2015 Homicide numbers

Four years ago, I posted that 28% of the residents of the USA were responsible for 53% of the homicides in 2011. I want to revisit this using the Uniform Crime Report for 2015, so I can compare it to 2016, when those numbers come available.

According to the 2015 Uniform Crime Report from the FBI, there were a total of 14,856 homicides.

Looking at Table 16, we see that there were 5,990 homicides in cities with a population of 250,000 or more. There were 1934 homicides in cities with a population of 100,000 to 249,999. Meaning that in cities with a population of 100,000 or more, there were 7,924 homicides. That represents 53.34% of all homicides in the nation.

There are a total of 93,613,802 people who live in US cities with a population of 100,000 or more. That represents 29.13% of the population.

So 29.13% of the population of the US is responsible for 53.34% of the homicides. The homicide rate in this group is 8.46 per 100,000. The homicide rate in the remainder of the nation is 3.04 per 100,000 - nearly 1/3 as many homicides per capita as the cities.

Get over it

Let's say that I am a basketball fan, and my favorite team loses the big game with a score of 102 points, to your favorite team's score of 108. Your favorite team won, because under the rules of the game, you scored more points.

But wait, I claim that my team SHOULD be the winner, because they scored more times. You see, your team won because 14 of their baskets were shot from beyond the 3 point line, and 27 of them were worth 2 points, while the remaining 12 were foul shots and worth a single point. This means that your team scored 53 times. My team on the other hand scored 15 single point free throws, 31 and only 8 three point shots, meaning that my team scored 54 times.

I demand that the basketball league declare that my team is the winner. I declare that we should get rid of the 3 point shot, and use only the number of baskets to decide the winner. Of course, had that been the rule going into the game, your team's entire strategy would have been different and the game would have played out differently. Changing the rules after the game has been played so that you use hindsight to get the result I want is what I am advocating.

Ridiculous? Sure is, but that is exactly what the Democrats were pushing for with respect to the election, and in demanding that the electoral college be eliminated because you happen to not like the outcome of the election is using hindsight to change the rules after the game has been played.

The election is over, the electoral college has spoken. Hillary lost. Get over it.

Something to hide

We often hear the following quote:

If a man is hiding something, it’s because he’s got something to hide.

That is silly. Of course people have things to hide. We all do. Things to hide range from financial information like credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and the balance in my bank account, all the way to personal or potentially embarrassing information like my sexual preferences, or the fact that I like to watch romantic comedies.

The point is this:
Just because I am hiding something doesn't mean that what I am hiding is illegal, immoral, or any of anyone else's business. That is why the founders felt that this right was important enough that it needed the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment to secure it.

DIY gunmaking

I have had these tabs open for awhile- a way to make your own firearms.

The first is a set of molds where you pour your own polymer AR15 lowers:

The second is Ghost gunner 2, a CNC machine shop for manufacturing firearms.

Nation of the offended, or politics of race?

So apparently an NBA team owner referred to a player's friends as the player's "posse" and the people are in a uproar, with the player claiming that the term is a racial slur. Is there anything that isn't a racial slur?

The team owner is just as confused as I am. Weeks later, the player is still complaining. I don't see what he has to complain about, since he is known for making actual racial slurs:

Part of the problem

My wife teaches a class at the High School level. Her class is computer based, and the students are given files to complete as part of the coursework. Unbeknownst to the students, those files have electronic tokens embedded in them as a digital watermark. Those tokens are unique to each student and to each electronic file.

Upon review, there were 200 instances of cheating committed by 20 different students, as evidenced by students turning in files that were watermarked with another student's token. Since her class is a dual enrollment class that also gives college credit, the college demanded that action be taken.

Several of the students involved are members of the National Honor Society. As a result of the cheating incident, they are being expelled from the NHS. The parents are livid. Not with the students, as you might expect, but with the schools and teachers involved. Why? Because they are "ruining my child's chance at a good college by putting this on their permanent record."

Several parents have requested parent conferences, and are claiming that this isn't cheating, but instead is delegating and "wisely using available resources."

How can teachers correct 16 years of bad parenting in the 135 hours that we have them as students in a typical school year?

Stand Your Ground

A battered, dark-colored pickup truck tore through the grassy shoulder to the right of Padgett's SUV, cut back into the lane and skidded to a halt. Padgett slammed on his brakes to avoid a collision.

Seconds later, the pickup driver appeared in the glow of Padgett's headlights — a burly, bald man shouting threats and waving his arms as he walked toward the SUV. Padgett told Durham to get back in his car, but he continued to approach. Padgett warned that he was armed.

I don't give a f --- if you have a gun. I'm going to kick your a--.

Padgett warned him again, then drew his gun with his left hand and pointed it out the driver-side window. He warned Durham he'd shoot.

I'm going to f----- kill you.

He was almost to Padgett's driver-side mirror.

At that moment, Durham appeared to reach toward his waist.

Padgett squeezed the trigger once.

Detectives told him if he'd gotten out of his SUV, Durham probably would have hurt or killed him, Padgett said. Criminal charges seemed unlikely, but he would have to wait two months for the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office to decide.

The man he shot had killed a man in 2002 in nearly the same situation, and had served 10 years in prison for the killing. In fact, that homicide was his third stretch in prison. He was released in 2012 and was on probation at the time of his death.

Durham's widow, Heather, did not respond to interview requests for this story. In August, she told the Times her husband was a kind, generous man who wasn't defined by his past.

Read the whole story here. It is an excellent story of a defensive shooting, and the PTSD that the shooter experienced in its aftermath.

The plunge

Three years ago, I began dating a delightful woman. Within a month, we had taken our first trip together: we went to Mexico for a week.

Six months later, we were living together.

A month after that, I became a high school science teacher, so we would have extra money to travel and our days off would match.

Over the next two years, that woman from New York would change from mildly anti-gun New York girl to a CCW holding, gun carrying, Trump voting, libertarian leaning Trump voter.

To say that we had changed each other is an understatement.

So a year ago, on November 11th, we became engaged.

In the past week, we were married. It was a medium sized affair, with about 50 guests. The ceremony was short and meaningful, with many of the attendees saying that it was unique and fun.

She was so beautiful, and I was so moved. This was my third marriage, and for the first time, I cried at a wedding. I am not ashamed to say it. This woman is special like no other has been, and I am happy to have finally find the peace I have always longed for.

The after party was a blast, with an open bar, outstanding gourmet food. We are both foodies- I and my family are Cajun, and she and her family are Italian, so you know that the food there would be interesting, tasty, and not at all healthy. The chef we hired made great food, which we previewed this past summer, to make sure it fit our requirements.

Everyone had a great time.

Now I settle into the married life, once again.

Publicity Stunt

A woman claims that she was hiking and ran across a couple walking their dogs. It turns out it was the Clintons.

