Oh, that party of fiscal responsibility and limited government. As Les says:
Fiscal responsibility is now the strong suit of the Democrats, and they should play it for all it’s worth in 2008.
Sadly, their past performance doesn’t make that claim believable. There is no party of smaller government. Well, no party that matters anyway.
Bill rounds up some reactions to the Gov. Bredesen’s blog. So does ace reporter Michael Silence.
Say, it seems there’s some sort of scandal brewing in the governor’s office:
Gov. Phil Bredesen dismissed his chief legislative lobbyist from his position Monday and said he has agreed to undergo counseling on “workplace harassment and the misuse of alcohol.”
If you need material to blog about governor, there’s some.
There’s this new blog started by failed California gubernatorial candidate Arianna Huffington (you know, conservative last week, liberal this week) called The Huffington Post. I figured it’d be some decent (though hysterical) reading given the leftist sort-of-Hollywood make up of the blog. Turns out, it’s just boring. I mean excruciatingly so. It’s like Wonkette boring but without the butt sex references.
I saw John Cusack was blogging there. He seems (based on his outstanding acting ability) to be an interesting guy. I’m sad to report that he, in fact, is not.
Update: Nikki Finke agrees. It blows.
Update 2: A look at the numbers.
Wizbang has a round up.
In Tennessee, we have handgun carry permits and not concealed carry permits thanks to the TFA. And here’s why:
Landers’ coat was not entirely zipped up that day, and when the wind blew it open, a Dedham Police officer across the street zoomed in and noticed the gun. Upon request by the officer, Landers produced a valid five-year license issued in 1995 to carry the gun. But the problem was, state law required that he keep the weapon concealed.
While the officer let Landers go without an arrest, the Adams Street resident soon after received notice from Dedham Police Chief Dennis Teehan that his Class A license to carry firearms had been revoked due to the incident.
In Tennessee, there is no requirement that a gun be concealed (though it is highly advisable that you do so) due to such an incident.
Up next, carry permits in Nebraska.
The NRA reports that California is looking to expand the definition of unsafe handguns. This includes semi-automatic pistols that are not designed and equipped with an array of microscopic characters, which identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol, etched into the interior surface or internal working parts, which are then transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is fired.
GunLawNews reports that proposed Bill HR2088 would provide a 90 day amnesty for veterans and their family members to register illegal weapons with the National Firearms Act registry.
I like the term sports welfare. It seems whenever a sports team needs a new facility, the taxpayers get stuck with it and someone loses their land.
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has started blogging. Here’s the first entry:
Let me confess upfront: I won’t be blogging every single day. But I will, on a regular basis, use this space to share my ideas on issues and provide personal dispatches from trips I take and events I attend, like the National Governors Association conferences. Stay tuned for more entries.
Meanwhile, spend some time getting familiar with the new site. It’s a big step forward in my efforts to communicate with you directly on what’s happening at the Capitol. I hope you find it worth reading. Talk soon, Phil Bredesen.
Excellent. Welcome aboard, governor. It’s good to see more blogging politicians. He should open it up to comments. Now, say something of substance so that I may criticize it. And Tennessee has another blogging politico. Politicians really are seeing the power of blogs.
Nothing would tip you off that, behind that unmarked door, local entrepreneur Mark Serbu and his crew are manufacturing powerful .50-caliber rifles, right on the edge of what’s legal.
Other things that are also right on the edge of what’s legal:
Driving 55 MPH in a 55 zone.
Behind the wheel with a BAC level less than drunk
Importing lobster tails that are 5.5 inches
Driving your car with tags that expire at the end of the month
Paying your income tax bill on April 15
Crime and Federalism, noting a potential second amendment case for the Supreme Court, writes:
This is almost a model test case on the incorporation question. Some have speculated that the reason four Jusices (sic) haven’t voted to grant cert. in other Second Amendment cases resulted from the lack of a good “test plaintiff.” Well, Bach is the perfect plaintiff.
David Bach, a Virginia resident and domiciliary, wants to carry his Ruger P-85 9mm pistol while visiting his parents in New York. He has a permit from the Commonwealth of Virginia to carry a concealed weapon. Bach is a model citizen – he holds a Department of Defense top secret security clearance, is a commissioned officer in the United States Naval Reserve, a veteran Navy SEAL, a lawyer employed by the Navy’s Office of the General Counsel, a father of three, and, perhaps most laudably, a son who regularly visits his parents in upstate New York. During the ten-hour drive between Virginia and Upstate New York, [his] family and [he] travel on dimly lit rural roads and busy streets and highways[,] some of which are in densely populated areas that have extremely high violent crimes rates.
People accused of gun crimes typically aren’t model citizens. But I don’t think that’s why the court won’t take such cases. My faith in the Supreme Court to rule in a second amendment case (particularly, to rule correctly) is almost non-existent.
Looks like the verdict is guilty. All you need to know about how it went:
In picking the jury the prosecutor removed the three that admitted to being pro-second amendment.
Head, noting rumors that Century may start importing the Steyr AUG, writes:
Century Arms International, the importer we all love to hate but couldn’t live without . . .
Heh.
Michelle Malkin writes on Why I’m not a ‘South Park Conservative. You can read the piece or take my word that the summarized version translates as No sense of humor.
This whole South Park Conservative meme is getting out of hand. The true significance of the SPC’s is that conservatives are no longer exclusively uptight, stodgy and afraid of fart jokes. The other significance of them is it continues to divide the right side of the political spectrum. Small government righties are not happy with the big government righties now in office. And now the righties with no sense of humor will square off with the righties who like the occasional dick joke.
