In the Santa Barbara killings, the media tries to avoid discussing murders committed with anything other than guns

On February 23, 2001, David Attias, a University of California-Santa Barbara freshman, "plowed his turbo-charged Saab into a group of young adults in the same Isla Vista neighborhood of the coastal community, killing four and permanently injuring another before climbing atop the car and declaring himself 'the Angel of Death.' Charged with murder, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a state mental institution. He was released...

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Britain's National Ballistics Intelligence Service/BBC claims anyone attempting to fire a 3D printed plastic gun would probably maim or even kill themselves,misleading

This BBC story is quite misleading.  Note that it is only at the very end of their video that they concede that it is indeed possible to use a 3D printed plastic gun.  From the BBC:Police are warning technology enthusiasts not to attempt to use 3D printers to make plastic guns, because each time they have been tested the weapons have exploded.Relatively cheap plastic printed guns have been fired successfully in the United States.Scientists in the UK say without additional expertise and the right type of ammunition, anyone attempting to...

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Continued media misinformation on gun-free zones at restaurants? Have Sonic and Chili’s really banned customers from bring firearms into the restaurants?

The problem with these stories (such as ones I read at MSNBC, IBTimes, or other places) is that they don't make it clear whether the stores will actually post that people aren't allowed to carry in their restaurants.  The stories seem more aimed at pushing gun control than actually informing readers.The changes at Starbucks, Jack in the Box, Chipotle, Wendy's, and Applebee's have changed in practice.  The same may be here too, but from the way the stories are written you would never know.However, I will say that I actually...

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"Wide support for 'gun violence restraining orders'"

First, let me say that it isn't obvious how accurate this poll is for one simple reason: it was done right after a tragic attack (of course, the poll doesn't mention that half the victims were stabbed to death or that most of the injuries were due to the car that the killer was driving).  When you do a poll right after an attack it shows you about the worst numbers that you can show on the gun control front.  YouGov has a poll showing...

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Seriously? Father faced criminal penalties for having a disobedient son walk an entire mile home

Is it really a horrible punishment to make a son who is misbehaving have to walk for an entire 15 to 20 minutes?  How can that be so horrible?  Are children considered by the courts to be so sensitive that they can't walk for that long of a period of time?  From Fox News:A judge sentenced a Hawaii man to one year of probation and a $200 fine for making his son walk a mile home from school as a form of discipline.Judge Kathleen Watanabe called the punishment "old-school" and no longer appropriate, the Garden Island newspaper...

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Media Matters gets things wrong again: "Gun Researcher John Lott Relies On Falsehoods To Downplay Gun Violence Threat To Women"

Media Matters defense of the recent Moms Demand Action is available here.On May 24th, Shannon Watts, the president of Moms Demand Action, put out a tweet concerning violence against women in the US compared to other countries.  The impression surely created was that the US is the worst country in the world in terms of violence against women.  On two separate times I tweeted her back to ask her where she got the data for this claim...

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House Democrats consider pushing gun control this year

Apparently Democrats think that this is a good issue to force in an election year.  From Politico:House Democrats are considering attaching an amendment to an appropriations bill that would force stricter background checks for gun purchases.Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer said top Democrats are in “discussions” on an amendment but have not decided what the language would say specifically.He said the amendment would likely be an effort to strike the “prohibition on requiring gun sellers to report on multiple sales on assault-type weapons.” . ....

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Economy shrinks by 1 percent in First Quarter

Pretty amazingly bad news today.The economy in the U.S. contracted for the first time in three years from January through March as companies added to inventories at a slower pace and curtailed investment. Gross domestic product fell at a 1 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, a bigger decline than projected, after a previously reported 0.1 percent gain, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The last time the economy...

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Newest piece at National Review Online: "Bloomberg’s Bogus Gun-Control Numbers"

My newest piece starts this way:Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group Moms Demand Action couldn’t let the tragedy in Santa Barbara pass without interjecting more false information into the gun-control debate. Given the Santa Barbara killer’s hatred of women (though four of the six victims were men), it is quite understandable that the topic of violence against women has been raised. Moms Demand Action tried fueling the fire with the claim that “84% of female firearm homicides in 25 countries are in US.” It is hard to see how Moms...

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Newest Fox News piece: Memo to gun-control advocates: Even Elliot Rodger believed guns would have deterred him

The newest Fox News piece starts this way:How can we prevent mass murderers? Elliot Rodger, the 22-year-old who killed six innocent people this past Friday in California, is causing everyone to ask that question, yet again.Rodger spent over a year and a half meticulously planning his attack. His 141-page “manifesto” makes it clear that he feared someone with a gun could stop him before he was able to kill a lot of people. Consider his discussion about where he thought the best place to attack people was: “Another option was Deltopia,...

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This is getting very embarrassing: After first not responding to the Financial Times' questions, Thomas Piketty now engages in name calling.

