Reason Morning Links

- American Medical Association announces opposition to Obama's health care plan.

- Washington Post says Holocaust Museum shooter lonely, broke, and seen as a bit nuts . . . even by other white separatists.

- Economic downturn hits members of Congress, too. Also, strip clubs.

- Obama wants to bring back pay-as-you-go.

- Nation's top college grads skipping financial sector, heading to Washington to work for the federal government, instead.

Comments

[SugarFree]

Why should doctors oppose socialized medicine? I'm sure that instead of being well-paid highly-educated professions that they would much rather get a medal from The Premier for doing 8,000 cataract surgeries in a year.

[John Thacker]

The shooter also, typically, had a mix of nearly all the conspiracy theories out there. He believed that Obama's birth certificate was faked, but he also hated Bush, McCain, neocons, Bill O'Reilly, and thought that 9/11 was an inside job.

[FrBunny]

Nation's top college grads skipping financial sector, heading to Washington to work for the federal government, instead.

In Soviet Russia, government changes you!

[Fascitis Necrotizante]

Nation's top college grads skipping financial sector, heading to Washington to work for the federal government, instead.

Where they will be put in charge of remaking the economy from scratch, yes?

[John]

Pay as you go? A little late for that isn't it? I think Obama is trying to bankrupt the country. If the country goes bankrupt, he can then force through the kind of draconian tax rates he wants.

[domoarrigato]

The shooter also

Did anyone else wonder if Lonewacko would coincidentally never post on Reason again when they read this headline?

[Citizen Nothing]

repost to live thread:
On NPR this morning, the reporter mentioned that the shooter had once lived in Idaho.
I think that explains everything.

[Kyle Jordan]

"American Medical Association announces opposition to Obama's health care plan."

Anyone else already hearing the spin that these doctors are greedy and don't care about their patients?

Also, evertime I post from now on I'm going to mention that Customs and Homeland Security are basically starting a ban on Assisted Opening and "gravity/inertia" pocket knives until someone at Reason posts something about it.

[P Brooks]

"It's becoming trendy to take your community into your hands and give back, which is a good thing," Wilcher said. "People are empowered by the current political climate."

Warty! Heeeeeere, Warty!

Smash, Warty! Smash!

Good Warty!

[SugarFree]

Bit from the link:

"Von Brunn is obsessed with Jewish people," Blodgett said. "He had equal contempt for both Jews and blacks, but if he had to pick one group to wipe out, he'd always say it would be Jews."

When he saw a black guard at the Holocaust museum it must have been as if all his worst nightmares had come true.

I assume he must have gotten off a headshot to kill the guard with a .22. Or maybe super-close range?. He also took two rounds to the head and didn't outright die. Hate must be like having a superpower.

[libertarian democrat]

Not a huge fan of the AMA, overall, but I

[libertarian democrat]

Not a huge fan of the AMA, overall, but I heart them for this. (and should avoid using lessthanthree in posts)

I've seriously been considering going into derm to have a cosmetic practice backup in case the government screws up other most of medicine. I'm hoping the backlash by the AMA, AOA and other groups will help protect us.

[SugarFree]

Kyle,

Anyone else already hearing the spin that these doctors are greedy and don't care about their patients?

I've already heard it about Canada doctors fleeing to the US.

Also, evertime I post from now on I'm going to mention that Customs and Homeland Security are basically starting a ban on Assisted Opening and "gravity/inertia" pocket knives until someone at Reason posts something about it.

They are already illegal in a few states IIRC. I can't seem to buy one in KY.

[Kyle Jordan]

"When he saw a black guard at the Holocaust museum it must have been as if all his worst nightmares had come true.

I assume he must have gotten off a headshot to kill the guard with a .22. Or maybe super-close range?. He also took two rounds to the head and didn't outright die. Hate must be like having a superpower."

