Gun Control Tomfoolery

In which I give vent to a rant...

If, as the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then perhaps Senators Feinstein and Schumer are certifiable.

Each has crafted a gun control bill that is unlikely to 1) be passed by both Senate and House and 2) be upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court.

Senator Feinstein is the authoress of the “Assault” Weapons Ban of 2013.

From PowerlineBlog.com:

Feinstein has proposed a ban on 157 different models of assault weapons. Many of them are commonly used, which means that, under the Supreme Court’s decision in Heller, banning them is problematic in terms of the Second Amendment.

She threw a hissy fit when asked by fellow Judiciary Committee member Senator Cruz whether this might cause the law to run afoul of the Supreme Court’s decisions. *sigh*

Chuck Schumer added several amendments to his push for stricter background checks, S.372. Some of them would make it a felony should you 1) leave your guns at home with a roommate or anyone other than your legally recognized spouse if you, the registered user, were to be gone for seven days or more, 2) loan your hunting rifle to a friend while you are out in the field, 3) dare to take more than 24 hours to report the theft of a gun from your home. It leaves the definition of “temporary transfer” and “gift” to be determined.

(See "Amendment to background check legislation reveals Chuck Schumer’s America" and "Schumer's Transfer Tyranny")

Of course, these and other bills being considered are “common sense” laws designed to “protect the average citizen” and, of course, just like the last “Assault” Weapons Ban—passed in 1993, in force for 10 years and did nothing to reduce the criminal use of guns—they will do nothing of the kind. Criminals do not obey gun control laws that are already on the books. What makes these idiots think more laws will bring about any compliance from the criminal community?

The one thing--the ONLY thing--these laws are designed to do is the ONE thing the 2nd Amendment says the government should NOT do and that is to "infringe" upon the right of the average, law abiding American to keep and bear arms.

It's not truly about guns. It's all about control. And it must be halted.

Everything Old Is New Again

At first I thought this was a reprint of a 1970's headline: Greenwich Village couple busted with cache of weapons, bombmaking explosives: sources ...but it's not about Bill Ayers and his (blowed up) girlfriend, Diana Oughton. No. Billy is a well respected (by some) retired professor concerned with elementary education, friend of the President and, quite possibly, co-author of the President's memoirs.

These two current idiots, from privileged backgrounds (she's the daughter of a NYC doctor while he is a Harvard grad), members of the Occupy Wall Street movement, on the verge of procreating (the article says she's nine months pregnant!), are...well..idiots with a plan. And there's nothing more dangerous than that. Luckily, they are also more evidence that credentialed does not mean intelligent.

Cops found the stash in the couple’s West Ninth Street home Saturday when they went there to look for Gliedman, 27, who was wanted for alleged credit-card theft. [That would be the pregnant one.]
A detective discovered a plastic container with seven grams of a white chemical powder called HMTD, which is so powerful, cops evacuated several nearby buildings.

Have you seen this...

...piece of head scratching idiocy?

EPA Fines Companies Because They Didn’t Use A Fuel That Doesn’t Exist

John Hayward has a look at...

The Orwellian nightmare of running a business in the shadow of the Obama Administration is nicely captured in this story from the New York Times, which explains why motor fuel companies are about to be fined $6.8 million for failure to use a biofuel that does not exist:

Yeah. Makes perfect sense. Fine them for using something that does not exist because the 2007 law says they must use it or be fined. And, since they are using so little of it this year, next year they must use even more! Or be fined even more!

These fines will, of course, be passed on to the consumer upping the price of fuel.

As John Hayward says in his subtitle for this article: "Gosh, it’s tough to figure out why that recovery is stalled."

Jeeze, Leon

From Don Surber: Mubarak 1, Obama 0

So our CIA told President Obama that Hosni Mubarak would resign today.
.....

Except, Mubarak did not resign.

In fact, Mubarak told the people protesting at Tahrir Square in Cairo, go home. I told you I am not leaving until after the September elections, and I am not.

How did Leon Panetta get it so wrong when he testified to Congress yesterday morning that there was a very high likelihood of Mubarak stepping down?

Report: CIA Chief Leon Panetta Based Congressional Testimony On Mubarak Departure On ‘Media Broadcasts’

You know. Perhaps hiring someone to the post of Director of the CIA just because he has the same name as the director of the fictional NCIS, is not such a wise move. We need folks in intelligence that are a little more accurate than those that forecast the weather. Having people publicly making forecasts/predictions/policy when they are correct only a third of the time is not the way to go.

Leon Panetta needs to become ex-Director of the CIA sooner than Hosni Mubarak steps down.

(More) Foolishness at the EPA

Can we just defund the EPA now? (And that's being said by one who's wife used to work there.)

