Unconventional Wisdom

For your interest check out this commentary by the Southern Avenger. This vid was an eye opener.

If you watch the news and see stories about violence you wouldn’t believe it. Of course they refer to more small town life than they do urban life. Some major American cities do have gun control and some will consider that a problem for curbing violence.

Still aside from what I understand to be Britain’s gun control problem I wonder what is it with their culture of brawling and public drunkenness. Maybe it’s more tolerated there than here because Americans would frown upon it. That is assuming that it’s seen on the news or it becomes a full fledged riot.

Here’s the oddest part though and I would question the intelligence of the man in question:

Deepwater, Missouri has a motto: “A great lil’ town nestled in the heartland.”

Deepwater considers itself to be an exemplar of the best of American life. A place where outsiders – if they ever penetrated this far – would find home-cooked apple pie and friendly, warm, hard-working folk.

Among those folk, I have no doubt, is Ronald Long.

Last month Mr Long decided to install a satellite television system in his Deepwater home. His efforts to make a hole in the outside wall came to nothing because Mr Long did not possess a drill.

But he did have a .22 calibre gun.

He fired two shots from the inside of the bedroom.

The second killed his wife who was standing outside.

He will face no charges. The police accept it was an accident.

I wonder if this article is about the difference in American culture versus British culture more than it is about how one society lives with guns and another lives without. Especially since in the culture that lives without guns there are places where they’re not supposed to even have them. I would say this article has balance but I feel like it’s missing something anyway.

I suggest you go read the rest. BBC article via Instapundit.

From the Washington Post today…

Saudi Arabia’s most popular blogger was released Saturday after serving four months in prison without charge.

Fouad al-Farhan, 33, was detained Dec. 10 after authorities warned him about his online support of an activist group. At the time of his arrest, the Interior Ministry said only that his violations were not related to state security.

Farhan had used his blog to criticize corruption and call for political reform in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy.

In a telephone interview Saturday, Farhan said he was happy to be free and described his time behind bars as “a unique experience.” He said he had been “fairly treated” but would not comment on the specifics of his case.

“I will be blogging soon,” he said.

The Interior Ministry did not comment on the release.

Farhan’s arrest, believed to be the first of an online critic in Saudi Arabia, had been condemned by bloggers around the world, including more than 200 in the kingdom. In February, protesters demonstrated against the arrest in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

Farhan’s supporters continued his blog and set up the Free Fouad Web site, but Saudi authorities blocked both sites earlier this month.

Saudi Arabia restricts press and speech freedoms and does not allow political parties, civil rights groups or public gatherings. But since King Abdullah took the throne in 2005, official tolerance of criticism and debate has grown.

I’m personally not a libertarian, however, there are some good points here that I’ve had to consider as I explore the path of “classical liberalism”.

From Forbes.com.

Old news but with a football item comes a baseball item and the fact that I’m more of a baseball fan.

Most of the first 9,999 victories in Cubs history were fairly easy compared to Wednesday night’s 10,000th at Coors Field.

In fitting fashion for a team with as much wacky history as the Cubs, they mounted a ninth-inning comeback against Colorado on Aramis Ramirez’s home run, watched Kerry Wood blow the lead in the bottom of the inning and rallied again for a 7-6, 10-inning victory before a stunned crowd of 36,864.

In the end, Ryan Theriot’s two-out RBI single off Kip Wells in the 10th gave the Cubs the lead for keeps, and they hung on after Carlos Marmol pitched a perfect 10th for the save.

“That was an exciting game, well-played on both sides,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “Our kids battled. They came back in the ninth on the two-run homer, and then Theriot gets that big base hit there in the 10th. These kids are confident, I can tell you that, and they’re getting after it every night.”

With six straight victories and nine in their last 10 games, the Cubs are one of only four teams in franchise history to start off with a 15-6 record. The other three were the 1907 World Series champions, the 1969 team that collapsed down the stretch and the 1975 team that finished 12 games below .500.

“It’s a lot of history here with the Cubs,” Piniella said. “What, the second franchise in baseball (after the Giants) to win 10,000? Congratulations to this organization.”

From Slate via Instapundit…

Even as Hillary Clinton trails Barack Obama in pledged delegates, the popular vote, and number of states won, she has made it clear that she plans to stay in the race for the nomination. All of which brings me to this logical conclusion: It is time for Barack Obama to drop out.

If Clinton had the good of the Democratic Party in mind, she would have given up her bid the day after the Mississippi primary, which Obama won by 25 points. The delegate math was as dismal for her campaign then as it is now, even after Pennsylvania, and she was facing down a six-week gulf before the next election.

But Hillary Clinton isn’t going to drop out. There simply isn’t a function in her assembly code for throwing in the towel.