Inhofe Wants to Bomb N. Korea, Another Corruption Scandal Hits New York, Idaho Lawmakers Restrict Drones: P.M. Links

• Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is
  buying the fear North Korea is trying to sell us and wants to
  launch a
  pre-emptive strike on the country. British Prime Minister
  
  David Cameron is also concerned the nuclear threat to the West
  is real.


• Another day, another political scandal in New York. A state
  lawmaker who represents the Bronx was arrested for
  taking bribes in order help some developer buddies.


• Another day, another solar power industry failure. Former
  employees of a recently shuttered (and subsidized) solar plant in
  Pennsylvania are trying to force the company into
  bankruptcy proceedings for its failure to pay their
  severances.


• Idaho lawmakers have signed off on legislation to require
  police to
  get warrants to use drones for surveillance, except in
  emergencies.


• Google appears to be challenging one of the
  National Security Letters that are used to demand the company
  hand over private data about users.


• The United States is offering
  a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture and
  conviction of brutal warlord Joseph Kony.

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Inhofe Wants to Bomb N. Korea, Another Corruption Scandal Hits New York, Idaho Lawmakers Restrict Drones: P.M. Links

• Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is
  buying the fear North Korea is trying to sell us and wants to
  launch a
  pre-emptive strike on the country. British Prime Minister
  
  David Cameron is also concerned the nuclear threat to the West
  is real.


• Another day, another political scandal in New York. A state
  lawmaker who represents the Bronx was arrested for
  taking bribes in order help some developer buddies.


• Another day, another solar power industry failure. Former
  employees of a recently shuttered (and subsidized) solar plant in
  Pennsylvania are trying to force the company into
  bankruptcy proceedings for its failure to pay their
  severances.


• Idaho lawmakers have signed off on legislation to require
  police to
  get warrants to use drones for surveillance, except in
  emergencies.


• Google appears to be challenging one of the
  National Security Letters that are used to demand the company
  hand over private data about users.


• The United States is offering
  a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture and
  conviction of brutal warlord Joseph Kony.

Have a news tip for us? Send it to: 24_7@reason.com.

Follow Reason 24/7 on Twitter: @reason247

Follow us on Facebook
and Twitter,
and don’t forget to sign
up for Reason’s daily updates for more
content

Read More

Rand Paul Points Out Hypocrisy of Rich and Powerful People with Armed Guards Trying to Restrict Gun Ownership for the Rest of Us

Dianne Feinstein’s ill-fated assault weapons ban

included an exemption for government officials, law enforcement
and former law enforcement. Few (if any) gun control advocates
support getting guns out of the hand of government, and no anti-gun
celebrity that I know of has publicly eschewed armed guards. Gun
control laws are almost always discriminatory; in New Jersey, where
I live, a grocery store can hire an armed guard who can open-carry
to protect the store, but I’m not allowed to open-carry to protect
my family at the store, or anywhere else for that matter. These
kind of laws arguably transform the right to bear arms into a
privilege.  Those who advocate gun control but believe in a

well-armed government (most of them) and those who push to
restrict private gun ownership while enjoying private armed
security themselves (like
Jim Carrey or
Piers Morgan) are promoting a profoundly unequal system, one
that subordinates the autonomy and rights of the people in favor of
the whims of an elite.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul hit the nail on the head last night
on Fox News’ Hannity show.
Via Politico:

Sen. Rand Paul says there’s “a certain amount of hypocrisy” that
the same Hollywood celebrities and prominent politicians —
including President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg — who are calling for gun control are also benefiting
from armed protection themselves.

“I don’t begrudge any famous person like Mayor Bloomberg, or the
president or the president’s family for having protection — I think
they all should. There’s enough crazy people out there that would
attack on the right or the left. But I think when you are being
protected by people who have weapons by responsible people, I can’t
see why you would be opposed to that for other people,” Paul, a
Kentucky Republican, said Thursday on Fox News’s “Hannity” to
guest-host Eric Bolling.

He continued: “Many rich Hollywood celebrities have armed guards
with them at all times and many regular people who live in a poor
neighborhood, who have a business in a poor neighborhood and a
neighborhood that may have higher crime — those people have to
suffer the vicissitudes of violent crime without protection
sometimes because of gun control laws. So, yes, I think there is a
certain amount of hypocrisy.”

Opposing for other people what you enjoy yourself is elitism and
anathema to American principles of equality under the law,
something the left tries at least to pay lip service to on other
issues.

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