Saturday, November 29, 2014

School behavior

Here is a video of a black student attacking a white one, all the while making racial comments. The school is a short distance from mine, and I actually know a few of the students that attend the school, including a student who appears in the background of this video.


As a first year high school teacher, I can tell you that I have seen this sort of thing myself. Last month, a black student called a white one an "ignorant cracker" and a "honky." The white student replied that the black student should "remember that it wasn't that long ago that I would have been your boss, and you would be picking my cotton."

The white student was suspended, the black one was not disciplined. After the incident, teachers were told by the vice principal that racism and racial comments would not be tolerated, and that those of us here in the south (VP is from up north) needed to learn that redneck, racist attitudes of the people in the south would have to change.

I am too new to have pointed out to him that his comments and the way the incident were handled were racism and discrimination at their finest.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

4 hours

There is a lot of complaining about how Mr. Brown's body was left lying in the street for four hours after he was shot and killed by Officer Wilson. During the 22 years that I spent as a paramedic and firefighter before retirement, I was present for more than a few homicide investigations. Vehicular homicide, arson with homicide, shootings, and many other scenes involving dead people, all of them have one thing in common:

The police only have one chance to gather all of the evidence that they will ever get. At a crime scene, the police must map out and measure everything. They then have to collect every scrap of evidence from blood spatter to empty casings from expended ammunition, and that includes the body. All of this must be done flawlessly, and once the police leave the crime scene, the collecting of evidence is over.

What you see on TV shows like CSI, where the investigator returns to the crime scene hours, or even days, later and finds that crucial piece of evidence just can't happen, and this is why: Any defense attorney, even one fresh out of law school, will say "I object to the introduction of this evidence. It was collected from a the scene HOURS after police left. How can anyone be certain that this evidence wasn't placed there after the police left the scene?" and then the judge will agree, and the evidence will never be seen by the jury.

I once responded to a vehicle fire in a Wal Mart parking lot as the company officer (supervisor) of a heavy rescue squad. When the engine company put out the fire, they found the vehicle to contain a handgun, 2- 20 pound propane tanks, a case of road flares, 50 pounds of black powder, 3 five gallon cans of gasoline, and 40 pounds of a homemade explosive that was later determined to be ANFO (edited to add:) in addition to a dead body. (end edit). They called for the squad because of the hazardous materials, and because the police would need to disassemble the car to collect evidence.

I spent over ten hours at that scene. We used hydraulic tools to cut the car apart, and had to stop every time we made a cut, so the evidence collection guys could take pictures. The scene was so meticulous that we had to give the police samples of our hydraulic fluid and our fingerprints, so that they could document the entire scene. We didn't even remove the body from the car until nearly 8 hours had passed since the fire was extinguished.

Claining that a body at a crime scene should be immediately covered is wrong, and the NY cop that said that is either lying or a fool. When you are dealing with evidence, everything must be documented before you move or touch ANYTHING. What if that sheet you cover the body in has a hair on it from another crime scene? What if the sheet drags away a shell casing? Soaks up some blood? The crime scene has now been irrevocably altered.

So to those who think that it was wrong to leave Brown's body there for four hours: Had this case gone to trial, the evidence collected during those four hours would have been needed at that trial. That is just the way our court system works: we require evidence to convict people of crimes, not just feelings and assumptions. Shame on the press for not clearing this up. Your job is to educate and inform, not to inflame tensions and cause unrest. The riots of this week are as much your fault as they are anyone else's.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Seriously

Some idiot named Juan Williams was on the Sean Hannity show, commenting on the shooting in Ferguson, MO. Williams stated that Officer Wilson should have just gotten back in his patrol vehicle and driven away rather than use force, and also stated that police officers should not be allowed to shoot anyone.

I am at a loss for words...

Moms demand death of Tamir Rice

Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time knows that I am not shy about calling out cops who are being overly aggressive. With that being said, I think that the decision to "no bill" the officer in the Ferguson shooting was the proper one. That doesn't mean that I think the cop is telling the truth. I have no idea if he is or isn't. What my agreement means is that Wilson  (the cop) is claiming that Brown (the decedent) was attacking him at the time, and presented a deadly threat. The physical evidence that I have seen corroborates that statement, and I haven't seen enough evidence to show that Wilson's account is false beyond a reasonable doubt. With that being the case, the only possible verdict is not guilty, and prosecutors are bound to only prosecute cases where there is no reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused.

