Some commentary by Doug Hagin at SmallGovTimes.com:

Why, though, do those on the Left despise self-defense? They are collectivists, and Socialists. They believe that people should think and act collectively not individually. They also deeply believe in collective self-defense. The government should be responsible for your protection not you. Listen to all the left’s talking points concerning guns and self-defense. They never talk about Americans who use guns in self-defense. Rather, they paint armed Americans as morons or trigger happy rednecks. Honestly, how many times have they laid out the tired old line about shootouts in the streets if states allow concealed carry permits? Never mind that such events have not happened in the 30-plus states that allow concealed carry, ever.

If you really want a great example of how the left views gun owners and particularly self-defense, look at a recent news story out of Oakland. There, restaurant owner Catarino Piedra recently shot and killed an armed man who tried to rob him. Piedra’s wife and three children were in the restaurant and he feared the armed robber would hurt them. So, acting in defense of his family, he pulled his 9mm and shot his attacker, killing him. Now stop right there my friends. This is clearly a case of a man, seeing his life and that of his family in peril acting reasonably in defending himself and his family.

Those on the Left, though, see it quite differently. Consider how Oakland Police Department spokesperson Roland Holmgrem described the actions of Piedra. "This thing had potential -- who knows where the suspects were going to take the situation? But by no stretch of the imagination are we agreeing with or justifying what the owner did."

Excuse me? How can anyone disagree with a man defending his family? How can anyone question the justification of this restaurant owner? He is the victim, a victim who chose, honorably, to fight back, to defend himself. Yet, he has his actions questioned? He has his self-defense ridiculed. He has become the bad guy now.

Someone using a City of San Antonio computer seemingly studied my "about me" post for about 10 minutes this afternoon, after first spending a further 10 minutes reading the front page of the blog.  On a Sunday, no less.  Well, I'm sure S.A. taxpayers have no problem with you spending your overtime this way.

Yes, that's how it happened.  Check out this interesting post at Physics Geek Jesus Freak:

I had a brief mini-debate with a couple of co-workers yesterday, one of whom was appalled that people would advance any pro-gun argument in response to the Virginia Tech shootings. Ironically, I - who have never fired or even held a gun - was defending gun rights to two guys who have both fired weapons. They also expressed disbelief over the recent D.C. Circuit decision to overthrow a thirty-year-old gun ban in the District of Columbia.

Fuddites, no doubt.

From Strange in San Antonio.

This is something I've been following.  My dad is a beekeeper, and I helped him a lot when he had a lot more hives than he does now.  I grew up eating wild (unprocessed) honey, and count honey as one of my favorite foods.  Bees are also vital for our commercial food supply.  For some time now, bees have been simply disappearing.  Hives will be empty, or nearly so, and still have honey in them.  This hasn't made sense to anyone and so far no one has been able to find any good data on what is really going on.  Now this:

A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United States, UC San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.

Researchers have been struggling for months to explain the disorder, and the new findings provide the first solid evidence pointing to a potential cause.

But the results are "highly preliminary" and are from only a few hives from Le Grand in Merced County, UCSF biochemist Joe DeRisi said. "We don't want to give anybody the impression that this thing has been solved."

Other researchers said Wednesday that they too had found the fungus, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives from around the country — as well as in some hives where bees had survived. Those researchers have also found two other fungi and half a dozen viruses in the dead bees.

N. ceranae is "one of many pathogens" in the bees, said entomologist Diana Cox-Foster of Pennsylvania State University. "By itself, it is probably not the culprit … but it may be one of the key players."

Not much to go on, but this is the first thing even close to a "lead" that anyone has found yet.  I hope it leads to an answer.

Totally stolen from David Drake.

No quotes this time, just see this interesting article at John Lott's Website: Privatizing Law Enforcement in Southern Oregon.  Included is a scan of a newspaper clipping for a small newspaper that doesn't have an online presence.

Basically, there isn't enough tax money to pay the sheriff's department, so people have started buying more guns than usual, and the sheriff is going to be holding courses for the area citizens to help them learn about self defense, defense of property, and the legal implications thereof.

From KnoxNews:

As states and colleges across the country review their gun policies in light of the tragedy, many in Utah are proud to have the nation's only state law that expressly allows the carrying of concealed weapons at public colleges.

"If government can't protect you, you should have the right to protect yourself," said Republican state Sen. Michael Waddoups.

There are some foolish statements in the article. Like this:

"What happened at Virginia Tech might have been stopped," said Christine Zabawa, a medical researcher at the university. However, she said it is a bad idea to allow guns in dormitories, and fears an accident could happen during a party on campus.

"Alcohol and guns. It's a bad combination," she said.

Well then, Christine, why don't you just ban alcohol, since bans always work so well?

Oda said banning guns on campus might do more harm than good. He said people bent on violence might resort to other, perhaps bloodier methods, such as swords.

"A person that's got skill with a sword in a very big crowd could put a lot more people down with a sword than a gun," he said. "They're silent. You'll have people screaming, but nobody knows what's going on."

Or some psychotic killer might, you know, just ignore the ban and bring a gun anyway. I've heard that kind of thing has happened before.

Via Of Arms and the Law.