The Caskey Doctrine

In case you missed it, Obama said the Obama Doctrine was too long to explain...whatever the heck that means. I think it means he doesn't really have a plan.

Anyway, I put in my two cents over at Brad's Bar and Grille on what I thought isolationism is a bad idea. Since not everyone looks at everything on the internet, I'm re-posting it again here.

China is looking at two American allies (the Philippines and Japan) that are essentially defended by America and America’s nuclear umbrella. And now, whether or not we defend them from Chinese aggression is an open question. That’s bad – and I’ll tell you why.

Once American allies believe that our defense guarantees are a hollow gesture, they will begin to develop and secure their own defenses, and we have been taking that for granted for a long time. For instance, Europe has no defense capabilities to speak of. That’s not going to happen in perpetuity.

If the US ends up abdicating its role as the guarantor of the NATO alliance and our allies such as Japan and the Philippines, then we will be leaving space for these individual nations to develop their own forces out of necessity.

Essentially, the different nations will begin to balance against each other. That balancing will be self-perpetuating. As each nation grows its military, another nation will be forced to do the same. Japan will have to balance against China. The Baltic States will have to balance against Russia. Rinse, lather, repeat. It will grow and grow. Then we will have what will essentially be a multi-polar world in terms of military power – like in the 1920s and 1930s.

That’s bad. All of these balancing forces act in relation to each other in ways that are unpredictable. And that ultimately leads to a military confrontation, which can then catch fire.

And even if America abdicates its leadership role as the guarantor, we will still be the hegemon (lead country). We’ll be the hegemon for at least the next 50-80 years or so regardless of what we do or don't do. So, we’ll be drawn into one (or more) of these conflicts.

Accordingly, it’s in the interest of the USA to ensure that there is no conflict between two nations. Because we’ll be almost assuredly drawn in to any conflict between any European nations, Japan, China, or otherwise.

Aside from the military aspect, we want to maintain a world economic and trade system that is maintained and secured by military force if need be. But it’s much harder to secure the world’s trade if you have many, different, competing poles of power, seeking to create little places of their protection for trade. China just did this recently.

Eventually, transit such as shipping lanes and air corridors could be closed. And that leads to miscalculation by other nations…which leads to war…which we want to avoid.

That’s why we want to “get out in front” of this sort of thing. We don’t want to allow bigger, broader conflicts to come up.

The problem with isolationists who advocate “staying out of it” in certain areas of the world is that they don’t realize that “staying out of it” isn’t a permanent decision. Sooner or later, the US will be involved.

The only question is do we want to be involved up front, with minimal conflict, or do we want to wait to get dragged into a shooting war between nation states later?

That’s the Caskey Doctrine, anyway. (For whatever it’s worth.)

Senate Expected to Vote Down a Minimum Wage Hike

Looks like the Senate won't be working with the President to raise the minimum wage.

The Senate is scheduled to take a test vote at noon Wednesday in whether to raise the minimum wage--and it's expected to fall short.

Sixty are needed to continue considering the measure. Democrats control 55 of the Senate's 100 votes, and virtually all are expected to back the increase to $10.10 from the current $7.25.

While some Republicans are seeking a compromise, others are balking. "Those who are being hurt the most in the Obama economy are the most vulnerable among us – young people, Hispanics, African-Americans and single moms,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during Tuesday's debate.

Being a classical liberal myself on such issues, I'd prefer that the minimum wage be $0. (If that makes your head explode, go read this.)

My guess is that this will be a main issue of the upcoming midterm elections. That, racism, and #WarOnWomen, I suppose. Excuse me while I go gouge my eyeballs out.

An Excellent Explanation of Why Common Core Won't Work

As always, Ace takes a topic and absolutely breaks it down wonderfully. Today, he did a great breakdown of Common Core, and why it's not a great way of teaching. I'm going to do a big block-quote here, but go read the whole thing.

Common Core needlessly complicates the simple. They complicate the simple, supposedly, to impart "number sense" to kids, to get them to understand not just that 9 +3 = 12, but why 9 + 3 =12.

That's a very ambitious goal.

I suppose we should ask this question, however: Given that teachers are currently failing in the less-ambitious goal of simply teaching that 9+3= 12, why do we believe they'll be better at the more-ambitious goal of teaching why 9+3 =12.

