Concealed Carry on Campus - Oregon Style

Western Oregon Journal

In a February 4, 2009, article by Erin Huggins a writer for the Western Oregon Journal (apparently an official publication of the Western Oregon University, located in Monmouth, Oregon) announced that a student has been arrested for carrying a concealed weapon (a loaded, concealed handgun) on campus

Even though the student, identified as "Jeffery Maxwell" is the possessor of a Concealed Handgun License (CHL), the story of his arrest was accompanied by blaring headlines:

Mid-morning arrest startles students

Individual brings weapons on campus in violation of state law

The body of the article defines the reason for and the results of the arrest:

Last Wednesday morning at 11:16 a.m., Campus Public Safety (CPS) and Monmouth Police identified, detained and arrested Western student Jeffrey Maxwell in the downstairs student area of Werner University Center (WUC) for violation of ORS 166.370, Possession of a Firearm in a Public Building.
CPS had sent an e-mail on Tuesday, Jan. 27, alerting the campus community about an individual who had been seen loitering around the pool area and the residence halls.
Wednesday morning, CPS received a call reporting a person matching the description given in the e-mail who was carrying a knife on campus. Because weapons were involved, Assitant Director of CPS and CPS Officer Mike Hanson called Monmouth Police Department (MPD) for back-up. Sergeant Kim Dorn, Officer Matthew Olafson and a recruit officer from MPD, along with Hutchinson and Hanson, were unable to locate the individual upon an initial search of the campus.
However, shortly before 11 a.m., CPS received another call about the individual and the MPD officers returned to campus.
Maxwell, who was sitting at one of the study tables across from the Service and Career Learning Center, was approached from behind by Joe Hutchinson from Campus Public Safety and MPD officers. Hutchinson asked Maxwell if he had any weapons concealed on his person.
On first response, Maxwell answered he had a knife. Hutchinson then put Maxwell's hands above his head. The second time he was asked, Maxwell said he had a gun.
After the weapons were removed, officers took him into the Calapooia Room. A few minutes later, he was escorted into one of two police cars parked on Church Street outside of WUC.
Responding to why they did not evacuate WUC, Hutchinson said CPS did not know what weapons were involved and did not want to alert the suspect by a sudden flood of students leaving the building.

The article states specifically that Maxwell was carrying a concealed weapon "in violation of state law."

In fact, the Oregon state law, in Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) which regulates the carrying of weapons "in public buildings" [ORS 166.370, subsection (f)].

is apparently nullifed in the specific case of a CHL possessor on University property [ORS 166.262 & 166.370(3)(d) ]


The portions of ORS 166.370 which are pertinent to this situation include:

166.370 Possession of firearm or dangerous weapon in public building or court facility; exceptions; discharging firearm at school.

(1) Any person who intentionally possesses a loaded or unloaded firearm or any other instrument used as a dangerous weapon, while in or on a public building, shall upon conviction be guilty of a Class C felony.

(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, a person who intentionally possesses:

(A) A firearm in a court facility is guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony. A person who intentionally possesses a firearm in a court facility shall surrender the firearm to a law enforcement officer.

(B) A weapon, other than a firearm, in a court facility may be required to surrender the weapon to a law enforcement officer or to immediately remove it from the court facility. A person who fails to comply with this subparagraph is guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony.

(b) The presiding judge of a judicial district may enter an order permitting the possession of specified weapons in a court facility.

(3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:

(a) A sheriff, police officer, other duly appointed peace officers or a corrections officer while acting within the scope of employment.

(b) A person summoned by a peace officer to assist in making an arrest or preserving the peace, while the summoned person is engaged in assisting the officer.

(c) An active or reserve member of the military forces of this state or the United States, when engaged in the performance of duty.

(d) A person who is licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 to carry a concealed handgun.

(e) A person who is authorized by the officer or agency that controls the public building to possess a firearm or dangerous weapon in that public building.

(f) Possession of a firearm on school property if the firearm:

(A) Is possessed by a person who is not otherwise prohibited from possessing the firearm; and

(B) Is unloaded and locked in a motor vehicle.

(4) The exceptions listed in subsection (3)(b) to (f) of this section constitute affirmative defenses to a charge of violating subsection (1) of this section.

(NOTE: References to [ORS 166.262 ] and changes in ORS 166.370 may be referenced by following this link to records of the 2003 Regular Session of the 72nd Oregon Legislative Assembly.)


In terms of the legality of the arrest, Maxwell was well within his legal rights to carry a concealled handgun on any Oregon Universtity Campus. It was not Maxwell, but the officers of CPS and Monmouth Police Department (MPD) who were violating the law.

