Blog
Civil Rights
Gun Rights v. Gun Control Infringement
John R. Lott Jr., Founder and President Crime Prevention Research Center, appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal series to discuss the Pew Research Center's recent study which finds that support for gun rights have increased and, for the first time, protecting citizen's gun rights has become more important than trying to pass laws that control gun ownership. The original C-SPAN programming called for Lott to be on for an hour to discuss these issues with Ted Alcorn, the research director for Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown. But Alcorn would not appear at the same time and insisted that he be allowed to appear alone — after Lott. In case there is anyone in doubt as to why Alcorn backed out of the confrontation, it is apparent when you watch Alcorn try to answer that question when posed by a viewer calling in.
Here is C-SPAN Host Ylan Mui's interview with Lott:
And below is an excerpt of Ted Alcorn's 'separate' interview, when he tries to explain to a caller why he didn't want to debate Lott. If I were a polygraph examiner asking Alcorn that question, I would call for a time out while I donned some protective armor, just in case the polygraph needle came apart during Alcorn's answer.
Is there any doubt now?
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The Crisis Industry: Lobbyists and Hucksters
Another Crisis! — Send Money
We have all been approached by people, directly, by telephone, or by mail, who want money in order to help solve a current crisis of some sort. Some of these requests are legitimate, and some are not. In some cases, your money could be used for generating a crisis! The best thing to do is not give your money away to anyone until you investigate the recipient's motives.
On the April 17, 2015 episode of the Colorado Inside Out panel review of political topics, David Kopel responded to moderator Dominic Dezzutti's request for comment on pending legislation governing the capacity of firearm magazines in Colorado. The pending bill has exposed some controversial tactics for raising money, along with some questionable motives.
You don't have to follow social controversy very long to realize that you could substitute other names and/or issues for the ones in this video!
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Food
Summertime Blues
Blue Bell had some troubles recently, but the good news is that they have a lot of people cheering for them. And why not?
Since the creamery opened in 1907, "Blue Bell" has been THE name for ice cream in southern Texas and Gulf Coast states. As one writer put it, "when the grocery store is out of Blue Bell, they may as well be out of ice cream altogether. "
I must admit, on a hot summer afternoon in the Florida Panhandle, there's nothing more refreshing than a couple of big scoops of Blue Bell submerged in a glass of Buffalo Rock ginger ale.
Blue Bell & Buffalo Rock, what a heavenly concoction......
Hope you get the bugs out soon Blue Bell, I'm ready for summer!
/fl
Self Defense
Entertaining Demons Unaware
There are some interesting revelations coming out of the trial of the 'Batman' murderer.
[A]nyone looking for a trigger or tipping point with mass killers is usually disappointed, said J. Reid Meloy, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of California, San Diego.
"There's no such thing as someone snapping," said Meloy, who is not involved in the Holmes case. "What we know now is that even if a person is psychotic, they can still plan and methodically go about the preparations to carry out a mass murder."
Mass violence is usually premeditated, following a path that begins with a personal grievance and is complicated by narcissism and paranoia. But only 1 in 5 of these killers is psychotic, Meloy said.
Psychosis is something Holmes knew all about. Before the shooting, he was preparing to give a class presentation on "MicroRNA Biomarkers" that provide a biological basis for psychiatric and neurological disorders.
About the same time, he was amassing deadly firepower: Two Glock pistols. A shotgun. An AR-15 rifle. Boxes upon boxes of ammunition - 6,295 rounds in all.
That statement, in a nutshell, explains why background checks are nothing more than a placebo for making people feel safe from mass murderers. An 'on-scene' citizen's only hope may come from a ready service firearm — not from a "background check", or any other bureaucratic procedure. This category of murderer is not 'insane', but cunning.
"What the hell happened?" Arlene Holmes [mother of the murderer] writes..."
"How can the kid who read about the Berenstain Bears and John Stewart's Earth and Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, how could he change?" she asks in another, "Jim's Room." "I leave his room untouched because I need the memories and tangible evidence that he was a good person."
And that statement, from the mother of the murderer, suggests a familial lack of ability for dealing with evil, with a latent potential for growing a murderer.
There is a cure for the madness!
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Safety and Seamanship
Lessons Learned
If you have studied the COLREGS, aka Rules of The Road, then you know that those 38 rules apply to "all vessels." It makes no difference what size vessel you are operating. We share the same waterways.
