In an interview with TPM, Hoffner said that after 27 years of making holsters, he’s finally come up with a satisfactory way to discretely carry a pistol.
“It’s been tough to fix, because the gun either bulges at your waist or you have to wear your shirt out as a cover… or it’s pulling at your garment,” Hoffner said.
According to Hoffner, his products have the potential to appeal as much to women as men.
“Women, because of their ergonomics, have always had a problem wearing a pistol at their hip,” he said.
It’s a great idea. I’ve used both a thigh holster and a hip holster. I prefer the thigh, but for different reasons, I’m using a hip now.
If I were to need pants for a CCW, I would buy some of these.
I pushed this article out to my friends who live in Holt County and to fellow bloggers who were at BlogConCLT so they could see how I was using what was taught. One of my friends who lives in Oregon, Missouri, the county seat for Holt County, told me at work last week the local paper finally covered the story.
This was ten days later.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Can I see it?”
“Yep. I brought it in.”
Here’s a scan of the front page:
Here’s a screen capture of my article, on my blog, and the date it was posted. Compare the two:
Nearly identical.
The only differences I see is the removal of “MO” from the headline and someone added a paragraph to the end of the article, blaming the sheriff for the downgrading of the county’s rating.
Other than that, the scraping of the article was so complete, it included my sub-heading and my typos.
I was stunned, and quite angry. I asked @AskACyberLawyer on Twitter what I should do.
So that’s what I set out to do. Only thing was, I had no idea how to write a letter asserting copyright over my article.
After a little Googling, I found this article, which was a big help:
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s material and passing it off as your own. As well as pertaining to the written word, plagiarism covers concepts and ideas. Issues of plagiarism often arise in the academic world, where it may carry heavy penalties including expulsion from college.
The Relation Between Plagiarism and Copyright Violation
If a writer’s work is lifted, copied and reproduced by someone else, without the writer’s express permission, this sort of plagiarism constitutes a copyright violation. A copyright violation is a matter of law, and writers have every right to take action against the person who has stolen their work.
Plagiarism and copyright violation are effectively theft of the creative output of another person, but it is important to note that although:
all copyright violations involve acts of plagiarism
all forms of plagiarism do not involve copyright violation
Copyright only covers the actual form of words. Copyright does not cover:
concepts
story ideas
titles (though they can be registered as Trademarks)
It is important that writers have a clear understanding of plagiarism, copyright violation, and their rights in order to protect their interests.
What Can Writers Do To Protect Their Rights?
Assert copyright
Use Google Alerts
Use plagiarism detection sites
Take action swiftly
Assert Copyright
The first step for all writers is to protect themselves by asserting their right to ownership of their work. Freelance writers are increasingly at risk of having their material stolen on the internet, therefore it is advisable to mark all web pages and E-mails with the following statement at the bottom of each page:
Copyright [dates] by [your name]
Although not legally required, it does no harm to remind readers that the work must not be reproduced without the author’s permission.
That article also led me to this article, which helped me craft my letter.
I started by stating what the letter was, followed by my claim on the copyright, how the paper had violated the copyright and finished with what needed to happen in order to make the situation right.
I showed it to my online friends, made a few amendments and printed it out. Here’s what the final copy looked like:
I printed out the letter, the invoice and a copy of my blog post, grabbed a copy of the most recent Oregon Times Observer and drove to Oregon, Missouri to talk with Bob Ripley, Publisher and Managing Editor of The Oregon Times Observer.
Here’s how it went down:
Bob was clearly not happy to have to pay for the work, but he did.
I have been asked why I’m writing this article. Some think it might be an “IN YOUR FACE!” kind of article.
It isn’t.
It’s to demonstrate the importance of standing up for yourself and your rights, regardless. It’s to show how to protect your work from those who would steal it.
It’s not hard when you are right.
Consult with others, get your ducks in a row and demand respect for your work.
We get some pretty funny spam comments here at All American Blogger. Once in a while we clean the spam out of the giant collection vat and flush it down the intertubes. Some of them are so nonsensical that they’re funny. So I thought I’d share a few.
When you read these, it makes sense to imagine they’re being said by Mr. Chow from The Hangover
Mr. Chow
This guy (robot maybe) was spamming to get a link to something called “Green offers”:
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Sorry dude, even though we wrote the guide in it or something, you’re not getting your spammy link.
Maybe if you’d thanked us for “every other informative site” like this guy did…
Thank you for every other informative site. Where else may just I get that kind of info written in such an ideal means? I have a project that I am just now operating on, and I’ve been at the glance out for such info.
We certainly appreciate anyone who’s at the glance out for info.
Clearly most of these comments are generated by some sort of algorithm. This guy needs a new algorithm because his spam didn’t even make sense.
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We get dozens of these every day, and they never cease to amuse me.
