Blog
Law and Order
"Leave People Alone”
“They may have a gun and shoot you"
"This is a justifiable homicide all day long. You have a right to protect yourself. ... This was the intent of the law," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a news conference Wednesday detailing Tuesday's fatal shooting of Jason Boek, 34, of Winter Haven, Florida.
An important message from Sheriff Grady Judd for all those people who don’t want to spend the night laying naked on a stainless-steel table with a yellow tag tied to their toe.
/fl
Culture
7.14% of American adults now have Concealed Carry permits
And nationally, the number of permits is growing in addition to the fact that some state’s now have “constitutional carry” where no permit is required in that state—and therefor no need to issue permits for residents.
John Lott, PhD, Director of the Crime Prevention Research Center produced the 61-page report, Concealed Carry Permit Holders Across the United States: 2018, that outlines the current trend.
Abstract
Despite the expectations of many after the 2016 elections, the number of concealed handgun permits has increased for the second year in a row. In 2018, the number of concealed handgun permits soared to now over 17.25 million – a 273% increase since 2007. 7.14% of American adults have permits. Unlike surveys that may be affected by people’s unwillingness to answer some personal questions, concealed handgun permit data is the only really “hard data” that we have on gun ownership across the United States. Still, an even larger number of people carry because in 14 states people don’t need a permit to carry in all or virtually all those states. Permits for women and blacks are increasing much faster than they are for men and whites. There are also significant differences in not only the number of permits issued but also who gets them when politicians have discretion in granting them. We also provide evidence on how incredibly law-abiding permit holders are.
It’s always good to see a trend that favors the law-abiding citizen, but we’re still waiting for Congress to remedy the dilemma of innocently becoming a “statutory criminal” when traveling interstate.
/fl
Higher Education
Zoned Out...
A graduate assistant at the University of Utah has been reassigned from teaching a class this semester after handing out a syllabus that said bringing a concealed carry gun to class “is absurd, antisocial, and frightening behavior” and that any of her students who have one — even if permitted — would be forced to stand in a “3x3 taped square” in the back of the classroom.
“This zone also does not include a desk, because desks are reserved for students who respect the personal and psychological safety of their classmates and instructor,” reads a copy of the course outline.
It used to be fairly easy for a student to get a tuition refund, provided it was done before a deadline. That must still be the case, as it looks like someone in the front office jumped in pretty fast. I see that in this case the “teacher” has received some remedial ‘education'; hopefully, she was encouraged to read the Bill of Rights… Notice that I didn’t use the word "reread!"
/fl
Law and Order
“Peace” for Chicago
And the latest 'Neville Chamberlain Award' goes to:
Three men were shot and a fourth was beaten up during what witnesses said was a peace picnic at the Near North Side’s Seward Park on Saturday evening.
The triple shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. in the 300 block of West Division Street during what a witness described as a back-to-school “peace picnic.’’
One to three gunmen between the ages of 15 to 20 opened fire at a group as they stood outside, hitting three men — 28, 43 and 54, police said.
The 28-year-old, shot in the back, was listed in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital while the other two, shot in the legs and arms, were also taken to Northwestern, where their conditions had stabilized, according to police.
Sad!
/fl
Baseball
A Teachable Moment
PITTSBURGH -- Javier Baez continues to make the improbable seem routine.
With two outs in the sixth inning of the Cubs' 1-0 victory Thursday night, speedy Pirates outfielder Starling Marte took off from first on an 0-1 pitch from Jon Lester. Catcher Willson Contreras caught the ball, popped up and fired an 85.1 mph throw to Baez in an attempt to nab Marte at second base.
Falling to one knee, Baez fielded the throw and, in one fluid motion, swiped his glove on Marte for the inning-ending caught stealing.
"If you can break it down and slow it down, it's amazing how he puts his body in position," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He lets the ball come to him, and he positions himself in a manner that's unique. Not everybody positions themself as he does in preparation for the ball. That, I'm certain, junior colleges, colleges are going to try to teach. They're going to get that and break it down, slow it down, and try to teach that, because it's pretty spectacular."
Sweet! You can’t watch this just once…...
The Cubs, at .583, continue to lead the National League.
/fl
Justice
Getting to The Bottom
In addition to violating the Woods Procedures, FBI Agent Peter Strzok likely falsified, manipulated and shaped FD-302 investigative notes in both the Hillary Clinton and Michael Flynn interviews. His own text messages with DOJ Special Counsel Lisa Page highlight that Peter Strzok was very familiar with manipulating evidence by the narrative he could/did write in his 302 submissions…
… It is important to remember – there is a widely held belief that Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe told the FBI agents (Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka) to shape their FBI reports of the interview (FD-302s) to assist a “Flynn lied” narrative.