Even though the yacht that you normally operate is less than 50', studying casualty reports involving larger vessels is time well spent. It sometimes allows a mariner to put themselves in the shoes of another and vicariously ask themselves the question "what would I have done?"
The recently published, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) publication “Safer Seas 2014: Lessons Learned from Marine Accident Investigations” includes 23 reports completed last year covering towing and passenger vessels as well as OSVs, tankers and fishing boats.
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Civil Rights
Background Checks
I have a rhetorical question.
Jared and Amanda Miller (Las Vegas), Aaron Ybarra (Seattle Pacific University), Elliot Rodger (Santa Barabara), Ivan Lopez (Fort Hood 2014), Darion Marcus Aguilar (Maryland mall), Karl Halverson Pierson (Arapahoe High School), Paul Ciancia (LAX), Aaron Alexis (DC Navy Yard), James Holmes (Aurora theater), Jared Loughner (Tucson), Nidal Hasan (Fort Hood 2009), Jiverly Wong (Binghamton), Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech), and Naveed Haq (Seattle), all passed background checks for their guns.
It's obvious that background checks, for purchasing guns, doesn't deter murderers from using guns.
Most, if not all, of the murders occurred in "gun-free zones"
The question: Instead of requiring a background check for purchasing a gun, wouldn't it be more effective to require a background check for entering a gun-free zone?
Aside from the fact that both methods infringe on our civil rights, one seems just as sensible as the other.
/fl
Navigation
Sonar Server plus Navionic’s App Allows Real Time Bathymetry
Sonar Server is a new wireless interface from Digital Yacht designed to send real time depth data from any NMEA compatible depth system, fish-finder or sounder to the popular Navionic’s charting app available iPhone, iPad and Android.
Boats, like airplanes, require three-dimensional data for safe navigation. Who would have thought, twenty years ago, that sailors would be using their telephone to navigate?
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Talladega Marksmanship Park
Finishing Touches
The park will open May 6 with the dedication scheduled for June 5, 2015...
If you like to shoot pistols, a wide variety of options are available. There is a 50 foot pistol range, a 25 to 50 yard pistol range and 15 different Action Pistol ranges from 25-50 yards with 50 firing points.
The State of Alabama has become a truly progressive place!
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Time marches on
Misao Okawa (March 5, 1898 - April 1, 2015)
In perspective, Misao Okawa was three months old when, during the Spanish American War, on June 1, 1898, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders stopped over here in Pensacola on their way to Cuba and the Battle of San Juan Hill.
Okawa is the verified oldest Japanese person ever, the oldest person ever born in Asia, and the fifth oldest verified person ever recorded. Okawa was the 30th person verified to have reached age 115, the tenth verified person to reach the age of 116 and the fifth verified person to reach the age of 117. She was also the last living Japanese person verified to have been born in the 1800s.
That leaves only 4 people in the world, still living, who’s birth date year begins with “18.” Time marches on. Only four — and counting down……
-fl
Civil Rights
The Foundation of 'Homeland Security'
This quote from the April 1965 issue of Guns magazine:
Why do so many people act like they don't understand, and have to be reminded of this? The truth was valid in 1788, and in 1965, and is still valid today.
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Civil Rights
Support For Gun Rights Increases
For most of the 1990s and the subsequent decade, a substantial majority of Americans believed it was more important to control gun ownership than to protect gun owners’ rights. But in December 2014, the balance of opinion flipped: For the first time, more Americans say that protecting gun rights is more important than controlling gun ownership, 52% to 46%.
Why has public opinion shifted about gun control?
A recent Pew Research Center report concurs with the fact that more citizens are starting to think about the relationship between their safety and their responsibility. Crime reports continue to reflect two important truths: more guns have resulted in less crime, and the police are not obligated to provide personal security for citizens (unless said citizen is in their custody.)
There has never been a greater variety of personal firearms, and means of carrying them, than there is today. There is an abundance of training available for citizens of all dexterity levels.
Be responsible, be safe.
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Safety
Traveler's Beware
In his April 16, 2015 Daily Briefing, Albert Mohler notes the fact that not all areas of the world are safe for Christians. Many parts of the world are becoming increasingly more hazardous for Christians every day.
Here, in the United States, we enjoy many civil rights, including the right to keep and bear arms, that are denied to people in other parts of the world. If you are planning a bareboat charter, or cruise, outside of USA waters, beware the difference.
