Is it just me or is it that every time a Clinton is involved in a national election, the Rodham goes away?

Heavily taxing things creates a black market. News at 11.

Jack McElroy is having quite the discussion on his blog “The Upfront Page” at the Knoxville News Sentinel. A charge was made by local GOP Chairman Brian Hornback that Mr. McElroy has a conflict of interest because he serves on “all kinds of boards of non-profits”. If you have ever read Mr. Hornback’s writing you know it quickly devolves into partisan politics.

Mr. Hornback writes, “From what I understand Jack “Conflicted” McElroy appeared on Inside Tennessee and said that the replacement of term-limited incumbents isn’t about party building. So, if you are Jack “Conflicted” McElroy it is about party building. Party building the Democrat Party and tearing down the Republican Party. The question for Editor McElroy is: How is that position on the Democrat Board going for you?”

To Mr. McElroy’s credit he addresses the larger issue of whether the Editor of the News Sentinel should sit on various boards and asks his readers for their viewpoints. What happens is an eighteen post free for all with several commenters including the pseudonymous writer “50 Cents Wasted” and even the appearance of Mike Cohen to make the required charged of, “Also, Mr. Cents, folks would pay more attention to you if you signed your name. It’s awfully easy to trash folks when you can shield your own identity.” Even Cynthia Moxley drops in to clarify, “FYI. I’m not the only Moxley in town. All you have to do is turn on the radio to know that. And that is not me who posted to this site on Jan. 20.”

This is not only an interesting read but asks some important questions about the role of Editor and Publisher of a daily newspaper in a mid-market town like Knoxville. Conflict of Interest is a Knoxville tradition. Some might say a Religion. It is a positive step to see the Editor of the News Sentinel consider whether it is time to make some changes.

Give it a read.

The kids continue their record long streak of passing colds around to each other and other kids. Sigh. A while back, someone asked me:

How much do you spend on daycare?

I told them. But I have to rescind the comment and say to take that number and add about $180 per month to it for the increase in doctor’s visits, prescription medication, and other stuff you have to buy because you basically send your children to a den of plague every day. But, no worries. I mean, they either get exposed to this stuff at daycare or in kindergarten. So, get it over with sooner rather than later.

In other news, this morning I was preparing The Second to go to daycare. He looks at me and says mamamamamamama. I said to him No, I’m dadadadadadada. Can you say dadadadadadada. He smiles real big and says dadadadadadada.

Junior said dadadadadadada first and The Second said mamamamamamama first.

Tam:

and what’s gonna happen to the finger-wagging, lecturing, “Lesser Of Two Evils” voters if this election comes down to McCain v. Edwards or Clinton v. Giuliani, and there is no lesser evil? Are we justified in voting third party then? Or should we just say “screw it”, and stay home?

Nylarthotep wonders why the ATF is dragging its feet investigating. He also addressess parts of the summit.

Jeff notes Bloomy is threatening Congress.

More as I get it.

bitter has it.

David Hardy has the ruling:

The 9th Circuit has upheld ATF’s requirement that certain dealers (those with 10 more trace requests and some other details) to report used firearms sales directly to it.

If your only defense to your position is that well, I have a right to say it then you’ve lost. You having the right to say it doesn’t mean that other people can’t call you a fucking retarded for saying it.

What she said:

When it comes to the governance of the United States, I happily take a Locke-ian Enlightenment position. This does not mean I disbelieve in God’s ultimate law. It merely means that I believe there is no way possible to translate the perfection of God’s law through the designs of Man. Any attempts to do so ring false, and seem as though the Men who would desire to pass those laws are trying to elevate themselves to the position of God.

Or, you know, keep your God out of government and the government out of God.

Seen at the Geek’s:

The first case the Supreme Court takes on the merits of the 68 individual-collective rights issue will be critical. This area of the law is no exception to the precept that the Court’s door should be knocked only with the utmost seriousness and preparation.

Details at Rich’s.

Harvard’s assault on gun rights continues:

States with the greatest number of guns in the home also have the highest rates of homicide, a new study finds.

The study, in the February issue of Social Science and Medicine, looked at gun ownership in all 50 states and then compared the results with the number of people killed over a three-year period.

The research, the authors said, “suggests that household firearms are a direct and an indirect source of firearms used to kill Americans both in their homes and on the streets.”

[…]

In states in the highest quarter of gun ownership, the study found, the overall homicide rate was 60 percent higher than in states in the lowest quarter. The rate of homicides involving guns was more than twice as high.

Among the possible explanations for the higher homicide rates, the study said, is that states with high gun ownership tend to make it easier to buy guns. There are also more guns that can be stolen. And the presence of a gun may allow arguments and fights to turn fatal.

