First, from Sesame Street:
Now, Feist’s original:
(H/T)
Hubbard posted this at 5:56 PM HKT on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 as Random Bloggish Things
July 24th, 2008
From Apple to Muppets
July 23rd, 2008
Street Name of the Day
If you google Texas Supreme Court, the first thing on the screen is a google maps entry for a residential street in Irving, Texas named Supreme Ct.
Apollo posted this at 8:58 PM HKT on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 as Uncategorized
Quote of the Day
You know, it’s always a bad practice to say ‘always’ or ‘never.’ – Barack Obama, July 22, 2008, Amman, Jordan.
Jamie posted this at 9:58 AM HKT on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 as Uncategorized
The Second Amendment, Under Lock & Key
As of yesterday, this was my understanding of where things stood with regards to the Heller decision:
US Constitution: You have the right to own a gun.
Dick Heller: Sweet!
DC City Council: Oh no he doesn’t!
SCOTUS: Oh yes he does!
Dick Heller: Sweet!
Turns out the drama isn’t over. Unwilling to concede defeat, the council has apparently managed to pass a new set of laws that — while granting residents the right to own a gun — deny them any opportunity to use them:
City leaders say the legislation goes as far as it can on gun regulations while respecting the high court’s ruling. Weapons must be unloaded, disassembled or trigger-locked, except when there is a “threat of immediate harm to a person” in the home.
The legislation also requires that guns remain inside homes.
Moreover, DC will — effectively — limit gun ownership to revolvers:
On Thursday, Mr. Heller attempted to register another pistol he owns, a .45-caliber Colt Model 1911 semiautomatic, knowing he would be turned away, to draw attention to an aspect of the D.C. gun law that remains contentious.
Semiautomatic weapons are still banned in the District on the grounds that they can accommodate modified magazines allowing them to shoot 12 or more rounds without reloading. Under D.C. law, these weapons are considered machine guns, even though they are not fully automatic.
Mr. Heller said Thursday he was trying to register the semiautomatic even though he did not bring it with him, saying he feared prosecution.
I involuntarily cringe when the press uses the word “semiautomatic”; they usually use it in a way that implies that this is a particularly powerful weapon, as opposed to a standard, modern handgun. Television anchors also have a habit of pronouncing it with the same malevolence usually reserved for worlds like “torture,” “child rape,” or “Paul Wolfowitz.”
It’s worth noting that a clip-loading handgun can be an extremely powerful weapon, far easier to use to kill multiple people than with a revolver; Seung-Hui Cho could never have murdered so many if he had had to manually reload each bullet, as he would have had to with a revolver. As such, one can sympathize with DC’s intent to limit handgun ownership to revolvers while simultaneously bristling at the attitude that a good citizen is “entitled” to only the narrowest interpretation of the law as possible.
But while handguns can be more dangerous if used offensively than revolvers they also have one huge advantage over revolvers: you can load the magazine without loading the gun. In an emergency, it takes only a few seconds to slide the magazine into the handle, cock the gun and remove the safety, though it also adds enough steps to make it far more difficult to accidentally shoot someone.
But under the new DC law, this is irrelevant because you can’t own a handgun. And if you do own a revolver you have to keep it 1) Either trigger-locked, safe-locked, or disassembled, and 2) unloaded. As if that isn’t bad enough, you also can’t legally load your revolver unless you are certain you’re under threat. As Jacob Sullum describes it:
The new law “clarifies that no carry license is required inside the home” to move a gun from one room to another. It also “clarifies” the District’s firearm storage requirements, saying a gun may be unlocked and loaded “while it is being used to protect against a reasonably perceived threat of immediate harm to a person” in the home.
