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The Numbers Say Fight Back and Do Not Worry

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So through various posts there has been a smattering of information that honestly should be stitched together so it’s more easily found.

First up is this number which reiterates what many of us in the pro-rights community already knew.

Like Linoge I feel the sample size is a bit on the smaller side but there are a couple of reasons for that.  First he made sure to only include data points that are relevant and applicable.  Second though is better explained by this piece from Chicago Magazine.

This has to be weighed against perceptions of crime which, as Matt Yglesias has written, have in recent years become “unmoored from reality.” Crime has dropped; the perceived rate of crime has not. Is the same possible for rare cases of mass murder? Grant Duwe, research director for the Minnesota Department of corrections and author of (to my knowledge) the only longitudinal book-length study of mass murder in America, suggests it is: “the 1966 massacre committed by Charles Whitman in Austin, Texas marked the onset of a wave of mass public shootings that lasted until the end of the 20th century. Although it may seem that mass public shootings are still on the rise, the data show that 26 occurred between 2000 and 2009, a significant drop from the 43 cases in the 1990s.”

It causes an extra realization that validation needs to be performed on the actual numbers as appearances can be deceiving.  The media blasts about any and every incident because it does well for their ratings as well as a decrease in frequency makes them more news worthy.  (You watch the news not to know what is constant, but what has happened that is unexpected.)  Reporting on a decrease in the frequency doesn’t bring ratings or viewership.

Further someone has examined the odds of dying in a mass shooting.  Unsurprisingly they aren’t high.  Here are the conclusions but I suggest reading the whole thing, it’s definitely worth it.

We should always strive to continue to reduce all risks of death, especially the preventable risks of other humans, wherever possible. But the risks will always exist. If your chance of dying in a mass shooting is 0.000003% and your chance of dying in a car accident is 0.9%, with a whole lot of other risks in between, I think it’s reasonable to ask if there aren’t a lot of easier and more effective ways to try to use the government’s limited resources to save lives than trying even harder to prevent the next shooting tragedy than we already are.

The odds aren’t quite as low as say being struck by lightning within a year, except that his numbers are for lifetime odds.  In which case your lifetime odds of being struck by lightning is 1/10000 or 0.01%.

So why is it that mass shootings appear to be such a common occurrence?  The answer is simply visibility.  The media made terrorist attacks look unbelievably common despite the fact that again lightning is a bigger threat to your personal well being.  The media can scream so loud and for so long on the same topic that it often seems like the problem is worse than it actually is.

There are those of us who will take our time, do our research, and find the facts on a topic before moving forward.  Our opponents on the other hand want the media to scream and yell.  The more the media makes this look like a common occurrence, because it makes them look relevant.

The facts are in though.  Our opponents are irrelevant and those facts are becoming obvious to all the adults in the room.  The adults in the room are having a conversation and we all wish the children throwing the tantrum would shut up so the adults can continue speaking.  It’s not worth spending time worrying about a statistically unlikely event.

Is life, is not safe.  I know that, most everyone knows that.  Frankly I’d rather go out, live and enjoy my life without some nanny trying to control my every action.  Even if they do, I could still be struck by lightning, is congress going to ban lightning?

Unpossible – That’s against the law don’t ya know?*

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Let me start off by pointing out this is probably the most dangerous time of year in the area.  All of the following dangers increase greatly: the road, general stupidity, and criminality.

Students have been coming back into town since early last week, school doesn’t start until next Monday meaning idle hands.  Further you have people who are transiting through the area while dropping friends off, other people just generally unfamiliar with the town, as well as other things.  Not to mention the rush coincides with the University of Idaho which is merely 10 miles away.

The population grows by 30,000 in a matter of a week and with it goes a shift in demographics.  It also means we start seeing stuff like this again.

A 29-year-old Pullman man was arrested early Thursday morning after he allegedly put a firearm to an acquaintance’s head near Stubblefield’s on Colorado Street and pulled the trigger.

Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said the Ruger semi-automatic pistol didn’t fire when Joseph Hopkins allegedly put it to another man’s head following a drunken confrontation around 3 a.m.