You guys see Stand and Deliver, the story (IIRC) of Jamie Escalante, some kind of aerospace engineer (IIRC) who decided to try his hand at teaching math at a poor, underpeforming majority-Hispanic school?

Well, he has a class of higher-level students. He drills them to say "zero times six is zero, zero times seven is zero, zero times eight is zero," and so on, and then, in what the movie industry calls a "Button" (an exit-line designed to end a scene on a dangling, interesting question that either leads organically to the next scene or suggests unfilmed activity going on beyond the filmed scene), he says to the class:

"Good (that you understand that zero times any number is zero).

Now: Why?"

The "Why?" is an interesting question. But note the order in which he introduced it: First he drilled the basics. Then, with his higher-performing students only, he introduced the Why?, not as the foundationof mathematical exploration (the foundation being rote memorization and drilling), but as the apex of it.

The last step, not the first, and not even the fifth.

I have previously written of this, calling it Cargo Cult. Previously uncontacted aboriginal populations would see the great planes flying in the sky, and would see them land and discharge various cargoes, including, say, cans of Coca-Cola.

The aboriginals wanted their own Sky God Chariots, and wrongly believed that Coca-Cola had something to do with aerospace technology; they'd collect empty cans of Coca-Cola and arrange them in red-and-white shrines in the belief that mastery of the Coca-Cola would lead to mastery of the power of flight.

They confuse the end result of a highly technological civilization (standardized cans of mass-produced, globally-sold beverages) with the necessary prerequisites for that civilization.

Go read the whole thing.

"Female Bikers Forbidden From Selling Cupcakes At Shooting Range"

I don't have anything against females, bikers, cupcakes, or shooting ranges. Actually, I'm fine with all of them. But together?

That's just a weird headline.

Father and Two Children Lost in Congaree National Park Have Been Found

Thank goodness.

I didn't want to put this story up until there was something good to report, and luckily, the family has been found. I know that the dad shouldn't have gotten lost to begin with, but this is one of those situations where you're just happy to have them back.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

Good to have the lost sheep back.

C.W. Cooke's Response to E.J. Dionne's Head Exploding

Does this make your head explode?

C.W. Cooke actually does a nice little fisking of E.J. Dionne's emotional temper tantrum, that I linked here yesterday.

This is all very entertaining, of course. But is it true? Has Georgia really adopted unusual, groundbreaking laws? Has it really opened up a new front in the campaign for gun rights? Has it really moved “out of the mainstream”? Well, not really, no. A quick review of the facts reveals that it has merely brought itself into line with much of the rest of the country. And about time, too.

Go read the whole thing.

What is a Photocopier?

Dear aspiring lawyers: If you are planning on engaging in civil litigation, please watch this video. This is the kind of stuff you have to deal with.

I've taken plenty of frustrating depositions, but this has to be the most frustrating thing I've ever seen. Having said that, I was dying laughing watching this, so I thought I would share.

If you're a a civil litigator, I know you'll enjoy this. If you know one, pass it along.

"Slight risk of severe weather in the Midlands this week"

That's the headline on a piece over at WIS.

If given a choice, I would prefer a severe risk of slight weather.

E.J. Dionne's Head Just Exploded

Remember when I said that the Georgia gun legislation was going to cause some head explosions over on the left?

Yeah, E.J. Dionne just had his head explode on Sunday. Clean up on aisle 4, please.

The amusing thing is that his entire piece is devoid of any logical argument. Apparently, his position is to light his hair on fire and run around screaming about how the end is near because of this new expanded carry law. That's basically his argument.

Hey, the facts are on your side argue the facts. When the law is on your side, argue the law. When neither the facts nor the law is on your side - pound the table.

Dionne is pounding the table.

The really funny thing is that in freaking out over the Georgia law that allows CWP into restaurants, places like the post office, and other areas, he's missed something. Most states already have similar laws. If Dionne ever figures out how to work Google, he's going to have an aneurysm when he sees how this sort of law is actually fairly standard across the country.

The Best Porsche Ever Made?

Today in 1931, a little car company known as Porsche was founded. In the 83 years since, the company has continuously honed its original VW based design, a car known as the 911. But what was the best car they ever made?