EPA approves more ethanol in fuel for cars

It faces strong opposition, however, from the auto industry, environmentalists, cattle ranchers, food companies and others. Those groups say that using corn to make ethanol makes animal feed more expensive, raises prices at the grocery store and tears up the land. There have already been several lawsuits filed against the EPA - including one filed by automakers, boat manufacturers and outdoor power equipment manufacturers - since the agency decided to allow the higher blends for newer cars in October.

They snuck this through the cheer leading Lame Stream Media two Friday evenings ago.

E15 Gas: A green disaster for your car

The existing 10% ethanol-blend gas has problems, but the good folk at Popular Mechanics are concerned about what happens when a few drops of water get into the fuel tank when E15 is used:

How does water get into the fuel tank? It’s possible that water dripped into the tank at the gas station or ­refueling depot, or a stray raindrop or snowflake made its way into your tank or jerrycan, but most water infiltration is from condensation. As the temperature in a tank changes, air has to be vented in and out or the tank will bulge or split. Incoming air carries moisture. When the H2O in the gas gets above a critical percentage—its saturation point—all of the water and alcohol drops out and settles into the bottom of the tank. This is what chemists call phase separation; the various components of the fuel are no longer a homogeneous mixture.

I've some experience with water-in-fuel problems. E10 has a shelf life just slightly longer than a banana. And once it starts to separate, it does no good at all. Even the special Sta-Bil additive doesn't do much when we're talking storing fuel for several months in unused cans or fuel systems.

Since I don't use my snow blower at the Bolt Hole during the summer or early fall, its gas tank and fuel system regularly amasses water in the bottom as it sits in the very humid air of the detached garage. Mark reports it cost $280 just to get it running again this year. And the seals and gaskets are pretty well shot from water in the system freezing, he says. I used to have a similar problem with my lawn mower in the spring until I moved it into a dryer shed and made sure the gas tank was overflowing before storage.

The ATV has had similar problems with water accumulating in the fuel tank as the E10 separates over the winter while the machine is not in use. I have to drain the bloody gas tank to get it running again. I have to do the same for the brush hog stored with the snow thrower at the Bolt Hole.

And don't ask me about using E10 to run my chainsaws.... Please.

I won't even touch upon the cost of producing ethanol from corn. You can get that from the green disaster post linked above.

What the hey?

But...But...what about the carbon footprint? Some poor polar bears are going to suffer for this.

Oprah Taking Audience Down Under, with Travolta at Controls

Oprah Winfrey kicked off her farewell Season in true Oprah fashion by surprising her audience with a big gift: She will be taking all 300 audience members on a trip down under to Australia.

(Wait until they each get the tax bill for this one!)

I meant the guests but how about the Aussies....

Oprah Winfrey’s plans to film one of her final shows in Australia will cost local taxpayers more than AU$2.5 million (US$2.3 million), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported Tuesday.

Sheesh!!!

Look what went "missing"

From AOL News:
Rising Sea Swallows Contested Island

March 25) -- For more than 35 years, India and Bangladesh have been locked in a bitter territorial dispute over New Moore Island, an uninhabited sliver of sludge in the muddy Bay of Bengal. Now that argument has been settled by a higher power: climate change.

According to Sugata Hazra, director of the School of Oceanographic Studies at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India, the low-lying isle has disappeared under the rising seas. "There's no trace of the island anymore. After studying satellite images, I confirmed this from fishermen," he told reporters. "Climate change has obliterated the source of dispute." The 81-square-mile island is now classed as a submerged landmass.

Of course, they blame the rising seas on Global Warming/Climate Change, but anyone who reads Terry Pratchett knows what really happened!*

I'm sure that compaction of the sediments as well as erosive force of waves had nothing to do with the disappearance of New Moore Island. After all, it's never happened before to coastal islands. Long Beach Island of New Jersey would have slipped back into the sea long ago if not for the replenishment of its sand by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Idiots. The sea brought it into existence and the sea--and natural forces--took it away.

*You get bonus points if you can name the book.

Oh, the irony!

Events like this really should get much more recognition:

Eco-sailors rescued by oil tanker

An expedition team which set sail from Plymouth on a 5,000-mile carbon emission-free trip to Greenland have been rescued by an oil tanker.

My guess is they had little experience with the North Atlantic in spring time.

Yeah, the irony is strong in this one.

What's wrong with Napolitano?

Apparently, our Homeland Security Chief gets her daily briefings from South Park videos:

On April 22, 2009 at 5:16 PM Glenn Reynolds says: JANET NAPOLITANO BLAMES CANADA.





What a maroon, eh?

And they said the Governor of Alaska was out of her league? Pah-leeze!