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Clayton Cramer's BLOG |
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Clayton's commentary on news and events of the day. Broadly speaking, I'm a conservative with libertarian sympathies (getting more conservative as my children get older).
 Never forget! I'm running for Idaho state senate I've written a number of history books, as well as scholarly and popular articles, (see my web page).
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Saturday, November 29, 2003
More Evidence Of The Law of Unintended Consequences You know what the law is: almost any law will eventually (sometimes not so eventually) be perverted to accomplish the exact opposite of its legitimate purpose. Hence, regulatory commissions tend to be filled up with people that used to work for the regulated industry. Gun control laws typically impact non-criminals most heavily, while making only minimal impact on gun availability for criminals. Perhaps my favorite example is when California adopted a ban on possession of body armor-piercing handgun ammunition--and the first person convicted under the new law wasn't some deranged criminal, but the President of Eureka Federal Savings & Loan. (Of course, now that he had a felony conviction for possession of ammunition he didn't know was illegal, he lost his job. You can't be bonded and have a felony conviction.) Here's a new one, from Overlawyered.com: In Peterson v. Wilmur Communs., Inc., 205 F. Supp. 2d 1014 (E.D. Wis. 2002), a telemarketing firm demoted an employee when it discovered through a newspaper account that he was a "reverend" in the virulently racist World Church of the Creator, which preaches "racial holy war" and instructs its adherents that virtue consists in advancing the interest of the white race. The employee supervised eight workers, including three non-whites, and the employer said it felt that the latter employees would not be confident of having their work evaluated objectively under his supervision. A federal court held that although the man's "church" professes no belief in a god, supreme being, or afterlife, what matters was that it holds itself out as religious and inculcates moral and ethical precepts which its adherents sincerely embrace with an intensity comparable to religious belief. The court concluded that the employer had violated federal law against religious bias.Thanks to Jumping to Conclusions for the pointer. The Gun Self-Defense Blog If you haven't visited my gun self-defense blog lately--it is getting very large, thanks to help from readers, and co-blogger Pete Drum. Let's Be Careful Out There, Okay? From the Lufkin, Texas Daily News: A 3-year-old girl who police are saying was accidentally shot in the head Wednesday in Burke is recovering after being flown to a hospital in Dallas.Before you say, "there ought to be a law about leaving guns where kids can get to them," there already is. Texas Penal Code sec. 46.13 makes this a misdemeanor. Thanks to packing.org for the link. Wonders of the Internet I put an ad up for a T-ring adapter (used for doing astrophotography) on astromart.com. Ten minutes later, I had a buyer for it. I still don't have a buyer for this Kodak Deluxe Darkroom Thermometer. I am surprised to find that this item, with the same catalog number (112 2167), is still being offered for sale by Kodak. My father bought this in the 1960s. I don't know how much use he gave it; the thermometer looks brand new. The case in which it came is obviously a little warn by the ravages of time. New price on these is $39.01, from my searching around the web. I would be happy to get $15 ($15.50 if you use PayPal) for it, shipped anywhere in the U.S. 