I know lots of people would say the 959. It's a phenomenal car. When it was introduced, it was the world's fastest street legal car. That's fast.

0-60 in 3.7 seconds. Screaming fast.

Porsche 959

But there's more to a great car than pure speed. It's got to have some style. Personally, I would say the best Porsche ever built was the ol' 356 model speedster. There's a car with some style. It can still move quickly, given how light it is, but you can also cruise slowly in a 356, and look even better.

Enjoy your weekend.

Civil Rights Expanded in Georgia

Leftists are going to have their heads explode in 3....2....1.

The Pine Tar Incident Revisited

You might have missed this yesterday, but a pitcher on the Yankees was ejected for having pine tar on his neck.

In light of that, I thought that it would be nice to revisit the original Pine Tar Incident.

Now, most everyone knows about the Pine Tar Incident, but did you know that there were some actual legal cases as a result of the game?

After the Yankees were declared the winner, the Royals protested the game. Their protest was eventually upheld by the American League, and the game was ordered to be resumed in the 9th innning, with Brett's home run counted.

The Yankees didn't want to play the game, so for the resumption of the game, the Yankees announced that they would charge non-season-ticket holders a $2.50 admission fee to attend. Two lawsuits were filed against the Yankees and Bronx Supreme Court (trial court) Justice Orest Maresca issued an injunction, also requested by the Yankees, preventing the game from being resumed until the lawsuits were litigated. Maresca also cited the Yankees' expressed concerns about security problems resulting from confusion over admission to the game

That injunction was immediately appealed by the American League and was overturned by Supreme Court Appellate Division Justice Joseph Sullivan. The Royals, who were in flight during that day's legal battles, did not know that the game would be played until they arrived at Newark Airport.

The Yankees finally agreed to allow admission for the game's conclusion to anybody with a ticket stub from the July 24th game at no additional charge.

Ain't baseball fun?

Got This from Opposing Counsel Today

So, I got this interrogatory from an opposing counsel today:

22. State the name and address of all persons who have been present in the presence of [client's child] and state the dates thereof.

The child in question is three years old.

Hmmmmm.... List every person who has ever been in the presence of your child, ever? Oh, and the dates, too, if you don't mind. Ok...

So here's my question: I know the OB/GYN who delivered the child three years ago would be first on the list. That's obvious.

After that, you've definitely got all the other babies in the hospital nursery, the nurses, the family members, and so on. After that, you've maybe got all the children in daycare, all the teachers, and those children's parents. That's not too hard. After that what else?

I mean, there's kids at birthday parties, but hopefully that overlaps with the daycare friends. I'm informed and believes that on Christmas Eve, a certain St. Nick came to visit the child, but how detailed to we go here? There are people in parks, church, and good luck answering if the child has ever traveled via mass transit.

Anyone have any ideas?

Right now, my draft answer is an objection on the grounds of not being omniscient. But that's a cop-out, right?

The Stone (Brewing) Bill

I'M ALL FOR THIS: SC Legislature has a bill pending to reduce the state regulations that would prevent brewpubs from operating.

Less government regulation = more freedom (and beer).

Is There a "Twitter Gap"?

"Democrats are supposed to be the party that all the young, hip people are crazy about. But when it comes to Twitter, Democrats have actually fallen behind Republicans in several important metrics."

Maybe it's because 140 characters limits your ability to BS.

[via Insty]

"Golf holes the size of pizzas. Soccer balls on the back nine. A mulligan on every hole."

Apparently, some people think these changes would be a good idea for golf.

Those people would be wrong.

Is this the future of golf? I certainly hope not.

“We’ve got to stop scaring people away from golf by telling them that there is only one way to play the game and it includes these specific guidelines,” said Ted Bishop, the president of the P.G.A. of America, who also owns a large Indiana golf complex. “We’ve got to offer more forms of golf for people to try. We have to do something to get them into the fold, and then maybe they’ll have this idea it’s supposed to be fun.”

As an initial matter, I'm not sure that the decrease of the number of people playing golf is a function of golf's decreased popularity. It may simply be a function of demographics.

Let's face it, golf isn't an easy sport to just pick up and play. It's kind of expensive compared to - say basketball. You can't play it anywhere, like with soccer. And the learning curve is very steep.