SEE the Feb. 11, 2009 article from the Western Oregon Journal:

Controversial laws cause questions about school, state procedures

Alleged violations in Maxwell case pending decisions by campus judicial board and state hearing; law clarification left to courts

The article, again by Erin Huggins, describes the misunderstanding about the exemptions from ORS 166.370

As reported by Huggins:

According to Campus Public Safety and Monmouth PD, two separate allegations are involved in this case: how Maxwell's conduct relates to Western's policy, governed by Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR), and how his actions comply with the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS).

Because Maxwell's conduct was in compliance with ORS, he has been released from police custody.

However, because his conduct was NOT in compliance with ORA,he has also been asked to leave the WOU campus. (This information not linked to found Internet resources).

From the Western Oregon Journal follow-up story:

Comments posted to the Feb. 4 story on the Western Oregon Journal's Web site (www.westernoregonjournal.com) have questioned the legality of Monmouth PD's actions as well as Western's right to restrict firearms, based on ORS 166.170, which grants the state preemption in regulating firearms.
Other questions regarding ORS 166.170 and its relationship to OAR 580-012-0010, which gives colleges administrative rights to proscribe conduct on campus property, will continue to be debated until they are resolved in a court of law, said Director of CPS Jay Carey.
In regard to the controversy, President Minahan made the following statment: "The University's position is very clear--we expect our students to be carrying books and pencils, not guns and knives. This is a college campus dedicated to learning, not combat. The Oregon University System has the legal ability to establish rules regulating weapons on campus. This has been so for years."

And the comments were almost universally an expression of outrage over the arrest of a man who was not disobeying existing law.

A secondary question, and the crux of the existing controversy, is whether a University has the right to censure a student for conduct which is legal according to existing law. To extend the question, can an employer censure a customer to leave the premises, or fire an employee, when that person is acting in accordance to existing law, has not created a disturbance, or otherwise been a problem to the employer.

This has been a contentious issue on American College campuses for the past two years, and has been directly addressed by the "Empty Holster" campaign waged by the Students for Concealled Carry on Campus website. (I have written about the "Empty Holster" campaign before.)

There have been so many school shooting in this country during the last 15 years that students might be forgiven for saying, as Jeffery Maxwell, said, "I was just scared after Virginia tech. I was just really worried about my safety."

A personal note:
I work on a University campus, and I too am worried about my safety in a "Gun Free School". Six months out of the year, I walk in the dark across campus to my car in 'zone' where I am forbidden to carry any means to protect myself. The law says I am permitted to carry a handgun, because I have applied for and have been issued a CHL.

But if I'm concerned about my safety, I'm also concerned about my ability to earn a salary. The OAC says that if I'm found with a handgun in my possession on campus, despite ORS 166.370, they can fire me. There is no other need for cause, and it is not necessary that I have presented a threat to my colleagues and students. Simple possession of a loaded handgun on my person is Ipso Facto grounds for dismissal. I am not sanguine.

I have attempted to contact Jeffery Maxwell for his side of the story, though his University EMAIL address. He has not responded to my request for an interview, and I have no way of knowing whether that is because he does not care to respond, or because his access to his campus email address has been restricted. I did not, however, receive a note that the address no longer exists. That does not rule out either scenario.

Mr. Maxwell, since I sent you the URL for this website, if you are reading this I do ask you to contact me and to agree to an interview ... either that, or answer the interview questions embedded in the email which I sent to you last week.
x
x
Most of this information was gathered as the result of an Internet search of the Western Oregon Journal website. However, there is no guarantee that the search results will remain consistent or that this URL is still active and valid.

---

Oh, and the response from The Western Oregon Journal?

Recent comments posted to the "Journal" Web site and letters to the editor have alleged that the "Journal" printed false information in the story "Mid-morning arrest startles students" which ran in the Feb. 4 issue of the "Journal."
The "Journal" realizes that a correction is needed. The subhead read "Individual brings weapons on campus in violation of state law," implying that the "Journal" believed Jeffrey Maxwell, in fact, violated state law. The subhead should read: "Individual brings weapons on campus in violation of state law, as stated by Monmouth police."
The "Journal" has no authority in interpreting state law and determining which law(s) take precedent over another. Therefore, the "Journal" has no comment as to whether the allegations and actions brought against Maxwell are in conjunction with state law or in violation of state law.

The Ten Dumbest Things Hillary Clinton Has Ever Said

The Ten Dumbest Things Hillary Clinton Has Ever Said

One of the very, very few subscription list which I have joined in my (mumble mumble) years of Geekistic Presence is "THIS IS TRUE", a listserve group which I have joined several times during the last 10+ years.

Randy Cassingham has the unique ability to find the most bizarre stories on The NET, tell it straight, and give that tricky little twist as a punch-line.

Often imitated (sometimes by me), never duplicated ... let alone topped, Cassingham has managed to keep me amused foryears.


