Category: Current Events

Kavanaugh was really the “safe” pick for Trump. The Dems are running a real risk of galvanizing him beyond what he would have been if they had treated him no different than the GOP treated Sotomayor or Kagan.

I just went back and looked at my high school yearbook, and I can find multiple things I would never want spun in the court of public opinion in this political climate.

I was the exact opposite of a wild child. I was so tame I think I disappointed my mother.

Based on what I heard today, Kavanaugh was probably a harder drinker than I was at 18, but maybe not at 21. The most I could be accused of at 18 is raiding mom’s wine supply in the fridge, or sneaking a beer from dad’s stash. I didn’t attend wild booze parties in high school. By my early 20s I might have done some questionably legal things that involved young men, too much alcohol, flammable gases, fresh produce, and a large body of water. And for this I would never be able to serve on the Supreme Court today, by current standards.

I watched the spectacle today, and it was a disgrace. If the Dems wanted an FBI investigation they could have brought up the allegations when they became aware of them. But they didn’t. They held them until it was politically useful as a delaying tactic… and they kept pushing for the delay.

@AandGShow @yesnicksearcy Kavanaugh’s 1st day at USSC:

Walks into Clarence Thomas’ chambers.

Thomas shakes his hand and nods. Hands Kav a glass.

Kav takes a sip of his rye

Kav: “Let’s burn this motherfucker to the ground.”

Thomas grins.

— Flynlr 🇺🇸 (@flynlr) September 28, 2018

I agree completely with Glenn Reynolds: “Had he received a normal confirmation, I suspect Kavanaugh would have been a bit of an establishment squish. I rather doubt that he’ll be that now.“

Breaking news, it seems:

The affidavit said a counselor called Austin police on Aug. 22 to report that a girl under the age of 17 told her she had sex with a 30-year-old man on Aug. 15 and was paid $500.

In a forensic interview on Aug. 27, the girl told authorities that she created an account on SugarDaddyMeet.com, and began exchanging messages with a man who used the username “Sanjuro,” the affidavit said.

The pair messaged online, then began exchanging text messages.

“During this conversation, ‘Sanjuro’ identified himself as ‘Cody Wilson.’ Victim said that ‘Sanjuro’ described himself to the victim as a ‘big deal,’ ” the affidavit said.

Sanjuro? Really? Even Anthony Weiner came up with better names for his alter egos. If there’s anything that all sides can agree on, it’s that Cody Wilson has more panache than using a name like Sanjuro.

According to the document, Wilson sent the girl images of his penis, and she sent him nude photos of herself.

Why does everyone and their mother send dick pics these days? You know what I’ve never ever done? Send a dick pic. If this is true, he could be screwed on the pictures alone if she was under 18. The age of consent in Texas is 17, and federally the pictures are a problem if she’s under 18.

This is disappointing. There are very serious First and Second Amendment issues at the heart of what Cody Wilson is doing, and this will seriously complicate things. But this issue is bigger than Wilson, and it will come to the front one way or another.

UPDATE: Just as SAF announces they are expanding their lawsuit to include Pennsylvania’s AG and Governor, among other state pols as well.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th. I’m off this week, and enjoying not doing much of anything. Sometimes the best vacation is the staycation. I decided to run a 4th of July falling plate match at the club. Trying to decide whether to paint the plates with patriotic patterns, or paint them with the Union Jack. Shoot all the plates down, for America! For Independence!

It was looking like the school shooting in Texas had all the hallmarks of going down the memory hole. I have a policy of not mentioning the killer’s name, but I’m just going to say, if you plan to shoot your way to the top of the news cycle and become a household name, don’t have some Greek name that no one can spell or pronounce, unless you live in Greece. If that kid planned to become a household name, he failed out of the gate with that name. Also, Royal Wedding the next day.

The killer used a shotgun and revolver, not an evil AR-15. Of course, USA Today notes that the killer used “less lethal” firearms, even going so far as, without a hint of irony, noting that “less lethal” weapons were used at Virginia Tech to kill 32 people. We got some narratives to preserve here!

In truth, against unarmored individuals, there’s hardly anything more deadly than a 12 gauge shotgun. Well, maybe a 10 gauge shotgun. I believe our opponents aren’t going to go whole hog on this one, for a couple of reasons:

• As I mentioned, the news cycle isn’t good for them. You have a lot of things competing for headlines.
• The weapons used don’t fit the narrative. Their use reinforces our point that the firearms few want to ban are still quite deadly. We keep saying, banning AR-15s won’t stop mass shootings. This shows that’s true. Even if you banned all semi-automatic firearms, you’ll still have school shootings, as this kid shows.
• People’s emotional batteries haven’t had a chance to recharge after Parkland. You can’t keep people jacked up to 11 all the time. Social media has definitely made that easier, but most people who are soft allies don’t have the energy to keep it up all the time.
• Didn’t happen in a swing state.

