Future Gamecock Recruit's Video Resume

Henry, my two year old son, has started enjoying baseball. Between his grandfather and me, Henry has attended four Gamecock Baseball games this year.

Needless to say, Henry has become a big baseball fan. Watching the "baseball guys" (as he says) has inspired him to take an interest in hitting a baseball himself. Henry was also the recipient of an actual baseball from Elliott Caldwell, who is a hard-hitting Junior on the Carolina Baseball team, so Henry has a favorite player. You can follow Elliott on Twitter here, if you're so inclined.

After watching the Gamecock hitters so far this season, Henry has decided to work on his hitting. The results are below.

Now, you're probably thinking How many takes did it take for Henry to hit the ball like that?

One.

That's right. First time. Old "One-Take Henry", that's what they called him in his Hollywood days. We'll work up to hitting live pitching soon, but until then, hitting off the tee is going pretty well.

Don't worry Coach Espo, I won't take any recruiting calls from that college up in the upstate.

SCSSAR Celebrates George Washington's Birthday at Statehouse

Our Chapter VP John McCabe (center) and Chapter President Haskell Kibler (right) at the Statehouse.

Today, the South Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SCSSAR) commemorated George Washington's birthday at the Statehouse. The event was originally scheduled to be on the front steps (by the statute of George Washington) but the inclement weather forced us inside.

We were lucky enough to have JoAnn Zeise, the curator of History for the State Museum, deliver some remarks. Saturday is George Washington's actual birthday, so wherever, you are, raise a glass to our first President.

Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/w/washington_george.html#VQyyM4yrB4gsfU

Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/w/washington_george.html#VQyyM4yrB4gsfUoS.9

Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/w/washington_george.html#VQyyM4yrB4gsfUoS.99

Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/w/washington_george.html#VQyyM4yrB4gsfUoS.99

Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/w/washington_george.html#VQyyM4yrB4gsfUoS.99

Big Win Today - Open Blog

I'm enjoying a big win professionally today, so...open blog.

Boom.

The Economics of Sex and Downton Abbey

This is one of those  "Whiteboard Videos", where they show you graphs while delivering the point, and it's interesting. It looks at the issue of sex as an economic transaction, and looks at the exchange in economic terms - supply and demand.

I think there are some more complicated factors out there not addressed by looking at relationships in purely economic terms can be misleading, but there is some truth to most of the points in this video. The most insightful comment in the presentation is: Men tend to behave as well, or as poorly, as the women in their lives permit.

There is some truth in that.

In the past, the issue of sex resulting in a baby made pre-marital sex (or at least sex without a serious committed relationship) much more risky, and therefore it was not as casual as it is now. (See, Edith's pregnancy in the fourth season of Downton Abbey).

Sometimes you had to go to France if you got pregnant without a husband. Or was it Switzerland?

Anyway, watch the whole video. It's safe for viewing. There's no nudity or bad language. It's economics, so relax. I would be interested to see if men and women have different perspectives on the points asserted. As Instapundit is always noting, the benefits of marriage to men have been downgraded over time through various factors, not the least of which is divorce jurisprudence.

Shamelessly stolen from Ace's Place.

How Not To Parallel Park [VIDEO]

I love sitting at the outside tables at the Gourmet Shop in Five Points watching people try and parallel park. Sometimes people just give up. We should make it an Olympic sport.

I'm torn when I watch this video. I can't decide if it's painful or funny.

Eh, I'll go with funny.

My First Look at Det Bowers for US Senate

My firm hosted a short meeting with Det Bowers, who has tossed his hat into the ring in the GOP race to unseat Senator Graham.

[Full disclosure: I know the Bowers family personally. I'm about the same age as his two older sons, and I have known him and his family growing up. He was also one of the ministers at my church for awhile.]

[Second full disclosure: I was only able to stay for the first thirty minutes, as I had a court hearing to attend. Accordingly, I missed about half of the discussion.]

Having said that, coming into today's meeting I didn't know anything about Det's political opinions, so I was interested to see what his motivation for running would be, and what his intentions were. My biggest concern was that he was running "to make a statement" rather than to actually win. I have no problem supporting people whom I agree with if they truly want to win, but I have no interest in supporting a candidate who's goal is anything other than actually winning. Because of his late entry into the race, I was worried that he might not be fully committed.

Accordingly, I was pleased to hear Det say that he isn't in the race to just show up. He told us that he decided to enter the race about a month ago. He said that one of the catalysts to his entering the race was when he and his wife recently watched the HBO series John Adams. Det told us that his wife encouraged him to run for this office because it was his duty to his country to try and make it a better place. Det said that his initial response was "I can give you about eight million reasons why I shouldn't run" but his wife dismissed that objection.

Det said that ultimately, he wants to run not against Senator Graham so much as he wants to run for the things that he personally believes in. He emphasized that he felt it was his duty to run for office.

Getting to those specifics, he led off with the idea that he wants to be a Senator that doesn't live in Washington DC. He said that his life is in South Carolina, and he wouldn't be a Senator who goes up to DC and becomes detached from this State. Without directly saying so, it was clear that he believes Senator Graham has made Washington, DC his home.