UPDATE: And now the thermometer is sold as well. Lessons Learned From a Life More Than Half Over I woke up a little before 6:00 AM this morning, feeling old and depressed. I'll be turning 47 next Friday, but I think there is a larger cause of this sense of discouragement. This is probably the last Thanksgiving that we will be together as a nuclear family. My daughter will probably be married this coming summer, and the inevitable soul searching and taking stock in one's life is under way. 1. If your kids are still small, enjoy this time to the fullest. Shortly after we moved to Sonoma County in 1987, I had a dream that I had died and gone to Heaven, and the only difference was that I didn't have to go to work anymore. These were years in which my daughter was four and five--one of those angelic children who laughs, smiles, who played with dolls, read, and would surprise my wife and I with the most amazing statements. A friend came over for dinner, and my daughter launched into an explanation of the common characteristics of ratites (ostrich, emu, cassowary, kiwi, rhea, and a few extinct species). She was so proud of what she was learning from her reading, and I was so proud to have such an intelligent daughter. This time won't last. Unless you are exceptionally lucky, your children will be surrounded by kids being raised by barbarians. They will be ostracized for not listening to the "right" music in elementary school ("You listen to Amy Grant? You're supposed to listen to Slayer!"), for failing to be part of the hardcore porno exchange in sixth grade, for failing to get intoxicated in seventh grade, for failing to be sexually active in eighth grade, for failing to be pierced or cut in ninth grade. No matter how hard you try to be a good role model, and try to keep degrading trash away from them, you are going to lose. They will go to their friends' houses, and the Universal Parent--MTV--will teach them that the highest aspiration of a man is to be a pimp or drug dealer, and the highest aspiration of a woman is to be a sexual toy for a pimp or a drug dealer. Your children will do a sleepover in middle school--and discover the fur-lined handcuffs and porno tapes that some other mother thought she had adequately hidden. Your children will discover that you are "weird," because you don't get drunk, don't smoke pot, and have stayed married. At 12, 13, or 14, tribal conformity will probably win over everything you have taught them. We knew a family whose children had the remarkable strength of character to not conform. Their eldest daughter was the class valedictorian at Rancho Cotate High School. She wasn't prepared to fit into this culture of intoxication and casual sex. She ate alone in the cafeteria for four years as a result. 2. Do not assume that you are doing everything right as a parent. You are going to make mistakes. One of those mistakes is to assume that everything your parents did was wrong. I have a sister who, because our mother was a sometimes overly harsh disciplinarian (at least in my sister's eyes), didn't discipline her children at all. They wrote on the walls of their house? That just meant that they were creative. One of them has been in prison twice. Are you surprised? The other mistake is to assume that everything your parents did was right. I know a young woman who moved out of the house because her father was moving back in at the completion of his probation for molesting her. This being California, her father was only required to leave the house for three years for molesting his daughter. (Her younger sisters were approaching the age that her father had molested her--I shudder to think what was going to happen to them.) Her mother couldn't understand why the daughter was so upset--the mother had been molested as a child as well by her father. This was just the way things worked. No matter how well-adjusted you may be, or think you may be, the first step towards wisdom is recognizing that you don't know everything you need to know. In a culture that wasn't an open sewer, a few mistakes along the way didn't matter so much. The depraved and evil society that is much of America today leaves no room for you to make mistakes in child-rearing. Any mistake you make will be exploited by a society that sexualizes children and teaches them that meanness is the highest goal in life. 3. Life is not a steady state event. If you are in reasonably good shape at 30, do not assume that this will still be the case at 40 or 50. Entropy applies not only to thermodynamics; it applies to your physical condition. If you aren't in very, very health at 30, it is going to be much harder as you get older. I have been carrying about 30 extra pounds every since high school (when I had slimmed down to 155 pounds by walking four miles to school every morning). I have an inflamed tendon in my left foot that is taking maddeningly long to heal, impairing my ability to exercise. Carrying the extra weight probably played a part in this, as did trying to improve my cardiovascular condition by using my Nordic Trak every day. No matter how difficult it is, you really want to work on good physical condition when you are young--and don't slack on this as you get older. 