And if Malkin really thinks Laura Bush’s jokes were on par with South Park, she needs to get out more.
Alphie reports that The War on Civil Liberties err Drugs is becoming the War on Weed:
The number of arrests for marijuana climbed over a ten year period until they account for almost half of all drug arrests according to the Sentencing Project, a left-wing think tank.
The study found that the proportion of heroin and cocaine cases plummeted from 55 percent of all drug arrests in 1992 to less than 30 percent 10 years later, while marijuana arrests rose from 28 percent of the total to 45 percent. There has been little impact on our prison population (only 6% of the arrests resulted in felony convictions) and household surveys show that there has been little change in consumption by the general population.
We spend billions and billions of dollars to stop an infinitesimally small of the drug flow in this country. If over half of that is just weed, then we’re definitely not getting our money’s worth.
The Supreme Court ruled that a foreign conviction does not bar a person from buying a gun. TriggerFinger reports that McCarthy has introduced legislation to bar foreign felons from buying guns. McCarthy, like most gun banners, wants to pass any gun law regardless of its merits. This is one of those cases.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it. Sounds like it was fun. I figured it could have been summed in one word: Nerds! But no, sounds like a good time was had by all. A few people asked Les my first name. He didn’t squeal.
The WaPo has a piece on fighting eminent domain. One I find interesting (and by interesting I mean made up):
About 90 percent of condemnations, however, involve properties acquired for purely public purposes, and they make up most eminent domain actions, said James L. Thompson, a Rockville real estate lawyer whose firm has handled more than 200 eminent domain actions over 25 years.
I don’t think that’s hardly the case. I follow the issue and read about it quite a bit. Most cases I see (at least in the press) involve taking from one private party to transfer to another. Like this one:
In March, airport officials said they wanted to take over Cramer’s Airport Parking, a neighboring business, and develop the land for privately run, airport-related operations, such as a cargo base or maintenance facility. The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority, which owns HIA, has offered to pay about $1.57 million for the property.
MaxSight Performance Enhancing Lenses
I was wandering around the internet (as I am want to do when bored at work on mondays), and I came across an interesting article about contact lenses intended for athletes. Technically speaking, different models suit different purposes, but the intent is to increase contrast to make for quicker reaction times and to make things easier for the eyes to follow. It didn’t take me long to consider the tactical implications, but I still wasn’t first. A quick Google search brought up an article Defense Review already had about it here. The technology obviously needs to advance further, and technology itself can never replace proper training, but it is something to think about.
From the cops and guns department:
After officers fired 22 shots at a fleeing man without hitting him, Boise and Garden City police departments say they’ll pay nearly $7,000 to repair bullet holes in homes that were hit during the wild confrontation.
According to insurance claims filed with both departments by residents, shots fired by four officers in pursuit of 39-year-old Harlan Hale hit doors, windows, window moldings, garage doors, an all-terrain-vehicle and a clothes dryer. No one was injured in the March 9 chase.
A few things: 1) Are you supposed to shoot at someone who is fleeing? 2) If you can, should you maybe reconsider in what appears to be a residential area? 3) Sight alignment and trigger squeeze, fellas.
A gun control bill that drew a crowd of activists to a hearing earlier this week has been killed by a legislative committee.
The bill seeking to impose a ban on assault weapons was killed for this year’s session Thursday by a unanimous vote of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee after the sponsor, Democratic Sen. Ethan Strimling of Portland, acknowledged flaws with the proposal.
A few weeks ago, the Mrs. was at a local shopping center (with Junior ) loading some stuff into the car. A nice elderly gentleman offered to help her load stuff. She thanked him and he helped, while Junior played in the buggy. He then asked if he could hold Junior. The Mrs. said something to the effect of I don’t know you well enough, so, no, you cannot hold my baby. He insisted that he had no ill-intent and just missed his grandchildren. He then placed his hands on Junior as if to pick her up. The Mrs. then snatched Junior up and told the man No again and put Junior in the car. She watched as the old man walked to a car and got in the passenger’s side and was driven off by someone else.
Odds are, the guy really did have no nefarious intent and that he really did like kids. But who wants to take the chance that he would pick her up, hop in a car, and off they go? The same reasoning for why you shouldn’t pick up hitchhikers, sure most just need a ride but who wants to take a chance that the person is an ax murderer.
The Mrs. was understandably distraught for a few reasons: that the baby was almost potentially abducted and that she was not prepared to deal with that situation in terms of how to stop it if it happened; and that she may have just offended some older guy who really just misses his grand kids. She wondered if she would scream, give chase, yell, hit, or whatever else in the event someone was actually trying to run off with the baby.
I had recommended to the Mrs. before that she get a concealed carry permit and she never liked the idea. After this incident, her attitude about that changed a bit and she’s sort of warmed up to the idea (though she hasn’t committed). Amazing what motherhood can do. As big a gun nut as I am, the Mrs. has only been with me to the range a couple of times. I think it’s time I get her back out there.
Espo has a good post on the Naifeh situation (by the way, you should be reading Espo, lots of good stuff).
A good read that details what gun controllers need to do if they want to be remotely successful (or at least taken seriously).
While we can argue what public use is, I know what it’s not. It is not taking land from one private individual to turn over to another just because they may open a business.
An article on Florida recently ridding itself of duty to retreat, the writer notes:
But southerners can’t talk guns to New Yorkers because they’ve made their city so safe.
Heh. OK, two quotes:
I don’t know much about guns, but, when I got out of the Marine Corps 40 years ago, the guidebook said a projectile leaves the muzzle at 2,500 feet per second. It doesn’t matter whether a weapon is shaped like a pistol, a rifle or a piano.
Heh again.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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