This dovetailed into his position that politicians shouldn't be in office for long periods of time, and he endorsed the idea of term-limits. He spoke about Washington's overspending, and the how Congress has continually delegated more and more authority and responsibility to the other two branches of government. He was extremely familiar with the Constitution, referencing it specifically in several instances. It was clear that he would seek to reassert Congress' power at the expense of Executive agencies.

He indicated that he would not have voted to confirm either Justice Sotomayor or Justice Kagan due to their views on abortion and homosexuality, but he acknowledged that they would have been confirmed anyway. However, he made a point to de-emphasize social issues, or at least it seemed that way to me.

It appears that his primary motivation for seeking a seat in the US Senate rests more on economic freedom and lessening the federal government's role in trying to direct private action. He told us about a business owner in Charleston who said he pays more  money complying with government regulations than he pays in taxes as an example of the federal government's heavy hand with economic activity.

On the practical side, his son Wyman is dealing with the logistics of the campaign. Wyman briefly indicated that they are looking to raise $500k by March, and he said that "it was a very attainable goal". They hope to have an official campaign website up and running soon as well. In the meantime, if you want to keep up with him, he is on Twitter. Wyman indicated that it was their goal to reach out to people both in and outside of South Carolina, as a US Senator's vote affects more than just one state.

Overall, Det Bowers struck me as a very humble and authentic man who is running for office because he truly wants to try and make this country a better place for his children and grandchildren. I'll be interested to see how his campaign plays out over the next few months.

I haven't decided where I am on this GOP primary, but I'll certainly be watching all the candidates closely.

Rocky Balboa Is Smarter Than Norman Ornstein

I'll admit, I don't have a degree in math. I don't excel at it. I don't particularly enjoy it. My forte lies in other things. I have the utmost respect for my friends who are engineers or have hard science degrees. Much like fire, poisonous snakes, and VX gas, I have a healthy respect for math.

The second you don't respect this, it kills you.

Accordingly, I don't try to mess around with math without making darn sure that I'm doing it correctly and following the rules.

Some goof named Norman Ornstein doesn't excel at math either. There's nothing wrong with that. The problem is that he doesn't have the same healthy respect for math that I do. When you don't have a healthy respect for something that you can't control, you get into trouble.

Norman Ornstein got himself into trouble with math. Here, see if you can spot the problem:

The first iteration of KidSave, in simple terms, was this: Each year, for every one of the 4 million newborns in America, the federal government would put $1,000 in a designated savings account. The payment would be financed by using 1 percent of annual payroll-tax revenues. Then, for the first five years of a child's life, the $500 child tax credit would be added to that account, with a subsidy for poor people who pay no income. The accounts would be administered the same way as the federal employees' Thrift Savings Plan...under the initial KidSave proposal, the funds could not be withdrawn until age 65, when, through the miracle of compound interest, they would represent a hefty nest egg. At 5 percent annual growth, an individual would have almost $700,000.

Since I'm not Euler, I'm going to break this down a bit. The Federal government is going to give every baby a $1,000 in an account. Then each year (for five years) the feds drop $500 more dollars into the account. So on the child's fifth birthday, they'll have $3,500.00 of principal. (and maybe a little interest over those five years) With me so far? So we're maybe at $4,100.00 with the interest at year five.

As an aside, who the heck gets a 5% rate of return? If you know anywhere that guarantees a 5% rate of return these days, send me an e-mail. Banks around here are paying less than 1%. But let's just leave that aside. Assume that your old buddy Ornstein has a magical bank that pays 5%. If you put your $4,100.00 in there, at the end of sixty years, will you have "almost $700,000.00"?

No. No, you will not.

Hint, it's not even close. Not. Even. Close. The link above has the more detailed fisking.

If you're a "math person" (or just have some common sense) you'll immediately realize that you can't take $4,100.00 and turn it into "almost $700,000" with a 5% interest rate over sixty years. It's just not possible. Perhaps the best line of the piece above is as follows:

I am no finance guy, but it was immediately obvious to me that Ornstein’s numbers are ridiculous. If you could turn $3,500 into $700,000 in 60 years at 5%, I wouldn’t be practicing law these days. As Rocky said to his two goldfish, “If you guys could sing and dance, I wouldn’t be doin’ this.” Money, unfortunately, does not sing and dance as hypothesized by Ornstein.

Yo, how's about some compound interest?

Math. It doesn't care about your good intentions. It's just going to do its thing. So show some respect, sucker. Also, for all y'all out there defending Obamacare, I have news for you. Math is coming.

Monday Open Thread

This is probably what you were doing if you were looking for some content today:

So...you'll have to talk amongst yourselves for today anyway.

Tomorrow, I promise actual content. I'll be co-hosting a meet and greet a for Det Bowers, who has tossed his hat in the ring for the GOP primary against Lindsey Graham. I'll have some notes on how that goes. I don't know much about Det, other than he has been a pastor at my church. I know he's a good guy, but I also know that Graham has a lot of money.

If nothing else, tomorrow will be educational.

Best Excuse for Not Getting Your Girl a Valentine's Day Card...

...comes from The New Republic.

If your other half bought you a Valentine's card, be sure to say thanks for the 18.5 grams of CO2 it created. http://t.co/JlxWN5Pjzv
— The New Republic (@tnr) February 13, 2014

Hey, honey. I didn't get you a Valentine's Day card because of.......um....global warming. You just don't care about the earth if you gave someone a card.