I recall the collective gasp at the turn of the century, when it was revealed that the FBI was planting phony 302’s in witness files during the TWA-800 investigation; that gasp has turned into a chronic wheeze now in 2018.
/fl
Marine Safety
The Ideal Rescue
I’d say that you can’t get any more 'textbook perfect' than this:
Coast Guard assists Hatteras charter boat taking on water
By The Voice on August 10, 2018
The Good Times transiting Barney Slough. (USCG)
Coast Guard helicopter and boat crews helped eight people on a Hatteras charter boat that ran in to trouble Thursday about 30 miles southeast of Hatteras Inlet.
The crew of another vessel called Coast Guard Sector North Carolina at 12:21 p.m., reporting that the Good Times, a 44-foot boat with eight people aboard, was taking on water.
An Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew dropped off their rescue swimmer and a dewatering pump to help get flooding under control.
Shortly after the helicopter arrived, a Station Hatteras Inlet 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew arrived to assist and ensure they made it back safely.
The 47-foot boat crew followed them to Hatteras Inlet, where the station’s 24-foot shallow water boat escorted them to Scott Boatyard in Buxton to get hauled out.
Semper Paratus!
/fl
Marksmanship
The Mysterious AK-47
I’m assuming that since one of the older members of our United States Senate was recently quoted using the term “fully semi-automatic” that he had other things on his mind back in July of 1968 when George Nonte published his article describing the AK-47 in Guns magazine, and that there might be others who seek relief from their ignorance of things involving firearms. It is for them, and others, that I refer this educational artifact.
A little bit of history.
/fl
Seamanship
Going to School
I’m reasonably sure that the syllabus of this Lake Norman Sailing School does not include “how to sail into a microburst and survive a knockdown and capsize.”
"The thunderstorms intensified quickly as they approached the lake as indicated by radar," Samuhel said.
*Lake Norman Update* Sailing school caught on the lake as weather moved through. Approx 5-6 boats overturned, tossing people into the water. Currently we’re removing people from the water & taking accountability. @TownofCornelius Fire & @CorneliusPD assisting us. pic.twitter.com/RubN3jUALU
— Huntersville Fire (@Huntersville_FD) August 8, 2018
Thunderstorm's have no respect for the term “protected waters”!
Don’t get so engrossed in the mechanics of laminar flow that you don’t see that black wall coming toward you! Better yet, listen to NOAA radio and/or monitor your nearest NEXRAD at all times.
/fl
Law and Order
“Urgent issue of human dignity at stake"
In this case, it's in the city of Chicago where just over the last weekend, mass shootings resulted in at least 74 people in Chicago being wounded, and 12 of them being killed. It was described as one of the bloodiest weekends in the history of one of the most troubled cities in the United States.
These were the 50 most violent cities in the world in 2017
Of the fifty most violent cities in the world, the United States had four cities included on that list: Detroit (at 42nd), New Orleans (at 41st), Baltimore (at 21st), and St. Louis (at 13th)
All of these cities are being operated as socialist plantation’s, where votes are harvested like cotton. The lawless climate created by this type of administration has obviously resulted in the breakdown of civilization. People are crying out for change. Chicago’s mayor describes the epicenter's as "geographic mal-distribution." As if it would be OK if the mayhem was more equally distributed.
It looks like Chicago just can't wait to get on the top-50 list.
/fl
Civil Rights
Sand, or Bedrock?
Things in the news; things that keep driving most of us back to the bedrock of the Bill of Rights:
The Kool-aid Kid, David Hogg demonstrated his hypocrisy and ignorance on Saturday August 4, 2018 when he attended a protest rally in front of NRA headquarters while accompanied by armed security. There is no reasonable explanation for Hogg’s claim that he needs armed protection for his safety, while regular citizen’s do not.
As to wandering onto one of the socialist plantation’s like Chicago, I certainly wouldn’t without a compelling reason, and I definitely wouldn’t go there unarmed. Most hazardous are places that are listed as "gun-free-zones"!
And finally, just how do you prepare yourself to deal with “an unimaginably detailed and complex confluence”?
The means to being prepared is as plain today as it was in the 18th century.
/fl
Sailing Education
5 Things in Sailing I’ve Learned the Hard Way
With summer in full bloom, I sit here on a mooring thinking… What are some things I’ve learned the hard way on this boat? There are more than this but this is what I came up with today. Feel free to share your own if you’re not too proud.
5. Everyone has a different opinion in this world of sailing.
When
I got my first cruising boat, a Catalina 30, I quickly realized this
thing was full of systems I knew nothing about. The motor wasn’t running
and what I knew about fixing diesel engines could fit on the back of a
business card; and there were many other areas that I needed to address.
