Instapundit

Instapundit: "WAIT, I THOUGHT THIS KIND OF THING NEVER HAPPENED: Home Invasion Suspect Dies Of Gunshot Wound. “One man was killed and another shot in the leg when they, along with three others, allegedly participated in a home invasion Monday evening where the residents fought back. . . . Fairborn Police Sgt. Paul Hicks said the only motive they’ve uncovered was that the subjects intended to rob the home."

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Losing the will to live: Column

Losing the will to live: Column: "That's right. It doesn't matter whether we're talking about Khalid al-Mihdhar and 9/11, or James Eagan Holmes opening fire on movie-goers in Colorado, or more recently, Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old responsible for the school massacre in Newtown, Conn. We now know that in each of these cases, the assailants felt they no longer had a reason to live. And it is this unnatural state that enabled them to commit unimaginable acts. Once a person makes a decision to die, the most abhorrent atrocities become permissible. There are no longer any consequences to fear: no arrest, no jail, no trial, no families of the victims to face, no remorse, no nothing. Dead is dead."

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Unless you believe in a God who punishes people who commit atrocities.

Greg Mankiw's Blog: He didn't know the secret handshake

Greg Mankiw's Blog: He didn't know the secret handshake: "Artur Baptista da Silva had become one of the most authoritative voices on Portuguese television, using his experience as an economist and United Nations consultant to explain why so much austerity was bad for the bailed-out country's economy.

But now it turns out that the 61-year-old economist who explained so seriously – and clearly – the damage being inflicted on the country by the austerity measures demanded by the troika of lenders (EU, IMF and ECB) was a conman with at least two jail terms behind him.

The fake economist earnestly debated with journalists and other experts on television shows, claiming that the European Union has become a farce."

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He's making the Paul Krugman argument against austerity.

I'm not sure it's fair to call him fake. Are there interview transcripts somewhere? He could be making great arguments. You don't need a degree to be an economist.

The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "I’ll just admit up front that the vast inequities that exist even before children start school bother me, and that I am predisposed to favor programs that would help disadvantaged children early in life. Thus, I was delighted when Head Start announced some years back that it was going to carry out a randomized control trial–that is, to assign some preschool children randomly to Head Start and others not–so that it would be possible to do a statistically meaningful test of how well Head Start worked.  I presumed that the test would provide ammunition for my pre-existing views.

But as the evidence has built up, Head Start is failing its test."

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Man gets his last Whopper Jr. during his funeral procession - U.S. News

Man gets his last Whopper Jr. during his funeral procession - U.S. News: ""He was not prejudiced," Phiel told the Daily Record. "He would go to any fast food place anyone invited him to.""

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Rush’s latest abortion idiocy - Salon.com

Rush’s latest abortion idiocy - Salon.com: "After a rousing bit of back and forth with a caller on gun control (“If you have gun control laws, the law-abiding will be the only people that don’t have guns!“), Limbaugh launched into a new theory about how to ban abortion in the United States.

By suggesting doctors perform them with guns."

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I was prepared to think Limbaugh said something stupid. Instead I found this pretty funny.

Office Established by Obama with Intent of Closing Gitmo . . . Closes - By Patrick Brennan - The Corner - National Review Online

Office Established by Obama with Intent of Closing Gitmo . . . Closes - By Patrick Brennan - The Corner - National Review Online: "The Times reports:

The State Department on Monday reassigned Daniel Fried, the special envoy for closing the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and will not replace him, according to an internal personnel announcement. Mr. Fried’s office is being closed, and his former responsibilities will be “assumed” by the office of the department’s legal adviser, the notice said."

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Althouse

Althouse: "I must say, I'd never paid any attention to Chris Hughes before, and I didn't yesterday until pushed by my commenters. On the evidence of the interview he and Franklin Foer did with the President, I saw him as another media suckup doing Democratic Party politics under cover of journalism. Seeing this "free of party ideology or partisan bias" business now only inclines me to scoff. If that's what you wanted as your brand, why did you lead off with that interview?"

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The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "And there’s nothing to be ashamed of in being an opinion magazine. Good opinion journalism, I’ve long argued, is superior to most “objective” journalism, precisely because it makes an honest argument. An author of a long essay in National Review or The New Republic says “I believe in X. Here are my reasons why I support X. And here are the best arguments for those who say X is wrong and support Y instead.” Everything is out in the open, as in a court of law. Indeed, in a courtroom the prosecution is “biased” toward conviction, the defense towards acquittal. But both sides understand that they must address the opposing side’s best arguments or they will lose. And both sides understand they cannot take liberties with the facts. Supposedly objective journalism is very often far less honest about such things."

