For all of the people claiming the presidential candidate matters due to judicial appointments, I bring you the Supreme Court, their stance on the Heller decision, and their appointing president:

Justice	Heller Stance	Appointed by
Ruth Bader Ginsburg	Dissent	Bill Clinton
Stephen Breyer	Dissent	Bill Clinton
David Souter	Dissent	George Bush, Sr.
John Paul Stevens	Dissent	Gerald Ford
Anthony Kennedy	Affirmed	Ronald Reagan
Clarence Thomas	Affirmed	George Bush, Sr.
John Roberts	Affirmed	George Bush, Jr.
Samuel Alito	Affirmed	George Bush, Jr.
Antonin Scalia	Affirmed	Ronald Reagan

Half of the dissenters were appointed by Republicans. This was a 5-4 vote with 7 Republican appointees on the court. How can we count on McCain to appoint a conservative justice?

DC v Heller Decision Summary

So, to summarize:

In a stunning upset, the Supreme Court has ruled that "The People" does, in fact, mean "The People", and, amazingly, "shall not be infringed" means, more or less, "shall not be infringed".

Shocking.

SCOTUSBlog, Part IV

My comments from around the world:

First:

I just got done reading the majority opinion. IANAL, but here is my take:

It is an individual right, but not an unlimited right.
Absolute bans are out.
Trigger lock or disassembly requirements are out.
Guns are allowed to be kept in usable condition.
Licensing is ok(not addressed in this decision), but as long as the applicant is not a prohibited person, the registry has to be open. DC can NOT refuse to register a handgun if the applicant can legally own it.

Another thing to remember, this was planned to be a narrowly defined decision from the moment it first hit the court system. The respondents were carefully chosen, and they conceded some controversial issues, just to avoid losing on those grounds. Licensing was conceded during orals, to avoid a ruling on those grounds. The sole point of this entire case was to get SCOTUS precedent stating the 2A is an individual right.

And:

This is a foundational court case. There is now unambiguous SCOTUS precedent stating, very clearly, that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right.

The fight moves on. Expect dozens of court cases over the next few years to further define the right.

We won a battle, the war is hardly over. It was, however, an important battle.

And:

DeanC wrote:Awww crap

Because Heller conceded at oral argument that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbitrarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement. Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home.

This isn't bad. Because Heller conceded, this issue was not addressed. There is NO SCOTUS opinion on the constitutionality of registration. It's open for another case.

Highlights from Heller

But the enshrinement of
constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy
choices off the table. These include the absolute prohibition
of handguns held and used for self-defense in the
home. Undoubtedly some think that the Second Amendment
is outmoded in a society where our standing army is
the pride of our Nation, where well-trained police forces
provide personal security, and where gun violence is a
serious problem. That is perhaps debatable, but what is
not debatable is that it is not the role of this Court to
pronounce the Second Amendment extinct.

We affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

SCOTUSBlog, Part III

The opinion is available here.

Court: A constitutional right to a gun
Thursday, June 26th, 2008 10:14 am | Lyle Denniston | Comments Off |

Answering a 127-year old constitutional question, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to have a gun, at least in one’s home. The Court, splitting 5-4, struck down a District of Columbia ban on handgun possession.

Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion for the majority stressed that the Court was not casting doubt on long-standing bans on gun possession by felons or the mentally retarded, or laws barring guns from schools or government buildings, or laws putting conditions on gun sales.

In District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), the Court nullified two provisions of the city of Washington’s strict 1976 gun control law: a flat ban on possessing a gun in one’s home, and a requirement that any gun — except one kept at a business — must be unloaded and disassembled or have a trigger lock in place. The Court said it was not passing on a part of the law requiring that guns be licensed.

SCOTUSBlog, Part II

Davis v. FEC: reversed and remanded.

Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. v. Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County: affirmed and remanded

Tom Goldstein - The Morgan Stanley opinion holds that FERC was required to apply the Mobile Sierra presumption. There, everyone knows what they came here to find out.

Funny guy.

The Heller Decision:

Tom Goldstein - Heller affirmed.

10:13
Ben Winograd -

The Court has released the opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), on whether the District’s firearms regulations – which bar the possession of handguns and require shotguns and rifles to be kept disassembled or under trigger lock – violate the Second Amendment. The ruling below, which struck down the provisions in question, is affirmed.



Justice Scalia wrote the opinion. Justice Breyer dissented, joined by Justices Stevens, Souter and Ginsburg. We will provide a link to the decision as soon as it is available.
10:13
Tom Goldstein - Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm.

Full opinion with nuanced results will be forthcoming. In the meantime hell yeah!

SCOTUSBlog

I'm watching the SCOTUSBlog Liveblog of the Supreme Court decisions being released today. There is a poll with some interesting results:

Are you a lawyer(18%), a law student(14%), or neither(69%)?

How many guns do you own? 0(27%) 1(6%) 2 or more(63%)

Why are you here? Heller(96%) Other(4%)

The vast majority of the people watching are non-lawyer gun owners there for the Heller decision.

Take that, Brady.

New shooter

Eight days ago, my wife gave me our third child. Our oldest(8) has been a wonder, helping with our middle child, changing diapers and helping Mom with anything she needs. He has also been interacting properly with waitresses at restaurants and holding doors open for strange women, unprompted.

