Monday, September 12, 2011

Why Rick Perry is scared of Ron Paul

One of the cardinal rules of politics is "never attack down,” meaning a front-runner should never attack or respond to an opponent who is far behind. Yet that is what Rick Perry is doing. He is intimidated by Ron Paul, and responding to Ron Paul. Why? The answer is that Ron Paul is a true libertarian and a true conservative, while the latest version of Rick Perry, the man who once championed Al Gore, is a phony conservative and can't even pretend to be a phony libertarian.

As I have written repeatedly, Rick Perry is the ultimate pay-for-play government man, the exact opposite of a true conservative and a true libertarian. Ron Paul, whether one agrees with him or not, is the true libertarian and a genuine conservative in ways that Rick Perry can never be. That is why Rick Perry fears Ron Paul.

The rest of the story from The Hill

Saturday, September 10, 2011

'Pastafarian' wins religious freedom right to wear pasta strainer for driving licence

An Austrian has won the right to be photographed wearing a pasta strainer for his driving licence on grounds of religious freedom.  All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster and his noodly appendage!


Pasta Strainer

 

Friday, September 9, 2011

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Quote of the Day

Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins.  Society is produced by our wnts, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices.  The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions.  The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

-Thomas Paine

Song of the Day: Beastie Boys "Sabotage"

Friday, September 2, 2011

Manipulating plants' circadian clock may make all-season crops possible

From physorg.com.

Yale University researchers have identified a key genetic gear that keeps the circadian clock of plants ticking, a finding that could have broad implications for global agriculture.


The research appears in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Molecular Cell.
"Farmers are limited by the seasons, but by understanding the circadian rhythm of plants, which controls basic functions such as and flowering, we might be able to engineer plants that can grow in different seasons and places than is currently possible," said Xing Wang Deng, the Daniel C. Eaton Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and at Yale and senior author of the paper.
The is the internal timekeeper found in almost all organisms that helps synchronize biological processes with day and night. In plants, this clock is crucial for adjusting growth to both time and day and to the seasons.
The clock operates through the cooperative relationship between "morning" genes and "evening" genes. Proteins encoded by the morning genes suppress evening genes at daybreak, but by nightfall levels of these proteins drop and evening genes are activated. Intriguingly, these evening genes are necessary to turn on morning genes completing the 24-hour cycle.
The Yale research solved one of the last remaining mysteries in this process when they identified the gene DET1 as crucial in helping to suppress expression of the evening genes in the circadian cycle.
"Plants that make less DET1 have a faster clock and they take less time to flower," said lead author On Sun Lau, a former Yale graduate student who is now at Stanford University. "Knowing the components of the plant's circadian clock and their roles would assist in the selection or generation of valuable traits in crop and ."

Song of the Day: Son House "Death Letter Blues"

Eddie "Son" House was simply the most intense sounding Blues artist of all-time. A contemporary of Charley Patton and Willie Brown, his pioneering Delta Blues sound directly influenced such musicians as Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, and most importantly, Muddy Waters, who cited House as his biggest inspiration. Son's pounding rhythmic guitar and anguished vocals epitomized what the Mississippi Delta Blues was all about. Fuuuuuck. Please go burn your Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton records now. Thank you.





You need zombies? We got yer zombies.

Very cool patch made by AT from Rock In the Sea of Chaos for a black/special ops government agency based in Texas.


Thursday, September 1, 2011

Knowledge Based Threads from M4Carbine.net

Lots of good stuff here, folks.  Don't just own it, own it.

Knowledge Base

Yours truly.  Yeah, I know, you wish.  Pic by BC at BarrelSmoke.