Finished Snow Crash

Just finished reading Snow Crash for the first time. Probably a little late for some one so has gamemastered Shadowrun on and off for ten years but what the hell. "The Street" is about 100 times cooler than the matrix anyways. When reading it could help thinking about Wesley Snipes. I'm sure he has read the book and has tried to option it. Now that he has finished the Blade trilogy. It won't be Snow Crash but it should at least be entertaining. Lets say I am more resigned then looking forward to it. Best case scenario is I win PowerBall. Then me and ADV turn it into a 26 episode anime series.

I have been reading alot

In the last 45 days I have probably read more books than in the last year. Got started again thanks to the baen free library. But has moved on and above that. Hasn't translated into any sales yet. Sorry guys :(. Did place some holds at the library I imagine that goes into their database of what and who to buy. I'll do my bit to spread the word. Have you considered a tips jar?

I'm from the government I'm here to help

What you are suggesting is what could happen if this were done at the federal level. On the other hand, that need not be the case. Prior to 1973, states--at the directions of the legislatures, who reflected the thinking of the voters on the matter--handled the abortion issue on their terms. It's not like states were breaking down the doors investigating every miscarriage.

Singlemind | Homepage | 08.30.06 - 5:37 pm |

No doubt because they lacked the technical means. A reliable and relatively cheap laboratory test for pregnancy was not available until the early 70's. Today it would be possible to have every woman between 10 and 50 pee in a cup every 60-90 days. I’m trying to do it on the cheap if you are willing to spend any amount of money you can do it every 30 days. With 100 million women to watch the testing itself could be done for at little as 4 billion a year add a 95% bureaucracy tax and to comes to about 40 billion. Our brave child protection officers need pensions and MP5s after all. Any woman who does not register is obviously up to no good. It would be very easy to register and test any woman/girl in the schools. The testing of course would be mandatory for anyone with financial aid in college. The government could mandate for any employer that wants to sell anything to them. Of course any woman that visited a doctor would have one taken if she wasn’t up to date. It would be as uncomfortable to avoid as avoiding a social security number.

Other precautions would include the tight schedule III type controls on all possible abortifacients. Including the chemical forms of birth control; pills, rings, implants, and patches. Maybe even tighter, think methadone type restrictions would be necessary.

Register all persons who possess the skills to perform an abortion. Law enforcement surveillance would also we necessary to ensure they are not performing abortions on the side. Just like the government watches gun dealers to make sure they aren’t selling unregistered machine guns on the side.

Removal of any doctor that is sympathic to performing abortions. Like what is done to doctors that prescribe to many pain pills.

Registration of all pregnancies after they are detected the little citizen would no doubt get their very on SSN and be eligible for all benefits in there own name/number.

A full legal investigation whenever a pregnancy fails to come to term or if there is a birth defect.
Pre-natal care would be tightly controlled and mandatory. Failure to perform any of the accepted prenatal practices or adding any of your own would be either child abuse or attempted abortion/murder.

Place in preventative custody pregnant women with a history of miscarriage. Can’t be too careful. Think I’m crazy ask the Romanians. Only they were a soviet dependency in the 70’s and 80’s and we are the richest (for now) nation on earth.

In general think war on drugs only the crime is MURDER not getting drunk with unapproved and harmful substances.
The reason we don’t have a war on murder yet is they can’t afford to watch us all of us all of the time. After all everyone one of us is a potential murder victim. Don’t worry about the Constitution after all "While the Constitution protects against invasions of individual rights, it is not a suicide pact." Senator Russ Feingold.

A different America of course realized that the document was dammed well a suicide pact and after the Civil War an involuntary one at that. Maybe they should have pledged there life, property, and sacred honor to it when it was written like with the declaration. I blame it on Jefferson not being in the country at the time. I think he would have made them do it or raise a mob to burn out the building trying.

I live

I will be posting on a more regular basis. Maybe I should start with things I think should be changed in the Starship Troopers RPG. Awesome as it :) First I want to post a comment I made on Vox. Topic abortion

Lemon Curd

First experiment with AB's lemon curd was less then completely successful. I do not think I heated the custard thoroughly as it was still runny. Tasty but runny. Also, DO NOT use dried lemon peel in this. I may try powdered next time. Or I will process the peel with the sugar. It was very good poured over some cheesecake.

AB's Lemon Curd

Recipe from Food Network

Foreign Flags

Thought maybe some rules and examples for the uses of foreign flags in the USofA were in order.

St. Patrick’s Day has for the most part been adopted by the people outside of Irish heritage. Unlike Columbus Day it has never lost the cultural and ethnic significances. Although drinking lots of beer and wearing green is as Irish as most of us want to get.
The only day that compares would be Cinq de Mayo.

