Nemo Me Impune Lacessit

Today in history

COMMENTS I’VE POSTED

1. Posted to Facebook —

   U.S. v. Miller said that the NFA was “Constitutional” because a sawed-off shotgun wasn’t a “militia weapon” because it didn’t have “military utility.”

   That was a lie, as some short-barrel shotguns had been used in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I. Obviously, it has “military utility” if *military personnel* are using it in combat.

   Fast-forward to the 1980s up to today — the firearms that are supposed to be protected by the Second Amendment per U.S. v. Miller (see above) — the M-16, M-4, AK-47, FN FAL, G3, HK33, MP-5, MP-7, Uzi, RPG, M134 SMAW, M203 — are heavily regulated by the Feds, and de facto outlawed for civilian possession by anyone except for rich people.

   Meanwhile, the victim disarmers and hoplophobes keep screaming about “weapons of war” being “on the streets” (how many guns are actually “on the streets” ?), as part of their screeching about the “necessity” of outlawing the semi-automatic lookalikes of the M-16, M-4, AK-47, FN FAL, G3, HK33, etc.

2. Posted to Facebook —

   One thing that’s pissing me off about the Star Trek franchise is that the franchise runners seem to be quietly trying to erase the first six movies (The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Final Frontier, and The Undiscovered Country) from living memory.

   Am I wrong to think this?

3. Posted to Facebook —

   I can remember reading that Roddenberry said only the TV shows and movies were canon, leaving the novels, comics and FASA stuff out in the cold.

   Kurtzman and his crew of nitwits don’t seem to want to change that, but their “multiverse” idea as described by Midnight’s Edge could be said to make all of the licensed stuff canon of a sort.

   I still have the Who’s Who in Star Trek books from DC Comics, where they had listed at least one of the FASA ships.

   And there was a three-part story arc where the Excelsior under Kirk’s command faced up against four Romulan Z-1 Nova-class ships.

4. Posted to Facebook —

   Please share your thoughts about the Second Amendment.

5. Posted to Facebook —

   Sounds good to me.

6. Posted to Facebook —

   Weren’t the Romulan warbirds called D’deridex class in one of the TNG episodes? I seem to remember that name came from FASA’s TNG Officers Manual.

7. Posted to Facebook —

   I thought I changed it back, but will look into it.

8. Posted to Facebook —

   Apparently, a group’s name can only be changed once every 28 days —

   “You already changed the group’s name on May 16, 2019. You can only do this once every 28 days.”

9. Posted to Facebook —

   Yep. Remember today for future reference.

LISTENING / READING / WATCHING

1. KRQE News — Latest News: Colorado governor’s office speaks out after migrants bused from New Mexico
2. Ballistic — WATCH: Halle Berry Trains for ‘John Wick 3’ and She’s One Hell of a Shot
3. Ars Technica — CBS shows the first new image of Patrick Stewart as Picard in 17 years by Samuel Axon
4. Bearing Arms — Former SCOTUS Justice Still Bitter About Heller Decision by Tom Knighton
5. Overkill — White Devil Armory
6. Conservative Review [CR] — Romney casts lone GOP vote against Trump judicial pick because of a ‘disparaging’ comment about Obama by Nate Madden

Today in history

COMMENTS I’VE POSTED

1. Posted to Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here —

   Albuquerque Indoor Karting
   Friday. May 3, 2019 at 1:11 PM

   Please Read and share!
   Why is it so hard for businesses to survive in Albuquerque?
   Roughly 12 years ago Albuquerque Indoor Karting opened its doors by a small group of friends and family some of which invested their life savings to bring a new attraction to Albuquerque. Since then many forms of entertainment have entered the Albuquerque area. In an effort to stay competitive with other forms of entertainment and meet customer requests, the investment group decided to reinvest in the business by adding a new restaurant, new go karts, and sand volleyball courts. The plan was to add a beer and wine license to the restaurant which is where everything started going wrong. First of all, the process to get a beer and wine license was extremely cumbersome with many different points of contact who often do not communicate with each other and then you have to complete the process two times, one for the State of New Mexico and the other for the City of Albuquerque. The state of NM process was delayed months before we ever received a response, but after a little bit of grief from the state we were able to get through the state when we explained we were not trying to be a “night club” we are a family entertainment center with a restaurant.
   After getting through the State you go on to the City of Albuquerque. It amazed me that you could not run these processes in parallel. Each City and State process is estimated to take 90 days to six months total. It could take 6 months just to get a beer and wine license…that is sad, talk about bureaucracy. Of course each city and state process requires independent permitting fees. So far we have spent nearly $10K just getting through the permitting process only to be asked to spend more. It seems like we fix one thing then they ask us to fix something else, the list never ends, and problem is you never see the list. This is all due to the fact that we relocated our volleyball courts and added one court the city is asking us to make nearly $50K worth of sidewalk repairs. The sidewalks and parking lot have never been issues in all the time we have operated. The city would like us to spend money on something that would literally add zero value to our business after we already invested millions of dollars in the facility which prior to our ownership was a haven for drug use, crime and an eye sore. Today, it is a family friendly place that has seen hundreds of thousands of customers. In the last year alone we have invested roughly $100K adding a restaurant and relocating the volleyball courts, now they want us to spend more just to upgrade the sidewalks. The City of Albuquerque just worked and is working on a large portion of Copper road between San Mateo and Washington and they are requesting we upgrade a portion of the sidewalk they just worked on literally a couple months ago. Further, we housed heavy equipment for months on our parking lot which resulted in large pot holes, divots and their trash all over our facility and the City was called on several occasions and nothing was ever done. No one ever contacted ABQ Indoor Karting to ask if it was ok.
   As a business owner in Albuquerque I have constantly seen the city increase its permit requirements. For example, when we first opened we only had to have one permit for your burglary alarm so the city could collect their fees. Now you have to have a permit for your fire and burglar alarm separately so the city can collect two permit fees. It is constantly some new cost, and the old costs don’t go away. After 12 years of operation our organization has paid almost ONE MILLION dollars in just sales taxes and property taxes. I obviously do not expect the city or state to invest $1M back into our area, but at least take care of the sidewalks. Over this time we have employed over 15 employees at any given time generating payroll taxes and jobs. With our improvements we would like to add more employees, but now that is also in jeopardy. Earlier this year the city of Albuquerque made a deal with Top Golf (based out of Texas) to come in with tax incentives. I am all for new entertainment coming to Albuquerque, but they should have to do it of their own investment just the way the hard-working business owners have to do. Now, have to compete with Top Golf for entertainment dollars while they are subsidized, and we have to improve sidewalks and everything else on our own dime. This does not seem like fair capitalism.
   We are not getting rich off this business, in fact all the investors/owners of AIK, have full time jobs. We keep trucking because we love our community and want to provide something different and exciting and give back.
   As a business owner its never good when you start wondering if this is all worth it . . . well that is where we are today.

