This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Zero Ponsdorf

  • Wild and Wonderful, and an Idea

    As a kid growing up in West Virginia there were several things that seemed mythical about our state.

    One was: Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

    Originally designed to house 250 patients in solitude, the hospital held 717 patients by 1880; 1,661 in 1938; over 1,800 in 1949; and, at its peak, 2,400 in the 1950s in overcrowded conditions. A 1938 report by a survey committee organized by a group of North American medical organizations found that the hospital housed “epileptics, alcoholics, drug addicts and non-educable mental defectives” among its population. A series of reports by The Charleston Gazette in 1949 found poor sanitation and insufficient furniture, lighting, and heating in much of the complex, while one wing, which had been rebuilt using Works Progress Administration funds following a 1935 fire started by a patient, was comparatively luxurious.

    At my age mythos plays a small part, but this place is actually still there and might be useful?

    West Virginia also houses (or did?) The Greenbrier.

    Seems the current congress critters might benefit by a visit to Weston? The place has barred windows.

    I dunno… picturing the Pampered Princes on The Potomac housed in a nut house seems right somehow?

     

     

  • Forums

    Note the button up and right.

    This is a simple experiment. Just now it is raw and NOT attached to TAH. We will adapt as needed… so should you.

    Suggestions are welcome.

  • Idle Question About Handguns?

    Really, a freind is using my Kubota to offload logs so I can’t brushhog just now.

    Unless you hunt with the thing (a laudable task) do you practice using feet or yards as a measurement?

    This query was actually prompted by a discussion elsewhere, but I think it does matter so I’ll value yer input.

    I practice with all of my handguns at ten or fifteen feet.  To be sure, part of my rationale has to do with my geezer status, but it also has to do with tactics, I think.

    Doesn’t really matter if we’re talking .22 short or .45 ACP… a hand sized group at 15 feet with either hand seems an effective aim?

    YMMV

  • Government By Fiat?

    Caveats: Government regulations promulgated by faceless bureaucrats are nothing new, ditto for Executive Orders and memos.

    However, it doesn’t hurt to pay attention… So:

    White House loosens border rules for 2012

    President Barack Obama’s administration is quietly offering a quasi-amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, while aiming to win reelection by mobilizing a wave of new Hispanic voters, say supporters of stronger immigration law enforcement.

    The new rules were quietly announced Friday with a new memo from top officials at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The “prosecutorial discretion” memo says officials need not enforce immigration laws if illegal immigrants are enrolled in an education center or if their relatives have volunteered for the US military.

    Apparently “illegal” is another of those inconvenient words that can be re-defined as needed?

    And, closer to home – for me.

    Does The New ‘White House Rural Council’ = UN’s Agenda 21?

    President Obama’s E.O. 13575 is designed to begin taking control over almost all aspects of the lives of 16% of the American people. Why didn’t we notice it?  Weinergate.  In the middle of the Anthony Weiner scandal, as the press and most of the American people were distracted, President Obama created something called “The White House Rural Council” (WHRC).

    Section One of 13575 states the following:

    Section 1. Policy. Sixteen percent of the American population lives in rural counties. Strong, sustainable rural communities are essential to winning the future and ensuring American competitiveness in the years ahead. These communities supply our food, fiber, and energy, safeguard our natural resources, and are essential in the development of science and innovation. Though rural communities face numerous challenges, they also present enormous economic potential. The Federal Government has an important role to play in order to expand access to the capital necessary for economic growth, promote innovation, improve access to health care and education, and expand outdoor recreational activities on public lands.

    I need not repeat what you can read at the link, but this later effort is likely to impact ME!

    I live on 75 acres just outside of  Nowhere, West Virginia. There ALREADY enough rules and regulations about what I can or can’t do here.

  • Strange Bedfellows?

    Senators move to authorize Libya mission

    Sen. John F. Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, who is Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, and Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, who is the ranking GOP member on the Senate Armed Services Committee — and, coincidentally, the last two losing presidential nominees — are co-sponsoring the resolution, which would grant Mr. Obama “limited” authorization to continue using force.