Some common examples

Irish flag at a St. Pats parade or Irish pub=Fun and pride
Irish Flag at an IRA Rally=provocation.
Mexican flag at a Cinq de Mayo parade or cantina also hubcaps and cars=Fun and pride
Mexican flag at a rally demanding equal rights by citizens of Mexico=provocation
Stars and Bars at a NASCAR event= fun, heritage and provocation*
Stars and Bars at a Klan rally=provocation

I would say supporting another country in a sporting match when the United States is playing is crossing the line into provocation. But anyone who does that is either a foreigner who has traveled here to see the match or is looking for a fight and will be happy enough to join in once one starts. These two categories are not mutually exclusive.

In general, using the flag of a foreign nation to demand change is a provocation. In more civilized times a large group of people with foreign flags was called an army. They used those flags to be recognized by their friends and intimidate their enemies. While armies rarely still go into battle with ensigns waving and drums thumping (they should, I hope the Humvees are blasting American music whenever they can) the message remains the same. We are marching together and we have power in our numbers.

*Everyone I have talked to who flies the Stars and Bars (Hard to find someone who displays the flag of the civilian CSA) gets some satisfaction from knowing it is going to piss someone off. Remove that incentive and they would probably be happier flying the Jolly Roger. Of course there is also the very human trait of lionizing a lost cause that can no longer do anyone any harm (No one has filed taxes with the CSA in over a hundred years) . This same principle is what makes some people better after they die.

Lavender Omelet

Dinner last night included lavender omelets. Quite delicious seasoned with a dash of white pepper and a bare pinch of lavender. I would say 5-6 buds in a two egg omelet. The omelet was fragrant without being overpowering. I have seen other recipes online that I will try out and report on. I saw a creme brulee I will have to try. But first there are cookies to be made.

Dinner also included steamed asparagus and homemade mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes
1lb Yukon gold potatoes cooked in boiling salted water until done about 25mins for me
mash and mix with
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Herbes des Provence
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 cup strained Greek yogurt. This is thick stuff drain yogurt overnight in cheesecloth or substitute labna (a thick yogurt spread available at specialty shops)

Buying Lavender at Penzeys

To everyone who doesn't know Penzeys is a speciality spice retailer. They specialize in offering spices and seasoning mail order. I like them because the quality is excellent and the prices are reasonable. They also have a chain of retail shops. If there is one near you I would suggest a vist. For anyone who cooks it is a sensory experience. If you study their catalog carefully you will notice that their Provence spice crate includes a jar of lavender. Lavender besides being a key ingredient in the classic spice mix Herbes des Provence is also a signature flavor of the region. Lavender is not listed in the catalog by itself or offered for sale on the web. Feeling curious I asked the woman running the store, "Why does Penzseys only offer lavender in the crate?". The answer is they do not get very much but they will sell it if someone asks for it. Actually I felt a little like being invited into a private club. Note to the Illuminate if given a secret I will post it to a blog no one is going to read. Cost my dear reader is $4.19 for the jar. Smell wonderful. So far all I have done with it is use it to supercharge my jar of Herbes des Provence. My wife has suggested I make an omelet and I will report on the results.

Deportation is it possible??

It is not impossible to deport that many people. That's "only" 125,000 flights of 120 people a piece. The actual capacity of a 737-400 is 180 but you would need room for guards and extra weight for cargo. Say an average price per flight of $25+ (yes I know Delta would charge you or me $150K+ I think people with guns can get a volume discount)it all comes to about $3.2B triple that for costs of admin and proving someone is here illegally $12-13B is a drop in the bucket in this era of $2.5T budgets. The government could also declare a nation emergency and seize any aircraft it wanted or needed. Plus, much as I hate agreeing with Republicans a certain percentage are going to flee once they see the government is serious.
That any child born in the United States is a citizen has more to do with our common law roots "native to the soil" than the 14th amendment. It is only clarifying that those rights extend to the recently freed slaves. More importantly it claims all matter of citizenship to the federal government and that every person under power of the state legal/illegal has a right to due process and equal protection.
I do not see why the 14th would prohibit the United States from establishing some sort of blood register like (Japan and Germany) or making a law that said only a person born of two citizens or later naturalized is a citizen. Most countries have ended any birthright citizenship they may have once had. Seems fair considering the situation the clause was written for is extinct. We no longer have crowds of people who until recently were denied citizenship by any government. Since minors seem less protected than adults I never saw why the children couldn't be deported with their parents. They could be given documentation that would allow them entry when they were grown.

Of course a country that can't control its borders anymore really isn’t a country. Think of the “tribal” areas in Pakistan where the Taliban is setting back up. Not that much different from the parts of town where the cops don’t like to go after dark. At which point we can all shake hands and officially end the United States. Sell the assets and divide the value amongst our debtors and citizens. Then devolve into a state of atomic anarchy. This would be the solution most just to everyone. People who migrated to find work could stay and work. People already here would be freed from government.

In closing I would like to remind any present or future juror of the duty and power of an American jury to nullify any law it believes unjust or unconstitutional. Including deportation laws.