Much hinges on what counts as a “reasonably perceived threat.” If you’re awakened in the middle of the night by a crash, may you carry a loaded gun with you as you investigate? Evidently not. The Washington Post reports that D.C.’s acting attorney general, Peter Nickles, “said residents could neither keep their guns loaded in anticipation of a problem nor search for an intruder on their property.” According to Nickles, if you see an armed criminal charging your home, or in the event of “an actual threat by somebody you believe is out to hurt you,” you’re allowed to get your gun, unlock it, and load it. (emphasis added)
If I were a criminal in DC, I’d be slightly more wary of a home invasion. But not much.
Tom posted this at 9:08 AM HKT on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 as Liberty and/or Security, We don't need no stinkin' Constitution
Thank you for being a friend
Estelle Getty, RIP.
Hubbard posted this at 8:18 AM HKT on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 as Excruciatingly Correct Behavior
July 22nd, 2008
Only 1 DC Starbucks is closing?
I sometimes joke that coffee is the drug of choice in DC, so when Slate had an article about the closing of Starbucks nationwide, I had to check and see which of my dealers were getting whacked. If I’m looking at the map right, only one on L Street is getting axed—and given that it’s not close to many residences or offices, I can’t say it’s a surprise. I actually walk by it on my way to work.
There are two Starbucks closer to my office; I pass by three others on my morning walk to the office before I get to the one on L street. Bear in mind that in this two mile stretch I can think of six different ‘bucks, and one is closing—and we have approximately three zillion other locations in this city as it is. I would say that the rocky economic times aren’t hitting this company town very hard. Then again, the pain DC causes usually affects the rest of the world rather than here, so this shouldn’t surprise me.
Hubbard posted this at 12:49 PM HKT on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 as Denizens of DC
July 21st, 2008
Howler of the Day
A post so full of nuttiness that he should be sued by Snickers.
A murderous, gulag running thug like Fidel Castro is “a great leader for his people”. Yes those barely seaworthy “rafts” coming to Florida from Cuba must be because they are testing their vaunted “free” healthcare system.
Give me a damn break.
Jamie posted this at 11:30 AM HKT on Monday, July 21st, 2008 as Dirty Hippies, Humor
Will they be checking hemlines next?
The Obama Campaign now has a dress code for women reporters:
“Do not wear green.” (Explained later as the color of Hamas)
“Do not wear nail polish.”
“Women should only wear a limited amount of jewelry.”
“Shoulders and arms must be fully covered (no strapless tops, no tank tops, no short sleeve shirts.)”
“Closed-toe shoes, women should also wear stockings.”
Perhaps the Obama can issue all females covering his campaign Catholic schoolgirl jumpers.
Hubbard posted this at 10:07 AM HKT on Monday, July 21st, 2008 as Audacity of Hype, Excruciatingly Correct Behavior
July 20th, 2008
The Ignoramus Abroad
After realizing that a speech at the Brandenburg Gate would be pure chutzpah, Obama has instead chosen to speak at the Siegessäule monument. Captain Ed at Hot Air explains why this was a worse idea:
Andreas Schockenhoff of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats said, “the Siegessäule in Berlin is dedicated to a victory over neighbors who are today our European friends and allies. It is a problematic symbol.”
Hitler didn’t just move the monument to its more central location. He had a taller column built for it as well, to emphasize its message of German military domination over Europe. He saw it as a message to Germans of their destiny — as well as to other Europeans as their destiny as well. It was never meant as a symbol of peaceful, multicultural co-existence.
Team Obama has outdone themselves on symbolism with this choice. They’ve managed to make their hosts uncomfortable for a second time with their choice of rallying point, and perhaps more so this time. If one wanted to talk peace, what worse location could one choose than Adolf Hitler’s favorite monument to militaristic domination? One has to wonder how France, Denmark, and Austria will feel about Obama rallying German masses under the Siegessäule.
Perhaps Obama, rather than really wanting to be president, is actually a plant of Karl Rove’s who’s purposefully trying to blow the election. That would explain why the Obama advance team didn’t think to check with the German government before campaigning in Germany.