I shouldn't laugh at the first part, but I did. And the fact that he used a .22 makes me think of this guy who used to post on a bunch of gun/preparedness/survival forums named "Gunkid" but he got popped and is in the joint for something else the last that I heard. His theory was that when TSHTF, a Ruger .22 pistol and a debarked chihuahua were essentials to survival. Seriously.

And also, Customs and Homeland Security are trying to get a sneaky ass knife ban going. Google it.

[The Best Plastic Surgeon in Ca]

Dr. Timothy McCarthy while receiving a medical award for creativity, reported his findings to the Fellows of plastic surgery, concluding with this case study: "Several years ago a woman was high on cocaine and marijuana and she rode a horse head-on into a train traveling 80 miles an hour. All I had left to work with was the woman's hair and the horse's ass. I was able to put them together and now she's Speaker of the House.

[FrBunny]

she rode a horse head-on into a train traveling 80 miles an hour.

Goddamn that's a fast horse.

[Kyle Jordan]

"They are already illegal in a few states IIRC. I can't seem to buy one in KY."

Yeah, several places tow that line. The real problem is that the "new" definition of "gravity/inertia" applies to if say you partially open the knife and then flick it the rest of the way, you have a "gravity/inertia" opening knife. Slip joints, locking, whatever. It boils down to a Federal ban on folding pocket knives basically or the framework. The entire .pdf is up on Kniferights.org. 60+ pages.

[SugarFree]

His theory was that when TSHTF, a Ruger .22 pistol and a debarked chihuahua were essentials to survival. Seriously.

Makes perfect sense if you know, like I do, that all he really wanted to do during the end of the world was kill and eat a silent chihuahua.

[SugarFree]

OT, but too good not to share...

I think a man coming on to a feminist website to complain about his precious balls is trolling.

[FrBunny]

From SugarFree's same thread:

i must admit, i thought you were being kind of an asshole. but now its got me thinking about the ways that "overweight" (i HATE the pejorative nature of that term but im using it because i dont know what else to say) bodies are policed when it comes to space.

Fantastic. I'm beginning to see why you continue to hang out there, SF.

[domoarrigato]

SF - somehow I am powerless not to read feministing links whenever you post them. Even though I invariable feel like gouging out my eyeballs while I'm doing it. I love it when these broads refer to their servile and understanding feminist (as well as being likely imaginary) husbands.

[P Brooks]

Damn you, Sugarfree!

I want those two minutes back.

[Kyle Jordan]

"I think a man coming on to a feminist website to complain about his precious balls is trolling."

...

You know, everytime I've gone to that site, I've read something that completely bewilders me in its level of idiocy.

And (because I promised) if you like having some rights still, you should look in to the new knife ban going 'round from your friends at Homeland Security and Customs. It's all the rage!

[John]

In defense of .22 they are light, easy to carry, and some of the high velocity .22 rounds are pretty nasty. I don't think the guy who says you need a .22 to survive is that off depending on where you are. If I am in the mountains and worried about bears, a .22 isn't going to get it done. But if I am somewhere where I need to shoot varmints and run off the odd tresspasser, a good .22 will work just fine. Many a rancher has gone his whole life with a solid pump action or lever action .22 in the pickup. Yeah, the round won't blow you apart like a big round will. But, I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to get shot by anything. Someone pointing the business end of a .22 will give me plenty of pause.

[Hugh Akston]

domo, I was right there with you. I think that's why LoneWhacko was so quick to post yesterday: to cut off rumors that he and von Brunn were the same person.

Still, like the bin Laden tapes that have been surfacing since the invasion of Afghanistan, we'll have to start giving closer scrutiny to LoneWhacko's posts. If they contain timely and relevant reference to recent events, we'll know he's alive and not in jail.

If, on the other hand, they are poorly-worded screeds full of generic condemnation of reason's reporting, thinly-veiled racism, preemptive dismissal of counter arguments, and TypographicalErrors typical of ill-designed grammar programs, we can only assume that "LoneWhacko" is actually just a sad, absurd, knee-jerk automatic response with no contextual relevance whatsoever.

