Firearms Friday: Definitions

Today there was an article in the Washington Post stating in the title that “There have been 204 mass shootings — and 204 days — in 2015 so far”. What the headline doesn’t immediately tell the reader is that the definition has been changed in order to satisfy the author’s agenda. Five paragraphs deep into the article the means of miscalculation is finally revealed:

“The Mass Shooting Tracker is different from other shooting databases in that it uses a broader definition of mass shooting. "The old FBI definition of Mass Murder (not even the most recent one) is four or more people murdered in one event," the site's creators explain. "It is only logical that a Mass Shooting is four or more people shot in one event."”

Buried even further in the fantastical story was this little gem: “There have been 10 in Ohio, 14 in California and 16 in New York.” Did you catch that? While the author may have glossed over those ‘statistics’ the reality remains… 30 ‘mass shootings’ occurring in the two states with the strictest gun laws. Put another way, excessive regulation had no impact as nearly 15% of these tragedies occurred in these liberal strongholds.

Of course, this is nothing new. Redefining terms is something that the left takes pride in… quite literally recently. From redefining marriage to media attempts to reclassify all semi-automatic rifles under a rather limited, by definition, term of assault weapons. It is because of this pattern that I wasn’t surprised to read such blather from an uniformed writer (sorry, can’t use journalist for this one).

And don’t think about doing the same thing if your views are anything but liberal. That would be racist, radical, homophobic, illegal, or just downright silly. Don’t try to reinforce current definitions either because that can sometimes be worse… you might be the devil if you do that. Unless you want to be labeled, you just have to sit back, take it, and watch as the nonsense continues to destroy the country.

Don’t watch a drunk driver careening down the highway hitting car after car and call it attempted mass manslaughter. Don’t read the news about knife wielding assailants and call it a mass stabbing. Don’t listen to the excuses on the radio and call abortion doctors mass murderers. You would be skewing the facts and that is just wrong… and somehow you would be a racist too.

And, G-d forbid, don’t speak up for the rights of all law abiding citizens to defend themselves. Don’t voice your support for the military and law enforcement. Don’t call out those who refuse to accept facts or responsibility for their own actions. You will certainly be deemed a radical homophobic racist or something else like that. But, you know what, that is fine with me. I know it’s not true. Just don’t call me a liberal democrat.

Do You Really Want Me As A Juror?

 
Today is the date that I was told to report and like any other day during the work week I woke up early, grabbed my stuff and got in the car. Last month I went to pick up the mail and as I flipped through the envelopes one stood out to me. Crap! I got called for jury duty. While many might try to feed you the lines of ‘serving the community’ or ‘supporting the legal system’ I firmly believe that it is a complete waste of time and I shouldn’t be required to burn one of my vacation days to simply fill a seat. Plus I have to drive to Norristown and supposedly park in a temporary lot while the juror parking garage is under construction. This is sounding like it is going to be so much fun!

 

Hopefully some of my displeasure came across in my answers to the questionnaire that I filled out last week (they should pay me for the time it took to fill out that list of crap). And that was even after I waited and had accepted my fate before filling it out. The interesting thing about most of the questions that they ask is that if you think about them long enough you can honestly answer them yes or no. Here are just a couple of the yes or no questions that can be found on the form:

 

Do you have any religious, moral, or ethical beliefs that might prevent you from serving as a juror?

 

When you first read it you think that as a moral, ethical, and grounded person you should check yes but if you put some thought into your response, as I did, I had no choice but to honestly answer no. As a proud Jew (Israeli actually), if someone were to go on trial who is proven to have any kind of tenuous affiliation with a terrorist organization (i.e. Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood, etc.) or white supremacist group, regardless of whether or not it has anything to do with the crime, I would immediately assume them to be guilty. Right or wrong that is honestly how I would react. Plus I have a huge gripe with the extreme liberals and hippies in this country so the same type of scenario could play out that way too. Don’t be offended regular non hippie liberals that is not directed at all of you.

 

In general, would you have any problem following and applying the judge’s instruction on the law?

 

Well… in general, using the Supreme Court as a means of measurement, I am certain that I would completely disagree with a judge’s instruction on the law about half the time in a number of different kinds of cases. If this were specified as a means of applying the letter of the law to a case I would say no. However, this is specifying the generality of the situation so that I have no other option than to respond with yes. While I am obviously by no means a legal scholar, I have my views and there are numerous laws that I disagree with which could, albeit not guaranteed, influence my ability to serve and follow said instruction. Therefore, in general, I might take issue with certain instructions. Also see the previous question and response because there is the potential that one of the instructions could be to ignore such affiliations that are not pertinent to the case at hand.

 

While it could have been simply a lack of cases there is a good possibility that my honesty on the questionnaire is why I was not required to report. Instead, I got to go to work and earn the money that gets taxed to hell so that we can have these overburdened and sometimes broken systems in place. But at least I didn’t have to burn a vacation day!

 

Did You Vote?

I am a huge proponent of exercising one's rights. The variety of the rights granted unto us are there to be embraced. We all have the option to exercise the rights that we chose to use. While there are rights I fervently support, sometimes I do not exercise one of my rights. Sometimes there is little motivation and even less time to get to the voting booth.