The "Hilllary" lines are only one of the examples which keep me coming back again and again. Indeed, I've embedded his "Get Out Of Hell Free Cards" in my personal life, giving them to shooters at USPSA matches and also at least one to each and every student at the "Introduction to USPSA" classes I teach.

If you're not easily convinced, go to Randy's Jumbo Jokes website for an example.

The' "Lone Ranger" Story

YouTube - Jay Thomas' "Lone Ranger" Story

The Lone Ranger!
A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hy-Yo Silver!" .. the Lone Ranger!

I love this guy. You do too, admit it!

Here is one of the best L.R. stories I have ever heard.

Intro to USPSA Class: February, 2009

For a limited population (IPSC shooters in Oregon), the harbinger of Spring is not the first Robin we see.

It's the first "Introduction to USPSA" class at Albany Rifle and Pistol Club (Oregon) with more than one student.

Today I was honored to teach the first Intro class in 2009, where we had not one, not two or three but SEVEN (7) students.

Welcome Steve, Terry, Michael, Jim, Sam, Nelson and "Call me either" Andy/Andrew.

(I've given out cards with links to this blogsite so that they could view videos. Since my Video Gallery host has gone out of business, you can see my USPSA Videos here on YouTube.)

We all met at the ARPC range in Bay 4 at 1pm today, and got down to the serious business of learning how to compete in a USPSA match safely, and still have fun.

The first order of business was to try to sort out equipment. There was a 'blip', when Nelson mentioned that the new holster he had ordered for his "M9A1" (Beretta M92) was unusable. Why? He has an accessories rack on the bottom of the pistol. (You know, it allows the shooter to mount a flashlight or other accessories on the pistol.) We tried several 'alternate' holsters, including a USA Universal Holster and an Arredondo holster, but that lump of steel bolted to the dust-cover defeated all attempts to match holster and pistol.

Turning a problem into an opportunity, we decided that Nelson would shoot all of the training stages as if the stage procedures required that the starting position was "with pistol laying flat on the table" rather than to draw from the holster, as the other six students were required. This had the value-added benefit of allowing the students to realize that not all stages included drawing from the holster.

Having managed the administrative pitfalls, we spent the first hour of the training session going over the worksheets which the students had completed, based on the workbook they downloaded from the Internet. (Link not immediately available ... we'll work on that.)

The workbook includes an (open book) test, with the following questions:

1. What can happen if you handle your handguns at your car?
2. What do you do when you hear the "Stop" command?
3. Why do USPSA competitors shoot classifier stages?
4. What are the three types of stages?
5. What is the penalty for a miss on a non-disappearing target?
6. A hit in the "A" zone is worth how many points?
7. Is eye and ear protection required in shooting a AUSPS match?
8. Where CAN'T you handle ammunition?
9. What does DQ mean?
10. What is an RO?
11. What is the biggest mistake new shooters make?
12. At what point do you load your handgun?
13. When is it okay to move forward on the range after a competitor finishes the stage?
14. Whose responsibility is it to understand the course of fire?
15. What is the penalty for hitting a "no-Shoot" target
16. Where are the two places you can handle your handgun?
17. What does "Comstock" mean?
18. What is the goal of this trining program?
19. Where is your tirgger finger during reloading your handgun?
20. Does the fastest competitor win the stage?
    

I won't bother to detail the (four) stages which the students shot. But I will detail the lessons taught by each stage?

1. Learn to respond appropriately to range commands: "Make Ready", and "If you are finished, unload and show clear", and "If clear, hammer down, holster", and "Range is Clear".
2. Learn to engage multiple targets, and to perform a mandatory reload.
3. Learn to engage steel targets, to engage targets from behind a barrier, and to engage targets from varying ports/positions/locations. Includes elements of how to transition from shooting on one side of a Bianchi Barrier to the other side of the Barrier.
   
4. Re-enforce all the above skills, and include movement from one "shooting location" to another and consider the wisdom of "reloading on the move" consistent with the assumed skills set of a new shooter. Especially includes the concept of "Inside the box" vs "Not Inside The Box" (defining 'shooting location'.)

As has been seen (from previous experiences) a class size of more than 'a few' new shooters will demonstrate a wide range of gun-handling expertise. Note that a pre-requisite to this class is a demonstrated ability to safely handle a pistol, including reloading and drawing from the holster, or affirmation from an experienced USPSA competitor that the student has and will demonstrate these skills.

But the single "Unifying Field Theory" observed in previous classes has once again been common today: The new USPSA shooter need to deal with self-consciousness, miss-apprehensiveness, and basic stage fright.

I am encouraged when I see this. I recall my own first certification training, and first several matches, as being an excruciatingly painful exercise in stress as a motivating factor of competition.

