Today I am significantly increasing my odds of death by vulcanism, which brings up the inevitable question, what caliber for shield volcanoes? On the summit of Kilauea right now, actually. Staying a bit farther down her slopes tonight at a bed and breakfast. The lava pokery options are not very good right now, as there are no surface eruptions. Right now there’s only vent activity at the crater, and Kilauea’s piping is carrying lava underground and out to sea. A day of hiking, and hopefully not firey death, ahead.
Month: September 2010
Demonizing objects, not behavior: The Demon Rum edition
We had family guests over for dinner Sunday night, and the conversation turned to gun rights (it wasn’t my fault, I swear). One of the topics that came up was “guns in bars”, as a relative had heard of what was likely the recent changes in the law in Tennessee, though Virginia’s silliness in regards to carry in a licensed establishment came up as well. Long and short of it, he came down on the side of banning carry in bars due to “drunks and yahoos” (paraphrased). When pressed to define what a “bar” was, he said “any licensed establishment”. When I queried about carrying in the dining room of, say, TGIFriday’s, he would have that forbidden as well.
Forbidding carriage of firearms in licensed establishments sounds superficially reasonable. After all, we’ve seen “that guy” who gets belligerent and rowdy after a few. But not everyone is “that guy”. Heck, most people in the dining room aren’t drinking at all; and not everyone in the bar itself are drinking to impairment. Banning legal carriage of firearms in a licensed establishment, or even an out-and-out bar, makes about as much sense as banning the carriage of keys into the same establishment in the name of preventing drunken driving. Drunks kill far more people with cars than they do with guns, but we recognize (mostly) that it is the act of drinking and driving that should be punished, not the car or the booze.
The most that a ban on guns in bars can do is make “that guy” go out to his car, for the gun in his glove compartment, or the tire iron, etc. Worst-case scenario is something similar to the Luby’s massacre, where “one more ban” failed to stop a killer, but disarmed someone who could have stopped him.
I have little issue with a properly owner posting their property as off-limits to firearms being carried by a person, it’s their property; as long as they’re willing to take the responsibility of defending my person while I cannot. I wonder how many would, though, considering the signs above every coat rack, and around most parking lots, I see that say “management is not responsible for lost or stolen items” . I choose not to leave my coats on racks I cannot see, and I don’t leave anything valuable in my car when parked.
I understand that the fight against allowing carry in bars in Tenessee is being led, in large part, by a bar owner who wants to make sure his competitors are forced to ban the carriage of firearms into their own establishments, so his prejudices don’t cost him business. Which is too bad – if he wants to limit his clientele, he can do so. Chik-Fil-A famously closes on Sundays, but the last I checked they don’t lobby for a nationwide Blue Law. The big national chain restaurants have differing policies on acceptance of firearms in restaurants, but they mostly appear to follow Starbuck’s lead on pushing for policies (IE, they don’t at all).
Mayor Daley hangs it up
Mayor Daley has announced that he will not be seeking another term. Wonder if he’s hoping to get away with his bundle before the hue and cry is raised?
Daley Won’t Seek Re-Election in Chicago
Mayor Richard M. Daley stunned the political establishment in Chicago this afternoon when he announced he would not be running for re-election in 2011. He has held the office since 1989 when he won a special election to replace Mayor Harold Washington.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Daley said “it just feels right” regarding his decision to not seek re-election. On December 26th, he will eclipse his father, Mayor Richard J. Daley, as the longest serving mayor of Chicago. The Sun-Times quotes his brother, William (Bill) Daley, on what is behind the decision:
“It’s not Maggie’s health or [the city’s] financial problems, unemployment or crime. Blaming this decision on the re-election campaign or fear he wasn’t gonna win is silly also. All of the things you go to to find a reason, there’s bits of truth in all of them. It’s not one thing. It’s an accumulation of 21 years and looking, not just at an election, but the next four years in one’s life. He’s healthy. He’s got time to do other things — or nothing.â€
However, a poll commissioned by the Chicago Tribune conducted earlier this summer found:
The poll found only 37 percent of city voters approve of the job Daley is doing as mayor, compared with 47 percent who disapprove. Moreover, a record-low 31 percent said they want to see Daley re-elected, compared with 53 percent who don’t want him to win another term.
