Quid pro quo? Nah, never happen…

Illinois law-maker wants Chicago hoplophobes to give a little. Not a snowball’s chance if you ask me.

Fail

Pastor, best-selling author arrested at airport

"Truly, it’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done. You can probably guess the rest. I was arrested, handcuffed, and taken to jail, where I was fingerprinted and photographed. Needless to say, it opened my eyes to a world I’d seen only in the movies. I was glad when I posted bail and was able to leave."

Handy Latin Phrases

from http://jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2006/11/handy_latin_phr.html

Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat.
It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

Ecce hora! Uxor mea me necabit!
Look at the time! My wife will kill me!

Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est.
The designated hitter rule has got to go.

Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare.
I think some people in togas are plotting against me.

Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.
If Caesar were alive, you'd be chained to an oar.

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam posit materiari?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

(At a barbeque) Animadvertistine, ubicumque stes, fumum recta in faciem ferri?
Ever noticed how wherever you stand, the smoke goes right into your face?

Sona si Latine loqueris.
Honk if you speak Latin.

Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes
If you can read this you're over-educated

Mihi ignosce. Cum homine de cane debeo congredi.
Excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog.

Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinus alacribus et fructuosis potiri potes!
If you can read this sign, you can get a good job in the fast-paced, high-paying world of Latin!

Gramen artificiosum odi.
I hate Astroturf.

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione.
I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult.

Noli me vocare, ego te vocabo.
Don't call me, I'll call you.

Nullo metro compositum est.
It doesn't rhyme.

Non curo. Si metrum non habet, non est poema.
I don't care. If it doesn't have meter, it isn't a poem.

Fac ut gaudeam.
Make my day.

Braccae illae virides cum subucula rosea et tunica Caledonia-quam elenganter concinnatur!
Those green pants go so well with that pink shirt and the plaid jacket!

Visne saltare? Viam Latam Fungosam scio.
Do you want to dance? I know the Funky Broadway.

Re vera, potas bene.
Say, you sure are drinking a lot.

Utinam barbari spatium proprium tuum invadant!
May barbarians invade your personal space!

Utinam coniurati te in foro interficiant!
May conspirators assassinate you in the mall!

Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant!
May faulty logic undermine your entire philosophy!

Radix lecti
Couch potato

Mellita, domi adsum.
Honey, I'm home.

Tam exanimis quam tunica nehru fio.
I am as dead as the nehru jacket.

Ventis secundis, tene cursum.
Go with the flow.

Totum dependeat.
Let it all hang out.

Te precor dulcissime supplex!
Pretty please with a cherry on top!

Magister Mundi sum!
I am the Master of the Universe!

Fac me cocleario vomere!
Gag me with a spoon!

Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.
I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.

Prehende uxorem meam, sis!
Take my wife, please!

Nihil est--in vita priore ego imperator Romanus fui.
That's nothing--in a previous life I was a Roman Emperor.

Recedite, plebes! Gero rem imperialem!
Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial business.

Sic faciunt omnes.
Everyone is doing it.

Fac ut vivas.
Get a life.

Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!
Let's all wear mood rings!

Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.
I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.

Hi non sunt droidi qui quaerens es.
These are not the droids you're looking for.

Let's see if we can think this through...

I'm seeing many stories about poor Mexico being inundated with "assault weapons" from the U.S.A. With rare exceptions, they point out the ease of legally buying a weapon in the U.S., and the steady flow of guns across the Rio Grande into the hands of drug cartels, the implication being that people are going to Joe's Sporting Goods, buying "assault weapons" at retail prices and selling them to Mexican criminals. Let's examine the premise.

One thing you may have noticed is drug cartels are in the business of making money. Lots of money. And those who end up with the money generally have little compunction about spending it, as there is much more where that came from. Another thing you may have noticed is the connections the drug cartels have with other criminals around the world, and their connections with terrorists of different stripes. (Terrorists often supply the drugs the cartels move.) Perhaps you've also noticed it is difficult to stop smugglers, even when you're making an effort. If the drugs are being smuggled successfully, certainly other materials can be moved as well.

Conclusion: Drug cartels have -

• Lots of money,
• International connections with other criminals and terrorists,
• Established and successful international pipelines to smuggle goods.

I understand from knocking around on the Internet, that an automatic AK-xx rifle can be had from international arms dealers, paragons of virtue one and all, I'm sure, for $100 - $200/each, in essentially unlimited quantity. And if you don't want to go through a regular international arms dealer, there are many amateurs out there who will oblige, too. And these are actual fully-automatic battle rifles, not semi-automatic "assault weapons".

I was at a gun show this weekend, and there was no lack of military-style semi-automatic rifles. The least expensive "assault weapon" I saw was running around $400, and the price goes up quickly as the quality of the guns improves, with basic AR type rifles running around $1000. Let's assume then an average of about $500 for "assault weapons".

Now, I can't say that there are no arms going from the U.S. into Mexico. I know for a fact that in recent years, several shipments of the fully automatic battle rifles have been intercepted coming into the United States. So here's the question.

Why are Mexican drug cartels buying inferior type weapons by the trunk load at costs far above retail from U.S. sources, when they can get the real deal from international sources with less trouble than they get the drugs they sell? Drug cartels may have lots of money, but they aren't stupid.

If you bought a rifle at Joe's Sporting goods for $500, what price would you ask if you had to smuggle it into Mexico? Did you know that even ammunition is banned in Mexico? Americans have gone to jail in Mexico for forgetting to remove a box of cartridges from their vehicle before they crossed the border. Smuggling arms south is frowned on from this side of the Rio Grande, too. If it were me, I'd be trying to at least double my money, considering the risk of a Mexican prison. With that reasoning, 1000 American, semi-automatic "assault weapons" would cost the Mexicans in excess of $1 million. It isn't much better at wholesale prices.

Now contrast that to the cost of buying the same quantity of real assault rifles on the international market.

1,000x$250=$250,000 Let's see. $1 million vs. $250,000.

Hmmm.

Would you buy American? I wouldn't, and they wouldn't either. If semi-automatic arms are being sold to Mexicans out of the U.S., few of these guns are coming from Joe's Sporting Goods. They are stolen weapons. Stolen by criminals and sold to criminals. So, by all means, let's put additional restrictions on the law-abiding adults who aren't involved in this matter. Let's leave law-abiding adults helpless in the face of increasing armed criminal attacks. Oh, I know! Let's just declare the United States a gun-free zone!

Like Mexico.

Du-oh.