Quick Takes, December 17, 2010

ITEM: At 0001 Sunday, December 19, the Federal Government will shut down unless Congress can pass a temporary funding bill. As this is being written, there is no bill in sight, at least in part because Democrats (and a number of Republicans) are desperate to moon the voters one last time, and to pass a repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, a massive land grab that would make even more acreage off limits to development of any kind, and that would make even more of our southern border off limits to the Border Patrol for environmental reasons, carving in stone union favors, illegal alien amnesty, environmental measures sure to hasten national bankruptcy and a wide variety of other looney tune measures in the two or so weeks before many Congress critters have to return to--the horror!--real lives.

Shutting down the Federal Government for any period of time would be a bad thing because...?

ITEM: At a recent “Environmental Justice Conference” at the White House, Janet Napolitano, former Governor of Arizona and current head of the Department of Homeland Security professed her undying belief in climate change, which is causing and will cause “increased drought,” “catastrophic [wild]fires in the West,” “more category four and five hurricanes,” and “other natural occurrences that are affected by changes in climate.” All of this, and more, of course, is directly related to national security, well...because she says so, and she’s the head of DHS! She's the very same head of DHS who thought the system was working beautifully when the underwear bomber’s bomb, through incredible dumb luck, only torched his junk instead of blowing an airliner out of the sky. I suspect his fellow passengers, exposed to the sights, sounds and smells of that little bit of systemic competence, might think otherwise.

But in a deranged, bureaucratic way this makes all kinds of sense. After all, we now know that NASA’s proper, enlightened, primary mission is to make Muslims feel good about the scientific accomplishments of other Muslims who have been dead for centuries. Why then shouldn’t the DHS be primarily concerned with hurricanes, climate change, rising sea levels, toads, delta smelt and melting glaciers that really aren’t melting? After all, it’s not like DHS is in charge of keeping Americans secure from terrorist attack or actually has any real work to do. Right?

ITEM: In the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at the Bay County School Board in Panama City Florida, some interesting, recurring misconceptions have popped up. The gunman, who would like his name to be mentioned, fired approximately 15 rounds from a semi-automatic handgun at ranges from 5-20 feet, and didn’t hit anyone. Fortunately, School Security Chief Mike Jones was present and shot him. The gunman dropped and briefly exchanged fire with Jones, hitting no one before shooting himself in the head. The misconceptions? (1) The gunman obviously didn’t want to hurt anyone, because he was shooting at close range and didn’t hit anyone. (2) This just goes to show how important and effective gun free schools zones are.

And now for a quick dose of reality. It is very common for people, including police officers, to get into gunfights at inside-a-telephone-booth range, empty their weapons, and hit no one. Outside of movies, calm, deadly accurate marksmanship is unusual, not the opposite. It would be interesting to know how those school board members feel about gun free school zones today. The GFSZ signs around the Bay County School District obviously weren’t terribly effective in protecting the innocent, but a handgun in the hands of someone ready and able to use it was. But what would have happened on December 14th if Mike Jones was home with the flu? I wonder what the School Board would have thought of that--if they were still around to think of anything. It was Winston Churchill who said that nothing is more stimulating than being shot at without result. Perhaps the School Board, post-stimulation, learned something: Good intentions and thin metal signs protect no one.

ITEM: You owe it to yourself, during the Christmas season, to attend a live performance of Handel’s “Messiah.” My article on the history and experience of “Messiah” can be read here. You also owe it to yourself to acquaint yourself with the finest female voice--ever--in popular music: Karen Carpenter. Sadly, Carpenter died on Feb. 14. 1983 from complications of Anorexia Nervosa. But her delightfullly beautiful “Merry Christmas Darling” is more than worth your time.

Merry week before Christmas until next time!