- Arrested for resisting arrest. When you weren’t being arrested in the first place. Even NPR is starting to notice the absurdities of the police state. (H/T PT)
- Speaking of which, Wendy McElroy posted this and it certainly bears repeating: 22 reasons not to trust police.
- Nine car models without fatalities. (When you fill up that 15-mpg SUV, you shake your head. Then you read something like this.)
- Gun banner lies are getting worse. But some libeled parties are fighting back. And some victims that the antis crave to exploit say, “Go stuff it!”
- Bovard on Holder’s lawless legacy.
- Yet more good news about Obamacare. It’s likely to make the Dems miserable in 2016. (Pity the wussy biggov Rs are the only likely beneficiary.)
- Mike will be there on Saturday.
- Happy birthday, Thomas Merton. And here are seven reasons even evangelical Christians should read him.
Merton! Cool!
SUVs got 15 MPG back in the days when they killed far too many people by rolling over. Both defects have been corrected in most models.
Take the 2014 or 2015 Subaru Forester. Not only does it get top ratings from the IIHS, but the re-designed 2014 model was the first vehicle to ace every aspect of the IIHS’s very tough small overlap front crash test.
Yet in my own mixed city/highway driving, I got 28.6 MPG over 1300 miles. On the highway I get better than 32 MPG if I drive 65 MPH.
Physics favors larger cars. Engineering can do a lot to level the playing field. The smallest Subaru models have enviable safety records; the mid-size Legacy was one of the 9 with zero driver deaths. It was the only non-luxury car to earn that distinction, 7 of the 9 were much larger SUVs or minivans.
NFI, my 14 year-old car was totaled by a distracted driver. I was unhurt. I looked carefully at safety records when choosing a new car. I chose Subaru, but there are many good options available, and the newer cars are much, much safer than they were even 10 years ago.
The IIHS reports 28 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years (RVY) for MY 2009-2011, versus 87 deaths per million RVY for MY 2000-2003.
Do note that the “killer cars” does not correct for the way the vehicles are driven. Buyers of Chevy Camaros tend to have certain personality traits which affect their driving styles. Same for Kia Rios. The Silverados are adversely affected by the “Hey, y’all, watch this!” personality of a significant number of their owners…
s — That’s great info — for people who can buy new cars. Those of us who run 15-year-old SUVs (or older) still face 15 mpg (or less).
True enough. I originally intended to buy used. But the still-inflated prices of used cars (I never did see a recovery after the cash for clunkers debacle ratcheted up used car prices) combined with the very strong safety features of newer models put me over the edge. Surviving a T-bone affected my thinking, and my budget.
Some older cars have very good safety ratings. The IIHS website is worth some study by anyone in the market for a new or used car.
Thanks, Steve. I agree. I hate the thought of ever needing to get a new (used) vehicle, but that IIHS site looks like a valuable resource.
“Society has an interest in the police doing their job and catching criminals … and you’re not allowed to stop them from doing their jobs.”
Speak for yourself, asshole. I don’t have any interest in that. My interest is in stopping them doing that.
“The Kia Rio, a four-door car in the institute’s “mini” class, experienced an overall driver death per million registered vehicle years rate of 149 — the highest of the vehicles studied.”
149 per million? Not much of a chance, if you think about it. But yeah, mix heavy cars with light cars, the light ones come out worse off; every body knows that. Higher acceleration in an accident. Buy that big fat car if you can afford to keep it fed with gasoline, why not? I’ll take my chances with the smaller ones (although my Passat is actually mid size).
There are more and more airbags in cars these days. That helps the record of new cars. I wonder how reliable those airbags will be in a car with 200k miles on it…
Sometimes it seems we forget that the whole point of a car is to get from point A to point B, sometimes along with a bit of cargo. Other considerations tend to overwhelm that fact. I dislike complication in vehicles – “engineering masturbation”.
I drive a 15 year old Saturn. Never had an accident, and never had to do any repairs. Used to get 36MPG, but I think it is down to about 34 now. Not worth looking at for me. I only buy gas every two or three months.
