With 99% of the votes counted, Coleman is ahead by 251 votes. As Ace wrote earlier, Franken's hopes are slim even if he manages to print up those missing 133 votes. Now we've got nothing to do except wait for the Canvasing Board to meet and sort out the 6,000 challenged ballots. That won't happen until December 16th. I hate waiting.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:26 PM | Comments (44)
Post contains 71 words, total size 1 kb.

There are some interesting developments in Second Amendment law this week. First, a New York judge dismissed drug and gun charges against a 9/11 rescuer:

Judge Hensley, citing McCormack's work at Ground Zero and the symbolic significance of the flag he uncovered, has granted the motion.

The judge listed the 10 factors a court must consider when determining a motion to dismiss in the interest of justice under CPL §170.40, including "the history, character and condition of the defendant" and "any other relevant fact indicating that a judgment of conviction would have no useful purpose."

The judge also cited District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S.Ct. 2783, the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision finding that "the Second Amendment conferred an individual the right to keep and bear arms."

Noting that a court "need not recite an analysis of each of the factors in reaching its determination," Hensley dismissed the gun charges, citing "the totality of the circumstances presented."

As Justice Scalia discussed in his opinion in Heller, state courts and state legislators have been citing protections contained within the Second Amendment as far back as the early 1800s. Some would argue that they were erroneously relying on the Second Amendment. But I suspect that we will be seeing more of this now that the Supreme Court (even the dissenting judges) explicitly stated that the right is an individual one.

Second, a federal district court has issued an opinion in NRA v. City of Chicago (PDF), the suit filed by the gun-rights organization the day after Heller was handed down which challenges Chicago's handgun ban. The argument is a simple one: most of the Bill of Rights have been incorporated in the constitutional guarantees provided in the Fourteenth Amendment; therefore, so is the Second Amendment.

The district court was bound by precedent to disagree and rule for Chicago:

In this instance our Court of Appeals has squarely upheld the constitutionality of a ban on handguns a quarter century ago in Quilici v. Village of Morton Grove, 695 F. 2d 261 (7th Cir. 1982). And in reaching that conclusion, Quilici relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252, 265 (1886):

It is difficult to understand how appellants can assert that Presser supports the theory that the second amendment right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right which the state cannot regulate when the Presser decision plainly states that "(t)he Second Amendment declares that it shall not be infringed, but this ... means no more than that it shall not be infringed by Congress. This is one of the amendments that has no other effect than to restrict the powers of the National government...."

In doing so, Quilici rejected arguments (1) that later Supreme Court decisions that had incorporated other Bill of Rights provisions into the Fourteenth Amendment had effectively overruled Presser and (2) that the entire Bill of Rights had been implicitly incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment to apply to the states.

[...]

This Court should not be misunderstood as either rejecting or endorsing the logic of plaintiffs' argument — it may well carry the day before a court that is unconstrained by the obligation to follow the unreversed precedent of a court that occupies a higher position in the judicial firmament.

NRA v. Chicago is one to watch. It is very likely on its way to the Supreme Court, where, if Justice Scalia's opinion in Heller is any indication, the NRA's logic will find sympathetic jurists.

Thanks to DrewM. for the first link.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:45 PM | Comments (58)
Post contains 598 words, total size 4 kb.

I still don't think he's funny, including here. But I guess this is among the "truth telling" the media credits Stewart for, which they notably refuse to indulge in themselves.

My problem? The left, which is basically peacenik at their core, prefers to "fight" terrorists with curse words and insults... sort of the way you fight a neighbor whose dog keeps crapping on your lawn. This provides them with some catharsis... but no actual tangible results.

So yeah, it's nice to see Stewart and his correspondent call Al Qaeda douchebags and all. But I don't think that's going to keep them up at night.

Does he actually support killing them with bullets and bombs, rather than razzing them with bon mots and barbs?

Would Stewart actually celebrate the death of a terrorist killed by US forces or a Predator drone, as we do here? Of course not-- that would be unenlightened, taking pleasure in the well-earned deaths of monsters.

So instead we get playground taunts.

Good work, sirs. You've got 'em on the run, now.

Still, for all that, it is nice for someone in the media to dare to note that these are not good guys.

Or, who knows: Perhaps now that the real enemy, George Bush, has been deposed, it's safe for the left to support the war against our secondary enemies.

Thanks to Erik the Red.

Posted by: Ace at 02:32 PM | Comments (94)
Post contains 274 words, total size 4 kb.

He renegs on the deal, and yet gets the benefit of the deal he hasn't complied with.

Judges kinda want terrorists, and criminals generally, to win, don't they?

Posted by: Ace at 01:47 PM | Comments (27)
Post contains 76 words, total size 1 kb.

I seethe, therefore I am.

If a complaint falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it exist?