This nothing new to readers of this site who know the researchers are full of it. But it is significant that the NYT is pushing this blatant hackery. The reason it’s quite suspect is that overall gun ownership has increased yet overall homicides have declined:

During the past decade we’ve added a minimum of 30 million new firearms in public hands – at least 10 million of which were handguns. Since 1993 we’ve gone from 21 states with “shall-issue” or unrestricted concealed-carry legislation to 39. We’ve had an influx of “assault weapons” and “pocket rockets” – supposed engines of death and destruction far more lethal than the weapons available in the 60’s.

Yet homicides declined. Non-fatal firearm related crime declined.

John Lott has a more detailed look at the numbers. He notes:

I have just spent a short time looking at the study, but there are some of things that are pretty obvious: 1) They excluded the District of Columbia without any explanation, 2) they use other crime rates to explain the homicide rate (by the way, they don’t use anything like an arrest or conviction rate, nothing to do with law enforcement), 3) they use purely cross-sectional data that never allows one to properly control for what may cause differences in crime rates, and 4) data from different years is used without any explanation (for the sake of argument I will use what they did, but it is weird to have the unemployment rate from 2000 to explain the homicide rate from 2001 to 2003, etc.).

They excluded the murder capitol of the world? Why is that?

The reason for that is quite simple: They draw the conclusion they want first then work back from there to get it. It’s like creation science.

You’ll recall that Neteller recently got out of the online money transfer business for gambling sites after its founders were arrested while changing planes. But that pesky market has already created an alternative.

But those pesky feds are now going after not only gambling sites and transfer services but investors who invest in and acted as underwrites for the IPOs of those sites:

The subpoenas were issued to firms that had underwritten the initial public offerings of some of the most popular online gambling sites that operate abroad. The banks involved in the inquiry include HSBC, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Kleinwort, these people said.

While online gaming sites like PartyGaming and 888 Holdings operate from Gibraltar and their initial public offerings were held on the London Stock Exchange, companies that do business with them and have large bases in United States have come under scrutiny by regulators in Washington.

WBIR:

DNA evidence has cleared a Georgia man of rape, after 21 years in prison.

Willie Williams is being set free sometime today. Prosecutors say they’re convinced he didn’t do it.

Wow. A whole life wasted. More:

A group that helps wrongly convicted individuals asked for a test after it received a letter from Williams in 2005 saying he’d been wrongly imprisoned. He was convicted based on eye-witness testimony by the victim.

Authorities have started an investigation to find the actual rapist in the 1985 attack on a woman at an apartment complex parking lot.

I’d also find the eyewitness and consider throwing the book at her since her testimony basically ruined this guy’s life.

Knox County Commission Meeting from Monday January 22nd. The first four parts are the Resolution by John Griess for a Special Election to select replacements for the eight term limited Knox County Commissioners.

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Over at The Volokh Conpsiracy.

David Hardy notes that, once again, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership and the facts are not in agreement:

From the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center and former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., said the ATF had been greatly weakened by pro-dealer legislation Congress passed, including some laws dating to 1986. For example, if ATF agents make a surprise visit to a gun shop suspected of breaking the law, they are not allowed to make another surprise visit for 12 months, Helmke said. During that period, the ATF must warn the dealer in advance that they are coming.”

Bullpucky. I’ll put the real law in extended remarks below.

They have to lie to win.

I am guessing that Cohen did not get the memo about the Stacey Campfield fracas.

Black Caucus: Whites Not Allowed

Freshman Rep. Stephen I. Cohen, D-Tenn., is not joining the Congressional Black Caucus after several current and former members made it clear that a white lawmaker was not welcome.

“I think they’re real happy I’m not going to join,” said Cohen, who succeeded Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., in a majority-black Memphis district. “It’s their caucus and they do things their way. You don’t force your way in. You need to be invited.”

Cohen said he became convinced that joining the caucus would be “a social faux pas” after seeing news reports that former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr., D-Mo., a co-founder of the caucus, had circulated a memo telling members it was “critical” that the group remain “exclusively African- American.”

Other members, including the new chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., and Clay’s son, Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., agreed.

“Mr. Cohen asked for admission, and he got his answer. … It’s time to move on,” the younger Clay said. “It’s an unwritten rule. It’s understood. It’s clear.”

The bylaws of the caucus do not make race a prerequisite for membership, a House aide said, but no non-black member has ever joined.

Support for Gun Control Down Among College Freshman. But they also support big government. Of course they do. It’s the only government they’ve ever known.

Tennessee’s illegal drug tax made the cable news.

Bloomberg does the opinion piece for mayors against guns a gun control organization that is funded by the Joyce Foundation. Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam is a member of the anti-gun coalition of mayors (see background info here) and that is why I personally am boycotting Pilot Oil. Nothing new in this misguided screed but I found this interesting:

At today’s summit, we will be joined by representatives from the American Hunters and Shooters Association, because — as a new national poll shows — the vast majority of gun-owning Americans support common-sense measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, including eliminating restrictions on gun trace data.

