It didn't work the last time, so...ummm...let's try it again, only this time, we'll MEAN it!

I understand that the New York Times has a front page editorial that calls for the outlawing of private ownership of weapons that can cause mass casualties.  This is the epitome of the toothless rhetoric that we always hear after every tragic shooting spree.  Would this new law simply rely on voluntary surrender of such weapons?  *snicker*  Does anyone, even the wildest eyed wild eyed liberal out there think that is ever going to happen?  So why waste time writing, debating, voting on, and signing such a ridiculous DOA bill?

Our tendency to "pass a new law" to fix every problem has got to stop.  We're just wasting our time.  Worthless, unenforceable paper is NOT the answer.  We need to turn MENSA loose and task them with finding a real solution.

S

More gun debate

We had a thriving conversation going yesterday on how to stop gun violence in America.  The prevalent opinion was to just pass another law, and good things would soon happen.  I say don't waste your time and energy or get your hopes up that this will have any meaningful affect on gun violence.  So what will?

I remember hearing of a program a few years ago somewhere on the east coast (in Virginia, I believe) that was aimed squarely at this problem.  The police were authorized at the time of a traffic stop, if the driver was a prior felon, to search his/her vehicle to look for firearms they were prohibited to have.  It was wildly successful.  As the weeks and months wore on, lots of bad guys were ACTUALLY SENT BACK TO PRISON and their guns confiscated and destroyed.  Local crime plummeted, and soon other bad guys got the word and disposed of their guns in order to avoid the same fate.

Yea!  Keep up the good work, right?  No.  Word came down that the prison was too full of these returning felons and they couldn't take any more.  It cost a fortune to incarcerate a prisoner, and the taxpayers couldn't afford the bill.  So the program was terminated, and I would imagine things eventually returned to the way they were.  (On a side note, didn't President Obama just order the release of thousands of non-violent inmates from federal prisons?  See the problem?)

For any law to work it must be complied with, either voluntarily or by threat of enforcement.  Most people pay their taxes, and for the few who don't, the Feds will step in and enforce it with threat of jail time if necessary.  The same with gun laws.  Most people buys guns legally, following the law. But for the few who don't....it's apparently more than "a few"....there is really no widespread enforcement.  The bad guys aren't afraid of getting caught, and the profit incentive to sell guns illegally is enormous.

So to those who place their faith in passing new gun laws, this is why I say you're chasing a windmill.  If you want to see a meaningful decrease in gun violence, find those ineligible to own guns yet are in possession, and LOCK THEM UP!  It's gonna be expensive, but it will work.  Then we can have the debate over incarceration vs rehabilitation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't think many people who are not gun owners fully understand the requirements for purchasing a firearm through a federally licensed firearms dealer (the normal route).  

A one page "Yes" or "No" questionnaire must be filled out, and the dealer then sends the data on to the FBI for validation.  Their National Instant Criminal Background Check System quickly (?) checks the name of the prospective buyer against federal and state criminal records to see if he/she is disqualified from buying a gun.

So what is a disqualifier?  You can not buy a gun if you have been convicted of a felony, or if you have a warrant out for your arrest, or have used drugs within the past year (honors system?), or were ever committed involuntarily to a mental institution or were ruled to be mentally incompetent by a judge, are living in the US illegally, have been convicted of domestic violence or have a domestic-violence-related restraining order against you, have been dishonorably discharged from the military, or have renounced your US citizenship.  Run afoul of any of those, and it's "no gun for you!"

But what if one or more of these disqualifiers applies to you, but you still want a gun?  You can try buying from an individual without a check so long as the seller reasonably believes the buyer is law abiding and will not use the gun in the commission of a crime.  This sounds rather loosie-goosie (Southern term) to me.  

So lets just tighten this up, you might say.   Yes, that's an option, but you'll be working against a very powerful sellers profit motive, and you'll just drive more buyers right into the hands of the scum bags who live and work in the shadows. "Pssst....Hey buddy.  Wanna buy a gun?"  THIS is the secret  back door to gun ownership that we can't seem to get a handle on.

Most of these cash only, no questions asked, firearms are stolen.  Have you ever had one of those door-to-door salesmen try to sell you their new miracle cleaner?  They will want to come into your home and clean your sink or counters or floor to show you how great their stuff is, but in reality what they're doing is discretely looking around your house to see if you have any telltale signs that guns might be present, like hunters trophies on the wall.  Our local police have told me this is an organized crime activity that moves from town to town for several weeks at a time.  If your home looks like a promising target, someone will come back a week or so later and break in and get your guns.

