Ben Domenech's excellent daily newsletter, The Transom, is public today because he was deluged with requests for it due to the lead-in, which is reprinted in full here:

###

It is a natural tendency on the part of most human beings, when confronted with great evil, to want to do something about it. We want to stop the horror of death and violence and disease. It speaks to what is good within us that we desire this—it speaks to a recognition on our part, innate and abiding, that there is something terribly broken in this world—a great mistake which has been made along the way, a gear missed in the works, a gaping hole where something should be. The feeling is all the stronger when we face the destruction of innocent life—the life of a child. The Mishnah tells us that the act of murder destroys a whole world—the world as it would’ve been with that person in it. When the worlds wiped out are so young, the shock of it all echoes and rebounds throughout the lives of others for generations. And the only part that can be played by those left behind is one of charity.

This is a frustrating limitation, and so those who are more naturally given to see problems of law or culture as the reason for evil look at the horror of Newtown as something that can be prevented, if only we do this or that thing, pass this or that law. Something must be done, they say. But their somethings all have this in common: none of their proposals, on guns or mental health or any other factor, would have prevented this awful crime. In the real world, there is no law that can make the murderously insane sane, or remove all weapons from their grasp. The tweaks that have been attempted in the past in our nation and others have proven insufficient time and again. And no step which disarms the law-abiding will help.

We are in the midst of an historic and statistically impossible decline in violence in America. The economic downturn, which would be a reasonable reason for a rebound in violent crime, has produced nothing of the sort on a nationwide scale. The experts are flabbergasted as to why, and the assumptions of criminologists are being tested to a great degree. http://vlt.tc/mbo High imprisonment, high tech tools, more disciplined police forces, and cultural factors are all potential reasons. But it is clear that even as guns are available as ever, this has done nothing to drive up crime rates nationwide. And beyond: Steven Pinker has argued, convincingly, that we are at the most peaceful point in human history. http://vlt.tc/mby In the midst of such declines, spikes of mass violence and murder are all the more jarring.

Yet the sad fact is that in Connecticut, where the gun laws are some of the most restrictive in the country, it appears the Brady campaign accomplished as much as it could’ve. http://vlt.tc/mbp Newtown had one homicide in the past ten years. http://vlt.tc/mc3 The guns used by the madman were purchased legally by his mother and kept safely in her home – as with most guns used in criminal acts, they were stolen. His own attempt to purchase a weapon ran into the legally required waiting period. http://vlt.tc/mbq There are just only so many steps you can take to prevent evil of this nature and still have a free society. After all, what really happens when you pass gun bans is that effectively, they work as permanent authorizations for police to stop and frisk urban minorities. http://vlt.tc/mbw Consider the case of Chicago, where Rahm Emanuel is talking about more restrictions in the wake of Newtown. http://vlt.tc/mbs What does he have in mind? There were 192 shootings in Chicago last month. http://vlt.tc/mbt On Friday alone there were 10 people shot in his city. http://vlt.tc/mbu Whatever Emanuel’s new law is, it would not prevent these crimes. In Mexico, there is one legal gun store to serve the entire nation. It is, according to the Washington Post, “not very busy.” http://vlt.tc/mbv In America, there are roughly 300 million privately owned firearms – and while some may dream of putting these firearms in a pile and melting them down, most Americans understand that the result of giving the government a monopoly on force would be awful for the very innocents such policies are intended to protect.

In Germany, laws were passed and additional gun control steps taken in the wake of a 2002 school shooting which left 16 dead and horrified the nation. http://vlt.tc/mbx Seven years later, a gunman killed 15 in Stuttgart. These mass murders have a long history, longer than the media has reported—nor are they tied to the advent of modern weapons. http://vlt.tc/mbz “Guns aren’t even the most lethal mass murder weapon. According to data compiled by Grant Duwe of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, guns killed an average of 4.92 victims per mass murder in the United States during the 20th century, just edging out knives, blunt objects, and bare hands, which killed 4.52 people per incident. Fire killed 6.82 people per mass murder, while explosives far outpaced the other options at 20.82. Of the 25 deadliest mass murders in the 20th century, only 52 percent involved guns. The U.S. mass murder rate does not seem to rise or fall with the availability of automatic weapons. It reached its highest level in 1929, when fully automatic firearms were expensive and mostly limited to soldiers and organized criminals.” more...

Posted by: andy at 08:50 AM | Comments (211)
Post contains 2189 words, total size 15 kb.

That's how it's going to be framed anyway.

Early reports claim that Nikki Haley has chosen Tim Scott to replace Jim DeMint in the Senate.

Scott rode the Tea Party wave in 2010. He will be the first black Senator from the South since the 19th century and the only black senator in the current senate.

Ms. Haley seriously considered a number of potential contenders, particularly Jenny Sanford, the ex-wife of former Gov. Mark Sanford, who had been supportive of Ms. Haley in her race two years ago. But in choosing Mr. Scott, she selected a senator with a strong conservative voting record during his two years in Congress.

Additionally, Mr. Scott offers a unique story and background, one that is in scant supply in the Republican party right now. Raised by a single mother, he was, by his account, a lost child who struggled with school and with life until a Chick-fil-A franchise owner took him on as a protégé and schooled him in conservative principles.

“Coming from a single-parent household and almost flunking out of high school,” Mr. Scott said in 2010, during his bid for the House, “my hope is I will take that experience and help people bring out the best that they can be.”

He was backed by the American Conservative Union and Jim DeMint.

