No, I’m not kidding.  Can some state legislator introduce a bill to make “The Nanny State” the official nickname, replacing “The Bay State”?  It’s much more appropriate.

The District responded to a plaintiff’s motion to end the stay that’s enforcing DC’s storage laws for long guns. The court has denied the plaintiff’s motion, but didn’t rely on D.C.’s response in its decision. Basically they said since Heller’s the only plaintiff that has standing, and Heller himself didn’t raise the question in his original complaint, they’re denying the motion. 

But they also pointed out the District is now using a new argument, and one that raises its own questions.

Also, Dave Kopel has found something I find extraordinarily interesting.  It’s almost as if the District doesn’t realize that words have meaning.

The good news is she came through her surgery without any problems. It’s still a major surgery, so she’s in ICU for the night and looks to be in the hospital for at least the next two weeks. All visible signs of cancer were removed, but she may be undergoing chemotherapy before too long.

All in all, pretty darn good news. Thanks for all your prayers.

Whatcha gonna do when the goverment says it’s too dangerous for them to ride bicycles.

Okay, I need to work on the rhyme.  And thank goodness this is in England, not the United States. 

-My armoire-style entertainment center doesn’t fit in the upstairs hallway.

-I need to measure before moving heavy furniture up a flight of stairs.

-My mom is having surgery tomorrow, which is actually good news because it means the doctor thinks her pancreatic cancer has a chance of being beaten (prayers on this would be much appreciated).

The Celebration of American Values is taking place all day today and tomorrow in D.C.  Lots of presidential candidates are addressing NRA members… Jim Geraghty’s there and is providing rolling coverage all day long.  And you can catch most of the speeches tonight on NRAnews.com as well.

This is just sad.  On Wednesday, the International Association of Chiefs of Police held a big press conference on Capitol Hill to release a new report on “gun violence”.  They had 39 specific recommendations, but you’ve heard them all before.  Ban the .50 caliber rifle.  Ban “assault weapons”.  Institute one-gun-a-month laws.  No transactions without it going through a federally licensed firearms dealer.  It’s a Christmas wish-list for gun banners.  Which is no surprise, given that this report was bought and paid for by the anti-gun Joyce Foundation.

I’m sure there’ll be plenty of news stories on this report, but I’d be shocked if any of them contained the following information.

In 2006, the Joyce Foundation doled out $375,000 to the IACP to convene the “Great Lakes States Summit on Gun Violence”.  That conference was held in April of this year.  This is in addition to the $174,788 the Joyce Foundation also paid to IACP to develop and plan the summit. 

Today’s report, according to IACP, comes from that summit. 

Among the report’s “contributors” is a fellow named Matthew Miller, an assistant professor at Harvard University’s School of Public Health.  Coincidentally, Harvard University’s School of Public Health received a $700,000 grant from the Joyce Foundation in 2005, in part to “conduct policy-relevant firearms research”.  Among the other “contributors” to the report are Mary O’Connell (Dir. of Communications for the Joyce Foundation), Tom Diaz (Senior Policy Analyst at the Violence Policy Center), Kristen Rand (Policy Advisor at the Violence Policy Center), and Roseanna Ander (Program Officer at the Joyce Foundation).  The report writers were Christine Allred (who doesn’t work for IACP, or at least isn’t listed as a staff member in the report) and Valerie Denney, who runs a PR firm in Chicago that lists the Joyce Foundation as one of their clients. 

Oh, by the way, the Violence Policy Center?  Yeah, it also received $450,000  in 2005 and a whopping $700,000 in 2006 from the Joyce Foundation.

Now, just a couple of notes.  There is not one identifiable pro-2nd Amendment individual associated with the writing or contributions for this report.  That’s fine.  No one’s saying anti-gunners should be forced to put pro-gunners in their little play groups.  But the media will not report this as “An anti-gun group today released a new report on gun control”.  They will report this as “Today our nation’s law enforcement officers, together with some of the biggest names on Capitol Hill, called for more common sense gun laws to reduce violent crime.” 

That’s baloney.  This is an anti-gun report bought and paid for by an anti-gun foundation, assembled by anti-gunners from the Joyce Foundation, Harvard, and the Violence Policy Center. I’ve seen more serious studies written by Carrot Top and Larry the Cable Guy.

And one other note… don’t be surprised if in the near future, we hear something from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health about this report.  The Joyce Foundation gave them $175,000 this year to “study two Midwest-based law enforcement initiatives focused on preventing firearm violence”.  In other words, “we’ll pay you to critique the gun control report we just bought”.  Gee, you think the Johns Hopkins study will be critical of IACP’s report? 

