I'm rifffing on Megan again - but she has an interesting comment about the Democratic debates today. "I look at that debate and it seems to me that Democrats think they can't lose in November--that the only important battle is the one for the nomination." I find that interesting, because I know for a fact this is true of New York City (It's the reason Mayor Bloomberg ran as a Republican), and suspect it's true of much of Illinois. In areas that are heavily dominated by one party, ...

One thing that bugs me about Libertarians (and many libertarians) is their fetish for gold. Megan McArdle takes a shot at explaining some of the things that bug me (economically) about the gold standard here and here . In particular, the gold standard seems to be a solution for a symptom instead of the underlying disease. That disease, of course, being, an untrustworthy government. As Megan says:  "In short, you don't get anything out of a gold standard that you didn't bring ...

The DOJ brief lit the fuse that the SCOTUS tried to quench with their limited definition of the question at hand. What' at the other end of that fuse nobody knows (except possibly Justice Kennedy)... DC asked the Supreme Court to decide "Whether the Second Amendment forbids the District of Columbia from banning private possession of handguns while allowing possession of rifles and shotguns." Heller asked "Whether the Second Amendment guarantees law-abiding, adult in...

I just ran across a literal case of damning with faint praise in a comment on Megan McArdle's blog at the Atlantic. Why are you Obama supporters so depressed? I know he's a great speaker -- I haven't seen a crowd in the palm of any speaker's hand like that since " Triumph of The Will " -- but as a practical matter, there is hardly any policy difference between Hillary and Obama. He's maybe 5% more liberal than her. Is style more important to you than substance? - Posted by...

Are there any firearms restrictions that would have prevented the Westroads Mall shooting (short of an outright ban). Not really. First, despite all the hype abbout how the killer used an "assault weapon", that's a non-started. He used a magazine-fed semi-automatic rifle in a medium caliber. In other circumstances, this would be a hunting rifle. There are purpose-designed hunting rifles with the same pertinent features (semi-auto, magazine-fed, medium caliber) as the rifle that the ...

The Westroads Mall in Omaha, NE was the scene of another massacre by a mentally-disturbed individual last week. The killer's goals appeared to be to become famous and to die. He has suceeded at both, but in opposition to his goals, I will not name him. As with many other shootings of this type, it occurred in a nominal "Gun-Free" zone. Unlike some others, I'm not going to claim that the killer chose his venue based on the lack of legal firearms, as other shooters have gone to police statio...

Very much in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya "You keep on citing that case - it does not mean what you think it mean s". I was reminded recently of “ The Peculiar Story of United States v. Miller ” in the comments there, and re-read that article. I think that the gollums ' continual citing of Miller is going to bit them in the ass, HARD. Review the following from "The Peculiar Story...": McReynolds assumed the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms ...

Ed Morrissey (Who normally blogs at Captain's Quarters ) has a piece on Heading Right that makes an interesting point. Why did the Democrats, who control both houses of Congress, and who have made many dire predictions about the NSA's wiretapping program, especially in the hands of that arch-destroy of civil liberties Alberto Gonzalez, pass the new wiretapping legislation? It doesn't look good for the Democrats.

If you don't mind a bit of metaphor - the roller-coaster-car has started up the big climb: the DC government is appealing to the Supreme Court of the US in reaction to the adverse decision at the District Court level in Parker vs. DC . There's one more chance for the ride to fail; the Supremes could deny cert. But if they take it, hang on, the 2008 political season is going to be a bumpy ride. Any Supreme Court case has the potential for national exposure, of course, but this one has the c...

Inspired by Lawdog's 4th of July post , here's a link to the Declaration of Independence page at the National Archives. I'll also throw one in to the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights

I spent the day with family, in particular with my brother, his wife and daughter, and my stepmother. My father was TDY out of the country, but the rest of us got together to spend the day having fun, eating barbeque foods, and generally hanging out. We passed on fireworks this year (we had already decided not to go to see the DC fireworks, on account of small child), and instead watched 1776 (the DVD version with the extended scenes cut from the theatrical release and the VHS release) - a...

This article from Fox about a pilot program in New York City caught my eye. It sounds like an excellent idea to me (the only good idea Mayor Bloomberg has had IMHO, but hey). It descibes a pilot program to pay poor people for actions taken to lift themselves out of poverty - read the article for details. Payments for going to doctors for routine checkups, for kids getting good (95%-level) grades, etc  But the thing that caught my eye was this quote from an opponent of the plan: ...

I've been giving some thought to what I believe "reasonable" gun control should look like. It goes something like this... First of all - I accept the possibility that the government has the ability to take away your right to own a weapon; after all, the government has the ability to restrict your other fundamental rights if you violate the social contract. Commit a violent crime, be adjudged insane, etc. The flip side of that coin is that there should be a clear route to having y...

The election night is come and gone, and while we don't (yet) know which party has control of the Senate, the Democrats, lead by Nancy Pelosi, have control of the House of Representatives. (A quick note to foreign readers who might not be up on the finer points of our government - the Bush Administration has not fallen as a result - just the Republican control of the legislature). I'm not holding out all that much hope for the Senate either, all things considered. Historically, this is par fo...

For once, a link from someone other that Instapundit - I found this one from Alphecca . It's from an article about some proposed firearms legislation in the state of Tennessee. When I read it to DW, she giggled her head off. Heh: CRIMINAL LAW: Domestic assault perpetrators to pay victim’s permit fees. Requires perpetrators of domestic assault, stalking, or a violation of protective order cases, if convicted, to pay for handgun safety course or handgun carry permit for victim of off...