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The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "It was in this tradition of protecting others that a man in Washington, D.C., came to the rescue of an eleven-year-old child who was being savagely mauled by three pit-bulls. The dogs — illegally unleashed and unsupervised — attacked after they collided with the bike the child was riding. The neighbor began shooting at the dogs to save the child, and was promptly assisted by a nearby D.C. patrol officer who helped the citizen put the dogs down. The child was rushed to surgery to treat wounds to his torso, arms, and legs. For his prompt and decisive action in saving the child’s life, D.C. said they would nominate this heroic neighbor for Citizen of the Year.

Just kidding. The city of Washington, D.C., said they have left open the possibility that the neighbor could be charged with violating the District’s gun laws. "

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Hillary Clinton’s Dodgy Testimony - Jonah Goldberg - National Review Online

Hillary Clinton’s Dodgy Testimony - Jonah Goldberg - National Review Online: "Moreover, Clinton was part of an administration that crafted an entire PR strategy to blame these attacks on “an awful Internet video.” White House press secretary Jay Carney was unequivocal: This was a “response to a video, a film we have judged to be reprehensible and disgusting.” In his address to the United Nations, President Obama mentioned the video six times but al-Qaeda once. When he appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, he blamed the video directly. U.N. ambassador Susan Rice went on five Sunday shows blaming the video. All of this happened when they already knew it was not true on the day of the attack, and even the president of Libya had publicly called the protest explanation ridiculous."

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Althouse

Althouse: "Is the prosecutor getting bullied? If she were to commit suicide — Swartz-style — would everyone feel ashamed of what they did to her?

No one cries for a prosecutor."

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True. but the prosecutor wields the power of the state, so it kind of makes sense.

The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "In his confirmation hearing earlier today, John Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “the intel that I got, and that I was told by people, is that there were no protests in Benghazi.” "

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Althouse: "Pentagon officials repeatedly stressed that there will be 'gender-neutral standards' for combat positions."

Althouse: "Pentagon officials repeatedly stressed that there will be 'gender-neutral standards' for combat positions.": "From NPR's "Women In Combat: 5 Key Questions."
For example, to work in a tank, women will have to demonstrate the ability to repeatedly load 55-pound tank shells, just as men are required to do.

Infantry troops routinely carry backpacks with 60 or 70 pounds of gear, or even more. The most common injury in Afghanistan is caused by roadside bombs. This raises the question of whether a female combat soldier would be able to carry a 200-pound male colleague who has been wounded.
No more double standards. I approve."

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Does anyone believe this will actually be enforced when the complaints start about how underrepresented women are on the front lines? I don't.

Niall Ferguson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Niall Ferguson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: ".from 2002, the combination of making TV programmes and teaching at Harvard took me away from my children too much. You don't get those years back. You have to ask yourself: "Was it a smart decision to do those things?" I think the success I have enjoyed since then has been bought at a significant price. In hindsight, there would have been a bunch of things that I would have said no to."

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EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty: "The quality of almost everything we get is higher than it was 30 or 40 years ago. The only things I can think of that have gotten worse are our protection from crime and the quality of education our children receive in schools. Each of these, interestingly, is provided by the government."

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EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty: "Boudreaux and Perry point out three things:
(1) The CPI has overstated inflation for a number of decades and, therefore, incomes that appear stagnant are not.
(2) A higher percent of pay today is not counted as pay in the statistics on hourly pay because it is in the form of benefits.
(3) I'll quote this one: "The average hourly wage is held down by the great increase of women and immigrants into the workforce over the past three decades. Precisely because the U.S. economy was flexible and strong, it created millions of jobs for the influx of many often lesser-skilled workers who sought employment during these years.
Since almost all lesser-skilled workers entering the workforce in any given year are paid wages lower than the average, the measured statistic, "average hourly wage," remained stagnant over the years--even while the real wages of actual flesh-and-blood workers employed in any given year rose over time as they gained more experience and skills.""

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Althouse: Hey, kids, here's a way to have fun in your American history class...

Althouse: Hey, kids, here's a way to have fun in your American history class...: "... if you've got a teacher who admires Hillary Clinton. Whatever the lesson of the day is, raise your hand, and when you're called on, throw your hands in the air and cry out: "What difference at this point does it make?!""

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Mandy Patinkin - Biography

Mandy Patinkin - Biography: "Says that of all the roles he's played in his career, "Inigo Montoya", from The Princess Bride (1987) is his absolute favourite."

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EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty: "
For those of you who don't follow golf, this last quote from Tiger is quite striking: Tiger and Lefty do not like each other, to put it mildly. But I find it gratifying that implicitly Tiger is defending Phil's right to legally keep as much of his income as he can."

