Forced Entry was a Seattle band that didn’t fit what the world came to know of “The Seattle Scene”. Thrashy, technical, and a healthy sense of humor. Brad Hull did all sorts of guitar tricks with whammy bars and pinched harmonics that gave the band a unique sound. The band didn’t last very long, but for those that knew them there was nothing like them.
But that’s just how I spent my summer vacation. š
Walter Williams, a professor at George Mason University, has published an article on the failed public school system.
The solution? Decentralization and competition (imagine that!):
Any long-term solution to our education problems requires the decentralization that can come from competition. Centralization has been massive. In 1930, there were 119,000 school districts across the U.S; today, there are less than 15,000. Control has moved from local communities to the school district, to the state, and to the federal government. Public education has become a highly centralized government-backed monopoly and we shouldn’t be surprised by the results. It’s a no-brainer that the areas of our lives with the greatest innovation, tailoring of services to individual wants and falling prices are the areas where there is ruthless competition such as computers, food, telephone and clothing industries, and delivery companies such as UPS, Federal Express and electronic bill payments that have begun to undermine the postal monopoly in first-class mail.
We homeschool our kids. Can’t get more decentralized than that!
Linoge has a lengthy transcript of the recent “wild west shootout” from a few days ago (labeled that because the good guy took care of the bad guy with a single-action .45 Colt revolver).
It contains a great many details about the event and the lessons one can learn from it.
Some things I picked up:
Go give it a read. Learn what you can from it.
The U. S. Constitution doesn’t guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.
— Benjamin Franklin
Unfortunately today too many people think that the job of the government is to provide them with the happiness (and security) they deserve.
Via SayUncle I come to a blog article from Katie Allison Granju. She thinks about how the world was just 25 years ago, and then how it is today. She asks:
So here is the question: what is different between my childhood, only 25 years ago, and the ones my kids have today that makes us so much more afraid of guns in particular? I don’t know the answer to this question, but something HAS changed.
I posted the following comment to her blog, since she asked for her reader’s thoughts:
The July 2009 KR Training Newsletter is posted for your enjoyment.
Highlights include a list of forthcoming training opportunities, the KR Training YouTube Channel, some upcoming youth programs, and a lot of other neat stuff. Certainly of interest to anyone in the Central Texas area, but even if you’re not there’s a lot of good information in this month’s newsletter.
Note that Blackhawk SERPA holsters are now prohibited at KR Training. Read the newsletter for details.
Via Tam I read about a spectacular case of PSH.
PSH – Pants Shittin’ Hysterics
So a man with a gun comes into a city council meeting in Chico, California, addresses the council in support of a library, then leaves. Wow, nothing happened. The gun didn’t just jump and start shooting people. No blood was shed. No one died. Wow. Unbelievable.
Thing is, the man is a former California Highway Patrol officer and had permit to legally carry. So thus, no laws were broken.
But lots of hysterics:
Although the man didn’t violate any laws, it made Mike Maloney uncomfortable as the interim chief of police, he said.
“From my perspective, I can’t see any reason for someone who’s not a peace officer to carry a weapon to the City Council,” Maloney said.
He was uncomfortable. He got his feeling hurt. Time to call the waaambulance.
“The million-dollar question is, why would you bring a weapon to the City Council meeting when we’re talking about library funding and the budget?” Vice Mayor Tom Nickell asked.
Those police officers in the chambers and around the building, why do they have guns at a City Council meeting when you’re talking about libary funding and the budget? Perhaps because the potential for bad guys to do bad things doesn’t get scheduled on your meeting agenda? Back to that whole “Be Prepared” thing. Again, the guy’s an ex-cop and probably has enough personal direct experience to know that it’s wise to be prepared to defend yourself because shit happens.
“My opinion is that members of the public should allow trained professionals to carry and use firearms,” Maloney said.
Hrm. The guy in question? He’s an ex-cop. So I guess as soon as he took off the badge, all of his training was immediately removed from his brain, body, and soul. Now he’s suddenly one of those dangerous citizens that we just cannot trust. Sure 5 minutes ago he was a cop and we trusted him fully with a gun, but now he cannot be trusted!
Wow.
Having seen the effects of gun use, Maloney thinks citizens should instead be good witnesses if they spot a crime, he said.
OK ladies. While you’re being raped, just be sure to be a good witness. That’s what Chico, California Interim Police Chief Mike Maloney wants you to do.