For instance, just about anyone can step onto a basketball court and start playing basketball with minimal effort. It won't be very high-level basketball, but you can play it fairly easily. With golf, it's quite the opposite. A first time golfer faces a high degree of failure in learning to play. It's very hard to play golf even moderately well compared to other sports. I'm defining "moderately well" as the ability to go casually play once a month and not be looking for your ball in the woods the whole time.

Golf demands work, patience, and discipline. A lot of it. Young people don't get exposed to golf very much, either. Especially when you compare it to soccer, baseball, basketball. Why?

In general, it's not an easy sport to just pick up. Typically, whom do you see out on a golf course? Older guys - I'd guess an average age of 35-40 or so. That's mostly because older guys have more time to devote to practice, more money to buy the equipment and pay to play, and more patience to go through the learning curve.

So, you've got all the older baby-boomer folks kind of dropping off the radar now, and the golf industry is worried that the twenty-something millennials aren't going to play golf. Well, no. Not right now. Give them a few years. After they go through the phase of seeking their dream job of being an artist in Guatemala or something, they'll settle down, have a family, and grow up. And some of them will start playing golf.

You don't need to change the game to make it more "attractive" to twenty year olds. Changing the hole size is utterly ridiculous. The hardest part of golf for a beginner isn't putting - it's hitting longer shots. I'm not sure who came up with the idea of making the hole larger, but they're a moron.

Also, changing the rules is a stupid idea. The rules of golf are not difficult. You hit the ball and count your strokes in a sequence of increasing, positive, integers. Record your score. That's basically it. Yes, there are more complicated rules for golf. But you learn those as you go. No one ever says "Yeah, I don't play golf because the rules are too complicated."

You want to get young people interested in golf? It's not that hard. Start kids early. Golf already does a good job of this with programs like programs like The First Tee. Could golf do better? Sure. But reaching out to younger folks doesn't have to entail radically changing the game. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for.

If you can make golf a fun and positive experience for younger kids, they'll develop into young adults who love the game and play. You don't need to start introducing soccer balls on the back nine.

Great Career Advice from Mike Rowe

Happy Monday.

Here's some good great advice from Mike Rowe for anyone out there looking for a job. It applies to every prospective applicant, from law students to high school graduates.

Stop looking for the “right” career, and start looking for a job. Any job. Forget about what you like. Focus on what’s available. Get yourself hired. Show up early. Stay late. Volunteer for the scut work. Become indispensable.

He's right.

South Carolina Drops Out of Common Core

Don't like Common Core? Well, South Carolina just chucked it.

In a letter sent to the chairman of the State Board of Education on Monday, Superintendent of Education Mick Zais said he learned he has the authority to withdraw the state from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and was exercising his power to do so.

"US warplanes rain bombs on leading cities of Jap empire."

Today in 1942, America first struck back at the Japanese.

Today in 1942, the sleeping giant, filled with terrible resolve, began to awake.

"Beards are less attractive when they are everywhere."

That's the headline on FiveThirtyEight.

Beards certainly aren't everywhere, but they've experienced something of a comeback. I think you would have to go back to the 1850's and 1860's to really get a feel for beards and facial hair being "everywhere".

Seems like most women wouldn't care if an attractive guy has a beard or not.

Kids React to a Walkman

Here's a reminder of how old I am. They gave young kids a walkman and gauged their reactions:

I was old enough to start getting into exploring my own tastes in music right about the time that cassettes were being replaced by CDs, so I had both. However, the only way to make your own "mix" was to make a "mix-tape" by recording songs off the radio onto a cassette. Mix-tapes were really big. It was the prehistoric ancestor of having your own playlist on an iPod.

Besides arranging the songs, the real trick was to make sure that you timed the start of the recording and the ending of the recording properly. If you started to early, you would get the DJ talking or the previous song - stop too late, and you get the same problem at the end. Also, you had to be really quick on starting the recording when the song you wanted came on the radio. Usually, I would miss the first couple seconds of the song unless I was just hovering over the tapedeck.

One of the first songs that I put onto a good mix-tape was Two Princes from the Spin Doctors. I still like that one.

I need to dig up some of my old mix-tapes. I'm sure I have them around somewhere.

