on subjects I touch on in a LOT of my classes.  Got my lead from the Blogfather who made a similar observation in his Second Amendment Penumbras piece.

GUNWALKER AND THE FOUNDATION OF LIBERTY.

It all comes down to this: Is there an inalienable right to self-defense? If there is, each man has indisputable, inestimable value, value that he may rightly preserve even if the life of another man is forfeit. A man may kill another in lawful self-defense even if the policy preferences of the state would prefer his death. If a right to self-defense actually exists, it is in a very real sense the highest law of the land and all lesser laws must pay it deference. It fundamentally defines the social contract, the nature of the relationship between man and the state.

But if there is no such inalienable right, the entire nature of the social contract is changed. Each man’s worth is measured solely by his utility to the state, and as such the value of his life rides a roller coaster not unlike the stock market: dependent not only upon the preferences of the party in power but upon the whims of its political leaders and the permanent bureaucratic class. The proof of this analysis surrounds us.

as violence from the left?

"Eliminate the rich!"

So here we are into the first year of the Chevy Volt, and President Obama’s prediction of selling 15,000 vehicles by the end of the year, is still about 12,000 short.

Hollywood is trying to help with some movie remakes:

Dukes of Hazzard: In the first episode, Boss Hogg catches the boys running moonshine whiskey across the county line. Sherriff Rosco P. Coltrane pursues the General Lee Honda Insight, and easily apprehends them. The rest of the series is based in the county jail.

Thelma and Louse: After an attempted rape on Thelma, Louise decides to emasculate the perpetrator, Harlan, by taking his picture behind the wheel of a Chevy Volt.

Rebel Without a Cause: Jim and Buzz have a chickie run, stealing a couple of Tesla roadsters and racing towards a cliff, to see who can jump out of the car last before the plunge. Both escape the vehicles in plenty of time to watch the cars go humming towards the precipice; before getting stuck on the rocks at the edge.

Grapes of Wrath; The Joad family packs up their electric truck, and head out for California. After about forty miles down Route 66, they run out of electricity, and spend the rest of the movie waiting in line with the other Oakies, for an outlet to become available.

A.   I think Keynseya economics is a joke

B.  I think the NYT is a joke and

C.  I think the Administrations approach to our economic disaster is a joke.

I believe in gradual aclimitization of my organism.  In Ohio that's usualy just not possible.  In  the fall we have weekends that start out with 70 degree fridays wherein the temp drop to 35 by the time the HS game ends and by kickoff on Saturday the wind chill is 0.  And I don't really relish running in the cold for lots of reasons.  Too many close.  and they get wet.  And then there's the footing.  Too icey can mean too slick.  Frozen slush can freeze solid and do REALLY nasty things to ankles (see also beautiful fallen leaves on a cracked/uneven sidewalk.)  And of course motorvehicles become even more of a threat.

So here's what I started doing a few decades ago.  Stay inside if the WCF is under 32.  Then, starting December 1, lower it one degree per day so that by January 1 the new cutoff is 0.  Hold that line through January.  And in february add one degree per day until March 1.  Might sound a bit anal but it works for me.  Gives me a definite cut off and I can't make excuses.  If it's too cold I either take a day off or hit the weights. 

Kniggits: OK at QB. Roll the dice with a bunch of fair Rbs. WR=Roddy White and two other guys who might not drop 50% of the balls thrown their way. K is OK. D's are questionable. Aren't enough Wrs available in the draft to fix him. Another post season miss

Conmen: QB great. RB solid. WR stacked. K & D present issues. Middle half finish as currently constituted.

D Angels: Solid QB. Solid RB. Decent WR depth but Mike'll need to pick the right starters. Hopefully the matchups will be favorable. Julio Jones would make a nice addition. K & D are solid. Top half

Earls: QB solid. RB solid. WR: see D Angels above. K & D are solid. Top half. Perhaps the team to beat?

Plague: Fair QB. No RB1. Two WR1, then it drops to WR4. D & K fair. No improvement available in the 3^rd round. Bottom half

Rattlers: Qb fair. RB solid. A little shakey at WR (aren't we all?) K fair, needs a D (look for a $1 ww signing of whoever's available come week 8) Middle half

Walking Contras: Solid at QB until week 8. Injury prone Rbs could be feast or famine. Solid at WR. Needs another K and a D (playing “chicken” with Roger) Middle half if the Rbs stay healthy. Bottom half otherwise.

Wizards: QB solid. RB weak. Two to three WR's …. needs one more better than his bottom four. BOTH Ks and BOTH D's ALL OUT WEEK 8!!! GREAT planning John. You've made Don very happy. Middle half. MIGHT crack top half with a dent WR pickup and a solid fix at K/D.

D Angels and Earls on top.  Knights, Plague and WC at the bottom.  Wiz, Cons and Rattler fighting it out to play in December

And of course next week's draft can really shake this up

To hear Professor Obama tell it, you’d think the case for Obamacare’s constitutionality is so straightforward that only a simpleton or a hack would raise questions.  At a Minnesota town hall he summarized it simply:

If the Supreme Court follows existing precedent, existing law, it should be upheld without a problem…. If the Supreme Court does not follow existing law and precedent, then we’ll have to manage that when it happens.

Wanna try Brown v Topeka Board of Education on for size there Big Fella?

Existing law and precedents were clear.

THIS is what passes for serious Constitutional scholarship these days?

do I use this in my ethics class?

Bret Stephens published this in the Wall Street Journal:

I just think the president isn't very bright.

Socrates taught that wisdom begins in the recognition of how little we know. Mr. Obama is perpetually intent on telling us how much he knows. Aristotle wrote that the type of intelligence most needed in politics is prudence, which in turn requires experience. Mr. Obama came to office with no experience. Plutarch warned that flattery "makes itself an obstacle and pestilence to great houses and great affairs." Today's White House, more so than any in memory, is stuffed with flatterers....

Then there is Mr. Obama as political tactician. He makes predictions that prove false. He makes promises he cannot honor. He raises expectations he cannot meet. He reneges on commitments made in private. He surrenders positions staked in public. He is absent from issues in which he has a duty to be involved. He is overbearing when he ought to be absent. At the height of the financial panic of 1907, Teddy Roosevelt, who had done much to bring the panic about by inveighing against big business, at least had the good sense to stick to his bear hunt and let J.P. Morgan sort things out. Not so this president, who puts a new twist on an old put-down: Every time he opens his mouth, he subtracts from the sum total of financial capital.