EckerNet.Com

New Transformers Toys?

A New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movie?

A Democratic Congress??

How and when did my childhood become the new retro??

I’ve decided that having a blog is the ultimate disadvantage when meeting new people within your social circles. Inevitably the conversation goes something like this:

Me : Hello, I’m Kevin
New Person : Hello, Kevin, I’m John Doe
Me : Hello John Doe, my it must be interesting to have such a common name and all.
John : ha ha ha, there’s that sarcastic sense of humor of yours
Me : Huh? Hello, have we met before?
John : Well no but I read your blog
Me : I see…
John : Yes and because of this I know exactly your opinion on all the issues that have come up lately. In fact, not only do I know your opinion but your justification for it. Therefore, even though I’m about to talk some of the local issues with you, you have nothing new to contribute to the conversation
Me : Er…
John : Undoubtably this will make your half of the conversation rather difficult.
Me : yeah, but…
John : And not only that but I’m going to pester you about things I think you should write about.
Me : Well, you see…
John : Ahhh, yes, and if I disagree with you on an issue, I will hold the advantage because I will have already planned what I want to say to every little thing you bring up.
Me : Very sporting of you…
John : Well, so what did you want to talk about?
Me : Errr, so seen any good TV shows lately?
John : Huh?

Jolly good time and all that.

Due to the latest “weather event”, EckerNet has declared a Snow Emergency. Namely that it is emergency that I need to get my ass on a snowmobile and ride until either

• My kidneys become jello
• My liver can’t stand the abuse
• “Track side down” rule is sufficiently violated
• Run out of snow
• Incarceration

So I take my leave of you now, there is a trail waiting for me.

If anyone needs to get a hold of me I recommend starting with every bar/tavern/pub in western Minnesota. Just ask the bartender if a bunch of drunken assholes from the Twin Cities have come through yet. If he says no, sit down and have a drink, we’ll be alone shortly. If he says yes, please pay our tab and catch up with us.

Ok there has been quite an uproar in the circles of gun owners lately over some statements made by Jim Zumbo regarding the use of assault weapons in hunting, especially prairie dogs. I would argue it’s not so much the statement, but the thought process behind it.

“As hunters, we don’t need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them. … I’ll go so far as to call them ‘terrorist’ rifles.”

The mentality he uses is the same that supporters of gun-control use. Those who argue in favor of gun control regard the weapon itself as the problem, that guns are inherently evil and must be controlled. Supporters of the 2nd Amendment, instead regard the person as the problem, with the weapon being only a tool. And if that particular tool were not available, another type would be.

To say that assault weapon hunters are lumped in with a group of people who uses “terrorist rifles” to terrorize the world, seems to imply that it’s the weapon, not the group of people, that is the problem.

Instead, as has been shown it’s not the weapon, it’s the people. Terrorists have learned that they can’t win in a one-on-one shootout with US troops, so instead they’ve turned to cowardly weapons such as IEDs. Once again, the assault weapon was just a tool, and the terrorists have simply found a better tool to serve their needs. The weapon itself wasn’t the problem.

Indeed, even setting aside that point, he’s ignoring half the issue. While assault weapons have been used to terrorize the world, they’ve also been used to spread freedom across the world. “Assault rifle” has become such a stigmatized word, that people forget it’s also just as effective in the hands of the “good guys”.

Looks like Zumbo forgot that as well. It’s not just an errant statement, it’s a matter of faulty logic in how one regards a weapon. Plus it’s not exactly a good PR move when you call your customers “terrorists”. They tend not to like that.

Enjoy retirement Zumbo.

[In the interest of full disclosure, I hunt prairie dogs and have used an SKS (predecessor to the AK), and intend on using an AK this spring. However, I think my viewpoint would be the same regardless.]

UPDATE : I’ve checked out the reaction of some people around the net and it runs from one end to another but I am seeing one frequent reaction.  Basically, “How dare the NRA nutballs cast down this man just because of what he said!?  Don’t we have a right to our opinions anymore??”

Sure we do, but as I’ve pointed out Free Speech Isn’t Free.  He’s certainly entitled to his opinion and that’s why he was allowed to stick his foot in his mouth and shoot himself in the foot.  However, he’s not free from the consequences of his statement and taking responsibility for it.  Just like Outdoor Life and the NRA have a responsibility to their members.  The members made their opinion known, and those organizations either risk losing those members, or else follow their wishes.  You have the right to say whatever you want, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to have people listen to you, much less like what you have to say.

