tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post5132750357190974823..comments2024-03-29T06:22:47.638-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: The right narrative to fight voter-suppression candidatesDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-89734031795965663842014-10-06T05:33:21.855-07:002014-10-06T05:33:21.855-07:00Perhaps the CNC magic gun machine is yet another p...Perhaps the CNC magic gun machine is yet another proof that P.T.Barnum was right! <br />---<br /><br />Rob H (and Tacitus and Dr. Brin Aw heck y'all) a tax incentive for voting would be simple: you cast your vote, you get a 1098v (federal election voting deduction form), with a duplicate sent to the IRS to catch cheaters. Politically difficult to implement, I suppose. <br /><br />But why not take the next logical step: universal and automatic voter registration at whatever address you file your 1040? The IRS has every taxpayer address on file, and could easily mail a federal ballot for both primary and general elections (I wouldn't touch local elections. .... here in King County we have hundreds of ballot variants due to the idiotic practice of electing party PCOs on an official county-generated ballot).<br /><br />---<br /><br />Tacitus - I appreciate your courtesy, and I have no great knowledge of your fair state, bit do you really want examples of people denied ballot access? Nationwide there are many, so give me a number of how many it would take to conclude the issue is significant. ... iirc the Brennan Center has numbers.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-72262778130059286162014-10-06T04:48:46.795-07:002014-10-06T04:48:46.795-07:00De nada. Apologies if my tone was bitchy. Like the...De nada. Apologies if my tone was bitchy. Like the author of the article I linked to, there's frustration in seeing the hysteria over 3d printed guns.Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-42920209887498274992014-10-05T23:39:29.365-07:002014-10-05T23:39:29.365-07:00Paul, I take your point and stand corrected. With...Paul, I take your point and stand corrected. Without looking farther, I thought it was an upscale version of those vending machines in a mall, where you drop in a coin, crank it through some dies, and out pops a defaced coin with some sort of memorabilia stamped on it.<br /><br />TheMadLibrarianTheMadLibrariannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-456290836538707842014-10-05T04:14:12.130-07:002014-10-05T04:14:12.130-07:00"start with an 80% complete blank"
By w...<i>"start with an 80% complete blank"</i><br /><br />By which I meant a "blank" that is 80% complete. Apparently the CNC machine used can't handle billet steel.<br /><br />Another story on the "no skill" gun making:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/02/omg_with_nothing_but_machine_tools_steel_and_parts_you_can_make_a_gun/" rel="nofollow">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/02/omg_with_nothing_but_machine_tools_steel_and_parts_you_can_make_a_gun/</a><br /><br /><i>"If you take such a possibly-not-a-gun-part, possibly-a-gun-part pre-manufactured piece - status depending how much of the work has been done, and on the judgement of the feds - and pop it into a Ghost Gunner connected to a PC with the right software, the machine can mill out the remaining bits of metal that are not required (it can't do the job starting from just a block of steel [...] ).<br /><br />Then all you need is a whole lot of other specialist parts - springs, trigger, safety/selector, hammer, various pins etc - and you can, if you know what you're doing, assemble a complete lower receiver. Then all you need is an upper receiver, a barrel, bolt, buttstock and various other specialist items and - again, assuming you are a competent armourer - you can build a complete, functioning AR-15 assault or battle rifle. [...]<br /><br />And there you have it - by spending thousands of dollars, learning some complicated skills and doing some machining, you have obtained a functioning semi- or even, potentially weapon and you didn't have to comply with any pesky gun controls. Wow! Big stuff, eh?<br /><br />Not really. It would be so much easier and cheaper to go to one of the great majority of US states where there are no local "assault-weapons" laws and buy a proper, working, factory made AR-15 of your choice from a private owner or dealer not operating under a federal firearms licence. Such a sale is perfectly routine (some studies estimate that 40 per cent of US gun sales are of this type), <b>requires no background check or records,</b> and of course owning such a weapon is perfectly legal for an American."</i>Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-56298915122031776802014-10-05T03:50:38.620-07:002014-10-05T03:50:38.620-07:00"No skill involved"
