Paul Helmke should really work on getting his blog posts up before they come pre-debunked.
Year: 2009
Court Upholds Lancaster Discharge Ordinance
Looks like the courts are giving this the OK. We covered this issue previously here. Apparently the ordinance does have exceptions for self-defense and other activities. I should note that whether Mr. Swinton acted in self-defense or not is a question of fact, rather than of law, and is something for a jury to decide at trial.
What the judge here is saying is that, as a matter of law, the ordinance is in accordance with state law. Pennsylvania’s preemption statute does not explicitly prohibit the regulation of firearms discharge. Obviously state law has to preempt some aspects of firearms discharge, otherwise what’s to stop cities from making the discharge of a firearm unlawful under any circumstance?
Straining the Air Force
Glenn Reynolds reports that the US Air Force is having some difficulty moving Obama around with his gigantic entourage.
The large delegation traveling with the president in Europe required moving several transports, including jumbo C-5s and C-17s, from sorties ferrying supplies to Afghanistan to European bases for the presidential visit, said two military officials familiar with the issue.
Just to be clear, that a few of these, and a few of these. How much luggage are these 500 people taking?
Earmark for Remington
The New York State legislature is going to give Remington Arms 2 million dollars to keep them in New York.
In an attempt to show county commitment to keeping the Remington Arms plant in the village of Ilion, the Legislature on Wednesday authorized spending up to $2 million for future equipment purchases by the firearms manufacturer. The budgetary impact of the amount serves as sufficient proof of legislator loyalty.
You know, maybe if it wasn’t for the constant political risk to their business from both anti-gun politicians and New York State’s awful business climate, they wouldn’t have to bribe companies to stay.
Home Improvement: You’re Going to Jail
All of you who have given us advice or thoughts on lighting – yeah, pack your bags and open your wallets. In many states, you could risk jailtime or fines for taking on the task of interior design without state certification.
It was a trap, and you all fell for it!
Kidding, of course. I just saw this video while composing my last lighting post yesterday and thought I would share. It’s absurd. Good for Reason for highlighting this crap.
Civilization in Detroit at an End
If you live in Detroit, the time to leave is now:
[A Story Once Appeared Here About a Man Who Hunt and Sold Raccoons, but it is from a newspaper working with the scum of the earth I will no longer link to.]
You’re eating racoons. It’s over Detroit. Life is better in other places, like Camden, New Jersey. Or perhaps I can suggest a fine town like Oakland, California.
Hat tip to Eric of Classical Values.
UPDATE: Watch the video. I think the “Coon Man” is my new hero. I admire people who can capitalize on tragedy. Also, check out this post about how nature is reclaiming Detroit.
Media Gets it Right
Fox News hasn’t always gotten its facts on guns right, but it did this time. I join many other bloggers in praising Fox News for telling the truth about this issue. It covers exactly the things I highlighted here. They add:
In fact, it’s not even close. The fact is, only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S.
[…]
But a large percentage of the guns recovered in Mexico do not get sent back to the U.S. for tracing, because it is obvious from their markings that they do not come from the U.S.
Which is what I suspected. The guns they recover that have obvious sources from the Mexican or foreign militarys don’t get traced through ATF’s systems. The other question I have is what percentage of guns the Government of Mexico recovers are from violent individuals and drug cartel members, and what percentage were recovered from people who smuggled the guns back to relatives so they could protect themselves from the individuals I just mentioned. The latter is a human rights issue, but the Mexican government doesn’t see things that way.
Home Improvement: Lighting up Our New Patio, Part II
We waited for the patio to cure, and now we have to wait on the weather. Off and on rain predictions have put us in a holding pattern until next week. That’s actually not terrible news since it gives the patio more time to cure. It still looks good, even the general contractor wasn’t expecting it to turn out that nice.
In the meantime, I’ve looked at more lights and furniture. Since I mentioned that I love brown as a color, I thought I would share some of my favorite brown light finds on my search for perfection – within a budget.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to use any of these. They don’t have versions that would work for the front with the features we’d like.
Top Left & Clockwise:
1. I like the cracked glass look of this one as opposed to the similar brushed nickel version. Unfortunately, we’d have to get three identical ones. While it’s budget-friendly, I’m not sold 100% on the brown, and I think the motion detection option in the front is handy.
2. The back plate is brass, otherwise I generally like this. I get the feeling I wouldn’t like it as much in person though.
3. I like this one a lot. I was looking at a similar piece at a lighting shop yesterday, but again with the daylight sensor and motion detection issues.
4. Nothing about our house is particularly contemporary, but I still think this style would look great. Unfortunately, it’s budget unfriendly to get two small ones and a bigger one for the front.
5. This one hints at that slightly nautical theme, and I like that it’s not perfectly clear glass. But, once again we find that there were no options in brown for motion detection.
6. I like that this one is very different. There’s a bigger version for the front. It’s also less budget-friendly than other options, and I also fear it kind of mixes styles. Our house is a really odd mix in and of itself. I’m not sure adding another really works.
That said, I did try going to a lighting specialty store to see more options, and to see if they could beat the box stores on price. Price is not the final straw here – I would be willing to ask for a slightly larger budget if there was something that just hit the right look. I suspect that if it really was a better option, he’d be willing to pay the higher price. But, with higher prices comes the expectation of better service.
In my case, it would have included the expectation of a staff member even talking to me. But that didn’t happen. I walked in and got stared at, but with no greeting. I made my way around the store looking for outdoor lighting and passed three people who appeared to be staff and not one said a word. I was looking at fixtures and price tags in the room I finally found with the outdoor lamps and no one bothered to even stop and talk to me, even though staff members eventually came into the room. It’s too bad since I did find some decent (but not perfect) options in there. I would have been willing to look at catalogs if they had any or would have given me the time of day. So, for anyone else in SE PA looking to spruce up their home with some new lights, I would have to recommend against going to Light World in Trevose. It’s too bad since we’ll also need new fixtures for the living room, dining room, and den.
I have one more lighting specialty store to hit that’s not too far from Sebastian’s gun club. I just want to make sure that we’ve made the right decision.
Next non-working day installment: Furniture!
April E-Postal – Deficit Shooting
JimmyB has the April E-Postal match up. Has to be in by the 27th at midnight. This is a really creative match. You start off 12 trillion dollars in the hole, and you try to reduce your deficit by hitting the small (-1) targets, without hitting any of the bigger deficit busting whoppers that surround it. Each hit on those is worth a trillion dollars in savings to your budget. Can you do better than Obama on the budget? Find out and shoot this month’s e-Postal match.
The 2010 Election Begins
Arlen Specter is already running ads against Pat Toomey. That’s rich. Arlen Specter, who voted for Obama’s Porkulus bill, is trying to suggest that Pat Toomey, who has spent the last several years heading up Club for Growth, which advocates for smaller government, has destroyed America.
I guess now it’s time to think about starting a 2010 Election category, and pondering whether I have the energy for a nasty primary, followed by a nasty general election.