Daily Archives: February 24, 2012

Interesting gun-related facts

February 24, 2012Uncategorizedgun control, GunsGreg Laden

There are somewhere between about 200 and 2.5 millino “defensive gun uses” per year, depending on who you ask. The truth is closer to 200 (Estimating Defensive Gun Uses Reasonably)
MILF does not mean Mothers Into Legal Firearms (but they’re not really legal) (ATF Busts Real Housewives Buying Guns for Cartels)
There is a nationwide boycott of Starbucks because of their Zany relationship to guns and stuff (Want Guns With Your Grande at Starbucks?)
In North Carolina, state legislators have a higher rate of concealed weapon permits than the rest of the population. (Concealed weapon permits higher among legislators)
When you let a gun pass into the hands of a criminal due to lax gun laws, you increase the chance that a cop is going to have to take a life. (Killings in line of duty haunt police officers)
If Han Solo was an Iowan, he would have shot first. (Gun bill shoots holes in building a civil society)¹
The NRA is less influential in Washington than you thought. (The Myth Of NRA Dominance Part I: The NRA’s Ineffective Spending)
Ted Nugent is jerk (NRA Spokesman Ted Nugent’s Top 10 Inflammatory Comments)
Barack Obama did not endorse a “total ban on handguns” (Truth O Meter)

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¹Yeah, right, I know, I know.

Where are we, anyway, exactly? NASA is working on that

February 24, 2012UncategorizedUncategorizedGreg Laden

Before our Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation devices can tell us where we are, the satellites that make up the GPS need to know exactly where they are. For that, they rely on a network of sites that serve as “you are here” signs planted throughout the world. The catch is, the sites don’t sit still because they’re on a planet that isn’t at rest, yet modern measurements require more and more accuracy in pinpointing where “here” is.

To meet this need, NASA is helping to lead an international effort to upgrade the four systems that supply this crucial location information. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., in partnership with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., where the next generation of laser ranging and radio interferometry systems is being developed and built, is bringing all four systems together in a state-of-the-art ground station.

This is interesting. Details here.

Neil MacGregor: 2600 years of history in one object

February 24, 2012UncategorizedUncategorizedGreg Laden

A clay cylinder covered in Akkadian cuneiform script, damaged and broken, the Cyrus Cylinder is a powerful symbol of religious tolerance and multi-culturalism. In this enthralling talk Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, traces 2600 years of Middle Eastern history through this single object.

Continue reading Neil MacGregor: 2600 years of history in one object →

Carroll County Maryland Employees to Take Bible Class?

February 24, 2012UncategorizedChurch State Separation, Church-StateGreg Laden

Yeah, more or less:

Carroll County commissioners have asked county employees to attend a seminar on the Maryland Constitution led by a conservative Christian minister, sparking accusations that local officials are overstepping the boundary between church and state.

The minister in question is David Whitney, who is one of those guys who thinks he can reconcile American Law with the Bible, by making American Law like the Bible.

“We will be looking at the language of our founding fathers who wrote they were ‘grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberties’ front and center on this document. The Bible is the source of the authority that they looked to.”

The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United are annoyed with the $800 of government money funding the operation. Rob Boston, of Americans United asks, “Do these commissioners realize what a mess they have stepped into? This is a toxic stew, and employees should not be forced to dine there.”

Indeed.

Dismantling Church-State boundary in Oklahoma is not OK

February 24, 2012UncategorizedChurch State Separation, Church-StateGreg Laden

The constitution of Oklahoma, like many states, has a part about church-state separation. In Oklahoma, Republicans are tying to remove that provision. Representative Jason Nelson has put forth a ballot initiative that would allow voters to vote out Article 2 Section 5 of the constitution.

No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.

would become

No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.

There is a summary at Americans United

California DOMA Ruling

February 24, 2012UncategorizedDOMA, Same Sex Marriage, Same Sex MarriageGreg Laden

I had missed this, thanks to commenter Random Factor for pointing it out:

A federal judge on Wednesday declared the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and ordered the federal government to extend health benefits to the same-sex spouse of a San Francisco lawyer employed by the federal courts.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White said the refusal of the Office of Personnel Management to enroll 9th Circuit attorney Karen Golinski’s spouse in the federal agency’s benefits program violated her constitutional right to equal protection under the law.

source

The Justice Department sat this one out, but House Republicans did get involved.