Anyone who thinks y...<i>"No skill involved"</i><br /><br />Anyone who thinks you can use an CNC machine with "no skill" has never used a CNC machine.<br /><br />[Even in the story, they needed to start with an 80% complete blank.]<br /><br />The point is, given the number of easily available legal and illegal weapons in the US, what is the hysteria over 3d printed or milled guns?Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5977714323647840912014-10-04T19:17:41.618-07:002014-10-04T19:17:41.618-07:00Duncan, the thing that makes it different is that ...Duncan, the thing that makes it different is that it is plug and play, and unmonitored to boot. You undoubtedly learned how to use a lathe and/or mill 'n' drill. This is a black box: insert billet, receive, er, receiver. No skill involved, and can apparently be used by almost anyone who can pony up enough to buy one.<br /><br />If anyone wants to observe a CF in process, please to monitor the current shenanigans on Maui regarding growing GMO crops. Both sides are pumping out enough obfuscatory clouds that it's like standing downwind when a cane field is fired.<br /><br />TheMadLibrarianTheMadLibrariannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19585366666332130642014-10-04T16:52:28.253-07:002014-10-04T16:52:28.253-07:00Ian,
When you abandoned the site last time, I reme...Ian,<br />When you abandoned the site last time, I remembered afterwards that you had said you were going through an illness. In hindsight I wondered if that had explained you passive-aggressive comments leading up to your leaving. Having a family member going through a serious illness at the time, and seeing people often make it worse for her, I felt like an ass if I made such an illness worse for you.<br /><br />So before I call you anything, I'm wondering if your comment about an illness meant anything that serious, if so, I apologise if I made it harder for you.<br /><br />(If not, let me know so I can safely insult you again.)Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-85729421980937355302014-10-04T16:06:27.702-07:002014-10-04T16:06:27.702-07:00Does anyone want to bet that a polling place will ...Does anyone want to bet that a polling place will not be shot / blown up in the next one or two election cycles prompting the authorities to protect us from voting?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-72740927903647533392014-10-04T13:32:35.903-07:002014-10-04T13:32:35.903-07:00nlWithin the next 30 years as many as half of the ...nl<i>Within the next 30 years as many as <b>half of the species</b> on the earth could die in one of the fastest mass extinctions in the planet's 4.5 billion years history. </i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.webofcreation.org/Earth%20Problems/species.htm" rel="nofollow">Problem: Extinction of Plant and Animal Species</a><br /><br />Slightly contradicted by this paper concerning methodology:<br /><a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v473/n7347/full/nature09985.html" rel="nofollow">Species–area relationships always overestimate extinction rates from habitat loss</a><br /><br />Accessible explanation of the nature paper in reference to other estimates:<br /><a hef="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17826898>Biodiversity loss: How accurate are the numbers?</a>Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58021782738838923532014-10-04T13:13:03.825-07:002014-10-04T13:13:03.825-07:00Then we are in trouble. Because God has an inordi...Then we are in trouble. Because God has an inordinate affection for beetles.<br /><br /><br />onward...David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15103552979354554312014-10-04T11:48:43.121-07:002014-10-04T11:48:43.121-07:00It could be species, although I believe that most ...It could be species, although I believe that most of them are various types of beetles. :)A.F. Reynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-17085630492026511332014-10-04T10:42:32.542-07:002014-10-04T10:42:32.542-07:00Correct me if I'm wrong but that's a 50% c...Correct me if I'm wrong but that's a 50% cut in the NUMBER of wild animals right? Because I would know by now and be volcanic if it were 50% of species.<br /><br />As it is, of course, I can only try to help fight for Earth, every day.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-68557111938352775372014-10-04T08:50:08.011-07:002014-10-04T08:50:08.011-07:00Pardon me, the wildlife number is 50% in the last ...Pardon me, the wildlife number is 50% in the last *40* years. slip of the typo.matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-59119939845355274402014-10-04T08:48:52.724-07:002014-10-04T08:48:52.724-07:00Appropro of both our hosts' Earth and Paolo Ba...Appropro of both our hosts' Earth and Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl, here is a set of photographs of the data center bunkers in Switzerland. Especially interesting are the genetic material storage areas in light of the recent revelation that mankind has destroyed 50% of the world's wildlife in the last 50 years. Sobering and confounding, I can see the possession of such a bunker full of genetic material could be the source of much violence in the future. <br /><br />http://www.wired.com/2014/09/yann-mingard-deposit/matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27546484829943126482014-10-03T23:09:47.901-07:002014-10-03T23:09:47.901-07:00Hi Ian