[P Brooks]

What, then, will happen?
"Things will get worse gradually," Mr. Auerbach predicts, "unless they get worse quickly." Either a solution will be put off, or foreign lenders, spooked by the rising debt, will send interest rates higher and create a crisis.
The solution, though, is no mystery. It will involve some combination of tax increases and spending cuts. And it won't be limited to pay-as-you-go rules, tax increases on somebody else, or a crackdown on waste, fraud and abuse. Your taxes will probably go up, and some government programs you favor will become less generous.
That is the legacy of our trillion-dollar deficits. Erasing them will be one of the great political issues of the coming decade.

David Leonhart

[Fascitis Necrotizante]

Just looking at a feministing thread is exhausting.

[John]

"we can only assume that "LoneWhacko" is actually just a sad, absurd, knee-jerk automatic response with no contextual relevance whatsoever."

I thought we already knew that. The question is, is he dead, in jail, alive and well and are his followers such as they are posting in his sted.

[domoarrigato]

"my husband has balls, and he says..."

Apparently just saying "my husband says" would allow you to assume that he has balls - we couldn't have that!

[P Brooks]

"my husband has balls"

[citation needed]

[phalkor]

OT: I love markets.

Let's get this straight. General Motors shares are most likely worth about the paper they'd be printed on.

Doubt that? Even GM's management feels that way. Yesterday GM issued a press release saying it "strongly believes that any recovery for the common stockholders ... is highly unlikely, even under the most optimistic scenarios." Not everyday a company tells you its shares are basically worthless.

GM recently filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. In nearly every reorganization scenario, GM's current equity holders will get squat or something close to that. But that reality hasn't stopped the punters, and GM's shares have risen in recent days to nearly $1.60.

Shares of companies in bankruptcy often continue to trade, usually on the so-called pink sheets, a less rigorous marketplace than the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. GM's shares moved into that domain after it filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. For instance, Lehman Brothers trades more than four million shares a day on the pink sheets right around a nickel a share.

Why do GM's shares continue to trade? The Greater Fool theory is probably the best explanation. People are buying GM's shares because they believe they can sell them to someone more foolish at a later date. With more than 68 million shares traded on a given day, there's apparently no shortage of fools.

[Warty]

"People are empowered by the current political climate."

Warty! Heeeeeere, Warty!

Smash, Warty! Smash!

Smashing is not enough. Let's get us some trucks, and some chains, and have us a good old-fashioned fag drag!

[P Brooks]

The only possible reason I can think of to buy GM shares is if you intend to wallpaper your shitter with the certificates.

[domoarrigato]

GM shares will trade above 0 because it is expensive to short them. They are hard to borrow - they trade right around the average nightly cost to short.

[John]

Even GM's management feels that way. Yesterday GM issued a press release saying it "strongly believes that any recovery for the common stockholders ... is highly unlikely, even under the most optimistic scenarios."

Isn't that just another way of saying GM will never recover? Viable companies don't have worthless stock.

[Kyle Jordan]

John,

I'm with you on the .22. "Gunkid" however made it very clear that his position was "you only need a .22 pistol to make it when everything goes to Hell".

"Smashing is not enough. Let's get us some trucks, and some chains, and have us a good old-fashioned fag drag!"

Or a few "Blanket Parties". Been on a Shield kick lately.

There's a Knife Ban a'comin'. Kniferights.org has the info you want.

[Highway]

I like that last line in the von Brunn article:

"The responsible white separatist community condemns this," he said. "It makes us look bad."

Yeah, cause this guy is what's making you look bad. Uh huh...

[Mo]

Anyone else already hearing the spin that these doctors are greedy and don't care about their patients?

Oddly enough, opposing socialized medicine is the one thing the AMA does that isn't greedy and uncaring about patients. Pretty much everything else they do, such as limiting the supply of doctors, is greedy and self-serving to the detriment of the populace. They're the UAW of medicine.