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Justice Antonin Scalia’s inauguration headgear: More than a hat? - Under God - The Washington Post

Justice Antonin Scalia’s inauguration headgear: More than a hat? - Under God - The Washington Post: "Was Scalia, a Catholic who often speaks about his how faith frames his worldview, subtly stating his defiance of political authority, making an argument about religious freedom today, or was his head just really cold?

At First Things, Matthew Schmitz saw a connection: “Wearing the cap of a statesman who defended liberty of church and integrity of Christian conscience to the inauguration of a president whose policies have imperiled both: Make of it what you will.”"

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Obama's Bogus Journey - Bloomberg

Obama's Bogus Journey - Bloomberg: "Obama said that developing “sustainable-energy sources” is “what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.” Does anyone believe that in a week anyone will find that an arresting and compelling thought? Or credit it for being a thought at all?"

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Uncommon Knowledge: PAY IT BACKWARDS: The Federal Budget Surplus | Hoover Institution

Uncommon Knowledge: PAY IT BACKWARDS: The Federal Budget Surplus | Hoover Institution: "Peter Robinson: What happened then to change it? That is to say, the incentives, the fundamental institutional structures and incentives, were always there. What happened?

Milton Friedman: What happened was the Great Depression, which--which changed people's views. Before the Great Depression of '29 to '33, the general public vision was that the government was a necessary evil, and that you should rely on the private market. The Great Depression was wrongly attributed, in my opinion, it was produced by government mismanagement but, it was wrongly attributed to a failure of the capitalist system. And public attitudes changed drastically as a result of the Great Depression. From regarding the government as a necessary evil, they regarded--they came to regard the government as the cure to all problems, as the answer to all problems. And that set in motion, beginning with FDR's New Deal, that set in motion a process under which government has been incr--incrementally growing from then on."

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Fake Girlfriends - By Peter Kirsanow - The Corner - National Review Online

Fake Girlfriends - By Peter Kirsanow - The Corner - National Review Online: "A future NFL linebacker tells a story about a fake girlfriend and the story leads the national news for two days, accompanied by psychological analysis and commentary about its societal impact. A future commander-in-chief tells a story about a fake girlfriend and most of the media shrug.

Perhaps if Manti Te’o could find a way to spend the country into oblivion and turn the finest health-care system in the world into a dysfunctional bureaucracy the press would cut him some slack."

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Mitt Romney Knew About The Brewing Mali Conflict Before You Did

Mitt Romney Knew About The Brewing Mali Conflict Before You Did: "During the third and final presidential debate, which focused on foreign policy, Romney slipped in an aside about Mali that attracted some derision on Twitter at the time, but now looks wise in retrospect."

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Bob Schieffer Likens Obama 'Taking on the Gun Lobby' to Hunt for Bin Laden, 'Defeating the Nazis' | NewsBusters

Bob Schieffer Likens Obama 'Taking on the Gun Lobby' to Hunt for Bin Laden, 'Defeating the Nazis' | NewsBusters: "BOB SCHIEFFER: ...Let's remember: there was considerable opposition when Lyndon Johnson went to the Congress and...presented some of the most comprehensive civil rights legislation in the history of this country. Most people told him he couldn't get it done, but he figured out a way to do it. And that's what Barack Obama is going to have to do...what happened in Newtown was probably the worst day in this country's history since 9/11. We found Osama bin Laden. We tracked him down. We changed the way that we dealt with that problem. Surely, finding Osama bin Laden; surely, passing civil rights legislation, as Lyndon Johnson was able to do; and before that, surely, defeating the Nazis, was a much more formidable task than taking on the gun lobby."

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The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "You may agree 100 percent with the president’s position on gun control, but his stagey histrionics, his endless reliance upon human props, his cheap sloganeering, his emotionally driven hectoring: all of that bespeaks a very deep contempt for his audience, which is the American people. If he really believes that surrounding himself with adorable little tots is a substitute for substantive arguments for well-thought-out policy proposals, he thinks that the people — you people — are a bunch of rubes. Unhappily, 51 percent of the American people are happy to endorse his low view of them. There is something peculiar to political enthusiasts, a phenomenon I observed at both conventions this year: People in political audiences know that they are being manipulated, cynically and professionally — and they enjoy it. Obama’s admirers look up to him because he looks down on them, not in spite of the fact. There is something more at play than the mere admiration of stagecraft."

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Most Frugal Billionaires - Business Insider

Most Frugal Billionaires - Business Insider: ""Premji makes Uncle Scrooge look like Santa Claus,""

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Obama’s New Executive Orders

Obama’s New Executive Orders: "18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

Tell everyone that I’ve been a partisan hack for the last month every time I said the NRA was crazy to want to post more cops in schools."