I have written about Piketty's letter to the Financial Times about the mistakes in his book.  Now Piketty has gone from not answering the Financial Times' questions to name calling.  You know that Piketty is in a lot of trouble.  From The Guardian:In an interview with the Agence France-Presse news agency, the economist said: "The FT is being ridiculous because all of its contemporaries recognise that the biggest fortunes have grown faster."While the available data was imperfect, it did not undermine his central argument about widening...

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Do you want an idea of how difficult it is to use mental health screening to figure out who is going to engage in these mass public shootings?

If you are interested in some numbers on how hard it is to accurately screen out those who are a real danger to others, check out this li...

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Do mentally ill, multiple victim killers purposefully pick targets where victims are most vulnerable?: The case of Elliot Rodger

For gun control advocates who actually read the Elliot Rodger’s manifesto, they will be in for some real surprises.  There appears to be real evidence that he picked the place to attack precisely because he didn't think that the victims would be defended. &nb...

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My review of Piketty's book at Amazon

For those interested, here is the review that I posted on Piketty's book "Capital in the Twenty-First Centur...

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Piketty's incredibly weak response to the Financial Times finding of errors, Piketty doesn't directly address any of the problems

The Financial Times did a devastating job pointing to errors in Piketty's new book (I had an initial discussion available here).  Now Piketty has published a response letter in the FT available here.  If I were to summarize Piketty's response: it is a nonresponse and he doesn't deal directly with any of the problems raised.On the corrected European data not showing an increase inequality since 1970, the problems were data not matching the...

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The push for gun control after the Santa Barbara attack

As usual, the media news stories got fundamental facts wrong here.  Of particular interest, half the people killed here were stabbed to death.  Also, you won't hear this much in the news, the magazines that the killer used were also apparently limited to holding no more than 10 rounds (note that the Sheriff said that all the magazines were legal under California law).  Obviously neither point fits the gun control check list. In addition, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's office had interviewed the killer before the attack after a report...

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New Breitbart article on the Crime Prevention Research Center

From the Breitbart article by Kristin Tate:Breitbart News previously reported that economist John Lott will establish the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), an initiative to produce studies focused on the relationship between firearms and crime. Lott is largely funding CPRC with donations from individuals who support his mission. Just one month after launching CPRC's campaign on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo, Lott has already exceeded $30,000 in donations. The financial success...

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In push for gun control, Bloomberg's Moms Demand Action puts out false numbers on violence against women

The Crime Prevention Research Center has information on new false claims that Bloomberg's Moms Demand Action have put out on gun violence against women.  The information is available he...

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Another mass killer who probably supported gun control

I have previously written about Dylan Klebold, Karl Pierson, and Chris Dorner's support for gun control.  Now as AWR Hawkins notes, Elliot Rodger, who killed six people in Santa Barbara, came from a family of strong gun control advocat...

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Democrats pushing for $60 million to "study" gun violence

Does anyone really believe that the government can keep politics out of the research that it funds on controversial issues?  From the Washington Times:Democrats in the House and Senate are pushing to spend $60 million for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to research gun violence, rekindling a debate over whether political agendas taint these taxpayer-funded studies.The legislation, introduced by Sen. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, New York Democrat, would provide $10...

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Six people killed, seven wounded in deadly multiple victim public Santa Barbara shooting/stabbing spree

UPDATE: As usual, the initial media news stories got fundamental facts wrong here.  Of particular interest, is that half the people killed here were stabbed to death.  From Fox News:A crazed gunman went on a shooting rampage in a popular Santa Barbara student enclave, killing six people and injuring seven others before being found dead in his car, in what authorities said was a “premeditated mass murder.”Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said early Saturday the person who carried out "this atrocity" was "severely mentally disturbed."Fox...

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A sensible policy on open carry of long guns

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:Don’t carry long guns into Texas businesses.That was the message that gun-rights groups delivered Thursday to tens of thousands of supporters statewide through an open letter released to the media.If that’s not enough incentive, officials remind Texans that long guns aren’t allowed in businesses that sell alcoholic drinks. Any business in violation could lose its permit to sell drinks, and any person who violates the law faces criminal trespassing charges, according to state officials.More than anything, leaders...

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Jews apparently targeted in shooting at Brussels Jewish Museum: three dead, one seriously wounded

From AFP:Three people were killed and one badly injured in a shoot-out Saturday near the Jewish Museum in Brussels city centre, Belga news agency said, quoting firefighters' emergency services."I am shocked by the murders committed at the Jewish museum, I am thinking of the victims I saw there and their families," Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Twitter. . ....

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The coming massive health insurance bailout

There is a reason why the Obama administration has pushed back the second-year start of enrollment to Nov. 15, 2014, from Oct. 15.  From Fox NewsBut remember this news story from last October where CNN reported that the Obama Administration warned insurance companies not to discuss Obamacare problems.DREW GRIFFIN: “Anderson, what's going on is behind the scenes attempt by the White House to at least keep insurers from publicly criticizing what is happening under this Affordable Care Act rollout. Basically if you speak out, if you are quoted,...

