Fort Hood, again

Fort Hood got shot up again.  PTSD is apparently to blame.  While I sympathize with mental illness and my heart goes out to the victims and families, I'm sick of the responses.

A man that was fired from CNN for being too liberal, if you can imagine such a thing, made an asinine statement.  I'm so disgusted with him, that I won't even use his name, because he doesn't deserve the publicity.  He said "'If only there'd been a good guy with a gun...' - such crap. This #FortHood soldier/shooter WAS a good guy. Until he turned bad, with a gun."

Are you kidding me?  This idiot thinks that he was a good soldier, but someone having a Smith & Weston made him evil? 

If all guns are evil, then by your own words, this man must have been evil before since he used guns as a soldier.  And Cops are evil too.  And the Secret Service.  And your private security.

You self-inflated toilet bug!  How DARE you attack the people that help us every day because they make us safe.

You want a solution?  Here's an idea, to make our military safer, have them do what every other military in the world does.  If they are in uniform and on base, they are armed.  A side arm minimum.  The truth is guns deter crime.  Kentucky is one of the states with the least crime, and the most free gun laws.  The areas with high crime in the US have the strictest gun laws.  That is a FACT.  They claim their crime comes from other places that sell guns, but most of the guns used in those crimes were illegally purchased, like from some guy's trunk.

The so-called nuclear deterrent works.  Bad guys should be afraid of good guys, not the other way around.  Gun laws don't work because criminals, be definition, don't obey the law. 

But that's the difference between logic and "liberal" idealism.  Logic examines facts and makes a decision, in this case that more freedom is a good thing.  Liberals hate freedom these days.  And they would never let a little thing like the facts stop them.

Bad advice for women

So there's been some bad advice making the rounds lately.  Colorado State Rep. Joe Salazar (D) said last week that women shouldn't be allowed to own guns.  He argued that women can't be trusted with guns, because if they feel like someone is following them, they might "pop off" at them with the gun, fearing being raped.  He argued that women don't need guns in case of rape, because there are call boxes were you can call for police, as well as whistles that you can blow to scare them away.

Another Colorado lawmaker advocated that women that are being raped should claim to have an STD and pee themselves to dissuade an attack.

Vice President Joe Biden had the best advice for women, saying "Go buy a shotgun."  That's great defense for at home (one that I too would advocate for).  Then he proceeded to be dumb.  He said he told his wife to take the double-barrel twelve gauge, go out on the balcony, and fire two blasts into the air.  That's great to scare off a burglar, but what if someone is actively seeking to harm her?  Now she's trapped with no where to go and a shotgun with no ammo.  Now all she's done is give away her location.

I have a widowed mother, a sister, and a one-year old niece.  I told my mother that if someone breaks into her house, take a shotgun and blow them away.  More accurately, I told her to cut them in half.  I'm not going to mention what my mother or sister possess, because that's no body's business but theirs.

My point is, who is to say that men are more responsible than women?  One of the best hunters I know is a lady from church.  And I would guess (just guess mind you; I didn't look it up) that most violent crimes are committed by men.  This is the same "women can't drive" or "women shouldn't vote" crap, at least from these CO representatives (though probably not the Vice President).  And conservatives are accused of sexism!

So let me give some more accurate advice.

1. Don't buy a double barrel shotgun.  By the pump action.  It holds more rounds, plus every bad guy in the country knows the sound of a round being chambered by the pump.  That in and of itself is usually enough to stop the robbery.
2. Vice President Biden said a twelve gauge is harder to handle than an AR-15.  That's actually backwards.  Most AR-15s are not fully automatic, and the smaller round give them much less kick, so they're actually easier to handle.  Shotgun kick so hard they hurt.  A lot.  Still, though some choose the AR-15 for self defense, I would rather stick with the shotgun.  For home defense, I would recommend a 20 gauge (the larger the number, the smaller the round).  This would be much easier to handle.
3. Shotguns are great for home, but you get odd looks if you carry one all the time.  Mace and stun guns can help, but if you live in a dangerous area and feel you want a gun, go with a 9mm.
4. This is the most important rule.  ONLY get a firearm AFTER you have had proper training.  There are a few basic rules, like always treat a gun like it's loaded, even if it isn't.  Because sometimes people think its empty, until they shoot their friend.  You also need to know that you always treat a gun like the safety's off, because accidents happen.  And you never point a gun at ANYTHING that you don't want to kill/destroy.  You also need to learn how that particular weapon operates, how to aim safely, and how to maintain the weapon.