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The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "It is an article of faith that closing the “gun-show loophole” would make America a safer place. But that is what it is: faith. In 2008, three criminologists (one of them not at all friendly to guns) studied the effects on murder and suicide rates in California (which prohibits private sales without a background check) and Texas (which does not). They looked at homicide and suicide rates for adjacent ZIP codes for a week after gun shows. They found no change in suicide rates, and in Texas, which has no restrictions on private party sales, a small but statistically significant reduction in gun homicides.

This might seem surprising, and at first glance, it is. Except for one little detail: Criminals appear not to buy guns at gun shows, because guns are expensive.  It is so much cheaper to steal guns instead. At Newtown, the killer first murdered his mother to steal the gun. At Clackamas Mall in Oregon in December, the shooter used a rifle he’d acquired by stealing it from a friend. In April of 2007, David Logsdon of Kansas City, Mo., murdered his neighbor and stole her late husband’s rifle for a mass murder."

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Barack Obama, Jon Stewart, Sandy Hook, and "Common Sense" Gun Control - Reason.com

Barack Obama, Jon Stewart, Sandy Hook, and "Common Sense" Gun Control - Reason.com: "Over the past 20 years or so, more guns are in circulation and violent crime is down. So is violent crime that uses guns. Murders are down, too, even as video games and movies and music and everything else are filled with more fantasy violence than ever. For god's sake, even mass shootings are not becoming more common. If ever there was a case to stand pat in terms of public policy, the state of gun control provides it (and that's without even delving into the fact that Supreme Court has recently validated a personal right to own guns in two landmark cases). It's probably always been the case but certainly since the start of 21st century, it seems like we legislate only by crisis-mongering and the results have not been good: The PATRIOT Act, the Iraq War, TARP, fiscal cliff deals, you name it. Would that cooler heads prevailed then and now."

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Barack Obama, Jon Stewart, Sandy Hook, and "Common Sense" Gun Control - Reason.com

Barack Obama, Jon Stewart, Sandy Hook, and "Common Sense" Gun Control - Reason.com: "And yet the idea of armed self-defense is a totally different matter and I also realize that many people live out in the sticks or even in urban neighborhoods where the police aren't a realistic option when trouble comes a-calling. I know people for whom owning a shotgun is no different than owning a tennis racket and hunting is a family affair more revered than holiday dinners. I don't see any reason why law-abiding people should have to explain to anyone why they want a semi-automatic gun or a magazine that holds 10 bullets instead of seven. "

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Ron Wyden Adds Marco Hernandez As The Sixth Name to Judges' List

Ron Wyden Adds Marco Hernandez As The Sixth Name to Judges' List: "Wyden had been under some pressure from women, gays and African Americans for forwarding the names of five straight white guys to fill Oregon's vacancies. One of Oregon's retiring judges, Ancer Haggerty, is African-American."

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TRADE for my Fender 100 WATT 2x12 Frontman

TRADE for my Fender 100 WATT 2x12 Frontman: "I have a Fender Frontman 100 Watt 2x12 guitar cab (with footswitch) that I thought I would try to either sell, or trade. I am only interested in tattoo work by a decent artist. "

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EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty: "If congressional Republicans refuse to pay America's bills on time, Social Security checks, and veterans benefits will be delayed.

That's a statement President Obama made at today's press conference. See here for transcript.
It's not true, as Nancy Altman and John S. Scarberry pointed out in July 2011. The Social Security Administration owns bonds that the U.S. Treasury has issued. To make up for a shortfall each month, the SSA could sell some of these bonds to the Treasury. But where would the Treasury get the money to pay for these bonds? By issuing bonds to the public. How could the Treasury do that if the debt ceiling is not raised? The debt ceiling includes the SSA bonds. So for every $1 billion the Treasury pays when the SSA redeems bonds, the Treasury could issue $1 billion in new bonds without affecting the official debt at all."

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Althouse: Aggressive prosecution #2: Internet activist driven to suicide.

Althouse: Aggressive prosecution #2: Internet activist driven to suicide.: "To say he didn't want to be a felon is to express a wish about the past. And it's a wish that wasn't even true. Swartz wanted to be a felon who eludes prosecution. Who gets that wish in a system of law? The intelligent, educated, nice-looking, good guy with lovely friends and family? The person who credibly threatens self-murder? The activist capable of articulating why the crime he committed should not be a crime? "

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Althouse

Althouse: "And quite aside from the problem of the allocation of power at the federal and the state levels, how about some consistency about equal justice under the law? Let the law — as written — apply the same way to everyone, whether they have a round face and 2 young daughters or not, whether they've gone to grad school or not, whether they have big visions of massive profits or they are living hand to mouth. If the law is wrong, change the law — for everybody. Don't cry over the people you think are nice — like David Gregory and Aaron Swartz. Nonphotogenic and low-class people deserve equal treatment, and cutting breaks for the ones who pull your heart strings is not justice."

