Guns are bad! July 31, 2007
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In an effort to crack down on guns the University of Toronto is closing its indoor rifle range. I mean you never know when someone who has been shooting in a safe environment for years might just go bonkers and start killing people…
Lessons to be learned:
guns are bad
no one with a gun can possibly obey the laws of the land
guns are bad
people who belong to gun clubs are bad
shooting in a controlled environment is the same as shooting innocent people…
just keep repeating it to yourself until it makes sense.
Just a quick linky July 30, 2007
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Read this piece about gun laws, reporters and criminals.
I think it’s more senseless to allow violent criminals to run around carrying illegal guns in the first place than it is to wait until they commit murder, only to then decry the “senselessness” of the murders. For all I know, some of these criminals might be thinking that some of these murders are sensible. It seems senseless not to lock them up.
I’ve got a better idea… July 30, 2007
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Let’s just ban pointy objects…
I don’t mean to trivialize the plight of these people but if every special interest group got the law changed to accomodate their particular greivance we wouldn’t be allowed to do anything – it would either be too dangerous, too polluting, too culturally insensitive, etc… ugh…
Afstan-again… July 28, 2007
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Damian Brooks smacks down Toronto Councillor Carolyn Parish pretty effectively here:
But the most effective rebuttal to Ms. Parrish’s uninformed assertion is this poll of Afghan public opinion, released just last December, which shows that support for foreign troops in the country runs three to one Grateful to Unhappy (based upon a random national sample of 1,036 Afghan adults from 14-19 Oct, 2006, which apparently has a 3.5-point error margin).
I think that it bears repeating that the military exists primarily to do two things: kill our enemies and break their stuff.
In fact, I’m surprised that peaceniks want our troops to be viewed as peacekeepers… in my mind this increases the likelihood that they will be deployed. Let’s conduct a thought experiment:
Suppose a conflict has broken out in fill-in-astan but a truce has been declared and the international community wants to waste its time/money/effort sending peacekeepers to mediate the dispute. There are two countries that have soldiers available:
Country A’s troops have a reputation as badass mofo’s. A’s citizens view their military as a potent force and are proud of their martial heritage.
Country B’s troops have been trained in a similar manner to A’s but the citizens of B think of their military as a glorified police force who look scary but don’t really want to hurt anyone. This is the image that is portrayed to the rest of the world as well.
Who do you think the international community is going to ask for peacekeepers first, the Stormtroopers from A or the policemen from B?
I think this deserves some research.. Does viewing the military as a bunch of glorified policemen (aka peacekeepers) make it more likely that our troops get sent overseas or at least requested to participate in overseas ventures?
Things of the interest on the web: July 25, 2007
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1. Go to Hit & Run and just keep scrolling – I recommend this and this.
2. Is local food necessarily better for the environment? Marginal Revolution looks at an article on the issue.
3. Experts and the mob. Daniel Drezner looks at the continuing controversy in Europe over GM crops.
4. Jay Jardine shows that right now is a pretty good time to buy your car stateside.
5. Johnathan Pearce looks at all the flooding in England right now and thanks his lucky stars for a global economy.
Political Grandstanding… July 25, 2007
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In another ‘Oh look at me I’m hard done by!’ Dany Williams was out in the media again bitching about the feds not upholding the atlantic accord…
Life in this country would be so much easier if the feds would just stop with equalization payments. Get out of the healthcare game, let each province tax whatever they feel necessary to provide the level of nanny state they feel they need. As for myself I just want Dany to shut up… please… I can’t stand it when politicians play the victim…
Plagiarism doesn’t pay July 25, 2007
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A key lesson out there for those who plagiarize: if you must plagiarize don’t draw attention to your work after the fact…. One bloke didn’t learn this lesson… (ignore the headline – Churchill’s praise for the 9/11 hijackers had nothing to do with his firing)
Update: more on the story from Hit & Run.
Update2: more in depth discussion here.
Economics strikes again! July 22, 2007
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Okay last post for today… turning off my computer after this:
Report in the Toronto Star about the booming American Southwest and the water problems caused by millions of affluent people living in a desert. In the article they discuss how the rust belt around the great lakes could easily accomodate many more people and not have to worry about water issues. Not surprisingly at the end you have some professor saying that the government should step in to provide inducements for people to live in ecologically sustainable areas.
I would suggest that the reason people don’t live in the rust belt is because it is not a desireable place to be from a tax perspective. Consider that of the States mentioned in that report Ohio and New York are both in the bottom ten of the Tax Foundations Business Tax Climate Index. High taxes keep businesses away. No new businesses, no new jobs, no reason for people to move. That’s without even getting into the union vs. right to work debate. If you poke around on the Tax Foundation’s website or the Bureau of Labor’s website you would probably find that wages in the rust belt are only average to below average whilst taxes are average or above. Seems a fairly straightforward issue to me…
“Ghetto Dude” July 22, 2007
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Wow, posting a lot today… must be really bored… yes. yes I am… stupid rainy weather…
Anyway, story from the land of the enlightened (aka Toronto) about a University student and self confessed “political junkie” named Evon Reid who applied for a job with the provincial government. His application was forwarded to someone else in the office with the note “This is the ghetto dude that I spoke to before” unfortunately Mr. Reid also made it on the recipient list.
I’m just wondering out of all the things you could have referred to Mr. Reid as (black guy, black dude, etc.) why ghetto dude? I’m sure the person didn’t think before writing that but come on… As for the racist implications… well they’re obvious enough no point in me belabouring the point.
In any case, Mr. Reid is going to get the apology he deserves and the employee in question will probably have to go to some sensitivity training on the taxpayer’s dime (though as punishment for being so stupid they should be forced to pay for their sensitivity training as well)… [cynic]Not that that sensitivity training will make a lick of difference[/cynic]…
Ban Guns Now! July 22, 2007
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Because we all know that a ban will keep guns out of criminals hands… because criminals are law abiding citizens… no wait that’s not right…
This post was inspired by the Mayor of Toronto:
“We know where the guns come from,” Miller said. “Half come across the border, sometimes more than half. We need real action on border security.
“And the second thing we need is to take care of our own house. Handguns are still legal in Canada, partially, and we’ve got to make them completely illegal.”
The thing is that handguns are illegal in other countries and guess what… people still get shot. Why not try and find out the root causes of the violence instead of just banning the instruments and hoping the underlying issues vanish?
Also if we must ban guns can we at least legalize drugs… just a thought…
UPDATE: Feds rightfully say “No Way!” to handgun ban… and from looking at some of the comments it seems at least a few people understand the essential problem with a ban…