For sailor's, the Noonsite Piracy pages are kept fairly up to date with reports on incidents around the world.
Also, the CIA World Factbook is a good resource.
/fl
Infrastructure
Question of the day
How does a state-of-the-art recreational facility built in 1985, in this location, get into this condition in 2015?
Seamanship
Decision Making
In this year's annual Ethics Forum at the Coast Guard Academy, the S/V Bounty incident was used as an example of poor decision making.
[Michael] Tougais tied together lessons he’d gathered from survivors and rescuers he’d interviewed over the years with a narrative of the HMS Bounty replica rescue during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
As the Bounty made preparations to depart New London, Connecticut, for Florida, Claudene Christian, a Bounty sailor, felt uneasy about sailing into a hurricane, as her e-mails to family later showed. But, the captain had offered for anyone on the crew not comfortable sailing to meet the ship in Florida, and the entire crew declined the offer. The Bounty ultimately sank off the North Carolina coast in the midst of Hurricane Sandy, and Claudene did not survive.
“Never ignore your intuition,” Tougais cautioned, explaining that intuition is a clue that comes from your subconscious. “We ignore our intuition at our peril.”
The Bounty had been through hurricanes before and as the captain prepared for the voyage, he felt his ship could go around Sandy, not realizing it was too wide to circumnavigate. As Tougais warned cadets, there were two very important lessons to learn from the captain’s mistakes.
First, “do not project past outcomes to a current situation,” he warned.
He encouraged the cadets to analyze even the most subtle elements of each situation, even if it is very similar to a past circumstance.
Second, “Sticking to a plan can lead to a disaster,” he said.
The plan was to sail to Florida; a hurricane was not a part of the plan. Tougais advised that it’s better to be adaptable, so you can respond to new information, instead of staying so focused on the original goal that you ignore the new information.
Some good points made at this forum.
While instinct is based on experience, good decisions are based on an good evaluation of the facts.
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Animal Rescue
Do you know where your money is going?
I've been a longtime advocate of supporting local animal rescue organizations. You can go online, or ask around, and usually find a worthy one in need of your support. But beware, there are some that may not be worthy of your support. As Larry Keane points out in a recent report:
According to [the Humane Society's] 2013 tax return, the group dedicated a mere 1 percent of its $120 million budget toward helping animal shelters. The other 99 percent of that budget was primarily spent on fundraising expenses or placed in offshore funds.
Check out the efficiency of the organization to whom you are donating. Is the bulk of the donation going directly toward animal rescue and health care, or is it going into an offshore account and/or "administrative costs"?
It's best to find out something about the organization before you write that check. Better yet, go look for yourself, and get personally (hands on) involved in helping with local animal rescue. Like VetRanch in the San Antonio, TX area, there are good organizations out there that need your help.
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Light List
Coast Guard Light Lists - Change In Distribution Method
Coast Guard Light Lists are a means for communicating aids to navigation information to the maritime public. Based on proven technology and the ability to update Light Lists weekly, the annual production of hardcopy Light Lists has become obsolete. Effective immediately, the Coast Guard will no longer print hardcopy Light Lists. The last Government printed Light Lists were the 2014 editions.
Technology now allows the Coast Guard to provide the Light List in a timelier and less costly manner via the Internet. Electronic Light Lists are available on the Coast Guard Navigation Center (NAVCEN) website. Complete versions of the Light Lists are updated weekly on the NAVCEN website.
Mariners should download applicable copies and updates as needed. Local Notices to Mariners will continue to advertise Light List corrections and NAVCEN will continue to publish a compilation of corrections.
a/USCG
Improvisation
Aerial Ice "Breaking"
A crew from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich., assisted a boater after they became stuck in pack ice outside of Holland, Mich., in Lake Michigan, Saturday, April 11, 2015. The aircrew moved the ice using the helicopter's rotor wash to create a path for the boaters to return to shore. U.S. Coast Guard video by Air Station Traverse City.
Semper Paratus!
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Florida Law
Senate Bill 290
SB-290 Firearms/Emergency Evacuation by Representative Heather Fitzenhagen and Senator Jeff Brandes PASSED the House by a vote of 86-26 and now heads to Governor Rick Scott for his signature.