Man Gets 18 Months In Jail for Urinating on The Alamo

Don't mess with Texas.

Shotgun Pop Quiz

Pop quiz, hot shot.

Just from looking at this photograph, can you tell me what gauge the shotgun is?

Answer below the jump.

South Carolina Supreme Court Rules Against Gamecock Club (I Join in the Dissent)

I didn't get a chance to post on this when it came out, but this opinion from the South Carolina Supreme Court is definitely worth exploring.

On April 2, 2014, by a 4-1 vote, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that the University of South Carolina could not charge an additional seat fee as a prerequisite for purchasing tickets to Charles Lee, who had become a "Lifetime Full Scholarship" level member of the Gamecock Club. 

The language in the contract is that Mr. Lee had "the opportunity to purchase tickets" from the Gamecock Club. Mr. Lee took the position that the Gamecock Club could not subsequently require him to pay additional seat licencing fees, and the South Carolina Supreme Court agreed with him.

Writing for the majority, Justice Kittredge stated:

Were we to accept the University's view of the Agreement, it would mean Lee received little or nothing in the bargain, for the University would always have the ability to demand additional consideration for the opportunity to purchase tickets.

This seems incorrect to me, and the problem is because the operative word is "opportunity". The seat tax was not additional consideration. The seat tax is simply a new condition precedent to have the the opportunity to buy tickets.

Respectfully, I have to side with Justice Pleicones' dissent in this case. Writing a lone dissent, Justice Pleicones stated:

Looking to the plain language, it provides that Lee would be a "Lifetime Full Scholarship Member" with "the opportunity to purchase tickets." Lee has received exactly what he bargained for...I am unable to find any language prohibiting additional fees. Further, the majority acknowledges that a court must enforce an unambiguous contract regardless of its wisdom, folly, apparent  unreasonableness, or the parties' failure to guard their rights carefully.

I have to agree.

The language of the contract said that Mr. Lee would have "the opportunity to buy tickets", and requiring the payment of an additional seat tax does has not deprived Mr. Lee of that opportunity. If he wanted to lock in a certain price, or exempt himself from any future fees, he should have done so.

Augusta Amateur Beats Rory By One Stroke

Since an odd number of players made the cut, the tournament paired Rory McIlroy with an Augusta National Member (Jeff Knox) for Saturday's round - who promptly turned in a scorecard one shot better than McIlroy.

Jeff Knox knows how to play golf.

Think he'll tell that story around the clubhouse once or twice?

Felt Naked In Court Today

I had to drive down to Charleston and back for a hearing today, so cut me some slack on not having any content up.

By the way, I spilled coffee on my tie right before the hearing, so I couldn't wear it. It was a catastrophic coffee incident on a light colored tie. Take my word for it - it was unwearable.

Anyway, first thing, the Judge asked why I wasn't wearing a tie. I apologized profusely and told the story of what happened. I also made a joke about my considering making an emergency tie purchase at Ben Silver. The Judge in a very good nurtured way commented that I probably wasn't making enough money on this particular case to justify an expensive Ben Silver tie - so no harm done.

Still, I felt very naked in Court without a necktie. I may start carrying an emergency tie in my briefcase.

As for today, I've sneaked a blog post in under the wire before 5:00PM. Luckily, I don't need a tie for blogging.

Enjoy your weekend. And don't get anything on your tie!

Colbert is Replacing Letterman

Kind of a weird move, if you ask me.

It's not that Colbert isn't funny. He's kinda funny. The thing is, he only really has one joke. He plays the crazy version of what leftists think Bill O'Reilly is. Colbert could be funny doing other jokes, but I don't really know. I've never seen him do anything other than his O'Reilly-schtick. I guess we'll see if Colbert can come up with another joke.

There are lots of funny people out there. Craig Ferguson wouldn't have been a horrible choice, but I don't think that either Ferguson or Colbert are as funny as Fallon.

Some Sectors of the Economy Are Doing Just Fine

Palmetto State Armory announced Thursday it will make a $4.2 investment to add extra space and renovate their facility on Old Dunbar Road.

According to the release, 300 new jobs will be created.

