Look at them yo-yos, that’s the way you do it
It would seem that Canada is, indeed, in dire straits.

I recall watching a movie, during the late ’70s, broadcast from a television station in San Francisco, California. Being from southern California, it was notable to me to see the difference in what the station owners allowed to be broadcast vs. what I was accustomed to at home (e.g., partial nudity, vulgar language, etc.). What was striking, however, was one instance where the use of “jeezus” as a curse word was left audible, while a derogatory term for a homosexual was bleeped out.

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If we should ban 30 round magazines, because someone used one while killing six people
Then we should ban scissors, because someone used one to kill seven newborns.

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The Glock ~ AIDS connection?
And, yes, the Glock cannot teach children (but, then, the public school system doesn’t seem to do that very well either).

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Hey. What could go wrong with this sales promotion on January 17th?

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Geek News: NASA Telescopes Help Identify Most Distant Galaxy Cluster

This afternoon (finally) I drive home. As another note, in reaction to the “civil discourse” push, I’m pushing back (like this) for the next week or so. So with that being said, let’s lock, load, and line up our sights on some links. 😀

1. Super Bowl and the President. Chicago is Mr Obama’s “home town.” I live in a town, Lemont, and have lived there for 18+ years. In the eyes of most in my town, I’m a newcomer. I won’t be considered “from Lemont” by those in Lemont until my family has lived there for a few more generations. 
2. Defining liberalism and a bullet list of points that define the same. Is it right? What’s missing? 
3. Hydrolic energy storage, of which I know little.
4. Two deathly posts from Dr Platypus here and here.
5. I suppose it would help if I knew what “cert” meant.
6. A conversation to watch unfold.
7. Obamacare repeal and budget.
8. A book noted.
9. Speaking dismissively of athletics for intellectual development. For myself, I started cycling a sport which requires physical perseverance and endurance. Those traits are learn-able and can be improved. My impression is that training has carried over to my perseverance in non-physical matters.
10. That undulation costs fuel … a counter suggestion.
11. Last words on Mr L.
12. And an aphorism on evil.

CNN apologized yesterday when a guest used the word "crosshairs" in a sentence.    Is this what the Left considers the way to civil discourse; censorship? 

And didn’t CNN used to have a long-running, argument show called … "Crossfire"? Whew, glad that’s gone.  We really dodged a bullet there.

In light of the recent Tucson mass shooting, and the negligent discharge shooting (as it now appears) at a high school in the Los Angeles area, the usual cries are voiced regarding gun control. Over the past 15 years, however, it seems that gun control lobbies have lost more battles then they’ve won. Lately, an interesting, if not entirely expected tactic they’ve taken, is that of placing their crosshairs on the purchasing of ammunition. After all, so the thinking must go, if one does not have any ammunition then one’s firearm suddenly becomes nothing more than a club.

Last year, California gun-control advocates introduced, and passed AB962, which would have forced citizens who desired to purchase “handgun” ammunition to conduct the transaction in a face-to-face setting, providing photo-ID, residence address, and a thumbprint (i.e., registering themselves and their actions with the state). Signed by then Governor/Terminator Arnold Schwarzennegger, the bill was touted as promoting our own safety. From the governor,

Although I have previously vetoed legislation similar to this measure, local governments have demonstrated that requiring ammunition vendors to keep records on ammunition sales improves public safety. These records have allowed law enforcement to arrest and prosecute persons who have no business possessing firearms and ammunition: gang members, violent parolees, second and third strikers, and even people previously serving time in state prison for murder.

Such thinking must surely have been inspired by the fact that so many gang-bangers get their handgun ammunition at places like Walmart or through on-line vendors (/sarcasm).

AB962 was set to go into effect in a few weeks.

Word has come in, this morning, that AB962 has been successfully appealed in court. From an NRA news announcement,

The lawsuit—funded by the National Rifle Association and the California Rifle and Pistol (CRPA) Foundation as part of a joint Legal Action Project—was prompted in part by the many objections and questions raised by confused police, ammunition purchasers, and sellers about what ammunition is covered by the new law.

…

Many of the nation’s largest mail-order and online ammunition retailers had already announced that they would soon end sales to California residents. If the law had gone into effect, it would have required that “handgun ammunition” be stored out of the reach of customers, that ammunition vendors collect ammunition sales registration information and thumbprints from purchasers, and that vendors conduct transactions face to face for all deliveries and transfers of “handgun ammunition.”

AB962 was just another in a string of laws which do nothing more than restrict the actions of law-abiding citizens. Let’s hope that continued resistance to a Nanny-State mentality will help set the tone for the real hope and change our country needs.

Good morning.