I’m going to end this pointless exercise in self-amusement with these words of wisdom from one of our loyal spammers, “Klock Macdonnel”:
I’ve been browsing online more than three hours these days, yet I never found any fascinating article like yours. It is lovely value sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made just right content material as you probably did, the internet can be a lot more useful than ever before.
Between May and July 2011, the Monument Fire engulfed a large part of the eastern portion of the Huachuca Mountains. Record-breaking monsoon rains followed. With no vegetation to absorb the runoff, huge mudslides forced boulders to tumble down the mountain sides, crushing Tombstone’s mountain spring waterlines, destroying reservoirs and shutting off Tombstone’s main source of water. In some areas, Tombstone’s pipeline is under 12 feet of mud, rocks and other debris; while in other places, it is hanging in mid-air due to the ground being washed out from under it.
So the city got to work repairing the system so the people of Tombstone could have water. Believe it or not, water is kind of a big thing in the desert.
But when the federal government found out what they were doing, they stopped them and said they could only make the repairs if they used horses and hand tools.
No, really:
Citing the Wilderness Act, the Forest Service is refusing to allow the city to repair its waterlines to mountain springs it has owned for nearly seventy years – and which date back to the 1880s. This refusal is threatening residents, private property and public safety with the risk of a total loss of fire protection and safe drinking water.
…
…federal bureaucrats are refusing to allow Tombstone to unearth its springs and restore its waterlines unless they jump through a lengthy permitting process that will require the city to use horses and hand tools to remove boulders the size of Volkswagens.
Because the spotted owl is more important to the federal government than a steady supply of water during an emergency.
John Stossel had the president of the Goldwater Institute on his show to talk about this:
This is the same logic bureaucrats will apply to health care, or any other part of your life you give them any control over.
My birthday is December 21. The world, according to the nutjobs who thought the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world, was supposed to end on December 21, 2012.
In the remote northeastern corner of Guatemala, archaeologists have found what appears to be the 9th century workplace of a city scribe, an unusual dwelling adorned with magnificent pictures of the king and other royals and the oldest known Maya calendar.
This year has been particularly controversial among some cultists because of the belief that the Maya calendar predicts a major cataclysm — perhaps the end of the world — on Dec. 21, 2012. Archaeologists know that is not true, but the new find, written on the plaster equivalent of a modern scientist’s whiteboard, strongly reinforces the idea that the Maya calendar projects thousands of years into the future.
Well, that’s a load off my mind. Now, let me share with you my favorite comic relating to this topic:
During a conference call today, Sen. Rand Paul announced his endorsement of Connie Mack for US Senate:
I am pleased this morning to endorse Connie Mack here in Florida. I think it would make a big difference if we can get Connie Mack up here. We need people who will vote for balancing the budget within the next five years. I see Connie Mack as that ally.
Reports have Vice President Joe Biden in a state of stammering confusion over the headline, but the fact is, in the West Virginia Democratic Primary, 41 percent of Democratic voters would rather have a guy currently serving time in a Texas prison than the guy currently serving in the White House:
Keith Judd, who is serving time at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Texas for making threats, actually got 41% of the vote against Obama in the West Virginia Democratic primary.
“I voted against Obama,” said Ronnie Brown, a 43-year-old electrician from Cross Lanes who called himself a conservative Democrat, told the Associated Press. “I don’t like him. He didn’t carry the state before and I’m not going to let him carry it again.”
When asked which presidential candidate he voted for, Brown said, “That guy out of Texas.”
Obama’s energy and environmental policies are unpopular in a state where coal mining remains big.
The problem is not technical, uh, and the problem is not mastery of the legislative intricacies of Washington. The problem is, uh, can you get the American people to say, “This is really important,” and force their representatives to do the right thing? That requires mobilizing a citizenry. That requires them understanding what is at stake. Uh, and climate change is a great example.
You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.
They — you — you can already see what the arguments will be during the general election. People will say, “Ah, Obama and Al Gore, these folks, they’re going to destroy the economy, this is going to cost us eight trillion dollars,” or whatever their number is. Um, if you can’t persuade the American people that yes, there is going to be some increase in electricity rates on the front end, but that over the long term, because of combinations of more efficient energy usage, changing lightbulbs and more efficient appliance, but also technology improving how we can produce clean energy, the economy would benefit.
If we can’t make that argument persuasively enough, you — you, uh, can be Lyndon Johnson, you can be the master of Washington. You’re not going to get that done.
If you can’t persuade the Democratic primary voters to support you over a guy serving time in another state, you can be the master of Washington. You’re not going to get re-elected.
I have a Droid X with an expensive Verizon plan. It’s a decent phone, but I try to get a little money each month freelancing to pay for the bill. It’s over $100 a month.
