Thursday, January 29, 2015

Spurned. But for Just Cause?

Came across this one on Facebook several time. A dumped bride decided to "make the best of it" and ruin her dress with paint.

Read just that much and you will know:
A) Why she was dumped (that part is not in the article).
B) That her mommy paid for her dress (that part is in the article).


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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

All Things Sniper

This is a collection of thoughts I have on the movie American Sniper and the adjoining controversies. For the record, I've read the book, seen the movie, read the tweets, seen the interviews, etc.

The movie
The movie was very entertaining. I like military and action style movies and American Sniper certainly falls into this category. I felt it stayed true to the essence of the book, with only slight Hollywood modifications clearly put into place to give it a semblance of a plot.

The book
If you've read the book, then you know that Kyle was certainly a southern raised gentleman. That said, he was also a Navy SEAL. SEALs are known as having an ego - perhaps justly so, given their training and skills.

You cannot have read the book and deny the level of braggadocio Kyle maintains. From interviews I've seen of him while he was still alive, Kyle had a massive ego... tempered somewhat by his southern gentleman nature.

The lawsuit
Hard to mention this story without involving the lawsuit between Kyle and Jesse Ventura. So much has been written about it all that I'll simply mention facts here.

Kyle accused Ventura of treason. Yes, Ventura switched the target of the case to Kyle's wife - by extension of the fact that one cannot sue a dead person. One can, however, sue an estate. It's one of those "catches" of the American legal system, and not an indictment on Ventura's morals or lack thereof.

In the end, the JURY found that Chris Kyle lied with the willful intent of malice for the purpose of profiting from it. Ventura had the burden of evidence, and met it on all three points. And Kyle' widow is not a victim, as the publisher's insurance will pay the legal bill and award. Kyle's side had no evidence and their witnesses not only lacked credibility, but they destroyed the credibility of Kyle's claims.

By the way - Kyle had only given 2% of the proceeds to charities, not the 100% he claimed. And after the success of the book and movie, neither Kyle's wife nor kids should ever have to work again.

The coward
Michael Moore, idiot at large, claimed Kyle's actions (sniper related killing of the enemy) were the actions of a coward.

So says the man who is obviously afraid of a treadmill and whose only hero seems to be the sandwich of the same name.

The war
Whatever your take on the propriety of the Iraq (and / or Afghanistan) War(s), I think Kyle's role was justified by the fact that his actions defended Americans. Maybe or maybe not those of us here stateside... we'll never know. Certainly he defended his fellow service members while in combat. If you disagree with them being there, as I do at this point, understand that the blame for that rests solely on Washington. Quit electing Democrats and Republicans and we just might stop getting involved in every one else's wars.

My thoughts
Chris Kyle certainly served a distinguished career. I feel that his desire to help veterans was admirable. I think he was a loving family man. I think he was imperfect, as we all are. I think his biggest flaw was keeping with the truth. And however that plays out in the earning of millions of dollars for the telling of his story, it does not take away from Kyle's truly heroic actions, nor does it take away from his distinguished service.

In times long past, Kyle would be a Medal of Honor recipient, and rightly so.

Oh, and after seeing the movie, I really want an MK12 and an MK18.

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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Government Spying

The DEA is using a license plate reader program to monitor you.

Details here.

Dang. Sounds like a possible violation of your constitutional rights!

Monday, January 26, 2015

Unjust Judge Shot Down 2.0

The unjust Judge got shot down by the court of appeals.

Then he makes a motion to hear the remand.
EVEN THOUGH HE IS RETIRED!

Why on Earth would a retired judge want to come back and hear a remand? Unless he had it in for one of the parties. And if that was the case, then his unfair judgments would have been overturned in the appeals court.

Oh, wait... they were!

Nevertheless, he gets shot down in his motion to hear the remand.
I suggest that if Judge Tom Gray truly wanted to hear more about this case, he wouldn't have fallen asleep during the trial the first time!