4. Unless you are an exceptionally lucky person, you are not going to get wealthy enough to retire while you are young enough to enjoy it. The instant you get your first job out of college, start saving for retirement. Even if you have to live in a hovel for several years, max out your 401k contributions in the first few years, investing in a mixture of aggressive stock funds and value stock funds. This will dramatically change your retirement picture in your 60s. Worrying that the money in that 401k fund might get hit by the stock market is foolish; if you are 25 or 30, you have time to make up almost any economic bust. You can't ever get back that time! 5. Life is going to be full of regrets as you get older, most of which will revolve around your kids. If only we had realized what sort of scum they had as friends; if only we had moved out of the Sonoma County cesspool; if only we had earlier recognized the emotional problems one of our children was suffering. Do your best to avoid anything that will contribute to your regrets later. My daughter's life has been hard enough; I shudder to think how many regrets I would have today if my wife and I had done what every other couple we knew did in the 1990s, and gotten divorced. No matter how severe the stresses are, and how much everyone around you is encouraging divorce, you better have a very compelling reason to walk out that door. I have seen more divorces than I can count, and the vast majority replaced one unhappy marriage with another unhappy marriage. Life is not a TV sitcom. Do not expect every day to be joy and excitement. There are going to be days, weeks, and even months when you struggle with work, with childrearing, with disappointments, and with financial difficulties. Getting divorced will almost always make those situations harder, not easier. The only people that I have seen clearly benefit from a divorce are those in situations involving child abuse, spousal abuse, or repeated infidelity. The vast majority of divorces that I have seen are depression induced because one partner wasn't getting his or her needs met: emotionally, sexually, or for time. 6. Learn to recognize retail therapy, and avoid it. It is always tempting to go buy something when you aren't feeling good about yourself, or your situation. The pleasures are transitory; the damage to your finances are more permanent. Unless you are buying something that is going to resell for most of what you pay for it (a house, perhaps a car), ask yourself: will I be happier next week because of this purchase? Or will I be just delaying the moment when I can quit my job, and do something that makes me feel fulfilled? Friday, November 28, 2003
This Belongs in the Next Edition of Non Campus Mentis From a paper by one of my students, about implied fundamental rights, this astonishing sentence about the Lawrence decision: In the Lawrence decision the freedom for sodomy comes to full frontal bare. Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Old Weapon Systems Don't Die--Nor Do They Fade Away This news account reports on weapons seized along the Iraqi-Syrian border: The troops established a cordon Thursday around the towns of Husaybah, Karabilah and Sadah, total population 120,000, and haven't let anyone in or out, the reporter said, adding that troops were conducting sweeps through the encircled territory.What will they find next? Phosgene stockpiles from World War I? How long do weapon systems last? There's a historical re-enactor up here in Boise that has a Brown Bess musket. Okay, big deal, there are a lot of Brown Bess muskets. They were the infantry weapon of the British Army and Marines from the middle of the 18th century to the early 19th century. What makes this Brown Bess so interesting is that this guy received it from a soldier who had captured it in Vietnam. The story this gun could tell about how it ended up in combat operations 12,000 miles from Britain, more than a century after it became obsolete! UPDATE: A reader points me to this account of a reporter covering the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan: As the man ducked back into the cave, I asked to look at his rifle. I was stunned to see that it was a single-shot, breech-loading Martini-Henry. Stamped on its receiver were the initials V. R., for Victoria Regina, and the date of its manufacture, 1878. The guerrilla's grandfather or great-grandfather perhaps might have taken it from a now-forgotten British soldier in some lonesome mountain pass on the ragged edge of the empire.In addition, another reminder of how the weapons of war last long beyond their original purpose is this news story of the discovery of Lewisite near Washington, DC, left over from World War I: Residents of the upscale Spring Valley neighborhood in Northwest last night questioned officials from the Army Corps of Engineers on their discovery of a dangerous World War I-era toxic chemical in the ground near their homes.Another reader informs me: My friend Eric was in the first Gulf War. There was some WW2 surplus on board, and they Professor Volokh Is Being Narrow-Minded See this discussion of why Professor Volokh was amused when a KKK initiation ritual went astray. Professor Volokh seems to think that the person who chided him did so because it "seem[ed] to flow from his Christian beliefs...." From what Professor Volokh has reproduced, it sounds more like a parody of what passes for liberalism on some campuses today--the idea that all belief systems are equally valid. Parody, of course, because this idea that all belief systems are equally valid only applies to ideas such as "homosexuality is just like being heterosexual," "children have a right to have sex with adults," "meat is murder," but not to ideas such as "abortion is murder," "homosexuality is wrong," and "George Bush is trying to do something good in Iraq." These are ideas so outside the pale that they cannot be tolerated, much less seriously examined or considered. UPDATE: There's a Discount Blogger who missed the obvious sarcasm of my title, since I was agreeing with Professor Volokh that there are some ideas outside the pale of respectability, and do not deserve to be given respect because of "diversity" concerns. Of course, from reading Discount Blogger, it's pretty apparent that he is part of the crowd that confuses perversity with diversity--and his blog is discounted because that's what his ideas are worth. Another Indicator the Economy Is Recovering Fox News this morning reported only a 1% vacancy rate on airline seats for this holiday weekend--quite a recovery from the situation these last two years. I also noticed that trying to get flights for my daughter to come home at Christmas was a struggle as well. Call PETA! File A Complaint! My boss forwarded this picture to me with the captiion, "Just too cute." Your mileage may differ. 