LISTENING / READING / WATCHING

1. Midnight’s Edge [YouTube] — Alien – The Past and Future of the franchise (Talking Horror #02)
2. Mr. H Reviews [YouTube] — Alien TV Series – The Facts & The Fiction With The Disney Fox Merger
3. Vice — Motherboard: Inside the World of the ‘Bitcoin Carnivores’ by Jordan Pearson
4. BreakPoint — Responding to “Green Politics” – Part 5: Sun May be Causing Global Warming – Seriously? by S. Michael Craven
5. Monster Hunter Nation [MHN] by Larry Correia —
   1. A response to George R. R. Martin from the author who started Sad Puppies
   2. George R. R. Martin responds
6. Overkill — White Devil Armory
7. KUPT 29 TV [Heroes & Icons (H&I) affiliate for Albuquerque, New Mexico] —
   1. Star Trek
   2. Star Trek: The Next Generation
   3. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
   4. Star Trek: Voyager
   5. Star Trek: Enterprise
8. Analog Science Fiction and Fact, September / October 2018 — pp. 146-155: “Black Shores” by Darren Speegle
9. Colion Noir [YouTube] — Kamala Harris: If Elected I Will Take Gun Dealers’ Licenses Away with Executive Action

Today in history

LISTENING / READING / WATCHING

1. Vengeance Unlimited — S01E07 – Security
2. Emancipation, Book 1.0: Dalida by G. P. Eliot ^[1]

NOTES

1. “G.P.” = Graham Peter

Today in history

COMMENTS I’VE POSTED

1. Posted to Facebook —

   I too found the questions a bit pushy, as in worded towards pushing me towards “left” (Democrats / Labour) and “right” (Republicans / Tories).

   https://politicalcompass.org/analysis2?ec=6.38&soc=-2.97

   

2. Posted to Facebook —

   Before or after the event, she can meet with her voters just a bit north of the event location, at 1840 4th NW (the Mexican Consulate).

3. Posted to Facebook —

   What cracks me up about the article was the amount of space given covering the proximity of the house being raided to the Playboy Mansion and the former home of Michael Jackson. Because that’s just SO SO relevant.

4. Posted to Facebook here, here, here, and here —

   I wonder how many of the students were told that attendance at the “vigil” was “mandatory” by the faculty.

5. Posted to Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here —

   Fecal matter coming soon (it’s already building up in the Downtown area, and other places).

   https://abqjournal.com/1313100/needles-deflate-atrisco-valley-little-league.html

6. Posted to Facebook —

   https://abqjournal.com/1310156/magistrate-judge-charged-with-embezzlement.html

LISTENING / READING / WATCHING

1. Vengeance Unlimited S01E05 – Justice
2. Helloween — My God-Given Right
3. New York Post — Students storm out of Colorado school shooting vigil in protest of politicians by Ben Feuerherd
4. Albuquerque Journal —
   1. Little League battling needle epidemic by Rick Nathanson, Journal Staff Writer
   2. Torrance County judge charged with embezzlement by Elise Kaplan, Journal Staff Writer
5. KUPT 29 TV [Heroes & Icons (H&I) affiliate for Albuquerque, New Mexico] —
   1. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
   2. Star Trek: Voyager
   3. Star Trek: Enterprise
6. City Journal [CJ] from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research — The Wrong Narrative by Christopher F. Rufo
7. The New York Times — Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal by Jo Becker and Mike McIntire