On Monday night I went to bed with my alarm set about thirty minutes earlier than usual so that I could swing by the community center in the morning before heading to the office. When the alarm sounded in the cool glow of a new day, I was having nothing of it and, without hesitation, reached over and hit the snooze button on my phone. The next thirty minutes, this process was repeated like the directions on a shampoo bottle. Finally I rolled out of bed and began my groggy routine.
 

Before heading out the door, my wife and I discussed the plans for the day and the times we expected to be home that night. It was a lodge night so dinner was pretty much up in the air. I guess we were going to just have to figure it out later in the day…. Usually during out midafternoon phone call. By this point I had been watching the minutes tick by on my watch and I knew that the voting booth was just going to have to do without me in the morning.

If it were a simple run in, run out type of thing I would have taken the detour but I know the people that work the polls and I know the contingent of Democrats that flood this particular location. Frankly, I didn’t want to deal with the delay or the debate. Not that morning. Besides, I know who my nominee is heading into the heat of the campaign season.

Throughout my drive to the office I couldn’t help but think about the various races with the Governor’s race playing the most prominent role in my mind. And while this may seem wrong to some but I couldn’t help but hope that the weakest, most radical of the candidates would win the nomination. I won’t name names but let’s just say that I am really not a fan of the Congresswoman from Abington and her radical brand of liberalism. If anything, I wanted her to win simply because of the fact that it would demonstrate just how successful the Governor has been and the balance that he has brought to the economy of the Commonwealth.

In the end, a one percenter secured the nomination and held a party at a minor league ballpark that he rented out in York. I hope he stays in the minors (maybe we could start calling him "Meat"). I know what you’re thinking and its okay he owns a Jeep that he drives himself so he’s just like one of us. I wonder if he supports paying his own ‘fair share’? It should be an interesting race to watch and I know you will all be shocked when I say this but I already know who I am voting for come November. But, until then, Play Ball!

Playing Catch Up

The past couple of weeks have provided me with a seemingly endless stream of work. The kind of heavy flow that leave you searching for the cut off valve. While nothing that needs to be done is of any significant size, the volume of the work is what keeps growing.

The greatest hindrance to the whole thing really isn’t the things that I know that need to be done it is the collection of all the things that I keep forgetting about. The tasks and projects that have been put aside temporarily in order to take care of the faux urgent. Today was a perfect example of this as I was knocking things out at a pretty steady pace with what looked like an end point in site. Then my mind began churning and bringing to the forefront items that had been blocked out for days.

This really isn’t anything new. Sometimes it is what needs to be done in order to focus on more pressing matters. Sometimes it is because my mind is wandering about while I am typing. On the rare occasion, it is because I just zone out and things evaporate. Of course, there are the occasion where all of these fun things come into play as they play tetherball with my gray matter allowing me to catch a quick glimpse of a thought before sending it back to the forgotten files in the corner.

Is this a problem? No, not really. It doesn’t get in the way of getting things done on time. Maybe the occasional lapse of time between communications but nothing that would entail missing a deadline. In fact, it is my minds way of making sure that things get done. Even the best juggler has limits as to how many things they can keep afloat. Yes, it’s a cliché and I used it. If I tried to keep everything going on within easy mental reach it would be impossible to get things done. Even simple things would be a chore and choked with the thoughts of other unrelated projects. It would be like Bill Clinton at a sorority house slumber party… at some point you just freeze up and not be able to function even though you know what to do.

Basically, in order for some people to remain productive, you have to become stupid. I am talking about a liberal dose of stupidity that ensures you mind has a singular, however ridiculous, purpose. You have to do this while maintaining a damn good mental hard drive to pull things back up when needed. One project at a time because even the best computer can crash if you let it overheat (usually if you open up too many programs at the same time).

If needed, don’t be afraid to shut it down and smack the crap out of it… old school IT support is sometimes the best solution. With that said, time to revisit the land of the simple minded where liberal doses of stupidity are the norm and everything has a blue tint to it. Without all that pesky thinking I should be able to catch up sooner than I thought possible.

Social Media Disturbances

There were a couple of messages on social media that caught my attention this week for all the wrong reasons. According to a message I received through LinkedIn, I am uninformed because I do not accept the communist ideas as expounded by Marx. On the other side (actually much of the same side), according to someone on Facebook, a person whom I have personally met on numerous occasions, I am a Nazi because I do not support socialized medicine. Essentially, they are both communistic idealists.

First, let’s address the LinkedIn blather. I received this in my inbox and, while I don’t mind being picked for funds , this one is a train wreck:

“Alleanza Kontra l-Faqar (Alliance against poverty) is a pressure group in favour of distribution of wealth in a fairer society. We advocate and give voice to anyone who needs our support on a number of social issues that can include education, minimum wage, basic income for everyone and their fair economic adjustment in view of inflation, purchasing power and cost of living, precarious employment, third age pensioners, disabled persons, health, single parents, the unemployed, and, social housing.