Interesting Name Coincidence A few days ago, I blogged about how the British government is asking British Muslims to swear off terrorism, and this is being seen as a sign of intolerance. A reader pointed out that one of the outraged British Muslims quoted in the article was named, "Anas Altikriti." Rewrite that last name as "Al-Tikriti," and you see the name of Hussein's home town--and the name of many of Hussein's henchmen. Coincidence? PETA's New Poster Boy Click here for a PETA interview with Bernhard Goetz, about the benefits he has enjoyed since going vegan: PETA: People are going to find this all a bit odd coming from you, don’t you think?Hmmm. I only have counterexample, but it's a killer: Adolph Hitler. Vegetarian; friend to animals; genocidal maniac who started the biggest war in the history of mankind. Thanks to Sasha Volokh for the pointer. Tuesday, November 25, 2003
How Old Is Old Enough? Professor David Bernstein asks: While I certainly agree that it's improper for an adult to have sexual contact with an underage girl (and especially in this case where the adult is alleged to have abused his authority), is it really the case that the psychological profile of a man who desires sex with a sexually mature seventeen year old is the same as the profile of a man who desires sex with a pre-pubescent nine year old?The important question isn't whether she is sexually mature. Adults manipulating minors into sex isn't a problem because the minor is sexually immature; it is because a child (and that includes the vast majority of 15-17 year olds) is emotionally immature. This is an age where girls are looking for love, boys are looking for sex, and both are full of that arrogance that says, "I know what I'm doing" even when they clearly do not. UPDATE: Yes, it is true that there are naive adult women who get taken advantage of by predatory guys, the law has to draw some sort of line. We don't have little signs that hang over a person's head that say, "This is a responsible adult, free to make their own decisions," decided by some sort of test. Age of consent is set by state legislatures, based on a variety of inputs. One of them is the assumption that someone who can make contracts or enlist in the military is probably responsible enough to make other decisions. It is true that there are 17 year olds who are old enough to make sensible, adult decisions. I think sensible people would agree that there are probably fewer 14 year olds in that same position, and none at age 9 capable of making such deicisions. Setting the line is arbitrary, just like defining voting age, or the age of contracts. That doesn't make the idea ridiculuous, even if there are examples contrary to the rule on both sides of the line. Even if a majority of 17 year olds is responsible enough to make these decisions, it might well be good public policy for the government to make the age of consent 18, on the grounds that the potential injury to the minority of 17 year olds far exceeds the benefit to the majority of 17 year olds. Especially with the enormous problems caused by teen pregnancy, STDs, as well as the less tangible emotional injuries caused by adults taking advantage of minors sexually, this shouldn't be a hard concept to handle. UPDATE 2: I am always amazed at how much people attacking me in email give away about their position unintentionally. One twerp responded with an email that said: "This is an age where girls are looking for love, boys are lookingMy response was that especially in the teenaged years, there is a lot of confusion of sex and love, and it seems that this is more common among girls than boys. My wife saw an interview some years ago with some convicted child molesters in which they defended their actions on the grounds that their victims (in one case, a three year old) seduced them. It's amazing how many people defending sexual predators are intent on seeing children as wanton hussies, instead of emotionally immature kids who are easily led astray. Of course, something of this twerp's view of sex and emotion can be derived from the signature line on the twerp's email: I'm glad I don't love Jesus, so I get to have orgasms involving The Democrats Are Toast