What the hell has that to do with 3D printi...Hi Ian<br />What the hell has that to do with 3D printing??<br /><br />I could make one of those on my workshop mill/lathe -<br />Why would I need to spend $1200??Duncan Cairncrossnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3552983598072191432014-10-03T22:49:05.667-07:002014-10-03T22:49:05.667-07:00Tell me again what a fucking moron I was for predi...Tell me again what a fucking moron I was for predicting this a year ago.<br /><br />"The Ghost Gunner is a small CNC milling machine that costs a mere $1200 and is capable of spitting out an aluminum lower receiver for an AR-15 rifle. This device allows people with no gunsmith training to assemble a working assault rifle at home with no licensing or serial number — and it’s completely legal.<br /><br />The Ghost Gunner itself is a small box about one foot on each side. Inside is an Arduino controller and a custom-designed spindle that holds a steel carbide drill bit. It works like any other CNC machine — the drill spins up and moves in three dimensions to carve items out of blocks of metal. However, this machine is specifically intended to make an AR-15 lower receiver. That’s the part of a gun that connects the stock, barrel, and magazine. You could say it’s the “gun” part of a gun. It’s also the part that’s regulated by the ATF and assigned a serial number. Selling it without a license is illegal, but making it yourself is perfectly fine."<br />http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191388-1200-the-price-of-legally-3d-printing-your-own-metal-ar-15-rifle-at-homeIan Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04352147295160200128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29028741166762950072014-10-03T21:34:09.215-07:002014-10-03T21:34:09.215-07:00It is true that there are outcrops of lefty excess...It is true that there are outcrops of lefty excess that remind us that the right has no monopoly on political skullduggery. Just a NEAR-monopoly.<br /><br />Anyone who spends time on a university campus knows that there will be maybe a dozen departments that are islands of almost-orwellian thought-policing, in which "diversity" stops dead at allowing anyone with thinks non-PC to ever speak, let alone get tenure. (These departments tend to hate science fiction, though it is the literary genre of which Americans should be most-proud.)<br /><br />But I do not fret. These bullies are isolated and impotent. They tried to ruin the universities that are America's greatest accomplishment and our beacon to the world... and they failed.<br /><br />And yes, there are some other outposts. San Francisco, Berkley, Chicago... but you know what? Those places are actually doing very, very well!And as experiments? More power to em! And sure, the STATE govts of Illinois and Maryland are corrupt... but they compare well to almost any red state, except Utah.<br /><br />No, there is no comparison. I remain wary, because I remember campus bully-radicals and the USSR. But the New Confederacy is so vastly worse an existential threat to our republic and civilization and Great Experiment that it's terrifying.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58493833321643149932014-10-03T21:18:38.154-07:002014-10-03T21:18:38.154-07:00matthew:
Now, when I say that calling out "C...matthew:<br /><i><br />Now, when I say that calling out "Chicago-style" politics is a racist trope, I mean everyone that uses the term. I'm not calling each individual that says "Chicago-style" politics a racist, but I am asserting that the meme is based in the latent racism of in our nation. I am attacking the message, not the messenger. <br /></i><br /><br />Hmmm, I understand that in these days of President Obama, there is a certain amount of dog-whistling that ties "Chicago" to blacks.<br /><br />The meme of the Chicago Democratic machine and election fraud, however, goes back to the roughly two-decades when the senior Mayor Daley ruled.<br /><br />As someone who has lived in the Chicago area for 50+ years, I have to say that whatever truth there once was to that vision of Chicago politics is outdated, just as the notion that the corporate media is "liberal" may have been true in Walter Cronkite's day, but not so much today.