“The Alliance against Poverty is not subject to any political or religious bias, and, its members are determined to work collectively towards a social and overall well-being, as a basic fundamental right, in order to live a satisfactory and decent life, whether they are living within poverty lines or not….

“…Karl Marx - economist and sociologist ( born in 1818 ) among others mentioned the need to have a system to take care that the work earn enough money to have to eat , and for Marx this basic need was part of patter that prescribed that wealth should be distributed equally amongst the members of society.

“Unfortunately as sometimes happens even today the day , the politicians did not implement the communism based on principles of solidarity alone, and countries using a communist ideology such as Russia and Cuba seem to have suppressed their notable communist policies in view of the rise of civil wars and the intentional or non-intentional use of the inappropriate political model to support the original philosophy that favours equality in wealth distribution. Wealth distribution remains highly unfair towards the poorer members of society even in modern times, with the increasing numbers of unemployed persons during the double dip (2008).”

The last paragraph should have read something along the lines of “Unfortunately, as sometimes happens even to this day, politicians pander to the people and feel the need to implement government run programs that sap the motivation and incentive from a society. While hiding under the cover of ‘equality’ they hinder the individuality of the people and quash any means to better themselves in the best way that would benefit themselves, their families, and society as a whole.” Equal distribution is not a means to utopia, it is a way to ensure conformity. That is not a tool that should be applied to any society which ascribes to the practice of freedom.

In looking at the profile of this person, I am left with a great sadness for this misguided young person. Too many of those in the younger demographic fall prey to such doctrine. With that said, Facebook quickly reminded me that this is an epidemic that is not just limited to ill informed youths.   

Soon after this Marxist tidbit was read, I went over to Facebook to check on a few messages. In my stream I was confronted with the following post by someone who shall not be named (and no it was not Tom Riddle): “Personal opinion: I believe that the anti-Obamacare crowd is whacked beyond the Nazis. To paraphrase the eminent historian John Lukacs, the Nazis had their half-truths. The tea-partiers don't have diddly-squat!” Needless to say, we have a winner for the WTF Award for the week (also a strong contender for the annual prize).

Don’t get me wrong, I am not calling this person a communist or a socialist. Rather, it is the vulgarity of what they see as a societal norm which brings me to draw the comparison with the previously mentioned message. Essentially, their message is that because I am against the a federally run healthcare system (because we know the federal government is efficient, always on budget, and knows how to shop around for the best deal) I am both a member of the Tea Party and a Nazi. While at first I was shocked by this assertion, I quickly realized that it really isn’t surprising. They are simply regurgitating the messaging that is found on a weekly basis spewed on many of the unbiased news liberal editorial channels.

So, because I don’t fall in line and goose step with that crowd I am the bad guy? Frankly, I would rather have my own opinion based on my own personal experiences and study of the subject rather than simply believing in a program that had to be passed before anyone was told what was in it. This doesn’t mean that all social programs are bad, some are necessary to the health and well being of society, but some are grandiose schemes put in motion by intellectual and societal dictators that live in their own utopian minds with little contact here in the real world.

We can be a self sustaining people if others would get out of the way and let us live. If you would take the time to embrace what you have rather than focusing on what the Jones’ have we would all be in a better place and a better state of mind. Maybe then we could actually work on the problems of our ‘modern’ society rather than encouraging strife and burdening this and future generations with ‘solutions’ that cause more problems than they solve.

I know that won’t happen any time soon and maybe that makes me the idealist in this situation. While I adamantly disagree with the fudge that is smeared on these social media sites, it is their opinion and I believe that is a freedom that needs to be protected even those they don’t support the freedoms that I enjoy and feel should be protected. All I can really do is feel sorry for the state of the people and hope that we return to a time when we can live up to the aspirations that the founders had for this country and for us as a people.  

Disturbing Facebook Trash

Take your time and let that quote for this week sink in for a minute or two.

The above quote has been circulating for the last couple of weeks around the internet and has garnered a lot of well deserved negative attention because, while it is someone’s right to feel that way, it makes it no less an insult to the men and women who have fought to preserve that right. This little girl (I can’t disrespect all women by calling her a woman) is a shameful excuse for a human being and should consider herself lucky to have people who fight for her and the country that allows her to spew such hate.

However, the latest twist to this post is that the woman is claiming that someone posted it to her wall as a means of bullying her. I honestly hope that this is true and that she is a victim in this whole situation. Either way, I feel sorry for the woman from whose account this garbage originated. Either she is an uneducated piece of trash trying to back track and save face by being a lying, disrespectful, unappreciative, "attention whore" or she is someone who surrounds herself with people who would post such vial filth that goes beyond the bullying of one by dishonoring thousands.

Unfortunately, it is well known that the sentiments expressed in that Facebook post are not limited to one individual. Too many people hold such a sickening view of our soldiers while praising the politicians who send them to fight. Why are our soldiers viewed with such disdain and our politicians are seen as the ones “saving lives”? How does that make sense? Why can’t people think beyond the uniform?

Here’s a change in tactics. How about we find the person who posted this comment (whether it was the little girl or someone else) and charge them with a hate crime. There can be no doubt that there is pure hatred behind those words. How does that sound as a proper and balanced course of action? What are your thoughts?