That’s ok; I can call a professional! The next thing that became clear
was that no two people in this world seem to agree on anything. There
were so many tradesmen who were self taught or had learned from an
informal “passed-knowledge” kind of a way, that consensus was hard to
find. I got through it by leaning on and following the recommendations
of fellow-sailors who seemed experienced, reasonable and logical. It’s
something that makes ASA so important. I know it sounds like shameless
promotion, but this idea of an agreed upon way to do things and a
measurement/certificate of success just makes sense. Are these methods
beyond reproach? Not at all, but a recorded system built on an accord of
what’s right is inevitably and obviously better than one giant
telephone game.
4. If you don’t put the drain plugs in, the boat sinks!
When sailing dinghies, you must remove the drain plugs when you pull
the boat out of the water to suck out all that splash water from the
bilge. If you’re like me, you throw the plug(s) into a spot on the boat
that will instantly become invisible. And if you’re really like me,
you’ll forget to put the drain plug back in when you next launch the
boat. If you’re really, really like me, you won’t notice the boat is
filling with water and you’ll drive your truck away and park it. When
you return, the boat will be, oh, about half full. It’s this moment
where you have to make a quick decision. Your first option is to stare
in shock as your pretty boat looks at you wondering what in God’s name
you have done. A better option is to sprint to your truck and see if you
can salvage this very embarrassing situation. I’ve done it twice, and
twice I’ve been able to get that heavy thing enough on the trailer to
pull it up and drain out the water and, then, uh, put the drain plugs
in…Oh, one piece of advice if you happen to do this yourself. Don’t look
up. Yes, people are looking and yes they want you to look. Don’t do it.
3. Reef isn’t just the name of the restaurant down the street.
At some point most sailors ask themselves: “Do I know how to reef this
thing?” From there, there are two kinds of sailors. Ones that read and
test and figure it all out for, when the time comes, they are ready to
adjust. And then there are the ones that watch the white caps build and
look at that very distant shore and think, “is the red line the reef?”
It is of course because it’s the only one you’ve never used. This next
course of events will either go horribly wrong where this new red line
doesn’t make any sense and this boat is really heeled over. You hear
pots falling on the cabin floor but you’re pretty sure you don’t have
any pots on board. The other possibility is that everything works and
you have a lovely epiphany – reefing isn’t that hard and now 18-knots is
not terrifying… it’s actually fun!
2. The plan HAS to be flexible.
Sometimes, maybe most
times, when you plan an extended sailing trip, you set departure,
arrival and return dates and times based on what’s happening in life.
Maybe it’s something to do with the kids, or work, or some other pending
commitment. We get it, but it’s important to understand that remaining
flexible when it comes to sailing is something that has to be part of
the equation. This activity revolves around an uncaring and, at times,
selfish woman. She doesn’t care about your Monday presentation. She
never did and she’s more than happy to let you know how much she doesn’t
care. So many negative experiences have been had trying to return to
adhere to a schedule. The flip side is true too. I remember setting out
with my semi-sailing girlfriend (and dog) to spend some time on an
island 30-miles away. It was a seaworthy open 21-foot catamaran that
could handle ocean conditions but five miles in it was getting sketchy. I
put in a reef and settled in but the girl and dog were getting
drenched, the boat was bouncing all over the place and a voice in my
head said, “Turn back man.” It probably would have been a story to
tell, but I’m not sure hers and mine would have been the same.
1. People need direction even if it means telling them to do nothing. I’m a laid back skipper. I don’t like to make people feel they are in my classroom or worse, working a day job for me. I usually let them help if they want to or relax and enjoy, if that’s what they’re after. However, I once learned a lesson while docking my boat that made me not want to be too laid back.
I was pulling into a two-boat-length-long, end-tie slip with my neighbor’s docked boat in front of us. I didn’t say much to my non-boating buddy who was at the ready. I had pulled the boat in single-handed tons of times so I didn’t feel the need to say much. What I didn’t understand was that he thought he needed to help. I didn’t tell him he did not need to help. Upon reflection, it’s only natural that he would think what he thought – it’s one of those things that seems like you should pitch in and lend a hand. So, as I started to saddle up to the dock, he jumped off the boat onto the dock with bowline in hand as I was still at the helm. Uh oh. “Just grab a stanchion,” I said calmly, but knowing immediately he wouldn’t know what a stanchion was. At that moment he yanked in the line, and the bow of the 32-foot cruiser came in and the stern went out. I felt like someone was pushing me on a rope swing. I told him to let go, hit reverse and took another pass. It all worked out fine but it made me realize even telling someone to do nothing is sometimes important.