Five Tips for Attending the Masters

Other than the time change (which everyone hates) The Masters is one of the heralds of Spring. The pollen has dropped, the flowers and trees are budding, the weather is finally warming up, and golf's best gather in Augusta to test their skills. I've been fortunate enough to be able to attend the tournament, so I thought I would share five tips for those of you who may be attending for the first time.

1. Go on Thursday or Friday: If it's your first time, (and you have a choice) try to go on Thursday or Friday. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking Sunday is the best day to go. Well you'd be wrong. First of all, if you go on Thursday or Friday, you get to see the whole field before they cut people. This will allow you to see a lot of the older players and former champions who won't be around for the weekend. Also, I know this sounds dumb, but you can see the end on Sunday better on television. Finally, if you want to buy all sorts of Masters stuff, going on the first two days is better because the shops are sold out of the good stuff by Saturday.

2. Dress for a Sporting Event: You're not going to a cocktail party, ladies. So leave those high heel shoes at home. You're going to be doing a lot of walking, and the course is much hillier than it looks on television. Also, the grass is really low, and in the morning it's slippery. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a young lady in a white dress fall down and get muddy because she wore some slippery shoes. You don't want to be that girl.

Your ideal shoe should be a golf shoe, because it will have spikes. Failing that, wear something that you are comfortable walking around in all day. Again, it's a sporting event, not a cocktail party. Guys, same goes for you. You're going to look silly wearing a tie. Bring sunscreen and a hat.

3. Leave Your Electronics in the Car: This is probably the most important rule because it's something that can get you in trouble.Yes, it will be hard for you to part with your iPhone for an entire day, but you can do it.  The folks at the gate are going to check your bag, but even if you somehow got your phone in, you're going to get in big trouble if it rings, or pings, or does anything that attracts attention. What kind of trouble?

Well, those spiffy badges that you have will be taken away (and since this is your first time, they're probably not yours, are they?). You will be escorted off the grounds, and those badges could possibly be permanently cancelled for the owner, which is going to land you in hot water with whomever gave you the badges to begin with. You want to try explaining that one? Just don't do it. Enjoy the day in the beautiful surroundings without looking at a little screen.

4. See the whole place: Get there as early as you can. Do your shopping (if that's your thing) first, and then use the bag check so you don't have to carry everything around all day. Did you wear the right shoes? Good. You can then walk the entire course to get a feel for the place. About that time, the first groups should be going off the front. You can choose to follow a group or sit on a particular hole. It just depends on how ambitious you feel, but if it's your first time, don't just hunker down on Amen Corner because you've seen it on television. There's much more to the course.

5. Put your chair down early, and observe seating etiquette: You can bring in collapsible chairs that don't have arm rests. Definitely do this. When you get there in the morning, go put your chair down somewhere and leave it there. Yes, it will be safe. No one is going to mess with it. Also, don't mess with other people's chairs. In the morning, you'll see tons of empty chairs placed around greens and tee-boxes. It's how you save your seat. Just put your chair down in line with all the others. Snag a pairing sheet when you come in, and when you're sitting there, you can plan for the groups.

Personally, I like to sit on the 15th hole, near the top of the hill (or in the stands near the green), because it's a place where you see players make the decision to either go for it in two or lay up. If you sit in the stands by the 15th green, you can also see the action on the 16th hole just over your shoulder, so you kind of get bonus viewing.

As for etiquette, obviously be quiet when the players are within earshot. That will be easy because everyone else will be quiet. It's actually cool how a couple hundred people will all be huddled down somewhere, and it will be so quiet, you'll be able to hear the birds. No running to put your chair down. What are you five years old? Clapping for good play is acceptable, but booing players you don't like, or cheering for their mistakes is bad form.

Other that that, try a pimento cheese sandwich and enjoy the cheap beer.

Smart Guns are Kind of Stupid

This technology was developed in 1911.

The other day, Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress that he wished to "explore" the idea of smart-guns.

I think that one of the things that we learned when we were trying to get passed those common sense reforms last year, Vice President Biden and I had a meeting with a group of technology people and we talked about how guns can be made more safe. 

By making them either through fingerprint identification, the gun talks to a bracelet or something that you might wear, how guns can be used only by the person who is lawfully in possession of the weapon. 