<br /><br />As to comparisons between Wisconsin and Chicago, well, after a few recent incidents where thousands of Republican votes "showed up" at the last minute in one particular WI county, I like to say that "Waukeshau is the new Chicago."<br /><br />;)LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-7877805732627026282014-10-03T19:34:07.304-07:002014-10-03T19:34:07.304-07:00While Anderson makes a few good points (which are ...While Anderson makes a few good points (which are fairly common knowledge to folk down under), his conclusion strikes a bum note:<br /><br /><i>"Failure to continue expanding beyond resources into technology-driven economic sectors will accentuate the nation's physical separation, while allowing political pressures similar to those of Kentucky or West Virginia to dictate national policy. <b>This can't possibly lead the country into the future, as the future isn't about coal - something its leaders already firmly grasp</b>. "</i><br /><br />Let's see:<br />- abolition of the Science Ministry<br />- determined efforts to wind back initiatives that encourage the development and rollout of renewable energy technology.<br />- pushing to deregulate University fees (cf Germany's recent decision to abolish them)<br />- toting 'clean coal' technology.<br />- toting our coal reserves<br />- risking damage to the Great Barrier Reef to build coal export terminals<br /><br />The future's not about coal? I don't think the current crop of neo-feudalists in Canberra grasp anything of the sort!Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-38725381503724896592014-10-03T19:14:28.798-07:002014-10-03T19:14:28.798-07:00And the last of the previous comment...
I'm ...And the last of the previous comment...<br /><br /><br />I'm still trying to figure out how we went from Feingold and Kohl, both of who I respect, to Baldwin and Johnson, who I do not (even though I used to swap French homework with Baldwin in High school. She's been angling for a political career since middle school.)raitonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-30932186266584578262014-10-03T19:14:02.764-07:002014-10-03T19:14:02.764-07:00next door Laura,
I'm not sure whether you'...next door Laura,<br /><br />I'm not sure whether you're referring to how they're conducted (as the governor contends) or the current investigation. I'll answer both.<br /><br />It has been put forth that in Wisconsin, John Doe proceedings may be held secret (just how secret is a matter of dispute). This is a double-edged sword. The purpose of any John Doe investigation is to find out whether a crime has been committed. One would think that secrecy would work because if there is no crime committed, there is no accusation (in our society an accusation is frequently as good as a conviction). On the other, it keeps things out of the public eye, which certainly is not good, especially when publicly relevant crimes, such as those committed by election campaigns, are being investigated.<br /><br />As to the investigation that's causing the current flap, this is 2 completely separate things. The first issue is whether the investigation was politically motivated. It probably is. But some of that comes from having won. And some comes from previous shenanigans. So saying it could only be politically motivated isn't quite right. And do I care? Not really, given the stuff that's been turned up already. <br /><br />The other issue is whether the investigation should be canned and buried because of that. Again, with what's already been dug up, I don't think so.<br /><br />The whole deal about indicting the investigators is just an attempt to muddy the waters.<br /><br />More on voter ID:<br /><br />When I left home, I didn't have my birth certificate, nor my SS number. I did eventually get both. How I got my SS number would these days be classified as phishing or social engineering (my HS guidance counselor called the SS people and said she needed it for some application I supposedly filled out. Bless you, Ms. Specht). The certificate was a lot harder. It required me to go in person -- not easy when you're working a minimum wage job. In fact, it took me 3 tries to get through the bureaucracy. The only was I was able to do so was because instead of a regular 9-5 job, I worked in a restaurant where I could swap shifts occasionally. It would have been very rough otherwise. It's a bit easier now, as the process is documented online. Still, the $7 wasn't the problem, and never was.<br /><br />And it's my opinion that the ONLY reason the IDs are now cost-free is that the judge in the case said it's about the only way he'd declare it legal. Is anyone actually naive enough to believe that if he hadn't the cost would have been removed? And in my experience, removing the cost isn't the problem.