Odds ‘n Sods:

By way of Tam at the View From the Porch blog, I heard about a thought-provoking piece in Joe Huffman’s The View From North Central Idaho blog: Culture changing concealed carry

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‘Open-carry’ in Texas causing confusion for law enforcement. This law is a legal gymnastics exercise: Not only does it only include handguns, but it also requires a permit. And no carry is allowed at sporting events.

JWR’s Comment: Whenever someone must buy a license or pay a fee to exercise a right, then it is something less than a right. It is in fact a mere privilege, subject to the whim of petty bureaucrats. Fundamental rights are not abstract tokens that are given or sold by other men. They are in fact primary liberties bestowed upon us by God, our Maker. Rights are not substantially secured by asking, “Mother may I?” of any government agency. Rights are more properly demanded or boldly seized and then conspicuously exercised regularly. This secures the liberties that have legitimately belonged to us since birth. If need be, lost rights can and must be restored through proscriptive use. If you live in a land where your rights have been marginalized into privileges, then it is either time to change your government or to change your address. Much like a muscle that atrophies with disuse, any right that goes unexercised for many years devolves into a privilege and eventually can even be redefined as a crime.

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Homemade Caramel Syrup for Your Coffee: Make it with high quality sugar and honey, avoid the corn syrup and enjoy the excellent flavor for about half the price of the store bought version! – Submitted by K.F.

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Cost Of Defecting From The Grid “Some residents may see their electricity bills spike by 300% above what they likely would have been had they not purchased solar in the first place.” What? You’re paying the utility company to use your solar power? – JustCallMeAnn

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Want United Nations Assistance? Eye Scan Required. Excerpt: “An eye scan payment system has been launched by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Jordanian supermarkets to help Syrian refugees staying in migrant camps to conduct purchases at local shops using their eye instead of credit cards, cash, or vouchers.” – T.P.