Umm, didn’t you get the memo, carrying a concealed weapon, or even an open weapon is illegal while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Not to mention the fact I’m reasonably sure the individual in question was within a bar consuming alcohol.  This is significant because in the state of Washington:

(1) It is unlawful for any person to enter the following places when he or she knowingly possesses or knowingly has under his or her control a weapon:

…

 (d) That portion of an establishment classified by the state liquor control board as off-limits to persons under twenty-one years of age;

That right folks, unsurprisingly someone violated the law, and then topped it off with what ultimately could be considered attempted murder.  Last I checked, murder was still against the law right?

Yup, still is.

As always, what would have another law done in this case?  Not a damn thing.

So how many laws does it take to restrain a criminal who has no will to follow them?  Who is really affected by all those laws?

The answer to that second question is honest law-abiding citizens.  See often I go into bars but not to drink, but to pick up a friend who called for a ride, or meet up with old college friends for a bite to eat.  According to the state I can’t carry because walking through that door will make my brain go off its rocker and start shooting people.  Being around those evil spirits will cause me to want to drink and lose my judgement.

Never-mind that people are ultimately responsible for their behaviors and actions. If I get drunk it’s my responsibility not to get behind the wheel of a car.  If I’m carrying a gun it’s my responsibility not to get drunk and hinder my ability for sound judgement.  It all comes back to the individual and responsibility.

I want to be respected and treated like an adult.  The CSGV and Brady Bunch would prefer that I be treated like a child.  Pardon me, but f-off, I prefer being an adult and having responsibilities, it results in the ability to have fun and create awesomeness.

*Make sure to read that title with a nice thick “Fargo” accent.

Why statements to create FUD aren’t an argument…

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First for those who don’t know, FUD, is Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.  It is significant because honestly it is the only thing our opponents in the gun control debate can argue with.  Facts and statistics are not on their side and we know it by the rants about “blood in the streets” that never actually seem to happen.

The thing is, guns are by no means the only place where Puritans use FUD to attempt to destroy freedom and liberty.  The best recent example was I-1183 which privatized liquor sales in the state of Washington.

This was a giant exaggeration. The initiative limited new licenses to stores of at least 10,000 square feet unless there are only smaller stores in a trade area. It left “trade area” to be defined by the Washington State Liquor Control Board, which has not yet done it. As a result, no store of less than 10,000 square feet has been given a new license, though some of the stores grandfathered from the old system are minimart-sized. There may be some new minimarts licensed to sell spirits, but not 1,000 of them.

The No on 1183 campaign argued the state was better at verifying that buyers are old enough to buy alcohol. Before liquor privatization, state stores had a tested compliance rate of 94 percent, while private stores selling beer and wine had a rate in the 70s. But the liquor board has just tested the new retailers, and the compliance rate in July was 92 percent.

He continues to point out that the statements made by the pro-side have held true.  Most importantly was this quote from a distiller within the state:

At the state’s oldest craft distiller, Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane, co-owner Kent Fleischmann says, “Our production is way up.”

Imagine that, you get the government out of something and sales go up, creating jobs, and wealth.  Isn’t it amazing what happens when people finally get over the FUD and the government is forced to get the hell out-of-the-way?

Here’s a tip, if someone’s main argument is the equivalent of “think of the children”, “I feel ‘x'”, or any variance like it and they are arguing that government involvement is the cure tell them to go screw off.  Move on and don’t bother arguing because they are currently suffering from PSH and are irrational.  Further their only argument is to attempt to pluck your emotional heart-strings, yeah I feel empathy, but what about the empathy for the innocent person whose rights you’re violating to make yourself feel better?

FUD is a huge red flag in any argument and it should be drug out into the middle of the square and exposed as such.  It’s good to see all the horror predictions fall down so that those who were against I-1183 can become the modern social pariah equivalent of:

Umm, no sparky…

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So Mr. Biden went out today and said the following:

VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: They’ve said it. Every Republican’s voted for it. Look at what they value and look at their budget and what they’re proposing. Romney wants to let the—he said in the first 100 days, he’s going to let the big banks once again write their own rules–unchain Wall Street. They’re going to put y’all back in chains. He’s said he’s going to do nothing about stopping the practice of outsourcing…

Ok sparky, I know you’re a little slow so I’ll try and make this patently obvious.

