It’s not discrimination

The Miami Herald is running with a story that accuses Carnival Cruise lines of discrimination, and compares the decision to banning blacks or Jews from going on cruises. Why? Carnival is refusing to book cruises from Cuban born US citizens for cruises leaving the US and cruising to Cuba.

“They’re imposing repressive Cuban laws on American citizens,” says Maria de los Angeles Torres, a respected expert on Cuba and a longtime pro-engagement and anti-embargo academic who directs Latin American and Latino studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago. “It’s like they’re bringing Cuban law here.”

Why is this?

Current Cuban law prohibits Cuban-born individuals from entering Cuba via ship or other sea vessel, regardless of U.S. citizenship status. For that reason, at the present time, Fathom cannot accommodate Cuban-born individuals.

Following the law is not discrimination. The US has a no fly list. Air carriers are required to follow the law if they want to fly here. This is exactly what is happening here. Does the Herald expect the world to continue the Cuban boycott? Or is it time to tear down the wall?

Another problem that I have with the article is this:

Forty-seven years in this country, 36 as a U.S. citizen, a voter — and I cannot sail on an American cruise ship because Cuba says so.

The Carnival ship in question is not an American ship: It is registered in Bermuda.

 Finally, there is this:

Something precious is lost when a foreign government dictates what kinds of U.S. citizens can sail out of the Port of Miami. 

That isn’t what is happening. Cuba is not dictating what kind of people can sail out of Miami, as Cubans are free to sail from that port any time they wish. What Cuba is doing is dictating who can enter THEIR country.

Republicans are advocating dictatorship

So there have been rumors for weeks that the Republicans are going to refuse to seat Donald Trump as the Republican nominee, no matter what the voters say.

“The media has created the perception that the voters choose the nomination. That’s the conflict here,” Curly Haugland, an unbound GOP delegate from North Dakota, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday. He even questioned why primaries and caucuses are held.

In other words, the leadership of the Republican party only supports elections if the voters  select the proper candidate.

The plan involves delegates for Ted Cruz being the ones who are on the committee that sets the rules for the convention, and then using those rules to prevent Trump from getting the delegates he needs to win. This would trigger the brokered convention we have all been hearing about, which would mean that literally anyone (except Trump) could be the nominee. Seeing as how Ted Cruz has been caught in a few peccadilloes recently, it won’t be Cruz, either. It looks like the establishment is pushing for Ryan.

As you can understand, this has Republican voters feeling angry and disenfranchised, with  seven in ten Republican voters saying that the election process is not working the way that it should.

As an independent voter, I can tell you that this really makes me angry. Whether or not you like Trump is irrelevant. Elections are supposed to mean that the majority decides. Once you publicly declare that elections don’t matter, you have ceased being a democratic republic and have moved firmly into being a dictatorship. I cannot support, and will actively oppose, any attempt to subvert the system of free elections that this nation was founded upon.

Should the person who receives the most votes, whether that be Trump or anyone else, not get the Republican nomination through some sort of underhanded maneuvering, it will be time to admit that the Republican party no longer supports free elections. At that point, I would rather have Hillary in office than put that party of dictators in charge. I will either vote for Hillary or sit the election out.

For years, the Republicans have been telling us to select the lesser of two evils when voting. I will take that advice. This is nothing but a grab for the reins of power, elections be damned. I will not, and can not, support that. No matter what.

Winning

Today is a big day. My girlfriend, who is from New York, received her concealed weapons permit. To understand why this is such a big day, you have to see where she came from

When we first began dating, she was mildly anti gun, meaning that if you asked her, she would tell you that she didn’t see a reason to own a gun, and certainly didn’t see why a person needs to carry one. She pointed out that she took a 4,000 mile road trip across the US by herself, and if a woman can do that without needing a gun, a man certainly could.

Two months after we began dating, we were at a baseball game and a man in the crowd got belligerent. The police came over, and he decided that it would be a good idea to punch the cop. The cop did a leg sweep, and the drunken idiot’s face hit the concrete so hard that I felt my seat shake and heard his face hit the ground from 30 feet away. After it was over, she was visibly shaken, and told me that she doesn’t like violence, and it makes her sick to her stomach.

Because she was afraid of guns, I let her know that I carry, but I didn’t advertise it. I also had to promise not to carry in her house. I would leave my weapon in the car.

Three months later, I convinced her to go to the range with me. I started her off shooting a .22 handgun. I find that the lack of recoil and relative quiet of the pistol are very non threatening. Once she fired that one a bit, I moved her to a suppressed 9mm. She was proud of herself, that she was able to hit inside of the 9 ring with more than 3/4 of her shots. I took photos of her and her target. She proudly put them up on Facebook. By this time, I had a drawer in her house where I kept my things. I would come into the house and immediately put my pistol in that drawer. She was OK with that. Baby steps.

The terrorist attacks in Paris were a turning point. We were on vacation in France when the attacks took place. When we saw the news of the shooting, she turned to me and said, “When we get home, I want to take the concealed weapons safety course, so I can apply for a concealed weapons permit.”

She took that class in January. She went to the District Office on March 3. Her permit arrived today. Her mother has an appointment to apply for her permit next week. Her father is filling out an application as well.