One last thing.  Rape isn't a political argument.  It isn't hypothetical.  And it isn't "no big deal."  It's a huge deal.  And it should not be used for political gain.  It's a terrible crime and does not deserve to be taken lightly.  Neither do the victims.  So just stop it.

Political Points

Allow me to make a few bullet points about current issues.

Why does it matter?
Hillary Clinton said during a recent congressional hearing "Four people are dead... What does it matter [who did it and why]?  We need to figure out what happened to keep it from happening again."

She answered her own question.  She took some unfair flack from the "What does it matter?" comment.  In context, it wasn't as bad as some tried to make it seem.  She wasn't saying that the four dead didn't matter, only that the false information linking it to a youtube video didn't matter.  The fact that they refused requests to provide more security didn't matter.  The fact that there was a CIA report and a separate military report saying that they were ordered to stand down didn't matter.

That said, she did answer her own question.  Why those things matter is because if it could have been stopped but wasn't because it was politically inconvenient matters.  The fact that it was deemed too dangerous to send in the FBI to investigate while the New York Times walked through the facility matters.  If there was neglegence on behalf of whoever and it lead to four dead it is the same as pulling the trigger.  It is murder.  And even ignoring that, you can't fix a problem you don't know about.  So covering up the problem doesn't help.

Debate?
President Obama said recently that we could have a reasonable debate if people would stop disagreeing with him.  I hate to tell you, but a debate it where people present two opposing viewpoints and defend them to each other.  In other words, you can't have a debate without people arguing with you! 

Higher taxes do not mean higher revenue.
Seems simple, right.  Raise the tax rate and you raise more money.  Fair share, and all that.  California has the highest rate of personal income and corporate taxes.  To alieve their financial problem, they're raising taxes again.  This means more revenue right?  Wrong.  Higher taxes means more people are moving their businesses to where taxes are less.  In Texas, more people paying in means much more revenue than higher taxes would bring.  It's exponential growth.  It's even simple multiplication.  Go back to high school and do some math.

Semi-automatics aren't what you think.
There is a push to ban semi-automatics.  This is because people don't know what they are.  Semi-automatic means that if you pull the trigger once, it sends one bullet (as opposed to revolvers, where you have to click the hammer back before you pull the trigger).  People are confusing semi-automatic with sub-machine gun.  A sub-machine gun is where you hold the trigger and it empties the clip.

Assault weapons aren't what you think.
Assault weapons aren't sub-machine guns.  The fact is, assault weapons don't include automatic weapons.  They include specialty weapons.  For example, a sub-machine gun is legal, but a sub-machine gun with a scope isn't.  A shotgun is legal, but a shotgun with a pistol grip isn't.  This is the same thing as the illegality of switch-blade knives.  Switch-blades aren't more dangerous than any other knife.  They aren't easier to conceal.  They just look scary.  So assault weapons are scary looking guns.

Assault weapons bans don't stop Newtown. 
No assault weapons were used at Sandyhook.  The guy used two pistols.  The proposed weapons ban doesn't stop that massacre.

The reason for the Second Amendment.
For right or wrong, whether you agree or not, our founding fathers put in the second amendment to defend the rest.  Freedom and security are opposites.  The point of the Bill or Rights, and that one in particular, is that government can easily take away the rights of the people.  Guns allow the people to defend themselves.  This is exactly what the Arab Spring was about.  People were throwing rocks while being shot at.  Dictators, whether solo or parlamentary, can easily arrise.  The founding fathers didn't want that, so they guarenteed us the right to defend ourselves from all threats, whether personal (like a break in) or national (like a rogue government or invading enemy).

Weapons bans don't work.
I know.  You've already got your mind made up about this one, but hear me out.  One of the fathers of the Sandyhook victims put it well today.  He said that by doing what he did, the madman was already breaking the law.  Adding a new law for them to break doesn't matter nearly as much as enforcement of current laws. 

By the way, I can't believe I have to explain this but I do.  The City of Chicago, the President's home base, has the strictest gun laws.  They also have the highest gun crime.  And their violent gun crime went up 18% last year, the only major city in the US to see an increase.  And Mayor Immanuel needs to butt out.  As soon as the massacre happened, he came out and said he was against putting armed police officers in each school.  In the mean time, he sends his kids to a private school with armed guards.  If he believed what he was selling, he'd send his kids to public school with yours.  He should smell what he's shovelling and leave the rest of us alone.  Because basically what he's saying is that he doesn't care about protecting your kids, because you are poor.