Glenn Reynolds asks, “After Texas school shooting, how can we inoculate ourselves against the next one?”

But the school shootings are just a warning. In his novel Rainbows End, science fiction writer Vernor Vinge writes about “research trends that could ultimately put world-killer weapons into the hands of anyone having a bad hair day.”

That novel is set in 2025, and we’re already not so far from the scenario of someone cooking up a nasty plague in his or her garage. We need to think about what causes people to behave in violent and destructive ways, and how to fix it, while there’s still time.

Read the whole thing.

Speaking of not going whole hog, I’m also seeing evidence that the gun control movement is trying to hook David “Camera” Hogg off the stage and replace him with a more affable Parkland Kid. I’m sure Everytown and the Hollywood people who were managing Hogg probably realized what a liability that kid was almost from the moment they pulled the trigger and realized there was no recalling that particular bullet. I would not have wanted their jobs. You want kids that are comfortable in the spotlight, but not ones that serve up megalomania, with a healthy dose of Hitlerjunge imagery on the side. But you have play the cards you’re dealt, and while they had to play Hogg, we have Ted Nugent. So I suppose it’s even.

Get ready for more scolding fingers pointed in our direction. Early reports are more often than not wrong, so I’m not going to report any facts at this point, since they will change.

I’ve been busy as hell, but I’ll do my best to cover the backlash. No doubt there will be a lot of bullshit flying, and people trying to get us to take the blame.

Kevin has a bit on “Why R. Lee Ermey Eatters,” because we need more cultural figures to show that shooting is FUN. We can all forget that sometimes. Despite the role Ermey is best known for, he was a hell of a nice guy. He also impressed me that he would attend NRA Board Meetings. There are some celebrities who I do not believe have even shown up to be sworn in. At the Glock booth, the line would always be around the corner (and Glock’s booth is BIG) to meet him and get a picture and autograph. Generally speaking, I don’t vote for celebrity Board members, even if they are sometimes contributors, just because they don’t need my help. But I always voted for Ermey. He struck me as a stand-up guy. And yes, the one time I saw him walking to the restroom from a Board meeting, I was tempted to tell the hotel staffer who also saw him walk by, “I hope that head is so sanitary and squared away that the Virgin Mary herself would be proud to go in there and take a dump!” That movie was one of those shared cultural experiences of my generation I’m not sure we really have anymore.

YouTube shooter evaded California’s magazine ban:

Police say the YouTube attacker, who was limited by California law to ten-round magazines, simply changed to a new magazine when her first ran out. https://t.co/o2FJjFkHFZ

— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) April 6, 2018

She fired a total of 20 rounds, apparently killing herself with the last round. In this case, poor marksmanship did more to keep the number of dead and injured low than California’s gun laws. Magazine limitations hurt defenders more than offenders. Attackers have the advantage of planning ahead, and can bring reloads with them. They aren’t likely to be concerned with discomfort. My jacket right now would hold 8 to 10 spare magazines. I could probably fit three or four extra in a pair of Khakis. But I’m not going to do that as a defender, because it’s uncomfortable and heavy.

I don’t want clueless politicians artificially limiting the magazine capacity of my pistol for the same reason the cops don’t: I don’t get to pick and choose where and under what circumstances I might need a gun. An attacker does.

It’s breaking news that the Stoneman Douglas high school had a School Resource Officer who stayed outside and failed to act. It’s easy to armchair quarterback this kind of thing in retrospect, but here’s the deal: no one has any idea how they are going to react when bullets start flying. Trained soldiers and cops are not immune to freezing up under fire. If people are going to argue that this shows armed intervention is a fool’s errand than we should disarm the police and military too. The only way you will find out for sure how you will act when people start shooting bullets at you is to have bullets shot at you. Training helps. That’s why I believe armed individuals make the choice to carry in schools with an intent to protect children should receive active shooter training, and whatever else is useful above and beyond what an average owner with a carry permit typically receives. I’d also note this country has a pool of veterans, many of them retired and with free time, who already know how they react when people are shooting bullets at them. They might be a useful part of the solution too.

So I’m not going to blame this school officer. I don’t like the odds of facing a rifle wielding maniac armed with a pistol and soft body armor either. I’d like to think I wouldn’t freeze up, regardless, and I’d give myself good odds on landing hits. But I don’t know. I’ve never been shot at, and neither have most police officers, even those with long careers. So I’m inclined to cut this guy a break. He decided to resign. That is the right thing. You know now that you’re not cut out for this line of work. I’d hate to have to live with what he’s going to have to live with, but he won’t be the first nor last.

UPDATE: I know this post is a bit controversial. Bitter is discovering some more information about the SRO that would indicate, yeah, sorry dude, I’m willing to judge. What I don’t like to do is beat my chest and declare “I could do better!” I’d like to think I could, but I’ve never had to face down an active shooter.

UPDATE: One deputy freezing up is something that can happen. Four of them freezing up is a systemic problem with the department.