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Saturday, January 24, 2015

Libertarian on Abortion

Recently, on a Facebook friend's thread, there was discussion about abortion, murder, and the government's role in defining and punishing each.

Myself and a couple of others chimed in with Libertarian points of view. My friend was the originator of the thread and keeps to a more conservative view.

At one point, my friend asks the difference between abortion and murder. His clear standpoint is that he could never embrace the Libertarian party because they do not strongly oppose abortion.

Yet, I personally strongly oppose abortion. I feel abortion is murder. Why, then, do I have no problem voting Libertarian or identifying as such? Could it be that I really don't put much emphasis on it as perhaps I should? Maybe I really think abortion is ok? Or perhaps I am willing to "look the other way" on this issue to agree with the bigger picture represented by the Libertarian party and point of view?

I think each of those possibilities has a degree of validity except for the hint that I might think abortion is ok. That one is clearly not my opinion. Here is my rationale:

Emphasis
When I was young, abortion was one of the foremost issues in my mind. I still think it's murder. But I do not see abortion laws being changed in the US anytime soon.

Illegal =/= impossible to get
The fact is that even if we made abortion illegal,  people would still get abortions. It would not curb the slaughter much, if at all. Sad, but true.

Government = INEPT
Getting the government to define anything correctly, much less regulate it fairly and equally, is an impossibility. That's the main reason I think abortion is too important an issue for the government to have any control of it.

What about murder?
Thank you for making my point!
Have you ever seen the government incarcerate the wrong person for murder?
Have you ever seen the government prosecute the wrong person for murder?
Have you ever seen the government punish the wrong person for murder?
Have you ever seen an actual murderer go free thanks to inept government?

The answer is "YES" to all of these. And it happens every day. All of these miscarriages of justice happen daily.

Summary
That's why I no longer support the death penalty (I like the concept, but I do not trust the government to carry it out correctly).

That's why I cannot support any governmental regulation of abortion. I wish it was illegal, but I cannot trust the government to regulate it properly.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Ten Years

This coming Sunday, the WWE will air the 28th annual Royal Rumble. I was recently watching the 2005 edition, and saw several wrestlers from that event that I predict we may see Sunday. Here we go:

I predict we will see these wrestlers who were a part of the 2005 show -
John Cena
Randy Orton
Big Show
Kane

Additionally, these wrestlers were part of the show 10 years ago, and might be seen Sunday:
Chris Jericho
Batista
Christian
Edge (in a noncompetitive role)

Finally, these folks wrestled at the event 10 years ago, and will be in other roles Sunday:
Booker T (announcer)
JBL (announcer)


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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Thought on SOTU

I had a long, drawn out series of thoughts written on the SOTU address by President Obama last night. But, in the end, the delete button was the best course for that entry.

A much more effective post is a simpler post. More succinct.

That said, last night's State Of The Union address simply served to confirm some things we already knew:
Our President is a delusional, pathological liar, beta-male.

Thoughts?

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Gun Activist

A man was legally carrying a firearm in a Wal Mart when he was suddenly attacked from behind by another man who was screaming "this man has a gun!"

Link to the story.

This "activist" is fortunate he didn't try to restrain a well-trained individual. He wouldn't have lived to have been arrested.


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Ban The Paper

Freedom is rarely lost in one fell swoope. Freedom is more often lost in "death by 1000 bee stings" variety.

Mississippi Rebel has another well-written blog post out, detailing a political ploy to ban certain types of paper targets used for shooting practice.

When does the insanity end?

Monday, January 19, 2015

Moore is an Idiot, Part 387

Michael Moore recently stated he thinks snipers are cowards. This, in light of the release of the movie American Sniper.

My thoughts:
- takes one to know one.
- Moore is projecting.
- Moore is jealous: both of American Sniper's success, and of Chris Kyle's bravado.
- He is frightened of men like Chris Kyle. (maybe that also arouses him?)
- Someone is attention-whoring.


