Unfortunate Conjugation of News Releases?

Sometimes, the new is not just chock-full-o-nuts.

This is not one of those times.

First:  "DON'T WORRY, THE WORLD IS NOT COMING TO THE END BECAUSE OF A FLYING ORB!"

NASA confirms we won’t all be killed by an asteroid next month: There is no asteroid threatening Earth\ NASA titled its Wednesday announcement, saying that numerous recent blogs and web postings “are erroneously claiming” that an asteroid will hit the planet at some point from September 15th and September 28th near Puerto Rico.

and then:

OH YES IT IS!

PLAYERS URGE ACTION AFTER FAN HIT BY A FOUL BALL

Los Angeles (AFP) - Major League Baseball players are urging action to improve safety after another fan was hurt at a game on Friday night.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander took to Twitter to push for changes after a woman was hit by a foul ball in the eighth inning of the Tigers' home game against the Texas rangers.

Obviously, (a) the world may end this week but not because of a foul-asteroid, but (b) Chicken Little thinks that baseballs may be all it takes.

It hurts to feel this vulnerable.

First Match Disqualification

It's not uncommon for people who have taken my "INTRODUCTION TO USPSA" class to break a safety rule in their first Practical Pistol match, but this week was a first; my "student" sent me an email describing the experience:

As you may know I DQ’d on the 5^th stage I competed in just before my last shot on the stage.  It was certainly a just DQ.  I was getting close to the 180 when the RO began informing me of the same.  I turned to look at him and when I did I turned my shoulders and with pistol pointed in the air broke the plane big time.  He apologized all over himself but I told him it was only me that was to blame and I believed that to be the whole truth, as I still do. I also was focusing on my trigger finger position because I was still having problems with that too.

The shooter (let's call him "Bill") did no worse than usual during the four-hour Course of instruction the previous weekend; in fact, he did a lot better than many people who thought they might take the IPSC-mobile out for a spin around the block.

But his experience is one that every person who tries to break into a complex and demanding game shares;  under the pressure of time, the good intentions to "JUST SHOOT SAFELY IN YOUR FIRST MATCH" sometime leaves them sitting at the side of the road wondering what just happened to them.   In Bill's case, too many conditions (especially the Range Officer's verbal warning) distracted him from his primary obligation ... obey the rules of safe shooting.

In other words, he forgot to obey the Cardinal Rule of Shooting Competitively:

THOU SHALT NOT SCARE THE RANGE OFFICER!

Fortunately Bill is a thinking man.  His Significant Other (let's call her "Debbie") took the same course of instruction the previous month, and she sat through the class again this month and also shot the Live Fire Exercise with him.   So Bill not only got his eyes opened, he learned something from it.

New competitors who are experience a Match Disqualification ("DQ") on their first match often never come back to another match.   A few have decided to take the course of instruction again, considering that they would benefit from direct personal training to reinforce good gun handling habits ... and that has always been beneficial.  Which suggests that these people have made a personal commitment to learning a new and complex skill set.

Occasionally, during the hottest or coldest  months of the year (eg: AUGUST IN OREGON with temperatures in the high 90's) people don't choose to spend their Saturday afternoon running arround in a gravel pit waving a gun in the air.  So this class had only the one student (Bill) until Debbie decided to keep him company.  I think it makes for a better class, as the students learn as much from watching their companions shoot as they learn from their own experience.

But when the clock is ticking it's hard to remember EVERYTHING ... as Bill discovered for himself.

Bill will be back.  He's one of those people who don't like to think there's something he can't do.

Besides, Debbie shouldn't have to go to matches alone; it's more fun to play with a partner.

Revolving Door in California

Police chiefs, sheriffs blast ICE over policy they say frees violent illegal immigrants | Fox News:

A California toddler fighting for her life Thursday after a brutal beating at the hands of an illegal immigrant with a long criminal record is the latest case to rile California sheriffs and police against a U.S. immigration policy they say is forcing them to release dangerous criminals out on the street.

Who is responsible for this travesty of justice?

I don't know.  Must be somebody far above my pay grade.

Concealed Carry Saves a Life in Liberal Stronghold

 Concealed Carry Saves a Life in Liberal Stronghold  News -- GOPUSA:
August 3, 2015

Police describe eriberto Haro-Luna, drunk and incensed, confronting his recently estranged wife in a Boulder church parking lot, trapping her by the neck and threatening to slit her throat as she uttered final prayers.

(RTWT:  H/T - "The Hobo Brasser)

Washington State can't stop "Gun Violence", so it's going to tax it!

Excellent Example of Political Power!

Seattle's New 'Gun Violence Tax' on Guns & Ammo - AllOutdoor.com
(August 12, 2015)

Seattle, WA – In yet another bonehead move by government officials, the city council of Seattle voted unanimously Monday in favor of a tax on all sales of guns and ammunition within city limits. At the same time, they passed a law making it a crime if you should fail to report a lost or stolen firearm within 24 hours.

 Land of the free, you say? Not so much. Both measures are reportedly supported by Seattle mayor Ed Murray. The gun tax law is modeled after a 2013 gun &ammo tax in Cook County, IL (think Chicago), which has already been the subject of litigation.
 Seattle’s new law is clearly aimed at punishing citizens and retailers for buying and selling firearms and ammunition. City council president Tim Burgess called the recent changes “innovative gun safety measures,” but as all thinking people know, criminals don’t buy their guns in gun shops anyhow.
This new tax will serve only to put gun shops out of business and force law-abiding citizens to travel farther to buy their guns outside of city limits.
 The tax plans to steal $25 per firearm and 2 to 5 cents per cartridge. While city officials predict monetary gains in the $300,000 to $500,000 range, it’s far more likely that most gun shops will simply close their doors, and most gun buyers will go elsewhere. Any “profit” reaped by this tax will very likely be spent trying to defend it in court.

(Emphasis added)

Okay, I'm not convinced that .. " (T)his new tax will serve only to put gun shops out of business and force law-abiding citizens to travel farther to buy their guns outside of city limits" ...  but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't encourage Seattleites (?) to  drive to one of the orbital cities to shop for guns and ammunition.

The whole "Gun Safety Measures"  thingie is pure bullshit.  What it is, is not necessarily an attempt to dissuade private citizens from buying "The Evil Gun" as it is targeting a market for taxation.  Guns have a bad reputation due to constant nationwide political chicanery, so there's no political down-side to taxing them.

And bullets.

On one hand, it's kind of flattering:  Politicians have been taxing gasoline for years, because they know that the hoi polloi are going to buy it whatever the cost.   So .. geez, it's a no-brainer:

TAX THE PEOPLE FOR WHAT THEY WANT, AND MAKE THEM THINK IT'S DEFIANCE TO KEEP BUYING IT!

So, no matter what the media tells you, it's not going to suffer The Little People a lot.  It's just going to add to the tax base of Washington State.

 (Well ... it's Seattle. Like they can't tax coffee, for goodness sake?)

(Okay .. Democrats would object to a tax on Coffee.)

When you look at it from the point of view of the vile politicians, it makes perfect sense.  After all, if the State isn't making a profit, they don't get paid.

And SCREW THE PUBLIC!

That's what they do best: they're politicians, after all!