Now that Daley isn’t going to run for re-election, politicians who have previously suppressed their desire for the office are now thinking of running. Some of the names mentioned include Rahm Emanuel, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., a number of sitting aldermen, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan.
The announcement leads to two important questions. First, will the coalition that kept Daley in office and the Chicago Democratic Machine running start to fight amongst themselves? And, second, what will this mean for gun rights in Chicago and the State of Illinois?
I think the answer to the first question is absolutely yes. Alderman Ed Smith, considered the dean of the African-American alderman on City Council, guarantees that there will be an African-American candidate for mayor.
“If we can raise the money, there’s gonna be a [black] candidate. We’re not short on people who can run this town and who would get in the race.
Probably the best analogy would be to Yugoslavia upon the death of Marshall Tito. Without a leader that could hold a coalition of antagoinistic factions together, the factions began to fight for power and control and the place fell apart. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is the same in Chicago.
As to gun rights, none of the potential candidates is going to be good for our side. However, they could be “less bad” than Mayor Daley. For example, Rahm “Never let a crisis go to waste” Emanual has described being Mayor of Chicago as his dream job. He saw what the impact of gun control did for the Clinton administration in 1994. When he was head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, he recruited many “Blue Dog” Democrats who were pro-gun. I’m not saying he’d be pro-gun but might be less anti-gun than the present regime.
Sheriff Tom Dart came out against concealed carry in Illinois last year when SB 1976 was proposed. Obviously, Jesse Jackson, Jr. would not be good for gun rights but he may be damaged goods due to Rod Blagojevich.
I’d love to hear the comments from people who live in the Chicago area who might have a better feel for potential candidates and where they stand on gun rights.
Update on Korean Garands
The Washington Times ran an editorial on Friday that referred to the blocked Korean Garands as “Obama’s backdoor gun ban.” The paper confirmed with the State Department that the rifles’ importation was being blocked and that they were looking at alternative options. As the paper notes, during the Clinton administration, “alternative options” meant melting down surplus rifles. The end result of that fiasco is that it left the U.S. Army scraping the barrel when it came to finding M-14s for their Designated Marksmen.
The Washington Times further accused Obama of doing this to appease the “gun grabbers.”
Therefore, the best way for Mr. Obama to appease the gun-grabbing fringe is to take actions that won’t bring too much attention to what he’s doing. As long as the destruction of these rifles stays under the public radar screen, he will have achieved his goal.
The Firearm Blog has a post about the South Koreans’ reaction to the surplus Garands and M-1 carbines being blocked. They link to a story in the Korean newspaper The Chosun llbo. The story reiterates much of what was said in the original Korea Times article. Quoting an unnamed Korean official who said:
“It’s difficult to understand why the U.S. opposes the deal now, when we already shipped tens of thousands of these firearms to the U.S. in the early 1990s. We are trying to grasp the real underlying cause of this reversal through diplomatic channels.” He added that because these firearms were originally made in the U.S., selling them back needs approval from Washington.
The Chosun Ilbo article does have one humorous aspect. The picture that they use to illustrate the M-1 Carbine seems to be that of a plastic, G.I. Joe toy carbine.
New York Times on SanFran Image Ban
The NYTimes has its expected take on the San Francisco transit authority’s allowing SAF to put up the posters for their shindig.
Bonus PSH in the last paragraph. A gardener who is not only hoplophobic, but aichmophobic? Really?
Interesting Posters Appear in SF – update
The most interesting posters started appearing on certain bus stops throughout San Francisco on August 31st. Mind you, the San Francisco MTA has a policy against ads that “appear to promote the use of firearms.”
The posters were a joint effort of the Second Amendment Foundation and the CalGuns Foundation. More here and here. A clearer picture of the poster can be found here. The poster is an adaption of an earlier poster by Oleg Volk.
UPDATE:Â According to a CBS News blog, the SFMTA is investigating whether the posters above should have been allowed to be posted at bus stops in the first place. The feeling I get from that report is that the MTA has been getting a lot of pressure from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to remove the ads.
If they remove them, Alan Gottlieb will be one happy man. He has vowed to sue if they are removed and it sounds like he is just itching for the chance to sue SF on First Amendment grounds.
Righthaven’s Newest Target
In a somewhat ironic turn of events, Sharron Angle, Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from Nevada, has become the latest Righthaven LLC target. I say ironic because Sherm Frederick, publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is reputed to be one of her biggest backers.