Home burglars today are looking first and foremost for firearms, followed by electronics such as laptops and tablets.  (TV's are out...it's hard to walk out with a 65" flat screen.)  Firearms are easy to carry, bring top dollar on the underground market, and have lots of willing buyers.  Organized crime has long been involved in this illegal gun trade, and just as with their drug trafficking, they are very hard to catch in the act.  

Unless we can somehow get a handle on these back door transactions, we'll continue to experience gun violence.  We already have numerous laws on the books that in theory should shut down this trade, but they obviously haven't worked.  That's why I say to those who want to enact yet more (unenforceable) laws, have at it, but don't kid yourself into thinking they will make any appreciable difference.  I hope I'm wrong, but people who should know (law enforcement) have told me that we'll just be spinning our wheels.

S

 

Guns just went to the top of this year's Christmas "want list"

Another mass-casualty shooting, this time in Southern California.  One of the shooters worked with many of those he killed, so "workplace violence", right?  Umm, maybe.  But he was also of the Muslim faith / political persuasion, had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia to pick up his bride (the second shooter), and started growing a beard upon his return, so "Islamic terrorism", right?  Umm, maybe.

There are lots of unanswered questions, but regardless, the call for more gun control will intensify once again.  The thing most apparent to me is that, even if the "gun controllers" get the new laws they want, they will still be disappointed.

Those who buy guns legally (with background checks) will still do so.  (FYI, the guns the Cali shooters used were all purchased legally.)  Those who buy guns without background checks will still do so.  Those are the guns that will be used in most crimes, making the owners of those guns criminals.  They're already criminals, so to them, what's the big deal breaking one more law?

Let's assume you could require background checks on all gun sales from this point forward, whether from a gun dealer or from an individual, and make it stick (which you can't).  There are already somewhere between 200 and 300 MILLION guns floating around out there right now.  Who owns those?  Have they been background checked?  This is reality, folks.

If the gun controllers think they will see any appreciable difference by requiring universal background checks in 6 months, or even 6 years, they are simply being delusional.  It will likely take many decades for enough guns to be sold with checks to new, properly vetted owners to see any difference at all. 

The reality is this:  If there was ever an issue that will cause otherwise fine, upstanding citizens to resort to "civil disobedience", restricting their Second Amendment rights to "keep and bear arms" is it.  In their minds, whether you agree or not, the Bill of Rights to our Constitution says it's legal to own guns, and as the Supreme Court has agreed, they wouldn't be breaking any law if they resisted.  You can argue until you're blue about the definition of "well armed militia", they won't care.

If you make new laws that in effect outlaw certain types of guns, you've just opened up a whole new field for organized crime to capitalize on.  It didn't work with alcohol back in the 1920's and 30's, and it won't work with guns today.  Too many people already have them, and too many others want them.

So IMHO even if the gun controllers do get their wish, the effect on the number of future mass shootings will be virtually non-existent.  If they want to try, go ahead.  They will just be pissing into the wind.  Don't expect any miracle results. 

Please don't shoot the messenger.

S

I'm probably going to regret this, but....WITH EDIT

I honestly DON'T mean for this to be incendiary, but I have a question:  To the best of my recollection, in all of the recent incidences of minorities, usually youth, being shot and killed by police, the victims were almost all "wanted" for one thing or another.  Do the victims, due to their life choices, bear ANY blame?

I know what many of you are probably thinking....I'm just an old white guy blessed with "white privilege".  That's no doubt true.  I was raised in an all-white neighborhood (in the 1950-60's), I went to an all-white elementary school, and wasn't around many people of color until junior high / high school.  Then I had no problem associating with any of them....they seemed just like everyone else.  

Please educate me on the ways of the modern world.

The most recent police shooting of a black youth was in Chicago, where he was shot 15 times and died.  FIFTEEN TIMES?  I can't imagine how that couldn't be considered anything but murder, but I'll leave that final determination to the justice system.  But the fact was, the cops were called out to investigate a youth who was wielding a knife and was seen trying to break into cars.  I believe it was later determined that he was under the influence of drugs, too.  If the kid had been home watching TV, or doing his homework, etc, he wouldn't have had the cops called to come investigate him.   Right?

I can remember a police shooting in Charleston, SC where a black man was stopped for something (?), when he jumped out of his car and ran.  The cop SHOT HIM IN THE BACK, which again, I can't see how could be considered anything but murder.  (TBD)  But it turned out the victim was afraid the cop would find out that he was waaaay behind on child support, and throw him in jail....again.  So why didn't he pay his child support?  Why did he run?  Didn't he think that might look suspicious? 