If you do, can I interest you in some land I have for sale in Arizona?  It’s got some great oceanfront views… 

**Update**

I thought I’d check and see what the Brady Campaign had to say.  Can’t say I’m surprised.

Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, called today’s report by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Taking a Stand: Reducing Gun Violence in Our Communities, a “clear road map from the nation’s police chiefs of steps we can take now to combat gun violence.”

“Our nation’s police are on the front lines in the fight for public safety. In this landmark report, police leaders are saying they are tired of the nation’s gun policies being held hostage by the special interest gun lobby,” Helmke said.

“The police chiefs have set out a strong, reasonable, agenda for action,” Helmke continued. “The Brady Campaign supports it, as should every American who wants sensible action to save lives.”

Nothing about the Joyce Foundation?  Check.  Nothing about the fact that police chiefs didn’t write this report?  Check.  “Reasonable” gun control quote?  Check. 

They’re officially parodies of themselves.

Details at The McCarville Report. 

I confess, I don’t play the lottery.  When I first moved to Virginia I bought a couple of scratch-off tickets because I could.  I didn’t win any money.  I didn’t buy any more.

Actually, I take that back.  I bought Elaine two scratch-offs as stocking stuffers our first Christmas here.  She won 50 bucks.  I still didn’t buy any more.

Elaine buys the Mega Millions or whatever the heck we have in Virginia when the pot gets outrageously high.  I always shake my head when she does so.  I just don’t understand the appeal of gambling.  If I’m going to blow my money, I’d rather do it on something that will give me something tangible in return. 

This is how the nanny state survives.

A man in Oregon nearly died after a pet rattlesnake that he put in his mouth while drinking with some friends bit him inside his throat.

Matt Wilkinson said when he put his eastern diamondback rattlesnake down his throat, he immediately noticed a shot-like sensation.

“Me, being me, I put his head in my mouth,” Wilkinson said. “At first, it felt like someone had given me a shot in the mouth.”

 

Wilkinson’s throat began to swell and close as poison rushed through his body.

If that’s just “you being you”… then you’re a moron.  And clearly we now need legislation making it illegal to put the head of poisonous snakes in your mouth.

A story from the AP points out some cities and states are banning baggy pants. 

Frankly, I’m not a big fan of the baggy pants look, but I do wonder about this “fashion police” business.  It seems to me it’s a bit counterproductive. 

**Update**

In light of the comments below, it seems like the best way to get rid of the trend in baggy pants is to make sure every man over the age of 40 begins to wear them.  Once we do that, I’m sure the young folk will find another (equally annoying) fashion statement.

I’m headed down to Texas for the next couple of days to deal with some of those terrible family health issues I mentioned in an earlier post.  Back in a few days.

Apparently in Pennsylvania, Internet-ordained ministers can’t legally perform marriages.

A couple who broke up seven months after their wedding vows wondered if the ceremony performed by a friend ordained via the Internet was even valid under state law.

Now a York County judge has ruled that it was not, although a Universal Life Church official hopes to challenge that ruling.

…

Judge Maria Musti Cook ruled that Adam Johnston, who performed the Aug. 24, 2006, ceremony at the home of Dorie E. Heyer and Jacob T. Hollerbush, was not a member of the Universal Life Church before he received his ordination.

Johnston testified that he did not have a congregation he met with regularly and did not have a place of worship, Cook wrote in a ruling issued Friday.

Heyer, 21, of Windsor Township, and Hollerbush, 24, of York, said they hope their experience will be of value to others.

Heyer said she agreed such a ceremony did not have legal standing. “It makes a mockery out of the whole marriage system,” she said. [emphasis mine]

You know, I actually think getting divorced seven months after you got hitched makes more of a mockery than getting married by your internet-based preacherman.  But hey, what do I know.  I used a 75-dollar rent-a-reverend (Rev. Dick Fisher, for those thinking about tying the knot in Oklahoma City), but we’ve been married for a decade now.

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Led Zeppelin reuniting?

Eh.  I was excited about the Police going out on tour again (though I missed it).  But Zeppelin?  C’mon.  Can this really be good?

My buddy Jim has become a father.  Please feel free to wish him well and provide any fatherly advice you wish over at OnTap. 

I’ve been trying to come up with a list of pieces of advice I wish I’d been given.  Honestly, there aren’t many.  I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that infanthood is the easiest part of raising a child.  It’s when they start to talk and start to reason (often using faulty logic) that it gets really difficult.  Still, there are a few things I wish I’d been told.