Newtown Tragedy

How do you reconcile the innocents of Christmas with the horrifice nature of a madman walking into an elementary school and shooting children?  You can't.  A friend of mine put it well when seeking solutions.

"Bear with me. I'm trying to process a few things and have been sharing to help with that as well as hear others opinions. That being said I have a few thoughts on the Sandy Hook School Shooting. 1) controlling guns is not going to solve this issue. He was a crazed man who would have found a way regardless of laws. Yes we can make things harder for criminals, but if they want to do harm they are going to find a way.


"2) there are no right or wrong answers about how we can prevent this in the future. We simply have no answers as to why and only the killers have those answers. We can do our best to figure it out and hope it's enough to make a difference, but unless we start taking blinders off of our eyes and see that there are some people in this world that really are evil we can't change.

"3)we need to take an honest look at mental health in this country. We need to stop labeling those who do not need labels and HELPING those that need help. Parents need to stop pretending that children can never do wrong and see that they can. We need to learn the warning signs for potentially dangerous people and get them help. And we need to give law officials a chance to do the same.

"4) parents need to teach their children violence is NEVER a solution to their anger or fear. We need to teach them that anger and fear are healthy but that we need to address it appropriately and calmly."

She's right.  They didn't need guns in Oklahoma City.  They used common fertilizer.  People are shifting blame to guns.  To schools.  To video games.  (For the record, I won't play games like Call of Duty for this reason.  It's one thing to shoot aliens or zombies.  It's something else to go for realism that my friends have lived through.  There is something wrong about fantasizing about real deaths and tragedy.) 

The bottom line is evil just exists in the world sometimes.  Like 9-11, OK City, Aurora, and Newtown.  People like Osama bin Laden, Timothy McVay, Joseph Stalin, and Adolph Hitler.  Part of me thinks we will never truly understand these people.  At least I won't.  You can't legislate morality.  This boy didn't have a legal issue or a self-esteem issue.  He was not right in the head, and for some reason, did an act of great evil. 

The hope for this world isn't the law.  It isn't a political party.  It isn't video games, or lack thereof.  The only cure for evil is Jesus. 

Then again, that's what Christmas is really about, isn't it?

Dear Mr. Costas

Dear Mr. Costas,

Where were you this week Bob?  Where was your halftime rant?  Another week, another NFL player dead.  Why weren't you on TV proclaiming the evils of the car culture?  Last week, you talked about Dirty Harry.  Where were you criticizing Pixar's Cars? 

Oh, that's right.  This week didn't fit your political agenda.  You hypocrite!  Last week, a player got drunk, cheated on his girlfriend, came home, shot her, then shot him.  This week, another player got drunk, got behind a wheel, caused a wreck, and killed his friend and teammate.  But that narrative doesn't fit your politics.  It does fit the truth.

Here's an idea.  Next time instead of running your mouth, look at actually facts.  Why don't you go after Budweiser instead of Smith and Wesson?

But then again, I'm sorry.  I guess it's asking too much for someone on TV to give a crap about truth.

NFL 12 week 13 response

Well, if you're a regular follower of this blog, you'll notice a suspicious lack of a week 13 synopsis.  There is a good reason for that.  I didn't get to watch one single football game this week.  At all.

Yet, football has been the word in the news.  No, not because the Colts barely kept down the Lions.  Not because RGIII managed up upset Eli. 

No, because of Bob Costas. 

There is a saying that the news person should never be the story.  Like a debate moderator interjecting incorrect information in order to help their candidate, for example.

In this case, there was a tragedy as the linebacker for the KC Cheifs murdered his girlfriend, then shot himself.  This is a terrible tragedy.  That is enough said. 

But never let the truth get in the way of a political agenda.  No, Costas goes on air and declares that the problem is guns.  That's right.  It's all the gun's fault.

Really?  What about the nanny that stabbed the three kids she was watching, then herself?  We should outlaw kitchen knives.  And nannies.  And kids.  And while we're at it, kitchens!  What about the guy that was beaten to death as a part of a gang initiation.  We should outlaw kicking?  Shoes?

