Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Melinda Herman shot the man five times with a .38 caliber revolver after he cornered them in an attic crawlspace, successfully protecting herself and her two children.
Herman’s husband, Donnie, was in Atlanta and remained on the phone with his wife and a 911 operator on separate line throughout the incident. The audio recording of the call was obtained by WXIA and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"The president is going to act. There are executives orders, there's executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet. But we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action that we believe is required. It's critically important that we act. As the president said, if you're actions result in only saving one life, they're worth taking. But I'm convinced we can affect the well-being of millions of Americans and take thousands of people out of harm's way if we act responsibly."
Video from Amidst The Noise entitled “Choose Your Own Crime Stats.”
“Does it not play into their fear agenda?” the narrator asks. “That, you know, you’re going to walk out your front door and get shot?”
He also notes that you can pinpoint where most of the crime is taking place, but when you try and bring that up nobody wants to listen. The implication? Instead of a national policy against guns, why aren’t we focusing on the problem areas?
And yes, he throws cold water on the argument that violence is less prevalent in areas such as England (much like TheBlaze has already done).
For instance, did you know that:
Between 1992 and 2011, the violent crime rate in the U.S. has fallen by almost 50 percent (from 757.7 per 100,000 to 386.3 per 100,000).
The murder rate in 2011 rate was 4.7 per 100,000, down from 1992’s 9.3 per 100,000. That’s a 54 percent decrease.
In metropolitan areas where the population is greater than 250,000, the violent crime rate is double that of the national average.
In metropolitan areas where the population is greater than 250,000, the murder rate is double that of the national average.
“I’m a guy that lives in the country. I love America, but I’m concerned and I just wanted to let everyone know how I view the problems,” the video’s narrator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told TheBlaze in an email.
“This is not just about guns. This is about a broken system. This is about a beacon of light that burned out long ago,” he adds.
And in case you don't believe Amidst The Noises' presentation on violent crime, here are their sources:
Saturday, January 5th, all Americans who value freedom of religion and oppose the HHS Mandate’s unfair impositions upon religious individuals and corporate entities are called upon to show their support for Hobby Lobby by shopping either at their local retail Hobby Lobby store or online.
Judicial Watch announced today that it has received documents from the U.S. State Department indicating that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was aware on September 27, 2001, that Anwar al-Aulaqi, the U.S. born terrorist assassinated by a U.S. drone in Yemen on September 30, 2011, had purchased airplane tickets for three of the 9/11 terrorist hijackers, including mastermind Mohammed Atta. Subsequent to the FBI’s discovery, al-Aulaqi was detained and released by authorities at least twice and had been invited to dine at the Pentagon.
Huntington, Samuel P., The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order;
Info World: Information Technology News, Computer Networking & Security;
Information Week: Business Innovation Powered by Technology:
Infostor: The Leading Source for Enterprise Storage Professionals;
Infrastructure Insite: Bringing IT Together;
Insurance Technology: Business Innovation Powered by Technology;
Integrated Solutions: For Enterprise Content Management;
Intel Premier IT: Sharing Best Practices with the Information Technology Community;
Irwin, Robert, Dangerous Knowledge: Orientalism and Its Discontents;
Jeffrey, Grant R., The Global-Warming Deception: How a Secret Elite Plans to Bankrupt America and Steal Your Freedom;
Jewkes, Yvonne, and Majid Yar, Handbook of Internet Crime;
Johnson, Chalmers, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire;
Journal, The: Transforming Education Through Technology;
Judd, Denis, The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600-1947;
Kagan, Donald, The Peloponnesian War;
Kansas, Dave, The Wall Street Journal Guide to the End of Wall Street as We Know It: What You Need to Know About the Greatest Financial Crisis of Our Time--and How to Survive It;
Karsh, Efraim, Islamic Imperialism: A History;
Kasser, Rodolphe, The Gospel of Judas;
Katz, Solomon, The Decline of Rome and the Rise of Medieval Europe: (The Development of Western Civilization);
Keegan, John, Intelligence in War: The Value--and Limitations--of What the Military Can Learn About the Enemy;
Kenis, Leo, et. al., The Transformation of the Christian Churches in Western Europe 1945-2000 (Kadoc Studies on Religion, Culture and Society 6);
Kepel, Gilles, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam;
Kiplinger's: Personal Finance;
Klein, Naomi, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism;
KM World: Content, Document, and Knowledge Management;
Koestler, Arthur, Darkness at Noon: A Novel;
Kostova, Elizabeth, The Historian;
Kuttner, Robert, The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity;
Lake, Kirsopp, The Text of the New Testament, Sony Reader;
Laur, Timothy M., Encyclopedia of Modern US Military Weapons ;
Leffler, Melvyn P., and Jeffrey W. Legro, To Lead the World: American Strategy After the Bush Doctrine;
Lendon, J. E., Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity;