As for the other shooting in Cleveland of the 12 year old, I am looking at the video, and the video does not match the statements of the cops in question. The video in that case seems to support those particular cops being charged. We will have to wait to see how the evidence plays out.

I would also like to point out that Moms Demand action is getting exactly what they hoped for: They want to call the cops every time they see someone with a gun, in the hope that police will kill them. Congratulations, Moms, Tamir's death is on you...

All sales should go through licensed dealers

It is illegal to operate a firearm business without a Federal Firearms License.
It is illegal for a convicted felon to buy a firearm.
It is illegal to knowingly sell a firearm to a convicted felon.
Still, the anti gun forces think that we should pass a law that requires all gun sales to go through a dealer. They claim that the criminals will then be prevented from buying guns, because they won't buy guns on the black market.

There is a couple in San Antonio that bought a girl on the internet, and then forced her into prostitution. We need to institute a law requiring everyone to sell everything through an authorized retail establishment.

That should fix it. Right?

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

No justice, free flatscreens

Let's review the applicable rules:

In Florida, deadly force may be used to protect oneself from death or serious bodily injury, or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.

Forcible felony, according to 776.08, includes arson, aggravated assault, and the unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging a destructive device or bomb, and any other felony that involves the use or threat of force.

Throwing a Molotov cocktail is arson, which is a forcible felony.

A Molotov cocktail is also considered to be a destructive device under 790.001.Throwing one is a forcible felony

Participating in a riot whereby the participants are forcibly and violently attempting to destroy any building is a forcible felony under 870.03.

This means that anyone rioting, throwing, or preparing to throw Molotov cocktails may be lawfully engaged with lethal force to prevent the imminent commission of these forcible felonies. The riot of arson need not be directed at you, as you would be employing lethal force to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.

However, under Florida law, you are not allowed to possess firearms in any public place, once a state of emergency has been declared. (870.44)

What does this mean? If there is a riot in your area, stay home, and make sure that you are ready to be there for a few days.

Monday, November 24, 2014

History repeats? Or does it merely rhyme?

Julius Caesar was a brilliant general and commanded an army of over 50,000 loyal men. His success at a military level all but guaranteed the loyalty of his soldiers. But he was seen by some as a cruel man solely driven by expanding his own personal power. As a result, he made enemies of important politicians in Rome itself. Some senior army generals, such as Pompey, were also very concerned about Caesar's intentions.

The Roman Senate ordered Caesar to hand over his army to their control. He refused, and instead advanced to the line that divided France and Italy - the River Rubicon. Roman law said that a governor was not allowed to leave his province, but Caesar ignored this law, crossed the Rubicon, and advanced to confront his enemies in Rome. The Senate considered this to be a treasonable offense, but there was little they could do. Caesar had a very powerful and experienced army and his opponents were fragmented. Pompey was killed in Egypt in 48 BC.

 Here we have Obama, who has just declared that the Senate (along with the rest of Congress) is irrelevant and powerless by signing an executive order that is in direct opposition to Congress and to the will of the people. The Federal bureaucrats will do as he says. Is this Obama's Rubicon? Only time will tell. History may well mark this as the date of the official end of the Republic.

Interesting times, indeed.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Hiding

Darren Wilson is staying out of the public eye. There are many who claim that he should be staying out there and trying to taint public opinion and the jury pool by putting PR spin on the news.

Mark O’Mara, the lawyer who represented George Zimmerman — a neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot black teenager Trayvon Martin — said Wilson and his attorneys should make an effort to speak to the public. That is especially important, O’Mara said, during all the little flare-ups that happen as a case develops. This week, old video surfaced of an officer who looked like Wilson threatening to arrest a man who was videotaping him. Neither Wilson nor his legal team addressed the video.
Mark O'Mara is wrong, in my opinion. His client may have been found not guilty, but the press still won't leave him alone. Three years after the shooting, and a year and a half after being found not guilty, Zimmerman still has his own dedicated page on the local TV station's website. No, Officer Wilson needs to stay out of the limelight, so that the entire nation won't know what he looks like. That will make the people in this country who want to murder him that much less likely to recognize him in public. In fact, he should offer to resign in exchange for a new identity and a pension. His career as a police officer is over, and he will be spending the rest of his life looking over his shoulder.