Do you see why this logic falls apart?  Cities that have stringent Gun Control laws have MORE violence.  Look at Chicago!  Their crime rate increases annually.  Because gun laws only take them away from citizens who now can't defend themselves.  Here's another stat, in 90% of cases where a gun is used to prevent a crime, the gun is not fired. 

And this linebacker?  He was wealthy and had no record.  So no gun laws would have prevented him from getting one.

Let me tell you straight up that I do not own a firearm.  But unlike most people who react emotionally to this issue, I studied FACTS (something Costas should try sometime).  The bottom line is simple math.  More gun=less gun crime.  Why?  Because criminals, by definition, do not obey the law.  In one city (as I recall, Atlanta GA, but I was unable to find the study again) they banned guns, and armed robbery skyrocketted.  So much so that they repealed the law.  When the did, restaurant owners posted signs saying "15% off if you carry a gun."  Crime hit new lows.  Why?  You're not going to stick up a place if you think everyone in there has a gun. 

Now you're thinking Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction, right?  "I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd..."

Anyway, I did some independant research and made an informed decision as to where I stand.  Maybe Bob Costas should do the same...

On the Subject of Gun Control

Hours after the Colorado "Movie Massacre," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on the radio that he believe that every police officer in the country should go on strike, and refuse to come back to work until there were stricter gun control laws. 

It was not for days AFTER that until investigators discovered that the shooter had purchased the guns legally by spreading purchases across several stores.  He had no prior arrest record, so even with gun control laws, they would not have caught him.

Since this, gun control laws have been debated.  That said, I wanted to explain in a calm, rational matter, what this actually is.

First, let's look at what the Second Amendment actually states.  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.  What this means is that our founding fathers gave us a unique right, unique to all the world.  They understood that it was only through the ability to defend oneself, it was necessary to have firearms.  In particular, they believed that we the people needed guns to keep the government in check.  So all those who believe that the National Guard remove the need for the second amendment do not understand history.  (Point of fact, in WWII, the Japanese said that they did not invade the American mainland because all they knew about America was from Westerns and Gangster movies.  They would not attack, believing there would be "a gun behind every bush and tree.")

Second, let's look at what happens when this is taken away.  In Atlanta, GA, they passed a law making guns illegal within city limits.  Gun-related crimes, like armed robbery quadrupled.  Why?  Criminals, by definition, ignore the law.  So if they saw no cops in a dinner, they could rob it safely.  When this law was repealed due to these affects, restaurant and store owners put signs in their windows saying things like "10% off if you are carrying a gun."  Crime reached new lows.  When Katrina hit, they declared martial law and went into wealthy neighborhoods and rounded up all the guns from the homeowners.  Looters came unchecked and destroyed these homes because officials were too busy with search and rescue to defend these neighborhoods.  These are true stories.  Look them up.

Fear and emotion tend to overrule logic and fact in our time.  The fact is, places with stricter gun control laws have more gun crimes.  I know it seems counter intuitive, but it's true.  I'll give you another.  Automatic weapons are not more deadly that other firearms (in fact, they're less so.  In Vietnam, those with automatic weapons averaged firing almost 50 shots per kill.  Snipers, using bolt-action rifles averaged 1.3 bullets per kill).  They're just scarier.  In the same way, switch-blades are not deadlier than other knives.  They're just scarier, so they're illegal.

The fact is, what if someone else in that theater had a gun?  They could have put a bullet in the shooter's eye after he started firing.  What if you had no wounded and just the maniac dead?  The person that killed him would be called a hero.  Period.  I read someone saying "He had on body armor, so a regular person shooting him wouldn't have mattered unless they had armor-piercing rounds."  Have you never watched a cop show?  A bullet in a vest is survivable, but mean broken ribs, maybe even a punctured lung.  That takes the fight out of him real fast.  That means an apprehended, live, bad guy.  Even better.

Now I'm not say everyone should have a gun.  I don't have one.  But what I am saying is that we should have ordinary people who are trained to use them.  I learned gun safety in school.  Rule #1: Always treat a gun like it's loaded, even when it's not.  Because it might have a chambered round and you not realize it.  Rule #2: NEVER point a gun at ANYTHING you don't intend to destroy.  Period.  (Again, even if it's not loaded.)  I learned to respect the power of weapons of all types.  So there's no mystery.  There's no curiosity leading to stupidity.  There is only knowledge leading to wisdom.

So what if any of those four military personnel who were wounded had been carrying a gun?  They might have saved a lot of lives.

Maybe what we need is less fearful reaction and more education.