1. More on the left getting stupid in the wake of the AZ shooting. And the Orwellian nature of the “civil speech” movement (especially given that civil or non-civil speech had nothing at all to do with the recent event).
2. A case of PDS exposed.
3. Speaking of stupid, a Jewish liberal takes umbrage to Christian terminology, used by a Christian politician in a Church (of all the places). Hint, Christians call fellow Christians brethren (a term in use for just shy of 2000 years). What do they call non-Christians? Neighbors. What are they called to do for their neighbor? Love them. Wow, that’s just sooooo exclusionary. 
4. Another look at the economy and recovery.
5. The trillion dollars spent for what? 8000!?
6. College ejukation.
7. The wikileaks problem from a practical standpoint.
8. How they got there, a suggestion which might be humorous but slightly offensive to those on the left of the aisle. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
9. More right leaning satire here.
10. A film review untangled.
11. About that Doc fix thang.
12. Wait and see. I’ll bet its going to turn out to be a forgotten empty gesture.

Most notably in the middle east (Egypt, Iran), Christians are coming under an increasing number of attacks, and an increase in their brutality.  Also, when the Pope asked for religious tolerance in Pakistan, he was burned in effigy.

Good morning.

1. Racists remember MLK, if somewhat snarkily.
2. A less snarky way to note the occasion. 
3. Interview with an influential journalist, or at least influential in one corner of the world.
4. Life and Sanctity.
5. Tunisia noticed elsewhere.
6. Silly talk of the NRA. Seriously though, I think just about the most civil place I’ve enjoyed was at the firing range, at which I’ve never ever seen anything but civility (HT).
7. Attempting to minimize budgetary ignorance.
8. Somebody somewhere has never witnessed a Montessori school.
9. For your String theory primer.
10. Hard work that calls to some.
11. Media crackdown.
12. The left’s echo chamber decries the lack of intellectual vigor on the right. Turnabout.
13. Arithmetic correction for Mr Krugman.
14. Soap opera coming to the high court?

For all of us who’ve endured helping our less tech-savvy acquaintances…

Good morning.

1. Of “blood libel” and Ms Palin’s speech.
2. And a consequence Jewish faux outrage.
3. On the topic of the post AZ incident speeches, the Scripture usage by Mr Obama is examined.
4. And one Democrat noted who apparently has never heard mention of Mr Christie.
5. A unintended consequence of QE2.
6. Our administration has jobs on the front burner.
7. Notice Hungary.
8. And Tunisia.
9. The Coen brothers films … and another note here.
10. A challenge for Western theology.
11. A somewhat pointed remark concerning Mr Greenwalds public discourse and methods here.
12. On the civility push.
13. Dragon moms.

Human nature was displayed this past week, since the catalyst event of the mass shooting in Tucson. Initiated by the heinous act of a crazed individual, we’ve seen both the good – and the bad – in humanity since. Following are a few quick links and thoughts:

Palin breaks silence on Tucson
So reads the title to a post in the New Mexico Independent. Following the herd of liberals who immediately began blaming the Right for the shooting, the title of this post leads us to believe that Sarah Palin had some obligation to respond to, due to her implicit responsibility for, the attempted assassination of Rep. Giffords.

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The New MSM Mantra: Publish first, check later
Initial reports, from “trusted” news organizations, indicated that Rep. Giffords had, in fact, been killed. From a Reuters report (via Malkin),

Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona died after being shot in the head while meeting constituents at a grocery store in Tucson, NPR reported on Saturday.

As we saw, beginning at least back at 9/11, and continuing through major events such as Hurricane Katrina, the instantaneous response time of 21st century technology does not negate the need for real time (and, sometimes slow time) fact checking.

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“It was crazy. A photographer with a [telephoto] lens was outside and he yells ‘Shooter! Shooter! Get down! And I didn’t,”
You may have heard about Rep. Giffords intern Daniel Hernandez, indeed, the President referenced him, and his heroic acts, in his memorial speech. Or perhaps you heard about the 74 year-old veteran, Bill Badger, who helped tackle the shooting suspect. But how many of you heard about Joe Zamudio, who happened to be buying cigarettes as the shooter commenced his mayhem? Zamudio heard the gunshots (and he recognized them as gunshots – something most people have a difficult time doing), and instead of running away from the sound, he ran towards it. Why? Zamudio was armed, legally, with his own handgun, and was ready to use it on the shooter.

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Boxer’s lack of common sense
Senator Barbara Boxer (D – Calif) thinks that part of the cause for the mass shooting in Tucson, other than a deranged individual deciding to shoot other human beings, is that laws on concealed carry are too lax. From Boxer,

I am particularly interested in California’s concealed weapons law, which requires someone who wants to carry a concealed weapon to first receive a permit from their local sheriff or police chief.

In California, you need to be at least 21 years old, show good cause for carrying and show good moral character to carry a concealed weapon. There is a check – an important check – on who is carrying a concealed weapon.

Perhaps someone should educate M’am Boxer that: 1) the Tucson mass shooting had nothing to do with concealed carry and, 2) concealed carry laws, whether strict or lenient, have no bearing on whether a criminal chooses to conceal his weapon.

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Twisted Thinking
In A Right to Bear Glocks?, we read,

If Loughner had gone to the Safeway carrying a regular pistol, the kind most Americans think of when they think of the right to bear arms, Giffords would probably still have been shot and we would still be having that conversation about whether it was a sane idea to put her Congressional district in the cross hairs of a rifle on the Internet.