Well that didn't take long, did it Luke Russert?

With Scott going to the Senate and Allen West losing, the 113th Congress will see no African-American Republicans in the House.

— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) December 17, 2012

*headline idea stolen from Timothy Carney

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 06:27 AM | Comments (363)
Post contains 284 words, total size 2 kb.

Welcome to your in-flight entertainment.

I'll be dropping by to lighten the load when things get too heavy or too stale.

Don't expect the King's Speech and don't look for captivating social or political commentary. Think more along the lines of Michael Bay.... or Kate Upton.

Cheap? Yes.

Easy? Yes?

I know my limitations but I know you, dear fellow morons and moronettes, almost as well and I know myself: You appreciate a well-placed elbow or a good song and dance as much as anyone I know.

So, with that in mind, let's get to it. more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:00 AM | Comments (234)
Post contains 228 words, total size 2 kb.

• Iran Backs Hagel As SecDef
  
• Depardieu's Farwell Letter To France
  
• Unions: Dems Duck The Big Question
  
• What Was Josh Brent Doing On The Cowboy Sidelines Yesterday
  
• Former Romney Adviser Wants To Break Ranks On Guns
  
• Cory Booker's Food Stamp Falsehoods
  
• Probably Planning To Invade Us Again, The English Want Us To Give Up Our Guns.
  
• Good Advice From The Herb Alpert Campus
  
• Dukakis Seen As Possible Senate Replace For Kerry
  
• Progressives Plan March On NRA
  
• Mass Killings Are On The Decline
  
• Syria Running Out Of Food
  
• Apparently Obama Gave The Gettysburg Address Last Night
  
• Conservatives Sweep Into Power In Japan
  
• More On The Japanese Elections
  
• Does Online Ed Spell Doom For Traditional Universities
  
• Green Grift
  

Update: Good article by Conor Friedersdorf. America has been having a "conversation" on gun rights. The gun control advocates are just mad that they lost it.

Follow me on twitter.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 05:06 AM | Comments (231)
Post contains 153 words, total size 3 kb.

Happy Monday.

Just two items to get you started today. First, the next IPCC global warming report draft has leaked. And it has some rather astonishing admissions about the effect of the sun on climate.

Second, media fact-checkers took a lot of heat during the campaign for being stealth op-eds. Occasional guestblogger Ben Domenech has compiled a list of the ten worst fact-checks of the election; that should get your blood pumping today.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:59 AM | Comments (260)
Post contains 81 words, total size 1 kb.

It's a rough cold world out there so come on inside for a little respite from it all.

We have drinks and discussion topics. And no one hassles you about the not wearing pants thing.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:34 PM | Comments (725)
Post contains 760 words, total size 11 kb.

The other thread was getting lengthy, so here is a fresh one where we can complain about the 9ers-Pats game being pre-empted by TFG and his politicizing of the Newton murders.

And I'm a 9ers fan, so: Go 9ers!

Cheerleader pic below the fold. more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 04:50 PM | Comments (196)
Post contains 53 words, total size 1 kb.

I know it's crazy but maybe, just maybe this big spending, statist really isn't interested in dealing with our spending problems. Shocking, I know.

President Barack Obama is not ready to accept a new offer from the Republican leader of the U.S. the House of Representatives to raise taxes on top earners in exchange for major cuts in entitlement programs, a source said late Saturday.

The shape and details of Boehner's offer were uncertain Saturday night, as was the exact reason the president was prepared to reject it.

The source said Obama sees the offer made on Friday by U.S. House Speaker John Boehner as a sign of progress, but simply believes it is not enough and there is much more to be worked out before Obama can reciprocate.

Tax rates and entitlements are the two most difficult issues in the so-far unproductive negotiations to avert the "fiscal cliff" of steep tax hikes and spending cuts set for the new year unless Congress and the president reach a deal to avoid them.

I don't get why the GOP is negotiating in good faith. Obama isn't. He wants nothing short of absolute surrender. Either give it to him (Let It Burn) or change the terms of the debate drastically.

Pretending that Obama is actually interested in a "balanced approached" is only paying by his rules and Republicans can't win that game.

Posted by: DrewM at 11:33 AM | Comments (721)
Post contains 278 words, total size 2 kb.

Don't lance me, bro!

Good morning, 'rons and 'ettes, and welcome to the historically accurate, but never fake, Sunday Morning Book Thread

Historical Fiction

For some reason, I've been running into this genre a lot this week, and when something like that happens, it becomes fodder for the book thread.

So let's start out with one I didn't like. This one here. Ugh. I thought idea of a story whose characters are trying to survive in a pre-historic Ice Age environment was kind of interesting, but the writing was dismal, the characters weak, and the sex scenes were needlessly lurid, so much so that after awhile, I thought I was looking at some kind of paleolithic porn novel. I think I finished the first book in the series and then gave up a short way into the second.

On a humorous note, we all know that the Amazon customer reviews tend to be overly generous. The fan bois really come out in force when their idol is on the line. So with that in mind, I think it's quite telling that the 6th book in Auel's "Earth's Children" series, with over 1300 reviews, could only manage an average of 2 stars out of a possible five. Two stars! Egads, that must be one stinky pile of poo.

But enough of that. more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:28 AM | Comments (217)
Post contains 843 words, total size 5 kb.

All day long.

NFC East, still a giant bucket of suck? Discuss!

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 08:31 AM | Comments (534)
Post contains 18 words, total size 1 kb.