“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”

Ayn Rand

The Virginia Governor is in favor equipping the states police forces with aerial drones that are capable of monitoring peoples every move, waiting to efficiently crack down on its citizens.

When you think about the potential for abuse, it is truly frightening:

Police drones flying over Virginia would be “great” and “the right thing to do” for the same reasons they are so effective in a battlefield environment, the state’s chief executive said Tuesday.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, says he is open to any technology that makes law enforcement more productive. The use of drones, which was recently endorsed by the police chiefs of Fairfax County and D.C., would make better use of valuable police resources.

Increased safety and reduced manpower are among the reasons the U.S. military and intelligence community use drones on the battlefield, which is why it should be considered in Virginia, he says.

“It’s great,” he said while speaking on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” program. “If you’re keeping police officers safe, making it more productive and saving money…it’s absolutely the right thing to do.”

McDonnell says it will make the police “more productive and saving money.“ What the hell?!?!  Is Bob McDonnell trying to create a police state within Virginia?

If the “cost” to the government to issue citations will be less. Guess what the citizens of Virginia will get… More citations, more traffic tickets and more government intrusion in peoples lives. Count on it.

Governor Bob McDonnell (R-Va) should be run out of office, today, for even suggesting such an idea.

Who knew that some noises could eventually become as extinct as the passenger pigeon? Depending on your age, you or your kids or grandchildren may have only heard some of the following sounds in old movies, if at all.

The list includes 11 sounds, so be sure to check out the rest.

Here is the first sound, a rotary phone:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now on to the links…

WyBlog: You don’t have to be stoned to vote for Obama, but it helps!
WWTFT: A Quick Lesson in Accounting
Since this post is about sound, Gator has posted a great tune: Led Zeppelin – In the Light (Physical Graffiti)
TheCL: Free Speech for the Dumb (Government)
SJ: Your Character Matters, Not Mine
TBA: Did a liberal bias end the career of my favorite band?

A manual typewriter:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Eye: Don’t It Make My Blue State Red Edition
CH2.0: MSNBC Epic Fail- Our Fallen Heroes Evidently Aren’t Heroes
BdKS: “The American Left is populated by the intellectual equivalent of a third grade remedial Play-Doh class.”
Bunker: A Memorial Day Remembrance 
CoF: New Crossroads Ad Has The Left Tied In Knots
CP: Memorial Day Weekend

The old school projector sound:

Click here to view the embedded video.

FCBZ: “Whopper of the Year” (video)
LaS: Demotivational Nutting
MTTM: And The Communist Party Pick for 1944?
Moonbattery: Government Allows Itself to Inflict Domestic Propaganda
PR: Irresponsible Americans and our Government
Proof: “As Memorial Day Nears, a Single Image That Continues to Haunt”

Changing channels on a old TV:

Click here to view the embedded video.

TMGGB: The Zombie Apocalypse Is Now!
Republican Mom: Now You Can Have It
Wade: New York RINO’s move to stifle dissent
WixomWeb: Another push for internationalism in our schools- The International Baccalaureate Programme… (and you know that anything labeled a “programme” can’t be good)

Working through this huge and amazing array of material, I came across the menu and bill for the Farewell Dinner for George Washington on Friday, September 14, 1787 hosted by the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. A related bill for 7 pounds 10 shillings to pay the musicians suggests that the dinner took place on Friday the 14th of September and Thomas Proctor submitted the bill on Saturday the 15th of September.

If this menu and bill for the 14th of September has been preserved, perhaps the menu and bill for the Framers’ Farewell dinner on Monday the 17th of September can be found? Wouldn’t it be lovely if that could be recovered and added to the story of the American Founding? That was what was on my mind as I continued to search through the material.

Neither Kimball nor I were able to locate the menu or bill for the Framers’ Farewell at the City Tavern. And, to the best of my knowledge, no such an item is available. So the menu and bill from the Washington Farewell is the closest we have both in terms of time and possible authenticity.

Be sure to read the rest of the write up @ TeachingAmericanHistory, it is very interesting.

And here’s the tab.

Part One:
Menu for Gentlemen and Musicians

Light Troop of Horse, September the 14th 1787

Musich- [?]
SSB  3/15/55

Part Two:
Bill for Musicians

Col. Thomas Proctor to George Christhilf Dr.
To Musical Permormance [sic] at the City Tavern the 15th instant

Dear Sir
Be prepared to Order payment to the above sum of six pounds ten-to the Musicians

[on other side of the bill]

Who says history is boring…

The convention began 225 years ago, this week.

Via Heritage:

The remarkable four months that gave us the Constitution began 225 years ago, today, on May 25, 1787. State delegates gathered to discuss ways to replace the failing Articles of Confederation. The process proceeded in several stages. One scholar on the Constitution Convention Gordon Lloyd divides the summer into a four-act drama.

Act I (May 1787) centers around the Virginia Plan, which was a proposal for a bicameral legislature, with representation based on state populations. The New Jersey Plan, by contrast, proposed a unicameral legislature with equal representation for all states. The smaller states favored the New Jersey plan, because they feared losing their voice to the larger states under the Virginia Plan. Nevertheless, the Act concludes with the adoption of the Virginia Plan and the creation of a bicameral legislature.

In Act II (June and July), the Convention is at a stalemate. Many delegates are concerned that they have exceeded the Congressional mandate to revise the Articles of Confederation and are worried about the possible failure of an extended republic. The Connecticut Compromise (adopted in mid-July) assuages the majority of these fears. The Compromise blends both federal and national characteristics, thus enabling a republic to succeed on a large scale. Under the Connecticut Compromise, we first encounter the form of Congress that we have today: one in which the House represents the individual people, and the Senate represents the states more completely.