…

Loughner’s gun, a 9-millimeter Glock, is extremely easy to fire over and over, and it can carry a 30-bullet clip. It is “not suited for hunting or personal protection,” said Paul Helmke, the president of the Brady Campaign. “What it’s good for is killing and injuring a lot of people quickly.”

Setting aside the silly notion of a “regular pistol” that is somehow connected to “the right to bear arms”, I would agree with Helmke – the 30 round magazine is not suited for hunting or personal protection. I would imagine that the extended length of the magazine, combined with the added weight of the cartridges, would affect the shooter’s accuracy and, when one is interested in personal protection, one is also interested in accuracy. Understand that while the 30 round magazine, for a handgun, is a cumbersome oddity, the use of standard capacity magazines (in the range of 10 – 19 rounds) would not appreciably alter the situation. If a shooter knows how to exchange magazines, a magazine replacement can be accomplished very quickly.

Suzanna Hupp, whose parents were murdered in the Luby’s Cafeteria mass shooting, explained to lawmakers this very point (around the 1:50 mark).

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Oh my… Did he really say that?
Per the WSJ, a quote from Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter (HT: Ron’s Bloviaing),

Conservatives like to argue that these are isolated incidents carried out by lunatics and therefore carry no big lessons (unless the perpetrator is Muslim, in which case it’s terrorism); liberals view them as opportunities to address various social ills. Obama is in the latter category and should act accordingly. “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” Rahm Emanuel famously said in 2008. The same goes for a shooting spree that gravely wounds a beloved congresswoman.

Good, err, day.

1. Cinema and China.
2. Cinema and the law.
3. Of atheists and anger.
4. Politics and Voldemort.
5. Next on the scene, Magnesium?
6. Talking foreclosures.
7. Perhaps not an error but a feature.
8. Illinois and taxes … and about not getting the cut spending bit.
9. The US and China.
10. Say goodbye to net anonymity (or more stupid liberal tricks).
11. Science and beer.
12. When libs talk their talk about consequences of rhetoric, they might look to their own first and foremost.
13. And this is not unrelated.

Where is commerce gravitating more and more, and thus where is your identity becoming more important?

President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans, a White House official said here today.

It’s "the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government" to centralize efforts toward creating an "identity ecosystem" for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said.

To the Left, the absolute perfect spot for the US government is, basically, wherever you go, physically or digitally.  Instead of a national ID system, your Internet identity is essentially the same thing.  Of course, they claim that this is not a national ID.

"We are not talking about a national ID card," [U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary] Locke said at the Stanford event. "We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy, and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities."

It’s run by the national government, and it’s to identify you to the entire digital world.  What other euphemism would you prefer? 

Like a lot of folks, I’ve been watching a lot of news coverage of this past weekend’s shooting in Tuscon. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

A couple of thoughts about the tragedy and its aftermath:

1. I never fail to be surprised at the lengths people will go to score political points from such a tragedy. I think most voters see such politicians for what they really are and they’ll get their just desserts the next time an election rolls around.

2. A Predictable Tragedy in Tuscon in today’s Wall Street Journal is a worthwhile read. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with political speech. Instead, it focuses on one of the most underreported aspects of the story: the fact that the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, had untreated mental illnesses. As long as we continue to ignore the problem of how we as a society deal with treatment of the mentally ill we’ll see these type of events continue to occur. All you have to do is look back at similar events and see how many of the perpetrators had a history of mental illness.

3. A related point to #2 above: Tuscon police missed the warning signs about Loughner’s behavior?

4. Another question that is begging to be asked and answered: why weren’t the police at Congresswoman Giffords’ event? If the political rhetoric is as dangerous as Sheriff Dupnik says then why didn’t he have any deputies there to provide security?

5. A natural response in the aftermath of a tragedy such as this is to talk about passing tougher gun control laws. But consider this quote:

Laws that forbid the carrying of arms… disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes… Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” –Cesare Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishment, quoted by Thomas Jefferson in Commonplace Book

6. Leave it to Michael Ramirez to provide astute media analysis.

When discussing / debating  creation and evolution, if you happen to be presented with a “that’s just a God of the gaps” rebuttal, remember that it indicates at least two things: 1) the person is committed to materialism (with no materialistic justification, by the way) and, 2) the person is admitting there are gaps.

Good morning.

1. The ‘danger’ of conservative talk radio and the like.
2. An energy crises noted.
3. Not playing nice in the atheist/theist discourse.
4. While it may be true that the extreme left and right are close … that question in the case of the AZ shooter alas for the poster is quite irrelevant. Why? …
5. Well, a good insight into why can be found quite explicitly here.
6. For causes leading to violence, why has the left echo chamber jumped for rhetoric and not something like this? Perhaps it wasn’t self-serving enough?
7. Speaking of that echo chamber. One loud gong examined.
8. Hate speech, an example.
9. Notable quotes.
10. Global warming.
11. Market corruption.
12. Global climate and models.