The students in this class seemed willing to accept the syllabus, even if they privately thought that the first stage was far too simplistic to be of value:

"Upon the signal, draw and fire one shot at one IPSC target. Unload and show clear."

(All stages were "Comstock Scoring", so the students were aware that they could shoot as many times as they wished, but they were expected to actually hit the target with at least one shot."

I mention this 'simplistic' stage particularly because I have found that these minimum requirements perform three basic functions:

1. There's not too much to remember. Important when the shooter is apprehensive.
2. It allows the shooter to focus attention on the gun-handling functions which are typical of almost ALL stages, without being too distracted by the "shooting" phase of the exercise.
3. Reinforcement by the Instructor is immediate. Both the shooter and the observers can encompass the entire sequence in short-term memory, so the lessons to be learned are both fresh in their minds, and the number of talking points are of an acceptable level of complixity.

That is to say, we don't introduce so much 'new experiences' that either the shooter or the observer can loose track of the lessons to be learned.

------------

After having taught this class several times over the past 8 months, I've decided that the four (sometimes, but this time, five) scenarios included in the syllabus suggested by Mike McCarter include as much usable information as is likely to be retained by most students during the time-span of one week.

To complete this certification process, the students understand that they need to complete a 'regular club match' without DQ'ing. Since the next ARPC match is next Saturday, that implies a seven-day retention period. Without specific experiential data, I assume that this is as long as the lessons learned can reliabley be retained.

(Interpretation: if you were in a student in this class you really need to shoot the match next weekend to complete your certification process. Anecdotally, I've found that students who decline to shoot the regular match the next weekend are much less likely to remember the lessons, and are significantly less likely to certify ... which is defined as "able to complete a club match safely, without DQ'ing.")

_____

I'm confident that at least 90% of the students in this class have achieved an understanding of the safety rules, the rules of competition, understanding of how targets are scored, and both the procedures and ettiquette of participating in a USPSA match. During the class, both I and my Assistent Jan ("Yawn") worked hard to provide such other incidental hints and techniques which are not intrinsically part of the basic sylabuss.

We observed the basic tenets of training: Describe what you are teaching, demonstrate it, allow the students to experience the teaching lesson, and then describe what the students have seen during the on-hands phase of the training. We were careful to invite questions, to respond fully to each question, and to high-light incidental sub-lessons during the training.

Examples of sub-lessons:

• When moving from one side to the other of a barricade, pull your pistol toward your gut to clear the barricade; don't push your pistol into the air, because that may result in a DQ if your pistol barrel breaks the 180 because you are pointing it in the air;
• During movement from one shooting position to the next, it is mandatory that your finger NOT be on the trigger. It is the responsibility of the shooter to demonstrate a "safe" trigger-finger position; the Range Officer may voice a warning ("Watch your Finger!") if he is not certain that the finger is off the trigger. If he thinks the shooter's finger is on the trigger during movement, or while reloading the RO may DQ the shooter.

In an effort to provide the students with visual experiences which demonstrate safe engagment of targets in real-life situations, I provided every student with a business card referencing this website. Here is the "YouTube" link to videos I've taken and published during the past few years. Note that as of this time there are 116 videos available. Unfortunately, videos which have not been posted to YouTube have been deleted from my Video Gallery.
__________________________________

Mitch Rapp Lives!

Vince Flynn, author of the "Mitch Rapp" series of anti-terrorism thrillers, was intervieeed tonite on a special Hugh Hewitt radio show.

For those of us who are Flynn/Rapp fans, it was all good news.

Flynn announced that there will soon be a movie in production, based on his "Concent to Kill" book.

He also suggested strongly that the studio was interested in a second book as a movie basis, but it was not clear at the time of the broadcast precisely which book would be the vehicle for the second movie.

Flynn was unable to commit to an actor to portray his iconic "Mitch Rapp" character, but he difininately confirmed that Matt Damon would not be a possible candidate.

Media blogs (specifically "Dr. Blogstein") suggests that the starring role will be played by "Jon Hamm", whoever the heck that may be.

My personal choice? Jason Stratham, of "Transporter" fame. Only he could make this scene work, from Transporter I:

You be The Judsge

Taurus International Manufacturing Inc - Taurus Judge 3" Video:

Taurus International has introduced a new version of their popular revolver (3" barrell ... it says here) chambered for either the .45 Long Colt or .410 shotgun Shell in the five-round cylindar.

To dramatize the introduction at the 2009 Shot Show, they have provided a dramatic video. This consists of a 30 second 'scnearion' featuring "The Melon Head Gan", followed by a 3+minute "The Filming Of The Melon Head Gang video".

the video takes a long time to load, Taurus's website obviously has bandwidth issues. I had to reload the video 3 times to view the whole thing, don't expect to see that your response is any better, and response time will probably deteriorate as the website becomes more popular.
Still, it's worth the patience to see the whole thing.

