CHANGE: Fourth Largest U.S. Gunmaker Is Sold Out of Guns.
UPDATE: Reader Louis Nettles notices the Obama-age irony: “While the Volt production line is shut down for lack of orders a gun company shuts down taking orders because production can’t keep up with demand.”
“GUN PERMITS SURGE, BUT NOT VIOLENCE,” the Detroit News reports.
“That’s really the surprise,” said Wayne County Sheriff Robert Ficano. “There are no altercations or incidents I’ve seen that are at all attributable to the law change. We thought there might be some.”
That, of course, has been the story everywhere that liberalized handgun-carry laws have been enacted. And yet opponents of such laws continue to claim that the streets will run with blood.
And they still do.
FRIDAY NIGHT DOCUMENT DUMP: Documents: White House was all-hands-on-deck as Solyndra collapse neared. “Several key White House offices were involved with the Obama administration’s messaging plans and other preparations as the collapse of the taxpayer-backed solar company Solyndra was imminent, newly released documents show. The latest White House documents delivered to House Republicans on Friday again highlight the extent to which senior administration officials braced for the fallout as Solyndra – a company President Obama had personally visited – was about to go under.”
AT AMAZON, COUPONS GALORE.
WELCOME TO OBAMAVILLE.
THE ALGAE THAT DIDN’T BARK: New York Times: U.S. Inches Toward Energy Independence. As reader Michael Costello writes: “Not one word about algae, windmills or solar panels.”
UPDATE: Prof. Stephen Clark writes:
Great article. Hope you savored these parts:
“The Bush administration worked from the start on finding ways to unlock the nation’s energy reserves and reverse decades of declining output, with Mr. Cheney leading a White House energy task force that met in secret with top oil executives.”
Remember the caterwauling about Cheney’s “secret meetings” with oil industry executives? Now we know what it was about: plotting a path toward energy independence. The horror!
“The Bush administration also opened large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico and the waters off Alaska to exploration, granting lease deals that required companies to pay only a tiny share of their profits to the government.
“These measures primed the pump for the burst in drilling that began once oil prices started rising sharply in 2005 and 2006.”
What? They managed to help transform an industry without lending anyone a gazillion dollars of taxpayer money? Who knew?
Heh. Indeed.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Clark Taylor writes:
Adding onto Dr. Clark’s comments about the irony of Cheney’s secret meetings allowing for drilling to expand…
I keep seeing advertisements from Obama about how great it is that oil production started going up once he was in office. This means, the central advertisement for keeping Obama in office right now is … Cheney’s secret meetings with oil executives causing the economy to grow! Heh.
To preserve Dick Cheney’s legacy — Vote Obama!
Plus this reader email on gas prices:
If you choose to publish this, please do it anonymously.
I work for a company that does work for major refiners doing capital expansions. Something to keep in mind when we talk about gas prices is how much it costs refiners to get their facilities to make fuels compliant with EPA mandates. I am proud of the work we do to remove benzene from gasoline or sulfur from deisel, but it is expensive work. The cost gets handed right back to customers at the pump. If it is any consolation, you are getting a better quality product in terms of health and environment than you were when you were paying $1.50 a gallon.
I think I’d go for the buck-and-a-half gas. But it’s an important point that refining capacity matters as much as crude oil production.
I’D GO WITH “SLEAZEBALL” MYSELF, BUT WHATEVER: Is John Edwards A Sex Addict? More interesting to me is how the press actively covered up for him for so long. Keep rockin’!
UPDATE: Related: Ed Driscoll: The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Memory Hole.
ANGRY SANTORUM: I never said I’d vote for Obama over Romney! Sure sounded that way to me. But Stacy McCain’s got his back.
AT AMAZON, New HDTVs for 2012.
ROBOGATE UPDATE: Top Republican says ‘Democrat front group’ is orchestrating illegal Rush Limbaugh robocalls.
The automated calls are illegal because they do not state who they are from (there is no known group called The Women of the 99 Percent) or provide a callback number, as required under the US Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.
‘It is typical that a Democrat front group like this thumbs their noses at the same federal campaign finance laws they like to tout in their own campaign literature,’ Brady said.
He added that it was ‘no coincidence’ that the districts receiving the calls were all on ‘the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) hit list’, he demanding an immediate inquiry.
Republican strategists view the calls are part of a concerted effort by Democrats, from President Barack Obama down, to shift the focus of November’s elections away from the sputtering economy and onto what the Left has branded ‘the Republican war on women’.
Separately, a number of voters have complained to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the calls, requesting that the Obama administration initiate a federal investigation.
Federal and state investigators have the power to subpoena records from telephone companies, allowing them to follow the money to the source of the illegal calls.
Follow the money, indeed.
21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Can I Have A Real Relationship With MY FWB?
