Shall Not Be Questioned – Page 562 – The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …

Republicans Sell Out the Free Market – Again

Just because the GOP is calling it a liquor privatization bill doesn’t actually mean that they are doing away with a government monopoly, cutting costs, or leading the fight for a remotely smaller government.

No, in fact, the leader of the new “amended” bill here in Pennsylvania that would end the complete control of all wine & liquor sales by the government is bragging about how he made certain to cut the private markets out of the picture by pricing the licenses to compete out of the range they were willing to accept. That’s right, the GOP lawmakers are bragging about trying to shut out the free market.

The current proposal will allow places that currently sell beer to sell wine, but only after they pay $50,000, plus an additional $15,000 every year after that. Oh, and if it’s a grocery store, we have to keep the same inconvenient current model of going to buy groceries from one part of the store, checking out, buying alcohol (beer only, for now) from another part of the store, and checking out yet again. Explain to me how this is an improvement.

Effectively, the state will still control prices and selection. While there is a wholesaler license available, GOP Rep. John Taylor from Philly purposefully priced it out of what he believes the market will pay at $100 million:

Taylor said he arrived at that figure by asking several groups what they would pay for a license to sell wine to retailers and then adding a few million. (emphasis added)

So, what we get is the perfect example crony capitalism. The prices are set based on private conversations that a lawmaker won’t reveal to potentially favor or disfavor anyone he chooses.

I also see this as potential burden for taxpayers. Sebastian and I sketched out this possible scenario last night while talking about the unbelievably stupid bill:

Continue reading “Republicans Sell Out the Free Market – Again”

The Nanny State Again

The NTSB recommends banning cell phone use in cars. Even hands free. This is at least keeping with research that shows hands free doesn’t matter for safety. I’m wondering whether banning passengers is next. Our state recently passed a ban that only covers texting, but interestingly enough it probably also has the unintended consequence of banning Apple’s Siri technology. This is really something politicians should just but their noses out of. There’s lots of potentially dangerous distractions in automobiles, and what problems technology can create, technology can fix.

The Space Pen Myth

Roberta takes a look at the old tome that “NASA spent millions to develop a space pen; the Russians just use pencils.”Â It never seemed to me that, in the pure oxygen environment used in early spacecraft, or really even in spacecraft today, it was a good idea to have little bits of broken off conductive, flammable graphite floating around among a lot of electrical equipment. The Russians may have used pencils, but they also didn’t care as much for the lives of their astronauts. Failures could be swept under the rug.

California Gun Shop Runs Successful Marketing Campaign

This is really good to see, a California gun shop runs a creative an interesting public ad campaign, that seems to be paying off in spades. It has to be driving the right kind of people bonkers to see it actually working, in California of all places. Plus, you have to love a shop that had the gumption to call themselves PRK Arms.

The Mad Descent Continues

The Brady Campaign would seem to have been taken in by satire. Who knew that the Brady death spiral would be so entertaining? At some point, they’ll have to accept just being Dennis Henigan and a couple of other people, just like CSGV and VPC. Maybe they are already close to that, who knows. But things have not been the same since Helmke and Hamm departed, that’s for sure.

To the Terror of the People

SayUncle has the background on the case of Embody v. Ward, in regards to an SAF brief that must be read if you’re into all the detailed legal stuff. Generally speaking, in common law it was an offense to go about armed to the terror of the people. Blackstone was never remarkably clear about exactly what that meant, but in the modern context Embody probably falls into that category.

The District court reached that the Second Amendment right was limited, not applying in public parks. SAF’s brief essentially argues Embody can be disposed of without having to so limit the right. From their argument:

Heller’s recognition of a right to carry a handgun does not force states to allow the carrying of handguns in a manner that may cause needless public alarm, so long as a more socially-conductive option exists to allow people to exercise the right to bear arms. But once a legislature determines that only a particular manner of carrying will be permitted, that choice must be honored.

No doubt they are going to take some heat for that statement from people who fail to grasp the implications of fighting this battle out in the courts, but I think their chosen strategy here is a wise one, that comports with the original common law conceptions of the right, and how it’s been implemented in the American tradition. The state may regulate the manner of carry, but may not outright prohibit it. Under SAF’s standard here, it would be questionable, for instance, about whether New Jersey could, say, ban all but open carry, since it’s pretty obviously not the “more socially-cunductive option” in regards to the exercise of the right. But under this standard, New Jersey could ban open carry.

For folks who don’t like this, you can thank Leonard Embody. Now the game is to try to undo the damage he has already done, and I think if SAF’s brief is influential with the court here, it’s the best way to accomplish that.

Is Bloomberg’s Head in the Sand?

Did you know that Michael Bloomberg stopped HR 822 from passing? It’s news to me.

A reporter asked him if Washington had made any recent progress in cracking down on illegal gun sales, giving the mayor an opening to talk about one of his marquee issues.

“This year, we, a lot of people, helped in keeping Congress from passing this Right to Carry bill, where every state would have to recognize the carry laws in other states,” the mayor responded. “And there are some states that have no laws, so it would essentially mean everybody could carry a gun anyplace no matter what state laws were, and Congress did not pass it.”

“I suppose thatâ€™s progress,” he said, sounding unconvinced.

Perhaps he sounds unconvinced because it’s still an active bill and will remain so until late next year. So, yeah, progress is that you’re still having to fight for another year on a bill that would have passed the Senate during the last session. Yay for progress!

Right Wing Anti-Government Paranoia

Apparently it’s catching on, which makes Joe Huffman wonder if it’s really paranoia if a large majority of the population believes it. Well, for all the folks who think big government is a big threat, how about we elect a government on a platform of leaving us the hell alone? Can it be that hard?

More on Virginia Tech

This time courtesy of Roanoke Times reporter Mike Gentry and the Associated Press, which is basically a long-winded insult to gun owners. I’m surprised the AP would put out such low grade material as this. Seriously, I’ve seen blog posts that were of higher quality. Where can I get paid to be a random bonehead venting? Oh wait…

Definition on Insanity

Keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result, right? Someone needs to tell at least one Professor at Virginia Tech. The article goes on, insinuating that ordinary people are actually killers just waiting to snap, despite most psychological, and sociological evidence which says this is not the case.

What I can’t get over is the shock of these people. Did you really believe the myth about lighting and not striking the same place twice? That there’s nutty people out there who don’t give a rat’s behind whether they’re on a college campus, and will just walk up to cops and randomly murder them, is why many of us carry guns.

I myself am a child of the Southern gun culture, and as such Iâ€™m inclined to acknowledge the desires of â€œsportsmenâ€ and the alleged protections of the Second Amendment.

I purchased my first weapon at age 10, with my saved allowance, a .22 caliber Ithaca saddle gun from the local Western Auto store, for $29.95. Iâ€™m absolutely positive there was no background check.

I am sure there are many young boys and girls across America who have listened intently to their training and learned to handle weapons maturely. I was not one of them. I distinctly remember one camping trip at age 12 that broke out into frightening gunplay. I still canâ€™t figure how someone didnâ€™t get shot that weekend.

Mostly my experience with guns as a police reporter was intensely negative, with a nonstop run of incidentsâ€”domestic tragedies, armed robberies, childhood accidents, and other sorts of disasters.

Well, professor, maybe it’s time you started dealing with your own issues, instead of trying to deal with everyone else’s.