Snow Falling Short

Um... No!

So far the season has been as mild as we could have hoped for with little snow and reasonable temperatures. There have been a few questionable days when the ice caught everyone off guard but nothing in comparison to the frozen deluges that we experienced last year. This has been the story of the season up to this point.

However, beginning late last week the story that dominated the nightly news has been that of the storm that was making its way across the country set to veer northward as if in a sudden drunken rage. We all knew that the dry time that we have been enjoying would have to come to an end at some point but it is still an unwelcome shift in the seasonal demeanor. Of course, that is a rather mild summary of the predictions that dominate the television, internet, and radio.

Just like every other instance of any significant precipitation, it is cast as though Armageddon will be bearing down on us. The stores were bombarded yesterday leaving my wife and me to change our plans and head to an alternative place to shop. Snow removal supplies were dwindling all across the region. It was the usual effect stemming from the worst case scenarios that have been promoted for days.

Because of the ominous sky and the preacher-like warnings broadcast throughout the previous evening and early morning, the roads were a little lighter than usual allowing me to make good time to the office in the morning. During the day we heard much of the same from the various media outlets with an additional suggestion to purchase supplies for the specific purpose of making life sustaining French toast. An interesting suggestion given the warnings of possible power outages.

I managed to leave the office a little earlier than usual but still later than most. We put off plans and appointments earlier in the day so I was able to get on the highway and enjoy the sparse traffic all the way home. There were a few slightly slick spots along the course of my commute and the snow picked up here and there but nothing like the blizzard conditions that were being called for.  

By the time my wife headed off to bed this evening the snow had nearly stopped with a little more than a dusting falling from the sky less intense than Ally Sheedy’s artistic flair in The Breakfast Club. As I finish this post the night is nearly clear with a forecast now predicting nothing more than cold air and a white landscape. I guess Armageddon isn’t that bad after all.

Firearms Friday: PSA WTF

I wish that I was kidding when I write the following but, unfortunately, there are people out there that are encouraging children to not only break the law but put themselves and others in a very dangerous situation. While admittedly exaggerated, here is the basic message that these people are trying to teach children:

Ok kids, it’s time hand out the homework for today’s liberal lesson. Since you all just learned that inanimate objects are the most dangerous things that have ever been created by man… excuse me, people… you must go home and make sure that none of the objects that we discussed are in your home. After all, I know better than your parents who still believe in personal responsibility and the antiquated rights granted to them in by the founding fathers.

So, tonight you will search your home and look for these items. If you find anything I want you to ignore all the things that the racist people in law enforcement have told you and put them in your backpack. Don’t worry, people can’t be blamed, we can only blame the object so you won’t get in trouble. Once you have these things bouncing around in your backpack with your pencils, books, and all your other common core issued items, bring them to school and put them on my desk.

This is the kind of insanity that is being propagated by those who propagate the message of various “gun sense” groups. I couldn’t help but have that scene run through my mind as I read about a PSA that is being promoted on social media. And since they were more succinct in there reporting of this propaganda, I am going to leave it to the folks at Bearing Arms and there analysis of the dangers of such messages being aimed at kids:  

Director Rejina Sincic has created a disturbing video, advocating that teens commits multiple felonies—several of which could lead to injury or death through negligent discharge of the weapon—because of her own hysterical, irrational fear of firearms.

In the video, a boy steals an unholstered (presumably loaded) firearm from his mother’s room, drops it unsecured into his bookbag, and then carries it to school. After class the boy pulls the pistol out of his bookbag and puts it on his startled teacher’s desk, saying, “Can you take this away? I don’t feel safe with a gun in my house.”

In the real world, such an act would result in the boy facing numerous felony charges (exact charges depend on state laws) possibly including weapons theft, unlawful possession of a weapon by a minor, illegal concealed carry of a weapon, carrying a weapon onto school property, assault, and brandishing.

He would face the possibility of felony criminal record and mandatory expulsion from his school… and this is the kind of behavior that deranged gun control supporter Sincic is hoping that children will emulate.

What is wrong with these people?

Why just read about it when you can watch the absurdity yourself…

In summary, common sense is no longer in play and the tactics of the senseless are now putting children at risk. But, fear not, as these people have proven time and again, these kids will not be held responsible for their actions because only inanimate objects are to blame. That is how the mind works when logic and personal responsibility are removed from the equation.

Say Goodbye To Baseball Bats

I know the title has some of you thinking about the meaning behind the statement but it really is very simple. I have decided to take the advice of the President and will start doing anything I can to save lives. After all, “if it saves one life, it’s worth it.” And so begins the campaign to ban baseball bats or, at the very least, require a background check in order to purchase one. It only makes sense to start looking at sources of unregulated weapons (especially if they’re black and scary looking) to ban or control first before going after other items (themselves innocuous) used in crimes.

Essentially, a criminal can walk into any sporting goods store, Wal-Mart, or thrift shop and buy a weapon without showing any form of idea, without filling out any forms, and without a background check having been completed. Even children can buy bats at numerous retailers, even the tactical black models. How long are we going to sit on the sidelines quietly and wait for these kids to recreate the meeting scene from “The Untouchables”. This unregulated market needs to stopped and only professional athletes paid to play this sport and certified trainers should have access to these items with such deadly potential.

Of course, this is only the first of many initiatives. Knives are also an unregulated weapon which children and the mentally unstable have easy access to and the same can be said for household cleaners, fast food, and power tools. All of these things have been the cause of death on countless occasions. Also, while tobacco, alcohol, cars, and prescriptions are regulated to a certain degree, they are still prevalent aspects of daily life which also cause a substantial amount of deaths every year. Ban them all and save thousands of lives. Maybe tens or hundreds of thousands of lives.

I know what you’re asking, but why would I chose to go after baseball bats and not guns? Well, they simply aren’t as big of a concern. Contrary to the rhetoric being bandied about recently, those statistics are trending in the right direction and, therefore, should not be our first priority. After all, at least you have to pass a background check to legally buy a firearm. But why take my word for it…

As was reported by the U.S. Department of Justice and Pew Research Center, gun crime statistics continue to steadily decline while gun ownership, especially in recent years, has experienced a sharp rise. According to DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. gun-related homicides dropped 39 percent over the course of 18 years, from 18,253 during 1993, to 11,101 in 2011. During the same period, non-fatal firearm crimes decreased even more, a whopping 69 percent. The majority of those declines in both categories occurred during the first 10 years of that time frame. Firearm homicides declined from 1993 to 1999, rose through 2006, and then declined again through 2011. Non-fatal firearm violence declined from 1993 through 2004, then fluctuated in the mid-to-late 2000s.

Additionally, Pew researchers observed that the huge amount of attention devoted to gun violence incidents in the media has caused most Americans to be unaware that gun crime is “strikingly down” from 20 years ago. In fact, gun-related homicides in the late 2000s were “equal to those not seen since the early 1960s.” Yet their survey found that 56 percent believed gun-related crime is higher, 26 percent believed it stayed about the same, and 6 percent didn’t know. Only 12 percent of those polled thought it was lower.

In the end, if you really want to save a life, turn in your baseball bat and buy a gun.