Medary.com

TODAY'S FEATURE ARTICLE
Opponents of Gun-Free Zones at Universities Find Unlikely Hero in Nevada Woman

"I know, having been the first victim, that Brianna Dennison would still be alive, had I been able to defend myself that night."

Gun-free zones kill. And rape. Preventing people from defending themselves is evil. Gun-free zones are evil. They are the triumph of naked, mindless fear over common sense. Those that demand campus gun-free zones basically held this woman down for the rapist--and tied the rapist's other victim to a post and let him kill her. That is the result of all of the compassionate concern. Death and mayhem. You gun-prohibitionists removed their ability to defend themselves. The responsibility for their safety could have been theirs. You took that from them. And in result, you took the rest. I hope all you who want to ban guns are very, very happy with yourselves about this. Because you are not angels. You are monsters. Well-intentioned monsters. DEMOCRAT/"PROGRESSIVE" VOTE FRAUD, CORRUPTION, ABUSE, AND INTIMIDATION
Or: "The appearance of corruption is in itself corruption."
Union Thuggery: Playing Hardball in Wisconsin -- featuring the now de rigueur death wishes against Republican elected officials. No, you "progressives," Republicans, libertarians, and people on the "right" do not customarily wish death on the elected officials of the other party. Tar and feathers, occasionally, but not death.

THE OBAMA DISASTER featuring but not limited to Obamacare, Keynesian economics, and other relics of 19th Century "Progressivism"
Apparently there is a budget deal -- It's a start. At least the discussion has shifted to how much we will cut from government. It's not nearly enough, though. We need an across-the-board 10% or 20% cut in the Federal Government. Yes, including the military. Yes, including "entitlements." There are better ways of serving the retired, poor, and elderly, if only we would be allowed to do them.

Washington vs. America–D.C. doesn’t doesn’t act like there’s a deficit problem

Landslide! It looks like Waterloo in Wisconsin for government unions.

Let Them Buy New Cars

This week President Obama replied to a man who told the president that he is hard-pressed to buy gasoline for his van that he ought to trade it in for a new car with better mileage. Obama assured him he’d probably get a great deal these days—from GM, Ford, or Chrysler, he added. The Associated Press first reported this incident and then scrubbed it from its story; most of the media did not care about it at all, because Obama is awesome.

And if you actually find the video or audio of this, you hear clearly Obama's mocking disdain for the questioner. He doesn't think he's President. He thinks he's king. And the last time Americans were ruled by a king, it--caused difficulties.

Is Boehner our Sun Tzu? -- This strikes me as being somewhat hyperbolic . . .

Eat the Rich

THE ECONOMY, TEETERING ON THE BRINK OF DISASTER--or WE ARE SO SCREWED
Worse Case Scenario For Oil Prices? -- Oil at $175 a barrel? Worst case? Heck, it's well over $100 now. What makes $175 a ceiling--who says it can't go higher? Unless Obama and the Democrats get off their asses and allow pretty much unlimited exploitation of American energy reserves, it probably will go higher. Are you ready for $10/gallon gas? Can you afford that?

IT'S A DANGEROUS WORLD
Man Gives Wife World’s First Mosquito-Borne STD -- Oh, joy. One more thing to worry about. Hey, I have an idea! Let's keep DDT banned!

My Plan on How to Fight the Next Middle East War -- out of the mouths of humorists:

If you can go to a country, blow stuff up, and leave unscathed, that sounds like success. If someone came and burned your house and walked away, you wouldn’t say you won because the guy left. So why shouldn’t we in a future conflict in a Middle Eastern country just blow up stuff, declare victory, and leave?

In other words, if you plan to speak softly and carry a big stick, you kinda have to be willing to actually use the stick. Effectively. "Don't piss us off or we will f*ck you up" is a defense policy that may offend certain tender sensibilities, but few will seriously debate that it is an effective policy. It works in just about every single bar I have ever been in, after all.

Johann Hari: We're not being told the truth on Libya -- Oh. Goody.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/09/2788386/five-kc-pitchers-silence-tigers.html

HIGHER EDUCATION
On a personal note, one of my very best friends has been informed by her university employer that her contract will not be renewed for next year. This has bummed me out far more than I would have expected it would. If the bubble's bursting has begun reaching her university, then higher education really is in for very, very hard times all around the country. Now, it's true that the state where her university is has not traditionally been the strongest possible supporter of higher education--which will probably actually wind up being a blessing--for those in the system whose jobs survive the turmoil. I'm just glad I got out ten years ago. But if anybody needs a good IT manager with a sociology Ph.D., well-versed in much of the worst a bureaucracy can throw at a person, let me know and I'll pass it on . . .
Sunday Reflection: Now comes the 'Lower Education Bubble?' --yes, it's not higher education, but the symptoms are the same . . . and so is the disease . . .

ELECTION 2012: IF NOT SARAH PALIN, THEN WHO?
A Good First Step; FY2012, Here We Come -- The possibly fatal flaw in the American system of government is that all of this kabuki theater in Washington, DC is posturing and positioning for the 2012 election, and not (except apparently for Paul Ryan) a serious attempt to deal with the issues and problems that this country faces.

THE COLLAPSE OF THE "ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING" CONJECTURE
Why eat corn when you can burn it? -- Well, it's true corn is loaded with deadly carbohydrates, but in moderation, I understand that some people can actually ingest them safely . . .

Facebook Treating Skeptic Blog Articles as “Abusive” -- Or: If you're losing the argument, just silence the opposition . . . this is what "progressiveism" looks like.

Why are we so bad at long range weather forecasting?

SPORT
Five KC pitchers silence Tigers' bats in 3-1 Royals win

NEWS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO USE
DVR box is dying, Woz' wisdom and other cool things learned at SNW

So How Well Does An Airbus A320 Handle When The Control System Fails?

Mo. Lawmakers May OK New Cell Phone Tax -- Oh. Goody.

Uh, oh…the clash of ice and warmth brings storms -- Oh. Goody.

How to Tell if Your Neighbor is a Bombmaker -- Oh. Goody.

SCIENCE FICTION--READIN', WRITIN', WATCHIN'
11 films and TV shows that tried to be Star Wars

The current shape of Doctor Who series 6

Epic Fantasy

Author Personas: Living a Charmed Life -- "Writers are told to write what they know, but what happens when you don’t really know anything?" Heh. Indeed.

Writing Advice: Getting Stories from Your Imagination to the Page -- I really, really need this advice . . . the good news is it sounds like I'm on the right path . . . the bad news is that I have to get off my butt (or get on my butt, if you take my meaning) and actually do it . . .

Online presence for writers

Book covers have been telling us to fear extraterrestrial visitors for over a century

The 100 Greatest Things About Doctor Who

11 mostly practical ways to travel between planets

Nautilus-X could be NASA's first manned deep-space explorer -- Chances are NASA won't build it, of course . . .

What’s your Favorite Frederik Pohl novel, James E. Gunn?

Nautilus-X update -- Can I have one, dad? Can I have one?

DEEP, MAN, REALLY, REALLY DEEP
Hume on Intellectual Property and the Problematic “Labor” Metaphor -- Is "intellectual property" actually "property" at all, properly understood?