There was recently an incident near me in Arlington, TX where police shot and killed a black youth who jumped a barricade at a car dealership, vandalized some cars, then broke out the dealership's plate glass window and went inside.  He was under the influence of drugs, also.  The cop went in and wound up shooting the youth.  The cop was fired because he didn't follow department procedure by waiting for back-up.  Again, why was the youth out vandalizing instead of doing something benign at home or work?

I've heard it said it isn't hard to stay out of jail, and I agree.  I've managed to do it for 65 years now.  When a cop pulls next to me or behind me at a traffic light, I don't panic.  I KNOW I've not given the cop any reason to be suspicious of me.  If he wants to run a license plate check on me, he can go right ahead....I'm wanted for nothing.  Even if I was black, it seems to me "innocent is innocent".  And if harassment ensues, well, that's what cameras and complaint procedures and investigative journalists are for.

I've heard it said it's a matter of the environment these kids have grown up in, which is beyond their control.  It's cool to not study in school....it's cool to go out at night and roam the neighborhood with friends.  How can any reasonable person, thinking of the adults here, NOT see that as a recipe for disaster?  

Is there any definitive proof that "midnight basketball" gyms will keep kids off the streets and out of trouble?  If so, lets put a gym on every corner!  Need more counselors and tutors to help kids stay in school?  Hire 'em, and hold off on hiring yet another few paper-pushing administrators! 

Cops often harass minorities, I get that.  It isn't right, and it must stop!  Cops who use excessive force must be held accountable, I get that, too.  But shouldn't the victims have learned that making poor life choices....taking drugs, disobeying laws, etc....might come back to bite them in a fatal way?

"Well, they were just kids.  Kids don't think things through all the time."  Bullshit!  I did when I was 12/14/16 (and 30/40/50) years old, and so did virtually every other kid I knew.

Regardless of race, creed, color, sexual preference....whatever, law-abiding people should have nothing to fear from the police.   And the police should know that body-cams, dash-cams, cellphone cams, CCTV cams outside many businesses, etc, will record any abuse they dish out, so don't do it!

I know my position is overly simplistic, but it seems to me that unless / until we recognize there is plenty of blame to go around, we'll continue to see more of the same.  It isn't just a minority problem, or a police problem, or a youth problem, but a SOCIETAL problem.  The problem is not one-sided!  

Enough already!

S

EDIT:  For the record, for 18 years I sat on the Civil Service Commission of my mid-sized suburban Dallas city, along with two others, a black woman and a Hispanic man.  On a few occasions we heard appeals from police officers who were "indefinitely suspended" (fired) for using excessive force, although none resulted in fatalities.  Our Police Chief was a no-nonsense cop who acted firmly, fairly, and promptly, and we unanimously upheld him in his decision(s) to suspend.  There is NO PLACE for brutal, abusive cops, period!  So please don't accuse me of being an apologist for the police.  Wrong is wrong!

I would appreciate your insight, but please, be calm and respectful.

I'm getting scared....VERY scared

I'm not scared of THEM....the terrorists that have large swaths of Europe cowering tonight, and who want to see the same happen here.   No, I'm scared of US.

I admit it....my talent as a political prognosticator has (so far) failed miserably.  I said months ago the voters will have their little fling with Donald Trump, and then move on to a serious candidate.  And I also said there is no way Hillary Clinton will still be a contender come Democratic convention time next summer.  So far I'm 0 for 2.

I do like the way The Donald speaks his mind and doesn't worry about what is politically expedient.  And I like the way he is self-funding his campaign, and doesn't have to sell his soul to the highest (campaign contribution) bidder.  Other than that, WTH is wrong with that guy?  He says the most screwball things, and the voters stand solidly behind him and just lap it up!  I don't get it.

And it looks like Hillary has already won the Democratic nomination before the first primary.  She has more skeletons in her closet than a Halloween haunted house!  I don't get her, either.

I can look at all the candidates from both parties and see bits and pieces from each that I like, but not enough to make any one of them an attractive over-all candidate.  Still, The Donald and The Hillary seem firmly entrenched as front runners, and might be the two candidates to face each other this time next year vying to be the leader of the Free World.   *gulp*

AND THAT JUST SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME!

S

This is getting ridiculious!

Judging by what I'm reading / seeing on the news, on Facebook, and around the virtual water cooler, we've become a nation of twitching, babbling, scaredy cats.  Now lots of people are saying they'll stop reading the news altogether since it's just full of stories about terrorism and such.  Why?  Will not watching the news make them any more safe?  