    A curious development, to be sure. The House seems to be  moving, however slowly, to cut off funds for the non-hostilities in Libya while at the same time these two are attempting an end run.

    I don’t understand the reasoning behind this move at all.

    “This is not a blank check for the president. This resolution authorizes the limited use of American forces in a supporting role,” Mr. Kerry said in a floor speech to the Senate. “It says specifically that the Senate does not support the use of ground troops in Libya. And it authorizes this limited use of American forces for a limited duration — it would expire in a year.”

    The White House has rather pointedly gone to great lengths to avoid even dealing with Congress and now this?

    The White House has not actually sought congressional approval but repeatedly has said it would “welcome” it if Congress acted, and has pointed to Mr. Kerry’s resolution as a good step.

    Sure! “I don’t much care what you think, but if you want to agree with me that’s a good step.” The Great Unwashed will never understand anyway.

  • Some Posts Just Write Themselves

    This particular link is via Drudge, but I’ve been following it for a bit.

    In the video, Farrakhan admonishes the president for turning into someone else. Farrakhan says, “We voted for our brother Barack, a beautiful human being with a sweet heart, and now he’s an assassin. They turned him into them.”

    Think about it…  Farrakhan goes on to offer much more, mind you, but I am skeptical overall of his conclusions.

    We have Cain and West spelling things out yet Farrakhan singles out Obama?

    I won’t condone, or deny, what The Root offers in the article. I think this the first time I’ve even seen the site?

    Exit question, just what has our CINC turned into? Is Farrakhan’s disapproval an asset?

     

     

  • A Tempest in a Teapot?

    I have NOT studied each and every law (or potential law) mentioned in the linked article, but it doesn’t to take a political science expert to question the general tone.

    Rigging the 2012 Election

    These statutes are not neutral. Their greatest impact will be to reduce turnout among African-Americans, Latinos and the young. It is no accident that these groups were key to Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 — or that the laws in question are being enacted in states where Republicans control state governments.

    Republicans are RACISTS! But it’s clearly not racist to suggest that certain minorities need extra consideration?

    In Texas, for example, the law allows concealed handgun licenses to work as identification, but not student IDs. And guess what? Nationwide exit polls show that John McCain carried households in which someone owned a gun by 25 percentage points but lost voters in households without a gun by 32 points.

    A CCW license is as easy to get as a student ID? Damn them gun owners for voting Republican anyway!

    In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court, by 6-3, upheld Indiana’s voter ID statute. So seeking judicial relief may be difficult. Nonetheless, the Justice Department should vigorously challenge these laws, particularly in states covered by the Voting Rights Act. And the court should be asked to review the issue again in light of new evidence that these laws have a real impact in restricting the rights of particular voter groups.

    Damn SCOTUS anyway. It seems “particular voter groups” can’t manage to deal with laws that others can handle?

    In part because of a surge of voters who had not cast ballots before, the United States elected its first African-American president in 2008. Are we now going to witness a subtle return of Jim Crow voting laws?

    The author uses the word ‘subtle’ to mean sneaky, of course.

    No mention of military voters disenfranchised – no mention of ACORN – no mention of The New Black Panthers, just a paternalistic (not-racist!) concern for those downtrodden few who need some sort of extra help to figure out how to vote.

    ETA:  Poor ACORN

    The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from ACORN, the activist group driven to ruin by scandal and financial woes, over being banned from getting federal funds.

    Damn SCOTUS anyway… Oh wait, I already said that.

     

  • I am comforted.

    Since this is Saturday: A pal of mine got this:

    Important information about your tax return

    We are unable to process your tax return

    We recived your tax return. However, we are unable to process the return as field.

    Our records indicate that the person identifiedas the primary taxpayer or spouse on the tax return did not provided all the required documents shown on the tax form. Our records are based on information received from the Social Security Administration
    Based on this information, the tax account for the individual has been locked.

    Anyone else notice some typos?  Our government at work?  I won’t validate this post. It simply cracked me up. If nothing else the concept seems valid? YMMV.

    ETA:  Of course it’s a scam. I have an odd sense of humor, maybe, but I thought it had value as a Saturday silly?