Divemedic

This video of a police shooting shows us just how quickly things can go badly, and why magazine restrictions can hurt us.
Trooper Zistel stopped a man for speeding. Resisting multiple commands to get back in the car, the motorist draws a handgun and begins firing. During the gunfight, the assailant accidentally hit his magazine release, which may have saved the trooper’s life.
The driver, with a bullet in his chest, jumped back in his car and made it about a half mile down the road before dying of his injuries.
Incredibly, he had his three children in the car with him.

From Fox 12 in Oregon.

The Constitution grants Congress the power:

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries

That power is being abused. Let me illustrate:

Pelagic is a company that makes SCUBA diving computers. The purpose of these computers is to allow a diver to manage his life support equipment. Pelagic used to offer computers that would not only allow a diver to monitor the amount of breathing gas left in their own tanks, but to wirelessly monitor their buddy’s gas pressure as well. According to the manufacturer, that feature was removed on November 1, 2011, due to a patent infringement claim. To my knowledge, no other manufacturer offers this feature. Meaning that the patent is not furthering the arts, but is merely keeping competitor’s products from reaching the market.

The “Happy Birthday Song” cannot be performed in public, because the Copyright’s owner, Warner Music, demands royalties. The problem is that the song was written in 1893 by a pair of sisters, and was not copyrighted until 1935 by entirely different people. Even if not, does a 120 year period seem like a “limited time” as stated in the Constitution? After all, the exclusive right was said to be “for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors.” Over a century later, the beneficiary of a writing or discovery is certainly not the author or inventor, it is most likely going to be a corporation. In the case of Warner Music, the company makes $2 million a year from royalties for singing the birthday song.

Where did this come from? Well, the latest came from the Copyright Term Extension Act, passed in 1998. Before that time, Copyrights were good for the life of the author plus 50 years. The Act extended these terms to life of the author plus 70 years and for
works of corporate authorship to 120 years after creation or 95 years
after publication, whichever endpoint is earlier.

This was done at the behest of the Walt Disney Company, to preserve the copyright on Mickey Mouse, and Mary Bono, to preserve the profits she was making from her father’s works. Walt Disney died in 1966, and this law is in place to protect the profits of the corporation until 2019.

How does this further the Arts? Or science? Instead of furthering the Arts and Sciences, Copyrights and Patents have been twisted to suppress them in order to preserve and increase corporate profits. Instead of encouraging the arts, this law is simply allowing the companies to sit on their laurels and collect royalties.If the term were shortened, the entertainment companies would be forced to innovate and create in order to maintain profitability, rather than simply market and license century old ideas.

I understand that Authors and Inventors need to profit from their work, but I am not sure that one needs to profit for the rest of their lives, or for a century.

I think that 10 years is more than enough time.

Since when does the President get to order Congress to do anything? Apparently, this President can order Congress to buy a certain level of insurance. Obama has decreed that Congress must buy the “Gold” plan under Obamacare. Where does that power come from?

 Is there no limit to what this government thinks it can do?

Every time a person commits a crime with a firearm, we hear people come out of the woodwork, demanding that we place more restrictions on gun ownership. A man is being sought in Orlando for using the camera on his cell phone to take upskirt pictures of little girls.
We should take immediate action:
There should be a waiting period for any electronic device with a camera.
Mandatory background check for all camera sales.
All camera sales should be required to go through a dealer, so that a background check can be done.
To prevent surreptitious filming, no cameras of less than 8 inches in length, or less than a combined length and width of 14 inches. Additionally, they must make a loud noise when filming/taking pictures.
No camera devices may use more than 20% imported parts.
Must have a license to buy a camera.

It’s for the children.

I must have read each of Tom Clancy’s novels a dozen times. He died yesterday at the age of 66. It seems that as of late, I read of deaths and think: “Man, he isn’t that much older than I am.”

When I was in the Navy, Clancy was easily my favorite author. I remember waiting to buy each novel as it came out. (Until he began allowing others to publish and use his name. That was when the suck began.) I must have worn out three copies of Red Storm Rising, until ebooks came out.

He was a smart man that seemed to be prescient. He predicted that a highjacked aircraft would be used to attack the United States. 

Sad day

A new law banning texting while driving goes into effect today in Florida. Tam said it best:

The irony of this law being enforced by a guy carrying a pager, a
cell phone, a two-way radio and playing Solitaire on the laptop bolted
to his transmission tunnel while he keeps one eye on the readout of his
radar gun is duly noted.

The family of Karvis Gamble is protesting outside of the Orlando Police Department’s headquarters because Gamble was shot by police officers in January. The protesters said they won’t give up until someone is charged in the shooting death of Gamble. They are “demanding justice,” which has come to mean vengeance and has no real meaning in terms of what is just.

It turns out that the details of the police shooting are different. The police were investigating a drug complaint when Gamble reached for a gun on the table next to him and was fatally shot. Ecstasy, marijuana, and two stolen firearms were located at the scene.

Deandre McCullough disputes police claims that there was drug activity
at the Arlington Road studio. He said Gamble was sweeping up with a
broom and in no way threatened police before being shot and killed.

 Of course, anti gun forces were quick to blame guns for the death.

I am against the “war on drugs” and think that they should be legalized. However, with them being illegal, the people who are currently engaged in the drug trade are, by definition, criminals. Criminal enterprises cannot call the police or file lawsuits to settle business disputes, so they must resort to violence.

We are seeing families blaming honest people when their criminal thug relatives are killed for living the thug life. We are being told that we do not have the right to resist criminals who would use force against us to ply their trade. I say enough.

The New York Times is running yet another hit piece against guns. This time, they are reporting that the number of children accidentally killed is much higher than has been reported. The piece begins with anecdotal tales of child shootings.

The paper reports that many of these shootings are reported as homicides instead of accidents. They claim that twice as many accidents are occurring as are being reported. Another hit piece from a media source with an agenda.

Here is a recipe that is fairly cheap, but tastes pretty good. Every person into prepping has a lot of beans and rice on hand.Even in good times, this is a cheap and tasty dish:

1 pound of hot pork sausage
1 large onion
1 green pepper
minced garlic
salt
1 pound of red kidney beans
rice

In a large pot, place the raw beans and add water to about 2 inches higher than the level of the beans. Place it on medium heat and cover. When it comes to a boil, turn it down to a simmer.
While that is heating:
Chop the onion and pepper and saute them with a tablespoon of minced garlic.
While that is cooking, make marble sized meatballs out of the sausage.
Once the onion begins to turn clear, add the sausage and brown it.

When the sausage is brown, add the mixture to the beans. Bring to a boil, cover, and lower to simmer.

Let it cook for three hours, and stir occasionally. Add water as needed. If the mixture turns out too soupy, you can crush a few beans against the side of the pot, and that will thicken it. If that isn’t enough, a half teaspoon of flour dissolved in a cup of warm water can be added to thicken it up.

Serve over rice. This makes enough to feed 5 or 6 people, with leftovers. It is also really good with some fresh french bread or cornbread.

Suggested condiments: Ketchup makes them good, as does Louisiana Hot Sauce.

This meal costs less than $2 a serving. It was a real hit at the firehouse, both because it is tasty and cheap.