Brexit

Why is the Brexit bad?  I have heard a lot about the British people being stupider than Republican primary voters who chose Trump as the nominee.  Gee, let's insult vast swathes of people.  But if one opposes Brexit, shouldn't one also have preferred for the United States not to declare independence from England back in 1776?  The UK has morphed into a client state of a legalistic European empire based in various parts of the continent.  A once powerful nation, the guarantor of the Pax Britannica, had been reduced to an administrative district in the European Union.  It's like being demoted from CEO to middle management.  Who wants that?

 

Unlike many continental powers, the UK has lots of options for trading partners in the Anglosphere, many of whom are part of the British Commonwealth.  Moreover, much as the EU may be miffed by this mini-rebellion, it needs access to the British markets.  As Daniel Hannan has said, the UK has merely repatriated sovereignty to the UK.  Rather than merely have a representation in the European Empire, the UK assumes captaincy of its fate.  Nelson and Wellington would approve.

 

I admit some bias here.  As a big fan of Federalism, I have a default position against all centralization of authority and almost always favor more power for localities.  If the city can't do it, then look to the county.  If the county can't do it, look to the state.  If the state can't do it, then - and only then - look to the national government.  Will that result in a variety of standards?  Yes, but they will be standards that the local peoples have chosen for themselves rather than had imposed upon them from a distant potentate.  The Brexit is a move toward more local control, which is a good thing.

News on the Gender Wars

This was entirely predictable.  If two students were caught filming girls showering in the 'gender-neutral' bathroom, how many weren't caught?  I did like the sarcasm when describing those who want gender specific bathrooms as bigots.  Yes, what was normal behavior yesterday is now bigotry.  It is hard to keep up with the social justice warriors.

 

With the rare exception of maybe 1 in 1500 people who, according to Wikipedia (take with a grain of salt), are born intersex (possessing physical or genetic characteristics of both sexes), there are only two sexes.  Bruce "Caitlyn" Jenner is a man with psychological issues that are currently in fashion.  There is something called body integrity identity disorder (BIID), sometimes called amputee identity disorder, in which a person wants to amputate a healthy limb.  Note how it is a disorder?  However, if a man wants to amputate his penis, that's laudable and he should start using the ladies room.  Heck, Caitlyn managed to be woman of the year!  There should be some cognitive dissonance in this.

 

One of my favorite memes of the gender wars is this: JFK put a man on the moon.  Barack Obama put a man in the ladies room.  It says something about the seriousness of our times.  Transgenders account for a fraction of 1% of the population - vastly less than homosexuals - and yet this is the civil right of the era.  The vast majority must conform to the desires of a barely there minority.  In so doing, we get the inevitable Peeping Tom antics and probably worse to come.  Yes, this is so much better.

A Reason to have Borders

There was a time that we would not allow immigrants into the country if they had a communicable disease.  Ellis Island sent many immigrants back to their country of origin if they didn't pass the health check.  Why don't we still do that?  Measles is making a comeback.  The US had managed to stamp out a variety of such outbreaks by keeping those carrying them out of the country.  But if you don't bother to maintain the border, and even flout the law to increase the inflow, the likelihood of TB, Measles, et al. to cross the border with them skyrockets.

Know Your Place, Peasant!

Why is it that a man who is surrounded by armed men keeps telling us that our access to guns must be curtailed?  This man calling for gun control will have armed guards surrounding him and his family for the rest of his life but the rest of us must wait for the police to arrive.  Why is it a man who has a fence around his mansion (and wants a bigger fence) tells us that a fence along the southern border would be racist and not work anyway?  There is one set of rules for the elites, the noble class, and another for everyone else, the peasants.

Expand Gun Free Zones!

Another Islamic radical has gone on a killing spree and the blame is placed upon... the gun.  Yes, it is the gun's fault, and thus the NRA's fault and Republicans' fault.  Millions upon millions of guns in the United States but the problem guns keep corrupting innocent Muslims.  If only we had gun controls as strict as France, we would be safe.  There was a massacre in Paris that was even worse than Orlando?  But how?

Question 1: If 1 in 20 of the patrons at Pulse had had concealed handguns, would the carnage have been more, less, or about the same?

Question 2: You are a terrorist and have gotten your hands on a gun.  You want to kill as many people as possible before you are taken down.  Do you attack A) a Police Station, B) a Gun Range, or C) a Gun Free Zone?

Question 3: Your city is on high alert for a terrorist attack because of a Craigslist ad.  Where do you think you will be most safe?  A) Police Station, B) Donut Shop, C) Church, D) Gun Free Zone.

When seconds count, the police are just minutes away.  Wouldn't it have been nice if this was the reception that Omar Mateen had received?

Mass Shootings Way, Way Up Under Obama!

In December, I posted about the increase of mass shootings during the Obama Administration.  I used a spreadsheet provided by Mother Jones.  That spreadsheet has been updated but does not include last night's carnage at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.  Let's explore the numbers.

Admin	Count	Dead	Wounded
Reagan	7	70	76
Bush I	7	63	52
Clinton	18	114	146
Bush II	15	127	91
Obama	33	247	229
Total	80	621	594

Even without including the 50+ dead from last night, Obama dominates the numbers.  However, this table is a bit skewed.  Bush I only served one term so his numbers are worse than they look.  Obama hasn't completed his second term and not quite comparable to his predecessors.  Let's break that down by month:

Admin	Dead	Wounded
Reagan	0.7	0.8
Bush I	1.3	1.1
Clinton	1.2	1.5
Bush II	1.3	0.9
Obama	2.8	2.6

Obama has another 7 months to go and the trend does not look good.

Obviously, if these two tables could have been produced where a Republican had such a high number compared to his Democrat predecessors, his policies would be blamed.  Even though the media would never do that here, is it the case?  Are Obama policies responsible for the dramatic increase in mass shootings?  I'm not sure if his actual policies are responsible but I think his expressed attitude is.  That is to say that Obama hasn't signed a law that made mass shootings easier or more frequent but he has not been a cheerleader for America or American power.  The United States under Obama is a nation in decline, a nation whose influence and reach is contracting.  Weakness invites attack.

One set of Rules for the Elites, Another for the Peasants

Donald Trump is a racist because he wants to put up a wall along the border.  Then does this one also signify racism?  I am reminded how the Democrats told us that Voter ID was racist during the 2012 election cycle and then required an ID to enter the convention.  Or how about this from the Democrat-run state of California:

The California state Senate voted 28-8 Wednesday to exempt itself from the pointless gun-control laws that apply to the rest of the populace. Legislators apparently think they alone are worthy to pack heat on the streets for personal protection, and the masses ought to wait until the police arrive.

 

Or how about Congress being exempt from the Affordable Care Act?  It is amazing how often 'our betters' exempt themselves from the laws they impose on us.  Is it any wonder that the electorate is voting for crackpots like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump when the 'normal' politicians show such disdain for We the People?