If anyone tries this excuse out today, let me know how it goes.

Enjoy Your Snow Day -Snow Related Links

Enjoy your snow day, y'all. Here are some interesting snow-related links for you to kill some time with while you're holed up.

1. Canadian Ski Coach Helps Russian Skier in Awesome Sportsmanlike Fashion. In case you forgot what the Olympics was all about.

2. How Much Snow It Takes to Close School Where You Live. A handy map for you school-age kids.

3. 95% of the Global Warming Models Are Wrong. No kidding, huh?

Today's snowy post brought to you by redheads with guns in the snow.

You know nothing, Jon Snow.

That's all I got for today. See you after the snow melts.

Obamacare and Touching the Hot Stove

Remember the Employer Mandate? The law says it shall take effect in 2014. It still says that. But that's just what the law says.

How did you learn not to touch this?

Last summer, the Obama Administration unilaterally delayed the Employer Mandate so that it wouldn't take effect until 2015. I'm not sure why Obama decided to delay implementation of such a great part of his super great law, but apparently, you don't need Congress to change laws or anything. So the Executive Branch just said Don't worry about the law, we're changing it. Because...well...nevermind.

So, 2014 is here. Time to start gearing up for the Employer Mandate next year, right? Well, actually no. Now that this year is here, the Obama Administration has decided that the Employer Mandate will be delayed again. They're going to implement it for some employers, but not others, and partially for some. Until 2017...or whenever, yo

Even though that's not what the law actually says.

Now, the real question is cui bono? Who benefits? Well, obviously the businesses who aren't faced with the massive costs of this imposing law benefit. But the White House isn't delaying the Employer Mandate to benefit the businesses. If they wanted to benefit the businesses, they wouldn't have passed the Employer Mandate at all. But they did. The law passed, and now we're seeing the President unilaterally walk it back, year by year. Why?

It's obviously to spare his friends in Congressional elections this fall the pain at the voting booth. It's a nakedly politically motivated violation of the law from the Executive Branch. Read that sentence again. Got it?

You know, if Republicans had any lick of sense, they would do do everything in their power to make sure the Employer Mandate hits this year. America elected a President and a bunch of politicians who passed this healthcare mess. But the same people keep easing back away from it. They know that everyone will feel tons of pain when the law actually goes into effect. So they keep delaying it. Maybe it's time to put the Employer Mandate into effect. Maybe it's time to feel some pain. Maybe it's time for America to touch the hot stove -- and burn its hand. 

When you burn your hand, you'll learn not to touch the stove again. Maybe next time you won't touch the damn stove when I tell you not too.

Winter Storm Watch Issued for Midlands

Once again, we play our dangerous game, a game of chess against our old adversary -- The Winter Snow. For forty years, your father and your older brothers before you played this game and played it well. But today the game is different. We have the advantage.

Yes, the winter weather is headed our way again. Looks like the storm will hit the midlands on Tuesday night and persist until Wednesday. As always, drive safely. 

One other note, unrelated to the weather: I'm fed up with The State website. They've cluttered it with drop-down ads, pop-up ads, and paywalls. Frankly, I've had enough, so I'm not going to be linking them anymore. There's never really a story on The State that isn't found elsewhere, so I'll go elsewhere. However, if I have to discuss something that is there and nowhere else, I'll be just generally discussing it without linking it. I know that The State isn't relying on me to send them traffic, but I'm just going to take a stand against bad websites that make it difficult to get to the content.

So yeah, mood status: Cranky

A Century of Meat in the USA [chart]

Happy Monday.

Here's an interesting chart about the US consumption of meat over the last hundred years.

You can see the larger version here.

Two interesting things jump out at me. First, pork is really volatile, while fish and shellfish is really stable. I'm not sure what drives that. Also, the big winner over the last hundred years is chicken.

What are you eating?

Top Headlines Thread (Russian Toilet Instructions Edition)

FRIDAY!

Here's a look around at the top five headlines I'm seeing today:

1. Jay Leno Says Farewell to the "Tonight Show": After a long run, he's finally leaving. I've seen plenty of criticism of Leno from people who say he's really dull, but I always thought he was pretty funny. My guess is he'll find some way to keep telling jokes for a living.

2. Charleston School of Law to Possibly Merge With the College of Charleston?: It appears that the State Legislature gets the final say on whether the Charleston School of Law can be sold to a private group, and that's not a sure thing. Accordingly the College of Charleston is looking into it. Law Schools can be quite a cash cow, since they don't require much overhead and rake in tuition dollars.

3. SC Legislature has Bill to Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks: If I remember correctly, this was the same thing proposed in Texas that (by her opposition) propelled Wendy Davis to the forefront of national politics. Could we see a similar phenomenon here in South Carolina? If so, which state legislator is the most likely to be the face of the opposition to this law?

4. Four Ways Obamacare Hurts Millennials: Spoiler alert -- Young people are helping pay for the older, sicker people's coverage.

5. Want to Buy a Gun? Be Glad You Don't Live In Massachusetts: Hey, it could be worse. I hear China has some pretty tough restrictions on guns as well.

