For Cass Sunstein
I killed him in your honor.
I’d like to say I did it just to have the head as a trophy. But he’s been pretty tasty too!
Guns In DC
Just in time for the Hope and the Change, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has published a new 15 page guide to owning and registering a firearm in the District of Columbia.
Obama, Guns, and the 4th Branch of Government.
There are some things, those on the gunnie side of the blogsphere hold out as immutable truths.
The MSM is corrupt.
There are 3 branches of government (Executive, Legislative & Juridical)
And Barack Obama is a gun banning bigot who will infect the government with his gun banning ways.
Well, what if I told you that – at least as we stand 8 days out from The Anointed One’s crowning, 2 out of 3 of those immutable truths are wrong.
Consider this paragraph
No less than Griswold, Heller is a narrow ruling with strong minimalist features. And if this view is correct, then the development of the gun right, as it is specified over time, will have close parallels to the development of the privacy right. As the law emerges through case-by-case judgments, the scope of the right will have as much to do with contemporary understandings as with historical ones. This point has general implications for constitutional change in the United States, even when the Court contends, in good faith, that it is merely channeling the original meaning or other established sources of constitutional meaning.
Hmm, Heller is Griswold?? Sounds good. Griswold is the case that started the courts down the long “right to privacy” path that now protects the right to abortions. And, that is the model we (by we, I mean myself and Roy Lucas when I was assisting him here in DC to get a 2nd Amendment case before SCOTUS).
So, who is it who see’s our Right to Keep and Bear Arms as essentially developing into as strong and protected a right as the right of privacy?? Well, the author of that article is Cass Sunstein, who Obama just nominated to run the 4th Branch of Government.
The 4th Branch of What??? Of Government. Cass has been nominated to be Administer of OIRA . . . he will be the last word on ANY regulation that is developed during the Obama Administration. Next to the President, it is arguably the most powerful position in Government (and clearly the most powerful position you have never heard of).
Senate Majority Leader??? He’s nothing without 59 other votes. Speaker of the House?? She can propose things, but again is beholden to those 60 Senate votes. Secretary of State??? Hmm, well maybe, but Clinton is running around the world and babysitting disgruntled Foreign Service staff far more than she will be impacting your life.
But OIRA Administrator has the ability to KILL any regulation that any agency proposes. Or to change it to something that makes more sense, and is more cost efficient, and is mindful of the law (so as not to find the government wasting money fighting to defend illegal regulations).
Yes, OIRA Administrator is, in my mind, the 2nd most powerful position in DC. And Obama just nominated someone, who if not a direct friend of the 2nd Amendment, will at least be fair and impartial, and give Heller the respect it deserves.
UPDATE
Per the request in comments, here’s a link to the OIRA web page. Here’s a bio on Susan Dudley, the current OIRA Administrator.
To better explain what this position is, while we were waiting for the National Park Carry Rule to be released we often heard it was “in inter agency review” or “at the White House” or “at OMB”. All those are other ways to acknowledge it was before OIRA. They run the process of ensure all government agencies impacted have had a say in a rule, ensuring a rule is legal before being issued (or at least defensible), and understanding what the actual impact of a rule will be on the economy.
. Err, not so much. Turns out he wants to give squirrels the right to retain lawyers to sue hunters (and car drivers) for murder.
End of Year Post (or, begining of the year post)
HT to Ron at Reactuate
1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Rented a beach house for a month.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No, not really. I had some that I wish I had kept (losing weight, excecise) and others that I am still in the process of working on but which will be done shortly (home repairs) and others where I changed priorities/goals midway through the year.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I don’t think so.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. My dog.
5. Did you visit anywhere exciting? San Francisco.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Better staff assistance.
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Nothing in particular.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I taught my son to ride a bike.
9. What was your biggest mistake? I didn’t pay enough attention to my family.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yes. Injured my back falling off a roof (see #2 above, re exercise).
11. What was the best thing you bought? My dog. A Jeep Commander.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My wife who had a particularly difficult year.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? John McCain.
14. Where did most of your money go in 2008? Gasoline.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Training a new puppy.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Probably some old Grateful Dead song.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? Same.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer. (I just got a big raise)
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I’d spent more time with my family and helped my wife out with the kids more.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Paperwork and political campaigning. I don’t see my self doing any more work on political campaigns after this year. It was a big let down.
20. How did you spend Christmas? In Georgia, with my family, opening presents from 9 am till 11 pm. It was a wonderful day for the children, which made it even better for us parents.
21. Did you fall in love in ‘08? Yes. I’m Italian. I fall in love every time a pretty girl walks by.
22. What was your favorite TV program? Survivor man.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No.
24. What was the best book you read? Hmmmm
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? The Golden Animals.
26. What did you want and get? I wanted to beat the famous son of a famous politician. I did.
27. What did you want and not get? An AR-15
28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 37. I gave a presentation to a large group on energy issues at a nondescript Midwestern hotel. Ate a crappy banquet dinner.
29. What’s one thing that would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Spending more time with my family. If my dog hadn’t died.
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Lots of khaki.
31. What kept you sane? The Grateful Dead
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Sarah Palin.
33. What political issue stirred you the most? Gun Control.
34. Who do you miss the most? I miss the friends who I’ve lost contact with.
35. Who was the best new person you met? Not sure.
36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008? Spend more time with your family. Don’t rush to finish a job that can wait till tomorrow.
37. What are your New Years Resolutions for 2009? That will be coming soon.
The State of the Blog
Don’t worry, its not going anywhere.
But as I face a busy busy year here dealing with the new Obama Administration – I am traveling around the country making presentations for the next 4 weeks (except for a few days back in DC to attend the inauguration) – and won’t have much time to blog (or hunt) till February.
Still, I am going to try to post something – anything – at least once a week (if not more) here.
In the meantime, I might also be found bitching in some others kitchens about recipes and such, and reviewing restaurants and discussing food policy, on occasion.
Kel Tec Update: Carry Guns
They say, the best gun to have is the one you have with you.
In that regard, its time for an admission. The P11 has worked its way into my heart as my primary, go to, gun.
Sure, its plastic. And was dirt cheap. And shoots the horrendous 9mm Europellet. And not very accurate past 15 yards.
All things my Colt NRM 1991A1 isn’t it.
And while I purchased the Kel Tec as a summer carry gun, here I am in January and still dealing with the fact that I’ve actually walked out of the house only 3 times in the last 6 months with the Colt on my hip (and I was still carrying the Kel Tec in my pocket on those occasions).
What is it about the Kel Tec that allows it to replace a gun 5 times its cost? Well, its small, and light. It fights well in my hand. And it conceals easily. Very easily.
But still, it shoots the dreaded 9mm Europellet. Perhaps I should think about looking at Colt Commanders. But even then, I don’t know if they are small enough to displace the position the Kel tec has taken in my life.