“There are more and more airbags in cars these days.”
Indeed, and I’m still trying to figure out how to shut it off. A person my size might very well be killed if it deployed. My short legs put me far too close to the steering wheel.
Anyone looking for a new or used car can find a wealth of information including the IIHS ratings and NHTSA Safety Tests in Consumer Reports, Annual Auto Issue. The auto issue has CR’s “reliability ratings” for most models going back 12 years—very helpful when weighing used car choices.
The 2015 issue (dated April 2015) should hit news stands in mid-March. Last year’s cover price for the 2014 issue was $6.99—well worth it particularly if you’re unsure what models to consider.
About a month ago, I think, there were some shots fired in the area of the White House. No suspects were ever found, but one man was arrested for resisting arrest. That was and is a real head shaker to me.
The car safety information noted above is definitely helpful, although to my simple mind some of the physics is about as complicated as watching an apple fall from a tree. Big vehicle meets little vehicle; big vehicle wins.
Our incoming Attorney General has stated that illegals have as much “right to work” as citizens or those with green cards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbjsvEjXLgo&feature=youtu.be And she’s actually going to be confirmed by a Republican controlled senate. Sadly, it’s just as you said, Claire: meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
I don’t know a lot about airbag systems, except that I had to remove mine to get at the horn wiring to fix it. I think on my car, it’s on its own fuse. Of course, just to be safe, I disconnected the battery. There’s a capacitor in the bag module itself, but it self-discharges in a few minutes.
Saturn might do things differently.
[Our incoming Attorney General has stated that illegals have as much “right to work” as citizens or those with green cards.]
Well, if we ignore the suspicion that no rights exist at all, and instead take them as a given, then she is correct:
1) To say “illegals” (or Jews, or Muslims, or whatever other scapegoat of the day we are using) do not have a right to work, is to say that I may not hire anyone I please.
2) To say “illegals” do not have a right to work, implies a regime of government approval for the permission to work. It implies all sorts of things that are plainly, massively harmful to liberty.
Sorry, this doesn’t wash. I don’t need government “protecting” me from “illegals” looking for a job. Government “protection” always ends up being done for the benefit of those in government, and always to my detriment.
This isn’t really a propos of anything in this thread, but it seems that we at least see some occasional justice for thug cops. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/two-philadelphia-police-officers-charged-with-brutality-of-motorist/ar-AA91vgE Whether this is the beginning of a change in societal attitudes remains to be seen.
I guess it comes down to whether or not a country should be protecting its borders. Reagan said one that doesn’t is no longer a country. I have to agree. Statistically, our population is a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the world; we simply can’t absorb endless numbers of people. Like osmosis,perhaps, the population density will tend to equilibrate over geographically similar areas.
Prior to 1965, the immigration rate allowed for assimilation of the newcomers into our society. Now many who come not only don’t want to assimilate at all, but actively hate us. I believe when Obama said he was going to “fundamentally change” our society, this was one of the necessary elements. Phyllis Schlafly has noted that the current immigrant population will vote for more government, thus taking our freedoms away.
Our country historically has been, in general, an oasis of freedom. We may lose it anyway, but I believe we will be certain to lose it if we allow essentially unrestricted immigration. I agree, certainly, that having a class of people within a country used as scapegoats (see Jim Goad’s Redneck Manifesto, for example) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=redneck+manifesto&sprefix=redneck+ma%2Cstripbooks%2C409 is the antithesis of freedom. I absolutely disagree, respectfully, that allowing free and unlimited access in any way protects our liberties as free citizens.
[I guess it comes down to whether or not a country should be protecting its borders.]
That sounds a tad collectivist to me. Countries do not act; individuals do. It also begs the question, “protecting from what”? Yeah, we sure wouldn’t want a guy named Jose picking beans out in a field… Besides, whenever someone suggests the government is here to protect me, I start looking for the exit. Or maybe trying to suppress a belly laugh…
As to immigrants voting for more government – what, more than the natives vote for? Seriously?