“I saw a couple of people and two little dogs walking toward me and as I got closer, I realized it was Bill and Hillary Clinton,” she told Inside Edition. “I asked to take a picture with her and he offered to take it for me, and the rest is history.”

This story is manufactured and untrue. You see, former Presidents have Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives, and therefore the woman would not have seen a "couple of people," what with the SS agents tagging along, meaning that she is lying and the entire incident here was staged for media reasons.

Sanctuary City

Stockton, California is a sanctuary city. This means that you can be an illegal alien, and they will do all in their power to protect you and prevent you from being deported. Immigration laws mean nothing there.

However, you better not sell food without a permit.

"I don't write the laws, I enforce them. And the legislature has felt that this is a crime,” said San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Kelly McDaniel. 

Funny that THIS law is where the DDA takes a stand. I guess some laws are important enough to enforce, and others aren't.

Revolving door

Old Town is a popular tourist destination in Osceola County. I have gone there a few times myself. On Saturday nights, they have the Classic Car Cruise, which is a great car show for old cars.

Last night, several hours after the car show was complete, there was a bit of a fight there involving known gang members. Deputy Rios was called there to break up the fight was attacked and then shot by Angel Manuel Lopez, a known gang member. To say that Lopez has a criminal record is a bit of an understatement.

He has 16 arrests dating back to 2008 for drug offenses, burglary, battery, and armed robberies. In each of those cases, he was either found not guilty, received only probation, or charges were dropped when witnesses wouldn't testify.

Now he is an attempted cop killer. The justice system doesn't work.

Shell phones- a rant

It used to be that you would get a cell phone for a small token payment, and the cellular provider would then lock you into a 2 year contract, with an early termination fee of several hundred dollars for leaving. 

For the longest time, I simply maintained two lines that were activated a year apart, and this enabled me to get a new phone every year. That worked until the cell companies figured out that particular plan and began selling you the phone at a highly inflated price. They allow you to make payments, but the phones have about a 50% markup, and you are locked into cell service for as long as you continue to make payments.

The salesmen make all sorts of promises, and then have you sign a book length contract that even experienced attorneys cannot decipher. Then it turns out that the contract entirely favors the cell carrier. Isn't this supposed to be what the consumer watchdog agencies of the government are for? Instead, business and government engage in a "one hand washes the other" arrangement where the little guy keeps getting screwed. This is why candidates like Sanders and Trump are so popular.

American cell phone companies are a ripoff. I was talking with people from other countries, and most countries pay less than $40 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data. Sure, you have to buy your own phone, but there are no early termination fees, no contracts, and you can switch carriers as you please.

These contracts are distorting the market, and there is no real choice or competition in the cell phone market. I have been a customer of every major cell phone company, most of them more than once. 

- I was a customer of Verizon in the late 90's when they were still PrimeCo. Their service was so poor, and customer service was so rude, I left them and went to Nextel.

 

- I was a customer of Sprint back when they were Nextel. My relationship with that company ended with me filing a lawsuit when I cancelled service after my phone service failed during 2004's Hurricane Charley. I wanted to cancel my service, they wanted to charge me a $600 early termination fee for cancelling a contract where they were the ones failing to keep up their end of the bargain. I paid the early termination fee to avoid the hit to my credit, and then sued them. I won the lawsuit, and was refunded my ETF plus a small amount for my time and trouble. 

- I went with AT&T for awhile, but their expensive service and the number of dropped calls was horrendous. I went back to Verizon in 2012

 

Security Fail

So I have a credit card with an electronics retailer whose name I won't mention, but it rhymes with Breast High. Because I have been updating my physical and electronic security, I was on the company's website trying to change my password to a more secure one. I last changed my passwords in 2014, so I was overdue for a change. While there, I noticed that the address they had on file was an old one that I no longer have access to. I resolved to change the address on file next.

When I tried to change the password, I got a message saying that the process had been unsuccessful. I was locked out, and now cannot get back in. Neither the old password or the new one work. I called the company, and they are telling me that they need me to read the numbers from the physical credit card in order to reset the password. I tell them that I do not have the card, nor have I had it in nearly two years.

They respond by telling me that I must read them the numbers in order to reset the password. They offer to send me a new card. I tell them that the address they have on file is an old one. She then offers to send the card to whatever address I give her.

Blink. Blink.

This "security measure" is more security theater. All anyone has to do is give their address, get a card, and then get the password. Security fail.

Crime spree

I put my surveillance cameras in place during the first week of August. It takes about 5 weeks for the DVR to run out of space and begin writing over the old recordings. My cameras can see quite a long way. I can view at least 10 houses and their yards from my house. In the past three months, I have seen the following:

-  My lawn pest guy was just putting the "pesticide" sign in the yard and leaving. I got a refund of $375 and I now do it myself.
- I caught the lawn mowers cutting my screen and damaging several sprinkler heads, as well as the low voltage lighting. They came out and fixed it.
- I caught one of my neighbors' pool guys using my garden hose to add makeup water to the neighbor's pool. They agreed to pay for the excess water. It turns out that I was billed for nearly 2,000 gallons of water over my normal usage.
- When my neighbor's house was burglarized, I happened to get the miscreants on my camera. They now have their own camera system.
- I also caught some local youths setting off large fireworks, damaging some property. I gave the recordings to the affected neighbors.

These cameras have caught so much in such a short time, that I am amazed and wondering if this is normal, or if this is some sort of minor crime spree.

I was asked to join the neighborhood watch. I politely declined. The last thing I want is to be labelled as some sort of wannabe cop racist vigilante ala George Zimmerman. It's a shame when you can't get involved without being a suspect yourself.

More indoctrination

When arriving at work this morning, I found this in my mailbox:

I want to you take a close look at what the schools want teachers to do:

- Organize discussion groups in class or after school to talk about and promote homosexuality.
- Bring up homosexuality in conversations with friends and in class discussions.
- Put up posters and wear items promoting homosexuality.

Here is my feeling on this:
- I teach chemistry. Promoting homosexuality is not a part of my course content. I won't do it. I am not going to tell underaged teen boys that it is acceptable to suck dick, or underage teen girls that they should be out there licking pussy. I am just not going to do it.

- From a biological standpoint, if homosexuality were to become the norm, our species would cease to exist, as it interferes with reproduction. This by definition makes homosexuality a behavioral disorder. That isn't to say that people who are homosexual should be mistreated or bullied in any way, nor forced into treatment, but I don't feel that it needs to be celebrated or promoted any more than does flatulence, halitosis, or coronary heart disease.

- As far as transgenders: just because you believe yourself to be a woman does not make it so, any more than I would be a chicken if I claimed to be one. If you believe yourself to be of a sex other than the one which you biologically are, you have a mental disorder. Treatment should be offered for this, but not forced upon transgenders, unless that transgender belief endangers you or others.

