28 Monday May 2018
Never forget the reason for Memorial Day and all those who fought and died to give you the freedom you enjoy today in America! If you know a Veteran, tell them thank you for your service, if you are a Veteran, I thank you for your service.
American Cemetery at Normandy overlooking Omaha Beach – photo taken May 5, 2018
07 Saturday Apr 2018
In this viral video Mark Robinson sets the Greensboro City Council straight on who they should represent and his thoughts on legal gun owners. I don’t know him, but I wish I did!
31 Saturday Mar 2018
A few days ago we posted questioning which story by David Hogg was true. Since then some reports have indicated Hogg’s comment was taken out of context and he rode his bicycle back to the school later that evening at twilight to shoot film. One thing is for certain, it would have been impossible for Hogg to have heard about the shooting while sitting at home and make it there before the school went into lockdown. Since there is video which was made during and after the lockdown of Hogg, he was certainly inside the school. If his statement was simply taken out of context then shame on CBS for editing clips to drive viewership and controversy.
There still are some questions which remain unanswered. The timeline for the events in Parkland are well documented. The shooter was dropped off by an Uber at 2:19pm, the shooting began at 2:21pm and stopped at 2:24pm, the school was locked down at 2:25pm, the shooter exited at 2:28pm, went to WalMart at 2:50pm, McDonalds at 3:01pm, the lockdown lifted at 3:36pm, and the shooter arrested at 3:41pm. Edited video from Hogg has been released on various news media which has him in a classroom or closet interviewing students and providing his own commentary. It begins at 2:52pm and he indicates he heard a single gun shot at around 2:30pm. We’re only talking about a 5-9 minute discrepancy, but one would think someone who professes to be a journalist would strive for accuracy especially someone from a generation known to use a smartphone regularly as their clock. At 3:13pm in the video Hogg identifies “Nick Cruz” as the shooter. This makes us wonder how he could have identified someone at 3:13pm who was not arrested until 3:41pm.
An unedited and unverified time stamp video emerged which indicates the interview in the closet/classroom is actually taking place at 9:32 with no indication of am or pm. So has someone pieced together various videos to try to tell a particular story, or are portions completely made up? In the LA Times video Hogg can clearly be seen exiting the building after the lockdown was lifted. There can be little doubt he was in the school at the time of the incident. The questions then become is the video and edited compilation of snippets designed to tell a narrative and are portions fabricated. Also how would Hogg be able to identify Cruz before the police were able to make the identification? We’ve not seen anyone pose that question before, but to know at 3:13pm it was Cruz would mean Hogg knew information the police had not yet figured out. The only other explanations which come to mind are Hogg’s video is a fabrication or Hogg was somehow complicit in the event. We may never know the truth, but it is evident the LA Times video is edited so we are leaning toward the video being fabricated to meet a storyline.
26 Monday Mar 2018
I remember in the aftermath of the tragedy in Parkland, FL hearing David Hogg talking about the shooting. He indicated in this video he was in his Environmental Science class.
He gave the same story to the Sun Sentinel.
So how does he explain his latest statement where he said he was home and rode his bike to the school to get video.
If anyone is thinking of Hogg as their spokesperson they might want to rethink their choice. He’s quickly showing his true colors and a panache for making things up as the shooting was over before he could have ridden three miles to the school after he received the news. He inserted himself in the middle under the guise of journalism, but his true colors are showing through, all he desires to do is extend his 15 minutes of fame. Looks like we may have another Brian Williams in the making.
23 Friday Mar 2018
I remember watching the aftermath of the shooting which occurred in Parkland, FL and seeing David Hogg interviewed and later making commentary on CBS News Sunday Morning and thought what an intelligent young man. I also felt for all he must have been through during the shooting which took 17 lives. Later it surfaced he may have been coached, oh heck, he WAS coached in his responses. Regardless he still experienced the shooting and was certainly affected by it.
On 60 Minutes they featured the high school students from Parkland and of course Time has them on the cover. Yesterday a video surfaced of a woman discussing the “rally” on Saturday in DC and the lack of permits, where they were going illegally, and firms who supposedly has financed the trip when the reality is those firms are not providing transportation. She is a teacher and was coaching the kids on how to act, what to wear, and what to say. She mentioned throughout the experience they would have teachers with them. It got me wondering if this group of students is leading the charge as they asserted on 60 Minutes or if it’s the adults who run the show.
Anyway, last night I happened upon a YouTube video of David Hogg entitled, “David Hogg is the NRA’s worst nightmare, and he’s just getting started,” by The Outline. I was listening to the video and besides figuring out Hogg used the most profane sentence structure to enunciate his thoughts, I happened to catch a statement made at ~5:40 into the 9 minute video which made me rewind and listen again. The Outline has part of video written on their website, but neatly omits that portion. Here is what I heard, listen and see if you hear the same thing.