In preperation for the winter storm….

Although, let me make a pretty safe prediction and say in advance, the storm was a disappointment.  They claimed a foot of snow was gonna fall, we didn’t even get close to that.  I was told my life was in danger if I even peeked out my door, to that I say “horse hockey”.  Our storm predictions suck.  Our storms suck.  I’m gonna go sulk in my discount tent.

In the 2006 elections, incumbent Republican Lloyd Cybart was barely defeated by Democrat Shelley Madore. Lately I’ve gotten alot more involved in political activities, so when I heard that some conservatives in Senate District 37 were starting a grassroots effort to inform the members of our senate district about just what type of representative Madore is I jumped at the chance.

In my Senate District, in addition to being the token young guy, I’m also the token tech guy, so I volunteered long ago to help them redesign a Senate District 37 (SD37) website. So it was a small jump to also volunteer to put together a Shelley Madore Watch website for this new effort to inform that public that Shelley Madore is letting down the residents of House District 37A. At the moment the site is brand new (it’s still got that smell!!) but we’re about to release our first mailer to let the residents of our district know that she is letting them down.

Feel free to stop by and take a look. If you have a website I’d definitely appreciate if you linked to it. When people google her name I’d like to have that site pop up amongst the top returns. So by all means, link to it so hopefully it gets listed higher on Google and other search engines.

And yes, this was one of the projects I mentioned previously which will steal some of my time from EckerNet.

Ok as you might have noticed I’ve added Snap Preview Anywhere functionality to my site.  You’ll notice a little icon next to alot of the links on my site, such as the one just above.  If you hover your mouse over that little icon a preview of the site that link goes to appears.

For now this is very temporary, as I’m trying to decide if I like it, and if it’s at all useful or more just a pain in the arse.  I would definitely appreciate any feedback if you have an opinion on the matter.

Thanks.

Yesterday, Alicia Colon of the NY Sun, wrote an article entitled Heroes and Cowards. In all honesty, it’s a very average article, however, it did start a commentorial* shitstorm** amongst the usual suspects*** with one paragraph in the middle of the article.

The total military dead in the Iraq war between 2003 and this month stands at about 3,133. This is tragic, as are all deaths due to war, and we are facing a cowardly enemy unlike any other in our past that hides behind innocent citizens. Each death is blazoned in the headlines of newspapers and Internet sites. What is never compared is the number of military deaths during the Clinton administration: 1,245 in 1993; 1,109 in 1994; 1,055 in 1995; 1,008 in 1996. That’s 4,417 deaths in peacetime but, of course, who’s counting?

Now the protests seem centered around the idea that she’s basically comparing apples and oranges, or if you hate vegans, steak and bratwurst. That those peacetime deaths (which are mostly things like accidents, illness, suicides, etc) are still happening and therefore the death toll is really much higher than 3133. I couldn’t immediatly find statistics on “peacetime” styled deaths after 1999 but it’s really beside the point.

The point she’s making is not that more military men and women die during peacetime than wartime (more on that later). The point she’s making is that we have to keep things in perspective.

If you’re not following me, I’ll explain. In a comparable “peacetime” period of time, we had 4417 military deaths. Yet that is probably the first time you’ve seen that number. Because most people didn’t get too excited about it. In the grand scheme of things it’s not that big of a number, almost that many people in the US drown annually. Basically, losing those thousands of soldiers, sad as it may be, is considered “normal”.

Yet, a number like 3133, receives near hysterical coverage, with weekly updates and almost constant use as a political weapon. That despite the fact that 4417 was “no big deal”. That’s what Colon is trying to say, it’s all a matter of perspective. If you once considered 4417 not worthy of notice, but now are putting up a virtual shitstorm over 3133, shouldn’t you perhaps examine your motives?? If your motives were really centered around the fate of those 3133 and their families, why were you not so concerned about the 4417 and their families?? If your concern were truly about the welfare of our soldiers, you would be more alarmed by the peacetime deaths than the wartime.

Now beware, one could look at those numbers and conclude that it is safer for our troops in Iraq than for them to be back home. However, that isn’t entirely accurate, as there are a vastly larger number of troops here at home than have been deployed in Iraq. Since troops levels are constantly changing I’m not sure it would be statistically valid to come up with a deaths per 1000 soldier comparison, for example. However, it’s probably also worth pointing out, without minimizing the danger in Iraq, that they are also in a controlled environment, which eliminates some of the factors that result in those “peacetime” deaths.  However, don’t construe that as me saying that it’s better for them in Iraq.  I have both friends and family over there right now, and I would definitely prefer if they were home.