However, professing the above beliefs and opinions would get me terminated if it were to become known amongst my coworkers. Free speech, my ass.

Teaching evaluations

On March 7th of this year, I was hired by a local high school to teach physics and chemistry. The teacher before me had been fired for absenteeism two months earlier. They had been in the classroom with substitute teachers for over three months of class time when I was hired. It is difficult to find qualified teachers in STEM fields, and even harder to find qualified teachers for chemistry and physics. Maybe this is why:

The results of our teacher evaluations just came back for last year. The evaluation is based upon three factors:

1 Your plan for teaching and improving yourself and your students (Called a Professional Development Plan or Deliberate Practice Plan)

2 Your classroom skills, as evidenced by a classroom visit and observations made by a school administrator

(These first two factors are called your Instructional Practices Score)

3 Student performance on end of year standardized tests. 

The scores are on a 4 point scale, with 3.50 and higher being superior, 2.5-3.49 being average, and anything less putting your job in jeopardy.

The standardized tests that my evaluation was based on, was administered during the week of March 28 - April 1. Spring break was the previous week. In other words, I was employed by the school for exactly 11 days before they were tested.

Even better, the students whose test scores were the basis for my evaluation were 10th graders. Physics and chemistry are 11th and 12th grade courses. There is no standardized test for either chemistry or physics, so the school uses the 10th grade reading test to rate all teachers whose class does not have a standardized exam.

So that third factor, which comprises 40% of my evaluation, is testing students that I don't teach, in a subject that has nothing to do with the subjects I teach, and tested them on skills that they learned or didn't learn before I even worked there.

When my classroom teaching was observed, it was during a physics class. In the the first instance, they were testing the math formula for determining pendulum period. They used different weights and different lengths of string to build pendulums to see which had the greater effect on pendulum period. Then they had to use the pendulum formula to construct a pendulum with a 2 second period. 

During the second class, the students were measuring frequency and wavelength of ultrasonic waves, and using that to calculate the speed of sound in various mediums. 

What did I get as a score for my IPS? A 3.2.

The test that the students took just two weeks after I was hired? I got a 2.49 for that. For performance that didn't even happen when I was there.

How is that an accurate or fair assessment of a teacher's skill? Do you know why I was evaluated like this? Florida law says that I get a large bonus if I am a new (to the district) teacher and my SAT scores were above the 80th percentile. By giving me an evaluation from last year, they get out of paying me that bonus.

The teacher across the hall from me is a law school graduate. Last year was her first as a teacher. She is always in an hour early, and leaves an hour late. She got her evaluation today and burst into tears. 

The education system is systematically dysfunctional. Teachers who don't care are simply there to put in time, get a paycheck, and have summers off. Talented teachers who care are often run out of the classroom and return to other careers.

Obamacare

"If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period... In an Obama administration, we'll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year...So this law means more choice, more competition, lower costs for millions of Americans." President Barack Obama

I'm frightened, yet intrigued

Watch the below video, I know it is long, but the implications are truly scary:




This is how revolutions happen: agitators cause trouble, and then the communists move in and take over. We see this again and again:
Agitators who are being directed and paid by the DNC are causing civil unrest at Trump rallies, as evidenced by the video above.
Agitators who are being paid by the DNC, Soros, and others are travelling to cities where there are police shootings and causing civil unrest. We've seen it in Charlotte, in Ferguson, and Baton Rouge.

This is both frightening and intriguing. On the one hand, I am truly afraid that we have at last reached the end of the United States as the Constitutional Republic it has been, which comes to no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. On the other hand, it is interesting in that we are a witness to history.

Suppression of the press is well under way. Look for people do not cooperate to begin disappearing. That is the next phase.

Awash in red ink

When Obama took office, the US Federal Government owed $6.3 trillion dollars to its creditors, and owed $4.3 trillion to its own trust funds, namely Social Security and Medicare, for a total of $10.3 trillion in governmental debt.

There are those who claim that Bill Clinton balanced the budget, but as I have blogged before, that is a misleading claim. Bill Clinton ran a deficit every year that he was in office, but what he did was rob the trust funds in order to pay for general expenditures. In other words, he "borrowed" all of the Social Security and Medicare Trust funds, leaving them with nothing but government IOUs. In all, the debt (to creditors and trust funds combined), the government borrowed $1.4 trillion.

The government under President Bush, with no money left to steal from the Trust funds, just continued to borrow money, to the point of borrowing an additional $4.8 trillion.

The government under Obama has made all of our previous Presidents look like amateurs. The government has "borrowed" $1.2 trillion from the Trust funds, and a whopping $7.2 trillion from creditors. Our total national debt stands at $19.7 trillion. By the time his term expires, Obama will have borrowed more money than all of the past presidents COMBINED.

That amount is even larger when you consider that the FED has monetized a significant amount of the debt. Monetization of the debt is when a central bank buys and then removes Treasury notes from circulation. The Fed has bought $2.1 Trillion in Treasury notes since Obama took office. What this means is that our real debt is closer to $22.1 trillion.

When the Federal Reserve purchases these Treasuries, it doesn't have to print money to do so. It issues credit and puts the Treasuries on its balance sheet. Everyone treats the credit just like money, even though the Fed doesn't actually print any cash. In other words, they are printing the money by issuing it on a computer screen. The U.S. government borrows when it auctions Treasuries. The Fed turns this debt into money by removing those Treasuries from circulation, essentially burning the loan documents and ensuring that they need not be repaid.

The Fed is using semantics in claiming that this is not a monetization of the debt, because they claim that monetization would require the central bank to never redeem the notes, and since they intend (someday, when the economy improves enough to allow it) to redeem the notes, then it isn't technically monetization.

The effect of the Fed buying all of these treasury notes is that it suppresses interest rates, and increases the money supply, which makes money worth less and less as the amount in circulation increases. The only way to keep rates low is to continue to buy treasury notes, and refuse to sell. This means that the number of notes that have to be held will continue to grow. Add to this the amount that the government is borrowing, and you can see that we are awash in red ink, and trying to hide it by printing more and more money.

What this means to us is this: the Fed will have to buy more and more of these notes, and the government will continue to borrow more and more, until inflation and the amount of the debt becomes unsustainable. When we reach that point is unknown, because no other country has ever borrowed so much. What is known is this: every government that has tried this scheme has fallen, and the nation wound up in a disastrous war. Our days are numbered, there is just no telling what that number is.

Typical

My son posted a comment to the book of faces essentially claiming that men say things to each other in private that are offensive, and he doesn't understand why everyone is in a twist about Trump.