1- You will not sleep much, nor well, for the first few months.  Nap when you can.

2- If you were ever squeamish about bodily fluids, that will soon come to an end.

3- After about a month, babies start crying in a frequency or pitch that can make your eardrums feel like their going to vibrate out of your head.  This will eventually change.

4- No matter how badly you want to show off your new kid, strapping him into the car seat and taking him all over God’s green Earth isn’t a good idea for a few months.

5- Take lots of pictures.  You’ll be amazed at how quickly they go from being little tiny blobs of flesh to running, yelling, smiling, back-talking, pouting, cuddling, kissing, fighting, annoying, beautiful honest-to-goodness kids. 

And congratulations again Jim.  Welcome to fatherhood!

I know it’s the sixth anniversary of 9/11, but I don’t have anything to say. I’ve written about this before, but honestly, my experiences on 9/11 pale in comparison to 98% of the other stories out there.  I was in Enid, Oklahoma for God’s sakes. 

But this being 9/11, you have to write something, right?  I keep thinking about mortality.  Maybe it’s because on this 9/11 my mother’s in the hospital because something terrible is happening to her body.  My father-in-law is in the hospital because something terrible (but hopefully less terrible) is happening to his body.  My sister-in-law’s been diagnosed with breast cancer again, and is spending this 9/11 wondering what to tell her kids. 

And I’m pretty sure if you asked the families of those who died on 9/11 the following question, the vast majority of them would say yes. 

“Would you rather your son/daughter/husband/wife/friend/aunt/uncle/etc. have survived 9/11 if six years later they were diagnosed with untreatable cancer?”

I believe they’d say yes because that would give them six more years with those they love.  It would give their loved one a chance to die naturally, rather than at the hand of some freak who thought that running an airplane into a building would send him to Paradise. 

We all die.  It’s the natural order of things.  But murder is unnatural.  Taking that innocent life is a perversion of nature.  There are tens of thousands of people today who are mourning the death of a loved one, a death that came too soon, a death at the hands of madmen. 

For those who still feel that empty ache inside, whose life is still interrupted by thoughts of “I wish _____ were here to see this”, who live every day with a piece of them missing, stolen from them… I am so sorry.  I wish there were words that could heal, but if there’s a magic phrase out there, I haven’t come up with it. 

On an unrelated note, as I kissed my kids goodbye on my way to work today, I was struck by the fact that the three youngest have really only known a post-9/11 world.  Andrew was just over a year old on 9/11, and the twins weren’t around at all.  The amazing thing to me is that their childhood is still so similar to mine.  If you had asked me on 9/12/2001 if I thought my kids would have a normal childhood, I doubt I would have said yes.  But their lives are remarkably carefree, just like mine was at that age. 

We’re optimists in this country.  We must be.  We keep having kids.  We keep bringing children into this scary, messed up world, and why would we do that if we didn’t think we could change things for the better?  So maybe that’s the nice message today.  9/11 did a lot of things to us, but it didn’t strip away our hope and optimism. 

So I’m optimistic that things will get better, for my family and for those who are still grieving from their losses six years ago.  And in the meantime, I don’t live life like it’s a test run.  This is the only one we’ve got… make the most of it.

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People are actually saying that Britney Spears looked fat? 

Britney Spears is many things, but fat is not one of them.  This is asinine, and I will definitely make sure my daughter knows shes doesn’t have to be a twig to be beautiful. 

I seem to have misplaced my will to blog.  If you find it, will you send it back this way?

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Wayne LaPierre has an interesting post today about DC Mayor Adrian Fenty giving up his driver and security detail as he tries to save the DC gun ban.  If you want to deny people the right to be secure, I suppose it helps if you’re willing to give up your own security.  But as Wayne writes:

Personally, I’d rather live in a place where the local politicians want to make sure that I’m just as safe as they are, rather than them making sure they’re just as defenseless as everyone else. 

Amen to that.

Woo.  Long couple of days.  I think it might actually be refreshing to get back to work (even though I was doing work of a different sort… nevermind). 

Tony, I have no idea what you’re talking about regarding “censoring” your comments.  I vaguely remember a comment you left with a link that I didn’t approve, but I can’t remember what the link was or why I didn’t approve it.  Submit it again, I’ll probably not approve it again, but at least I’ll let you know why. 

Meanwhile, the nannystaters are at it again.  In DC, they’ve filed their appeal of the ruling overturning the DC gun ban to the Supreme Court. 

And at least one presidential candidate is talking about mandatory health care.