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Six of the eight federal judges who have struck down state bans on homosexual marriage were Democrats

From Fox News:. . . In Pennsylvania's case, the judge who threw out the ban was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush. Only one other judge -- of the eight who have ruled against gay marriage bans since the DOMA decision -- is Republican-appointed. The other is Bernard Friedman, a U.S. District Court judge in Michigan who struck down that state's gay marriage ban in March, though the decision is being appealed. Friedman was appointed by Ronald Reagan. Three of the judges -- in Oregon, Virginia and Utah -- were appointed by...

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Piketty's book contained data errors that completely drove his results

UPDATE: Piketty is being accused of deliberately lying about his data to get the results that he wants.Piketty altered U.K. data to show that wealth distribution there is worse off than it appears to be. Piketty says the share of income going to the top 10% never fell lower than 60%, and since the end of the 1970s has returned to 70%, a level not seen in 70 years.But the data Piketty himself cites shows the top 10% share of wealth is no...

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With all the corruption and unnecessary deaths in the Veterans Administration hospitals, it is interesting to see who has touted it as the big success story

With even the Obama administration admitting that 27 veterans have died because of the waiting list scam, Democrats even having a hard time with the VA now.  But a few years ago, while these problems were festering, liberals were pointing to the VA as the example that we should all follow.  As to the Obama administration's explanation On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” NBC News chief Pentagon reporter Jim Miklaszewski claimed, “You have...

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Congressionally Redistricting in Democratically Controlled Maryland

Computers sure are making it a lot easier to do fancier Gerrymandering.  From a data archive by Lewis, DeVine, Pritcher, and Martis at UCLA. &nb...

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Front door sign banning guns apparently didn't stop three armed robbers from taking their guns into this restaurant

The problem isn't just that the criminals ignored the crime, the problem is that it probably created an incentive for them to pick that place to rob.  Knowing that the victims are defenseless makes it more attractive for criminals to pick that as their target.  From ABC TV Channel 11 in Durham, North Carolina:Police are searching for three suspects involved in an armed robbery at Durham's newly-opened barbecue restaurant, The Pit,...

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North Carolina homeowner shots one of four intruders who broke into his home (at least one intruder was armed)

Yet another crime where multiple intruders broke into a home.  From Time Warner Cable News in Charlotte, North Carolina:Authorities got the call Tuesday morning around 8:40 a.m. from Sam Hall Road. They say the unidentified homeowner heard a noise from his back window."And he heard the noise cutting the screen on the window. He got up and got his gun," said Sheriff Brindell Wilkins.The homeowner spotted Rodney Hanks, 20, wearing a hood and holding a gun and a knife. Hanks was shot once in the face. Three other suspects were with Hanks but...

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Politico poll shows "mounting danger for Democrats"

The distribution of these voters across states is pretty important, but if this survey is remotely accurate, Democrats are in for a very rough election year.  I guess that we will soon see if the Democrats start freaking o...

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On Washington DC's WMAL: Chipotle asked its customers to stop bringing guns to its restaurants, but has anything actually changed?

My interview with Larry O'Connor about Chipotle's decision to no longer "welcome" guns in its stores (WMAL from 5:37 to 5:45 PM on May 20th audio available her...

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So what caused crime rates to go up in 2012 in Chicago?: An extended discussion on the Dennis Miller Radio Show

The main event: Dennis was nice enough to have both the police officer and myself to discuss the issue more fully on Friday, May 16th from 12:33 to 1:00 PM, audio here.  The second half the interview was on the general issue of why more guns mean less crime.The backgroundThe first round: On Wednesday, May 14th, an individual who identified himself as a cop from Chicago called into the Dennis Miller Show during the first hour and indicated that he strongly disagreed with one of the points that John Lott had raised on Dennis' show on Wednesday,...

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My newest piece at National Review Online: "A Reply to The Atlantic on the Death Penalty"

My newest piece at National Review Online's The Corner replying to a piece by Andrew Cohen at the Atlantic starts this way:Death-penalty opponents are engaging in a lot of hyperbole. As an example, in the Atlantic this past Thursday, Andrew Cohen went after what I have written on the death penalty at National Review Online and in my book Freedomnomics, pushing the claim that “no reliable study by credible researchers has ever found any deterrent effect” from the death penalty. He also gets into the issue of race and quotes John H. Blume, a...

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"Conservative Filmmaker D’Souza Pleads Guilty to Election-Law Charges"

As I noted at the end of April, the evidence against Dinesh is very strong.  I thought that if he went to trial he would very likely be found guilty.  I don't approve of these campaign finance laws, but I am not surprised that he plead guilty to these violations.  From the WSJ:. . . Mr. D’Souza could face 10 to 16 months in prison and a fine of $250,000 under the terms of his plea deal.  He could also lose the right to vote. U.S. District Judge Richard M.  Berman, who will determine his punishment, set...

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