<br /><br />Combine this with the DMV hours shenanigans, and the mess with early voting and poll hours, and it adds up to a big mess.<br /><br />You'd think that politicians would welcome any opportunity to have more people participate in the process. I'm dreaming again. Sure, there should be minimum poll hours and such. But to cry not fair! because some municipality can do more is not good.<br /><br />And as long as I'm dreaming, in my fantasyland, politicians welcome John Doe investigations because the truth will out. Either there's no evidence of wrongdoing, and they're exonerated, or there is, and they're thankful for rooting it out. While we're at it, I'd like a pony.<br /><br />As for Indiana, in my experience, it's part of the south, not the midwest. Neither is Ohio, or Chicago.<br /><br />And while I deplore the poor turnouts in US elections, I do believe in the freedom of political speech, and I feel that not speaking speaks. At the school district meeting I attended this week, there were about 100 people present in a city of 20K or so. Of those hundred, only 69 voted on the school tax levy. More people voted for increase the pay for the school board.<br /><br />It may be plain disillusionment. It is very wearing to have to figure out the lesser of 2 evils every election than to have someone to vote FOR.raitonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-82204789141086680302014-10-03T18:35:54.457-07:002014-10-03T18:35:54.457-07:00Interesting figures from our last election
(Just c...Interesting figures from our last election<br />(Just completed the final count and re-count including all of the special votes)<br /><br />Enrollment - 92.6% <br />Turnout - (of enrolled) 77.9%<br /><br />So 72% of all voters voted<br />Duncan Cairncrossnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-44086839831694370792014-10-03T17:52:44.389-07:002014-10-03T17:52:44.389-07:00"Schodorf is that rare creature, a genuine pr..."Schodorf is that rare creature, a genuine prairie conservative who would have been republican all her life, till she realized that the madness that has hijacked today’s GOP is not temporary and recently switched parties. "<br /><br />The two people running for Governor of Florida this year are Rick Scott aka "Governor Voldemort" running as a Republican, and Charile Crist, who became Governor in 2006 after running as a Republican but is now running as a Democrat.Doug S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11918949543315280580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-42486911267569765492014-10-03T17:12:32.408-07:002014-10-03T17:12:32.408-07:00Tacitus, I'm curious both how an ID law would ...Tacitus, I'm curious both how an ID law would have stopped those cases, and how they got caught without one.<br /><br />I used to throw newspapers in a neighborhood with people who will have a problem getting their IDs. I really don't think people understand how poverty curtails options. Mostly elderly women who are barely scraping by. Some don't have friends to rely upon and don't have the requisite papers. Yes, you can cash a SS check without a drivers license especially if doing so at the same place for 10-20 years.<br /><br />Like football, this political ploy is a game of inches. I would be surprised if it changes anything over a half a percentage point. Add up several unfair chicaneries and it begins to matter.Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-52027303506292960592014-10-03T17:01:52.933-07:002014-10-03T17:01:52.933-07:00Mark Anderson continues:
Summary
Australia is...Mark Anderson continues: <br />Summary<br /><br /> <br /><br />Australia is not just far away in distance - it is also removed from the world in a more important way: it seems to have a lot of common sense. When you have resources, you might as well sell them. When you have a continent ringed with people, and nothing but space inside, you'd better have an excellent communications system. When, because you're a continent, you're also the victim of the "tyranny of distance," this same communications network will put you inside the circle of friends, rather than outside, whether for business or policy.<br /><br /> <br /><br />The greatest risks for Australia come from its greatest current assets: resource dependence and proximity to China. Failure to continue expanding beyond resources into technology-driven economic sectors will accentuate the nation's physical separation, while allowing political pressures similar to those of Kentucky or West Virginia to dictate national policy. This can't possibly lead the country into the future, as the future isn't about coal - something its leaders already firmly grasp.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.com