Also, it’s an odd feeling… I was a sophomore in high school when the Twin Towers fell… and here I am, a decade later, and the leader of the other side’s finally dead.

Link to a PDF of the decision here.

The Second Amendment now applies to the states through the 14th Amendment.  Alito wrote the majority opinion, Scalia wrote a concurring opinion, and Breyer whined (a spine, grow one, Stoddard*).  Weer’d points out that this will have huge impacts on state laws (and points to crying at The Huffer’s Postings).  Jay G., Laurel,and Roberta X gloat a little bit, while Curt points to the VPC whining and Newbius points to some sobs by Dennis Henigan. Then Paul Helmke declared victory, while Uncle points to Pajamas Media debunking the VPC… with their own stats.

Breda points out the guy who did quite a bit of the work (Alan Gura), and to a movie critic being… stupid.  Alan posts the picture Laurel referred to (yes, the Bradys are a hate group).  Joe Huffman has a quote from the NRA– finally, a right promised is a right honored.

There are four quotes quotes I want to use here.  The first is from Jennifer:

The gun banners have a warped view of the human race. They simultaneously believe that an inanimate object will turn a law abiding citizen into a crazed maniac and that the crazed maniac could peacefully exist in a society without the same inanimate object. Personally I do not believe that a person bent on violence will not be changed by a lack of tools. Likewise, a normally peaceful person will not be changed by the presence of said tool.

The next is from Tom at SCOTUSblog, via Uncle:

When Heller was decided, we had our biggest day ever, by far — 300,000 hits. Americans care about gun rights.

Then one from the Wall Street Journal, via USCitizen:

All of this suggests that the liberals have decided to bide their time and wait for a fifth vote so they can overturn both Heller and McDonald. This means that the matter of Second Amendment rights is far from settled, and the National Rifle Association and other advocates had better keep their legal guard up.

Finally, one from Steve Harris (a pro-gun attorney) via Massad Ayoob:

I think we need one more Supreme Court case on guns to make it clear to the circuit courts what they mean about reasonable regulation. That will take about 3-5 years to percolate.

So, after putting it all together, we “gun nuts” just took a big step towards real freedom.  But we have to be vigilant for the next few years, until all the kinks get straitened out.

Senator Byrd is now facing the Eternal Elector.

Or, as Tam phrased it: “The Grim Reaper invoked cloture on Robert C. Byrd’s filibuster today.”

That’s right, the only Klansman in the Senate has passed on to his eternal reward.  The left is already trying to spin his past involvement with the KKK in a positive light– the South made him do it!  Yes, us dastardly Rebels made him join the Klan, made him become a KKK recruiter, and made him vocally support the Klan.  Don’t venture south of the Mason-Dixon Line, Yanks, or we’ll turn our magical KKK Ray on you!

As both Weer’d and Mike W. pointed out, if Byrd did change his mind, where was his change in actions?  If the former Klucker was no longer a Klucker, where was his activism AGAINST the Klan?  You see, of the people in my blogroll, some of the most outspoken are those who had been in the groups they speak out against.  (Mike Vanderboegh and Weer’d come to mind…)  I mean, this is the guy who said this:

I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side… Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.

— Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1944

Which brings me to a quote by Linoge:

Should Senator Byrd be remembered? Absolutely – as an shining example of what not to do. However, as sure as I am that he and Teddy are bumping knuckles today, I am just as certain that the Democratic Party and Mainstream Media (but I repeat myself) are doing their absolute damnest to ensure that Robert’s disgusting legacy is celebrated… which kind of says something about those folks with the “D” after their names, does it not?

Indeed– if the Dems were truly as nice, kind, pro-minority as they proclaimed… well, they wouldn’t be the Democratic Party.  Just remember, folks– this was the song the DNC used in 1864…  they were Copperheads then, and they’re Copperheads still.  For reference, compare the treatment of Byrd to the treatment of Thurmond.

Though I do wonder what Byrd was thinking when he was waving the flag as a “race mongrel” became President…

General McChrystal forgot an old adage.

You know, the one about how “the slow blade penetrates the shield.”  The fact that Rolling Stone was the one that brought him down is ironic, because… well, I’ll quote from this op-ed:

Since the end of the draft, the officer corps has become increasingly conservative and libertarian, and it is a rare officer who votes as a Democrat. [...] [C]urrently, the overwhelming majority of senior officers are registered Republicans, and there are very few registered Democrats. Special operations officers are even more conservative than their traditional brethren… [...] Ironically, McChrystal is a registered Democrat, a social liberal, and an Obama supporter in the 2008 election.

General, what did Barry say to you in that meeting?  Was it “YES, I CAN!”  Having said that (with as much snark as I can muster), I’m sorry to see the General retire–  McChrystal reminded me of Colonel Hackworth, who was one of my favorite writers and a man I much respected.  I just think it’s ironic that a leftist mag took down a leftist General who supported the leftist President that fired him… and replaced him with a General who has won an award from the AEI and been attacked by the Left.  (Dear MoveOn– choke on your “Betray Us” line.  We remember it, bet on that.)

* Oh, come on, somebody has to catch that…

9 April 2010

Justice John Paul Stevens announces he will retire at the end of the 2010 summer session. Elena Kagan is named as a possible replacement at this time. [A]

5 May 2010

Evidence surfaces that Kagan (then the Dean of Harvard Law School) covered for professors when they plagiarized. [B]

7 May 2010

CNS News begins speculating who might be named to replace Stevens, and what their selection might mean for the balance of the Court.

10 May 2010

Obama officially announces Kagan is his nominee to replace Stevens.

CNS News runs a story about Kagan, noting that she is pro-abortion, dodged questions during her nomination for Solicitor General, and has worked in an advisory role for Goldman Sachs.

