Adulting

So, my 40-year old house has a leak in the water line IN the foundation.  This is a masonry home, and the drywall is laid directly on the masonry walls, I believe, which means re-piping the house is going to be messy.  And expensive.

Dammit.

Sometimes adulting sucks.

UPDATE:  Second Plumbing contractor came out.  Couldn't find a wet spot, didn't try to jack my wife around, recommended calling a leak detection specialist who said "don't call until the wet spot returns, or we'll have a hell of a time finding the leak." Oh, and "It'll be much less expensive to find and fix the leak than to re-pipe the whole house, and it should be covered by your homeowner's insurance."

I feel better now.

2nd Update: It's not a slab leak. It's a canine leak. Apparently one of our dogs has anxiety issues when neither my wife or I are at home. The bedroom door will be kept closed from this point on.

It's a lot cheaper than a re-pipe.

Quote of the Day - Thomas Sowell Edition

From his recent Uncommon Knowledge interview.

Facebook

I deleted my Facebook account.  Deletion should occur on or before 6/28.  I don't have access to the account anymore.  You want to get in touch with me, email works.  I think I'll just return to blogging.  It's less toxic.

Medical Miracles

A year ago on this day I was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Yeah, it was kind of like that.

Kinda graphic images below the fold.

Duty, Honor, Country

Forgot to add: Photo credit, Tamara Keel from a Facebook post.

What the Internet was Made For

The spreading of information.  Friend Kevin Creighton, who works now for Ammoland, generated this and posted a link to it on the Book of Face.  I'm posting it here.  Please spread it around.

State Gun Rights Matter

From the repeal of onerous gun regulations in Illinois to the opening up of permit-free concealed carry in states like Missouri and Kentucky to the unfortunate losses of Constitutional rights in California and Washington state, the fight to keep our right to keep and bear arms is often fought on a smaller scale by state level gun rights groups, rather than at a national level.

This is why we’ve built this handy interactive map to help you find the gun rights organizations in your state. The people in these groups are the ones who are knocking on the office doors of the politicians in your state, doing their best to preserve and expand your right to keep and bear arms. Support them, along with supporting your favorite nationally-based gun rights group, because we need to win the fight to preserve (and maybe expand) our right to keep and bear arms everywhere we can.