This case, along with Zimmerman's, is a warning to all police officers and CCW holders: If you are white, do not, under any circumstances, attempt to stop a black man from committing a crime unless your life depends on it. If you do, you will lose everything.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Differences

Let me illustrate the difference between men and women by telling you about my upcoming cruise. We are leaving on Monday morning for our cruise ship, which is a 4 hour drive away. This is how cruise preps go:

Me:
I begin preparations by making a checklist a week before the cruise. I begin packing on Thursday, four days before the trip. I do laundry on Friday night, and my suitcase is 90% packed by Saturday morning. By Sunday at 4 pm, I am packed and ready to go, except for my toothbrush and medication, which I will put in my carry on bag on Monday after I get dressed.

Her:
She tells me that I am crazy to begin packing on Thursday, and spends the evening watching TV. By Sunday, she still hasn't packed. At 5 pm on Sunday, she decides that she needs to go buy some clothes for the trip. She accuses me of "showing off" and "throwing it in her face" that I am packed, because I put my packed luggage next to the door. We return from clothes shopping at 8 pm. She spends the time from 8-10 pm looking for missing clothes, which she accuses me of misplacing when I did laundry.

She sits on the couch at midnight, erasing the memory card for her camera. She asks me to empty the dishwasher because she still isn't packed. At 1:00 AM, she gets mad at me for playing Kerbal Space Program on the computer. I pointed out that I was packed two days ago. That starts a fight that lasts until 1:30.

We have to get up at 5:30 AM to leave, and she still is packing at 2 AM. By 2:30, she is looking for her passport, but still isn't packed, and somehow this is my fault.

Vent complete.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Obamacare math

I was just getting ready for the coming tax year and reviewing the coming Obamacare taxes. For tax year 2015, the tax for not having health insurance is 2% of your pay.

Reviewing the market prices at healthcare.gov, the cost for the cheapest Bronze plan is $280 a month, or $3,360 a year. For that amount of money, the insurance pays nothing on your behalf until you reach the plan deductible of $6,500. So, unless you are paying more than $10,860 a year in medical expenses, or you are making more than $168,000 a year, it makes more fiscal sense to just pay the tax and pay for your own health expenses out of pocket.

This means that the government is stealing another 2% of my pay every year, and giving me exactly nothing in return.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Dear TEA party: I don't want to hear it.

So the military is cutting service members just before they are eligible for retirement benefits in order to save money. The TEA party republicans are furious. I don't want to hear it.

I was forced from my job as a firegihter-paramedic because the TEA party said that my pension was ripping off the taxpayer. Pensions, they said, are an anachronism. I replied that they were a promise to people who made a commitment to serve others, giving their lives in many cases, so that the public would be protected from harm. They claimed that they were saving money, while giving the bigwigs raises at the same time.

They mocked me for that. I was told that I should only have a 401(k), like everyone else. I was told that I should be forced to buy life insurance to replace the on duty death benefits I was losing. So I left, taking my pension while I still could.

How does it feel, now that the shoe is on your foot?

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Government Health Care

In Britain, cab drivers make 65,000 British pounds (the equivalent of $100,000) a year. That is enough to make one would-be cabbie give up his business as an engineer to spend more than a quarter million US Dollars and four years of his life in order to become a cab driver.

Meanwhile, Doctors working as general practitioners in the UK start at 23 thousand pounds, and max out at 65 thousand. The average pay for a cabbie is the same as the top pay for most doctors. So where do you think the brightest and most talented people are going? Certainly not into the medical profession.