One of his coworkers (a female) immediately responds that she has never heard people talk like that, she would never, and that she has never heard a coworker speak like that. My son pointed out that when people speak, they change their conversation around strangers and people who are easily offended. He also pointed out that men speak differently when women are around. (This used to be called 'speaking in polite company')

She responded with a comment of "If you can't say something around everyone, you shouldn't say it at all." Then pointed out that she would expect language like that would get you fired, and rightly should.

At that point, I jumped in.
Here was my comment:

I cannot believe that you have NEVER had a conversation in private that was not inappropriate. I know for a fact that women frequently say things when men aren't around that are inappropriate as well. Recording a private conversation without the other party's knowledge, and then releasing it later to damage his career makes you a jerk.
Likewise, a conversation that a firefighter has (even if in front of a chief) off duty and out of uniform, not to mention eleven years before he even APPLIES for the job is not going to be held against him.

Here was her response:

I deleted my comments and will be unfollowing this post. Like I said I will not argue about this. I really hope for better out of everyone. I do not discuss politics on Facebook because it's pointless. I love being a firefighter and I love the people I work with. I make it just fine. Hopefully, most of them continue to be respectful and are held to the same high standard that I've always seen. I will be reporting your comments to your supervisors, maybe they should be on the lookout for your 'private conversations.'

Here was my final response:

 I never attacked you, all I did was disagree with you. By hoping for better, I assume that you mean that you hope everyone will agree with you. 

Hypocrites, all of them.

Light sentence for a scumbag

A friend of mine experienced a tragedy last year when their 8 year old daughter was killed in a hit and run accident while walking home from school. Aubrey Clark was struck and killed by Lastevie Howard as she was walking home from school with a friend.

After running over the two children, he fled the scene and was caught a mile and a half away by bystanders who had witnessed the crash. Aubrey died in the hospital several days later, her friend was only slightly injured and fully recovered, unless you count the trauma of watching his best friend die. Police later released traffic surveillance video, which showed Howard's black SUV leaving the scene of the accident after the crash.

Lastevie V. Howard was originally charged with reckless driving with great bodily harm and leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury, but the state later added vehicular homicide with failure to render aid, and leaving the scene of a crash involving a fatality. The dirtbag initially plead not guilty, but then entered a plea bargain where he plead guilty to two of the charges. He was sentenced to 7 years on the two charges, for which the minimum was 4 years EACH.

The problem that I have with this, is that this man was already a convicted violent felon. He was convicted of:
He was convicted of burglary in 1994 for a burglary that he committed in May of 1993. He was only 19 years old.
He plead guilty to aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer in January of 1995, for an incident from an arrest in July of 1994.
He was convicted of forgery and resisting arrest in January of 1995 for an arrest that happened in September of 1994. He plead guilty in a plea deal and was sentenced to 1 year in the county jail.
He was convicted in 1994 of carrying a concealed firearm, misdemeanor. He was released after only serving two weeks because the jail was overcrowded. Even though he was a convicted felon at the time, there were no charges for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Burglary and theft (both felonies) in August of 1997 for a burglary he committed in December of 1996. He plead "no contest" to the charge, and received probation.
While awaiting trial on the Burglary and theft charges, he was convicted of Petit Theft in May of 1997, for a shoplifting arrest in January of that year, for which he received 1 year and nine months in prison.
While awaiting trial for the shoplifting and burglary charges, he committed an armed robbery in April of 1997. A jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to 12 years.
He was released in April of 2009. In the three years that followed, he received no fewer than 6 traffic tickets. In January of 2015, he killed an 8 year old little girl.

He had at least seven felony convictions, many for violence. He was found in possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. Instead of running free, he should have been in prison for the rest of his life.

Our legal system has failed us, and most of all, it failed Aubrey.

Indoctrination

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Bust

Matt Drudge has been coming under fire for accusing NOAA of over exaggerating Hurricane Matthew's data. The hurricane's eyewall passed right over a data buoy, and the highest sustained wind reported was 56 knots, with a gust to 68. That is FAR below the reported strength. In fact, not one weather station has reported winds of the reported strength. In fact, the station in the Bahamas is not only offline, but so is all of its historical data.

Here at my location, the highest wind we have had is 25 mph. We have gotten an inch and a half of rain in the past 24 hours, and most of that was a single band that passed over us yesterday afternoon.

The preparations for this storm cost the people of this state tens of millions of dollars, far more than the storm damage cost. There were already people who refused to evacuate, and next time there will be even more who refuse to do so.

Good job, NHC.

It begins

This is the first time that I have had to use any of my contingency plans since I have been with my fiance. She, not being from Florida and not being a prepper, is not used to preparing for hurricanes. I, on the other hand, am from Louisiana and grew up on stories of past hurricanes like Camille, spent more than 2 decades as a firemedic, with five of those years being as a member of the USAR that was deployed to hurricanes and other disasters all over the south. 

My preparations caused her to tell me that I was "panicking" and that we wouldn't have a problem because she has never had a weather related problem in the 7 years she has lived here. I had to show her pictures from Katrina, which had 120 mile per hour winds, and then show her that this storm would have 140 mile per hour winds in order to get her to go along. Still, I assume that she is simply humoring me and that I will hear about it later, if we don't have too much bad weather.

As a prelude to this storm, we filled both vehicles with fuel, made sure all of our propane tanks were full, and ensured all batteries were charged. I filled all of our reserve water cans and removed all of the loose stuff from the yard. I tested my HAM radio system and checked in with the local radio network, to ensure that we can call for help if and when the phone system goes down (as it did with Hurricane Charley in 2004 in Central Florida, and with Katrina in Mississippi in 2005).

I have all the food that we need, and much of it doesn't need to be cooked. The generator was started and run for a bit as a test, and that is as much as I think we need to do.

Yesterday, this is what the bread aisle looked like in the local supermarket:

There were lines at the gas station, and police were there to keep an eye on things, as there were a few fights at some locations. Society unravels quickly. 

The first rain band came through here about a half an hour ago, and in less than 15 minutes we got half an inch of rain. I will update from time to time.

NYC soon to have no groceries

A new law proposed for New York City will allow citizens to upload videos of vehicles sitting with their engines idling, and the citizen will receive 50% of the collected fine, which for a tractor- trailer can range from $500 to 18,000 for a first offense.

Since over the road truckers MUST stop periodically by law for mandated rest periods, and the engine must be running to power air conditioning and other equipment, this law is posed to eliminate trucks from New York City.

Riot law review

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.

Throwing stones and rocks into an occupied structure is a forcible felony under 790.19.

A person who is occupying a vehicle that is forcibly and unlawfully being entered is presumed to be in reasonable fear for his life under 776.013.  A person who is attacked in his or her dwelling, residence, or vehicle has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use or threaten to use force, including deadly force. 