You and your buddies are the ones putting us in chains.

Let’s get something straight, the definition of slavery involves an involuntary relationship.  IE the government taking more taxes out of its citizenry.  I am free to enter or not enter into business with banks or other institutions.  Likewise I wish that you meddling monkeys would keep your nose out of it and let the companies that are more promiscuous than that of a whore in a whore house fall flat on their face when their VD finally catches up with them.

The fact is numb nut, it is you and your buddy Fearless Leader which have laid chains upon us by forcing us enter into business with merchants.  In so doing you have also engineered the system into failing so that in the end, Our Enemy the State will be our master.

You see I am forced to pay taxes at gun point, even if you waste and squander money in ways I consider frivolous.  I am now forced to buy health care as well, and failure to do so results in me further paying my Uncle that has absolutely no fiscal sense.

I can make my choice of who I take a loan from.  In so doing it is my responsibility to understand the terms and conditions of that loan.  If a moron runs out and buys a house he can’t afford, well that’s his damn problem.  He placed himself in those chains voluntarily.

You however Mr. Vice President have worked with your friend the President to lay upon us a very heavy set of chains.  Frankly sir, I wish the two of you would do us both a favor and Fuck Off.  I didn’t ask for any of this bull shit yet I’m being stuck with the bill.

As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to you and President Shithook, you both are nothing more than forcefully enslaving the working middle class.  Go to hell you pretentious dick.

The Minuteman

P.S. I don’t like the alternative any better, but the one upshot is with Romney the media will finally do it’s damn job again.

P.P.S. You have no room to talk about Ryan’s budget because at least the fucker had one.  You and your cohorts haven’t had a budget in 3 years.  You know why?  Because you’re worse than a sailor on liberty in a whore house!

</end rant> Shit I need a beer.

Irony, It is Strong With This

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So I got an email from a friend this afternoon pointing me to a particular government document.  He told me to check out the new additions at the end.  We had both filled them out previously while at the NROTC Unit, and while I try to keep mine up to date in case it’s need for a future employment opportunity, the last time I looked at the form was in 2009 updating information after buying our house.

Well it has gone from 13 pages to 127 pages since the last I looked, but what is most interesting is the addition of Section 29.

 

That wasn’t too bad but I started laughing hysterically when I arrived at 29.5.

Tell me, how can one work for the DEA, FBI or god forbid the ATF and honestly answer that question with a “No”?  Doubly entertaining is this is a form geared towards protecting national security.  So the question of your association record is really this:

Have you EVER been a member of an organization that advocates or practices commission of acts of force or violence to discourage others from exercising their rights under the U.S. Constitution or any state of the United States with the specific intent to further such action? Any organization that is a part of, or under the direct guidance of the US Government is excepted.

Think about it, any law enforcement agency that has turned the other way when caught physically assaulting people lawfully exercising their rights is guilty of that violation.  Our government, more specifically people in its employ, has gone well beyond he limitations set out within the Constitution, yet they are exempted from being held accountable for their abuses.  Most entertaining though is the ATF and Operation Fast and Furious since it meets the definition provided by them in almost a textbook fashion.

What I find most entertaining is I have no doubt that should the day ever come I need to file this paper work I know this blog will be scavenged and the interviewer will use this commentary against me.  The DHS for example has classified me as a possible terrorist through numerous methods even though I have never associated with, thought about or attempted an act of terrorism.  Yet a real act of terrorism is merely PTSD and I’m the real threat.

Yeah that realization stopped any laughter and humor I was feeling from the irony.  It is becoming more and more obvious that the government is doing everything it can to further the wedge between itself and the people.  I need a drink.

