Free Republic

WASHINGTON, July 23 - During his campaign for the presidency in 2000, George W. Bush took a dramatic step: a vow to support the ban on assault weapons, enacted in 1994 for a 10-year period. "It makes no sense for assault weapons to be around our society," Mr. Bush declared. Since then, the president's advisers have repeatedly affirmed his support for the ban, a position that has helped him appeal to moderate voters and demonstrate independence from the powerful gun lobby. But in the middle of a presidential election year, and with only five working days left in Congress before...

ALT="Support our Advertisers! Click Here!" BORDER="0"> href="http://www.reason.com/subscribe.html"> src="http://www.reason.com/ads/rsubadx.gif" alt="Subscribe to Reason" border="0">     Reason DailyRecent stories A Glorious Sunset (7/15) Ten Reasons to Fire George W. Bush (7/13) Lights, Camera, Election (7/12) Reason Daily archive July 15, 2004 A Glorious Sunset On assault weapons and laws that fade away Brian Doherty On September 13, according to a squad of concerned ex-presidents, the streets of America will return to a grim, bloody age of semi-automatic gun murder run amok—all because current President Bush and a feckless Congress seem on track to allow the sunsetting of 1994's Violent Crime Control...

Link post, to alert interested FR readers to the post in the "chat" section, where any discussion or commentary should be posted: Geology Pictures of the Week, May 30-June 5, 2004: Kilauea Returns to the Sea

I haven't posted Kilauea volcano pictures for a little while, but the eruption just keeps on going and going. It had been sending lava onto the coastal flats, so there hadn't been any recent ocean entries, but a fairly large flow called the 'Banana' flow reached the ocean yesterday. I've posted two nice pictures, but for fans of molten lava, there are a lot of new ones on the linked site above.

PASADENA, Calif. - The Opportunity rover turned its panoramic gaze on the horizon and captured a dusty blue sunset at the end of its 20th day on Mars. The six-wheeled robot snapped photographs not for the sake of beauty, but because scientists want to learn about the properties of dust in the atmosphere. "It's pretty cool," pancam lead scientist Jim Bell said Thursday at NASA (news - web sites)'s Jet Propulsion Library as he showed a movie made from images recorded about three minutes apart. A bluish tint and rapid dimming of the sun at the horizon were caused by...

Senate debate on the gun manufactures liability bill will begin at 9:30 this morning on C-Span2. Expect Feinstein to attach her Assault Weapons Ban renewal rider on it. Also McCain may attach a rider closing the so called "gun show loophole". This is it folks.

The Administration has released its Statement of Position on S. 1805. It is attached. I draw special attention to the following sentence from the SAP: <> The full text is copied below, and the SAP is attached. (See attached file: S. 1805 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.pdf) EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503 February 24, 2004 (Senate) STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY S. 1805 - Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (Sen. Craig (R) Idaho) The Administration strongly supports Senate passage of S. 1805. The Administration urges the Senate to pass...

I attended a small gathering of about 60 republican party faithful tonight. The occasion was an informal evening meeting with Nevada Senator John Ensign (R). This was an invitational event, I was still surprised and disappointed that it was not better attended. This is my favorite type of event, the cost of attendence was only $25 to cover rental of the exhibit hall, the location was nearby (Reno), and there was plenty of time available to speak directly with my favorite Nevada senator. I believe there will be another meeting tomorrow, in Las Vegas. Anyone interested can probably get information...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 October 21 The Belt of Venus over the Valley of the Moon Credit & Copyright: Christine Churchill Explanation: Although you've surely seen it, you might not have noticed it. During a cloudless twilight, just before sunrise or after sunset, part of the atmosphere above the horizon appears slightly off-color, slightly pink. Called the Belt of Venus, this off-color band between the dark eclipsed sky and the blue...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 August 22 Shadow Rise Credit & Copyright: Steve Mandel Explanation: As the Sun sets, the Earth's shadow rises up from the east. The subtle beauty of this daily apparition is often overlooked in favor of the brighter, more colorful western horizon. But while gazing toward a nearly full rising Moon on August 9, astronomer Steve Mandel admired the shadow rise from his driveway near Soquel, California, USA....