This means that anyone who attempts to forcibly pull me from my vehicle may be lawfully engaged with lethal force. 

Cops react to noncompliance

Do you want to know why cops freak out when a person doesn't comply, and then attempts to access their vehicle? The following video is shown to nearly every US cop as an example:





Read all about what happened here.

Attempted suicide by cop

One of the cops in this video is an acquaintance of mine. The cops here showed remarkable restraint.

Security report, SeaWorld Orlando

Sea World Orlando's security was tested by me on four different occasions during a two year period, ending in the Spring of 2016. During each of those 4 occasions, I was legally carrying a handgun and successfully entered the park each time without being questioned or stopped for security in any way.

There was little to no security visible in the parking lot. Several unguarded access gates were noted to be locked with no security personnel visible nearby, but there were security cameras. To what extent they are monitored is unknown.

The park was inspecting all bags coming through the front gate. This inspection was cursory, and a bag with a hidden compartment would probably result in the ability to smuggle other items in, but this was not tested. Park employees were pulling some people from the line to be checked with a handheld magnetometer, but the check was poorly done.

There was an average of four police officers visible at the front gate, who were standing around shooting the breeze.

Security inside the park was limited to a few uniformed security officers.

Overall, it was easy to enter the park armed and wander about. The parking lot appeared virtually unguarded and unmonitored. A person who is carrying a weapon will likely not be discovered, as there is effectively no limit on the carrying of weapons.

Man who stopped stabbing not really a cop

The stabbing in Minnesota was carried out by an African Immigrant. He was stopped by a man named Jason Falconer, who the press is reporting is an off-duty police officer.

The truth that the press is not reporting is that he is actually a concealed carry advocate and owner of a Minnesota company called called Tactical Advantage; its website says the company “is a full-service range with range rental, range gun rental, retail sales, limited gunsmith service and stellar training.”

Falconer's biography on that site states that he is the former police chief of Albany, NY, and is still a part time officer and firearms instructor for that department. How can a man who lives and works in Minnesota be a part time police officer for Albany, a city which is 1300 miles away? My guess is that this allows him to carry weapons where us simple proles cannot, and may also allow him to own machine guns that are not allowed to be owned by mere mortals.

Either way, the press will continue to report that it was a cop, because the press admitting that a person with a CCW stopped a mass killing just isn't going to happen.

EDITED TO ADD: It looks like there is an Albany, MN. I retract the last part of this post, with apologies. Oops.

Supply and Demand

A bomb goes off in New York City. Thousands of people rush to get home, and call for an Uber car. This surge in demand causes all of the available drivers to be busy with fares. Now there are no available drivers, so Uber's automated systems recognize this and increase fares, passing the fare increase to the drivers, thus luring more drivers off the couch and into taking fares to alleviate the surge.

This is a classic demonstration of the iron law of supply and demand. As demand increases, the availability of a product decreases, and prices increase. This has the dual effect of both increasing supply (more drivers want a shot at delivering the product at the increased price) and reducing demand (fewer passengers willing to pay the increased price) until the system again reaches equilibrium. That is exactly how supply and demand works, and the law of supply and demand is inviolable. As long as there is a product which consumers demand, as well as those who would supply that product, the law applies.

Of course, that doesn't stop people from accusing Uber of profiteering. They don't stop to consider factors which are affecting prices, mostly because they are self absorbed and don't understand basic economics.

Reddit

A few years ago, I took a class on terrorism at a local college in pursuit of my degree in Public Safety. One of the things that I did for the class was plan a terrorist attack on a soft target in the area, and then see what steps should have been taken to prevent it. As a result, I saw that the security at these locations was there only for show. I continued to check other locations and saw how flimsy the security was, and used some of these checks as the basis for a post or two.

My recent post on being armed at Disney got linked to from Reddit. That link resulted in over 1,000 unique page visits, making it the second most popular post that I have ever written. That got me to thinking: I have been entering non permissive locations for years now, and I think that I am going to begin writing up reports on the security of non permissive locations. Here are the ground rules that I am setting up for this series:

1 I will not enter in violation of the law. When I enter places, understand that I am not breaking the law. I always try to use an actual weapon where legal, in places where it is illegal to have a weapon I have used analogs, things that appear to an x-ray machine or magnetometer to be a weapon, but upon actual visual inspection are obviously not a weapon.

2 I am not interesting in debating the basis for concealed carry. One of the biggest comments over on Reddit was how you don't need a gun at Disney or anywhere else, unless you are in a "bad" neighborhood. I think this is a rather naive position to take, but if you don't think you need to carry, then don't. Just don't try and stop me for choosing to carry. I would, however point out that Disney parks are a dangerous place, with even Federal law enforcement officers being kidnapped and carjacked there. Sometimes it is the Disney security guards themselves committing the crimes. Even the terrorist who was the shooter in Orlando had scouted Disney as a possible target. 

3 I also do not want to debate the morality of carrying against a property owner's wishes. I don't care what his wishes are. I don't owe him a thing, and I am free to ignore his wishes as I please, as long as I am following the law. 

Think of the above rules, and consider this:

A criminal or terrorist will bring a weapon in to these places, and doesn't care about the law, the owner's wishes, or whether or not concealed carry is a good idea. If I can legally sneak a weapon into these places, a criminal or terrorist could also do so illegally with the intent of killing, robbing, or kidnapping you. 

So, this will be a recurring feature here. Look for my upcoming posts.

Mordida

We are becoming more and more of a third world country every day. A building inspector charged a business owner $300 to inspect their business. I am sure that this is not the first time.

Mordida.

Armed in a Non permissive environment- Walt Disney World

I detest security theater. The security measures that have been put in place at various public venues have not done a thing to actually make us safer, and actually make us less safe. All these measures have done is make people FEEL safe, while providing no real safety. There is a lot of crime on the property of the theme parks, even being perpetrated by the very employees of the parks themselves, and not just a few times, either.

For at least the past ten years, I have tested the supposed security at local theme parks by entering the parks while legally armed. Year after year, they tighten procedures and make searches of the people entering these parks more an more intrusive, even to the point of using dogs. I have entered the theme parks while armed over 100 times, and I have only been caught once, and that was entering a Penn and Teller show in the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios while armed with a 1911. I have since found out how to beat the security measures in place that night, and have routinely done so on more than a dozen occasions.

The theme parks began by conducting bag checks. That was trivial to beat: just carry a weapon on your person, and have no bag to check. Even so, carrying a gun in a bag was easy as well. For example, the bag checks at Universal Studios only checked people as they left the parking garage. People who valet parked, arrived by bus or taxi, or who entered the park by taking a water taxi from one of the  on property resort hotels were not subjected to the search.

Disney was no better.

