Probably not great news.

I seem to remember there was some hope that the Supremes would deny certiorari and let the D.C. Court of Appeals decision striking down the ban stand. Some 2nd Amendment supporters, including the person who brought the original suit, wanted the court to take the case and settle the issue once and for all. The problem with that strategy is that it leaves the fate of an individualÂ’s right to bear arms to the tender mercies of the mercurial Justice Kennedy.

The District is making several arguments in defense of the restriction, including claiming that the Second Amendment involves militia service. It also said the ban is constitutional because it limits the choice of firearms, but does not prohibit residents from owning any guns at all. Rifles and shotguns are legal, if kept under lock or disassembled. Businesses may have guns for protection.

Chicago has a similar handgun ban, but few other gun-control laws are as strict as the District's.

Four states—Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland and New York—urged the Supreme Court to take the case because broad application of the appeals court ruling would threaten "all federal and state laws restricting access to firearms."

I canÂ’t imagine that any of the Democratic candidates are anything but pro-gun ban but this decision will likely mean a day or two of questions for Rudy.

Here's hoping Kennedy wakes up on the conservative side of his bed that morning.

Posted by: DrewM. at 10:29 AM | Comments (27)
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The CBP in Laredo started Operation Streamline-Laredo, a zero-tolerance campaign that prosecutes, jails and deports nearly every adult illegal immigrant that border agents catch, on October 30.

The judge repeatedly warned the immigrants — some of whom had been detained up to 10 times but not charged — that an arrest for a second offense could result in a more serious felony charge and a longer jail sentence.

''This whole thing about them catching you and sending you back isn't going to happen anymore," the magistrate warned.

During one morning session, it took about three hours for 79 immigrants to make their first appearance before the magistrate, plead guilty and receive sentences ranging from time served to 45 days in jail. Most of them pleaded to illegal entry, a misdemeanor.

I support the zero tolerance policy, but I don't think it's going to last very long; Laredo jails are already at capacity only twenty days into the program. I'm also hesitant to support procedures that come perilously close to violating due process:

The immigrants...were escorted up to the judge's bench in groups of 18 or 20. After a Border Patrol officer read a charge that applied to the entire group, each immigrant called out ''Culpable" — the Spanish word for guilty.

I elided some pro-illegal heartstings-tugging language (if you really want to vomit, go read the paragraph above the one I quoted). From the description, judicial process for these folks has become almost perfunctory; that is, illegals are not getting adequate representation or judicial attention. A just result is meaningless if it is reached by unjust means.

The fact that these folks are patently guilty does not absolve the U.S. government from giving them fair judicial process. In fact, that they are so obviously guilty means that CBP and the folks at the Laredo courthouse should have no trouble providing it.

Immigration enforcement is costly. Trying to do it on the cheap makes a mockery of justice. "Catch and release" started, not because DHS is pro-illegal immigrant (I've spent too much time in the ICE offices to believe that), but because there wasn't enough resources allocated to detaining and removing illegals. Laredo is about to find that out.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:41 AM | Comments (27)
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Suicide ops:

It was an unlucky day for two squirrels and hundreds of Midwestern power customers.

Brian Elwood, a spokesman for Xcel Energy, said a squirrel came in contact with an overhead transformer and knocked out service to 177 customers Monday. Power was fully restored in just under an hour, and repair crews found the remains of the "unfortunate squirrel," he said.

By coincidence, another squirrel got into a substation 40 miles away in Ironwood, Mich., Monday morning and caused a temporary outage that affected about 1,400 customers in Ironwood and two nearby communities, Elwood said.

The utility takes many preventive steps to keep the curious animals away from lines, he said, but they are one of the leading causes of outages, trailing only severe weather.

Oh sure, we laughed about the Squirrel Sabotage Squads killed and captured by Iran, but who's laughing now?

The Jews are, that's who.

Posted by: Ace at 09:36 AM | Comments (15)
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Damnit. Iowans, do your job. As Hillary Clinton herself said in the 2004 election: "You don't have to fall in love. You just have to fall in line."

Ladies and gentleman, we have ourselves a race.

Toss out the 30-point lead in the national polls, the fundraising edge, the long list of endorsements, the bold predictions of Terry McAuliffe, Mark Penn, even Bill Clinton himself.