<p>How do criminals get their guns? And what should law-abiding citizens do about it?</p> <p>Those are the central questions of Erik Larson's pivotal 1994 book, "Lethal Passage: The Story of a Gun" (Vintage, $13), this month's Free Press Book Club selection.</p>

Curtain to Fall on VW Beetle, Icon of Flower Power Fri June 6, 2003 09:09 PM ET FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - The original Volkswagen Beetle, the ubiquitous German car born in the Nazi drive for a "people's car" and later an icon of the hippie revolution, will roll off a production line for the last time this summer. Europe's largest auto maker Volkswagen said Friday the last of its factories still producing the bulky little car -- in Puebla, Mexico -- would close its assembly line after nearly 50 years. In the model's 70-year history, 22 million air-cooled Beetles were...

Well, here we go again. Power-hungry cowards in Congress are once again seeking to ram gun control down our throats, and this time, our president – the man who was painted as a friend to the some 80 million-gun owners in this country by the National Republican Apologists (NRA) – says he will sign it if it reaches his desk. But my goal today is not to take aim at the NRA for its obsequious and quite obvious silence on the G.W. Bush promise to sign the odious legislation to expand and make permanent the Clinton “Assault” weapons ban of...

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II has used prayer to cope with his advancing age and Parkinson's disease, a top Vatican official said in published remarks Saturday — the first time a senior official has publicly acknowledged the pontiff suffers from the degenerative disease. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Congregation of Bishops, made the comments in an interview with the Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera on the eve of the pope's 83rd birthday. "If we want to look for the secret weapon that has allowed him to beat the years...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 April 12 Mercury on the Horizon Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado Explanation: Have you ever seen the planet Mercury? Because Mercury orbits so close to the Sun, it never wanders far from the Sun in Earth's sky. If trailing the Sun, Mercury will be visible low on the horizon for only a short while before sunset. If leading the Sun, Mercury will be visible only shortly...

So, now that the post-election dust has settled, how are things looking for us in the House, Senate, and White House? Let's start with the President. WHITE HOUSE Though President Bush did voice support for the "current ban" during his campaign, he appears to be backing away from this stance now. During recent Senate testimony, Attorney General John Ashcroft would not give a firm answer to the relentless ban renewal questioning from Sens. Feinstein (D-CA) and Schumer (D-NY), instead saying the White House intended to study the issue further (in Washington, "study" generally means "it's dead"). Feinstein was flabbergasted, but...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 February 10 Comet NEAT Approaches the Sun Credit and Copyright: Anton Spenko (Rezmon Observatory) Explanation: A comet may likely become visible to the unaided eye over the next few days above the horizon where the Sun has just set. Comet NEAT (C/ 2002 V1), discovered last November, has brightened dramatically as it approached the Sun. Over the next few days, the quickly setting comet could appear as...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 November 10 A Green Flash from the Sun Credit & Copyright: Pekka Parviainen (Polar Image) Explanation: Many think it is just a myth. Others think it is true but its cause isn't known. Adventurers pride themselves on having seen it. It's a green flash from the Sun. The truth is the green flash does exist and its cause is well understood. Just as the setting Sun disappears...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 September 10 Venus Beyond the Storm Credit & Copyright: Lyndon Anderson (Prairiejournal.com) Explanation: A thunderstorm, lightning, a bright star and a bright planet all graced an evening sky for a short while near Bismarck, North Dakota, USA two weeks ago. Thick thunderclouds from a passing storm are the origin of a strong cloud to ground lightning strike. Small areas of rain darken portions of the orange sunset,...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 June 21 Zimbabwe Sunset Credit & Copyright: Murray Alexander Explanation: Today's scheduled geocentric astronomical event is the Solstice, with the Sun reaching its northernmost declination at 13 hours 24 minutes Universal Time. For denizens of planet Earth this Solstice marks the begining of Summer in the northern hemisphere and Winter in the south. Of course, the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation (and not a change...