There is speculation that posts by liberal blogger and Reid supporter Steve Friess goaded Righthaven into filing the suit. Friess, who works for a sister publication of the rival Las Vegas Sun, had published instances of Angle’s campaign posting full articles from the LVRJ on her website.
Friends or enemies, rich or poor, Democrats or Republicans, they are all targets for “copyright-magnate” Steve Gibson.
The Project Runway judges need some history lessons
Watching Project Runway on the DVR and one of the challenges ended up with a collection designed with a theme of “Military and Lace”. Michael Kors made an offhand comment about the combination being an unusual combination. I think he should check out some historical uniforms…
(An amusing side note; I wrote up this post on my TX2 laptop, a predecessor of the one being pimped on the show.)
Rain Forests: The Hippies Can Keep Them
We’ve been following a guide book to Oahu for a lot of our trip. While it has certainly been useful, I’ve found following around filming locations from ABC’s Lost has actually been the better way to get to know the island. Today we did a hike from the guide book. The book describes it as a mild two mile hike (one mile in, one mile out). They describe it as a hike anyone can do. I suppose this is literally true, if you don’t mind a gentle romp through a fragile, naturally pure and beautiful rain forest, don’t mind getting covered in mud, eaten alive by mosquitos, climbing slippery boulders where a slip could mean a plunge to your doom. 
The only thing missing from this picture were screaming monkeys, which I’m happy about, given that monkeys are evil, and are best dealt with through use of instruments that the State of Hawaii has deemed me too irresponsible to carry.
I’ve hiked enough to know how to deal with muddy, wet conditions, if I’m warned beforehand. But reading it was an improved trail, and we’re in the dry(er) season, I figured my kakis and an Aloha shirt would be fine. Oops. About one third of the way in, I suddenly realize I’m woefully overdressed for the occasion. But not wanting to give up, I trudge on, through the archways made through Banyan tress, slowly becoming more and more soaked with sweat 
as the air, which is unable to accept any more moisture, fails my cooling system, which is adapted for the dry, african savanna, and not rain forests in Hawaii.
But I continue on, not wanting to give up, and wanting to see this neat, tall waterfall that is the second most popular hike on Oahu. We have to meet Bitter’s grandmother for dinner in a few hours. Surely she won’t mind of I show up with muddy shoes, muddy pants, and dripping enough sweat I’ll look like I went for a dip in the ocean? Maybe I can dip under the waterfall when I get up there. I’ve already swam in one waterfall this week. From a distance I become concerned. Concerned that all I see is a small sliver of water in an awful lot of green. 
Bitter is starting to look dehydrated, and is having second thoughts about whether the pain is worth the reward, and decides to hang back and let me continue ahead. I’ve been told it’s been a pretty dry year, but it’s rain forest, right? The ground is wet and muddy! Well, down in the valley maybe it’s raining, but I’m not sure there’s enough rain up high to really get the falls moving. Sure enough, I am disappointed when I get there. My tall, gushing waterfall is so anemic, I think if I climbed to the top and peed in the stream that feeds it, I’d probably double its size. But such is 
nature. I wouldn’t mind so much if the book had prepared me for a muddy, wet, humid, and mosquito infested hike, but it didn’t. I guess the real lesson is don’t trust guide books. And oh yeah, the rain forest sucks. There’s nothing fun, even prepared, hiking in saturated air at 100% relative humidity. I guess that hippy eco tour of Costa Rica I’ve never wanted to take is going to be out then.
Tomorrow is our last day on Oahu. Monday, early, we fly over to the Big Island (Hawaii), and change our itinerary from Lost tours, glider flying, snorkeling, hiking, and historical Hawaii stuff, to astronomy, vulcanology, and coffee farming. It should be an interesting change of pace. It also should be an interesting change of scale. There’s a reason they call it “The Big Island.” Oahu is small. You can generally get anywhere on the island within an hour, not accounting for bad traffic sometimes in Honolulu. But the Big Island would take the better part of a day to circumnavigate. The population density on the Big Island is also much lower, which, after a week in or around Honolulu, I’m looking forward to. Based on lava forecasts, it doesn’t appear I’ll be able to live my dream of poking lava with a stick, but I have to save something for next time. For now I’m happy to be headed to Pele’s playground.