Category Archives: Political Commentary

Political Commentary

Chicago’s Pointless Gun Ban

17 Comments

Thoughts from Steve Chapman:

If we were starting out in a country with zero guns, it might be possible to keep such weapons away from bad guys. But that’s not this country, which has more than 200 million firearms in private hands and a large perpetual supply of legal handguns.

Only a tiny percentage of those weapons has to be diverted to the underground trade for crooks to acquire all the firepower they need. While gun bans greatly impede the law-abiding, they pose only a trivial inconvenience to the lawless.

This is especially true at the local level. Banning guns from one city makes about as much sense as banning them on one block.

It’s hard enough to halt the flow of guns over international borders, where governments police traffic. It’s impossible to stop them from crossing municipal boundaries—which are unmonitored, undefended, and practically invisible.

Tens of thousands of cars enter Washington and Chicago each day from places where guns are easily and legally obtainable. Any of those vehicles could be transporting a carton of pistols to sell to willing thugs. If you’re on an island, you’re going to get splashed by the waves.

This is also why gun buybacks are an idiotic waste of money.

Business, Economics, Political Commentary

Uh Oh

14 Comments

Walmart’s customers are running out of money.

That’s both a symptom of and a bad portent for the economy.

[Update a few minutes later]

Somehow, I can’t help but think that this is related: consumer confidence in the economy’s future is at the lowest point yet in the Obama presidency. And it wasn’t high when it started.

I suspect that won’t change before November. And even then, we’ll be stuck with him for another two years, though at least he’ll be defanged. As Glenn often says, another Jimmy Carter is a best-case scenario.

[Update a couple minutes later]

This was particularly disturbing:

Forty-six percent (46%) of all adults now say it is at least somewhat likely the United States will enter an economic depression similar to the 1930s within the next few years, showing little change in this view over the past two months. That number includes 21% who say it’s very likely. Another 46% see a 1930s-like Depression as not likely, but just nine percent (9%) say it’s not at all likely.

I think that the probability of that depends on the voters, this cycle and next. If they keep reelecting people who enact policies that, for whatever reasons, continue to sicken the economy, as they did in the thirties, it could get really bad. I hope that the voters are smarter this time around. It’s possible to learn from history, at least in theory.

Education, Political Commentary, Science And Society

It Should Have Been Folklore And Mythology

8 Comments

Notorious con artist and fraud Al Gore is going to be given an honorary doctorate by the University of Tennessee:

Gore will receive the degree — an Honorary Doctor of Laws and Humane Letters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology — at the spring commencement exercises of the College of Arts and Sciences on May 14.

Instapundit is likely quite embarrassed.

[Late afternoon update]

You know, I think that this is pretty much a guarantee that UT commencement is going to be snowed out this spring.

Political Commentary

“The Dam Broke Today”

5 Comments

Charlie Rangel may be on the verge of being forced out of his chairmanship.

Too bad. I was hoping that he would continue to bleed the Dems on the subject of their corruption all the way to November. Not to imply, of course, that there isn’t abundant other evidence of it.

[Update a few minutes later]

The Republicans shouldn’t give them any cover on this. They should all vote “present.” Make the Donkeys clean up their own road apples.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Some Shocking Consistency

20 Comments

…from the editorial board of the LA Times:

…if the court would identify an important individual right — in this case, the right to bear arms — and then deny that it applied to the states, those who never accepted the incorporation doctrine might try to “de-incorporate” other rights. That’s not a risk worth taking.

A lot of the gun grabbers want to have it both ways — that the Second Amendment shouldn’t be incorporated, but that other rights do. At least the Times recognizes the inconsistency of this, even if they don’t understand the meaning and purpose of the amendment.

Political Commentary

This Will Be Entertaining

6 Comments

Mickey Kaus (who I talked to for a while at a party in Santa Monica a few weeks ago, though he didn’t mention this plan at the time) is running for the Democrat Senate nomination against Her Highness, Babs Boxer. It would be hilarious if he beats her.

[Update a few minutes later]

As Mickey says, the LA Weekly spoiled his campaign rollout. I wonder how they got the scoop?

[Late morning update]

I’d pay good money to watch him shred her in a debate. The IQ difference would be at least forty points.

[Early afternoon update]

I hope he calls her “Ma’am” when they get together. I hear she really likes that. 😉