Author: Rapporteur

R.I.P Vince Flynn (1966-2013)

Terribly sad news today about the passing of Vince Flynn at age 47. Hugh Hewitt has featured Vince’s books on his radio show, and they have a well-deserved place on the Necessary Bookshelf, Hugh’s list of recommended authors. I had read Memorial Day on an airplane long before I heard Vince on Hugh’s show, but had no idea about Vince’s body of work until after hearing Vince interviewed at length on the radio.  (It also didn’t hurt that the protagonist of Vince’s books, Mitch Rapp, was someone with whom I could relate … 8^) Here is Vince pictured with Brad Thor, another thriller author who Hugh has featured and introduced to his listeners. I’ve met Brad at a book signing, but never had the opportunity to meet Vince, and regretfully, that opportunity will now never come. “Everything is secure up here.” – Mitch Rapp, Act of Treason   Edit: Hugh’s tribute, with links to his interviews with Vince Flynn, is...

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“Groupon”, translated into Norwegian, is “Quisling”

    Or so it would seem after Groupon canceled existing offers for gun safety and concealed carry training that were already under contract and being purchased by Groupon members. I saw this on Twitter over the weekend, and immediately shot (heh … see what I did there?) a cancellation request of my Groupon account to their customer service unit. The reply I received shows just how cowardly and craven this company has become in the face of pressure: Gun-related deals, including shooting ranges, conceal-and-carry, and clay shooting, are on hiatus as we review our internal policies for the...

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Hughnivision + Ustream chat for Android (Google Nexus 7)

  (Thanks to Jon Purnell for this article.)   If you got a Nexus 7 tablet for Christmas, you might have been disappointed, as I was, to learn that the supplied Chrome browser cannot be used to view Flash video clips that are posted on many web sites. Even worse, you cannot access Hughnivision or the Ustream chat room using Chrome on the Nexus. Dang! To get around this surprising limitation, I first tried to install an Android version of Adobe’s Flash Player. Unfortunately, Adobe no longer supports Flash for Android devices, and the back-alley version of Flash I found via the CNET site...

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Fisking Facebook – Newtown, preschoolers, rocks, and bad policy

No intro needed … we’ll just let the stupidity speak for itself:   {sigh}   To these types, I’ll bet that the preferred solution is to gather the non-rock-throwing preschoolers in a circle in the middle of the playground, and let the rock-throwers have an easier time of it.   I propose a better alternative.   Let’s set up an experiment involving two playgrounds: one where there are plenty of rocks and all the kids play baseball, and one where the rocks have been carefully removed and only constructive conflict resolution is taught. Then let’s give a problem kid...

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The last undecided voter in America?

  If you follow me on Facebook, you might have seen the picture with Amy, Hugh Hewitt, and me ten days ago, during the Battleground Talkers Tour stop in Columbus.   That picture started a conversation yesterday at church with another Facebook friend, who might well be the last undecided voter in the state of Ohio, if not in the entire country. She asked who was in the picture with us, and where she could listen to Hugh. Then we started talking about the election. She still didn’t know who she was going to vote for, and I pressed...

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