The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

Blog Posts

Colin Small voter registration form disposal: Late update

By erica20 on Mon, 04/15/2013 - 11:01pm |

 

Info regarding upcoming trial. (Tomorrow.)

If I were the prosecutor, I'd want to know this. But you never know....:^)

Conspiracy is in the details, but nobody likes details.

By erica20 on Fri, 04/12/2013 - 3:39pm |

I’ve been following the story of Colin Small, a young Republican who was seen throwing out completed voter registration forms in Harrisonburg, VA, and got arrested for it. Turns out Small was employed by the oft-renamed firm sometimes and formerly known as Strategic Allied Consultants, sometimes and formerly run by disgraced Republican consultant Nathan Sproul.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/article/278836/81/Man-arrested-for-tos...

Allegations have been made, predictably, that Small’s act was part of a larger Strategic Allied conspiracy, but no solid proof has emerged. Small’s bosses fired him and offered the usual “bad apple” explanation.

In addition, a rather weak explanation for Small’s behavior was offered up by an “unnamed source close to the story” who said Small panicked because he couldn't file the forms by the deadline, and solved his problem by ditching them.

Are Gays the New Seniors?

By erica20 on Wed, 03/27/2013 - 11:41am |

Ok, this question has been burbling around in my mind for awhile, especially now with actual Senators coming out in favor of same sex marriage.

Are LGBTs and their supporters the new senior citizens? And by that, I mean a block of people who will reliably vote as predicted, and moreover work for their candidates of choice, encouraging their many friends to come out and do the same?

How Not to Rape My Daughter

By erica20 on Fri, 03/22/2013 - 4:55pm |

So....fair? Unfair? Effective? Dumb?  What would you change?

This material would probably be better performed by comedian Louis CK, but you have to do what you can in this world.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dVURXznJGU

 

 

Did Cheney and the Decider misunderestimate assurances from the Saudis? And how bad was it?

By erica20 on Wed, 01/23/2013 - 1:51pm |

It has always seemed to me that we weren't getting (duh!) the full story on 9/11. But so many of the smooth, pat, party-line conspiracy theories about it just seem wrong.

Personally, I like my conspiracy theories like I like my men--smart, funny, a little rough around the edges, and just unpredictable enough to keep me interested. (Fortunately I finally found a lovely guy who fits the bill.) But enough about me.

One freakishly admirable thing about the NeoCon thinking that dominated the Bush administration is that those NeoCons didn't sweat the small stuff. They had a big PNAC plan to transform the world and make the US its sole superpower--but they were willing to be somewhat flexible about how that sausage got made and adjust to whatever inconveniences reality would throw at them. In their Strauss--influenced worldview, truth, logic and right action took a backseat to the greater "good" of how much of a difference you could make. (It's fundamentally unlike Liberal/Democratic thinking, in which stuff actually matters.)

Will gun manufacturers accept a 10% drop in sales?

By erica20 on Mon, 01/14/2013 - 1:24pm |

I have been looking at "Time to Crime" data and it indicates to me that if we figured out a way to stop the flow of guns to criminals, it would mean a yearly drop in gun sales of AT LEAST 10%. 

So I think it is time for Joe to get out there and extract a promise from gun manufacturers that they would be willing to accept a AT LEAST A 10% sales hit in order to keep our streets safer.

Here's how I came up with this. The Mayors Against Illegal Guns web site, tracetheguns.org, says that nationwide, 22.6 % of the guns recovered in crimes are less than two years old.

If owning a gun is a crime, only criminals will have guns: how the industry doubles sales.

By erica20 on Sun, 01/13/2013 - 3:34pm |

Today's post looks at corrupt Federally Licensed Firearms dealers (FFLs) and straw buyers. Here is what I suspect, and I may or may not be able to prove it.

It's about the money.

The gun industry, by selling guns to criminals, creates a commensurate need for self-defense in the "law-abiding" public. And like Doublemint gum, it's double the pleasure, double the fun for gun manufacturers and dealers.

Medical Errors and Gun-owner Errors: Similarities

By erica20 on Thu, 01/10/2013 - 1:12pm |

As I think about gun-owners today, I think they can be placed in a few different groups. There are similarities with discussions we have about medical errors and negligence--because there are sometimes tragic injuries and deaths involved. So bear with me here as I talk about the similarities. This isn't going to be artful.

1. There are legal, responsible gun owners who are concerned about their Second Amendment rights. Fair enough. Their right to bear arms is guaranteed under the Constitution--but as with doctors, if one of them makes an error, the results can be deadly.

Reasonable gun storage

By erica20 on Wed, 01/09/2013 - 4:19pm |

Ok, so it seems to be legal to keep a loaded gun on your nightstand in most or all states, with some exceptions for those who live in California.

I'm going to go way out on a limb and propose that we make a federal law that if a gun is to be kept within 20 horizontal feet of a room where people sleep, the ammunition must be kept in a small biometric or combination safe, separate from the weapon itself. Call it a "clip-keeper."

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