Libercontrarian

Crushed between the wheels of capitalism and big government.

The Internet Is For Porn

One of the funniest things I have ever seen on the internet. You may need a high-speed connection - note that this is an "R" rated site for language only.

posted by: underwhelmed at February 24, 2006 22:03 | link | comments |

Cracked for the Crackberry

It looks like RIM has had their bacon pulled out of the fire - a Federal judge ruled in favor of Research In Motion's action to deny NTP's lawsuit against them. All the Crackberry addicts have gotten a reprieve, if only a temporary one.

Lost lunch over this today, ‘cause I had suspicions that RIM was going to get shut-down by an overzealous judge. Glad it didn’t happen. I am selling my Dell Axim X50v PDA on eBay right now, and my N-Gage QD from T-Mobile, so that I can obtain a convergence device that will help me in my work and in my private life – anything which takes me away from the Microsoft juggernaut AND is stable and productive is a step in the right direction.

Goodbye, MicroSlow and Dell!

posted by: underwhelmed at February 24, 2006 19:37 | link | comments |

I Just Love Getting Threatened By Corporations

I have elected to sell a set of wheels I bought two years ago on eBay. In the description of the product, I included a hotlink to a website at Discount Tire (the retailer I bought the wheels from) that allows you to see the wheels you want to buy on your car.

 I got this email from Discount Tire today:

"Please remove our link from your auction within the next 24 hours or we will have to report you to ebay.
Thank you,
Discount Tire Direct"

I am unhappy when big corporations treat me like The Great Unwashed, and even less amused when said offenders are corporations that I have spent a sizable amount of money with. Here was my response, posted as an addition to my auction:

_________________

On Feb-22-06 at 10:42:55 PST, seller added the following information:

Note to buyers, eBay personnel, and especially Discount Tire:

Discount Tire sent me a threatening email about my link to their wheel generator. Since a bidder has already placed an active bid on my auction, I cannot go back to alter the auction's description. Be advised, I purchased these wheels from Discount Tire; I have been a ten-year customer of theirs and have bought $5000+ of wheels and tires from them - and these will be the last I ever purchase from them, as I am not in the habit of getting threatened by corporations I spend money with.

To the winner of my auction: I respectfully suggest you follow my lead and order your tires from the Tire Rack, as they have given me terrific service from my most recent purchase. Avoid the corporate bullies at Discount Tire.

To eBay personnel: Feel free to take the entire paragraph out if you can. Kindly do not cancel my auction - and remember that my wife and I have done over a thousand dollars of business with you over the last five years, too.

_________________

Kinda gets you right *HERE*, <thumps chest> don’t it?

posted by: underwhelmed at February 22, 2006 22:17 | link | comments |

It’s Worth Discussing

There’s a raging debate going on over at AR15.com that’s got the members hot n’ bothered: How to get machine guns legalized.

The reason for the debate is that the “extreme” gun-owner types like me are convinced that the sheeple and the power-hungry weasels in Congress will never permit those individuals willing to “feed The Beast” the opportunity to effectively arm ourselves in the same fashion that the huge (by Continental standards, anyway) standing Army is armed: with full-auto weapons.

The way things sit right now, you can’t arm yourself in the same way the Army does it.

The original intent of the founders was clear: the Militia (and yes, Virginia, the Militia is ALL FREE MEN age 16 – 45, not some friggin’ National Guard that was invented in 1903) was to have access to weapons like the (hopefully small) standing Army. Why “hopefully small?” This was to prevent two things: 1., a struggling country from having to support an expensive habit of keeping a large standing army, well, standing around (idle men-at-arms consume volumes of cash like hookers at Fredericks of Hollywood), and 2., an evil tyrant from using said army to oppress the people – all the better to keep them out of your homes, too.

So you’re saying, “Oh, good, Whacknut-Boy here wants to give every religious fundamentalist/Muslim extremist/ardent Kwikie-Mart owner the right to keep and bear full-auto miniguns.” The more “reasonable” (read: leftist knee-jerk-anti-free-thinker-types) are clicking the “close” box on this window, they haven’t even read this sentence yet. There goes the vaunted "liberal tolerance" of the Left.

That’s one way of looking at it. Another is that there are inherent risks from living in any democracy. Since making things legal or illegal tends to be important only for the people who are interested in obeying the law in the first place, then how will things be any different then than they are right now? If safe, law-abiding Citizens own guns, why does it matter how destructive those guns are? The guns or the owners aren’t going to suddenly become unsafe, or the owners fail to abide by the law because they have a select-fire M2 Carbine, are they? Ridiculous.