It’s those kinds of things that I think we want to try to explore so that we can make sure that people have the ability to enjoy their Second Amendment rights, but at the same time decreasing the misuse of weapons that lead to the kinds of things that we see on a daily basis.

As an initial matter, smart guns are a stupid idea. You're starting with a firearm that is pretty basic and introducing another layer of complexity that carries additional points where the firearm can fail. The batteries could die, electronics aren't water-friendly, bio-metric scanners require a good scan, and probably wouldn't work at all with gloves. Radio signals can be jammed, and electronics just don't work 100% of the time like we want them to. If you can't trust your iTunes 100% of the time, do you really want to wait for your self-defense tool to sync up?

Aside from the fact that it's just a stupid idea, Holder's attitude really annoys me. His tone is dripping with the implication that the federal government will indulge us citizens our adorable little rights, on the condition that he can make our firearms safe enough for him.

Our basic liberties and rights aren't something that we "enjoy" like building model airplanes or cooking. The second amendment is serious stuff. It's the last stop check and balance against the state. Honestly, the nature of the firearms that a citizen owns isn't any of the government's darn business. Regulate some interstate commerce, and otherwise get out of the way.

If there are citizens out there who want to introduce another layer of modern technology into their firearms, and have some sort of Wi-Fi connection for their handguns, they're free to do so. There isn't a demand for a smart gun, so as always, this leftist idea is so good, they'll have to force people to comply.

As for me, I'll stick with the technology developed circa 1911.

Columbia Will Be Getting Minor League Baseball (Again)

In a 4-3 vote last night, the Columbia City Council decided to fund the construction of a baseball stadium in the Bull Street Development. Here's what the developer hopes it will look like:

Proposed stadium rendering via Hardball Capital

I'm not exactly thrilled with this whole deal, but I really do wish the best for this project. is a success. I'd love to see a vibrant Bull Street development area, I enjoy baseball, and this picture looks cool. This is one of the times that it would give me no pleasure to say "I told you so."

Come on Columbia. Don't screw this up.

Local News Roundup, April 8, 2014

I thought I would just toss out a few headlines for you today:

The City Council is probably going to approve the current plan to spend $29 Million on the baseball stadium tonight. 

In what is probably the most compelling argument to vote for someone other than Lindsey Graham, former cocaine user Thomas Ravenel said he intends to run as an independent if Lindsey Graham wins the GOP Primary.

Bobby Jindal will be the headliner at the GOP Silver Elephant Dinner here in June. No doubt it will be his audition for 2016.

And in unrelated news, some people are upset about the fact that airlines won't have limes for drinks anymore. Get over it, people. You're on an airplane. Flying. Forget about the limes. You're flying.

Just Joined FaceBook

After years of holding out, I have finally been assimilated. I was tired of having to ask Mrs. Permanent Press about what was going on with our friends.

For the most part, I will probably keep to non-controversial stuff on FaceBook, and keep all the random rantings here. I'm going to avoid crossing the streams of this blog and Facebook as best I can.

So, I'll see how it goes. Any good tips for maximizing FaceBook use?

Mozilla CEO Forced To Resign Because of His Personal Beliefs

Mozilla's CEO has resigned, due to public pressure for him do to so.

Now, what could have been so horrible of a personal belief that he was forced to resign from the company that he helped found? Was he a closet-Nazi? Did he believe in aliens? Was he a devil worshipper? Did he belong to the KKK?

No, it wasn't any of these. Apparently, he was driven out of his job - essentially fired - because he had the audacity to donate $1,000.00 (back in 2008) in support of California's Proposition 8, which was a ballot measure that would have banned gay marriage in the state until it was struck down by the Supreme Court in June.

Let me repeat that. He donated some money to a political cause that was on a ballot measure. For that, he was hounded out of his job.

We're really reaching a dangerous point with this kind of nonsense. The guy was basically cast out because his political beliefs weren't in line with the Approved Beliefs of the left. But I guess a congratulations is due to the gay activists who now have their bloody scalp. They succeeded in having a guy lose his job because he had the temerity to disagree with them.

Can you imagine the outrage if a conservative employer had summarily fired a couple dozen employees simply because they were leftists? I'm guessing that Eich might have saved his job if he had recanted his private beliefs and simply confessed to now personally supporting gay marriage.

