New Declaration of Independence
As we move on into the 21st century we discover a major difference between war and peace. In war, men stab each other from the front. In peace, they stab each other in the back.
Mike Shelton at The Orange County Register - Too Big for My 401K - my title. Cartoon commentary on the bear market's effect on retirement accounts.
Even though I've read warnings against it, I've found that neck-only
resizing works fine in my AR. I think this is likely because I have a
5.56 NATO chamber, but I'm using .223 Remington brass. The small
amount of extra room in the chamber makes it work. But this is only a
theory. I can report authoritatively, however, that neck-only resizing
does NOT work for my
Springfield M1A and Hirtenberger brass. I loaded
six rounds. They chambered fine, but getting them out of the chamber
was difficult. Had to put the gun butt on the ground, put a
screwdriver across the bolt handle, and push down, hard. It was so
tight that I decided not to try firing. It probably would have broken
the operating rod. So I pulled the bullets, salvaged the powder, and
deprimed the cases.
Though I loaded only six full rounds, I neck-sized and primed twenty
cases. I tried setting off the primers, but didn't have a good way to
do it (didn't want to have to pull 20 tight rounds out of the
chamber), so I tried my Lee
Decapper and Base, very gingerly. The Decapper and Base is two
pieces of very tough metal. The decapper is a .30 caliber rod with a
depriming pin on the end of it. The base is a 3/4 inch long cylinder
that has a cartridge sized hole drilled about half way into one end
and a primer sized hole the rest of the way through. You place the
base on a hard surface, primer-sized hole down, place the primer end
of a case into the recess in its top, feed the decapper, deprimer end
first, into the bullet end of the case, and gently pound out the
primer with a hammer. It's designed for removing crimped military
primers. It worked fine. Not one primer went off. I also used it a
week ago to remove the (spent) crimped primers in the fired
rounds. Good, simple, tool. I've got a full-length resizing die on
order. Hopefully full-length resizing will work better.
The Onion - Anti-Spam Legislation Opposed by Powerful Penis-Enlargement Lobby - hehe. The Onion does it again. [politech]
"The entire penis-enlargement industry is threatened by this bill," Garner said. "Despite what most people think, not all penis-pill and penis-pump makers are big and wealthy. There are many self-starting entrepreneurs who play a vital role in keeping the industry competitive. This bill would drive them out of the marketplace, leaving only the large multinationals like the Dong Group."
...
"I don't recall the First Amendment saying, 'Speech is free unless you're promoting a pill that's guaranteed to make your dick longer and thicker,'" Jeremy said. "I honestly cannot find that phrase. If this nation's men did not desire meaty, 10-inch schlongs, then products to achieve that end would not exist, much less sell. This bill suppresses something Americans need and want."
From a Firing Line thread:
This is a .223. It's a MYTH. It's so weak if you were shot with it, it wouldn't matter! It won't even go through sheet rock!
This is a .308. IT WILL BLOW YOUR HEAD CLEAN OFF! You don't even have to shoot it. You can throw it at someone and tear off their ARM. It will shoot through the Hoover Dam!
Sarah Lawrence at Laissez Faire Electronic Times - 4th of July in a Burqa - the author's experience of wearing a Burqa to the Libertarian Party convention in Indianapolis. She was kicked out, told she couldn't wear it.
Was it that they thought we were Islamists staging a terrorist attack on the Libertarian Party Convention? Presumably not, because otherwise, the demand the security guard made when throwing us out makes no sense at all. Recall that at no point did he search us, or ask to search us. Recall that if it was part of our religion to wear the burqas, then, as far as he was concerned, we were perfectly free to go about our business. He was effectively saying, If you might actually be an Islamist terrorist, I wouldn't dream of searching you. Go and kill people in peace! But if you are a law-abiding Westerner who is a legitimate participant at the convention, either take that off or leave the building. It does not exactly inspire confidence in the convention centre security, does it?
Maura Dolan at The Seattle Times - California high court backs medical marijuana - A significant strengthening of Proposition 215. Good. Now if the local cops would just stop the federal cops from arresting people. I won't hold my breath. [market]
Lew Rockwell at The Ludwig von Mises Institute - The Legitimacy of Capitalism - The free market works. Socialism doesn't. But you knew that. [lew]
In the absence of the capitalist economy and all its underlying institutions, the world's population would, over time, shrink to a fraction of its current size, with whatever was left of the human race systematically reduced to subsistence, eating only what can be hunted or gathered. Even the institution that is the source of the word civilization itself--the city--depends on trade and commerce, and cannot exist without them.
And this is only to mention the economic benefits of capitalism. It is also an expression of freedom. It is not so much a social system but the natural result of a society wherein individual rights are respected, where businesses, families, and every form of association are permitted to flourish in the absence of coercion, theft, war, and aggression.
Capitalism protects the weak from the strong, granting choice and opportunity to masses who once had no choice but to live in a state of dependency on the politically connected and their enforcers.
Vincent H. Miller & Jarret B. Wollstein at The International Society for Individual Liberty - New Declaration of Independence - a real gem. Sierra Times copy and discussion here.
That the protections of individual rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights be strictly enforced. That all laws be abolished which restrict freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and enterprise; the right to keep and bear arms and the right to own and dispose of property. That henceforth political leaders, legislators or judges violating their oaths to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights be tried for treason.
...
That all federal laws restricting gun ownership be abolished, and that a trained, well-armed citizenry be encouraged, as a defense against domestic criminals, foreign aggression and domestic tyranny.
...
That all victimless crime laws be abolished, including laws restricting the sale or possession of pornography and controlled substances. That the War on Drugs be ended, Drug Peace be declared, and all persons im- prisoned for victimless crimes be immediately freed and their records cleared.
Fred's M14 Stocks... and More - A Parable: How the Town of Happy Valley Stopped the UN - I've read this before, but it's well worth a re-read. [kaba]