The new ABC News/Washington Post poll has Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., up on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in Iowa -- really in a statistical tie in the state where they could be playing for all the marbles. It's Obama 30, Clinton 26, and former senator John Edwards, D-N.C., 22 -- setting up a three-way scramble for the top spot in a state that's notoriously difficult to call in advance.

The worrisome signs for Clinton aren't so much in Obama's movement (and her lack thereof) as they are inside the numbers.

"A growing focus on fresh ideas coupled with lingering doubts about Hillary Clinton's honesty and forthrightness are keeping the Democratic presidential contest close in Iowa," ABC polling director Gary Langer reports.

"Most Democratic likely voters in Iowa, 55 percent, say they're more interested in a 'new direction and new ideas' than in strength and experience, compared with 49 percent in July -- a help to Obama, who holds a substantial lead among 'new direction' voters," Langer continues.

The comparable number favoring "strength and experience" is 33 percent.

If Iowa isn't quite a must-win for all of the Democrats, it is a must-not-let-Hillary win for all who would presume to interrupt the Bush-Clinton-Bush chain.

"Iowa Democrats are tilting toward change, and Obama appears to be benefiting from it," the Post's Anne Kornblut and Jon Cohen write.

"While about three-quarters credited both Obama and Edwards with speaking their mind on issues, only 50 percent said Clinton is willing enough to say what she really thinks," they write.

In addition, 74% of Iowans agreed that Hillary's pantsuits make her look "hip-y.'

MORE [Gabe]: This is good news for a few reasons. Most obviously, all three contenders will have to spend more time and money in Iowa. That's money that they won't be spending elsewhere.

Of more importance, to my mind, is that the candidates are going to get a whole lot nastier to each other. A lot of time has been spent running against the Bush Administration because that's what Leftist primary voters want to hear. Now each candidate has to spend more time distinguishing him or herself from the others; and that leads to mudslinging and sweet public squabbles.

As far as Clinton goes, we've been watching her campaign get more antagonistic for the past few weeks. I expect this poll will make them even quicker to jump on the media and the other candidates.

Posted by: Ace at 09:09 AM | Comments (26)
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Not that it matters. Harry Reid told us the war is lost.

The gaudy orange, green and purple electronic palm trees flashing in the dark alert you that you're getting close to one of Baghdad's bustling nightspots.

The palms, like a mirage, can be seen from way down the darkened streets, lighting up the night and giving a promise of normality in the otherwise bleak and deserted capital, ravaged by four years of insurgency and sectarian strife.

And then, suddenly, you've arrived and the mirage has become an oasis of generator-driven light; a colourful jumble of trendy juice bars, cosy restaurants, fruit shops, roadside eateries and fish vendors, where children play, families dine and lovers meet.

"Even two or three months ago we would have been afraid to come here at night," said 20-year-old Hussein Salah, an off-duty soldier, slurping a milkshake with his wife, Shihad, at the Mishmesha (apricot) juice bar in Baghdad's relatively safe Karrada suburb.

"Now we sometimes sit outside here till one or two in the morning. It is quite safe. The security situation is vastly improved," said Salah, the orange light from a nearby flashing palm alternatively brightening and dimming his clean-shaven face.

Declines in Iraqi civilian casualties and a sharp reduction in bomb and mortar attacks have sparked optimism that the capital is at last starting to revive.

This article from the AP is too biased not to link:

Violence is down 55 percent in Iraq since a U.S.-Iraqi security operation began this summer, U.S. officials said Sunday, even as at least 15 Iraqis were reported killed in bombings and shootings.

The dead included three children who were killed as they gathered around American troops who were handing out toys and sports equipment.

Just to be Captain Obvious, the "even as" construction attempts to cast doubt on the statement that "violence is down 55 percent" by noting the US claimed this "even as" bombings and shootings killed 15. But obviously it's not a contradiction of that claim -- if violence is down 55 percent then violence is down 55 percent, and it is irrelevant to that statistic whether or not recent shootings and bombings claimed 15 lives. The AP, however, is pushing the idea that maybe that statistic didn't take into account the new deaths, and that, somehow, those 15 deaths would impact the statistic in a meaningful fashion. This is a bit like saying "President Bush claimed the unemployment rate had fallen to 4.4%, even as a Schenectady dentistry student worried about his future employment prospects." But that is, of course, their "narrative" and they're not giving it up anytime soon.

They're also a bit cagey on the whole "even as" timing issue -- okay, smart guys, when exactly did these attacks occur? How recently as regards the statement?