So how did we get here?

This is likely a post for another day. I had a SCORCHING tome written in a fit of grand passion about NFA, U.S. v. Miller, “Interstate Commerce Clause,” Chuckles the Clown Schumer, the Feebies and their murderous attack on Randy Weaver’s wife, (armed with her Assault Baby, as all good race-seperatist mothers are want to do), the BAT-Finks and their murderous attack on the helpless Branch Davidians, kitten-stomping lesbians, and some other really cool stuff, but alas, the post managed to mysteriously disappear during a spell-check operation on Motime. It was a “pop-up blocker” fuckup, I think. Anyway, there was considerable upset at the Sergeant Major’s quarters, with much stamping around and cursing, and Mrs. Libercontrarian waking up in a fit of consternation, but all was assuaged by two applications of a golden fluid known as “Budweiser,” and a Note To Self to “NEVER EVER WRITE ANYTHING IN MOTIME OR EBAY” but to type, save, and type in Word – then Paste.

I WILL approach this topic in another post. Several other posts, in fact. Never mind that other gunbloggers have done land-office bidness with this one before. Suffice it to say that the debate at AR15.com (and I intend to be involved) will likely continue to rage about how to accomplish our goals – just how DO you sell such an “unsellable” concept to the masses?

We shall see – this will be revisited here at Libercontrarian. In detail. With photos, and links, and…

P.S. Good to be back! Thanks, Zombyboy!

 

posted by: underwhelmed at February 21, 2006 00:40 | link | comments (3) |

Like Aaah-nowd, "I'm BAACK!"

You could call it a Blogjuvenation - but it was officially called the Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash v 5.0, and it was held last night at the Breckenrdige Brewery on Blake Street across from Coors Field.

Many blogging giants were in attendence - one of them drank a quart of whiskey or two more than he should have, and became rather obstreperous and vocal, and frankly somewhat impolite. He may be feeling the heat right now from that experience. Another, Stephen Green from Vodkapundit, who is noted for his preference for potato-derived liquors, was there and was, as always, the Perfect Gentleman. He invited the Sergeant Major of the Armchair Commando Brigade of Aurora, CO, to bring the lovely and talented Mrs. Libercontrarian to a 4th of July bash he will be hosting - I gladly accepted!

My good friends Jed from Freedom Sight and Wadcutter were there, and we drank, laughed, talked guns (say it isn't so!) and I got to reacquaint myself with the great Jess from Avoiding The Tarbaby. We talked for a couple of hours about the world, politics, spirituality, marriage, guns (did you know he's a gun guy?) I have got to hang out with Jess some more; he's a man with an undeniably wide scope of knowledge and has many wise observations about the world. Our friend Publicola was in attendence, with a lady on his arm - a very pretty one, I might add, who had a special mysterious, happy quality to her face that left you wondering what she was thinking. I can see why Publicola's interested; she's bright and a great conversationalist, to boot.

One of the most influential people I talked to last night was the ever-impressive Zombyboy, from Resurrection Song. We talked about my lost blogging efforts, about distractions and writer's block. He gently reminded me that others read my work, that even if they don't comment, they are waiting for my words, and that people have been disappointed about my lack of posting. I didn't know that anyone was paying attention - they are, and I am expected to start committing my thoughts to the 'Sphere again. Even though the majority of my posts are banal observations about guns and shooting, foolish rants about an unchangable world, or inward-turned observational-journal scrawlings, I occasionally produce something worth reading, and by failing to exercise that mental muscle, it is withering on the vine.

So I am committed to the mission, by God, and I'll be making some regular posts from here on in.

Zombyboy and I talked about marriage and divorce, religion, politics and work. He's a fascinating character, a "triple threat" in the blogging world, and one hell of a debater - you do not want to get caught by this guy in a logical ditch. He'll give ya a whuppin', that's fer sure.

I have some future potential topics: the Bush Administration's efforts to give our port security away to foreign nationals (Arabs, at that - fox guarding the henhouse), the careful organization of outrage in the Muslim world about the "offensive comics" [rolleyes], our next trip to the Pawnee Grasslands, the coming mid-term election cycle, then the usuals: bias in the media, the journal-blogging of a really neat gun project nobody will believe they are seeing until I show it off, my efforts to pay off consumer debt and save moolah for a house payment, our search for new residence, etc.

So tune back in. Turn back on. The Sergeant Major of the Armchair Commando Brigade of Aurora, CO, has finished his leave and is BACK TO WORK!

posted by: underwhelmed at February 19, 2006 16:35 | link | comments (3) |

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