Hubbard posted this at 11:39 AM HKT on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype, The Past Is Never Dead--It Isn't Even Past
July 19th, 2008
Lean Times for Some
The other day I was listening to NPR tell me an Etta Munsen story about these two women in Ohio whose lives had become hellish thanks to economic downturn. No job, broken car, small government check, etc., etc. And I thought that, yeah, life sounded difficult for them, but these women weren’t poor by accident. Everything that seems normal and run of the mill for most people was just so hard for these two. So I had a small amount of sympathy for them, but overall thought the solution to their problem wasn’t fixing the national economy, but simply having these two women develop a more productive outlook.
And then tonight I see that Drudge has linked to the story, and there’s a picture, something I obviously wasn’t aware of when listening to it on the radio. Seeing the picture, I think NPR was seriously dishonest by not mentioning that these two women were Hutts. It really changes the story.
Apollo posted this at 12:17 AM HKT on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 as Journalism
July 17th, 2008
Merkel at the Lincoln Memorial?
Barack Obama’s decision to hold a rally at Brandenburg Gate makes sense if one thinks superficially. It’s a great symbol of unity, and it’s the location of great speeches from Presidents Kennedy and Reagan. It could be a way for him to brush up foreign policy credentials.
Thinking more deeply, however, presidential candidates Kennedy and Reagan didn’t do campaign rallies abroad; both men understood that it wasn’t the place of presidential candidates to tread on a president’s foreign policy. And perhaps the most famous former East German citizen in the world today, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, isn’t amused:
The conservative leader said that while she would be pleased to meet the US Democratic presidential hopeful, it would be wrong for him to hold a “campaign rally” at the historic symbol of German unity.
“It is unusual to do electioneering abroad,” spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters.
“It is unusual to hold election rallies abroad. No German candidate for high office would even think of using the National Mall (in Washington) or Red Square in Moscow for a rally because it would not be seen as appropriate.”
Once again, Obama manages to irk an ally.
Hubbard posted this at 4:19 PM HKT on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype, Those Wacky Foreigners
July 16th, 2008
Science Education Is Too Important For Atheistic Ejaculations
In the discussion thread on my post about PZ Myers and Bill Donahue’s equally shameful behavior last week, commenter Blake wrote:
PZ and Co. aren’t in the business of changing minds because dogmatic beliefs don’t usually change. PZ is in the business of showing the next, undecided generation that religion is worthless at best.
Were Myers and Dawkins merely atheist apologists, I’d simply leave them to it and not bother. But their open contempt for all forms of religion compromises their professional efforts to combat scientific illiteracy, counter pseudo-science like Intelligent Design, and fight anti-science like Creationism. As someone who cares deeply about science education, it breaks my heart to see two such talented science writers waste their talent like this.
Rightly or wrongly, most Americans are deeply religious and find real-life, personal benefits in their religion: it answers theological and philosophical questions, provides them with meaning, and informs their interactions with others.
As my co-blogger Apollo has noted, however, most people are not inclined to care that much about evolution in and of itself. Unless you work in the sciences, you are unlikely to derive any obvious benefit from the truth or falsity of evolution (the key word in that sentence being ‘obvious’). A religious person might find many daily applications for his religion – solace through prayer, strength in the face of adversity, guidance in ethical behavior, etc.* – but few will find so many practical, daily uses for evolution.
When they do think of evolution (and I’m still borrowing from Apollo here), they tend to be resistant to it. Most people, quite understandably, find more fulfillment in thinking of themselves as ensouled creations of a divine intelligence than as imperfect, mortal organisms shaped by the unguided hand of Natural Selection.
It should come as no surprise then, that when asked to choose between an uncomfortable theory with no (obvious) practical application and deeply-held beliefs with clear benefits, most people chose the latter. They are all the more likely to do so when the purveyors of the Uncomfortable Truth delight in disparaging their deepest convictions, however true the former and ridiculous the latter may be.
