Lots of good bio stuff this week. Annie Pearse and Reid both sent me this NYT piece on the evolution of duck sex organs. A teaser: “When she first visited in January, the phalluses were the size of rice grains. Now many of them are growing rapidly. The champion phallus from this Meller’s duck is …
Good Alcohol and Unconventional Greens
But there is still a lot of spirit, in every sense, out there to combat those who would control our every move. Brit blogger Raedwald muses on anti- drinking activists who would not allow us to teach our children to drink sanely (Peculiar? Odious? Would that not have jailed Libby and I for many joyous …
Penn Gun Proposal
This seems to be a big week for nanny- state regs. From Hunting Life: “This misguided proposal would require every gun in Pennsylvania to be registered with the state, and each firearm would have to be re-registered annually. The registration would cost law-abiding gun owners $10 per gun each year. Of course, criminals won’t pay …
More AR Follies
The California compulsory spay- neuter bill should be on everybody’s radar. Blue Dog State puts it pungently, with some not- so- fantastic scenarios: “Enforcement of the King of the Nanny-Staters Lloyd Levine’s modest proposal to castrate every pet dog and cat in the state of California was left up to local enforcement personnel. “Things might …
Sand Creek and Glorieta Pass
The LA Times carries the story of the dedication of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in southeastern Colorado. It tells of the sad story of how Col. John Chivington and his regiment, the First Colorado Volunteers, attacked a peaceful and unprepared village of Cheyenne and Arapahoe under Chief Black Kettle on November 29, …
Bee Crisis
.. and a little barking lunacy just for fun. As anyone environmentally concerned knows, domestic honeybees are disappearing. Here is a detailed and balanced view of the problem. While I agree that Africanized bees– present here– are overhyped as a danger (and may well be a source of mite- resistant genes) the native pollinators may …
Ignorance
I hate to dwell on this kind of thing but… From the LAT: “One, of course, is the change in the potency of weaponry. Before 1966, the best weapons available to most would-be killers were pistols, rifles, maybe a shotgun. That is no longer the case; today, semiautomatics are all too easily accessible.” The (semiautomatic) …
Virginia: A Few Links
California (of course?) once again considers disarming its citizens. As Reid says, “you can have all the guns you want but no ammo”. Yale goes further. Shakespeare with nerf bats and boffers? Maybe they can do an adaptation of the Maltese Falcon with squirt guns… The always thoughtful Steve Browne provides sensible and serious advice, …
Guest Post: Dr John on Cal Spay- Neuter
John Burchard writes: There are many valid reasons for opposing California AB 1634. Perhaps the mostimportant are these: 1) It won’t work. Mandatory s/n does not reduce shelter or euthanasia numbers.On the contrary, it makes them worse. It has been tried in many jurisdictions,always with the same effect: an *increase* in shelter intake and euthanasianumbers, …
Decline and Fall (with Hawks & Pigeons!)
Rebecca sends this item from England. It needs deconstructing. All emphasis mine… “The mechanical birds — called “Robops” — have been placed on rooftop locations around the British city of Liverpool and will flap their wings and squawk loudly to scare the problem pigeons away.” Yeah, that’s what falcons do.. “The initiative was launched to …