Posted by: Ace at 08:54 AM | Comments (14)
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From Cracked, of course, home of the funny lists.

On The Sub-Mariner:

Namor: The Sub-Mariner (which, technically, is his full title in case upon meeting him you happened to overlook the scaly G-string and stench of vagina in the room, and thus were incapable of deducing that Namor might be Sub-Marine in nature) was one of the very first superheroes, debuting in 1939. His powers are roughly equivalent to that of a jacked-up Aquaman, a character most famous for being ridiculously useless.

...

Namor has pointy Spock ears, can communicate with aquatic life, breathe underwater, possesses an enhanced physique to deal with the high pressure depths and, of course, has the obligatory tiny wings on his ankles that enable him to fly.

What's that you say? That last one seems a little out of place? Why would an aquatically themed superhero flit about on delicate little calf-wings? According to the creators: Fuck you, that's why.

On Thor:

Much like most bisexual East Berlin rave DJs, The Mighty Thor is named after an adjective and a powerful Norse god. The commonalities do not end there, however. Much like, say, "DJ Baldur the Funky Ramrod," The Mighty Thor also possesses radiant, flowing, shoulder-length blond locks, wears giant yellow go-go boots and a bright red cape, and most of what comes out of his mouth is an ancient, but powerful and masculine Germanic tongue.

Oh, the Scandis must be going wild.

Thanks to herbert.

Posted by: Ace at 08:40 AM | Comments (15)
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It seems we may be able to have our cake and eat it too.

Two separate research teams, working independently, have developed techniques to transform regular adult cells into stem cells without embryo cloning or destruction.

"This work represents a tremendous scientific milestone—the biological equivalent of the Wright Brothers' first airplane," said Dr. Robert Lanza, chief science officer of Advanced Cell Technology, which has been trying to extract stem cells from cloned human embryos.

"It's a bit like learning how to turn lead into gold," said Lanza, while cautioning that the work is far from providing medical payoffs.

"It's a huge deal," agreed Rudolf Jaenisch, a prominent stem cell scientist at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass. "You have the proof of principle that you can do it."

There is a catch. At this point, the technique requires disrupting the DNA of the skin cells, which creates the potential for developing cancer. So it would be unacceptable for the most touted use of embryonic cells: creating transplant tissue that in theory could be used to treat diseases like diabetes, Parkinson's, and spinal cord injury.

But the DNA disruption is just a byproduct of the technique, and experts said they believe it can be avoided.

Â… "People didn't know it would be this easy," Thomson said. "Thousands of labs in the United States can do this, basically tomorrow."

Of course this is the kind of stem cell research conservatives and gasp, George W. Bush will be able to support. It will be interesting to see how the Democrats react given the mileage they have gotten out of the stem cell issue in the past.

Posted by: DrewM. at 08:38 AM | Comments (17)
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The Blog Calls Bullshit

This woman says that she is so stimulated all the time that she spontaneously climaxes every few minutes. She might reduce that stimulation by choosing a looser cut of slacks.

Looks a little too happy, doesn't she?

Sarah, from London, developed PSAS [Permanent Sexual Arousal Syndrome, a bullshit disease -lw] after being prescribed anti-depressants at 19.

She believes her condition was brought on by the pills.

The reporter doesn't bother to tell us what original condition brought on the prescription. This is kind of a key piece of info, don't you think?

Did she need a little chemical pick-me-up to overcome her depression and blossom into the buck-wild public lunatic she always dreamed of becoming?

She said: "Within a few weeks I just began to get more and more aroused more and more of the time and I just kept having endless orgasms.

Anti-depressants. I'll say.

Dear Mr. Acton,

You are hurting, not helping, this crazy girl by giving her the attention she so clearly craves. You should be smacked with a frozen mackerel until you gain some common sense.

H/T Spongeworthy.

Posted by: LauraW. at 07:40 AM | Comments (343)
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Third?

Hell I didn't even know they had two already. Normally geoff keeps me in the loop on this stuff.

The Shenzhou 7 launch is on track for October 2008, as soon as they scrub all the lead paint out of it. FFP contractor, they don't do cost plus either.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 07:30 AM | Comments (9)
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Which is the same page the Washington Post buried its own last two watershed-changes-in-Iraq stories.

Posted by: Ace at 12:04 AM | Comments (15)
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