Stable Genius Liberal

Freakonomics » We Once Had Self-Driving Cars

The case for high speed rail.

Is the Republican Party Obama’s fault?

it’s very difficult to be a Republican in a time of GOP dissolution. And so recent weeks have birthed the strangest strain of commentary I can remember: The Republican Party’s crazy opinions are President Obama’s fault.

Just shut down the GOP. They are an obstacle to reason.

David Brooks Now Totally Pathological

Many moderate conservatives have simply broken off from the party, at least in its current incarnation, and are hoping or working to build a sane alternative. Those who remain must escape into progressively more baroque fantasies.

Those who think the GOP and the Dems are both equally bad are the 2nd biggest obstacle to fixing the nation’s problems.

Are Butterflies Two Different Animals in One? The Death And Resurrection Theory : Krulwich Wonders… : NPR

What he’s saying is, while a moth appears to be one animal, with a wormy start and a flying finish, it’s actually two animals — two in one! We start with a baby caterpillar that lives a full life and then dies, dissolves. There’s a pause. Then a new animal, the moth, springs to life, from the same cells, reincarnated.

Charles Darwin’s ecological experiment on Ascension isle

Two hundred years ago, Ascension Island was a barren volcanic edifice. Today, its peaks are covered by lush tropical “cloud forest”.

Amazing story.

Place all members of the government under the same healthcare legislation that ordinary citizens are, with no exceptions

The use of the phrase Members of the Government rather than Government Employees is a tell that you are dealing with a right-wing pseudo-libertarian type. But I agree with the sentiment.

The Second Amendment was Ratified to Preserve Slavery

The real reason the Second Amendment was ratified, and why it says “State” instead of “Country” (the Framers knew the difference – see the 10th Amendment), was to preserve the slave patrol militias in the southern states, which was necessary to get Virginia’s vote. Founders Patrick Henry, George Mason, and James Madison were totally clear on that … and we all should be too.
In the beginning, there were the militias. In the South, they were also called the “slave patrols,” and they were regulated by the states…

I don’t agree with this view that militia refers only to slave militias. Most states had militias at the time of the founders, including free states.

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(via The Game Theory of the Post-Platinum Coin Debt Ceiling) Rortybomb on the debt ceiling, gaming it down to best and worst outcomes.

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If anyone has a date and a good source for this quote, let me know. Its on dozens of news sites but I don’t see a time/date associated with it.

Pointing out that the talking points about Hitler and gun control are mostly wrong is the same as holocaust denial?

sanctor:

wontoo3fore:

As it turns out, the Weimar Republic, the German government that immediately preceded Hitler’s, actually had tougher gun laws than the Nazi regime. After its defeat in World War I, and agreeing to the harsh surrender terms laid out in the Treaty of Versailles, the German legislature in 1919 passed a law that effectively banned all private firearm possession, leading the government to confiscate guns already in circulation. In 1928, the Reichstag relaxed the regulation a bit, but put in place a strict registration regime that required citizens to acquire separate permits to own guns, sell them or carry them. The 1938 law signed by Hitler that LaPierre mentions in his book basically does the opposite of what he says it did. “The 1938 revisions completely deregulated the acquisition and transfer of rifles and shotguns, as well as ammunition,” Harcourt wrote. Meanwhile, many more categories of people, including Nazi party members, were exempted from gun ownership regulations altogether, while the legal age of purchase was lowered from 20 to 18, and permit lengths were extended from one year to three years.

Worth a read.

Everyone was allowed guns!

EXCEPT FOR JEWS!

Are we really going to start denying that the holocaust happened?

Pointing out that the talking points about Hitler and gun control are mostly wrong is the same as holocaust denial?

Look at the timeline again. The gun ban predates Hitler. Stating that Hitler came to power then took away all the guns is just wrong. Likewise, when the gun ownership was expanded to everyone but Jews, Hitler was already in power.

Nothing in the article denies the holocaust. Why do you feel the need to make that claim?