Quote of the Indeterminate Time Interval – Lyle

Towards the tail end of his thoughts on the Gunwalker scandal, Lyle said,

When restrictions on freedom produce disastrous results, freedom is to blame and the solution is more restrictions.

This doesn’t just apply to guns; nearly any legislation created “for the children” is the same way. That’s when liberty has to be defended most vigorously, even though popular opinion might sway against it.

The Cape of Thirty Years (三十路岬)

Lucky Star, the slice-of-life anime following the wacky hijinks of a group of high school girls, was popular with otaku for various reasons.

The main character, Konata, was just as much of a fan of games and anime as the show’s target audience, the character designs are all suitably moe, and instead of being ashamed of her hobby, Konata shares it unabashedly.

There’s no overarching story; the series is based on the 4-panel strips by Kagami Yoshimizu (serialized in the gaming magazine Comptiq). Unlike Kiyohiko Azuma’s Azumanga Daioh, the focus is on the humor you get when an unrepentant video game and anime nerd hangs out with (relatively) normal friends, instead of just the plain old nonsense high school girls get up to.

Each episode had a different ending theme; the first half of the series had each of the four main characters singing a theme song from a movie, TV drama, or anime in a karaoke box; for one episode, the show’s very own idol, Akira Kogami (not one of the group of friends, but instead host of the meta-show, Lucky Channel, Lucky Star’s internet radio program) sings “The Cape of Thirty Years,” an enka ballad about a 30 year-old woman contemplating throwing herself off a cape into the sea after being abandoned by her lover (lyrics translation here).

Enka truly is the country music of Japan.

That’s not a plan, that’s a disaster!

Via Uncle, the “plan” for Operation Fast and Furious was:

Allowing loads of weapons that we knew to be destined for criminals, this was the plan. It was so mandated.

Then you’ve got the usual suspects declaring that this proves that we need stronger laws; the fact that the ATF was flouting the law doesn’t matter a whit to them!

Unfortunately, the interim head of the ATF won’t be held accountable yet; he has declined to testify.

If the idea for “Gunwalker” really originated at the “highest levels” of ATF and DOJ leadership, then I see subpoenas in the future for ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson and Attorney General Eric Holder.

For those who say that we oughtn’t worry about the UN Small Arms Treaty

Because the likelihood of ratification is so low, I’ve got one question for you.

If we don’t need a declaration of war in Libya because the UN says it’s okay, then in what other cases is it okay to allow the UN to override the Constitution?