I guess the heretics have to be purged though. That's the way to conduct a society, right? Remind me again, which people are in favor of tolerance and diversity?

Lunar Eclipse on April 15 Should Be Cool

Blood Moon a/k/a a lunar eclipse

Taxes aren't the only thing happening on April 15 this year - we'll be getting a total lunar eclipse.

Sky watchers are getting ready for an evening of special viewing when a total lunar eclipse arrives just after midnight on April 15. What's more, this begins a rare sequence of four total lunar eclipses expected over the next two years.

I've always found astronomy to be really interesting, but I haven't ever been committed enough to buy a telescope. I've got too many other hobbies as it is right now. The nice thing about lunar eclipses is that you can pretty much see them with the naked eye or a fair set of binoculars.

You may hear someone refer to a lunar eclipse as a "blood moon". The term blood moon came about because the moon nearly always appears copperish-red during an eclipse. This has to do with dispersed light from all the Earth’s falling on the face of the moon at mid-eclipse. It's the same thing that makes the sky turn the same color at sunrise and sunset.

Another Ft. Hood Shooting?

Damn. 

I'm invoking the 24 hour rule of not commenting on a shooting, starting now. All I'm going to say at this point is that this is sad. Our soldiers should not be getting shot on their own military bases. I guess someone didn't get the memo that Ft. Hood is a gun-free zone.

The Greatest Orator of Our Time Is A Third-Grader

Barack Obama: he's the greatest orator of our time. Sure, there's Pericles; he was good. Yeah, JFK had some good lines, and fine...FDR could turn a phrase.

But Obama is the best we have right now. Serious, you guys.

The president paid a visit to Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Mich., today as part of his push to increase the minimum wage. Zingerman's he said pays it's employees "fair wages". Whether their fair enough to afford the lunch the president had isn't clear. He ordered a small Rueben for $1399; larges go for nearly $17...

"If they tried to sell [Paul Ryan's budget] at Zingerman's they have to call it the 'stinkburger' or the 'meanwhich,'" he said.

Yep, that's the state of play we have from the president of the United States. He's decided to go with the ol' "stinkburger" and "meanwhich" argument. This form of argument is most effective on the third-grade level. If memory serves, I believe that if the "stinkburger" argument is not effective at changing your opponent's mind, the next level up is to call them a "Poo-poo head". Or Dummy. I'm not sure which.

Which dovetails into a related question I have. What is the most memorable line from President Obama? What's his great, soaring line that speaks to all Americans? I can't really think of anything memorable.

Name That Gun!

Here's a rifle that I've been thinking about adding to my collection. My next piece is going to be a historical rifle, and this rifle is one of the finalists.

Can anyone name it? Here's your hint: In the Civil War, it was referred to by the Rebels as "that damned Yankee rifle that they load on Sunday and shoot all week". Give up? The answer is below the jump.

Why I'm Not Interested in Writing About Obamacare Right Now

Because it's utterly pointless.

If you truly want to judge the success or failure of the new healthcare law, you have to have information. You have to have data. We don't have any of it. Apparently, the federal government either can't or won't release the information we need. The government is either incompetent or intentionally withholding information. Either way, we ain't got anything to talk about.

Oh, the White House keeps trumpeting the number of "sign-ups" like it's the gospel, but no one knows anything. Until the following information is known, no one knows anything:

1. The actual number of enrollees (you know, people who have paid premiums) at the federal and state-level exchanges.
2. The demographic breakdowns of the enrollees.
3. The number of enrollees who had health care prior to enrolling, but whose health insurance was cancelled due to new regulations promulgated under the ACA.

Until we know this information, it's useless to claim the law is a failure or that's it's a success. My guess is that since this information isn't readily being released by the White House, it's probably not good for the ACA.

This is simply a modest request for some transparency. The people of the United States aren't being given even the most basic of information about this law. In an open and free society, we get information and debate how things are going. Until we have the information, having a debate is pointless.

Until then, I'm going to post about things that aren't pointless. Like this picture of a bear and three cubs.

See? That's much better.

Coldest March In Over 20 Years?

AL GORE, CALL YOUR OFFICE: Obviously, record cold temperatures are directly caused by humans, or something.