Yeah, yeah yeah...the Winter Olympics are starting, too. I guess that's news. The real news is all the problems that are going on with the logistics. Russia is weird, though. Here is a sign that is above toilets in Russian Hotels

 What's that on the bottom left? Do some people fish in toilets? Is this a Russian thing? I also like the bottom right one. Is that guy doing "air drums" on the toilet with a beer bottle?

That's all I got for some Friday AM links.

Jerry Seinfeld Dismisses "PC Nonsense"

Jerry Seinfeld has received criticism from the Diversity Agitator Crowd, because the guests on his new show aren't "diverse" enough. Of course, right? That Jerry Seinfeld is such a menace.

When he was asked about this criticism in a recent interview, I kind of figured that he would say something along the lines of Hey, there's lots of funny women/minorities out there, and I just haven't had a chance to have them on my show...or something like that. Something along those lines would be non-committal, and would be a kind of tacit acknowledgment that he supports diversity for it's own sake. Who could have a problem with that?

His actual response?

Well, let's just say he went another direction.

“People think it’s the census or something,” Seinfeld said of the assertion that all pop culture should accurately reflect society. “This has gotta represent the actual pie chart of America? Who cares? Funny is the world that I live in. You’re funny, I’m interested. You’re not funny, I’m not interested. I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that.”

This is what you can do when you're rich enough and accomplished enough. You can tell the politically correct, Diversity Agitator Crowd to all go pound sand. And that's exactly what he did.

Good for Seinfeld.

How to Eat Chicken Wings

You're probably doing it wrong.

I was.

Do You Feel Lucky With an Open Thread?

Open Thread.

Two hearings today, so this is what you get.

Columbia Bars, Restaurants Say "No" to Concealed Weapons

And that's fine.

If you give people choices, they'll make the best choice for their personal situation. In the larger picture, it all works out.

Freedom. Voluntary Association. It's a radical concept, bro.

Fun With Magnetism

Pretty neat.

h/t Insty.

Actor Phillip Seymor Hoffman Found Dead of Apparent Heroin Overdose

Hoffman was found dead with a hypodermic needle still in his arm.

Ace has a good point about the debate over drug legalization. Basically, his point is that the choices are a binary set of two choices:

1. Drugs are bad, and therefore must be illegal; or,
2. Drugs are fine, and therefore should be legal, and it's ok to do drugs.

Ace notes that you don't really see a more (dare I say) "nuanced" argument for: Drugs can be legal, yet they're pretty dangerous, so maybe you shouldn't do them.

As usual, Ace is right.

In all of the argument for legalization of marijuana in Colorado, we aren't really seeing anyone say that maybe it's ok to have legalized pot, but maybe we shouldn't be such big cheerleaders for it without the counterbalancing argument of "Maybe we shouldn't smoke pot all the time".

As events like Hoffman's death remind us, drug use has some negative consequences. Yes, this was heroin, not pot, but still, with all this marijuana legalization talk, I'm not hearing about any negative consequences. That's not good.

Remember the line Bill Clinton had about abortion? He said it should be "Safe, legal, and rare"which is a kind of third way of approaching the abortion issue. It's not the cheerleading stance of "Yay abortion", and it's not the prohibitionist stance of "never". He took the path of let's keep it legal, but let's discourage it culturally and socially.

I think that's the right path for some drug legalization. The problem is that we aren't seeing anyone of the legalization side of the argument call for restraint, or rarity in drug use.

Confessions from a TSA Agent

 
If you've ever gone through airport security, you should read this.

2014 Gamecock Baseball Season Preview

Last night, Holbrook, Myers, and Esposito spoke at a Palmetto Club dinner to give a season preview. I took a few notes, and thought I would share with fellow USC Baseball fans. It's long, so I'm putting it below a jump.

It's Almost Baseball Season

It snowed yesterday, but baseball season is around the corner. Tonight, Coach Holbrook is giving a talk on the upcoming season for the USC Baseball team -- should be good. I'll have a full report afterwards.

We're all told at some point in time that we can no longer play the children's game, we just don't... don't know when that's gonna be. Some of us are told at eighteen, some of us are told at forty, but we're all told. 

Laser Keyboard

Anybody use one of these before? This looks freakin' cool.

Rock N Roll Breakfast

Want to up your musical IQ? I have the perfect blog for you. One of my best friends (Mike Z.) from law school has jumped on the blog train with his own music-themed blog: Rock N Roll Breakfast.

The beginning of rock and roll.

Even back in law school, it was clear that Mike Z. was the cool "music guy" in our group, so it makes perfect sense that Mike would start a blog focusing on his family's musical journey through different genres of rock and roll.

My life seems to have come with a soundtrack, and I want to share it with my family.  The kids may not like every song we play (I’m not foolish enough to think that I will always be cool…or ever was), but hopefully, they’ll hear these songs someday and laugh and make fun of their Mom and Dad or find a way to smile on a hard day or find just the right song to celebrate a great moment.  These organized noises and words are more than just songs, they are part of the fabric of our family.  I want our kids to create their own soundtracks – with a few dedications to Mom and Dad and a shout out to us in the liner notes.

He's starting with 1950's rock for his first post. If you're a music lover, or just want to up your musical knowledge, this should be a great blog for you. He also links the songs on Spotify so it's easy to follow along. I highly recommend it.

Cheers!

