RIP

William F. Buckley, Jr. has died.

Bill Buckley was a true conservative, eschewing right-wing orthodoxy on issues like marijuana decriminalization and the Iraq War when his principles (themselves strongly libertarian, though grounded by deep Catholic faith) demanded dissent. He is most known, of course, for dissenting against the liberal establishment and had been performing that service for over fifty years. I cannot express here what his life meant to this country.

Requiescat in pace.

You decide

Some awesome-rama from Obama:

Problematic:

Barack Obama said Friday that the country must do "whatever it takes" to eradicate gun violence following a campus shooting in his home state, but he believes in an individual's right to bear arms.

Backpedal a little:

The senator, a former constitutional law instructor, said some scholars argue the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees gun ownerships only to militias, but he believes it grants individual gun rights.

"I think there is an individual right to bear arms, but it's subject to commonsense regulation" like background checks, he said during a news conference.

Dive headfirst into contradiction:

Although Obama supports gun control, while campaigning in gun-friendly Idaho earlier this month, he said he does not intend to take away people's guns.

At his news conference, he voiced support for the District of Columbia's ban on handguns, which is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court next month.

"The notion that somehow local jurisdictions can't initiate gun safety laws to deal with gang bangers and random shootings on the street isn't born out by our Constitution," Obama said.

Shorter version: "I believe in individual gun rights, but possession can be completely banned." Is he a liar, or just crazy?