[ChrisH]

"The responsible white separatist community condemns this," he said. "It makes us look bad."

Oh, the responsible white separatist community...

[libertarian democrat]

I love feministing. There are quite a few intelligent posters (most, but not all, of whom I disagree with anyway), but they get completely drowned by the stupid.

[R C Dean]

I eagerly await the Second Amendment challenge to the knife ban. The 2A, after all, refers to the right to keep and bear arms.

Seriously, I do, even though I suspect that the SCOTUS will take the absurd position that knives being banned because they are weapons aren't covered by the amendment because they aren't weapons/"arms", and, thus, can be banned.

[dbcooper]

No mention of the Amanda Knox editorial in the NY Times this morning?

Sounds like a rather dodgy prosecutor.

http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/an-innocent-abroad/

So why push forward against Knox and Sollecito? They had no motive. The evidence is flawed and flimsy.

One explanation comes from Douglas Preston, a prominent best-selling American author who lived in the Florentine hills while researching a book about a serial killer never found, "The Monster of Florence," co-authored by Italian journalist Mario Spezi.

After the serial murders stopped, a prosecutor decided to reopen the case. His theory was that the killer or killers were Satanists from an ancient cult that harvested body parts. That prosecutor is the same one in the Knox case - Giuliano Mignini.

"One day I'm walking down the streets of Florence when my cell phone rings," said Preston in an interview. "They say, 'This is the police - we're coming to get you.'" For three hours, the author was interrogated by Mignini about possible connections to the case. His phone calls with co-author Spezi had been wiretapped, and Mignini asked him to explain things. Preston said he was told he must confess to perjury or obstruction of justice.

"I'm not the kind of person who could be broken down," said Preston. "But now I'm terrified. My wife and kids are out having lunch, and I'm thinking I'm never going to see them again."

Preston is indicted - Mignini has that power - but then told he can go free if he leaves Italy. The author departs the next day, banished, humiliated and deeply troubled.

Fast forward to the Amanda Knox interrogations. She's 20, hardly a world sophisticate, who spoke only passable Italian at the time. Mignini used the same methods - a pattern now coming to light in the misconduct case against him, in which he is accused by a Florentine judge of intimidation and wiretapping journalists and other perceived enemies. He has denied any misconduct. When Preston looked at the case against Amanda Knox, he saw a rogue prosecutor and a miscarriage of justice.

"There was no evidence," he said. "I realized it was all bogus. Mignini believes that Satan walks the land and anyone who is against him must be working for the other side."

[John]

Kyle,

If things went to hell, I would want more than a .22 pistol. You would at least want a rifle so you could hunt. I think maybe a .270 would be a good choice. You could hunt anything up to a bear or a moose with it. But it is still not heavy like a .306. I would take that and a good shotgun and .45 pistol.

[..]

lonely, broke, and seen as a bit nuts

Jesus, that describes half the commenters here.

[Scarcity]

More feministing hilarity:

"On a semi-related note, did some research on sitting to go pee and found that a life-time of doing causes damage to a woman's bladder, urethral tract, and such. Also that women can shoot farther than pen when peeing standing cause we have a shorter urethra = more pressure."

GRRL POWER!

Seriously, I've lost my will to live knowing that my wife can kick my ass in the distance peeing event.

[Kyle Jordan]

.308, 12 gauge, .45ACP are what I would go for. .44mag and .30-30 would probably be there too.

Of course, this is all theoretical since I sold all my guns and donated the money from them to PETA...

BTW,

If you like pocket knives, you may want to see what Customs and DHS are up to since they want to ban them.

[John]

I need to look into that. Who knows what they are up to. But Customs and CBP can only bad them at the border.

[brotherben]

"Citizen Nothing | June 11, 2009, 9:31am | #

repost to live thread:
On NPR this morning, the reporter mentioned that the shooter had once lived in Idaho.
I think that explains everything."

I lived in Idaho for many years. You take that back right now mister!