So, with all of this evidence of maturity and responsibility, I decided it was time to take him to the range. He needed some personal attention. I needed time with my son. It was time for a milestone.

We brought a Keystone Crickett and a Browning Buckmark. I bought the Crickett two years ago, in anticipation of this day, and the Buckmark came home a few days ago, in recognition of it.

We went to a popular indoor range, but I timed it right. The only other customers were another father and son a few lanes down. I ran him through the operation of the Crickett and let him at it. He was able to keep them all in the black at 10 and 20 feet. The Buckmark was, naturally, a bit less accurate for him, but he did keep every shot on the paper. There was a definite moment of pride watching him observing the safety rules, while hitting his target.

After the first magazine through the Buckmark, he asked if he could shoot the rifle again. After 100 or so rounds through the Crickett, I told him we could leave if he was tired, and he said "No way". He couldn't wait to tell his grandparents about his trip to the range when they came to see the baby. He is looking forward to visiting Grandpa, in a few weeks, so he can shoot pop cans, instead of paper.

Mother and new daughter are doing wonderful.

Half-clone development

Last Sunday, after 20 minutes of grueling labor, Grace entered our lives as the second alternate-gender half-clone produced by WallyClones, Inc.

Perfect in every way, except for the lack of walking, talking, or toilet-training.

I passed

128 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Today's Question

If a Vegan is engaged in the act of penosugia, is she(or he) allowed to deglut?

They must have missed 'Hostel'

This won't end well.

It may save some money, but eventually, somebody is going to use this as the bait is a coed-trap, and the idea will die.

Personally, I wouldn't let a stranger sleep on my couch, anymore. Ten years ago, I wasn't as cautious, and did let a pair of backpackers crash in my living room.

Zombie Proof

Via SixString, we have government acknowledgment of zombies.

The question is "State Why You Intend to Make Firearm" on the ATF form "Application to Make and Register a Firearm". They wouldn't have approved it if they didn't believe, right?

Stubborn Facts

Tam has a fun game going.

Obama is really a ten thousand year-old Assyrian demon that eats babies for breakfast. Or Martin Bormann in disguise, whichever.

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I read on the internet that Barack Obama was seen bayoneting Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Wearing a keffiyeh.

-

It is a little-known fact that Barack kidnapped the Lindbergh baby.

Also, Jimmy Hoffa was last seen getting in his car.

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And he changed his middle name to Hussein from Khomeini, to make it seem less conspicuous.

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It is a vicious, baseless slur...
...to claim that Barack *redacted* Obama was heard to shout "Allahu Akhbar!" when he pushed that iceberg into the path of the Titanic.

The truth is that nobody's really sure what he said as he gave the 'berg a nudge.

Obama was also, according to rumor, the official go-between for England and Benedict Arnold.

Failure of State-Sponsored Protection

Or..

Reason # 123154 why I carry a gun:

Over many torturous hours, she had been repeatedly raped, sodomized and forced to perform oral sex, a prosecutor told a jury on Thursday. The accused, Robert A. Williams, 31, had doused the woman’s face and body with boiling water and bleach, forced her to swallow handfuls of pills and to chase them with beer, sealed her mouth with glue, and bound her wrists and legs with shoelaces, cords and duct tape, said the prosecutor, Ann P. Prunty. And now, Ms. Prunty said, he was asking the woman to gouge out her own eyes with a pair of scissors.

Here's how it started:

As the woman entered her apartment, Ms. Prunty said, Mr. Williams asked her if she knew where a Mrs. Evans lived. The woman stopped to answer.

"Her kind moment of hesitation would cost her," Ms. Prunty said.

Mr. Williams forced his way into the apartment, Ms. Prunty said, put the woman in a chokehold, and slapped her cellphone from her hand. Mr. Williams slammed the door behind him, and "her Friday the 13th nightmare began," Ms. Prunty said.

A cell phone is NOT a defense.

Kevin's take:

The anti-gun people tell victims to "give their attacker what they want." He wanted her body. He wanted her to gouge out her own eyes. Instead, she attempted to end her own life.

How can anyone believe that it is morally superior to submit to a rapist rather than carry a gun and have at least the chance to shoot the bastard?

This could be you, your sister, daughter, wife, mother. Please, take a "Refuse to be a Victim" course. Learn how to spot the danger signs. Learn how to protect yourself, even if you are unable to be armed. Don't let anything like this happen to you, or someone you love. No one should have to endure this. No one should have to deal with its consequences.

I really need to pick up my Refuse To Be A Victim certification.

Media Bias

With a headline like "Grieving Clinton supporters reluctantly turn to Obama", is there anyway to pretend you are unbiased?

I'm glad I dumped this worthless rag.

The Politics Test

Your Score: Libertarian

You scored 67% Personal Liberty and 78% Economic Liberty!

A libertarian believes in little to moderate government intervention on both personal and economic matters. They generally believe in a government that is small and limited to the extent of protecting people's liberty. They tend to be opposed to war, police powers, victimless crimes, foreign intervention and what they consider to be a welfare state. They support both property rights and self-ownership. More moderate libertarians may use a more utilitarian or gradualist approach, while the more heavily minimalist libertarians allow less room for compromise in a direction that they consider to be away from liberty. Libertarians generally support capitalism as an economic system. Libertarian thought tends to be individualist in nature.

Link: The Politics Test written by brainpolice on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(brainpolice)