Category: Current Events

Glenn Reynolds has a nice roundup.

UPDATE: More from the Washington Post. I would bet money the shooter was eligible to buy a firearm in all fifty states. I don’t think James Grimaldi or Sari Horwitz has any shame at all. I’ve never bought a copy of the Washington Post. Nor will I ever. I hope everyone else cancels their subscription. Let them flush into the sewer of history where they belong.

Jim Lindgren has a good summary from a Twitter user who, seemingly credibly, is claiming to have gone to high school with the shooter. To me all this seems to point more closely to schizophrenia:

Saying Jared Laughner was the gunman. Really hoping that’s not the same guy I went to HS with, really good friend. Freaking out right now!!! about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone

Official I went to high school & college, & was in a band w/ the gunman. I can’t even fathom this right now. about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone

I went to high school, college, & was in a band with the gunman. This tragedy has just turned to horrific. 43 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to antderosa

I can. That is him. 39 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to antderosa

He was a political radical & met Giffords once before in ’07, asked her a question & he told me she was “stupid & unintelligent” 37 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to antderosa

He was a pot head & into rock like Hendrix,The Doors, Anti-Flag. I haven’t seen him in person since ’07 in a sign language class 35 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to antderosa

As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal. & oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy. 33 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

He had a lot of friends until he got alcohol poisoning in ’06, & dropped out of school. Mainly loner very philosophical. 29 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to antderosa

More left. I haven’t seen him since ’07 though. He became very reclusive. 27 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to noboa

I haven’t seen him since ’07. Then, he was left wing. 25 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to lakarune

it’s loughner just checked my year book. less than 20 seconds ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to antderosa

This is a circus. Good Morning America just called me. less than 5 seconds ago via Twitter for iPhone

Marijuana use greatly increases the probability of becoming schizophrenic. Combined with the fact that he later become very reclusive, I think is more evidence that this is a case of mental illness. I don’t think his political orientation has a thing to do with anything here. The simple fact seems to be this is another case of someone with undiagnosed, untreated mental illness acting out paranoid delusions. I would not be surprised if, having no record of criminal or mental health problems, he purchased the Glock 19 legally. Our opponents are already trying to make hay out of this in a desperate attempt to become relevant.

UPDATE: More from Clayton Cramer, who has personal experience with mental illness in his family, can be found here.

This is horrible. That’s all I really have to say right now. I think this might be the first Congressperson murdered since Rep. Leo Ryan was ambushed and murdered by Jim Jones’ cult. She is also the first female politician to be murdered in American history.

UPDATE: Apparently there’s reports that Giffords is not, in fact, dead, but is alive and in surgery. If this is the case, we sincerely hope she recovers.

UPDATE: Reports are confirmed. She’s in surgery.

UPDATE: Looks like the shooter has a YouTube channel. Given his age (early 20s) and the content of these videos, this looks to be the case of a young man who has come down with schizophrenia. He’s the right age for it.

UPDATE: Reports now seem to suggest she’s out of surgery, and while still in critical condition, surgeons expect she’ll pull through.

UPDATE: The Brady Campaign is already dancing in the blood of the victims, saying this needs to be addressed immediately, even though we don’t yet know the circumstances:

We also are deeply concerned about the heated political rhetoric that escalates debates and controversies, and sometimes makes it seem as if violence is an acceptable response to honest disagreements. Shortly after President Obama took office, the head of the NRA crowed that “the guys with the guns make the rules;” participants in Congressional forums and Presidential events started carrying guns in public; and then, just last year a candidate for U.S. Senate said the citizens unhappy with elections results should consider exercising their “Second Amendment remedies” and Sarah Palin used gun “target” metaphors encouraging voters to defeat Rep. Giffords and others.

This seems to me to be a bit, ahem, premature.

UPDATE: Josh Sugarmann is joining the blood dance too. Though, I don’t have high expectations of Sugarmann. I tend to think of the Bradys as more misguided than evil. Josh Sugarmann is a horrible person.