The federal government started the Lifeline program to provide phones to low-income Americans. It originally provided only landlines, but cell phones were added several years ago.
“That’s when the program absolutely exploded and has become a nightmare,” Griffin said in a phone interview with TheDC. Calling it “Uncle Sam’s unlimited plan,” the Arkansas Republican has proposed a bill that would scale back the program to its original form: landlines only.
“People are not only getting [one free cell phone], they’re getting multiples. There are reports of people getting 10, 20, 30 — just routinely getting more than one, selling them, storing them up, whatever,” Griffin said.
“And they’re not just phones that are able to dial 911. They’re smartphones. They’re the type of phones that you and I pay hundreds of dollars a month to have contracts for.”
Griffin told the Daily Caller about a call he received from a constituent. Griffin was told about a young man who worked for the caller. The young man would not work more than a certain number of hours because if he did, he’d lose government assistance.
Meanwhile, guys like you and me are working overtime to pay for our lifestyle, and theirs:
if you want to know where the money is coming from, just look at your cell phone bill: a line called the ‘universal service fund.’ I’m sure you, like I, have often wondered how a simple phone bill has pages and pages of fees and charges and stuff that you have no idea what it’s for. Well, this is one of those lines.”
I remember sitting at a city council meeting a few years ago, before I had a cell phone. I looked across the table at a woman I knew was living on disability. She kept getting calls on her cell phone and I thought, “How can you afford that?”
Rolling Stone is reporting the death today of rapper Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys.
Adam Yauch
Adam Yauch, one-third of the pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 47, Rolling Stone has learned. Yauch, also known as MCA, had been in treatment for cancer since 2009. The rapper was diagnosed in 2009 after discovering a tumor in his salivary gland.
Both of us at All American Blogger were fans of Yauch and the Beastie Boys. It’s sad when someone with talent dies too young. Our hearts go out to his famiy.
Here is, arguably, some of Adam Yauch’s best work.
The Republican National Committee is warning the Nevada GOP that if supporters of Ron Paul are allowed to take too many slots for the national convention, the party may opt against seating the state’s entire delegation.
“I believe it is highly likely that any committee with jurisdiction over the matter would find improper any change to the election, selection, allocation, or binding of delegates, thus jeopardizing the seating of Nevada’s entire delegation to the National Convention,” said John R. Phillippe Jr., the chief counsel for the RNC, in a letter obtained by the Las Vegas Sun.
The RNC is concerned that the Paul campaign will game the state-level convention this weekend that selects delegates to the national convention. While Mitt Romney should be awarded 20 of the state’s 28 delegates, based on his dominating win in the state’s primary, it’s possible that Paul supporters could exploit their strength in the Nevada GOP to get named to some of those delegate slots.
I’m thinking that perhaps I should start raising some funds to go to the convention this year.
The goal for the Democrats never was to use ObamaCare to insure the uninsured.
It was to get the camel’s nose under the tent flap, meaning once ObamaCare was passed, the left could gradually build upon its failures until they have the program they wanted in the first place: single payer.
While Obama says you can keep your health care plan if you like it, if employers drop it, you can’t:
A report from the House Ways and Means Committee finds that 71 of the nation’s top 100 companies would find it far more economical to drop their health care plans and simply pay the penalty for not complying with the Obamacare employer insurance mandate.
The report, published May 1, surveyed 71 of the 100 companies in the Fortune 100 list of large corporations and finds that all of them would save considerable amounts of money by dropping their health care coverage instead of complying with the Obamacare insurance mandate.
“According to data provided by the 71 Fortune 100 companies that responded to the inquiry, they could save a total of $28.6 billion in 2014 alone if they stopped offering health insurance to their U.S. employees and instead paid the employer mandate penalty for not doing so,” the report said.
“In the highly competitive global market in which these Fortune 100 companies operate, it is unrealistic for them not to consider the more economical choice of dumping health coverage and telling their employees to purchase health insurance through the Exchanges.”
And when employers start dropping health care, the left will demonize them as caring only about the bottom line and push once again for a public option or single payer.
As I pointed out before, the endgame was government run healthcare, and they don’t mind taking babysteps to get it:
You can sit back and believe the lies of the Democrat President, Congressmen and Senators, or you can hear them speak the truth in the video above and understand the true goal: total control of healthcare on a federal level.
Watch all of the Schakowsky video. Hear her say she is a advocate of single payer. Hear her say, “This is not a principled fight.” These are her words:
Barney Frank says he’s “all for it” and wishes it wasn’t off the table, but says the public option is the way to get it:
If you believe what the Democrats are saying to main stream America when it comes to health care, you are a fool. This is the camel’s nose.
Keith Judd, who is serving time at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Texas for making threats, actually got 41% of the vote against Obama in the West Virginia Democratic primary.