2014 State of the Union

Play along at home. I'm going to try and Live-Tweet the State of the Union on my semi-automatic Twitter Feed. It might not be the same as actually being there, but at least you won't have to stand up and clap every couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, in Columbia, no snow to report here at Casa de Caskey.

Winter is Coming (Tomorrow, Apparently)

Apparently, people are saying that a snowflake or two will come down in Columbia tomorrow, so everything for tomorrow is being cancelled because I guess everyone thinks it's going to be like this:

This is annoying. It's winter, people. It will be cold. It might snow a little. That's normal. The white walkers aren't coming to overrun the city. It's just a little snow.

Let's not cancel Court hearings, school, and regular events like work for a few snowflakes. Just drive safely and try to use a little common sense.

(But maybe keep the dragon-glass sword handy, just in case.)

Cold Breakdown of the SC CWP Bill

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I'm both a lawyer and a gun owner with a CWP here in South Carolina. The new CWP bill that is about to become law hasn't really received an in-depth analysis other than focus on "you can carry in restaurants" line.

I'm not just blaming newspaper journalists here. Even the NRA's legal blog team has a cursory few sentences about this law that don't really tell you much. When you dig into this bill, there are actually some serious things that people need to know.

So, I (your humble blogger) have done the hard work of looking at the actual legislative language of the bill to let you know exactly what this bill does and doesn't do. So, here goes. (The alphabetical list is my own. It doesn't refer to any specific subsections. It was just a way to organize the points.)

A.     Carry Allowed into Restaurants and Bars: This is what most people know, as it's the big headline getter. As it stands right now, a person with a valid CWP (like me) cannot carry concealed into a bar or restaurant that sells alcohol for on-premises consumption. That means I can't carry into Apple-bee's or Rosso tonight because they serve alcohol. So, this law now amends that provision to say that a person who has a valid CWP license may carry concealed into a a business which sells alcoholic liquor, beer, or wine for consumption. However, that person may not consume alcohol at all. If you drink while carrying, you lose your CWP, and can go to jail for up to two years.

B.     Restaurants and Bars May Prohibit Carry: Now, there are a good number of people who don't like the new tweak to the law as described above. Accordingly, there's a second tweak. Any restaurant and bar may simply post a sign that prohibits carrying concealed, and no one will be allowed to carry concealed. If you ignore the sign and carry concealed anyway, same penalty as above. I like to think of this as the "If you like your gun free zone, you can keep your gun free zone" provision.

Additionally, even if the bar or restaurant doesn't post the sign, they can still request that any particular person carrying concealed leave on a case-by-case basis. If that person refuses to leave, same penalty as above. So if you're a bar or restaurant, you can either chose to have an entirely gun free zone, or a selectively gun free zone.

C.     Tweaks to CWP Applications/Requirements: Before, you had to have a valid SC driver's license. Now, any photo ID issued by a state will work, as long as you qualify as a resident. The residency definition is also modified to allow certain classes of applicants (former and/or current military, police, law enforcement) to be exempt from most the training certifications.

D.     Elimination of the 8 Hour Training Requirement: Before, pretty much everyone had to go through a class that was a minimum of 8 hours as a requirement for your CWP. The 8 hour class length requirement has been eliminated. You still have to do the same things (including actually firing a handgun in the presence of the instructor) but there's no time minimum for each class.

E.     Online Applications: You can now submit your application to SLED online.

F.     Express Written Consent In Contradiction of Posted Sign: Kind of an interesting amendment. You can now, post a sign in front of your business and completely prohibit concealed carry. This bill now has a provision that would allow the owner to issue someone a written exemption from the sign generally prohibiting carrying.

G.     Renewals/Vehicle Storage: Currently, your CWP is valid for four years, then you have to renew. The bill changes that to five years. The renewal fee is still $50.00. Also, it allows CWP holders to store a pistol under their seat in their vehicle or in any storage compartment. (Although I wouldn't recommend that.)

That's basically it. So on to the opinion part of this.

Is this a good bill or not? The substantive part about carrying in places that serve alcohol is not as big of a deal as either side would probably want you to believe. If you run a bar or restaurant and you want to keep CWP folks out, then all you have to do is put up a sign. The good thing about this law is that it doesn't force anyone to do anything. It offers a set of rules for everyone to follow according to whatever choices they want to make, and I like that.

Just because I like to carry CWP doesn't mean everyone does. I'm sure there are people out there who own restaurants that don't want guns in their establishments. That's fine. This law respects their wishes.

As for the other provisions, I'm not really wild about eliminating the 8 hour minimum class time. I took the class, and it was really informative, even though I already had a solid background in guns and shooting. There were some people in my class who has zero knowledge going in, and they needed every minute of that eight hours to get comfortable. At the end, they felt very much empowered by their knowledge of how a gun actually works, the different parts of a gun, and all sorts of other basics. I just don't feel like 8 hours is too much to ask for if you're going to want to carry CWP, if you're going to take it seriously.

Also, if you read the NRA's summary of the law, they say this bill "improves training standards". I kind of think that's misleading at best.

I'm fine with the online application, since you have to send all the same information anyway. It's just an acknowledgement that e-mail is a simple way to communicate.

The express written consent is an interesting tweak. It means that someone can selectively allow CWP into their place by giving written consent to whomever they choose. I guess if a bar or restaurant wanted to ban CWP, but then wanted to allow a regular guy they know really well to carry, they can exempt him. Kind of interesting, and since it's all left up to the individual owners, I'm fine with that. I doubt this will happen much in practice, though.

