor and try Tito's. It ranks up there with any of the highest priced vodkas on the market and sells for a fraction of their price. On top of that, it is a genuine Texas-made beverage.

Good stuff.

Clip Source: www.examiner.com

Price: Tito's Vodka is typically sold at $16.99 per 750 ML in most stores around Houston. Grey Goose is sold for $25+ in most stores around Houston.

Winner: Tito's Vodka

Taste: Tito's Vodka is a very smooth spirit that has a wonderful sweetness towards the finish. Grey Goose is very neutral to the palate. It doesn't really have a flavor whatsoever.

Winner: Tito's Vodka

Aesthetics: Tito's bottle is very bland compared to other brands. Outside of the copper colored cap, it doesn't have much going for it. Grey Goose's bottle features an etched look with a colorful winter scene visible in the background. It also features a replaceable cork cap.

Winner: Grey Goose Vodka

Accolades: Both vodkas have won various prestigious awards.

Winner: Tie

With all of the above tallied, Tito's bests Grey Goose in price and taste, but fails to beat Grey Goose in its presentation. The problem with this for Grey Goose is that price and taste are all that matters

Tags: spirits, alcohol, taste, texas

Hurricane Ike's Delayed Gifts for Galveston Island

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:04:42 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

While the more common plants probably came from other island yards, Evans thinks the tiny tomatoes might have come all the way from the Caribbean.

“Other people out here on the East End have had that same little tomato,” he said. “No one recognized it, and then I heard by word of mouth that they had come from Cuba. I’m willing to believe that, but I don’t know that it’s true.”

Experts cannot verify Evans’ claim, but the unknown origin of the volunteer plants hasn’t kept gardeners from enjoying them.

Sounds plausible to me, knowing that our seasonal seaweed (Sargasso) that washes ashore every year comes from hundreds of miles off the east coast in the Atlantic ocean.

Clip Source: www.galvnews.com

Hurricane Ike’s storm surge smothered lawns, stripped shrubs and left thousands of island trees for dead when it swept ashore last year.

Ike killed about 40,000 trees on the island, three-quarters of which are on private property.

But the sludge-filled floodwaters deposited an unexpected consolation for Galveston residents mourning the loss of their greenery.

As soon as spring’s warmer weather could coax new growth from the barren landscape, volunteer fruits, vegetables, trees and flowers started to sprout in yards all across the island. The seeds were scattered to their new spots by the unstoppable surge.

Tiny grape tomatoes and melon plants are the most common addition to the island’s landscape.

Burke Evans is waiting anxiously to harvest several watermelons and a cantaloupe.

“When I realized I’d lost my trees, I needed something to cheer me up,” he said.

Ike also left Evans beds of periwinkles, several papaya trees and a few elephant ears

Tags: galveston, texas, hurricane, plants

Reasons to Own a Gun

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:14:57 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: www.lewrockwell.com

The simple act of having a gun is its own best use. Like a battleship parked off the coast its mere presence changes the dynamic of the situation without having to fire a single shot.

A right exercised is a right retained.

So you can de-bunk Hollywood gun myths for your kids.

Home Invasion Robberies.

We call the police because they have guns, not pens to document what already happened to us.

Early Release of Violent criminals from overstuffed jails – Happens more than you think.

Hurricane Katrina and the next natural disaster.

Better than a knife past 2 yards.

Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Sonia Sotomayor.

Clean-cut young men like Ted Bundy.

Camping among dangerous 4-legged creatures.

Camping among dangerous 2-legged creatures.

Carrying a gun is a lighter burden than regret.

Because criminals fear entering your House because of my gun. Get your own and spread the non-violence.

After you hand over the money, they’ll still kill you for being a witness.

Tags: guns, crime, self defense, rights

Clunker Math

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:42:08 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: www.ktrh.com

A vehicle at 15 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses an average of 800 gallons a year of gasoline.

A vehicle at 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses an average of 480 gallons a year.

So, the average clunker transaction will reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.

They claim 700,000 vehicles were ‘clunked’ – so that's 224 million gallons of gas saved per year.
That equates to almost 5 million barrels of oil.
5 million barrels of oil is about ¼ of one day's U.S. consumption.
And, 5 million barrels of oil costs about $375 million dollars at $75/bbl.
So, we taxpayers contributed $3 billion to save $375 million.

How good a deal was that?

Tags: government, auto

The Top 9 Phrases Whose Origins Are Often Mistaken

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:32:56 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: Besides these 9, the rest of the site makes a nice resource to turn to or just browse at your leisure. For instance, the third degree, I found interesting, among many others.

Clip Source: www.phrases.org.uk

Some of it is tosh, twaddle, claptrap - nonsense. It's always the same old tales, plausible but untrue.

Here are our favourites - the Nonsense Nine.

1. The whole nine yards - everyone's favourite; this has to be number one.

2. Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

3. POSH

4. The full monty

5. The 'coffin quartet' - four for the price of one.

6. The real McCoy

7. Scot free

8. Golf

9. Raining cats and dogs

Tags: language, writing, idioms, trivia

Museum of Unintended Use

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:40:57 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: An interesting new blog.
And oh yeah, that last pic was taken in a pet supply store; it's a dog beg with an unintended sleeper inside.

Clip Source: unintendeduse.blogspot.com

What does a neurosurgeon do, if he needs to practice a new technique? He orders a loose head at the anatomical lab. Heads with soft blood vessels are best, because they resemble living heads. At Utrecht University, the man managing the bodies donated to science found a way to soften the vessels. He flushes them with... fabric softener! 'It even smells nice, now', he told the curator with a smile.