Lenin, V. I., Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism;
Lennon, John J., There is Absolutely No Reason to Pay Too Much for College!;
Lewis, Bernard, The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror;
Lewis, Bernard, What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East;
Lifton, Robert J., Greg Mitchell, Hiroshima in America;
Limberis, Vasiliki M., Architects of Piety: The Cappadocian Fathers and the Cult of the Martyrs;
Lipsett, B. Diane, Desiring Conversion: Hermas, Thecla, Aseneth;
Livingston, Jessica, Founders At Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days;
Livy, Rome and the Mediterranean: Books XXXI-XLV of the History of Rome from its Foundation (Penguin Classics);
Louis J., Freeh, My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror;
Mackay, Christopher S., Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History;
Majno, Guido, The Healing Hand: Man and Wound in the Ancient World;
Marcus, Greil,Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes;
Marshall-Cornwall, James, Napoleon as Military Commander;
Maughm, W. Somerset, Of Human Bondage;
McCluskey, Neal P., Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education;
McCullough, David, 1776;
McCullough, David, John Adams;
McCullough, David, Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt;
McLynn, Frank, Marcus Aurelius: A Life;
McManus, John, Deadly Brotherhood, The: The American Combat Soldier in World War II ;
McMaster, H. R., Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam;
McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 1: Origins and Destinies (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 2: Persons and Groups (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 3: Religions and Controversies (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
Meacham, Jon, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House;
Mearsheimer, John J., and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy;
Meier, Christian, Caesar: A Biography;
Menzies, Gaven, 1421: The Year China Discovered America;
Perrett, Bryan, Cassell Military Classics: Iron Fist: Classic Armoured Warfare;
Perrottet, Tony, The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Olympic Games;
Peters, Ralph, New Glory: Expanding America's Global Supremacy;
Phillips, Kevin, American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush;
Pick, Bernhard; Paralipomena; Remains of Gospels and Sayings of Christ (Sony Reader);
Pimlott, John, The Elite: The Special Forces of the World Volume 1;
Pitre, Brant, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper;
Plutarch's Lives, X: Agis and Cleomenes. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. Philopoemen and Flamininus (Loeb Classical Library®);
Podhoretz, Norman, World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism;
Posner, Gerald, Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK;
Potter, Wendell, Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans;
Pouesi, Daniel, Akua;
Premier IT Magazine: Sharing Best Practices with the Information Technology Community;
Price, Monroe E. & Daniel Dayan, eds., Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China;
Profit: The Executive's Guide to Oracle Applications;
Public CIO: Technology Leadership in the Public Sector;
Putnam, Robert D., Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community;
Quintus of Smyrna, The Fall of Troy;
Rawles, James Wesley, Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse;
Red Herring: The Business of Technology;
Redmond Channel Partner: Driving Success in the Microsoft Partner Community;
Redmond Magazine: The Independent Voice of the Microsoft IT Community;
Renan, Ernest, The life of Jesus (Sony eReader);
Richler, Mordecai (editor), Writers on World War II: An Anthology;
Roberts, Ian, The Energy Glut: Climate Change and the Politics of Fatness in an Overheating World;
Rocca, Samuel, The Army of Herod the Great;
Rodgers, Nigel, A Military History of Ancient Greece: An Authoritative Account of the Politics, Armies and Wars During the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, shown in over 200 color photographs, diagrams, maps and plans;
Rodoreda, Merce, Death in Spring: A Novel;
Romerstein, Herbert and Breindel, Eric,The Venona Secrets, Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors;
Ross, Dennis, Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World;
Roth, Jonathan P., Roman Warfare (Cambridge Introduction to Roman Civilization);
SC Magazine: For IT Security Professionals;
Scahill, Jeremy, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated];
Schama, Simon, A History of Britain, At the Edge of the World 3500 B.C. - 1603 A.D.;
Scheuer, Michael, Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War On Terror;
Scheuer, Michael, Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq;
Scheuer, Michael, Osama Bin Laden;
Scheuer, Michael, Through Our Enemies Eyes: Osama Bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America;
Scholastic Instructor
Scholastic Parent & Child: The Joy of Family Living and Learning;
Schopenhauer, Arthur, The World As Will And Idea (Sony eReader);
Schug-Wille, Art of the Byzantine World;
Schulze, Hagen, Germany: A New History;
Schweizer, Peter, Architects of Ruin: How Big Government Liberals Wrecked the Global Economy---and How They Will Do It Again If No One Stops Them;
Scott, Sir Walter, Ivanhoe;
Seagren, Eric, Secure Your Network for Free: Using Nmap, Wireshark, Snort, Nessus, and MRTG;
Security Technology & Design: The Security Executive's Resource for Systems Integration and Convergence;
Seibel, Peter, Coders at Work;
Sekunda N., & S. Northwood, Early Roman Armies;
Seneca: Naturales Quaestiones, Books II (Loeb Classical Library No. 450);
