The priorities of the Ruling Class vs. the priorities of the Country Class

(Via the Drudge Report)

Ruling Class: Art
Country Class: Cops

Because the Ruling Class knows that their security is already handled.

Survival during "civil unrest"

That seems like and oxymoron, doesn't it? "Why excuse me, mind stepping aside while I throw a brick thorough the window of this electronics store so that I can loot it?"

At any rate, SurvivalBlog has an excellent guest piece on what to expect during riots or other civil unrest, written by a guy how got the "been there, done that t-shirt. There are also some reader responses that are worth reading.

Making a buck off of socialism

(Via CNBC)

You can buy a nifty little credit-card sized countdown clock to the end of the Big O's reign (at least we hope it will be).

Universal Translator prototype now available

(Via the Drudge Report)

Remember the Star Trek Universal Translator? The device that could magically enable Capt. Kirk to talk to any alien race instantly?

Well, they're getting there.

If you ever read anything I point you at

(Via the Rush Limbaugh Show)

Then please read the article America's Ruling Class -- And the Perils of Revolution in the July-August edition of The American Spectator. I will warn you that it's very long, although it doesn't feel like it when you're reading it. I read it last night; it took me about 45 minutes. I honestly need to read it again (and probably again) to get the full load of information contained in it.

It ties together things I have heard, things I have thought and things I have seen. Right now, I think it may be one of the scariest things I've ever read, because if it's even half correct, there really is going to be yet another American Revolution.

WARNING: Videotaping cops can be hazardous to your freedom

(Via the Drudge Report)

That Anthony Graber broke the law in early March is indisputable. He raced his Honda motorcycle down Interstate 95 in Maryland at 80 mph, popping a wheelie, roaring past cars and swerving across traffic lanes.

But it wasn't his daredevil stunt that has the 25-year-old staff sergeant for the Maryland Air National Guard facing the possibility of 16 years in prison. For that, he was issued a speeding ticket. It was the video that Graber posted on YouTube one week later -- taken with his helmet camera -- of a plainclothes state trooper cutting him off and drawing a gun during the traffic stop near Baltimore.

The article goes into a long discussion on how police across the country are using wiretapping statues to try and keep us civilians from videotaping them as they work on the public's behalf in public spaces.

We're often told that if we have nothing to fear, then don't worry about government intrusion into our lives and our privacy. I have to wonder if these police think they have something to fear from us?

Another happy ending

An alert, armed Charlotte NC homeowner ends another choir boy's crime spree.

Larry Whitmore got a surprise when he pulled into his driveway Saturday in south Charlotte’s Park Crossing neighborhood and saw his garage door open, and his pickup truck starting to back out.

Nobody was supposed to be home, so Whitmore guessed right – someone was trying to steal his vehicle, according to police.

Whitmore pulled his Jeep to the garage door, blocking the person in the truck from getting away. Then he got a shotgun and held the man at bay in the garage until police arrived about five minutes later.

(Please understand that I'm not trying to beat up on the CMPD when I say this, but note it took 5 minutes for the police to show up after his 911 call. Folks, that's a long time to wait, hold a guy at the point of a gun. A lot of things could happen--he could decide to fight you, he could try to run, his buddies you didn't see could show up. These scenarios are all worth thinking through now in the comfort of your where-you-are-now before you find yourself in this situation.)

Well done, Mr. Whitmore. Well done.

From the "We told you this would happen" department

(Via the Drudge Report)

The relentlessly rising cost of health insurance is prompting some small Massachusetts companies to drop coverage for their workers and encourage them to sign up for state-subsidized care instead, a trend that, some analysts say, could eventually weigh heavily on the state’s already-stressed budget.

Since April 1, the date many insurance contracts are renewed for small businesses, the owners of about 90 small companies terminated their insurance plans with Braintree-based broker Jeff Rich and indicated in a follow-up survey that they were relying on publicly-funded insurance for their employees.

This is a system the the Big O has praised as a "landmark". Wait until Obamacare gets under way nationally and let's see what happens. I'm betting the landmarks then will be retiring medical personnel and closing hospitals.

A name to remember

Recently, an very minor acquaintance gave me a name and told me to Google it.

Maurice Strong

Great...just what we need...another George Soros to deal with.