In the slow-motion portions of the video, you can actually see the "Eagle Flight" of .410 rounds meeting the watermelon targets. It's worth the price of admission.

Beam me up, Scotty

The "Numa Numa" song.

It started out as a charmingly candid short home-made video on YouTube ...


... and eventually became a home-made video on CS6, the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Today, it has become this story:

Financial problems may have led to the murder-suicide of a woman and her sailor boyfriend who posted a controversial YouTube video of his shipmates dancing, MyFOXDC.com reported.

Electronics Technician 2nd Class Michael Joseph Missimer was shot and killed Jan. 27 by his 43-year-old live-in girlfriend, who then took her own life, police in Annapolis, Md., said.

...

While serving aboard the aircraft carrier Enterprise, Missimer filmed and edited a five-minute video of his shipmates dancing and spoofing a YouTube clip known as the "Numa Numa video," the Navy Times, reported.

His video, called "Enterprise Numa Numa," has been viewed almost 2 million times on YouTube.

The man in charge of Missimer’s unit told the Navy Times that not everyone liked the spoof, which wasn't made for public distribution.

"He caught a lot of flak about that," Petty Officer John Fallowfield said. “It was just something they pulled together when they had some time on the carrier ... we did this with the understanding it would be in-house."

Police say Clapsaddle called 911 shortly after midnight telling them that when police arrived at her apartment, they'd find two people dead — including her, MyFOXDC.com reported. She abruptly hung up.

More information can be found on the Navy Times website.

Missimer’s shipmates were stunned by the news of his death.

“He was what you’d call the life of the party,” said Information Systems Technician 1st Class John Fallowfield, the petty officer in charge at Missimer’s unit. “He always knew how to make you smile and laugh. That’s probably one of the best traits, his sense of humor.”

Fallowfield recalled some Navy leaders were not happy with Missimer’s video, which showed sailors mocking themselves and dancing irreverently.

“He caught a lot of flak about that,” Fallowfield said of the video. “It was just something they pulled together when they had some time on the carrier.”

The video’s widespread distribution caught Missimer off guard.

“You would look at that and think we’re fairly open,” he said in a 2006 phone interview with Navy Times. “[But] we’re all pretty modest people. We did this with the understanding it would be in-house.”

Oddly, this may have been Missimers Five Year Voyage to .... "Explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations in an expanding vast universe."

It's a damn shame that a man with this verve, this joy in life, had to come to such a sordid end.

As Buckaroo Banzai famously said: "No matter where you go, once you get there ... there you are!"

Il Est Mort

A few months ago I noted that my web host was unable to accept any more updates to my Online Video Gallery. He had changed servers and could no longer spare the space. He did allow it to stay up with the current content, however.

On that same host, I kept a small library of images, and other small files.

Last week I noticed that i was no longer able to connect to that library via my FTP software. I was distracted, so I didn't bother to investigate it at the time.

Tonight I see that the entire website is missing. All of my videos, all of my photos, all of my minor files are just ... no longer there.

As a consequence you may notice some broken links on 'old' articles. Sorry, until I find a new host I probably won't be able to fix them. Even then (whenever I get around to it) the chances are that I won't reload the files and change the link URL.

(However, I have deleted the links to these now-nonexistent webpages from my sidebar.)

Add this to the recent developments on YouTube, which has begun to delete or otherwise render unusable videos which are scored with 'unauthorized' music (even though I bought the CDs from which the music came).

Consequently, the 'old' Cogito Ergo Geek doesn't look much like it use to.

The future of Cogito Ergo Geek is also now questionable. It will take a lot of time and effort, and a bit of money, to recover the resources which were once available, but are now dead, Dead, DEAD!

I'm disappointed because of the untold hours of work which have gone into creating this minor blog. It has been a hobby, an avocation, an outlet and a means of relaxing from the cares of the world for me. For my readers it has been the occasional source of information, amusement, and cheerful ridicule.

At this point I'm wondering whether to continue with this project.

My personal life has changed dramatically since July 27, 2008 (when SWMBO's doctor informed her that she has lung cancer), and I have been contributing at a much slower pace than has been my usual practice for the past four years (since the blog inception in December 15, 2004).

I would rather not discontinue the blog. It would be like losing a child ... a fantasy child, perhaps, but real to me.

My readership has been fairly consistant for the past few years. I rarely register fewer than 200 page-loads a day, averaging between 1500 and 2000 page-loads a week (depending on whether I've found a topic of common interest).

I'm no Kim du Toit; I have a total of just over 200,000 hits, total; Kim would get that many hits in a slow day.

On the other hand, Kim turned in his badge a couple of months ago, so who knows whether it is wise to know when your day as a blog author is over?