In the space of two years, I converted three New Yorkers who have never owned a handgun their entire lives into gun owners with their own CCW. If each gun owner would just convince one person who is on the fence into being a gun owner, we will never have to worry about anti gunners again. Do it with a level head and the facts. Be patient. Rational people will see the truth, and with truth comes understanding. Fear cannot exist with rational understanding.

The score:

So far, I have convinced at least 7 people who were not gun owners to not only become  gun owners, but get their CCW. Three of them are now life members of the NRA.

That is how we win.

Arming teachers

Currently, there are twelve shall issue states where the law allows teachers with concealed weapons permits to carry weapons at school. How many shootings have taken place on campus while students were present in those states since those laws were passed?

Hypothesis:
Does allowing teachers who have concealed weapons permits affect the number of school shootings?

Methods:
I wanted to control the variables, so here is how I made sure that there were as few variables as possible:

Any shooting that happened before the law passed was excluded, as were shootings that took place while there were no students or teachers present (like nights and weekends), shootings by police officers where the subject who was shot was not armed, or shootings that took place off campus (such as the street in front of the campus). 

I also excluded shootings that occurred at colleges, because I think that college carry includes the possibility that students are carrying, and that is outside of the scope of what I wanted to study with this post.

These exclusions eliminated
I looked up each state, when the law arming teachers passed, and then looked up when and where school shootings took place.

This is what I found:

Ten states have armed teachers on campus, and have not had a single recorded school shooting since the law arming teachers was passed: Alabama, Kansas, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Mississippi(1) and Oregon (1) each had one shooting that fit the criteria.

Conclusion

Twelve states. Two shootings. We need to stop making decisions based upon “common sense” and on emotion, and instead look at the data. Look at what the facts are telling you. We know that the current scheme of “gun free school zones” isn’t making our schools gun free or shooting free. Perhaps there is a better way.
Teachers have been finger printed and background checked.
People with concealed weapons permits have been fingerprinted and background checked.
In fact, teachers have been more thoroughly checked out than have police officers.
In the state of Florida, a police officer is required to demonstrate proficiency with a firearm by putting 32 out of 40 rounds on target in a certain set of conditions. So perhaps a teacher with a CCW permit who can pass the above test could carry a firearm on school grounds.
Here is that qualification test:

  • 4 rounds at less than 3 yards in 8 seconds from holster
  • 6 rounds in 3 seconds at 3 yards
  • draw and fire 6 rounds in 12 seconds at 7 yards
  • draw and fire 3 rounds in 5 seconds at 7 yards
  • draw and fire 12 rounds in 45 seconds with a mandatory reload at 7 yards
  • draw and fire 6 rounds in 30 seconds at 15 yards
A passing score is hitting the target 32 out of 40 times. A hit is any hit inside of the torso or head (4 or 5 zone) of a B21 target. The B21 target is a target designed for 25 yard shooting, and is being used here at ranges from 1 to 15 yards. It is difficult to miss.
For those of you who do not shoot, this is a pretty easy standard to meet, but if teachers could meet this standard and have a concealed weapons permit, what is the difference between a them and an armed school resource officer?

Nasty

Recently, a video surfaced of a contract employee at Disney mopping a table with the same mop that was being used to clean the floor. See for yourself:

During the mid 90’s, I worked for the Disney company for about three months as one of the electricians who maintained the animatronic figures. We once had an employee management meeting where the executives told us that Disney’s goal was to have no permanent, full time employees by the year 2010. The idea was that we would be replaced by contract workers who would be provided by subcontractors.

This would allow Disney to employ illegal immigrants with plausible deniability, as Disney can claim that they hired the subcontractor and didn’t know that the employees of that subcontractor were illegals. They would save money through lower wages and not having to provide benefits. Under the ACA, this is even more attractive.

What you see here is a direct result of that policy. A contract employee has no pride in ownership

Trump

I am registered as an independent voter. I have not considered myself a Republican for years, mostly due to the fact that there is no functional difference between the two major parties. For that reason, I have to stake in the Trump versus Cruz, versus whoever race that the Republicans are so busy destroying their party over.

What I *do* have a stake in, is in deciding which candidate will get my vote, come November. My choice is apparently going to be Trump or Clinton. I really have little idea as where Trump truly stands on the issues, but I do know a few things:

1 Clinton is directly opposed to me and my political views in EVERY single case where I have an opinion.

2 Clinton and her supporters absolutely HATE Trump. they hate him so much that they are willing to commit violence to stop him.

3 Mexico has committed what is, in my opinion, an act of war in meddling in the internal affairs of this nation. This should be dealt with using sanctions and other means, if not by the current President, then by Trump himself, should he win the election.

While it is true that someone being an enemy of your enemy is not proof that they are your friend, it is also true that your enemy *is* your enemy, and it is better to vote for a temporary ally than it is your enemy. Anyone who is hated THAT much by the Republican establishment that brought us Romney and Christie, the Clintons, the BLM movement, the Press, and other assorted idiots cannot be ALL bad.

For that reason, I will gladly select Trump over Clinton, even without knowing how he will act once in office.

Violence in schools

This is what it is like to be a teacher in many of our schools. Behold the state of American public schools:

Why do teachers have to put up with this? Why aren’t these ne’er do wells being expelled? What are the odds that this violent child will become a doctor?