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Black Belt & Self Defense

Rickson Gracie, one of the most talented jiu-jitsu black belts on the planet, states that a black belt who does not know and teach self defense is just an amateur black belt.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Change of Mind

A police officer gets caught speeding... then lies his buns off.



Amazing how the cop's attitude changes dramatically after he finds out he is being recorded. Wants to be all buddy-buddy.




Of course, we already know that police lie. They are trained to lie.
   

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A Wacky Take on the 2A

The Second Amendment, Liberal authoritarian edition:




That's just funny...


Don't Answer That Question!

"I don't answer questions."

Might be the most powerful phrase we have currently. Check out the videos at this link, showing citizens exercising their 5th Amendment rights. Seems to shut police down in their tracks.

As stated in the article, the 5th Amendment protects the innocent even more than it protects the guilty. How?
- Protection from being maneuvered into admission of guilt of some crime you aren't even suspected of. Because police lie.
- Protection from being targeted for a crime that hurts no one, and that law is actually unconstitutional. And you might not even be guilty, anyways.
- Protection from being another statistic from someone just trying to meet a quota.
- Protection from having your rights violated by some low-IQ authoritarian #dependopotamus .

Friday, January 16, 2015

Not Surprised

As I was checking Facebook this morning, I saw a post by a friend who is also a client of mine.

His business, located in Memphis, had been burglarized last night. In the comments, another man suggested he get a gun. My friend advised he always carries his gun.

Here's the twist - my friend posts at his business. This means that people with Handgun Carry Permits cannot legally carry into my friend's place of business.

For those that just don't get it:
- My friend always always carries, yet he posts against legal carry at his business.
- Makes me wonder if his business was targeted because of the "no guns allowed" type sign?

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Slime Balls

From a reader:

I work in a high-dollar, competitive industry; factoring (def. - "to sell one's receivables."). I took a job one time with xxx and had the following situation happen...

I came in with a fairly unique source for new business leads. The company liked my idea and off I went to cultivate referral sources. Before long, leads were coming in. However, my employer was not crediting them to me. Instead, the owner (it was a small company) was trying to make it sound like I'd sold nothing!

I was shocked and felt hurt and betrayed. I'd left a very nice six-figure job to work for them, on the hopes that after a short while, my commissions at this new place would far exceed my previous earnings. I'd done the math and everything.

Well, had they actually given me credit for the business I'd driven through the doors, I'd have exceeded my prior earning level in less than 9 months. But they chose the slime-ball way out. This owner decided to undercut me, take the leads, and try to get rid of me after he secured these new sources of revenue.

But I had the last laugh... my referral sources were very loyal. I told them what happened, and showed them proof. That very day, they stopped sending leads to that factoring company.

Blog author's note:
Published this at the request of a reader because I, too have worked in factoring. Its a good business. It has its "slime-balls," like any other.
Also, my wife once worked for a tutoring company, the owner of which did very much the same to his employees.

The reader who submitted this story wishes to remain anonymous, and keep the name of that company anonymous, too. He pointed out that the company had changed names three times within two years at the time he submitted this story. The blog author has documents that leave no doubt as to the veracity of the claims.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Your Job or Your Life...

Mississippi Rebel has a new post up - this one dealing with the silly policies of pizza delivery companies who would rather you get shot than be able to shoot back.

Go check it out.

Lesser Of Two...

So you go to the polls, and "hold your nose," and vote for a candidate that you don't like at all; in an effort to prevent the election of a candidate that you hate.

This action perpetuates the monopoly of the "two-party system," and virtually guarantees that the same thing happens again. Such an action also makes punishment of a politician (read: losing their job, hence their power) less effective... primarily because both major parties are owned by the same corporations.

If you really want to see change, stop voting for "the lesser of two evils." After all, that's still voting for evil.

Vote "3rd party" and sleep easy at night.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Forty!

