Althouse: The pen is mightier...

January 26, 2007

The pen is mightier...

... than the mountain lion.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...: "Mr Hamm is in fair condition after having his lips stitched back together."

And I expect the protests by the enviro-radicals against killing the lions will soon begin.

When will we accept we cannot "live in harmony" with large, wild predators?; 1/26/07, 9:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Actually, I read the story that a good wife can save your ass in ways you never imagined. I thank God for mine. (Good wife that is, although I also thank Him for my ass.)

Trey; 1/26/07, 10:01 AM
ShadyCharacter said...: "The pen is mightier than the mountain lion."

Actually, from the article, the mountain lion survived the encounter while the pen did not. The lion's eye was strong enough to bend the pen!

I'm picturing that scene in the new Superman movie where the bullet bounced of Supe's eyeball. Maybe this mountain lion is also from the planet Krypton.; 1/26/07, 11:00 AM
KCFleming said...: Clearly, we need to regulate pens.; 1/26/07, 11:05 AM
Anonymous said...: This in .41 or .44 Mag would have been much more effective. Helps with 2 legged predators as well.; 1/26/07, 11:46 AM
sean said...: I don't want to sound too much like Glenn Reynolds, but isn't this an argument for carrying something more formidable than a pen when you go hiking?; 1/26/07, 12:02 PM
vbspurs said...: Obviously, a Sharpie.

Cheers,
Victoria; 1/26/07, 12:03 PM
vbspurs said...: The pen bent when she tried to jam it down the lion's eye socket.

This is like an Alan Funt meets Three Stooges incident.

"Why, I'll moider you! Nyaaah! Ooh!"

Excellent bit that the lady survived, but without reading the caption, I thought, jeez, that lady doesn't look good. She's even missing her breasts! Then I realised it was her hubby. God bless.

Cheers,
Victoria; 1/26/07, 12:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Hey Jenny Slater. Hey Jenny Slater. Hey Jenny Slater.; 1/26/07, 12:20 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Ken. Thanks for the pen. Have you seen Debi?

[after shooting a guy three times and bashing his head in with a skillet] Debi, I'm in love with you! And I know we can make this relationship work.; 1/26/07, 12:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Yes, we have bears and cougars too, though the cougars never come out of the mountains. The bears do, right onto your back porch to snack out of your bird feeder. Or your pets.; 1/26/07, 12:45 PM
Anonymous said...: The left believes that we can lie down with the lion right now like a bunch of little lambs and everything is going to be hunky dory.

Mountain lion attacks on the east coast have not yet taken place, but there have been sightings all up and down the Appalachians from Maine to Georgia.

The only absolutely confirmed sighting in New York State was taken by a bank video machine just outside of Plattsburg (near Canadian border), but people who see them don't reach for their cameras. Almost everyone who's lived in the Catskills their whole lives has seen at least one.

Californians are utopian. Let them lie down with the lions and see what happens. Perhaps they'll move to the center politically after being mauled two dozen times.

"We won't be fooled again!"; 1/26/07, 12:55 PM
KCFleming said...: Clearly, it's a quagmire.
We must withdraw the armed wardens and begin negotiations with the mountain lions or their representatives.

Why do those nice kitties hate us?; 1/26/07, 1:39 PM
Anonymous said...: "The dead cougars are undergoing tests to determine if either was responsible for the mauling."

And if they are "found innocent" by the Park, the Rangers will be prosecuted and send to jail for 10 years.

"We won't be fooled again!" One would think, but it is not so, as this disemboweled biker might attest, had he lived.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/national/main592433.shtml; 1/26/07, 2:18 PM
Paddy O said...: Hey let's ban everything that hurts or kills people!

Motorcycles, alcohol, guns, oh my!

We should make driving illegal because how many accidents kill people every year? Skydiving and mountain climbing and most every other extreme sport should be banned because by golly they kill people.

Cities are full of people dying, so we should ban all cities too. Many, many people die of sexually transmitted diseases every year so we should ban sex.

Or think of it much the same way. Take precautions. It's part of life.; 1/26/07, 2:38 PM
vbspurs said...: Californians are utopian. Let them lie down with the lions and see what happens. Perhaps they'll move to the center politically after being mauled two dozen times.

Heh.

I've heard of a Neo-Conservative being a liberal mugged by reality, so a California utopian must be a liberal mauled by a lion.

Cheers,
Victoria; 1/26/07, 2:38 PM
MadisonMan said...: The husband had real presence of mind to tell his wife, while his head was in the jaws of death, that there was a pen in his pocket! I'm glad he's on the mend. Nice story ending for h. sapiens. Less nice for p. concolor.

Would a gun have helped in this case? Would the wife shoot the cougar or the husband? It would take considerable training to overcome the adrenaline rush as the attack is happening.

I have to add that people hiking alone in the wilderness are unlikely to be saved by a gun. Stealth predators like Mountain Lions don't give you warning, so unless you're walking with a loaded gun in your hand ready to shoot the first thing that comes your way, you're likely out of luck. Of course, IMO people who go out walking in the wilderness by themselves are dumb beyond belief, so maybe it's inevitable that Darwin P. MountainLion is gonna catch up with them.; 1/26/07, 3:12 PM
KCFleming said...: Re: "Would a gun have helped in this case? "

Just a guess, but the cougar probably would notice a bullet in the eye sooner than a Bic in the eye.; 1/26/07, 4:19 PM
KCFleming said...: Re: "Would a gun have helped in this case?"

Alternate answer: "Only if you fired it."; 1/26/07, 4:20 PM
MadisonMan said...: "Only if you fired it."

I'm guessing you mightn't even have to hit the target. And the time it would have taken to remember the gun, spring to action, unholster it, unlock it -- probably not enough time for the cougar to kill the husband.; 1/26/07, 7:12 PM
The Drill SGT said...: a variant of an old Army maintenance guideline comes to mind:

If at first you don't succeed, ... get a bigger hammer (log in this case); 1/27/07, 12:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Freder wrote: "My point is that the cougar would be on top of your companion before you could get to your gun. Shooting a cougar that is mauling would be reckless in the extreme. It would be very hard to get a clear shot off and the bullet could easily end up in your friend. Better to club or stab the cougar."

Ever shot a gun? They are loud. Cougars know that they are loud and run when they hear them. They are smart that way. Now if they would just learn to type.

Trey; 1/28/07, 10:06 AM