State	Organization	Mailing Address	URL
Alabama	Alabama Gun Rights Network	2009 Rodgers Drive, Huntsville, AL 35811
Alaska	Alaska Outdoor Council, Inc.	310 K Street, Suite 200, Anchorage, AK 99501	http://www.alaskaoutdoorcouncil.org
Arkansas	Arkansas Rifle And Pistol Association	P.O. Box 2348, Conway AR 72033	http://arkansasrifle.com
Arizona	Arizona Citizens Defense League	P.O. Box 86256, Tucson, AZ 85754	https://www.azcdl.org
Arizona	Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association	P.O. Box 74424, Phoenix, AZ 85087	http://www.asrpa.com
California	California Rifle and Pistol Association	271 E. Imperial Highway, Suite 630, Fullerton, California 92835	https://crpa.org
California	Gun Owners of California	P.O. Box 278120, Sacramento, CA 95827-9932	https://www.gunownersca.com
California	Calguns	4212 North Freeway Blvd., Suite 6, Sacramento, CA 95834	https://www.calgunsfoundation.org
Colorado	Colorado State Shooting Association	510 Wilcox St., Suite C, Castle Rock, CO 80104	https://www.cssa.org
Colorado	Rocky Mountain Gun Owners	P.O. Box 357, Loveland, CO 80539	https://rmgo.org
Connecticut	Connecticut State Rifle And Revolver Association	P.O. Box 754, North Haven, CT 06473	http://thecsrra.org
Connecticut	Connecticut Citizens Defense League	P.O. Box 642, Groton, CT 06340	https://ccdl.us
Delaware	Delaware State Sportsmen's Association	P.O. Box 94, Lincoln, DE 19960	https://dssa.us
Florida	Florida Gun Rights	2910 Kerry Forest Parkway D-4, Suite 361, Tallahassee, FL 32309	https://floridagunrights.org
Florida	Florida Sport Shooting Association Inc.	4105 Saltwater Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33615	https://www.flssa.org
Georgia	Georgia Sport Shooting Association	880 Marietta Highway, Box 351, Roswell, GA 30075	https://www.georgiasportshootingassociation.com
Georgia	Georgia Carry	P.O. Box 142924, Fayetteville, GA 30214	https://www.georgiacarry.org
Hawaii	Hawaii Rifle Association	P.O. Box 543, Kailua, HI 96734	http://hawaiirifleassociation.org
Iowa	Iowa State Rifle And Pistol Association	240 Prospect Rd North Liberty IA 52317	http://iasrpa.org
Iowa	Iowa Gun Owners	P.O. Box 3585 Des Moines, IA 50323	https://www.iowagunowners.org
Idaho	Idaho State Rifle And Pistol Association	P.O. Box 140293, Boise, ID 83714-0293	https://idahosrpa.org
Idano	Idaho Second Amendment Alliance	P.O. Box 4292, Boise, Idaho 83711	https://www.idahosaa.org
Illinois	Illinois State Rifle Association Inc.	1589 N 7000 W Road, Bonfield, IL 60913	https://www.isra.org
Indiana	Indiana State Rifle And Pistol Association Inc.	P.O. Box 40025 Indianapolis, IN 46240	http://isrpa.org
Kansas	Kansas State Rifle Association	P.O. Box 219, Bonner Springs, KS 66012	http://www.ksraweb.net
Kentucky	Kentucky State Rifle And Pistol Association Inc.	P.O. Box 241, Elizabethtown, KY 42702	http://kysrpa.org
Kentucky	Kentucky Concealed Carry Association	P.O. Box 1269, Frankfort KY 40602-1269	https://kc3.com
Louisiana	Louisiana Shooting Association	350 Quill Court, Slidell LA 70461	https://louisianashooting.com
Massachusetts	Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts	361 W. Main ST Northborough, MA. 01532	http://goal.org
Massachusetts	Massachusetts Gun Rights	P.O. Box 785 Worcester MA, 01613	https://www.massgunrights.com
Maryland	Maryland State Rifle And Pistol Association	341 Whitfield Road, Catonsville, MD 21228-1808	https://www.msrpa.org
Maryland	Maryland Shall Issue	1332 Cape St. Claire Rd #342, Annapolis, MD 21409	https://www.marylandshallissue.org
Maine	Maine Rifle and Pistols Association	14 Pine Street, Wiscasset, ME 04578	http://www.mainerpa.org
Maine	Gun Owners of Maine	P.O. Box 65, China, ME 04358	http://www.gunownersofmaine.org
Michigan	Michigan Rifle And Pistol Association	P.O. Box 71, Marshall, MI 49068-0071	http://www.michrpa.org
Michigan	Michigan Coalition For Responsible Gun Owners	P.O. Box 14014, Lansing, MI 48901	https://mcrgo.org
Minnesota	Minnesota Rifle And Revolver Association Inc.	13756 89th Place N.Maple Grove, MN. 55369	https://www.mrra.org
Minnesota	Minnesota Gun Rights	7809 Southtown Center, #173, Bloomington, MN 55431	https://www.minnesotagunrights.org
Missouri	Missouri Firearms Coalition	1709 Missouri Blvd, Suite E, #302 Jefferson City, MO 65109	https://www.missourifirearmscoalition.org
Mississippi	Mississippi State Firearm Owners Association	430 Withers Lane, Woodville, MS 39669	http://msfoa.tripod.com
Montana	Montana Rifle And Pistol Association	P.O. Box 48 Ramsay, MT 59748	http://www.mtrpa.org
Montana	Montana Shooting Sports Associations	P.O. Box 4924 Missoula, MT 59806	http://www.mtssa.org
North Carolina	Grassroots North Carolina	PO Box 10665 Raleigh, NC 27605	https://www.grnc.org
North Carolina	North Carolina Rifle And Pistol Association	P.O. Box 4116, Pinehurst, NC 28374	http://www.ncrpa.org
North Carolina	North Carolina Firearms Coalition	3434 Edwards Mill Road, Ste. 112-130, Raleigh, NC 27612	https://www.ncfirearmscoalition.org
North Dakota	North Dakota Shooting Sports Association	P.O. Box 228, Bismarck, ND, 58502-0228	https://ndssa.org
Nebraska	Nebraska Rifle And Pistol Association	P.O. BOX 27131 Omaha, Nebraska 68127	https://www.nebraskafirearms.org
New Hampshire	Gun Owners of New Hampshire	P.O. Box 847 Concord, NH 03302-0847	https://gonh.org
New Jersey	New Hampshire Firearms Coalition	PO Box 7182 Milford, NH 03055-7182	https://www.nhfc-ontarget.org
New Jersey	Association Of New Jersey Rifle And Pistol Clubs Inc	P.O. Box 651, Newfoundland, NJ 07345	https://www.anjrpc.org
New Jersey	New Jersey Second Amendment Society	P.O. Box 96, Highston NJ 08520	https://www.nj2as.org
New Mexico	New Mexico Shooting Sports Association Inc.	P.O. Box 93433 Albuquerque, NM 87199	https://nmssa.org
New York	New York State Rifle and Pistol Association	713 Columbia Turnpike East Greenbush, NY 12061	https://www.nysrpa.org
Ohio	Ohioans For Concealed Carry	2885 Sanford Ave SW #24874 Grandville, MI. 49418	https://ohioccw.org
Ohio	Ohio Rifle And Pistol Association	P.O. Box 1201, Morehead, KY 40351-5201	http://www.orpa.net
Ohio	Buckeye Firearms Association	PO BOX 357 Greenville, OH 45331	https://www.buckeyefirearms.org
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Rifle Association Inc.	P.O. Box 280, Maud, OK 74854	http://www.oklarifle.com
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Second Amendment Association	P.O. Box 626, Edmond, OK 73083	http://www.ok2a.org
Oregon	Oregon State Shooting Association	P.O. Box 231191, Portland, OR 97281-1191	https://www.ossa.org
Oregon	Oregon Firearms Federation	P.O. Box 556, Canby, OR 97013	https://www.oregonfirearms.org
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Rifle And Pistol Association	624 Jerseytown Road Millville, PA 17846-9783	https://www.pennarifleandpistol.org
Pennsylvania	Firearms Owners Against Crime	P.O. Box 1111 McMurray, PA 15317	https://foac-pac.org
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Firearms Owners Association	PO Box 37635 #26617, Philadelphia, PA 19101-0635	http://www.pafoa.org
Rhode Island	Rhode Island 2nd Amendment Coalition	928 Atwood Avenue, Johnston, RI 02919	http://www.ri2nd.org
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Firearms Owners League	P.O. Box 226, Fiskeville, RI 02823	https://www.rifol.org
South Carolina	Gun Owners Of South Carolina	Post Office Box 326, Prosperity, SC 29127	http://www.gosc.org
SouthCarolina	Palmetto Gun Rights	4711 Forest Drive, Ste 3 #298 Columbia, SC 29206	https://palmettogunrights.org
South Dakota	South Dakota Shooting Sports Association	P.O. Box 3, Dell Rapids, SD 57022	http://www.sdshootingsports.org
South Dakota	South Dakota Gun Owners	P.O. Box 3845, Rapid City, SD 57709	https://sdgo.org
Tennessee	Tennessee Shooting Sports Association Inc.	105 Imperial Blvd. #1213, Hendersonville, TN 37077-1213	http://www.tennesseeshootingsportsassociation.org
Tennessee	Tennessee Firearms Association	P.O. Box 198722, Nashville, TN 37219	https://tennesseefirearms.com
Texas	Texas State Rifle Association	8411 North I-35 AUSTIN, TX 78753	https://tsra.com
Texas	Lone Star Gun Rights	9870 St Vincent Place, Austin, TX	https://lonestargr.com
Utah	Utah State Rifle And Pistol Association	2718 E. 9725 South Sandy, UT 84092-3405	http://usrpa.org
Utah	Utah Shooting Sports Council	P.O. Box 17561, Salt Lake City, UT 84117	https://utahshootingsportscouncil.org
Virginia	Virginia Citizens Defense League	P.O. Box 513, Newington, VA 22122	https://www.vcdl.org
Virginia	Virginia Shooting Sports Association	PO Box 1258, Orange, VA 22960	https://www.myvssa.org
Vermont	Vermont State Rifle And Pistol Association	454 South Main Street, Northfield, VT 05663	http://www.vsrpa.org
Vermont	Gun Owners of Vermont	P.O. Box 45, Saxtons River, VT 05154	http://gunownersofvermont.org
Washington	Washington State Rifle And Pistol Association Inc.	PO Box 64971, University Place, WA 98464	https://wsrpa.org
Washington	Gun Owners Action League of Washington	P.O. Box 50012, Bellevue, WA 98015-0012	http://wagoal.org
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Firearm Owners	P.O. Box 130 Seymour, WI 54165	https://www.wisconsinforce.org
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Gun Owners	PO Box 329, Waupaca, WI 54981	http://wisconsingunowners.org
West Virginia	West Virginia State Rifle And Pistol Association	P.O. Box 553 Charles Town, WV 2541	https://www.wvasrpa.org
West Virginia	West Virginia Citizen's Defense League	P.O. Box 11371, Charleston, WV 25339-1371	http://www.wvcdl.org
Wyoming	Wyoming State Shooting Association	P.O. Box 942, Worland, WY. 82401	https://www.wyossa.com
Wyoming	Wyoming Gun Owners	1740H Dell Range Blvd. #447, Cheyenne, WY 82009	https://www.wyominggunowners.org