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Althouse

Althouse: "And I love the way the NYT suddenly has a pro-business orientation. Davies deserves special grace under the law because he's using the structure of business and because he's excited about making big profits! Compare that to all the articles anguishing over Citizens United and how terrible it is to respect free speech rights when the speech comes from a place that is structured as a business."

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The Big Apple Is That Big? - By Jonah Goldberg - The Corner - National Review Online

The Big Apple Is That Big? - By Jonah Goldberg - The Corner - National Review Online: "“Somebody got them the way they are now,” the mayor of New York said in a recent interview as he sat in the bullpen offices of City Hall, surrounded by a buzzing staff, blinking Bloomberg terminals and clocks telling the same time in each of the five boroughs. “Why can’t you change them?”

Who knew that the worst part of crossing the Brooklyn Bridge is the jet lag.

I wonder if the mayor has ever said something like, “I’ve got to call the Queens Borough president. What time is it over there?”"

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Instapundit

Instapundit: "At a speech before the Conusmer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 9, Bill Clinton stated: “Half of all mass killings in the United States have occurred since the assault weapon ban expired in 2005, half in the history of the country.” But that statement is untrue, as Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post demonstrates."

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Doug Ross @ Journal: Train Carrying Biofuel Crosses Border 24 Times Without Unloading to Exploit Obama "Green Energy" Loopholes

Doug Ross @ Journal: Train Carrying Biofuel Crosses Border 24 Times Without Unloading to Exploit Obama "Green Energy" Loopholes: "A cargo train filled with biofuels crossed the border between the US and Canada 24 times between the 15th of June and the 28th of June 2010; not once did it unload its cargo, yet it still earned millions of dollars. CBC News of Canada was the first to pick up on this story on the 3rd of December 2012, and began their own investigation into the possible explanations behind this odd behaviour."

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‘The World Until Yesterday,’ by Jared Diamond - NYTimes.com

‘The World Until Yesterday,’ by Jared Diamond - NYTimes.com: "The most obvious difference between us is that pre-state tribal societies are just a lot more violent. Especially in fertile areas where land is valuable, people often can’t wander beyond closely prescribed borders. The cycle of raids and revenge-driven counterraids goes on and on."

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Another example of Multiculturalism

‘The World Until Yesterday,’ by Jared Diamond - NYTimes.com: "The custom among the Pirahã Indians of Brazil is that women give birth alone. The linguist Steve Sheldon once saw a Pirahã woman giving birth on a beach, while members of her tribe waited nearby. It was a breech birth, however, and the woman started crying in agony. “Help me, please! The baby will not come.” Sheldon went to help her, but the other Pirahã stopped him, saying that she didn’t want his help. The woman kept up her screams. The next morning both mother and baby were found dead."

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I Pick This Guy

As the spokesperson for fending off gun control.

Althouse

Althouse: "ADDED: Biden actually said: "There is nothing that has pricked the consciousness of the American people (and) there is nothing that has gone to the heart of the matter more than the image people have of little 6-year-old kids riddled - not shot, but riddled, riddled - with bullet holes in their classroom."

Like it's all a matter of the capacity to visualize gore.

If we picture a bloody mincemeat of fetuses, then do we get to take away abortion rights?"

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The Volokh Conspiracy » The Trillion Dollar Heist

The Volokh Conspiracy » The Trillion Dollar Heist: "Whatever else one might say about the Trillion Dollar Coin, it would certainly set the stage for the ultimate heist movie.

Maybe an “American Buffalo” needs Mamet, but this would write itself. In my version, a disgruntled Treasury worker swallows the coin, then goes on a hunger strike, holding the economy hostage until his demands are satisfied.

Also, it better be pretty big. Otherwise all hell would break loose if someone accidentally dropped it somewhere...."

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EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty: " Still, one thing is clear: If you think selling libertarian ideas to Feeling people isn't inherently difficult, you're fooling yourself.
"

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On Guns, Like Other Issues, Liberals Are Out of Ammo | Power Line

On Guns, Like Other Issues, Liberals Are Out of Ammo | Power Line: " The idea that banning “assault weapons” is the key to a more peaceful America is ludicrous.