And gosh, if that’s how the Police Chief wants things to be, how much can you expect the police will do anything to protect you? Especially how later in the article it mentions how Chico is down on police officer positions. They just don’t have enough cops to go around to even come and protect the legislators in their meetings, so how are you mere citizens going to be protected on a daily basis? But just remember, be a good witness so you can help the Chico police clean up afterwards.
[Mayor Ann] Schwab was concerned when she heard about the gun, especially considering children were in the audience and the council had a heated discussion on budget issues, she said.
Ah good! Someone was thinking about the children. You know, those children that weren’t harmed at all by a law-abiding citizen doing lawful things; in fact, a law-abiding citizen participating in the legislative process… arguably being a more productive citizen than most! Gosh now, we can’t have any more of that. Children are watching!
Thank God we have hysterical Mayors, Vice Mayors, City Councilmen, and Police Chiefs to keep us safe…. safe from what, I don’t know, but thank God we have them. I would add “Thank God they’re thinking of us” but that implies thinking, and it appears not a lot of that is going on.
I admit, getting a 1911 style handgun is on my want list. Why? Just because. I don’t have a need for one, this is pure want because of the platform that it is.
Up until now I have been looking at models from companies like Kimber, Springfield Armory, STI (tho they’re too expensive for a first 1911), and I was probably going to lean towards a Springfield because you can get a decent model at a reasonable price. Good for a first 1911, especially given how they’re customizable to the Nth degree.
Well, my buddy foo.c just picked up a Rock Island Armory 1911. You can see some pics here. IMHO, there’s no rail so it’s not tacti-cool enough to be called “tactical”. š Ā Stupid marketing….
I’ve heard a lot of good things about RIA 1911’s. People say they are solid for the money, good quality, shoot straight, and so on. It’s all praise. Sure there’s some things about the RIA that aren’t up there with say a Wilson Combat, but that tends to be some spit and polish and other things. Yes they can make a difference, but it all depends what you want. I’m certainly looking forward to a little range time with foo.c and trying the RIA out. For the price, it may be the entry point for me into the world of 1911’s.
A few days ago we took the kids out for ice cream. Went to the Baskin Robbins near our house.
When we were walking in, a man was sitting outside on one of the benches. We’ve seen this man before inside the BK; we believe he is the owner of the store; at least the manager, but probably the owner given what we’ve seen. We nodded and smiled and said “hello” on our way in. He smiled and said “hello” back. And we continued into the store.
Each kiddo got a single scoop on a cone, then we all went outside to sit on one of the benches, enjoy the evening, and eat our ice cream.
Within 2 seconds of her starting to lick her ice cream, Daughter’s scoop departed the cone and landed on the ground. *DOH*
We just told her to pick it up, throw it in the trash, and we’d go inside and buy her another scoop.
As we were doing this, the gentleman (owner?) spoke up. He saw what happened and told us to go back inside, get another scoop, and to tell the girls behind the counter that he said to just give us the scoop. Free.
That was unnecessary, but kind and generous. We thanked him, and spent time with our kids talking about such generous acts. Sure you could say this was just good for business, and certainly it does make us regard him and his business more positively and makes us want to go back to his store. But the man did not have to do this. That he did was a little bit of kindness, and it shows that it takes almost no effort and no expense to be good to others.
Little things mean a lot.
… just a question of who does it work for.
Over at Howard Nemerov’s website, a little back and forth in one article’s comments lead to Howard writing a full follow-up article asking if civilian gun ownership causes bloodshed.
His conclusion? Gun control works:
Donāt like Jews or Catholics? Hitler disarmed them and then murdered millions in concentration camps, along with Gypsies, homosexuals, etc.
Hate Christians? After Uganda banned guns, 300,000 were rounded up and murdered.
Donāt like āsmartā people? After banning guns, Cambodia rounded up and murdered over one million of them.
Hate people who disagree with you? After the Soviet Union established gun control, over 20 million dissidents were rounded up and killed.
Of course, if it works or not all depends whose side you’re wanting it to work for.
Howard continues:
By comparison, the Second Amendment has actually saved millions of lives. It also protects your right to religious freedom, your pursuit of happiness, and your opportunity for upward mobility. It raises the cost for thugs who want you rounded up and murdered.
It also shows that anybody who is against the civil right of self-defense is a person who hates your life, liberty, and happiness.
Why would you want to be disarmed before such a person?
Indeed, why would you?
For all those that love the protections 1A gives to the God-given rights enumerated therein, remember that it’s 2A that helps to preserve those rights. The facts of history bears this out.
Stuff From Hsoi 