Then last year, the parks announced that they would be adding magnetometers to the bag searches. I thought for sure that this would make entering the parks far more difficult, if not impossible. I was wrong. It proved to be a trivial exercise in getting past security with a firearm on my person. In fact, I have entered the theme parks since they began using magnetometers on no fewer than 15 different times, and have actually only passed through them three times, and they only caught the fact that I was armed once. This means that there is an 80% chance than an armed person will not be screened at all, and if he is, there is only a 33% chance that he will be caught. Think about those odds.

This weekend was no different. I went to the Disney parks to test the security. I was wearing khaki shorts, a polo shirt, and sneakers. I was carrying a Smith and Wesson Bodyguard with a spare magazine in a belly band, a 4 inch boot knife in a back pocket, and a container of pepper spray in a front pocket. This is 100% legal, since I have a concealed weapons permit.

At the Magic Kingdom, there was a bag inspection, but since I was not carrying a bag, I bypassed it. Beyond that, there were three magnetometers, but only one of them was being used. People were occasionally being pulled from the line and forced to walk through it, but the selection process was not random. Watching it for just a few minutes, it was obvious what was happening: anyone with a large untucked shirt, any sort of 511 pants, or other typical CCW clothing were being selected for the supposedly random searches. Since I have been carrying for a long time and do not wear clothing that obviously gives me away, I guess I am not suspicious enough to be selected.

Those who set off the magnetometer were then forced to go through secondary screening where they were checked with a hand wand. I have gone through this magnetometer three times, and set off the machine twice. The first time, I was caught and had to go out and leave my firearm in a locker in order to enter the show. I have not been caught since.

Why? Because the second time that I set it off, I was wearing the firearm in a Thunderwear holster, and when I was wanded, the guard noticed that I was wearing a large belt buckle. (Show them what they expect to see, and they will usually buy into it) They are not cops, and do not have qualified immunity against lawsuits, so cannot ask you to disrobe or frisk you without incurring some significant legal liability. Most of them are either mall ninjas, or idiots who are not all that motivated to do more than make a few bucks while doing as little as possible.

This is where I do have a question. As a backup to the unarmed security at Disney, there are off duty Orange County Deputies who are working there on the Disney payroll as armed security. They wear their county issued uniforms, carry county issued badges, radios,  and guns, while carrying out private employment. What can they legally do or say in the support of this private regulation?

This is why I have a real problem with Disney. They are both a private entity and a local government. The Deputies in this case are both acting a cops and as security, and all parties here change hats in order to take advantage of the powers and rights of both, while neatly dodging the legal responsibilities, restrictions, and constitutional protections of both. This is fascism, pure and simple. I will continue to resist it as much as I possibly can.

Democrats with guns

A man decides to get drunk and engage in target practice in the backyard of his suburban neighborhood.  Bullets fly into his neighbors' homes. The usual suspects line up to protest guns. It turns out that he is a Democrat.

Tool

This film actually illustrates one of the fundamental problems that I have always had with the Libertarian party.






They are called illegal immigrants because they broke the law when they immigrated. The term has exactly nothing to do with race or ethnicity. Whether it was illegal decades ago or not doesn't matter. They immigrated in an illegal manner, and just because you happen to disagree with the law doesn't make someone a racist for using the term.

Helicopter parenting

Many parents are tempted to try and solve all of their child's problems, but in some cases doing so is actually harmful to the child, as they never learn to do things and solve problems for themselves. Let me explain:

One of the most difficult things for high school chemistry students to learn is how to set up conversion problems. To make learning this method easier, I begin by showing them how to do it, and then over a period of weeks I assign them practice worksheets with sample problems. For the first few weeks, the problems are very easy. They start off with problems like converting a $5 bill into quarters, progress to converting grams to kilograms, and then once they have mastered the easier problems, we begin the more difficult ones. Each problem must use the proper number of significan figures, and all problems MUST be in scientific notation.

I require that each student show their work, so that I can monitor their learning progress and offer guidance when they make mistakes. Points are taken off for various mistakes, with the largest deductions coming for not showing your work, or setting the problem up improperly. Minor math mistakes result in small deductions, because I am more concerned with mastering the methodology than whether or not a student can tell me how many quarters he can get for $5.

Every year, I get a student who either decides that he can take shortcuts like simply moving the decimal point, or using a calculator to do the entire problem. Each of those methods work on the easier problems they face in the beginning, but they do not work with the more difficult problems, and as those problems get more difficult, the student falls behind his peers and grades begin to slide.

This year was no exception. I had a child who simply turned in a 7 problem homework assignment without showing work on three problems, showing the incorrect method on two problems, and a host of other, more minor errors such as failing to show units in the answer, and failing to use proper scientific notation. His  parent argued vociferously that those errors don't matter as long as the student gets the correct numerical answer. I spend two hours typing up an explanation of my grading system, and pointing out that this homework assignment was less than 0.05% of the student's overall grade, and the grade on this assignment was merely a feedback mechanism for the student.

The parent was having none of it. He insisted that I give the student full credit "for making an honest attempt" at completing the homework, and that listing the answer without showing his work should be good enough, because in the business world, it is results that count. I told him that his feelings on this were immaterial, and further told him that the grading system in my class would not change. He then became hostile, and said that as a parent, it was up to him how his child would be educated, called me "obtuse" and then said he was going to the authorities (principal, school board) to have me fired.

He then transferred his child to a much easier, less challenging class, where this child will be bored out of his mind.

But at least they aren't my problem any longer.

Childish demands

Recently, the national organizer for a student movement that is demanding free college, forgiveness of all student loans  and a $15 an hour minimum wage appeared on Fox news. You should watch this:

This is child like thinking. They want all of these things given to them at taxpayer expense, but haven't thought about how to pay for it. Clueless.

The Brady campaign

The Brady campaign is crossing the line in to idiocy. Here is the picture that they posted to their Facebook page:

With the caption:

This week, more than 900 people were killed by guns in the U.S. Two of them, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – both young, black men – were shot and killed by police. We MUST do better to address the problem of #gunviolence that disproportionately claims lives of color. #ENOUGH

What gun law that ANYONE has proposed would change what happened?

I would call them idiots, but I think that they know the truth. That makes them liars.

Hot and Humid

In reference to my post of the weekend about people from the north not understanding Florida summer:

A pastor friend of mine was telling me how he was to be the officiant for a "destination wedding" here in Orlando, where the two who were getting married had never been to Florida before. The wedding was to be this past July 30 at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Outside, at one of our resort hotels. They wanted a full 2 hour ceremony with formal dress.

My pastor friend tried to tell the bride that it was too hot outside to give her what she wanted, but she was having none of it. She wanted what she wanted, and she was the bride, and do what I say, was her attitude. Besides, they were from Chicago, and you rubes don't understand heat until you have been in the  midwestern states during their summers. 