Clip Source: unintendeduse.blogspot.com

'My old garden rake in it's new life as a a tool rack', writes ozhaggishead from Australia. (Published here with permission of the photographer.)

Clip Source: unintendeduse.blogspot.com

'Our toilet was left in sorry shape by the floods after hurricane Katrina,' writes Bart Everson from New Orleans. 'We got a new toilet and decided to use the old one as a planter.'

Clip Source: unintendeduse.blogspot.com

Matches in bathrooms. Of course, they might be used to light a candle, as you can see on this picture taken in Oslo, Norway. But that's only one side of the story. Some people use matches in bathrooms for another purpose. They need to get rid of... bad smells.

Clip Source: unintendeduse.blogspot.com

Tags: society, ingenuity, blog

A Report About a Report About Reports

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:05:03 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: Government just makes you laugh sometimes eh.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

This – what you are reading at this moment – is a report about a report about reports. Specifically, it's about the official report that the state of Texas requires about all the reports it requires from its own agencies.

The 2009 edition delivers 580 pages of tidy bureaucratic reading (including six pages that identify themselves as "intentionally left blank"). That's 84 fewer than the previous edition.

Called Required Reports Prepared by State Agencies and Institutions of Higher Education (Fiscal Year 2009), the tome is compiled by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. It took over the task from the State Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Among the reports reported in the reports report, one finds dozens with the simple title "annual report".

One is called the Report on Persons Found Not Guilty by Reason Of Insanity; another the Audit Report of Records of the Chief Inspector of Tomatoes.

There's also the Report on Crumb Rubber and Shredded Tire Pieces.

Tags: texas, government

Texas State Fair Finalists - Best Fried Foods

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:52:21 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks: Oh my...
Sorry no pics.

Fernie’s Deep Fried Peaches & Cream – Sweet juicy peaches are coated in a delicious batter of cinnamon, ginger, coconut, graham cracker crumbs, eggs & milk, then deep fried to a crunchy golden brown on the outside, while luscious and sweet on the inside. Served on a plate drizzled with raspberry sauce and sprinkled with streusel topping & a dollop of whipped cream. A side of vanilla butter cream icing is provided for dipping.

Texas Fried Pecan Pie – A mini-pecan pie is battered and deep fried to a golden brown. Served drizzled with rich caramel sauce, then topped with whipping cream and chopped candied pecans.

Country Fried Pork Chips – Thin sliced pork loin is seasoned, surrounded by a tasty corn meal batter and deep fried. Served with sides of ketchup or cream gravy.

Clip Source: www.pegasusnews.com

Green Goblins – Cherry peppers are hollowed out, stuffed with spicy shredded chicken and guacamole, then battered and deep fried. Served three to a skewer and topped with queso.

Deep Fried Butter – 100% pure butter is whipped till light and fluffy, then specially sweetened with a choice of several flavors. The tantalizing mixture is surrounded by a special dough and quick fried. Served on a stick.

Twisted Yam on a Stick – A delicious, towering, spiral-cut sweet potato on a 13” skewer is fried to a delicate crispy texture, then gently rolled in butter and dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

Sweet Jalapeno Corn Dog Shrimp – Shrimp on a stick is coated with a sweet and spicy corn meal batter, then deep fried to a golden brown and served with a spicy glaze.

Fried Peanut Butter Cup Macaroon – A peanut butter cup is wrapped inside a coconut macaroon fried and dusted with powdered sugar. Also available with a scoop of Blue Bell ice cream.

Tags: texas, food

The Latter-day Liberal

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:13:33 GMT

clipped by: Rustee
clipper's remarks:

What, in short, would prevent such a policy in the conduct of our affairs, disguised as liberalism, from ultimately emerging as undisguised totalitarianism?

Clip Source: mises.org

The latter-day "liberal" is actually the direct opposite of the true liberal as that term was originally understood. One of these self-styled modern liberals recently defined himself in the following language: "A liberal is one who believes in utilizing the full force of government for the advancement of social, political, and economic justice at the municipal, state, national, and international levels."

Everyone is thoroughly in favor of advancing social, political, and economic justice at all levels, just as everyone is thoroughly against sin at all levels. But the crux of the matter revolves around the ways and means by which we are to promote this admittedly most worthy end.

But mark those words — the "full force of government."

What would prevent such a government from invading any and all spheres of political, economic, and social activity under the pretext of advancing justice and promoting the general welfare?

Tags: liberalism, liberty, government

Moral Tyranny

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:08:46 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: economics.gmu.edu

Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

-- C.S. Lewis

Tags: quotes, government

Using Your Scroll Wheel With Firefox

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:09:29 GMT

clipped by: Rustee

Clip Source: www.dq.winsila.com

Here are a few tips on using your mouse scroll wheel in Firefox that could save you some time.

Closing Tabs

To close a tab just place your mouse cursor on a tab and click with the scroll wheel. This is more convenient and faster than clicking the small cross on the tabs, especially when you want to close several tabs.

Opening hyperlinks in a new tab

Very often we would like to open a link in a page in a new tab.

Just click on the link with the scroll wheel. Presto! the link will open in a new tab. You can even click on the Home button or the Forward/Back button to open the respective url in a new tab.

Scrolling through the tabs

Just place your mouse cursor anywhere on the tab bar and scroll your mouse wheel up and down to scroll through the tab bar.

Moving Forward/Back

Hold down the Shift key and rotate the wheel forward to view the next page or rotate backward to see the previous page.

Zooming

To zoom into a page, hold the Ctrl key and turn the scroll wheel away from you.

Tags: firefox, computer, browser, mouse, tips