So is it a good law? I think it's a good law in that it has taken an existing law and given more flexibility for each individual citizen and business to decide how they want to conduct themselves. Will it actually change that much of what goes on in practical terms? Probably not. All the folks who say this bill will turn SC into the "wild west" with shootouts in saloons are blowing smoke. Guns are a hot-button issue, so each political "team" will try to amp their base up by either saying this law is horrible or that it's panacea. To me, it's very vanilla stuff that could have easily been included in the first CWP Bill.

If you're an anti-gun person, I hope this analysis has calmed you. If you're pro-gun, I hope this has shown you that you don't have the freedom to carry anywhere anytime, and that there are stiff penalties for breaking the law in this regard.

So there you have it, campers. I feel that I've done my public service for the week and made up for not posting yesterday. If you have any questions or comments about the CWP bill, I'd be interested to hear them. Also, if you think I got any interpretation of the law wrong, let me know.

Colorado to Require Education Classes Prior to Marriage?

Per the Denver Post, I don't even know where to start with this.

Lumped onto the hours spent debating centerpieces, picking a photographer, finding the perfect dress and corralling future in-laws, the proposed Colorado Marriage Education Act calls for 10 hours of pre-wedding marriage education.

Yes, that's right, campers. State sponsored marriage school. There are people out there who think the State of Colorado should be involved in counseling you on your impending marriage. The mind boggles.

First (and let's get this straight right from the start) the government has absolutely no business trying to prescriptively tell people what does and does not constitute good marriage advice. Second, assuming they do this, what are they going to teach people?

I've been married for nine years, have a good matrimonial litigation practice, and I still don't consider myself qualified to give other people marital advice.

Here's the thing, though. The people pushing for this program are doing it with good intentions. Their stated goal is to: "better prepare individuals going into marriage to fulfill their new roles as spouse and potentially as parent, to furthermore protect children given that marriage is the foundation of a family unit."

That's an admirable goal. Who could be against protecting children, right? Is there anyone out there against protecting children? This group of people is probably a really "family values" group that has a foundation in historical Christian values, and they probably truly want to see children protected and marriages succeed. They're probably Republicans. Those are certainly admirable goals.

However, the manner in which they are going about achieving these goals is the problem -- they're using the legal force of the law and the arm of government to require people to sit through their education classes.

This strain of Republican really bothers me. Like their Democratic counterparts, they think they know better than the rest of us, and if only we would let them be in charge everything would be better. Democrats tend to think they can do this in almost every aspect of our lives, so they're usually in favor of using the government to force people to do things that they might not voluntarily do.

Can't people be just left alone to marry anymore without some scolds or nags telling us everything that we need to do? I mean, isn't that going to happen anyway once we get married?

Just kidding, ladies.

In all seriousness though, there's nothing wrong with attending classes prior to getting married. Heck, I did that through my church about nine years ago. But that was a voluntary choice. A voluntary choice is the polar opposite of the government requiring you to do something as a precondition.


C. S. Lewis had a quote about this: 

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Indeed.

Goodell: NFL Might Get Rid of PATs

While I was busy working yesterday, the NFL Commissioner was busy coming up with weird ideas. Specifically, he floated the idea of eliminating the PAT.

“You want to add excitement with every play,” Goodell said. “So there have been some proposals. Some are still going through the process of creativity, but there’s one proposal in particular that I’ve heard about (where) it’s automatic that you get seven points when you score a touchdown, but you could potentially go for an eighth point, either by running or passing the ball. But if you fail, you’d go back to six.”

So we're talking about scoring a touchdown, getting seven points for that, and then having the ability to gain an extra point by going for the two point conversion, with the idea being that if you fail, you go back to six.

This is a silly idea. First, it's not going to motivate any coaches to go for two (or should we call it one?) with the conversion "bet", unless they otherwise would due to the score being odd. If you didn't know, there's actually a chart that you can use to determine when to go for the two-point conversion. I'm told there was math involved.

Anyway, my point is that eliminating the PAT kick won't really change the game at all, other than to have the effect of going directly from TD to kickoff most of the time. Does that really make the game "more exciting"? Not really.

It does move the game along a little, but the PAT only takes a few seconds. The big delay is really a feature of the TV timeouts they take between the TD, the PAT, the kickoff, and then the first offensive possession of the other team. In that span of time, you can get a TV timeout (a commercial) between all of those, resulting in about 4-5 minutes before more actual football occurs.

So, it's really the commercials. Also, do you know anyone who complains about PATs? Hey bro! You know, the thing I hate most about the NFL is those darn PATs. They're soooo boring! I wish they would get rid of them!

No, you don't know anyone who says that, because no one says that. You know what I would like to see? I would like to see the NFL tell advertisers that they can only show a certain commercial a limited number of times during each game.

Think about it. How many times have you watched a football game and seen the same commercial for three hours, over, and over, and over? Being overexposed to the same commercial makes you start to loathe the product. Case in point: Before he saw this commercial, my friend Will probably didn't have any strong feelings about the Nissan Rogue. Now I bet you a nickel he would never buy one, because he's had that stupid commercial force-fed to him about a billion times in the span of a few football games. If you bought one, he would probably make fun of you.