Later this year, I will turn 40. A number of famous people share the birth year of 1975. Here are a few of my fellow "turning 40 this year" people you've probably heard of:

Actors:
Bradley Cooper
Johnny Galecki
Casey Affleck
Tobey Maguire

Actresses (and this is a long list!):
Angelina Jolie
Charlize Theron
Kate Winslet
Christina Hendricks
Milla Jovovich
Drew Barrymore
Eva Longoria
Jolene Blalock

Singers / Musicians:
Fergie
50 Cent
Will I Am

Athletes:
David Beckham
Tiger Woods
Ray Allen
David Ortiz
Allen Iverson
Alex Rodriguez
Donald Driver
Amy Dumas (Wrestler: "Lita")
Trish Stratus


Of course, there are many other people of note who were born in 1975. Happy Birthday to you all this year. Hope your "40" is as good as mine will be!


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Thursday, January 8, 2015

Government Intervention Not Wanted

"The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday that state officials aren't violating the rights of a 17-year-old girl by forcing her to undergo cancer chemotherapy she doesn't want."
That should tell you all you'll ever need to know about this story. The next installment of our police state which so closely mirrors THX1138.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Just Asinine

Mississippi Rebel has a new blog post out detailing the absurdity of Maryland police targeting out of state gun owners.

Go check it out and tell him I said "hi!"

Monday, January 5, 2015

On Further Review

My brother's appeal is in the books. This means it, too is public information.

According to the brief, there were four main points of contention:
1. Whether the trial court erred in the parenting plan.
2. Whether the trial court erred in awarding alimony in solido (attorney's fees).
3. Whether the trial court erred in awarding rehabilitative alimony for five years.
4. Whether the trial court erred in failing to make a finding that the mother was intentionally underemployed.

Also at stake was the mother's (read: Dependopotamus') request for attorney's fees for the appeal. If my brother's points all failed, then surely she would be awarded attorney's fees for the appeal - which would have been financially disastrous.

Here is a brief summary of the findings:

1. Whether the trial court erred in the parenting plan. 
Per the findings: Although Father does not specifically appeal the designation of Mother as primary residential parent, upon our review of the record the evidence does not preponderate against that decision. With respect to the parenting schedule, however, we have determined that it is necessary to vacate so much of the order that adopts the parenting schedule and remand for further consideration.
In addition, there is no indication that the court considered Father’s work schedule and the proximity of his home to the child’s school in approving the parenting plan. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-404(b)(15), (16). Accordingly, we vacate this portion of the plan and remand the case for the adoption of appropriate findings in support of the residential parenting time schedule adopted by the court.

Translation: My brother wins more custody / parental rights. The lower court ruled outside its authority.



2. Whether the trial court erred in awarding alimony in solido (attorney's fees for the initial trial).
3. Whether the trial court erred in awarding rehabilitative alimony for five years. 
Per the findings: Considering the cash assets Mother received in the division of marital property as well as her monthly income and expenses, it is apparent that she does not have adequate property or income to pay her attorney fees without depleting her resources; the court did not abuse its discretion in awarding her alimony in solido. Accordingly, we affirm the court’s award of rehabilitative alimony and alimony in solido

Translation: Dependopotamus wins these two points. The trial court was within its authority.



4. Whether the trial court erred in failing to make a finding that the mother was intentionally underemployed. 
Per the findings: As noted earlier, the child support worksheet stated, without explanation, that Mother had a monthly income of $400.00. It is apparent that the court did not consider Mother’s gifts in its determination of her monthly gross income as required by Tenn. Comp. R. & Reg. 1240-02-04-.04(3)(a)(1)(xviii). As evidenced by our earlier discussion of Mother’s income, the financial gifts she received from her parents contribute to her monthly income of In this regard, we note that neither party testified that he or she opposed decision making authority being mutual. Consequently, we vacate the award of child support and remand the case for redetermination of the parties’ respective child support obligations.

Translation: My brother wins this point. Dependopotamus was intentionally underemployed ad child support will be revisited.