For now, I'll continue to write in my desultory manner. (Huh? I just lost my cursor ... is God trying to tell me something? Oh never mind ... it's back.)

Whether I decide to continue blogging, and rebuild the website, or whether I just give it up for a while and go fishing, depends on a lot of factors. Most important, I guess, is whether I can find the initiative to make the effort required to resurrect the website in the manner in which I would prefer ... a full-service blog that talks about shooting-sports issues and only incidentally provides a service to my readers.

In other words, if I can get the gumption to start actively competing in USPSA matches on a regular basis, I'll probably be more inclined to want to continue the writing, too.

I won't know until I survey the past articles, and find out how much content has been rendered useless (due to broken links), whether it's worth the effort to resurrect the old girl.

So ... watch this spot. Whatever I decide, I'll let you know my decision in advance so that, if I decide to discontinue the Blog, you'll have plenty of time to remove the link from your Bookmarks.

you can't ... you can't defend your home?

Xavier Thoughts: Ryan Frederick's Interrogation

The trial of Ryan Frederick is in progress.

Xavier Thoughts has a video of the initial interrogation of Ryan Frederick immediately after having shot dead a police officer who was "busting through" his door.

A quick recap: Ryan Frederick was at home, alone, in his home when he heard someone "busting through" his door. His dogs were barking, he had discovered a break-in the previous day and was already fearful for his property and his life. When he heard the noise he reacted instinctively to repel what he considered (perhaps rightly) aggressive attackers.

The man who was "busting through" his door was a police officer. Failing to identify the person who had forcefully entered his home without previous warning (remember, Frederick was asleep) he shot and killed that person.

Last September I wrote about this, in what may be a slightly more complete summary.

The police arrested him, and this entry replays the audio record of his initial interview ... while he was still suffering from "Fight or Flight" overload, without benefit of a lawyer, and deeply in the pangs of conscience.

As Xavier states in his article, "It is not easy to listen to Ryan Frederick's interrogation immediately after he shot a police officer. It is, however, informative."

Frederick's mood shifts moment to moment, from fear to grief to aggressive to defensive to explanation to expiation to anguish to trepidation to ... it's difficult to name an emotion which does not appear in this (about two minute, maybe three) video.

A few statements ring clear:

• Somebody was busting in my door!
• I thought they were trying to kill me.
• You can't ... you can't defend your home?
• "You can't just shoot through a door! (police interrogator)

One sequence which I found particularly revealing was:

• Frederick: Somebody broke into my house yesterday, and ...
• Interrogator: What did they steal?
• Frederick: Nothing!

This is a tragedy on all sides, which is not helped by Frederick's admission that "I smoke marijuana, okay?"

If I had found myself in that position ... If I had discerned that someone broke into my house and didn't steal anything ... I would have reached the inevitable conclusion that the people who entered my home uninvited weren't after My Stuff. I would have assumed that they were after ME!

But hey, I'm just another paranoid gun-nut, right?

There were elements which set up this situation, elements of which the police were aware but Frederick was not. Among these elements was the fact that the police had been told by an informer that Frederick was growing Marijuana for sale, that the informer had illegally entered Frederick's home the previous day looking for evidence of a 'growing operation', and (having found no such verifiable evidence) reported the presence of scales, bags, fertilizer, grow-lights and "a plant" that looked like Marijuana. In fact, the plant was a juvenile ornamental with a leaf structure similar to Marijuana, and all other items were part of his hobby ... growing ornamental plants. (NOT Marijuana.)

One interpretation of the events which seems acceptable (at least, to me) is that Frederick was the victim of an unreliable police reformer with ties to the informal drug culture, that the informer had personal animosity toward Frederick, and that he (the informer) was determined to interpret his findings in the light which would best encourage the police to treat Frederick as a "Major Dealer/Grower".

Testimony has suggested that the police did announce themselves before engaging in an aggressive entry. Ryan's initial interrogation seems (again, to me) reliable in stating that he did not hear an announcement that he was being visited by the police. As he said, "I was asleep ... there was nobody in the house but me and my dogs" and he was awaken by the barking of the dogs.

And he grabbed his gun, and someone "busted through my door", and he thought someone was trying to kill him. So he shot at them.

And hit, and killed, a police officer.

---

The police confiscated a lot of 'stuff': grow-lamps, scales, small plastic bags, seeds, etc. All things which would logically be expected for the police to find on the premises of a Marijuana Grower.

But they didn't find any Marijuana plants.

---

I personally find it all to easy to believe that the police, in their zeal, took the unsubstantiated word of an informant (a known felon) and aggressively assaulted the premises of a man who they believed to be a Grower.

Frederick, who probably was asleep when the assault began, reacted as if he was the victim of a Home Invasion. (We hear about that often, and the police cannot seem to do anything to protect us from this criminal phenomenon.)