Sewall, Sarah, The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual;
Sheppard, Ruth, Alexander the Great at War: His Army - His Battles - His Enemies;
Shinder, Jason, ed., The Poem That Changed America: "Howl" Fifty Years Later;
Sidebottom, Harry, Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction;
Sides, Hampton, Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West;
Simkins, Michael, The Roman Army from Caesar to Trajan;
Sinchak, Steve, Hacking Windows Vista;
Smith, RJ, The One: The Life and Music of James Brown;
Software Development Times: The Industry Newspaper for Software Development Managers;
Software Test Performance;
Solomon, Norman, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death;
Song, Lolan, Innovation Together: Microsoft Research Asia Academic Research Collaboration;
Sophocles, The Three Theban Plays, tr. Robert Fagles;
Sound & Vision: The Consumer Electronics Authority;
Southern, Pat, The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History;
Sri, Edward, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass: Understanding What We Say and Do In The Liturgy;
Sri, Edward, Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II's Love and Responsibility;
Stair, John Bettridge, Old Samoa; Or, Flotsam and Jetsam From the Pacific Ocean;
Starr, Chester G., The Roman Empire, 27 B.C.-A.D. 476: A Study in Survival;
Starr, John Bryan, Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture;
Stauffer, John, Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln;
Steyn, Mark, America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It;
Strassler, Robert B., The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories;
Strassler, Robert B., The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War;
Strassler, Robert B., The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika;
Strategy + Business;
Streete, Gail, Redeemed Bodies: Women Martyrs in Early Christianity;
Sullivan, James, The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America;
Sumner, Graham, Roman Military Clothing (1) 100 BC-AD 200;
Sumner, Graham, Roman Military Clothing (2) AD 200-400;
Suskind, Ron, The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11:
Swanston, Malcolm, Mapping History Battles and Campaigns;
Swiderski, Richard M., Quicksilver: A History of the Use, Lore, and Effects of Mercury;
Swiderski, Richard M., Quicksilver: A History of the Use, Lore, and Effects of Mercury;
Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver's Travels;
Syme, Ronald, The Roman Revolution;
Talley, Colin L., A History of Multiple Sclerosis;
Tawil, Camille, Brothers In Arms: The Story of al-Qa'ida and the Arab Jihadists;
Tech Briefs: Engineering Solutions for Design & Manufacturing;
Tech Net: The Microsoft Journal for IT Professionals;
Tech Partner: Gain a Competitive Edge Through Solutions Providers;
Technology & Learning: Ideas and Tools for Ed Tech Leaders;
Tenet, George, At the Center of the Storm: The CIA During America's Time of Crisis;
Thackeray, W. M., Vanity Fair;
Thompson, Derrick & William Martin, Have Guitars ... Will Travel: A Journey Through the Beat Music Scene in Northampton 1957-66;
Tolstoy, Leo, Anna Karenina;
Trento, Joseph J., The Secret History of the CIA;
Twain, Mark, The Gilded Age: a Tale of Today;
Ungar, Craig, House of Bush House of Saud;
Unterberger, Richie, The Unreleased Beatles Music & Film;
VAR Business: Strategic Insight for Technology Integrators:
Virgil, The Aeneid
Virtualization Review: Powering the New IT Generation;
Visual Studio: Enterprise Solutions for .Net Development;
VON Magazine: Voice, Video & Vision;
Wall Street Technology: Business Innovation Powered by Technology;
Wallace, Robert, Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to al-Qaeda;
Wang, Wallace, Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won’t Tell You About the Internet;
Ward-Perkins, The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization;
Warren, Robert Penn, All the King's Men;
Wasik, John F., Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream;
Weber, Karl, Editor, Lincoln: A President for the Ages;
Website Magazine: The Magazine for Website Success;
Weiner, Tim, Enemies: A History of the FBI;
Weiner, Tim, Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA;
West, Bing, The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq;
Wharton, Edith, The Age of Innocence;
Wilcox, Peter, Rome's Enemies (1) Germanics and Dacians;
Wise, Terence, Armies of the Carthaginian Wars 265 - 146 BC;
Wissner-Gross, What Colleges Don't Tell You (And Other Parents Don't Want You To Know) 272 Secrets For Getting Your Kid Into the Top Schools;
Wissner-Gross, What High Schools Don't Tell You;
Wolf, Naomi, Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries;
Wolf, Naomi, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot;
Woodward, Bob, Plan of Attack;
Woodward, Bob, The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House;
Wright, Lawrence, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11;
Wright-Porto, Heather, Beginning Google Blogger;
Xenophon, The Anabasis of Cyrus;
Yergin, Daniel, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power;
Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of this blogger. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited, before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but not hostile, libelous, or otherwise objectionable statements. Original writing only, please. Thank you.
A tax on toilet paper; I kid you not. According to the sponsor, "the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act will be financed broadly by small fees on such things as . . . products disposed of in waste water." Congress wants to tax what you do in the privacy of your bathroom.