Kagan’s competence comes into question at this time, as transcripts of her arguing before the Supreme Court show that she lacked a fundamental understanding of the issue she was arguing. [C]

David Hardy posts on Kagan, noting she has little experience, and has rarely been published in law reviews.

11 May 2010

David Codrea posts an article questioning Kagan’s stance on guns.  In short– not great, but not awful, either.

13 May 2010

John Lott posts an article showing that Kagan used the phrase “not sympathetic” in reference to a court case regarding unlicensed concealed carry.

16 May 2010

Senator Sessions (R-AL) notes that Kagan (as Dean) made the job of recruiters at Harvard Law harder, calling it “no little-bitty matter.”

Newt Gingrich calls this “an act so unbecoming an American that she should be disqualified, from the very beginning.”

The same day, Chuck Schumer calls Kagan “brilliant” and “practical.”

17 May 2010

It comes to light that Kagan helped craft Bill Clinton’s strategy that kept partial-birth abortion legal.

The White House asks the Clinton Library to release papers relating to Kagan (including her emails).

Quotes from GOP members show that a filibuster of Kagan is unlikely.

A friend of Kagan says that she “is largely a progressive in the mold of Obama himself.”

18 May 2010

Since she helped craft the Obama administration’s defense of health care “reform,” Kagan might have to recuse herself from any Supreme Court health care case.

It comes to light that Kagan advocated campaign finance reform during the Clinton administration.  Ironically, this is the subject she showed little grasp of before the Supreme Court.

19 May 2010

During the period of time that Kagan tried to keep military recruiters off the Harvard Law campus, she was allowing Saudi recruiters for what is called Sharia-Compliant Finance onto campus.

In two law review articles, Kagan attacks the Supreme Court for denying pro-abortion groups federal money.

20 May 2010

The director of the Clinton library admits that she probably will not be able to meet the deadline to get all Kagan-related materials to Congress. [D]

18 June 2010

Documentation shows that while in the Clinton White House, Kagan made comparisons between the KKK and NRA. [E]

23 June 2010

The percentage of Americans opposing Kagan drops… to 42%. [F]

Sunlight Labs (part of the Sunlight Foundation) releases Elena’s Inbox, all of Kagan’s email from her time in the Clinton White House. [F]

Summary

In short, I’m with Newbius: “I think it is time to oppose her with every fiber of my being and urge my Senators to do the same.”  Obama has shown an utter unwillingness to choose a decent judge for any position– Goodwin Liu is the perfect example of this (reference: here, here, and here)– and I’d rather not see another Sotomayor on the Court.

Note: the title of this post comes from Robb.

References:

[A] Sebastian, 9 April 2010.
[B] John Lott, 10 May 2010.
[C} John Lott, 11 May 2010.
[D] John Lott, 20 May 2010.
[E] John Lott, 18 June 2010.
[F] Instapundit, 23 June 2010.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Poor fly… he was just looking for a meal, and then he hit the silvered tongue…

Side note: from the size, I’m going to guess that was a horse fly. If it had been a yellow fly, the attack would have finished with a TIE fighter-esque roll while aiming directly for the mouth.

The bad thing is that the only effective way to kill the bloody things is to trap them… and I’m guessing no reporter wants to go on TV with a blue Dixie cup taped to their hat…

First seen at Breitbart.TV

I would like to point out something to the leftists… so far, the only Dems to win elections have been the ones Obama has not campaigned for.  The only Dems to win elections have been Critz (who “ran” PA-12 for Murtha) and Owens (who was endorsed by his Republican opponent, yet managed to win by only 4,000 votes).

Of course, the gloating of the leftists is… well, lemme show you an example from here:

it was a “2-1″ district when michael steele said the republootard was guaranteed to win

it was a “2-1″ district when the terrorist teabaggers were gloating about the impending Democratic loss

the results are only shocking if you have been listening to the fool teabagger terrorists and actually believed their pipe dreams

it was a Democratic district, and you idiots have been talking like you had already won the seat

well

suck on THIS, teabagger terrorist

I look forward to your excuses in November

start writing those lies now

Posted by: nada85484 | May 19, 2010 1:14 AM

I love these loving, cuddly leftists!

No, that last line doesn’t sound ominous… not at all…

Rep. Grayson Calls Labor Unions Strongest Force for ‘Good Government’

Ironic, because the very next article in the list was:

Unions Making Postal Service Unsustainable, GAO Says

Well, they are the strongest force, but it ain’t for good government…

Please, 30 guns, 7 knives and a coupla crossbows?  I call that “a good start.”  Less than 3,000 rounds of ammo?  I’ve walked out of a store with more than that!  (5 bulk packs of .22 plus 3 20 round boxes of .40 S&W.)  And forget saving the pants when I make a gun show run– Ms. Reporter Lady would expel feces at supersonic speeds…

Also, please note that while Office Depot workers aren’t as susceptible to PSH, they are a bit touchy.  So if you happen to have, say 6 or 7 (maybe 8 ) ammo cans in your trunk, please remember this before you pop the hatch and tell them “just put that chair in there with everything else…”  Otherwise, there will be an awkward moment that ends with you agreeing with the salesman that yes, that might fit better in the back seat…  (Don’t ask me how I know this…)

(H/T both stories Tam)

In other words, we just formed up on the rest of the squadron, and they’re about to go all lawn-dart-y.

So, “Me Generation” Obama voters… you’ll be unemployed and living in your parent’s house.  But, hey, you’ll have health care!  Just consider the wait time as free entertainment, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

(H/T Tam)

(H/T Breda)

Civil unrest in Thailand.

I… can’t… resist… must… must…

… I’m sorry.