[Gimlet]

"Nation's top college grads skipping financial sector, heading to Washington to work for the federal government, instead."

So when the Fed Gov goes bankrupt, there will be a triple-ton of unemployed folks.

[Support Unwed Mothers]

... by visiting your local strip club today!

[Pain]

I eagerly await the Second Amendment challenge to the knife ban. The 2A, after all, refers to the right to keep and bear arms.

Seriously, I do, even though I suspect that the SCOTUS will take the absurd position that knives being banned because they are weapons aren't covered by the amendment because they aren't weapons/"arms", and, thus, can be banned.

IIRC that was the justification for the SCOTUS to uphold the ban on sawn-off shotgun's and the like early in the 20th century. Since they weren't "military" weaponry they weren't arms. Or at least that's how it reads.

I guess everyone will have to walk around with bayonets now instead.

[Gimlet]

".308, 12 gauge, .45ACP are what I would go for. .44mag and .30-30 would probably be there too."

All I need is a large compound aned 600 dedicated followers.

[R C Dean]

.308, 12 gauge, .45ACP are what I would go for.

You mean you haven't already? I have. I'm thinking I need to supplement my hunting shotgun with one more focussed on self-defense, though.

[R C Dean]

Indeed, Pain. You gotta love a government that bans relatively harmless items like folding pocket knives because they are too dangerous, but not large fixed blade knives because they are, umm, too dangerous.

[EscapeWestOfTheBigMuddy]

Seriously, I do, even though I suspect that the SCOTUS will take the absurd position that knives being banned because they are weapons aren't covered by the amendment because they aren't weapons/"arms", and, thus, can be banned.

At which point we try again with a claymore?

Er...the edged kind, not the mine...

[jasno]

Also, strip clubs.

Yeah, the other day we took a friend of mine down to our favorite club for his bachelor party. Last time I was there, they had a strongly enforced 'no-touch' rule in place. They could touch you, but if you lifted a finger the bouncer got to touch you too.

Now they're giving free handjobs with each lapdance(no shit). You can stick your fingers in whatever hole you please while the girl finishes you off and hands you a napkin. The times, they are a changin.

[Kyle Jordan]

"You mean you haven't already? I have. I'm thinking I need to supplement my hunting shotgun with one more focussed on self-defense, though."

Remington 870 Police model. Can be had for under $600 with the synthetic stock and is usually a great quality gun. 870 Express with the 18" barrel and 7 shot tube can be gotten for $350-ish but the 870P models are really a step up in quality. Though, it's hard to go wrong with an 870 at all. And used can get you some damn fine bargains.

[Zeb]

Weren't switchblades banned in the first place because people were scared by West Side Story or something? Pretty fucking weak reasoning for a federal law. A one handed opening knife is an immensely useful tool. I use mine daily in situations where a two handed knife would be a huge pain. And I somehow manage to avoid getting into 1950s style gang fights. Oh, well. Add another to the list of crimes I commit on a daily basis. Fuckers.

[EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy]

There are two fundamental tools: the lever and the cutting edge. Crowbars are a bit unwieldy for daily carry, but why the hell would you go out into the world without a knife?

I've carried one every day since third grade, and I've yet to cause any bleeding in other people.

And once you've made the decision to have a knife, you pick a folding, clip-on, one-hand-extractable, locking model because it maximizes convenience, utility, and safety. And you can get a decent on for US$30.

It's a no-brainer.

'Course, I like my multitool even better, but I carry both because the knife is so much more handy for opening boxes, peeling oranges, and other basic shit.

[R C Dean]

Since a multi-tool has a folding blade, won't they be banned as well?

[EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy]

"Utilitarian uses" explicitly includes "scouting activities". I assume they mean the BSA and affiliated organization.

If so, does that makes the BSA's insistence on a deistic affirmation a violation of the establishment clause? Can we make the BSA choose between being privileged by the government and getting to throw out the heathens?

Just asking.