Keep the PAT, drop the repetitive commercials.

This Osprey Is a Better Fisherman Than You

But you probably can't see as well as he can. And you probably don't have talons. 

This is just a video of an osprey catching fish, but it's kind of mesmerizing.

This is how you fish with style.

Fairly Comprehensive List of American Whiskey Distilleries

This list is an attempt to catalog all current American whiskey distilleries and brands. The idea is that if you see a bottle of American whiskey on the shelf, you should be able to consult this list and figure out who makes and markets it. 

The list has two parts. Part I lists all American whiskey distilleries which are currently producing whiskey, or have plans to produce whiskey in the near future, along with their brands, listed by state. Part II lists independent bottlers of American whiskey; that is, companies that buy whiskey from the distilleries listed in Part I and bottle it under their own labels. Note that some of the distilleries listed in Part I also source whiskey from other distilleries.These lists do not include all blended whiskey brands or brands that are for export only, though some are mentioned. It also does not include American bottlers of foreign whiskeys (i.e. American bottling companies that bottle Irish or Canadian whiskeys). It also does not include "spirit whiskey," which is whiskey in name only.

Obama Considers Raising Minimum Wage

Through supporting a law to be passed by Congress? You know, the normal way laws are passed?

Nah, who needs the legislative body, amirite? He's considering doing it via Executive Order, which surprises me not at all.

Dictators gonna dictate.

Why I'm Fine to Let Chris Christie Drown

Not literally drown. I mean politically.

Prior to the lane-closings on the GW Bridge turning into an abuse of power scandal for Governor Christie, he was viewed as one of the primary front-runners for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2016. He has been described as a practical governor who was willing to work across party lines to advance his state's interest, and that he was a "moderate".

That is certainly true. However, I would like to recap a little recent history for everyone:

2008: McCain gets the GOP nomination for President because he was a pragmatic moderate who had worked across the aisle to get things done. He lost.

2012: Romney gets the GOP nomination for President because he was a moderate who had worked across the aisle in his home state of Massachusetts to pass a health insurance regulatory scheme that was the forerunner of Obamacare. He lost.

So, does the GOP really want to nominate another moderate republican candidate who has worked across the aisle for the 2016 Presidential race? What's the definition of insanity, again?

There are two basic reasons I don’t want to see Christie be the GOP nominee besides historical precedent. He supports immigration amnesty and he accepted ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion in his state. If he had only done one of these, there would only be a red flag. Both of these are a disqualification to me.

Here's the thing. No matter what anyone says, one of the major points of the 2016 debate will be Obamacare. It will likely be a flaming train-wreck of a program. The GOP cannot have a nominee that is tainted by the program.

Remember back in 1940 when Winston Churchill won the Prime Minister job? He won because he wasn't tainted by the Munich Accord. He was always against appeasement of Hitler, and the men who had either tried to do so or had accepted the trying were not able to convince enough of the electorate that they were the men for the job.

Christie won't be able to convince enough of the electorate that he's the man for the job because he's tainted by his going along with Obamacare's medicaid expansion. It's Romney all over again.

Get someone who isn't tainted. 

Question for All the Central Planners Out There

Question for all the super-smart central planners out there: How do you lower the cost of a product or service?

It is an iron-clad rule of economics: The only way to reduce cost is to increase supply or decrease demand. 

Forget reducing demand. That's not happening, because we're not talking about a luxury good like wine or iPods. We're talking about getting your head stitched up when you fall off a ladder, or getting your gall bladder out. Demand isn't going anywhere, so that leaves us with the supply of health care. Not health insurance. Health care.

And Obamacare does nothing to address cost, because it doesn't increase the supply of health care. If you wanted to increase the supply of health care, you could come up with lots of ways to do that. However it does nothing of the kind.

In fact, Obamacare is chock-block full of policies and regulations that further artificially limit supply.

A bill that increased the supply of health care--not health insurance!--would be a bill with majority support.

Alas, the same folks who wrote this failure of a law will likely be the ones to write the single-payer law to follow.

And. Here. We. Go.

But in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Humana disclosed to investors, "as a result of the December 2013 federal and state regulatory changes allowing certain individuals to remain in their previously existing off-exchange health plans, the Company now expects the risk mix of members enrolling through the health insurance exchanges to be more adverse than previously expected."

Can you say "death spiral"?

Math doesn't care about your good intentions. It just likes to watch the world burn.

Almost to the Weekend, But Not Quite There

It's been a busy day. I'm still working. However, I decided to bring you this picture of a dog, as a content-free post this Friday afternoon.

 

Enjoy your weekend. I'm still trying to get there.

You Don't Need An AK-47 Unless...

You actually happen to need it.

There's just no substitute for the right tool for the job.

Rifle Maker Is Loving SC After Leaving CT

PTR Industries, a rifle manufacturer that left Connecticut for South Carolina, is getting a healthy dose of Southern hospitality.

“I have personally been able to get a very good feel from South Carolina, from the governor down to the local beat cops to your average citizen,” he said. “The welcoming has been tremendous. People on the street, cashiers at the gas station or the pizza place, or even TSA agents, they know who we are and they’re happy to have us. In Connecticut, we always felt like a dirty little secret. Down there, it’s very much the opposite.”