Myers and Dawkins have absolutely every right to work as atheist spokesmen and as popularizers of science. I have no interest in silencing them, or in telling them to keep their non-sciencey thoughts to themselves. I am not suggesting that great and wonderful things will happen if they ‘make nice’ with their opponents, nor do I believe that Stephen Jay Gould’s NOMA theory can draw a clearly defined line between the empirical and the religious worlds.
I do, however, question the wisdom of working to increase scientific literacy while needlessly disparaging religion, especially in the manner Myers has been doing lately; it has no other effect than to give well-meaning religious people a perfectly justifiable reason to ignore his superb scholarship and writing. For good or for bad, scientific literacy and atheist apologetics are not complimentary goals in America today; Myers and Dawkins do themselves, their profession, and our civilization great harm by their failure to acknowledge this.
* My point is not that religion is the only source of solace, meaning, and ethics; rather, that most people derive these things from religion. It should go without saying that people can also find justification for bigotry, arrogance, and hatred in religion as well.
Tom posted this at 8:11 PM HKT on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 as Buffoon Watch, Philosophy, Science!
More parents will suffer
When discussing the aftermath of the Moors Murders, Theodore Dalrymple quoted the mother of a victim whose body has never been found [emphasis added]:
Myself and the parents of the other victims . . . have had to live for over thirty years knowing that our children died a terrible death at the hands of that evil pair. Hindley is due to have her case heard at the [European] Court of Human Rights. What about our rights? There is no such thing as a normal life after your child has been murdered. We live a life sentence too but there is no appeal or reprieve for us, our suffering goes on and on and is only made worse every time something like this comes up. We are the forgotten victims. Hindley has never been charged with the murder of my Keith . . . . I would like to take out a private prosecution but I cannot afford it and cannot get Legal Aid. I still do not know where my son is and all I want is to have him home and give him a decent burial.
Nobody cand doubt the agony of these parents. Their children have died terrible deaths, and they’ve been denied the closure of a funeral.
But despite our pity, Israel’s decision to release live terrorists in return for the bodies of dead Israeli soldiers is a terrible mistake. Caroline Glick (H/T) explains why this is so hideously bad an idea [emphasis added]:
Despite the government’s best efforts to put a brave face on the decision, the deal with Hizbullah is arguably the most humiliating step ever taken by a government of Israel.
In exchange for the bodies of two dead soldiers — Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser — Israel has succumbed to all of Hizbullah’s demands. It will release six murderers from prison and send them to Lebanon for a hero’s welcome. It will give Hizbullah the bodies of 200 terrorists and so empty Israel’s Potters Field for terrorists. Moreover, it has pledged to close Israel’s graveyard for terrorists and so has committed future governments to never keeping terrorists’ bodies as bargaining cards for future swaps of Israeli hostages. Israel has agreed to provide Hizbullah with information on four missing Iranian “diplomats.” And it has agreed to release an unknown number of Palestinian terrorists from prison.
This deal will cement Iran’s control of Lebanon through Hizbullah. It also all but guarantees that any future Israeli soldiers taken hostage by Hizbullah will be killed on the spot. Why care for hostages when you can murder them and expect to receive the same payoff you would get if you kept them alive?
More Israeli parents will now see their children taken hostage and murdered. The Israeli government will find itself the junior partner in this deal with the devil.
Hubbard posted this at 6:29 PM HKT on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 as Another Great Victory For Jihad, Running with the antelope
July 15th, 2008
God Bless Texas
Received today: my first paycheck on which I paid no state income tax. The check actually smells like freedom.
Apollo posted this at 9:17 PM HKT on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 as Deep in the Heart of Texas, Ourselves
July 14th, 2008
I Really Do Know This Guy
Obama’s panty-waist response to 9/11. He’s every liberal douchebag I ever knew in college, sharing the same Burberry suit. If your first reaction to 9/11 was “Oh no, those rednecks are going to use this as an excuse to go beat up Arabs,” you shouldn’t be president.
Apollo posted this at 9:26 PM HKT on Monday, July 14th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype