The Rapere, a new drone-hunting drone

 

We have already seen at least one way that drones can be helpful to the hunting community, and as the technology continues to grow we will see more and more ways that drones can be used for good.

But, like any technology, if it can be used for good, productive purposes, it can also be used in bad ways. One of the most publicized misuses of drones is illegally spying on other people. Whether in the form of paparazzi, harassing celebrities, or just one individual who is way too interested in someone else, it’s a real concern.

More @ Wide Open Spaces

Pamerla Geller Free Speech Garland Texas

Via Sioux

27 Facts That Show How The Middle Class Has Fared Under 6 Years Of Barack Obama

Via Billy

 

During his State of the Union speech on Tuesday evening, Barack Obama is going to promise to make life better for middle class families.  Of course he has also promised to do this during all of his other State of the Union addresses, but apparently he still believes that there are people out there that are buying what he is selling.  Each January, he gets up there and tells us how the economy is “turning around” and to believe that much brighter days are right around the corner.  And yet things just continue to get even worse for the middle class.  The numbers that you are about to see will not be included in Obama’s State of the Union speech.  They don’t fit the “narrative” that Obama is trying to sell to the American people.  But all of these statistics are accurate.  They paint a picture of a middle class that is dying.  Yes, the decline of the U.S. middle class is a phenomenon that has been playing out for decades.  But without a doubt, our troubles have accelerated during the Obama years.

When it comes to economics, he is completely and utterly clueless, and the policies that he has implemented are eating away at the foundations of our economy like a cancer.  The following are 27 facts that show how the middle class has fared under 6 years of  Barack Obama…

More @ The Economic Collapse

Top 5 .45s for Home Defense

 

Not too long ago, I offered up my Top 5 .45’s for concealed carry. Not everyone agreed with my choices, and there were a lot of great comments and reader suggestions. That got me thinking about concealed carry being only one of the purposes for a good .45 ACP handgun, and how different uses can often mean different choices. If you follow my YouTube channel, you probably know that I have an affinity for the John Moses Browning cartridge. So, if you’re interested in using this superior ballistic wonder to defend your home and family, I offer my Top Five. One more note before I start – just to be considered for this list, I had to feel the gun was 110% reliable with proper maintenance and good ammo. So that’s a given for all of them.

More @ Guns America

3 Agencies Treating "Gray State" Deaths With Suspicion

Via comment by SunwolfNC on "Gray State" Director/Writer, Wife and Child Dead

 

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Dakota County Sheriff's Office are assisting the Apple Valley Police Department with the investigation.

They confirmed they are treating the death as 'suspicious'. 

More @ Daily Mail

Myths of Martin Luther King

Via Billy

There is probably no greater sacred cow in America than Martin Luther King Jr. The slightest criticism of him or even suggesting that he isn’t deserving of a national holiday leads to the usual accusations of racist, fascism, and the rest of the usual left-wing epithets not only from liberals, but also from many ostensible conservatives and libertarians.

This is amazing because during the 50s and 60s, the Right almost unanimously opposed the civil rights movement. Contrary to the claims of many neocons, the opposition was not limited to the John Birch Society and southern conservatives. It was made by politicians like Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater, and in the pages of Modern Age, Human Events, National Review, and the Freeman.

Today, the official conservative and libertarian movement portrays King as someone on our side who would be fighting Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton if he were alive. Most all conservative publications and websites have articles around this time of the year praising King and discussing how today’s civil rights leaders are betraying his legacy. Jim Powell’s otherwise excellent The Triumph of Liberty rates King next to Ludwig von Mises and Albert J. Nock as a libertarian hero. Attend any IHS seminar, and you’ll read "A letter from a Birmingham Jail" as a great piece of anti-statist wisdom. The Heritage Foundation regularly has lectures and symposiums honoring his legacy. There are nearly a half dozen neocon and left-libertarian think tanks and legal foundations with names such as "The Center for Equal Opportunity" and the "American Civil Rights Institute" which claim to model themselves after King.

More @ LRC

*********************************

 Honoring the King Myth

In 1983, shortly after Congress approved the bill which would create a national holiday honoring the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., former New Hampshire Governor Meldrim Thomson sent a letter to his old friend Ronald Reagan, urging the president not to sign the bill for a holiday honoring "the memory of a man of immoral character whose frequent associations with leading agents of communism is well established."

In response to Thomson, the president wrote: "On the national holiday you mentioned, I have the reservations you have, but here the perception of too many people is based on an image, not reality.

Indeed, to them the perception is reality." (Emphasis in original.) In other words, Reagan knew that Martin Luther King, Jr. was, in reality, unworthy of national adulation. Nonetheless, on November 2, 1983, he put his signature on the bill and the holiday became law.

More @ New American

31 Rolls of Undeveloped Film from a Soldier in WWII Discovered and Processed

Via WiscoDave

HSLDA: FREE Winter Practice Activities!

 

Add some fun to winter reading and spelling lessons with these three hands-on review activities.

Banana splits, cookies, and penguins provide an interesting and motivating way for your child to practice their reading and spelling skills.

More @ All About Learning Press

C.S. Lewis on Mere Liberty and the Evils of Statism

Via David

David J. Theroux, founder and president of The Independent Institute and the C.S. Lewis Society of California, discusses the writings of C.S. Lewis and Lewis's views on liberty, natural law and statism.

The presentation was the keynote talk at the first annual conference of Christians for Liberty, that was held at St. Edwards University in San Antonio, TX, August 2, 2014.

For further discussion, see the following:

"C.S. Lewis on Mere Liberty and the Evils of Statism," by David J. Theroux
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/a...

"Secular Theocracy: The Foundations and Folly of Modern Tyranny," by David J. Theroux
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/a...

Back To Carolina The Poor Souls: Carolina Beach Music at its Finest

 

 The Poor Souls, ca. 1983
Bobby Smith, front center
(From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives)

The Poor Souls: Carolina Beach Music at its Finest

 On November 29, 2009, Carolina Beach Music lost one of its brightest stars.  Bobby Smith, bass singer extraordinaire and key founding member of the Poor Souls died of a heart attack.  A year and a half later, on June 9, 2011, we lost magnificent tenor, Butch Stone, of lymphocytic leukemia.  For those of us who love vocal harmony groups and Carolina Beach Music, the Poor Souls were the embodiment of both.  Sure, you could dance the shag to all the Poor Souls' songs.  But the Poor Souls chose material that was true to Beach Music's 1950's R&B roots.

The Poor Souls repertoire featured songs by the Swallows, Checkers, Cadets, Coasters, Clovers, Blenders, Bull Moose Jackson and Louis Prima as well as their own original material that sounded like it came from 1954!  And while the Poor Souls were outstanding in every way, what gave them an edge on most Beach groups was Bobby Smith's bass lead and Butch Stone's tenor.  Please scroll to the bottom of this page to watch a very moving video slide show of a Poor Souls' road trip.

More @ Classic Urban Harmony