Ultimately, to my mind, this seems to be a situation in which the police did invade a home of a private citizen who interpreted it as a Home Invasion, and reacted to defend himself and his property.

But the police will never give up in their prosecution and, ultimately, persecution of Ryan Frederick. They are unable to admit that they made a mistake in judgement. They are unable to admit that their aggressive tactics may have served to construct a situation which the home-owner could only react in one way: to defend his life.

And so it comes down to a trial, in which the police may find themselves as much on trial as does Ryan Frederick. With one significant difference: The police are a unified organization. They only see one color: Blue. There are no shades of grey in their universe.

Frederick, on the other hand, is and remains a man who is confused, frightened, and (as he says): "I don't have anybody!"

A rich man would have walked by now. There is no evidence that Frederick as participating in any illegal activity apart from the private consumption of Marijuana (a "crime" punishible by nothing more than a fine, much like a traffic ticket.) Not much justification for killing a policeman.

Frederick is A Man Alone. Confused, frightened full of remorse and finding himself in a position similar to a kernal of corn in a remorseless grinding mill, Frederick has no-one to call upon for help. No family. No friends. No helpful member of the Third Estate. (Well, perhaps except for one.)


From Xavier thoughts of Match 23, 2008:

Frederick was armed with a .380 pistol. He fired at the figure. The shot killed a police officer, Jarrod Shivers, who was serving a "no knock" search warrant. Shivers was a narcotics detective and a father of three children. Frederick had no prior criminal record, and he was not growing marijuana as a confidential informant had claimed. Frederick was arrested and charged with first degree murder. Two .380 shell casings were recovered, as well as a .223 hull. Judge Thomas M. Ammons III has denied bond. Frederick is represented by attorney James Broccoletti.

---

As I listened carefully to the original interrogation tape, I was struck by they image of Frederick in a Cage, bouncing from one set of bars to the next, bruised and battered but certain only of his inalienable rights to defend himself and his home.

Except for that one moment, when in the smallest of voices he asks:

"You can't ... you can't defend your home?"

---

I think he can. And I think the aggression of SWAT teams who, masked and costumed and armed with all of the latest Big Ticket Item armor and weaponry, is probably wasted on such a small-time operation such as that which the considered Frederick to be a very minor member.

The police have screwed the pooch on this one. Instead of simply saying "OOPS! My Bad!" -- they have no choice to go after Frederick in the most aggressive manner possible, in the sure and certain confidence that their local Presecutor will support them beyond the point of reason.

After all, they're The Good Guys.

Aren't they?

As you will find, Curt has been keeping track of this case far better than anyone else.

Captain Jeremy Fresques

I recently received an email from a friend ("Bill S.") commenting on a 2005 event where-in a 'local resident' (living near an U.S. Air Force base) complained about a fly-over at low altitude near a residential community.

The entire story is told here.

The original complaint was:

"Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated."

Cranky? Yes, but understandable.

The response (from a U.S. Air Force member) was:

On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship flyby of F-16's from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt Jeremy Fresques.

Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend.

Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.


A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom.

We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.
The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?"

The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.


Lt. Col. Scott Pleus
CO 63rd Fighter Squadron
Luke AFB

It's not uncommon for those of us who are not members of the military to misunderstand the arcane things they do. In this case, the original complaint performed a service to the community, which was not expected. (The writer of the complaint also provided an apology, which was perhaps not entirely necessary .. but still, I'm sure, gladly received by both the Military unit which performed the fly-bay, and Captain Fresques' family.)

Although this story is somewhat dated, still it serves the purpose of explaining that, while some of the things which the Military does are often incomprehensible, our military continues a centuries-long tradition of respect to its fallen members.

Perhaps we too need to make an effort to honor their sacrifices.
_________________________________

My personal thanks to Bill S., one of whose sons served two tours in "The Sandbox" as a combat medic, bringing his family much honor. Bill sent the basic information in an email, and I'm grateful for his intention to high-light the difficulty of communication between the Military and we Civilians.

And of course a special appreciation to the memory and family of Captain Jeremy Fresques.

Family Values: Firearms Safety and Good Sportsmanship

Fifty one weeks ago I posted an article titled "John McCain on the Second Amendment".

In that article, I was not only critical but perhaps dismissive of Mr. McCain's position vis-a-vis the "Right to Keep and Bear Arms". His published position was not substantively more appealing than that of Mr. Obabma.

(Is it too late to repeat my disappointment that the Republican Party was unable to offer a truly Republican candidate?)

Recently I received a late, but interesting comment on that article.

A reader signing himself "Anti gun banner" asked:

What would be wrong with firearms saftey [sic] and penalties for wrongful use of fource [sic]with firearms tought[sic] at a middle school age level?

My response would have to be --- absolutely nothing.