UPDATE: Jim and Sarah Brady manage to have a classier respond than all the other anti-gun people put together.

I was privileged to see a this video previewed at an NRA board meeting, which is now being promoted to honor the work of veterans on behalf of other veterans on Veterans Day. Watch it, it’s pretty moving.

This article in Scientific American would seem to lend support to the theory that homosexuality is not entirely a choice, at least not always. The interesting thing about the genetic theory of homosexuality is, that if it’s correct, is going to imply quite a bit about the number of homosexuals within the population.

Much like the laws of thermodynamics, natural selection is a bitch. Genetic traits that interfere with reproduction don’t get passed on to future generations, and eventually work their way out of the gene pool. This would mean the number of homosexuals should be a good bit smaller than is often claimed (I’ve heard 10% bandied about). If they are high, there needs to be an explanation as to how the trait is continuing to propagate within the population. It’s quite possible it propagates because many homosexuals, because of social pressure, live heterosexual lives. If this is the case, increasing public acceptance of homosexuality should actually reduce their numbers (let’s see the Moral Majority types try to wrap their heads around that one). It’s also possible it propagates through the general population, but gets activated by other factors. I don’t think we really understand enough to make a certain conclusion, but a genetic root for homosexuality should mean the number of genetic homosexuals should be quite small.

Hat Tip to Instapundit for the link.

If you want to get media attention, saying you are going to burn the Koran does that just fine.  But it is wrong on so many levels.  Let’s count them, shall we?

1. It anger Muslims, as opposed to persuading them.  There are a lot of serious criticisms that can be made of the Koran and Islam, but burning the Koran isn’t a serious criticism.  It’s childish.  That pastor should have organized a daylong serious analysis of the Koran’s inconsistencies and the difficulties with reading its text that have been acknowledged by Muslim scholars since around 1000 AD.  Would it have converted many Muslims?  No.  But it would not have generated the…firestorm (yes, that’s the word) of passionate rage.  It makes America look stupid.

2. Book burning has become a symbol of fascism.  Even the Catholic Church, when it maintained its list of prohibited books, did not burn books.  Great: a Christian pastor uses a symbol of the Nazis.  What were you thinking?  Were you thinking?

3. It provides yet another example of an ignorant Christian pastor for the news media (which is constantly ignoring the many equivalent Islamic radical imams) to use to portray Christianity in a bad light.

4. It almost certainly increases the risk that some Muslim fanatic is going to kill some American somewhere–and there is nothing that we get in return for that increased risk.  If some action that we took actually increased the possibility of winning the war against Islamofascism in exchange for that risk, it might be worth considering.  But what does burning Korans buy us?  Nothing.

I hope this pastor enjoys his brief moment of fame.

I saw the ads when it came out, but my wife and I seldom go to movies.  While grading papers today, I watched it on Netflix.

Yes, grading student essays is not so difficult that I can’t watch a movie at the same time.  (One quirk of both my daughter and myself that just drives my wife crazy is that we can and often do multitask–doing several things simultaneously.)

Anyway, the essence of the movie (explained in the very well done minute or two opening so I am not spoiling anything for you) is that in the very near future, humans live their entire lives through robotic surrogates that give you all the sensations and experiences–but without the risks.  Many people never actually leave their homes–they rely on their surrogates to go everywhere, including doing their jobs.  Of course, the robots don’t age, or get fat, or ugly.  And if the surrogate dies, you can’t get hurt.  Or can you?

To say that this is an astonishing commentary on our technologically deranged society is quite clear.  I would blog some more about this–but blogging is perilously close to a surrogate form of social behavior!

There are so many cliched sci-fi premises that have been done again and again and again (such as time travel stories) that to really make it interesting requires a really astonishing piece of writing.  And to get some thoughtful social commentary at the same time?  Excellent!

CNN is reporting that elements of the 15th MEU Maritime Raid Force stormed and seized control of a hijacked vessel off the coast of Somalia. No shots fired; the pirates surrendered immediately.

Updated: Link fixed