My thoughts on the Germanwings disaster, over at National Review.
[Update early afternoon]
Over at USA Today, I note that we will never have complete safety in any endeavor, including airliners.
The Real Liberals, In Australia
A big victory in New South Wales.
Controlling The Populace
You’re probably breaking the law right now.
…we may hope that prosecutorial discretion will save us: Just explain to the nice prosecutor that we meant no harm, and violated the law by accident, and he or she will drop the charges and tell us to be more careful next time. And sometimes things work that way. But other times, the prosecutors are out to get you for your politics, your ethnicity, or just in order to fulfill a quota, in which case you will hear that the law is the law, and that ignorance is no excuse. (Amusingly, government officials who break the law do get to plead ignorance and good intentions, under the doctrine of good faith “qualified immunity.” Just not us proles.)
I don’t find it all that amusing. The whole federal code needs to be overhauled, in accordance with the Constitution. And it does seem unconstitutional, and a violation of mens rea, to prosecute and convict people for laws that they can’t reasonably be expected to have knowledge of.
The Bergdahl Fiasco
It really does have a little bit of all of Obama’s flaws and lies in it:
If you were compiling a checklist of all the things that drive conservatives crazy — and by conservatives I basically mean people who are (a) paying attention and (b) not enthralled in the Obama cult of personality — the Bergdahl story would achieve a near-perfect score.
…Invoking high-minded principle? Check! Really motivated by partisan and ideological agenda? Check! Made-up facts? Check! Critics denounced as partisan ideologues opposed to high-minded principle? Check! Group-think-driven White House’s failure to anticipate the political downsides? Check! Flagrant contempt for Congress and its laws? Check!
Indeed.
An End To Restraint Of Trade?
Looks like SCOTUS may have just struck down most state regulatory boards. Good for them.
Climate Change
Here’s the original piece, on why the propaganda effort is (fortunately) failing.
Vandenberg
Bob Zimmerman was there recently, and took some pictures.
Space Access
I’ve put up an ad for the conference in my left sidebar. It’s probably the space conference with the most bang for the buck you can go to this year. I’ll be speaking there, but don’t let that keep you away.
The Republican Civil War
Wait, did I write “Republican”? I mean Democrat.
This won’t make it any easier for them to take back the Senate.
Jews And Terrorism
Let them defend themselves. As Glenn notes, the proper response of the Jews in the thirties, rather than handing in their guns, would have been no-limit open hunting season on Nazis.
Meanwhile, the Senate is trying to rein in all of the anti-Second-Amendment actions of the administration (and some states). They should just abolish the ATF.
[Update a couple minutes later]
As always, easing restrictions on guns didn’t increase bloodshed in Illinois, either. These gun grabbers are always wrong, but they never learn.