The vast majority of Americans don’t know what current gun control laws are. You remember the American Hunters and Shooters Association? They are an anti-gun group masquerading as a pro-gun group. Seems they’re now on board. I find this significant because mayor Haslam has indicated, the one time I’ve heard him actually address the issue, that being against illegal guns is reasonable. However, this organization doesn’t just target illegal guns. They advocate gun control. They are a gun control group who support ludicrous pipe dreams such as microstamping. They also want access to trace data for data mining purposes, which even the ATF has said does nothing to indicate criminal activity. And they oppose standards for revocation of federal firearms licenses. And you would think that a group concerned about illegal transfers of firearms would support modernizing that process. They do not. In short, their goal is to limit lawful access to weapons. And, of course, they’re trying to sue gun dealers out of business. One other mayor has left the group due to its anti-gun agenda. But Mayor Haslam continues his membership in an anti-gun group.

Bloomberg talks about illegal guns and common sense measures. Apparently, he thinks a common sense measure is to commit a felony while conducting bogus investigations. This is precisely what he did when he paid investigators to lie on ATF Form 4473 and commit straw purchases. That is illegal.

The other issue is that guns that are illegal in NYC aren’t illegal in, well, most places. And most places don’t register firearms nor do most places require you to pay $439 in fees to obtain a permit to own a gun. That’s not common sense. That is prohibition.

Update: Jeff reminds us that they’re meeting today. I hear there will be protests.

Porn has always been quick to adapt to the latest formats. If it weren’t for porn, there’d be no VCRs, DVDs, or even Al Gore’s Internets. Unfortunately for porn, HD doesn’t do it any favors:

… pornographic movie studios are staying ahead of the curve by releasing high-definition DVDs.

They have discovered that the technology is sometimes not so sexy. The high-definition format is accentuating imperfections in the actors — from a little extra cellulite on a leg to wrinkles around the eyes.

Or, you know, ass pimples.

The Kriss Super V. It looks like a Glock having sex with a Kel-Tec.

Rich is planning one:

OK folks, time for another blog fest. I’m thinking of holding it February 10th to avoid Super Bowl conflicts.

I’ve been requested to move the bash out to the west for a change, and someplace a little more family friendly.

Any suggestions?

S-townMike:

The sounds of two or three rounds of semi-automatic gunfire peppered 4th Avenue in Salemtown last night just before 10:00. We heard the shots from our house, and like several others we immediately called the police, who showed up in several crusiers in a matter of minutes.

I’ve been around a lot of guns and heard a lot of gun fire. But I doubt that I could distinguish the sound of semi-automatic gunfire from the gunfire of, say, a revolver. I mean, if I heard the bolt clank then maybe. Or if it’s the quite distinctive action sound of a Kalashnakov.

The Douchies. Heh. And Dane Cook is not funny. Ever.

Stupid Sun:

The Sun is midway through its stable hydrogen burning phase known as the main sequence. But when the Sun enters the red giant phase in around 5 billion years things are going to get a lot rougher in the Earth-Moon system.

During the red giant phase the Sun will swell until its distended atmosphere reaches out to envelop the Earth and Moon, which will both begin to be affected by gas drag-the space through which they orbit will contain more molecules.

The universe: somebody stop it before it kills someone. And we all know how I feel about the universe. I guess it beats getting killed by a mathematical concept.

Sorry but thems the breaks. Meanwhile, some linky and no thinky:

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership and math.

The first pro-gun candidate for president is in, Bill Richardson. Funny that the first pro-gunnie is a Democrat. I’m not sure how pro-gun he is since he voted for the assault weapons, though rumors are he voted mostly for the crime bill. The NRA has endorsed him for Governor twice. That doesn’t mean much since they’re also recently friendly with anti-gunner Mitt Romney. Update: Whoops. The NRA was not friendly with Romney but the NSSF was. Thanks to Bitter for the clarification.

Favorite doormat.

People are (again) calling for Bloomberg to be investigated for violating gun laws.

Speaking of Bloomberg:

This year, we’ll begin a revolutionary innovation in crime-fighting: Equipping “911” call centers to receive digital images and videos New Yorkers send from cell phones and computers something no other city in the world is doing. If you see a crime in progress or a dangerous building condition you’ll be able to transmit images to 911, or online to NYC.GOV. And we’ll start extending the same technology to 311 to allow New Yorkers to step forward and document non-emergency quality of life concerns holding City agencies accountable for correcting them quickly and efficiently.

Not a bad idea. It’s like 911 goes digital.

Hackett will not be charged for drawing down on some crooks. Background here.