Regardless, of any of that, yes she is comparing “apples to oranges” but her point isn’t that an apple is better than an orange. It’s that if a rotten apple in your pantry doesn’t bother you, why should a rotten orange?

*I declare this is a word, and hereby copyright it.
**I declare this is not really a word, but it sounds cool, so I’m gonna copyright it anyway.
***Dolts, lefties, moonbats, dumbasses, hate-America first crowd, people named “Bill”, hippies, Hollywood, NYC, union members, people between 72″ and74″ inches of height, etc

[H/T RWN for link]

The time has come for the first-ever awarding of the Red Forman Dumbass Award.

We had a number of contenders, but one definitely stuck out amongst all the others. The National Boycott To Impeach for Peace and Justice

A national coaltion of citizens, including war veterans, distinguished academics, students, journalists, artists, and elected officials have joined with us to call for a nationwide boycott of all consumer activity, for one week in April..

[...]

This boycott is a way of unifying the opposition to the Bush Administration; and according to Dr. Peter Phillips, who was the first to propose the idea in December, “could well be the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

[...]

Consumers are asked to withhold their spending for seven days, beginning on Sunday April 15 and lasting until Sunday April 22, 2007. Do NOT shop corporate outlets. Minimize use of oil and gas. Carpool: bus, bike or walk. If you buy, BUY LOCALLY. Plan Ahead and Stock Up.

This reminds me of that internet meme that happens every year, in which you get an email that tells you not to buy gas on a certain day and that somehow this is going to force the oil companies to roll over. Only problem is it NEVER works. Because even the people that participate, in the long run, are buying the same amount of gas. There is no net effect. It’s an obvious flaw, that someone without even an elementary grasp of the possible existence of something resembling economics would be able to understand.

Now, what makes this even better is not only is it the same failed idea put to different music. It’s endorsed by an organization. And it’s lead by a freaking professor. Although, you will all be happy to know he is a professor of sociology, which explains his complete ignorance of economics. Actually, I didn’t even need to qualify that, it just explains his ignorance. Period.

According to Dr. Peter Phillips, this is an idea that could “break the camels back”. The idea that every should stock up on supplies one week, then not buy any the next week. The idea that since one balances the other, corporate America will still sit up and cry “Oh my god! Nothing major has happened! We must demand change of the politicians we control in a massive conspiracy!!” I’m picturing that happening with a slight German accent too. Adds a nice ring to it.

Dr. Peter Phillips, for being a complete waste of resources…for giving humanity a bad name with your very existance….for being a complete and utter fucktard….for being a dumbass, I award you the Red Forman Dumbass Award.

“Honorable” Mentions go to:

• Eric M Nolan for not turning off his cellphone while hiding from the cops in the woods behind the house of the person he just assaulted, even though the police were repeatedly calling the phone to help track him down.
• A Newington High School teen, who was the latest idiot to post their plans to shoot someone on the internet, in the belief that nobody would ever find out about it there.
• Rep Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) for exploiting the recent mall shooting by proposing a ban on firearms…not the type of firearms that were actually used in the shooting, just some random list of weapons she doesn’t like.

[H/T : RWN for finding the winner]

It’s been said the imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It’s also been said, that people that say stuff don’t know what the hell they are talking about. Either way, it might be a sign that I’ve made it, now that people are stealing my posts.

Sure Eva Young has stolen some of my material before, although only God knows why! But she steals everyone’s stuff and is the resident link whore of Minnesota. So why be surprised? And using excerpts or clips of a post, that’s one thing. To just wholesale copy my post into your blog (spelling/grammar errors included) less than 24 hours after I post it and basically pretend it’s yours, is another.

Seriously people, if you wanted to use my post, had you simply asked, I probably would have given permission. Although I probably would expect you to spell the name of my site correctly first. And I probably also would have left the spam link to your blog in my comments, since we support similiar causes.

You wanna run a blog supporting an issue? Fine, I’ve been doing this for five plus years, I’ll give you a few tips. First, get a domain and webhost. Looks like you got that, good job. Next, come up with your content. Yeah, you failed that step.

And no, you’re not getting a link of out this.