Of course, anyone who lives here in Florida knows that you cannot spend that amount of time outside, dressed like that in this kind of heat. But, he was ready to let her have her wedding the way she wanted it. 

Two days before the wedding, the bride and groom arrived in Orlando and decided to spend the day before the ceremony at the Magic Kingdom. They called the pastor in a panic at 3 in the afternoon, and demanded that he change the ceremony to a shorter, 20 minute ceremony. 

Luckily, he already had prepared for that eventuality.

Sneaky Pete

Since it gets so hot here in Central Florida and the people who live here are always wearing summer clothes that make carrying a weapon problematic, those of us who carry weapons are always looking for comfortable ways to conceal. Enter the Sneaky Pete holster:

It appears like a case for a tablet pc, or perhaps a large cell phone. However, it actually hides a S&W Shield rather nicely:

I like it, because it doesn't get a second glance from anyone, and it is of sturdy leather construction. Go check them out. (I have no stake in the company, other than being a satisfied paying customer).

Polling- random thoughts

I was looking at polls, and I saw some interesting trends.

Income:

As of today, Clinton has leads among those who make $35K, but is trailing those with middle incomes from $35K to 75K, and the two are tied among those who make more than $75K. This tells me that the people who work for a living are tired of the status quo.

Race:

Clinton has 83% of the black vote. I think that this ties in with the lead she has among with lower incomes, because 85% of Blacks are on Welfare.

Education
Clinton also has a lead among those who have a college degree, but is losing among those with some college. My opinion here is that she is winning among those with degrees who have a low income. Why? Because these are the people who went to college to earn worthless degrees and are stuck under a mountain of student loan debt, but can't get a decent job to make their loan payments.

Hot and Humid

In a recent post, the Silicon Graybeard explains what it is like to live in Florida in August. He isn't kidding. On Thursday when I left for work at 0600, the temperature was 78 degrees. At 6 in the morning. But it isn't the temperature that is the biggest problem.

The biggest problem was my windshield fogging over, and not staying clear no matter how high I ran the wipers. The only way to keep the windshield clear is to run the defroster at 80 degrees. What this means is that the dew point is 78 degrees. So now I am sitting in a car that is heated to 80 degrees, with a humidity level of 92 percent.

The dew point temperature is the temperature at which the air can no longer hold all of its water vapor, and some of the water vapor must condense into liquid water. At 100% relative humidity, the dew point temperature and the air temperature are the same, and clouds or fog can begin to form. While relative humidity is a relative measure of how humid it is, the dew point temperature is an absolute measure of how much water vapor is in the air (how humid it is). In very warm, humid conditions, the dew point temperature can reach 75 to 77 degrees F, but rarely exceeds 80 degrees.

Dew point is the best indicator of comfort in a hot climate. Once the dew point of the air exceeds 66 degrees Fahrenheit or so, the air begins to feel hot and uncomfortably stuffy. The reason for this, is that your perspiration can not evaporate to cool you off.

Couple this with heat, and we have what is known as the "heat index," which is a way of saying what the air feels like. In the case of my morning drive, that particular combination of heat and humidity makes for a very uncomfortable drive.

That afternoon, my car said that it was 98 degrees on the way home. That temperature, combined with the dew point of 78 degrees, means that the relative humidity is 53 percent. That makes it feel like it is 116 degrees Fahrenheit (46.4 degC) outside.

THAT is the reason why we need air conditioning in Florida. Now there are people from further north who like to claim that it gets just as hot or hotter up where they are from, but they are not accounting for humidity. On July 6 of this year, New York City recorded a temperature of 91 degreesF, and a dew point of 72 degreesF. That makes the Relative Humidity 54%, and the heat index a relatively comfortable 99 degrees F (37 degC).

Cameras

Two weeks ago, I installed a camera system in the house at a cost of $400. I placed five cameras around the house: One on the front door, and one on each of the four sides of the house. It records what happens outside when it detects motion. Five days after I installed the cameras, those cameras recorded the lawn maintenance guy just sticking the "pesticide" sign in the yard, and then sticking the bill in the door. That was all he did- he did not do a thing to the yard, aside from the sign. He is supposed to treat the lawn for bugs and weeds, and then fertilize.

So last Saturday I sent the company a certified letter, explaining that I had them on film billing me for a service that they did not perform. I demanded that they cancel our service, and demanded a refund for the year I had paid in advance. In the envelope, I included a copy of my contract, a copy of the bill left in my door, and a printout of a screenshot from the camera at my front door. That screenshot had a facial view of the service tech, with his vehicle and the "pesticide" sign that he had placed in the yard in the background. The letter said that they had 30 days to refund my money, or I was filing a complaint with the state to have his professional license revoked, and I was going to hire an attorney to sue him.

I got a $375 check today by certified mail. The system has paid for itself already.

Milwaukee update- 5 more facts you should know

This is an update to my post of earlier today. It seems as though some more facts are coming to light:

1 The man who was shot by police has been identified as Sylville Smith. He has an arrestfrom a shooting earlier this year, and for intimidating a witness in that case. Smith was charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety, a felony, on Feb. 3, 2015.
Authorities have him on tape instructing his girlfriend to tell the victim in that shooting to recant under threat of violence.
The victim recanted his identification of Smith and the case was dropped after the victim did not show up to court and was uncooperative. The victim then denied that he changed his story because of witness intimidation.

2  Court records show Smith has one prior conviction from 2014 for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, a misdemeanor.

A real choirboy.

3 The firearm that the man had when shot by police was stolen in a home burglary from March of this year.

Stolen? You mean he didn't undergo a background check? Shocking!

4 The man arrested with Smith was Demario D. Pritchard, according to police records and sources. Earlier this year Pritchard, 24, was found guilty of felony possession of cocaine.

Another choirboy

4 The officer who shot the man was also black.

No racism there...

5 Sylville Smith’s father, Patrick Smith, told Fox 6 News he blames gun laws and poor role models, including himself, for what happened:

Everyone playing their part in this city, blaming the white guy or whatever, and we know what they’re doing. Like, already I feel like they should have never OK’d guns in Wisconsin...They got us killing each other and when they even OK’d them pistols and they OK’d a reason to kill us too. Now somebody got killed reaching for his wallet, but now they can say he got a gun on him and they reached for it. And that’s justifiable. When we allowed them to say guns is good and it’s legal, we can bear arms. This is not the wild, wild west y’all.

More riots

In Milwaukee this weekend, a violent criminal with multiple arrests draws a stolen firearm on a police officer, who then shoots him dead. As usual, riots follow. 

The rioters then proceed to record video of themselves beating every white motorist who passes through the area, then post the videos to the Internet. They shouted things like "Ima bout to steal this cracker's car," and "He white! Beat his shit, bitch!"