That is what happens when you attempt to thwart market forces by intervening with government licenses and restrictions.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Nostalgia

I was just sitting here thinking about the television shows of my youth. Does anyone remember the shows that I am thinking of:


Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
Wonderful World of Disney
Mork and Mindy
The Muppet Show
Happy Days
Laverne and Shirley
Barney Miller
Emergency!
SWAT
Welcome Back, Kotter
WKRP
The Jefferson's
MASH


There were even more shows that were in reruns by the time I was of age to remember them, and I'm sure I have forgotten a few, but television sure has changed over the years.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Playing favorites.

Rattlesnake Tactical is a company that wants to open an ammunition factory in Osceola County. That county is waiving the $265,000 in taxes that they would otherwise be required to pay in order to open the doors. State business records do not mention the name of the owners, but I'm guessing that they have friends down at the county offices.

Why? Because my brother wanted to open a business a few years ago, and they would not waive the taxes. The government is in the business of picking winners and losers.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Arrogant Americans

There is an American academic who was attending a conference in the UAE was arrested for taking a picture of a sign banning photography. From the headlines:

Architect Dr Robert Alan Black was lecturing at a conference in Abu Dhabi when he innocently took a picture of sign banning photography

No one can "innocently" take a photo of a sign banning photography. He knew the sign was there, he flouted the law, and took the picture anyway. He broke the law. 

Dr Black was lecturing at a conference in the city and was thought to have innocently taken a photo of the strict sign near his hotel on a walkabout of the embassy district. He appeared to be amused by the sign, and was entirely unaware that it enforces an ultra-strict code which allows for a five-year sentence for anyone who breaks no-photography rules.

70-year-old from Athens, GA, was held by police in United Arab  Emirates' capital for seven days before a translator alerted his family

OK. And?

Grandfather has been allowed just two snatched phone calls to his worried family who say he is innocent and just wants to get out

He was allowed to call home twice in the past 2 weeks, which seems to be inconsistent with the implied claim that a translator needed to notify the family because he was being held incommunicado. He isn't innocent.


Supporters tell MailOnline of fears for health of diabetic academic, who is said to be losing weight behind bars and cannot afford local lawyer

 So he can't afford a lawyer? Why did he intentionally break the law then?

Americans travel the world with the attitude that they can ignore the law wherever they go. This is what happens, and why people see us as arrogant.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Wholesale ticket writing through automation

Police in Central Florida now have a device that tracks the speed of every vehicle within range, records plates of all moving and parked vehicles, and automatically issues citations. Not only that, the system tracks the location of every license plate it passes, and the information is stored in a police database. Are you a politician or citizen that votes for cop paycuts? Well, the cops know where you have been, and let's just say that you better change your tune, if you don't want the information made public, or you don't want some free lance "asset forfeiture."

The Ekin Patrol, automated violations.

Welcome to the police state.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Communist Pope

The Pope has been advocating for the government to take care of the poor. He claims that wanting to care for the poor doesn't make one a communist. That is true, but when you say that the government should care for the poor, what you are saying is that the government should send armed men to your home to forcibly take money from you and give it to the poor (after they get their own cut, of course) IS communism as it has been practiced.

I cannot listen to a man tell me that I need to give more of my money to feed the poor when he is the guy taking a dump on a solid gold crapper that is crusted with diammonds and said to be worth over US$50 million. . The Catholic church is wealthy beyond measure. Maybe the Pope can start there. Sure, the Pope doesn't own that stuff, the Church does. Sure, he is technically under a vow of poverty. He does, however, live in a palace filled with priceless works of art, has hundreds of servants and body guards, an armored Limo, and a personal jet.


Communism is for the people, not the communists.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Interference problem found

Last week I reported having some issues with my breakers tripping when I transmit with my amateur radio at anything above fifty watts. I have found the problem. It seems that Eaton, the company that made my circuit breakers, shipped out a batch of AFCI breakers that trip when exposed to strong RF interference.

Part 15 of the FCC rules state:

1) The device may not cause harmful interference.

2) The device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

I will be contacting Eaton on Monday.

IRS problems resolved

I was having some issues with the IRS. In short, they have been claiming that I owe $8,400 in back taxes. We have been writing letters back and forth since May. I finally got my answer: I owe nothing, and my case is now closed.

That is one bit of drama that is off my plate.