It’s worked for some InstaPundit readers: “My wife and I just read the abstract on booty calls and had a good chuckle. We were each others’ booty call for 7 years. We got married in Costa Rica on February 26 and are celebrating with a party tomorrow, not as extravagant as a Clinton wedding but a nice party none the less. In our humble opinion, our booty call made for a solid foundation for a great relationship.”
Kind of depends on the people and their expectations, though.
UPDATE: Another reader emails:
Count me in the club of someone who married his friend with benefits. And it definitely made for a stronger marriage, as my wife is also my best friend.
We now refer to that time as “when we were dating but for some reason didn’t admit it.”
Well, there you are.
LANDMARK LEGAL FOUNDATION asks IRS Inspector General to investigate Tea Party harassment. (PDF link).
DATA-MINING the McDonald’s menu.
YOU’RE AN ENGINEER? You’re hired!
Upon finishing a master’s in electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech in December 2011, Gaurang Narvekar, 25, had three job offers in hand. Environmental engineer Jade Mitchell-Blackwood went immediately to work for the Environmental Protection Agency after finishing a doctorate at Drexel University in August 2010. Even Todd Williams, of Flushing, Mich., a mechanical design engineer in the auto industry who lost his job during the doldrums of 2008, is back to work at an auto supply firm outside Detroit.
At its worst in September 2009, the unemployment rate for engineers reached 6.4 percent, versus nearly 10 percent for all occupations. By the middle of last year, it had dropped to under 2 percent.
Not everyone can work in STEM, of course, but worth noting.
UPDATE: A contrary report from reader A.H.:
While my situation is anecdotal this was not my experience after graduating with an Electrical Engineering Degree. I graduated last year 2011 in May. I applied to over 230 job openings was interviewed for 5, received 3 offers only two of which were apparently serious. I was not applying to any particular geographic area I just wanted to get to work. I wasn’t hired until November. I was a good student with an above 3.2 average out of 4. I had two years of applicable Engineering Co-Op experience as well as being a Military Veteran. I know students who graduated at the same time who are still looking for work and they had higher GPA’s than I. Again anecdotal, those who can’t find jobs are white males, such as myself, but all of the females, minorities and foreigners have found employment that I knew. I don’t know how much H1-B’s are playing a role but that term is popping up with frequency lately especially among the engineers who can’t find jobs or have been laid off recently. If you decide to publish please use initials.
On the other hand, reader Dwayne Kearns writes:
I can absolutely confirm that STEM jobs are hot. I run a office across from Iowa State University for a small consulting company that employs Computer Science and Software Engineering undergrad students part time while they are in school. Our students work 20 hours a week during the school year and 40 hours a week over summer break for various clients in the Midwest. I have had 32 students graduate while working for me over the last 3 years and everyone of them has been hired at least 3 months before they graduated. They are going to companies like Thomson-Reuters, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and HP. Starting salaries range from the mid 60s with companies in the Midwest and to the low 90s for the ones going to the Left Coast. These kids are recruited heavily and even the most socially awkward student can with little effort manage multiple offers.
And reader Peter Kalogiannis emails:
As a regular reader of your site, I appreciate your regularly talking about the importance of STEM education and showing that engineering doesn’t have to be boring.
I have to say I have one of the coolest jobs around as an engineer working at Scaled Composites, and hopefully I can somehow help convince kids that this is not only a good career path, but a great way to live your life.
I’ve attached probably my favorite picture of the program, taken at the Edwards Air Force base air show, where I had the opportunity to copilot WhiteKnightTwo as part of the show (that’s me in the middle) . By far the most rewarding part of the show was talking with the excited kids (of all ages) about what we do.
In a shameless plug, Scaled Composites is currently looking to hire a significant number of engineers of all experience levels.
I’d think a lot of people would want those jobs. Especially after seeing this pic:
THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS (CONT’D): Inspector General: IRS 21%-26% Error Rate Results in $14-$17 Billion/Year in Erroneous EITC Payments.
UPDATE: Reader Dustin James writes: “Glenn, just saw your link to Paul’s post on erroneous tax refunds. My daughter filed for her refund electronically about three weeks ago and was told a return with her SS# had already been filed. She now has to deal with the Social Security Administration and mail her return in via snail mail. Then a story comes out in the Houston Chronicle. Tax refund fraud via electronic returns is a big deal, the next big fraud.”
POPULAR MECHANICS: The Ultimate Survival Preparedness Kit for Your Car.
I had a post on this topic a while back. Also here.
TOM MAGUIRE: Great Insights From Statistical Analysis.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Senator Seeks Support for Bill to Allow Discharge of Private Student Loan Debt in Bankruptcy. “The student debt crisis in this country is largely ignored by Congress.”
I’ve made a related proposal myself. “Student loans, if they are to continue, should be made dischargeable in bankruptcy after five years — but with the school that received the money on the hook for all or part of the unpaid balance.”
ARE SOLAR PANELS FOR DATA CENTERS a waste of money? I think it’s marketing/PR money they’re spending on those.
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