Looks like South Carolina is doing something right.

Trigger Discipline (Do's and Don'ts)

Brad had a post today about some Jihadists who wear knock-off clothes. I'm not really sure what his point was, but the guy in question had some poor trigger discipline. (Finger directly on the trigger; go see for yourself) Also, it was an RPG, so we're not just talking about a stray round from an AK here. Don't be this guy.

If you're a regular reader of this blog (or just have good gun safety) you know the rule. Say it again, this time with feeling: 

Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you have acquired your target and made the decision to fire.

Here's an example of good trigger discipline.

Obamacare Actually Cancels More Plans Than It Creates

Remember way back, a long time ago? Back when we were debating Obamacare having Obamacare shoved down our throats because it would result in more insured people? For our own good, of course.

Yeah, about that.

More than 4.7 million Americans had their health insurance canceled as a result of any of the thousand-plus-page law’s new rules, The Associated Press reports, but the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed Tuesday that between federal and state exchanges, just two million Americans have signed up for Obamacare coverage. (RELATED: Obama administration announces net loss of at least 3 million insurance plans)

So, we're down 3 million insurance plans due to this law. I guess this is what the Ivy-League folks call a "sub-optimal" outcome, right? I'm only asking because I'm a moron from South Carolina.

Just to recap: Less people have insurance, it costs more, and it covers less.

That's one hellava a system you came up with, guys.

Florida State vs. Auburn (My Pick)

It's a beautiful backdrop in Southern California, perfect for the last game of the season. It's also the last BCS Championship ever. Next year will be the first year of the playoffs, so there's a special quality to this game.

Auburn has gotten here due to some magical plays down the stretch. Some people are calling them the "Team of Destiny". Florida State has gotten here by beating the snot out of what is admittedly a weaker schedule than most. However, they're for real.

I don't know if the Auburn magic will continue for one more game, or if Florida State will continue their dominance, but we should be in for a good one.

Relax, crack open a cold one, and enjoy the majesty of this beautiful game. For a die hard football fan, it's really nice to be able to watch a game without really having too much stake in the outcome. My new brother-in-law has Auburn in his family, and my mom has some Florida State in hers.

Being a good southern boy, I'll go with my mama and the Seminoles.

Enjoy the game.

Midlands Schools to Have Delayed Opening Because of Cold Weather

No precipitation, but we're now having a delayed opening for the cold? I could understand if it was going to be icy due to snow, or sleet, but there isn't any actual precipitation being forecast. It's just going to be cold.

I don't really think that two hours is going to make much of a difference.

Bart Starr in the 1967 Ice Bowl

Put on a coat, y'all. Or don't. Bart Starr didn't need a coat in the Ice Bowl. Man up.

George Will on "Fox News Sunday"

Oh, there’s nothing better for American conservatism than periodic examples of untrammeled liberalism. 

Indeed.

You've Lost Another Ship?

Remember the ship full of global warming scientists who are stuck in the Antarctic ice? Yeah, the ship is still suck, but that's not why I'm updating you.

You've lost another ship?

I'm updating you because a second ship (sent to rescue them) is stuck. So at this point, the score is:

Massive Anarctic Ice Sheet: 2

Scientists: 0

At some point we need to talk to these supposedly smart people who keep getting stuck in the ice. I'm not being filled with confidence that these are our best and brightest. This is comedy gold. I'm sure even the penguins are laughing at these idiots.

You know what's even funnier? When Al Gore got a Nobel Prize in 2007, he said in his Nobel acceptance speech that the arctic would be ice free in 2013. Oh well, at least I have a new theme song for the global warming dopes:

Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it.

Elections Have Consequences

Remember Colorado's decision to enact stricter gun control last year?

Magpul Industries has finally made good on their promise to leave Colorado. They've announced that they will be taking their 250 jobs and moving to Texas and Wyoming. I'm sure the anti-gunners are probably happy to have Magpul gone anyway.

That's fine. I'm sure Texas and Wyoming are happy to welcome manufacturing jobs to their state. If you're going to be hostile to a particular industry, you shouldn't be surprised when they leave.

Maybe Colorado can make up the loss of jobs and revenue by selling more marijuana.

Spurrier is OG

Allow me to sum up the awesomeness of the Capital One Bowl for you in one GIF (via @BuzzFeedSports):

1. Connor Shaw takes the snap from the shotgun
2. Shaw hands off to Pharaoh Cooper on what looks like a sweep left
3. Cooper laterals it back to Bruce Ellington
4. Ellington then throws it back across the entire field to Connor Shaw, who has slipped into the endzone unnoticed until it's too late.
5. Touchdown

Spurrier is original gangsta.

Capital One Bowl Pre-Game Thread

Happy New Year! I stayed in last night, but apparently I was the only person who decided to do that. It sounded like there was a Revolutionary War battle going on last night from around 10:00PM until about 12:30AM.

Anyway, it's one of the best days of the year. Today is the day when college football gives us an overflowing buffet of football games to watch as we enjoy the beginning of a new year.

Enjoy the day, y'all. If you need to get pumped up, here's the scene setter.

To begin the New Year I'll be smoking some wings, enjoying frosty refreshment (required when using the smoker) and basking the glory of college football.

Go Gamecocks!