Stuff to ponder.

Anyway, Burger King went to impoverished places to give hungry people a taste test, pitting the majestic, elegant flame-broiled Whopper against the kid-stuff too-sweet Big Mac with its nasty pickles.

And made commercials about it.

Anyway, these people got to eat free food.

And the left is complaining. Because... I don't know. It's what they do. It's all they do.

Here's the next thing they'll flip out over: Truth serum used on captured Mumbai terrorist.

The guy was already on LSD and coke, but how horrible it is the Indians violated his bodily sovereignty by injecting him with truth juice.

Thanks to Arthur for that last part.

Posted by: Ace at 01:41 PM | Comments (74)
Post contains 142 words, total size 1 kb.

Well, they're not going to be found, Al. They never existed.

But Franken really wants those non-existent ballots found. He's demanding a "systematic forensic search" for them.

Whatever that means. I think it's his way of asking David Caruso to come help look for them.

Posted by: Ace at 01:22 PM | Comments (47)
Post contains 77 words, total size 1 kb.

Dirty old men:

Middle-aged men want younger women, often touting their intelligence and their high income. This is shown in research at Gothenburg University and Oxford University that studied 400 lonely hearts ads to see how men and women choose partners.

Research in the theory of evolution includes a number of accepted theories about how men and women choose their partners. Among the more established ones is that men place more emphasis on attractive appearance, whereas resources and social status are more important to women.

Had no idea.

"Nerds:"

An Australian study into the sexual history of 185 students at the University of Sydney found male science "nerds" were the least likely to have had sexual intercourse.

At the other end of the spectrum, female arts students ranked as the most sexually active.

...

"Boys also start having sex later than girls," Dr Carroll said.

That's because girls have sex with the older guys. See the watershed study above this one.

This is funny: Male science students argue back.

However, the finding have been vigorously disputed by male science graduates.

...

"Although we may have been a little nerdier than the other students, let's just say the gender ratio wasn't as bad as engineering," he said.

Engiqueers I think he's trying to say.

Oh, in related news: Cancer still exists.

Maybe these very important social scientists can work on that. Not curing it, of course. But studying whether or not cancer reduces one's sex drive. That seems about their speed.

Posted by: Ace at 01:08 PM | Comments (52)
Post contains 284 words, total size 2 kb.

As Goldfarb notes: This is the same Atlantic whose most prominent blogger/lunatic has been "investigating" Alaska hospitals to determine where and when Trig Palin was born, and to what mother.

I realize there's a thing called professional courtesy towards a coworker. But when Ambinder is taking a shot at Human Events for merely running a paid ad from a third party on the topic, is he not obliged to note the wackiness emanating from his own magazine?

No?

We're just pretending that never happened, huh?

So let me get this straight: It's improper to ask a presidential candidate (now president-elect, of course) for a document proving the constitutional prerequisites for office, but it's proper to demand "proof" that Trig Palin came from Sarah Palin's womb?

Does the Constitution have a heretofore-unknown clause forbidding Fat Suit Fake Pregnancy Changeling Babies?

Big Funny: A blog devoted to nothing but proving Trig is not Sarah Palin's baby.

No, not Andrew Sullivan's blog. He also dabbles in establishing his own church.

As Jim26 says, this woman analyzes pictures of the pregnant Sarah Palin like her belly was the Grassy Knoll.

Posted by: Ace at 12:49 PM | Comments (51)
Post contains 230 words, total size 2 kb.

Granted, it does look like a plank:

But does that justify this sort off hubbub?

[O]ne website insists it is a leaked image that 'could get someone killed.' A writer from TheCrit.com said NASA's claims Mars was a desert world were 'lies' and that 'there are vast forests on Mars, ones that are kept from the public.'

They go on to speculate the 'wood' was brought to its present position by a flood of water that must have happened within 40 years 'because the wood is intact.'

Wait 'till they see the suppressed Martian Ninja Dinosaur pictures.

Posted by: Ace at 12:25 PM | Comments (100)
Post contains 115 words, total size 1 kb.

Shooting at armed terrorists...! Now there's an innovation.

Ah! It's so simple! Why didn't anyone think of this before.

The British Broadcasting Corp. is reporting that six gunmen have been shot and killed by Indian security forces at New Delhi's main international airport.
The report on the BBC website Thursday was attributed to airport officials.

Airports in India went on high alert Thursday following fresh warnings of attacks as officials said India suspects two senior leaders of a banned Pakistani militant group orchestrated last week's deadly siege in Mumbai.

Thanks to slublog.

Nevermind? This report says there was a "scare" at the aiport, but no "incidents" confirmed.

I buy the first story at the moment. This one sounds like the reporter is talking to people who know less.

Posted by: Ace at 12:18 PM | Comments (16)
Post contains 149 words, total size 1 kb.