David Hogg: So honestly it’s been a great thing because people are becoming more critical thinkers and becoming more politically active as a result. It’s also been great advertising for me. Uhh, in terms of acting, because I don’t give a **** what people say about me, but they quadrupled my twitter following, they’ve done a great job of that.
Previous to that statement the people conducting the interview touched on the crisis actor conspiracy theories so some might say the term actor and advertising were a response to those previous questions, but I don’t buy that argument. In candid interviews he tends to say what’s on his mind without thinking and judging by the volume of profane statements this was a candid interview and he was speaking his mind without thinking. We’ll see what the future holds. I suspect you’ll see him as a commentator on the news and eventually as a reporter. That is unless he continues to do candid interviews laced with profanity and discussing how the tragic event in Parkland has been great advertising.
16 Friday Mar 2018
Ruger recently wrote a letter to shareholders which is worthwhile for everyone to read. They speak about Modern Sporting Rifles and the programs in place which they participate. The finish up with how they feel about banning firearms based on the action of a few criminals. Take a few minutes and read the letter. It will be time well spent.
18 Friday Aug 2017
I don’t own a Sig Sauer P320, but for those of you who do, please check the Sig website for voluntary upgrade information. The issue is if the firearm is dropped with a round in the chamber it may discharge. The obvious solution until you can send in the firearm is to avoid dropping it with a round in the chamber.
If you are curious as to what is causing the issue, check out this video which may have determined the problem is the weight of the trigger.
04 Tuesday Jul 2017
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
21 Wednesday Jun 2017
Please Note: The linked video below is graphic.
By now you have heard the officer charged in the Philando Castile shooting, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted on the charges of second-degree manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm. Back in July of last year I had armchair quarterbacked the situation while believing Philando had told the officer he had a concealed firearm and permit. After reviewing the video below, there was no mention of a permit in the conversation only that he had a firearm and then the officer immediately grabs the grip of his gun and tells him not to reach for it. I believe the officer acted too fast and as a result Philando is dead. I also believe Philando had a duty to obey the officer’s command and when he went reaching he escalated the situation.
After hearing the news the officer was acquitted I immediately felt the jury got it wrong despite deliberating for four days. After watching the video I am not so sure. For certain any officer that fearful and quick to action should rethink their chosen profession. A trained professional should exercise caution and restraint until the situation call for the use of deadly force. In this case we have a driver with a broken tail light who has impairment from use of marijuana and his decision to not obey the officer’s commands in conjunction with an officer making a poor decision led to his demise. In my mind the officer is guilty of something, but I am no longer convinced it is manslaughter.
As a concealed carry permit holder I strongly feel anyone who announces they have a permit and firearm to the officer should never be shot. In the case of Philando Castile he never mentioned the permit, only the firearm, and then reached when he was instructed not to do so. It is a tragedy which could have been prevented if Philando had obeyed the officer and if the officer had exercised a bit more restraint instead of fear, especially considering there was a child in the vehicle.
17 Saturday Jun 2017
Imagine my surprise this morning when I opened up the paper and saw the caption on a photo said, “Bullets from an assault rifle travel three times the speed of handgun bullets. Once they enter the body, they fragment and explode.” This came from an opinion piece by Dr. Leana S. Wen who is an emergency physician and the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City. One would think a Doctor would be able to do simple math and also understand how bullets function. So let’s explore her statements. I’ll choose a 9mm bullet because it is probably the most common round one will find today in semi-automatic firearms. The muzzle velocity of a 9mm varies, but if we select a middle of the road round it will travel at least 1,200 ft/s. Now let’s compare that with the muzzle velocity of a .223 which is the round most commonly associated with a modern sporting rifle. Again a middle of the road number would be 3,000 ft/s with some being faster and some being slower. Let’s apply a little mathematics to determine 3 / 1.2 = 2.5 which I suppose one could round to three, but should people with advanced degrees round? Suppose Dr. Wen was administering a drug to a patient in the ER. Should she say 2.5 cc is the exact amount, but let’s round that to 3 cc? I think not. Now she could choose an exact manufactured round which has a muzzle velocity of 3,600 ft/s, but by the same token we could choose one with a muzzle velocity of 2,500 ft/s which in Dr. Wen’s world would round down to 2. The patient requires 2.083 cc of the drug, but let’s just round down to 2, no worries.
Now let’s hit on what really caught my eye. She said, “once they enter the body, they fragment and explode.” No, no they do not. They do fragment, that much is true, but there is no explosion which happens from a rifle bullet hitting a target. The .223 bullet is unstable once it contacts a target and it begins to tumble and fragment, but it NEVER explodes. I despise when people who should know better choose to represent statements as fact when they are actually false. Dr. Wen should know better (or at least Google it) and The News & Observer should not print opinions such as this with statements which are so easily fact checked for validity. Perhaps there are words of wisdom in Dr. Wen’s opinion piece, but sensationalizing the photo in the print edition is yet another example of poor journalism standards from the N&O. Maybe Ned is hitting the bottle again?
Bangers and Mash 