THIS is a hate crime. Will Obama's justice department investigate this? Of course not. 

I remember what happened to Reginald Denny, who was dragged from his truck and beaten unconscious with a brick, a tire iron and a fire extinguisher. He had more than 90 skull fractures.

He went through years of therapy, working on his speech and regaining the ability to drive. He works as a boat mechanic in Lake Havasu, Ariz., and has a permanent disability.

You just might succeed in pulling me from my vehicle, but that act will be preceded by some rioters being turned into speed bumps, and I will be found next to a pile of spent brass and at least a few of my attackers.  I am not going to be pulled from my vehicle and beaten until I am permanently disabled without a fight. 

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.

A person who is occupying a vehicle that is forcibly and unlawfully being entered is presumed to be in reasonable fear for his life under 776.013.  A person who is attacked in his or her dwelling, residence, or vehicle has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use or threaten to use force, including deadly force.

This means that anyone who attempts to forcibly pull me from my vehicle may be lawfully engaged with lethal force.

US citizens on the dole

As a continuation of the look at the correlation between race and violent crime, I want to look at Welfare. In the United States, there are just over 110 million people on welfare out of a total population of 323 million, meaning that just about one third of the US population is on welfare.

Of those 110 million welfare recipients, 39.8% of them, or 43.8 million, are black. Blacks comprise 16 percent, or 51 million people, of the US population. Doing some simple arithmetic shows that 85% of the US black population is on welfare.

Aside from the connection between race, welfare, and violent crime, there is another fact from above that really shocked me.

One third of the US population is on welfare. Seventy percent of them have been on welfare for more than three years.
Another 20 percent - just over 65 million- are retired or disabled and on Social Security

Sixty percent of the country is either on welfare or Social Security. What is going to happen when the checks stop rolling in?

Safety fail

How NOT to test your laser...

Correlation

This post began as an analysis to show that there was no correlation between gun ownership rates and murder rates. Instead, I found a strong correlation between race and murder rates. Let me begin by showing the data for the most dangerous cities:

From neighborhood scout, the 20 US cities with the highest murder rates:

1 East Saint Louis, IL. The city's population is 97.4% black. In 2014 the murder rate of city of East St. Louis was higher than that of Honduras, the country with the highest murder rate in the world.

2 Chester, PA This city had a Republican mayor until 2011. The city's population is 74% black.

3 St Louis, MO This city's population is 46% black.

4 Gary, IN This city's population is 85% black.

5 Detroit, MI This city's population is 83% black.

6 Camden, NJ This city's population is 48% black.

7 New Orleans, LA This city's population is 60% black.

8 Riviera Beach, FL This city's population is 67% black.

9 Trenton, NJ This city's population is 52% black.

10 Wilmington, DE This city's population is 58% black.

11 Jackson, MS This city's population is 79% black.

12 Harrisburg, PA This city's population is 52% black.

13 Baltimore, MD This city's population is 63% black.

14 Newark, NJ  This city's population is 52% black.

15 Petersburg, VA This city's population is 79% black.

16 Pine Bluff, AR This city's population is 75% black.

17 Rocky Mount, NC This city's population is 61% black.

18 Flint, MI This city's population is 53% black.

19 Bridgeton, NJ This city's population is 36% black.

20 Harvey, IL This city's population is 75% black.


The US population is approximately 12.6% black. Each and every one of the 20 most murder prone cities in the country have a black population that is at least three times higher than that, and more often than not, five times higher. Two questions immediately come to mind:

1 If Black Lives Matter really believed that Black Lives Matter, then why aren't they trying to find the cause of this?

2 What is causing such a strong correlation between black population density and murder?

Can't fake it

The Democrats, in a transparent attempt to appear patriotic, failed miserably when they displayed images of the Russian Navy at their convention.

Or maybe this was a picture of the Russians looking for Hillary's emails...

Special rights for Special People

As George Orwell said, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." This is especially true when it comes to the enforcement of our laws. Many in this country were upset when Hillary Clinton got a pass from the Director of the FBI after violating the law with regards to her email server and the classified information that she put on there. I don't understand why people were surprised. After all, the rich, famous, powerful, and well connected have been getting away with it for years.

During my recent travels, I ran into a guy in New York City who was politically well connected. He had a license plate that began with 1SP., and was followed by a two digit number. He began telling me that the state police union had a series of special plates made, and only available through Hamilton county in New York. He claimed that this plate was given to "friends" of the police union, and the lower the number was that followed the 1SP, the more important you were to the cops. He said that this plate routinely gets him out of traffic and parking tickets.

This sounded like a lload of BS to me, so I activated my Google skills. What I found was that handing out special plate numbers is a common practice in New York. and I quote:

To some recipients, special license plates issued by the Saratoga County clerk are a symbol of county pride. For others, they are an inherited treasure passed on by a family member or loved one.
For many who have them — a list that ranges from county workers to state Supreme Court judges — an unwritten rule is that a lower number may indicate a special driver.
Indeed, an examination of the recipients of the special plates, which carry an "SP" prefix, shows they are coveted by a select group of government employees and elected officials, including judges, prosecutors, town supervisors, attorneys and political party leaders. The spouses and children of those people are also among those, estimated to be in the hundreds, who have the plates.

Now the SP prefix goes to Saratoga County. The 1SP prefix, which I can find little about, belongs to the State Police. This is how things are done there, from Concealed Weapons Permits to License plates, corruption and special favors rule the day.

They claim it is for "county pride" but I am sure there are not that many people who believe that. This is a way of announcing to the police that you are politically well connected and should receive special treatment.

Missing

Posting here has been sparse over the past month.

On the morning of June 25, I left the country on a week-long cruise to Honduras, the Caymans, and Mexico, and then I went to New York City to visit some friends. The posts that were here in the meantime were typed weeks ago. I just don't like broadcasting the fact that my home is empty.

While I was in NYC, we stayed at a hotel in Hell's Kitchen, blocks from Times Square. While we were there, we found ourselves in the middle of two different BLM protests. After several days of that, we decided that it was in our best interest to head for safe harbor. Unarmed, thanks to the fact that we were in NYC, and hearing about protesters blocking highways, we made the decision to head for our alternate BOL in Maine, and stayed there for a week. It was nice to get in some fishing.

By the time we left for home, the protests had died down, and we left for home. A 4100 mile road trip, preceded by a 2200 mile cruise means that I traveled 6300 miles this summer.

Blogiversary

This blog is 9 years old today.

My recommendation

Since the anti-gun fix is in, you should probably begin planning for the inevitable now:


Here, use your own furnace to melt aluminum:






Then, you can use styrofoam molds to make the weapon:






Then, buy a CNC machine for $1500.


I am guessing that you can make 4 or 5 firearms a day.