5. Attorney fees on appeal.
Per the findings: Mother requests an award of attorney fees incurred on appeal. Whether to award attorney’s fees on appeal is within this Court’s sole discretion. Archer v. Archer, 907 S.W.2d 412, 419 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1995). In considering a request for attorney’s fees, we look at “the ability of the requesting party to pay the accrued fees, the requesting party’s success in the appeal, whether the requesting party sought the appeal in good faith, and any other equitable factors that need be considered.” Hill v. Hill, No. M2006-02753-COA-R3-CV, 2007 WL 4404097, at *6 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 17, 2007) (citing Dulin v. Dulin, No. W2001-02969- COA-R3-CV, 2003 WL 22071454, at *10 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 3, 2003)). Considering these factors, we decline to award Mother attorney fees on appeal.

Translation: My brother wins this point. Dependopotamus must pay for her own appeal.


Conclusion:
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the award of rehabilitative alimony and alimony in solido and the designation of Mother as primary residential parent. We vacate the residential parenting schedule, the allocation of decision-making authority, and the determination of Mother’s income and remand the case for a redetermination in accordance with this opinion.


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Sunday, January 4, 2015

Fixing Terms

I've stated before that I believe major professional sports are fixed. Football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Additionally, I believe that at least some MMA contests are fixed. These sports represent billion-dollar industries, and cannot leave to chance whom they will crown champion.

To clarify, so that we can all speak intelligently on the issue, here are some terms:

Fix / Fixed
To set events in motion to ensure a specific victor.

Rigged
Sometimes a synonym for "fixed."
If you are looking for a technical difference, then you might say that "rigged" is some action to determine a specific outcome by a specific means.

Dive (Take a Dive)
Purposely losing a competition for a (usually outside or financial) reason.
I.E. - that fighter took a dive.

Throw (Throw a fight)
To purposely not give 100% effort in an attempt to lose without looking like intentionally taking a dive.

Scripted
This is more like professional wrestling or movies - the outcome is known, as are certain points of action.

Work
Something planned to happen.

Shoot
A real wrestling match.

Show
A worked wrestling match.



Did I miss any?

It Is Fixed

The website, "The Fix Is In," details the fixing of professional sports games. My personal opinion is that this happens and is much more widespread than people are willing to admit. Of course, they will call me and others "conspiracy theorists," and that's OK.

I remember Jose Canseco stating in a book over 15 years ago that most professional baseball players were taking steroids, and people said the same of him and people who believed him. I remember watching a Sports Center installment where the hosts talked about how the ball was wound tighter and different. We all know how this "conspiracy theory" turned out.

It is my opinion that most major professional sports have a predetermined winner in post season play at the very least. Given that they are multi-billion dollar industries, they cannot afford to leave it to "chance."

What say you?

Friday, January 2, 2015

10 Tips For Better Shooting

This site has ten really good tips for you to improve your shooting skills for self defense.

Pick Another Target

Two thugs made a poor decision - they attempted to mug Renzo Gracie. Yes, the same Renzo Gracie of the famed Gracie clan - noted for their jiu-jitsu ability.

Gracie live Tweeted of the incident. This is actually what got me into Twitter back in late 2012.

Renzo Gracie might be one of the shorter-tempered of the Gracie clan, as he has had incidents of poor sportsmanship with Ben Spijkers, as well as being arrested for brawling with a nightclub bouncer. This was a very poor choice of a person to target for a mugging.


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Thursday, January 1, 2015

CPW Jan 2015

If you get to read this, it means a prediction came true.

In one of those rare instances, I ran across one of the 0.01% of the public that refuses to play well with anybody. My response: "You have got to be kidding me."

I saw indicators of anti-social behavior, psychological projection, periodic mood swings (depression, anyone?), communication issues (even with those close to her), big ego, diabetic, jealousy, and to top it off: a Tier 4/5 female.

All quite predictable, if you ask me.


So, if I set this to post later (written Jan. 1, 2015), it means I came across proof of more than one of those "indicators" I mentioned above.


CPW = Can't Play Well

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Make 2015 the best yet!


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