In Act III (July and August), the first drafts of the Constitution are crafted, as a result of debates over specific Congressional powers. Regional struggles are especially evident in the notes from this time, as debates regarding the trade and practice of slavery moved to the forefront.

Act IV (September) encompasses the final three weeks of the Convention. Congressional matters have largely been decided, and the delegates move their attention to the executive branch. After much debate pitting national and federal powers against each other, the Convention adopts the Electoral College: as with the Connecticut Compromise, the President would be elected by a combination of the people and the states. The final draft of the Constitution is written.

Nothing involving politics or government can be accomplished in four months today. Let alone something as revolutionary as creating a Representative Republic from scratch.

Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation Wednesday to approve a ban on plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, handing a major victory to clean-water advocates who sought to reduce the amount of trash clogging landfills, the region’s waterways and the ocean.

Egged on by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and an array of environmental groups, the City Council voted 13 to 1 to phase out plastic bags over the next 12 months at an estimated 7,500 stores. Councilman Bernard Parks cast the lone no vote.

“Let’s get the message to Sacramento that it’s time to go statewide,” said Councilman Ed Reyes, who has focused on efforts to revitalize the Los Angeles River.

Council members quietly backed away from a more controversial plan to also ban use of paper grocery bags, which was first proposed by appointees of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Wednesday’s vote kicks off a four-month environmental review of the bag ban, followed by passage of an ordinance putting it into effect. Larger stores would then have six months to phase out plastic bags and smaller markets a 12-month phase-out period. For paper bags, retailers would be required to charge 10 cents per bag starting one year after the plastic bag is enacted.

Yep, the eco-fanatics are pushing the ‘reusable’ bags. And, as previouly pointed out here at MCT, the reusable bags can get nasty with use.

How nasty?  E-Coli nasty:

But, there always is a trade off. If you spend a few bucks for a single bag to save a nickel, you could wind up with a nasty problem:

Most folks don’t give the hygiene of their reusable bags any thought, but according to a new study from researchers at the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University, they should.

The study, “Assessment of the Potential for Cross Contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags,” found that nearly all (97%) of shoppers who use reusable bags do not regularly (if ever) clean them. Furthermore, most of us freely mix meats, vegetables, and other foods in the same bag, and don’t think twice about it.

According to the study, “Reusable bags, if not properly washed between uses, create the potential for cross-contamination of foods. This potential exists when raw meat products and foods traditionally eaten uncooked (fruits and vegetables) are carried in the same bags, either together or between uses. This risk can be increased by the growth of bacteria in the bags.”

Indeed, half of the bags that researchers examined tested positive for coliform bacteria, and 12 percent had E. coli bacteria. These bacteria, and others, contribute to the 76 million cases of food poisoning each year. (emphasis added)

Not only do you have to spend $2.99 for a single bag (less the nickel you save at check out) and you need to store the bags in your car or urban folding bicycle that converts to a shopping cart so they are with you when you get to the store. Now you have to wash the things regularly as well.

Eco-fanatics are always pushing to “go-green” without thinking things through.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Turn it up!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Politicians are politicians.

Via Time Techland:

A spokesman for Zenith Electronics says Eugene Polley, the inventor of the first wireless TV remote control, has died.

John Taylor says the former Zenith engineer died of natural causes Sunday at a suburban Chicago hospital. He was 96.

Great invention.

The Bullet Button is a product that allows the shooter to drop a magazine with the use of a tool. It prevents finger manipulation of the mag release, and creates a condition allowable under current individual interpretations of California law.

This does not create a detachable mag situation, but creates an attachable-fixed magazine condition. A bullet tip can be used as the tool, as can any small object such as Allen wrench, or small screwdriver.

This button can not be used with magazines greater than 10 rounds in capacity. To do so in the state of California on an unregistered assault weapon, would be a felony.

The Bullet Button installs in less than a minute, requires no gunsmithing, or cutting on any part of the rifle. The installation is not permanent, and can be reversed just as quickly.

Or you can simply use the business end of a bullet to change a magazine.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Of course, when California State Senator Leland Yee Ph.D.found out that gun owners can change out magazines fairly easily, the State Senator from San Francisco sprang into action. Via The Truth About Guns:

Reacting to the shocking news that gunmakers actually read the laws the California churns out and design guns around them, all State Senator Leland Yee could manage to sputter was, “When I saw the news I was absolutely horrified.” The gaping loophole that has the poor Senator all aflutter means rifles with bullet buttons – which actually allow a shooter to change out a magazine – are legal in the Golden State. Yes, that sounds pretty basic and magazine releases are legal just about everywhere else in these fifty-seven states. But what works so well for the rest of us doesn’t cut it on the left coast . . .
As the good Senator recently told sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com:

“It is extremely important that individuals in the state of California do not own assault weapons. I mean that is just so crystal clear, there is no debate, no discussion,” said Yee.
That’s why the Senator is introducing a bill to ban the bullet button.

As the father of modern political theory astutely points out:

”You are bound to meet misfortune if you are unarmed because, among other reasons, people despise you….There is simply no comparison between a man who is armed and one who is not. It is unreasonable to expect that an armed man should obey one who is unarmed, or that an unarmed man should remain safe and secure when his servants are armed. In the latter case, there will be suspicion on the one hand and contempt on the other, making cooperation impossible.”
~Niccolo Machiavelli

Leftists in California want to ban all guns, this way only criminals will own them.