Quote of the Day – John Robb (8/8/2012)

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While there are still some details to sort out, it’s pretty clear that making weapons at home using 3-D printers from commonly available materials is going to become much more commonplace in the near future. In fact, as 3-D printing technology matures, materials feedstock improves, and designs for weapons proliferate, we might soon see the day when nearly everyone will be able to print the weapons of their choice in the numbers they desire, all within the privacy of their own homes.

John Robb – A Working Assault Rifle Made With a 3-D Printer

Popular Science (7/26/2012)

[When even Popular Science is admitting the obvious we all see, it makes me ponder how much longer our opponents will remain in denial.  Every once in a while we see glimmers of anger.

I will say this right now though.  There will be no bargaining.  We will not negotiate with those who would deprive us our rights.  Their attitude towards us has been scorched earth, if only by piece meal.  It has been us who have compromised historically, no more.  It is time to sweep these people into the dust bin of history with the likes of other bigots throughout history. -B]

ht Sebastian

How Fear, Not Fact, Informs the Gun Rights Debate

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Wonderful video from Reason TV the truth behind the gun rights debate.

I find this a great addition to go along with this video I’ve used numerous times previously:

Then again, most of these people who fall into the irrational panic state don’t seem to understand the benefit of discussion occurring while you’re calm and rational.  Their coping mechanism for tragedy is to “Do Something,” even if that something actually causes more people to die they feel better because the did something.

I did see a video this weekend and I think I’m going to have to get together with some friends and script out a response.

What Stupid Looks Like

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I have done some not too bright things around explosives.  Last week a particular individual did something incredibly stupid.

Initially I was going to just leave it at the comment I made over at Caleb’s place.  Then there was this incident brought to my attention by Lyle.  That gave me the inkling to do a post, then Weer’d posted the video of what exactly happened in the FPS Russia incident.   After watching the video I had to pick my jaw up off the floor at this idiocy.

First a note, do not recreate anything in this video, if you survive it will be either because of blind dumb luck or because God has a soft spot for you and your idiocy.

If you want to skip to 4:46 to save yourself 4 minutes and 46 seconds of pure garbage.

Does anyone see what he did wrong there?  Anyone?  Bueller?

He violated the first rule of explosives.  He placed something between him and the explosive.  You see when you detonate an explosive inside of something it propels the surrounding material out at extremely high velocity.  This is the basic principle behind a pipe bomb.  The pipe itself becomes extra shrapnel in the explosion.

This is why when we Idaho Stress test an object we ALWAYS place the explosives in front of the target.  We never place the object in front of the explosive, that is how you take shrapnel to the face.

This is serious and this isn’t a joke.  That camera man is lucky he isn’t dead or more seriously injured right now.  Just because the object is larger in size doesn’t mean that it’s safe.  What is a safe distance then?  Lets use the 2008 toilet as an example.

We shot that toilet from approximately 400 yards away.  When I say we in this case, I mean the entire shooting line.  We found pieces of that toilet well over 100 yards away.  Note we found them in a field meaning they had to be big enough to be easily seen above the grass.

We can also look at the pumpkin examples.

I know we had approximately 6 lbs inside the large pumpkin in the second video.  We found chunks, not bits, 125 yards away.  Many of those chunks were also relatively light in weight and had a lower B.C.  In that case we were shooting from about 30 yards, however it should be noted the object was not metal or dense in nature.   Metal merely rips and turns in to shrapnel which is nothing more than a knife flying through the air.

Given those above examples, I honestly wouldn’t blow anything up that had metal in it from within 200 yards, and due to my love of cushion, I’d double it to 400 for extra safety.

Joe, Ry, and I all almost made this fatal mistake by accident.  That is a wonderful example of how much power and force there is behind explosives and why you really need to pay attention.  So please, if you want to go out and play with explosives, pay attention and pay heed to the first rule:

Never Place Anything Between You and The Explosive.

Remember to be careful out there and use your head.  Sometimes well all forget to think things through, but the more you think about it, the better off you’ll be in the long run.

Update: Ry just posted a reminder of the results of an experiment he and Lyle did.  Note what it did to the steel and how far it went.