Likewise with “ammunition magazines that carry more than 10 bullets.” I own two such magazines; there are countless millions in circulation. A magazine is a simple device, made from sheet metal and a spring; many thousands of Americans could make them in their garages. But let’s suppose that you could magically make all such magazines disappear. All a would-be mass murderer needs to do is pre-load, say, four 10-bullet magazines and carry them with him. People do this all the time. It takes only a second or two to drop an empty magazine from a semiautomatic rifle or pistol and slide a new one in. The idea that lives will be saved by making magazines smaller is pathetic. And yet, this is pretty much what the Democrats have to offer."

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Bill Clinton: Father of the Year - By Eliana Johnson - The Corner - National Review Online

Bill Clinton: Father of the Year - By Eliana Johnson - The Corner - National Review Online: "In 2009, General David Petraeus was one of the recipients; in 2007, one of the awards went to John Edwards; Hulk Hogan was another. Yeah, this guy.

An esteemed bunch, to be sure. "

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Pretty sure Larry King was also father of the year once. As I recall, he's thrice divorced, and his current marriage nearly ended when he cheated on his wife with her sister.

Americans never give up your guns - English pravda.ru

Americans never give up your guns - English pravda.ru: "Of course being savages, murderers and liars does not mean being stupid and the Reds learned from their Civil War experience. One of the first things they did was to disarm the population. From that point, mass repression, mass arrests, mass deportations, mass murder, mass starvation were all a safe game for the powers that were. The worst they had to fear was a pitchfork in the guts or a knife in the back or the occasional hunting rifle. Not much for soldiers."

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Americans never give up your guns - English pravda.ru

Americans never give up your guns - English pravda.ru: "This will probably come as a total shock to most of my Western readers, but at one point, Russia was one of the most heavily armed societies on earth. This was, of course, when we were free under the Tsar. Weapons, from swords and spears to pistols, rifles and shotguns were everywhere, common items. "

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God, the Founders, and George Will - Conrad Black - National Review Online

God, the Founders, and George Will - Conrad Black - National Review Online: "Will concludes that “we may be approaching what is, for our nation, unexplored and perilous social territory. . . . When many people decide that the universe is merely a cosmic sneeze, with no transcendent meaning; when they conclude that therefore life should be filled to overflowing with distractions — comforts and entertainments – to assuage the boredom; then they may become susceptible to the excitements of politics promising ersatz meaning and spurious salvations from a human condition bereft of transcendence.”"

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Cockroaches, traffic and Nickelback - more popular than Congress - Tampa Bay Business Journal

Cockroaches, traffic and Nickelback - more popular than Congress - Tampa Bay Business Journal: "Head lice, replacement referees and root canals are just a few of the things that are more popular than our leaders in Washington, D.C., according to the newest poll from Public Policy Polling.

Congress has an approval rating of only 9 percent, the lowest in American history.

Even a band people love to hate, Nickelback, is viewed more favorably than the people making decisions on Capitol Hill."

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Instapundit

Instapundit: "When I was reporting on Wall Street, I used to be told with some regularity that government was needed to counteract the short-term thinking of the business sector, who never thought much beyond the next quarterly earnings report. This now seems as quaintly adorable as picture hats and daily milk deliveries. An ADHD day trader with a cocaine habit and six months to live has considerably more long-term planning skills than our current congress."

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Los Angeles Review of Books - America’s Nonexistent Constitutions

Los Angeles Review of Books - America’s Nonexistent Constitutions: "What Amar wants is an oxymoron: “staying true to the written Constitution while going beyond it.” Go any which way you like, as long as your interpretations are “rights-expanding” (left-leaning) and overbroad. You can’t go wrong.

I recognize that Amar has a copious, wide-ranging, and stimulating intellect. The book is full of insights that could be put to good use. It’s just that Amar hasn’t done so. He has tried as strenuously as any other like?minded scholar to undo the old doctrine that a written constitution is permanent."

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Los Angeles Review of Books - America’s Nonexistent Constitutions

Los Angeles Review of Books - America’s Nonexistent Constitutions: "IN 1881, THE GREAT 19th century expositor of constitutional law Thomas M. Cooley wrote that one of the weaknesses of a written constitution — unlike Great Britain’s unwritten constitution — is that “it establishes iron rules, which, when found inconvenient, are difficult of change.” Thirty years later, in 1911, the dean of the University of Texas School of Law, John C. Townes, expressed the then-mainstream view that principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution are both “fundamental” and “permanent.” Their meaning was thought to be fixed."

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ESPN host Rob Parker suggests RGIII ‘pushes away’ from ‘his people’ | theGrio

ESPN host Rob Parker suggests RGIII ‘pushes away’ from ‘his people’ | theGrio: "Parker continued:

“It was just a conversation that’s had in the black community when athletes, or famous entertainers or whatever, push away from their people. And that’s really what it’s about. You saw it with O.J. Simpson, and some other people, where they say, ‘Well I’m not black, I’m O.J.’ So it’s more about that, not about RGIII and what’s going on. It’s more about this thing that we’ve battled for years and why people have pushed away from their people. It’s more about that.”"