Some nut case terrorists attacked Paris, killing 130 and injuring more....serious for sure, but think of it this way:  Paris has a population of 2,340,000 people, with another 5,000,000 tourists visiting each year, too.  Over the course of a year, your odds of being killed by a terrorist in Paris are roughly 1 in 6,600,000.

Other ISIS assholes smuggled a bomb on board a Russian plane in Egypt and blew it up, killing hundreds.  But that same day there were roughly 93,000 other airline flights worldwide.  Over the course of a year, the odds of YOUR flight being blown up by terrorists are 1 in 33,045,000.   

Judging by the paranoia I'm seeing we seem absolutely certain Mohammad the terrorist is waiting right outside our door holding a bomb with our name on it.

Meanwhile, your odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 1,107,000.  Your odds of dying while swimming or jogging are roughly 1 in 1,000,000.  Your lifetime odds of dying in a car wreck are 1 in 6,700.  I won't even get into the odds of you dying due to a lifetime of smoking or heavy drinking or overeating. 

Yet we still play outside, swim, jog, smoke, drink, eat....and think nothing of it.  *Pffft....ain't skeered*

Of course, you shouldn't do "nuthin' dumb", either.  Don't stand in the middle of a golf course during a thunderstorm holding a 9-iron high over your head.  Don't plan a vacation to Syria or Nigeria or a cruise near Somalia.  Don't fly on an airline based in Africa or a few other third-world places (not to mention Russia or Malaysia).  If you see an unattended package in a crowded place, stay back and call the police.

GET A GRIP, PEOPLE!  Go about your business.  Work hard, play hard.  Be aware, yes, but don't live your life scared.

S

Unintended consequences

Have you ever pulled a loose thread on a sweater and found that instead of just breaking off, it starts a chain reaction that causes your sweater to unravel right before your eyes?

That's essentially what is happening right now around the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East.  We've been pulling a string for some time now expecting it to break, but it hasn't.  

For years much of the "progressive" (Western) world has tried to either help the oppressed people under the boot of some of the most notorious dictators ever, or has tried to help themselves to the assets (oil) of those same evil Mid East dictators, depending on your degree of skepticism.  

What is now happening is the implosion of many of the institutions that we've taken for granted for the past half century.  They call it "unintended consequences".  We may have wanted to take down those evil dictators, but I doubt we wanted to destroy entire countries.  Remember what Gen. Colin Powell said:  "You break it, you own it."  Ouch!

The bad news is the world is unraveling right now, and it's going to get a lot worse.  The good news is, this is truly a battle of "good vs evil", and just as in WWII, I believe good will eventually prevail. 

Our politicians keep talking about reestablishing some degree of stability in the Mid East so that all those millions of refugees now on the move can go back home.  

HA!  Dream on!  Not gonna happen!  

There are too many competing clans and tribes and sects for [the countries formerly known as] Syria or Iraq or Libya (and probably a few others) to ever be put back together as they were.

Those Mid East countries' utter collapse appear to be the first of the unintended consequences.  Next might come the collapse of the European Union.  For decades they have welcomed oppressed refugees from vastly different cultures to their shores, then patted themselves on the back for their compassion.  Then they segregated them in essentially ethnic ghettos where their isolation led to them becoming "second class citizens".  Next came their radicalization, and now violence.

After the attacks in Paris last week, French President Fran-swa O'lon (aka Frank Holland) has invoked the European Union protocol that requires the EU to come to France's aid in their war with ISIS.  Most will, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.  

Some EU countries are worried about stirring up their own Muslim populations, and some lack the financial means to contribute very much.  All this on top of calls for each member country to accept their "fair share" of the  Muslim refugees now streaming in.  And to add even more to the Continental stress, this is also on top of the recent financial crisis that saw a massive transfer of wealth from the northern tier to the southern tier.  

The European Union is slowly but surely moving towards "every man for himself".  They simply have different fundamental national interests.  We'll see how they react to the considerable casualties likely coming their way.  Just as in WWI and WWII, Europe is going to bear the brunt of this latest war, too.

So will the United States be able to absorb the violence that will sooner or later find us, too, or will we be so "casualty averse" that we quickly throw in the towel a la Neville Chamberlain?  We talk a mean game for sure, but when we're faced with physical violence right here in our back front yard, are we going to cut and run?

I believe we still have the integrity and intestinal fortitude to see it through....barely.  The alternative will be so heinous that we'll have no real choice but to suck it up.  The war against ISIS in the Mid East is proving successful.  We're shrinking the territory they control and their casualties are mounting.  But desperate people do desperate things, and the more we hurt them there, the more they'll attack us here.  Hold on....this isn't going to be pretty.  

Just never forget....

S