SB-290 Firearms/Evacuation allows citizens to carry their firearms with them during a mandatory evacuation ordered by the Governor or local government during a declared state of emergency.
/Reported by Marion P. Hammer, NRA-ILA
Taurus Curve Recall
Quality Control?
This sort of thing doesn't speak well for Taurus' inspection procedure and quality control.
We recently discovered that a batch of the new Curve™ pistols left our facility without the caliber (.380 Auto) prominently displayed. We are requesting that these firearms are returned to us for proper marking. There are no quality or safety issues with these firearms. The marking error has been corrected and we are currently producing and shipping Curves to meet the significant demand for this product.
We have been in contact with our dealers, distributors and retailers and are in the process of getting the products they had in stock sent back to us. Given the excitement surrounding the Curve, many firearms have already been purchased by consumers. Our Customer Care team is ready to expedite the return and marking process and can be reached at 1.800.327.3776 by selecting Option 1 for Customer Care and then pressing 8 for priority service. More information and directions on how to return a firearm for marking are also available at www.taurususa.com/curvereturn.
We are grateful for all of the support for this exciting, new and different product. We take quality and meeting our customers' needs very seriously and apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our Taurus® fans.
How many guns in a Taurus "batch?"
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Unconditional love
Something to Consider
Resurrection Day is an annual Christian celebration of love, grace, eternal life, sacrifice, hope and endurance. Something that we need to celebrate every day of the year. We're reminded that there is no physical pain, however excruciating that it might be, that our Lord has not experienced first hand — on our behalf.
His grace provides us with a constant everyday supply of subtle reminders of how love can overcome physical pain. Here is one of those subtle examples. In this case, it's in the form of a care-giver and a dog with a broken leg.
Take a good look at the x-ray in the video. Imagine the pain of trying to walk on that broken leg. Could you conquer the pain sufficiently to wag your tail or say "thanks"?
Giving thanks, it's possible!
In this case, two young pups had been scheduled for euthanasia at the local pound but were rescued and brought to Vet Ranch instead. The following video shows their road to recovery.
If you are interested in helping with animal rescue, many locales have organizations that have been set up to do that.
Visit http://www.vetranchrescue.org or https://www.facebook.com/VetRanch to learn more about the work that Vet Ranch does, and to donate if you would like. They are a registered 501(c)(3), tax exempt non-profit organization. There is no shortage of pets in need, so every donation counts.
Tail wags to Dr. Matt and Vet Ranch.
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Safety
Standby while I check the meter...
Since this story was dated March 29, and not April 1, I'm assuming that the "man" actually did show up at a local hospital with a bullet hole and the following tale...
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A man told police he accidentally shot himself while he was testing a gun.
Police responded to Miami Valley Hospital around 2 p.m. Saturday to check on the condition of a 36-year-old patient with a gunshot wound.
The patient told police he bought a handgun for $150 earlier in the day and wanted to test it to make sure it worked. He said he went to the back of Norris Drive, jumped a fence, and then walked into the woods near a creek. He told officers he wanted to get away from people so he could test the gun.
He said he loaded the gun, but at one point it jammed and when he tried to get it unstuck, he accidentally shot himself. He told police it startled him and he threw the gun in the creek. The victim said he ran to his sister-in-law’s house nearby and she called his wife. His wife then drove him to the hospital.
The victim’s injuries were non-life-threatening and he was treated and released.
Police searched the area near the creek for the handgun, but couldn’t find anything.
... A separate point to the above story is; often the word "accidental" is used as a euphemism for the word "negligent." Is it any wonder why some people act as though guns go off by themselves? Even when a gun does accidentally fire, due to a malfunction, if proper safety rules are being followed, nobody is likely to get hurt.
It can be considered negligent for a person handling a gun to not know, and follow, the safety rules.
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Cruising
Planning a stop in Mexico?
For anyone planning a cruising stop in Mexico, this document might be useful:
Aside from the beauty of the place, if you are familiar with the tumultuous history of cruising the various intracoastal 'jurisdictions' in Mexico, you will no doubt take note of the subtlety in the fact that the document has been produced by the Mexican Department of Tourism, but it states, “This brochure is not an official government document but a brief guide to help you understand and ease the process of entering Mexico by sea and complete the immigration process (Maritime Mexico FMM Process)."
Situational awareness and diplomacy are still required...
A wag of the tail to Latitude 38!
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