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PJ Media » Rahm Emanuel Out of Excuses for Chicago’s Murder Rate

PJ Media » Rahm Emanuel Out of Excuses for Chicago’s Murder Rate: "If there is one number to think about, it is this: Chicago is 3.7 times more dangerous than New York when it comes to murder, which is obviously the most serious crime with which mayors and their police forces need to be concerned."

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Why the 'More Guns' Argument Doesn't Make Sense - NYTimes.com

Why the 'More Guns' Argument Doesn't Make Sense - NYTimes.com: "Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, echoed that sentiment this morning. “The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said.

I see it differently: About the only thing more terrifying than a lone gunman firing into a classroom or a crowded movie theater is a half a dozen more gunmen leaping around firing their pistols at the killer, which is to say really at each other and every bystander. It’s a police officer’s nightmare."

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A couple of questions for the author:

1. Would you rather be in a movie theater shooting with an armed police officer, or without?
2. Would you rather there be two armed police officers, or just one? What about three? or four?
3. Would it matter to you whether the police officer(s) were on duty?
4. Would it matter to you if the police officer(s) were retired?
5. Would it matter to you if they weren't police officers at all, but retired or active military?
6. Would it matter to you if they were not military or police officers, but simply gun enthusiasts who frequently practice?
7. How exactly do you stop a gunman if not with a gun?

Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet - Liahona June 1981 - liahona

Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet - Liahona June 1981 - liahona: "President Wilford Woodruff stated:

“I say to Israel, the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of the Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God.” (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 212–13.)"

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Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet - Liahona June 1981 - liahona

Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet - Liahona June 1981 - liahona: "President Marion G. Romney tells of this incident which happened to him:

“I remember years ago when I was a bishop I had President Heber J. Grant talk to our ward. After the meeting I drove him home … Standing by me, he put his arm over my shoulder and said: ‘My boy, you always keep your eye on the President of the Church and if he ever tells you to do anything, and it is wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it.’ Then with a twinkle in his eye, he said, ‘But you don’t need to worry. The Lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray.’” (Conference Report, October 1960, p. 78.)"

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Testimony of Eugene Volokh on the Second Amendment, Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Sept. 23, 1998.

Testimony of Eugene Volokh on the Second Amendment, Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Sept. 23, 1998.: " The next amendment is, "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."  One of the ordinary modes, by which tyrants accomplish their purposes without resistance, is, by disarming the people, and making it an offence to keep arms, and by substituting a regular army in the stead of a resort to the militia.  The friends of a free government cannot be too watchful, to overcome the dangerous tendency of the public mind to sacrifice, for the sake of mere private convenience, this powerful check upon the designs of ambitious men."

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Testimony of Eugene Volokh on the Second Amendment, Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Sept. 23, 1998.

Testimony of Eugene Volokh on the Second Amendment, Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Sept. 23, 1998.: "Eight years ago, I got into an argument with a nonlawyer acquaintance about the Second Amendment.  The Amendment, this person fervently announced, clearly protects an individual right.  Not so, I argued to him, thinking him to be something of a blowhard and even a bit of a kook."

Three years ago, I discovered, to my surprise and mild chagrin, that this supposed kook was entirely right.  In preparing to teach a law school seminar on firearms regulation (one of the only about half a dozen such classes that I know of at U.S. law schools), I found that the historical evidence -- much of which I set forth verbatim in the Appendix -- overwhelmingly points to one and only one conclusion:  The Second Amendment does indeed secure an individual right to keep and bear arms.

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The Unbroken Window

The Unbroken Window: "(2) Who wants to bet me that small, organic, “local” farmers will be exempt from these new regulations? If they are exempt, do the government religionists mean to tell us that some private organizations CAN self-regulate? If they are NOT exempt, do you mean to tell us that local organic food isn’t automatically safe for us? Hmm."

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The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "Don’t get me wrong. A company’s management’s duty is to its shareholders. Trying to cut these sort of deals is part of the job. The same ought not to be said of the politicians who, disgracefully, went along."

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Is that right? Couldn't you say, a politicians duty is to get elected, and the politician is only cutting this deal because he believes it will get him reelected. It's part of his job.

So who's fault is it? Who is electing politicians that do such a poor job? Americans voters. So we should blame voters.  It's voters' job to throw out politicians who hand out pork. But why do they elect these politicians? I can see three options: (1) they don't care, (2) they are on the take in some other form of pork, or (3) they are ignorant.