Third quarter GDP rose 8.2%. Employment always lags, but there's still three quarters to the election--I think that Bush has the election in the bag. Briefs in the Missouri Concealed Weapons Law Suit In case you haven't been following it, Missouri passed a concealed weapons permit law, and some of the antigunners filed suit claiming that the Missouri Constitution's right to keep and bear arms provision prohibited the legislature from allowing concealed carry. Here's the Missouri Attorney-General's brief as why the legislature is allowed to pass such a law. (If you have read my previous blog entries about this, or Professor Volokh's, you won't be surprised by what is in it.) Here's the brief submitted by Bull's Eye, a firearms training firm. I was pleased to see that a law review article by Dave Kopel, Scott Hattrup, and myself, is cited in that brief. (Unfortunately, it is referred to as Dave Kopel, et. al.. Oh well, there goes my chance for fifteen minutes of fame.) Here is NRA's brief, written by Stephen Halbrook. Thanks to packing.org for the links. Monday, November 24, 2003
Open Carry Walk in Columbus, Ohio November 30th Governor Taft is blocking concealed carry reform in Ohio. Because open carry is lawful--and the Ohio Supreme Court has grudgingly acknowledged that this is a right guaranteed by the Ohio Constitution--gun rights activists have been engaging in open carry as an encouragement for the state to adopt a concealed carry licensing statute. Here's the press release from Ohioans For Concealed Carry. The goal is to walk to the governor's mansion in Columbus. One Enemy At A Time The Telegraph reports: The FBI is investigating dozens of bank accounts held by the Saudi embassy in Washington, it emerged yesterday, putting Saudi-US ties under even more intense strain, writes David Rennie in Washington.I heard a lot of criticism about the U.S. not doing enough about potential Saudi ties to terrorist groups. Of course, at the time, we were just starting the war against Iraq. One of the important rules of warfare is not to take on too many enemies at once. It appears that the Bush Administration understands this concept. Michael Jackson Regular readers of my blog know that I suspect, based on some of the statistical evidence, that there is a connection between childhood sexual abuse and homosexuality. You can imagine my lack of surprise at this story from the Telegraph about the "love letters" from Michael Jackson to the victim: "They are very explicit and intimate and show a degree of familiarity. Basically, they appear to be love letters from Michael to the boy." Labels: child sexual abuse Sunday, November 23, 2003
Proof Positive That Gun Control Works From the Sydney Morning Herald: Police yesterday revealed they had discovered a frightening haul of key-ring-sized pistols after a series of raids across Sydney. Another Reminder That Some Religions Are More Equal Than Others Remember Animal Farm? Right after the Revolution in which Farmer Jones is expelled, the animals write a new constitution for their farm. All animals are equal is one of the high-sounding phrases written on the side of the barn. But somewhere along the way, "but some animals are more equal than others" gets added. Here's an interesting interview between Bill O'Reilly and Mark Green, a New York City councilman, in which Green tries to explain why having menorahs and the star and crescent symbol in New York City schools is not a violation of the First Amendment's prohibition on religious establishment--but anything symbolic of Christianity is a violation: O'REILLY: No, no. You have a Menorah for Hanukkah.So what this really comes down to: minority religions have certain rights that the majority does not. You know, I can understand the argument for completely removing all religious symbols from public institutions. It's contrary to what the Framers of our Constitution intended, but it is at least a consistent policy. But Mark Green typifies what really runs this country--a belief that the majority religion should be subject to constraints that do not apply to minority religions. Majority oppression of minorities in a democracy is vile; minority oppression of majorities is insane. |