Keep in mind you are the one arguing for a government solution here. Cognitive dissonance…
[Our country historically has been, in general, an oasis of freedom.]
With open borders… And what about those papist Irish anyway? Can’t we keep them out as well?
Anyway, this argument of “protecting” liberty by trampling it, reminds me of the old Viet Nam solution, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”
I’m the one arguing for liberty. Not you. Enjoy traversing your next checkpoint…
On another subject, I think I found someone who qualifies for hypocrite of the month. Author John Wright writes, apparently without irony:
———————-
The word for when a person erects in his mind a false image of a group of people, and sees them only as that image, that false stereotype, and moreover it is a despicable stereotype, one that robs them not just of dignity, but of their very humanity… that word is bigot.
Something rotten, very rotten has happened to the Left just in my lifetime.
They used to be champions of free speech; and now they are its most vehement opponents…. Leftism is hatred. Everything that is normal, sane, healthy, holy, rational, or good, they hate.
http://www.scifiwright.com/2015/02/dinosaur-sized-bigotry/
While there unquestionably will be disagreement here, I feel a need to go through this anyway. Every time I come across another statement by one of the Founding Fathers, I’m yet again amazed at how they understood everything. Having lived under the thumb of the Crown, they were willing to risk death for a chance at a better form of government. Even though the Federalists won out over the Anti-Federalists (and I admit I don’t know the specifics), Jefferson still said they had “created a near perfect republic.”
The federal government was charged with providing for the common defense. There are a few small countries that get away without having a military because they don’t have anything valuable enough to take. I don’t know of any big countries that don’t have a military. Nehru noted that “[W]e were living in a fool’s paradise of our own making” after the Chinese attacked. The problem comes when the military is misused. Washington’s Farewell Address annually falls on stone deaf ears. Kalashnikov wisely noted that it’s the politicians who start wars.
And we do our best to make it look like the other party started the hostilities, e.g., the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
Likewise there has to be some form of police or judicial system. Otherwise, the defenseless fall prey to criminals. Police used to be taught “to protect and serve,” and when done properly it’s a very wonderful thing. Current police training often views citizens as adversaries, with all its attendant very serious problems.
Every country I’m aware of has controls on immigration. I know of no nation that has allowed unrestricted immigration either now or historically. If an example can be found, perhaps it’s survivable, but still only perhaps. Phyllis Schlafly’s conclusions on new immigrants’ political preferences can be found here http://www.eagleforum.org/immigration.html
I used to believe we had unequivocally the best government in the world. I still pretty much believe we did. I’m not at all confident of that anymore. If however, one’s goal is to get rid of all government, I believe it’s worth remembering that politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum; and one should be very careful what one wishes for.
[Likewise there has to be some form of police or judicial system. Otherwise, the defenseless fall prey to criminals.]
Likewise, there has to be some form of government schooling. Otherwise, some children will never learn.
Likewise, there has to be some form of government food assistance. Otherwise, some poor people will not be able to eat.
Likewise, there has to be some form of drug prohibition. Otherwise, some people will ruin their lives with drugs.
Keep this line of reason up, and you end up with the whole mess we now observe. Anything and everything is justifiable, as long as one first swallows the violence and slavery implied in all of them. And the free market, from which the whole government edifice is funded via theft, is somehow never considered adequate to handle these needs by itself, directly. Even when, as with schools prior to 1840, the market handled it well historically, and without any coercion at all.
I understand some people cannot even imagine a world of liberty. That is why I push panarchy. If people are satisfied with being cogs in a great state, that is their business, not mine. But I want liberty.
Pretty much any argument can be extended by iteration ad nauseam to absurdity.
I have to believe that the fiat change in immigration policies can only, in the end, lead to more restrictive controls on society. Obama must believe so, too; otherwise he wouldn’t have done it. If it comes to that unfortunate situation, we’ll make our individual decisions as we always have.