1 So when Do I get an interview(just kidding) Being a Lawyer for Bush in a battleground state, I thought I would be in High demand for interviews. OH well. Lets hope we all do not see me on Fox News at 3:00 AM on Nov 3rd in front of the Lackawanna county courthouse in PA stating that "all we want is a fair legal count".... God HELP US ALL!

2 Well, if Publicola (at 33) is one of your older readers, call me Methuselah at 37. Great interview -- serious and thoughtful. You haven't changed my mind one bit about guns, mind you, but you have entertained me.

3 My God, my mental image of Publicola has just been wrecked. Somehow it never crossed my mind that I'm older than him (only by a year, though). Publicola, I really wish I could get you and Tung Yin into a discussion of gun control and individual rights during your joint guest-blogging stint. (To see why, click here.) Finally, let me make this perfectly clear for the record: I have no intention of finding honest work. But I'd also point out that of the 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention and produced the greatest political document in the history of mankind, 64% were lawyers or had legal training. (That's according to a Google search I just ran. I once counted them up for myself, and I think I came up with a similar number.) Of course, Publicola's response will no doubt be that the other 36% did pretty good work, considering all the damned lawyers they had to deal with . . .

4 Hey, an interview via IM (I assume)! Nifty idea. I originally had Publicola pegged as another of us old farts. He doesn't exactly write like a young'n, you know. Someday, I'll just have to meet him.

5 Well, Hugo, if I'm pushing 39 in a month, who's older than Methuselah? One thing that bugged me: "The gist of it is they feel the war on Iraq was unwise & unconstitutional" Article I, Section 8: To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. Public Law 93-148 93rd Congress, H. J. Res. 542 November 7, 1973 (aka War Powers Resolution) stated: The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces. and added SEC. 8. (a) Authority to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations wherein involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances shall not be inferred-- (1) from any provision of law (whether or not in effect before the date of the enactment of this joint resolution), including any provision contained in any appropriation Act, unless such provision specifically authorizes the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into such situations and stating that it is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of this joint resolution; The Public law (Iraq War Resolution) approved 77-23 in the Senate and 296-133 in the House stated: SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution. Unwise is often left to history (remember Reconstruction in the Civil War went 12 years - we didn't just all get along after Appomattox - and many would argue still don't 100+ years later)..but until someone challenges the constitutionality of the WP Resolution, throwing around "unconstitutional" is somewhat shaky.. And anyone who's been in parts of the Middle East knows that any kind of gun control laws in most of those countries is doomed to fail.. I'm not quite as hardcore as Publicola is, but he's right about the AWB. If you actually asked someone what the bill actually did, you tended to get either a blank look or "banned assualt weapons" answer. If you drilled one level down to ask if the rationale behind a bill that banned one rifle but not another rifle that looked and performed (the lethality)exactly the same except for a cosmetic feature such as a "grip that protrudes conspicuously" made sense, you'd find the conversation didn't tend to go much further. It's ironic that some feel sexual education in school serves a useful purpose to prevent the negative or unintended consequences of early sexual activity, but don't believe the same is true for firearms.

6 -I'm not sure you were actually interviewing the real Publicola. After the 3rd response with no mention of the Garand, I realized something was amiss and quit reading.

7 I completely agree with Publicola, but I'm going to vote for Bush anyway. The only alternative to the GOP that I know of are the Libertarian folks, but I can't vote for Badnarik due to his almost Nader-esque views on Iraq and the War on Terror. I plan on getting an AR-15 someday, and I don't want those damned Leftist authoritarians to ban them in the near future. People should realize that giving the government a monopoly on firearms possession is a bad thing. If there is ever a riot in your city, then you are probably going to need a weapon to deter hordes of looters during the anarchy since the limited number of local cops are probably going to be busy performing riot control elsewhere instead of helping you. I once heard that the founding fathers gave us the second amendment so that we could overthrow or rebel against the government if it ever became tyrannical. I would love to see the Left try to explain why disarming the Jews in Germany before the Holocaust was a good thing. The Left should also realize that Ghandi- or MLK-styled peaceful protests don't always work to change government policies. They should ask the Chinese in 1989...... http://www.allposters.com/IMAGES/153/PP0893.jpg or the Iraqis a couple years ago. BTW, the M-1 Garand rules. One reason we kicked so much Nazi ass was because of its advantageous semi-automatic capability. The poor Nazis were stuck with near-obsolete bolt-action rifles. heheheh

8 Enjoyed your interview of Publicola very much. The insight is very interesting. I don't keep up with the blogs I enjoy enough. I found your link thru Pub. Hey I'm going to be 60 soon! And I enjopy you guys very much. I have to think I'm somewhat of an absolutist too, as I read Publicola. Thanks for the interview.