If they don't care, then what's the problem?
If they are also on the take, then maybe its rational to vote that way.
If they are ignorant, they are probably rationally ignorant. There is too much information out there--too many deals like this to keep track of everything that matters to a vote. They too are probably acting in accordance with their incentives.

Maybe the key here is the difference between "duty" and "incentive."  Politicians and voters have supposed "duties" that are different from their incentives. Company management's duties and incentives are aligned -at least when it comes to getting pork.

The Unbroken Window

The Unbroken Window: "Free-market capitalism is simply too truthful. When people freely exchange goods and services, with the rights to persons and property protected, then exchange values are predicated on public evaluations of the values provided by such goods and services. There are no intrinsic values stating that you are worth $50 per hour merely by virtue of you being you, or that your invention is worth $2.5 million merely by virtue of you creating it. And people hate the truth – just examine the fiscal cliff debates and outcome to see how far from reality people have convinced themselves to locate."

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The 20 Most Annoying Liberals of 2012 (10th Annual) | Right Wing News

The 20 Most Annoying Liberals of 2012 (10th Annual) | Right Wing News: "5) Harry Reid: On the one hand, it’s great to see that the farmer from the American Gothic painting is doing so well. On the other hand, Reid still achieved a new low in American politics (which is saying something) when he, as the Senate Majority Leader, very publicly accused Mitt Romney of not paying his taxes for a decade based on what he claimed were anonymous sources."

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FBI: More People Killed with Hammers, Clubs Each Year than Rifles

FBI: More People Killed with Hammers, Clubs Each Year than Rifles: "According to the FBI annual crime statistics, the number of murders committed annually with hammers and clubs far outnumbers the number of murders committed with a rifle."

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Update: Prof. Volokh points out that it may not be true because there are a large number of uncatagorized gun murders that may have been accomplished with a rifle.

The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "A source familiar with the negotiations between Al Gore’s Current TV and Glenn Beck’s The Blaze TV tells National Review Online that, while talks between the two companies were congenial, the immediate feedback was that “Al Gore cannot sell to Glenn Beck.” “They wanted to sell to somebody they are ideologically in line with,” he said. "

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The Unbroken Window

The Unbroken Window: "2. If you do not have children, ought you have any legitimate input on climate change policy?"

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Should Gun Owners Have To Buy Liability Insurance? : Planet Money : NPR

Should Gun Owners Have To Buy Liability Insurance? : Planet Money : NPR: "But the logic is not quite as neat as it might appear. Many people already buy and own guns illegally without license or registration. Adding the cost of insurance would further discourage honest gun ownership. That would make matters worse not better. And is it so obvious that all guns are harmful to others and that gun ownership should be made more expensive to every owner? When an honest law-abiding citizen uses a gun in self-defense, it often protects those nearby who are unarmed. Perhaps gun ownership should be subsidized for honest people. I don't think this is a good idea, but raising the cost of gun ownership, particularly for good and honest people who are likely to use a gun only in self-defense, is not a free lunch."

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What I love about Scrooge. - Slate Magazine

What I love about Scrooge. - Slate Magazine: "Here's what I like about Ebenezer Scrooge: His meager lodgings were dark because darkness is cheap, and barely heated because coal is not free. His dinner was gruel, which he prepared himself. Scrooge paid no man to wait on him.
Scrooge has been called ungenerous. I say that's a bum rap. What could be more generous than keeping your lamps unlit and your plate unfilled, leaving more fuel for others to burn and more food for others to eat? Who is a more benevolent neighbor than the man who employs no servants, freeing them to wait on someone else?"

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Greg Mankiw's Blog: President rejects his bipartisan commission

Greg Mankiw's Blog: President rejects his bipartisan commission: "The fiscal deal struck last night makes one thing clear: President Obama must have really hated the recommendations of the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson commission that he appointed. The commission said that we needed to reform entitlement programs to rein in spending and that increased tax revenue should come in the form of base broadening and lower marginal tax rates. The deal appears to offer no entitlement reforms, no tax reform, and higher marginal tax rates. After all the public discussion over the past couple years of what a good fiscal reform would like like, it is hard to imagine a deal that would be less responsive to the ideas of bipartisan policy wonks."

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The Superb Mitt Romney - Jay Nordlinger - National Review Online

The Superb Mitt Romney - Jay Nordlinger - National Review Online: "Clinton will always be “the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral.” He can’t help it. And the mainstream media abet him, of course. Romney is a much different cat. And if he had tried to stay on the stage, people would surely be denouncing him for that: “Can’t you take no for an answer? Didn’t you listen to the people on Election Day? Go away.”"

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