Been very quiet on the gun news front these days. Almost too quiet.
Year: 2012
Limiting Guns Only to Party Members
In the fine tradition of Nazi’s, Communists, and Fascists:
This issue is ‘Gun Right’s’ fatal flaw.  It constitutes a threat to our country’s remarkable diversity through those who harbor hateful beliefs.  I submit that there has been no real solution to this issue as we do not deny access to guns based on ideology.  No solution, that is, until what we just witnessed in this past general election.
You can read the whole sorry tome here. These are supposedly educated, tolerant, sophisticated people. The reality is they are thugs with PhDs.
It Failed to Meet Our Goals, So Let’s Do It Again!
One of the running jokes I’ve always heard about the left is that when they see one of their favorite programs utterly and completely fails to fix whatever problem they identified, they say that they just need to do the exact thing again – only harder! I don’t think I’ve ever seen that joke so plainly stated like I did today in this post from a Philly site.
It used to be that cities responded to [wildly swinging rents] with hard rent control, actually preventing price increases, but now virtually all economists on both the left and the right think rent control is a horrible policy that leads to housing shortages. Rent control was great at halting price increases for the small number of people lucky enough to get rent controlled apartments, but for the majority of people it meant higher market rents in all the other buildings.
See, we have the concession that the idea to control the problem was a total and utter failure that actually made the problems they were trying to solve much worse and invited new problems. So what’s the solution they want to see? A newly branded rent control program that’s slightly softer and given a new name – rent stabilization.
The immediate impacts that I can see in the specific policies they cite, even as a person who knows next to nothing about real estate or property management other than having rented with several different property owners, are that buildings would never be improved because rents could not increase beyond a set percentage to pay for it, building owners would have a harder time selling buildings because of mandatory longer term leases that would have to be honored by the next owner, and landlords would be less likely to take risks on renters who don’t come with a perfect background because of a mandatory guarantee right to renew from tenants.
Calling a “bullshit policy” a “manure-infested idea” doesn’t change the fact that it will ultimately hurt people seeking nice and reasonable accommodations that fit their budgets.
I realize that this is way off topic for this blog, but it was just too funny not to share.
Shocker: GOA Opposes Dem Sponsored Bill
Gun Owners of America comes out against the Democratic sponsored S.3525, the Sportsman’s Act. Among the items the Sportsman’s Act will do is remove lead ammunition and fishing tackle from the purview of the EPA. From NRA:
In addition to promoting land access, the bill would amend the “Toxic Substances Control Act” to prevent this and future administrations from using the Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate the right of hunters, shooters and anglers to use traditional ammunition and fishing tackle. The bill would amend the law to clarify that the EPA does not have the authority to regulate shot, bullets or sport fishing equipment.
Given the threat the lead issue poses to shooting, I’m finding it hard to accept GOA’s flimsy pretense for opposing the bill, namely that is empowers the government to seize private lands. I have read the provisions of GOA claims to have issue with, and my view is the bill makes no such authorization. GOA even fully admits that the bill explicitly prohibits federal funds being used to seize property without permission of owners, but then go on to say:
So while this section is put forward as a “protection,†it actually doesn’t provide total immunity because the government can take a land owner’s property using non-federal funds — and there is no protection in the bill against that.
The federal government can’t take anyone’s land using “non-federal funds.” Money spent by the federal government is by definition a federal fund. They could have a bake sale to raise money, and it would still be a federal fund if the federal government is ultimately cutting a check from the treasury to fund it. More importantly, because this is a federal program, no funds provided to states could be used to seize property either.
You know what I think GOA’s objection to this bill is? It’s primary sponsor is John Tester (D-MT), who is a Democrat. I think GOA would rather us continuing to rely on the benevolence of the EPA on lead ammunition and tackle, rather than offering the Democrats a legislative victory in the Senate.
Is Wounded Warrior Anti-Gun?
A few blogs have reported the story of Wounded Warrior snubbing Tom Gresham of Gun Talk, because they claimed not to want to associate with gun folks. Miguel follows up with a link to their Facebook post on the matter that indicates they may be backpedalling. It sounds to me like they’ve been taken over by corporate types and PR flacks, which often happens to successful and worthy charities.
Wednesday Tab Clearing
Got a lot built up in the tabs:
Obama just did a better job of targeting low information voters.
In 59 Philadelphia voting divisions, Mitt Romney got zero votes. Even if something isn’t fishy, the groupthink displayed with that is astounding. You almost wish it’s fraud.
Some post-election advice from a Frenchman.
An Outrage in the UK. Soldier brings a gun back from a war zone accidentally, is charged.
An instructor who has had poor dealings with blogs before, shoots someone in a massive display of training fail.
Roll your own dishwasher detergent. Detergent hasn’t been the same since the government ruined it by demanding the manufacturers remove the phosphates.
Is Gun Control Hurting Europe?
What the Harvard study finds is that those who claim more guns do equal more death cannot bear the burden of proof “because there simply is no large number of cases in which the widespread prevalence of guns among the general population has led to more murder.†And those same advocates cannot consistently show that “a reduction in the number of guns available to the general population has led to fewer deaths.†It appears that gun ownership is, in fact, irrelevant (or has little relevance) to a nation’s murder rate …
Read the whole thing. It’s always been a myth that gun ownership in Europe was relatively rare. Certainly rarer than here, but in most cases if you’re willing go jump through the hoops, guns in most of Europe are relatively legal and not entirely uncommon.
NRA Prez Visits the Aloha State
NRA President speaks in Hilo, Hawaii. I’m sure they had to drag him kicking and screaming to get him to go there. Bitter has spent a lot of time in Hawaii, and I spent two weeks out there with her visiting family. It’s gun culture is closer to Maryland than it is to California, and the Big Island can get pretty redneck. Even on the North Shore of Oahu you’ll find trucks with NRA stickers. It’s one of those states that’s challenging, but perhaps not beyond hope. One of our NRA friend’s family has a coffee estate in Kona, so if you want to buy some gunny Kona coffee, that’s a good source.
Electronic Tolling on PA Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike wants to go all electronic for tolling. I think the best solution would be to dissolve the Turnpike Commission, and turn the management over to PennDOT (with a stipulation the speed limit remain 65). Then just tear down the tolls and maintain the turnpike with highway funds. Part of the Turnpike’s problem is that Ed Rendell robbed it blind to pay for SEPTA’s inefficiency. I’m not sure how I feel about all electronic tolling, but anything that’ll help prevent old people holding up traffic waiting for a ticket in the EZ-Pass lane is OK by me.
Just When You Thought She Could Get No Crazier …
… you’ll find yourself wrong. It’s like a train wreck. You know you shouldn’t really be staring, but you do. Joan Peterson’s latest theory, in questioning why David Petraeus went so far wrong, “Is it the power? Is it the hubris? Is it the egos? Is it narcissism?” No, apparently her theory is that it’s the guns. The guns made him do it. Folks, these people are crazy. Downright bats**t crazy.