Quote of the Day - P.J. O'Rourke Edition

Kathy Jackson of the Cornered Cat blog pointed me to this one on Facebook.  It ties into something I've been working on the last few weeks, but I thought I'd post it here as QotD:

Now the Bible might seem to be a strange place to do economic research—particularly for a person who is not very religious and here in a country that is not predominately Jewish or Christian.

However, I have been thinking—from a political economy point of view—about the Tenth Commandment.

The first nine commandments concern theological principles and social law: thou shalt not commit adultery, steal, kill, etc. All religions contain such rules. But then there’s the tenth commandment: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covert thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”

Here are God’s basic rules about how the Tribes of Israel should live, a very brief list of sacred obligations and solemn moral precepts, and right at the end of it is, “Don’t envy your friend’s cow.”

What is that doing in there? Why would God, with just ten things to tell Moses, choose, as one of them, jealousy about the things the man next door has? And yet think about how important to the well-being of a community this commandment is. If you want a donkey, if you want a meal, if you want an employee, don’t complain about what other people have, go get your own. The tenth commandment sends a message to collectivists, to people who believe wealth is best obtained by redistribution. And the message is clear and concise: Go to hell.

This Blog is Old Enough to Drive

Sixteen years ago on this day I hit "Publish" on my very first blog post:

Is this thing on?

Apparently so. Too bad I managed to lose the opening essay it took me an HOUR to compose. Oh well. I'll reconstruct it and put it back up later.

Welcome to The Smallest Minority, so named because most of the really good names Eject! Eject! Eject!, USS Clueless, Instapundit, Acidman, and so on were already taken. And while not a Randian, I accept a lot of Ayn Rand's observations as accurate, and it was she who wrote: "The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities."

This blog is about the rights of individuals, that smallest of minorities, so it seemed apt.

More (hopefully MUCH more) to follow.

And MUCH MORE did follow, damn, did it ever.  6950 more posts, plus this one.  Three of the four links above are now defunct, but this one soldiers on.

"That America will return one day, I know it will."

Digging through the archives looking for something else, I stumbled across this old post. I liked it so much I thought I'd repost it here:

Quote of the Day: Larry Corriea Edition

From his Monster Nation post The 2nd Amendment is Obsolete, Says Congressman Who Wants To Nuke Omaha:

In something that I find profoundly troubling when I’ve had this discussion before, I’ve had a Caring Liberal tell me that the example of Iraq doesn’t apply because “we kept the gloves on”, whereas fighting America’s gun nuts would be a righteous total war with nothing held back… Holy shit, I’ve got to wonder about the mentality of people who demand rigorous ROEs to prevent civilian casualties in a foreign country, are blood thirsty enough to carpet bomb Texas.

You really hate us, and then act confused why we want to keep our guns? But I don’t think unrelenting total war against everyone who has ever disagreed with you on Facebook is going to be quite as clean as you expect.

RTWT.

May Victims of Communism Day

Today is the 12th annual Victims of Communism Day, a day to remember the people murdered by their own governments in their quest to achieve a "worker's paradise" where everyone is equal, where "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" is the beautiful dream lie.  R.J. Rummel, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii, calculated that the total number of victims of Communism - that is, the domestic victims of their own governments - in the USSR, China, Vietnam, North Korea and Cambodia is 98.4 million people.  For all Communist governments during the 20^th Century, he puts the estimate at approximately 110 million.  And this wasn't in warfare against other nations, this was what these governments did to their own people - "breaking eggs" for their utopian omelette that never gets made.

Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, and another six million people the Nazis decided were "undesirable" went with them.  "Never again" is the motto of the modern Jew, and many others just as dedicated.  But "again and again and again" seems to be the rebuke of history.

The Communists are hardly alone in these crimes.  Rummel estimates that the total number of people murdered by their own governments during the 20^th Century is on the close order of 262 million, but the single biggest chunk of that truly frightening number is directly due to one pernicious idea:  That we can make people better.

Why do I own guns?  For a number of reasons, but one of them is this:

And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?  --  Alexandr Solzhenitzyn, The Gulag Archipelago

--

The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed - where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once. -- Judge Alex Kozinski, dissenting, Silveira v. Lockyer, denial to re-hear en banc, 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2003.

I intend to repeat this post each May 1 that I continue to run this blog. 

Several years ago, Sipsey Street Irregulars had a post to go along with this one.  STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

In 2013 Not Clausewitz also made a worthy addition.

And for those who insist that "That wasn't real Communism" -