LawDog writes a bit on what the Constitutional powers of the POTUS are. In the closing he remarks:
Are we so desperate for an absolute monarch that we blindly and joyously allow our Presidential candidates to claim powers that are restricted to Congress?
Yeah, I think that’s about the state of things.
Alternative Title: ATTN: AbjectDisappointment
The Debatable Land is running a poll on the 3 most over-rated and 3 most under-rated Presidents.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Lincoln won the spot for being the most over-rated President, that’s how I’d vote.
I’ll think about this and post my answers later.
Okay, I think it’s a really bad idea. Let’s just get that out of the way.
But, if it’s such a good idea, why don’t we do this with our pets? I’m serious here. I looked up the regulations behind becoming a veterinarian in my state a while ago and it’s every bit as difficult, if not more, than becoming a doctor.
So, how about we nationalize the vets and see how that works out for a while?
Clinton: ‘Rocky’ didn’t quit halfway up the steps; neither will I
She’s in Philadelphia this morning and she’s been hit recently with some calls for her to quit the Democratic presidential race. So it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton compared herself to that movie icon — Rocky.
Has she ever seen the first movie?
SPOILER ALERT!
In the end of the movie Rocky goes up against an articulate and well spoken African American man in a match that should have been over pretty quickly. At the end they’re both beat up beyond belief, neither side actually comes out with a definitive win, and a panel of pre-selected judges determine that Rocky’s opponent wins. Then they both spend 2-3 weeks in a hospital recovering.
On second thought, she nailed that one!
My thoughts pretty much resemble what GeekWithA45 said early today on the topic.
I’m pretty relaxed about the whole thing. We should get a ruling that declares the right to keep and bear arms an individual right. That’s good enough for me. That would remove the whole argument that one needs to be in a government controlled militia to own firearms.
Now, as to the question of whether or not an outright ban on certain arms qualifies as an infringement, that’s a whole new ball game.
They may come back and just say that the DC law on handgun ownership and functional long arms isn’t constitutional. Or they might refer back to the Miller case and get a little more expansive and reassert that there’s an individual right to keep arms that are suitable only for militia purposes. Or they might take the view of the DOJ brief filed and say that while it’s an individual right the government is still free to ban anything they want to.
The latter opinion, obviously, confuses the hell out of me, but the DOJ made a case for it.
If Heller results in a pro-individual rights ruling we’re probably going to see a number legal battles related to the 2nd amendment in short order. I read that Bob Levy wants to after the 1911 NYC Sullivan Act next. That’d be a good way to take on the incorporation issue that isn’t going to be addressed in this case.
If Heller results in a collective rights ruling there won’t be a legal battle on the issue ever again.
I’m about 1/3rd of the way through this book, authored by Stephen Marks.
So far I’m not really impressed. Thus far what I’ve “learned” is that the author could have saved a number of Republican campaigns if only they had listened to him, and that the vast majority of campaign workers are incompetent morons in his opinion, though he didn’t use those exact words. What he said was:
I eventually learned that hard way that the last thing the person interviewing me wanted was someone who could actually improve their office. In fact, any person with an IQ over 12 would be considered a “threat” to these people (this is why Capitol Hill offices are known for deliberately “dumbing down” their staffs).
Yeah, the dude has an ego, and it really shows in this book.
After failing to obtain a position working the press for candidates he got offered a job doing “Opposition Research” which is the technical term for somebody that digs up dirt on other candidates. This turns out to be the single most important thing in elections. Remember that ego thing?
So far the only thing that’s been a revelation to me is that the national committees work a lot like a large corporation. Folks bump about, fight for positions, and make a career out of working for campaigns. I had no idea that you could make a career out of that. I just assumed you were brought along with a candidate when you supported them in smaller roles. Apparently, that’s not the case.
I have much to learn.
In an email I received from Ron Paul today:
But with so many primaries and caucuses now over, we do not now need so big a national campaign staff, and so I am making it leaner and tighter. Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican party, so there will be no third party run. I do not denigrate third parties — just the opposite, and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican, and I will remain a Republican.
Emphasis mine.
Looks like Ron Paul won’t be running on a 3rd party ticket.
Bruce sums up my thoughts on the matter.
Gun free zones don’t protect anybody from violence.
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