In fact, I received training which introduced some of the elements the commentator described, at Helen McCune Junior High School when I joined the Rifle Team.

This group of middle-school students met once a week (I believe it was Tuesday after school) to practice shooting 'gallery rifles'. There we learned much about gun-handling, safety, and accuracy (and "following the rules").

I'm convinced that this training made better people of all of us.

Note that I later continued my participation in "Gallery Rifle" shooting in High School (Pendleton High School, in Oregon), while also shooting competitively at the "Senior Club", which met on Thursday evenings in the basement of a downtown retail store.

Thus the Middle High School, the Senior High School, and an independent group of adults provided a variety of venues for young people to shoot in a highly technical competitive milieu.

The Junior High School, and the Senior high School, both allowed us to bring our 'personal weapons' to school ... although of course while attending the Middle (Junior) school I did not have a driver's license so I was obliged to use the equipment (rifles, magazines) provided by the school.

In both schools, we participated in "Postal Matches", and occasionally travelled (or hosted) matches involving direct competition with shooters from other schools.

I remember travelling to Pasco, Washington, at least once a year during the six years during which I competed in "Gallery Rifle" during my school years. There I usually threw up at least once because of the combination of compettive stress and the strong aroma of gunsmoke permeating the enclosure of an indoor rifle range.

Vomitting notwithstanding, it was my opinion (at the time, and enhanced since then) that these experiences not only intruduced me to the concepts of Firearms Safety and Good Sportsmanship, it also allowed me and my companions to perceive that the Shooting Sports were not the harbringer to what we now commonly refer to as "School Shootings", but instead were just another way in which young people can compete with each other in a manner which did not necessarily require dependence on having an Athletic Body.

Yes, I was a Geek 50 years ago, and I remain one today.

But looking back on the original question:
"What would be wrong with firearms saftey and penalties for wrongful use of fource with firearms tought at a middle school age level?"

Actually, upon reflection I am disappointed that Firearms Safety is equated with Penalties for wrongful use of force with fairarms.

It is, I suspect a sign of the times that these must necessarily be the two primary concerns in 2009.

In 1959, "firearms safety" was assimilated from our fathers who gave us a .22 rifle for our 10th birthday and threatened to take it away from us if they ever saw us using it in an unsafe manner.

When we had demonstrated our ability to safely handle a rifle, they gave us a deer-rifle for our 12th birthday (or Christmas). The gift included the same precautionary note, but by that time it was essentially an empty threat. We were aware of the deadly power of a firearm, and we knew all about firearms safety.

Now, approximately 50 years later, the culture has changed dramatically ... and not to the good.

The firearms training we enjoyed in the 20th century, expected from our fathers, is no longer available.

In this century, the saying "It's a Wise Man who knows his own father" is not only even more valid, but it's a poignant reminder of a culture which has been allowed to fall by the wayside.

No longer is there a strong male presence in the family. No longer is there an experienced shoter, perhaps even a shooter, who is available to teach both son and daughter how to hunt, shoot, and handle firearms safely.

(In my own family, my elder sister had no interest in hunting. But we both learned to shoot ... accurately, and safely. My own children learned the same lessons, in the same way.)

In the aftermath of the break-up of The Nuclear Family, it is no longer sufficient to rely on the presence of a strong Male parent who is sufficiently experienced to teach these Family Values.

The Male Parent is not only not necessarily "strong" (nor grounded in the fundamentals of Gun Handling", but is Missing, more often than not.

But we still have guns, and we still have children. Our choices are simple. Either:

• We give up the private ownership of firearms;
• We find a way to teach these same Family Values without the support of the Family;
• Or we allow access to guns to people who have learned neither basic firearms safety not the values which enable our children to be safe, respectful members of society.

In that contest, the idea that we should allow our schools to pick up the slack which results from the lack of a strong Male Parental Mentor seems to be the only way to reconcile the newly missing elements of a Responsible, Functional Society.

I don't like it, but there it is.

In that context, I cannot even object too strongly to the idea that part of the things the Schools will be training our children includes "Penalties for wrongful use of force with firearms."

That is, I know that the concept is necessary to be taught our children, but still I object to the context.

Our children should not be schooled in the penalties. They should be taught that shooting at another person, even by accident, is anethema. They shouldn't be focused on the "Penalties". Instead, they should be focused on the wrongness of the action.

---

The original question presupposes that our children will be out-of-control. It's misleading in that the concept of 'legal penalties' is not as effective as the concept of 'societal penalties'.

We need to get away from the litigious penalties for "Doing Wrong". Instead, we need to establish in our children the idea that "Doing Wrong" is just ... wrong. And that it will not be accepted.

Fifty years ago, the penalty for a child harming another living person was not a pre-designated number of years in some lockup. It was the virtual ostracism by civilized society, combined with the imperative that acceptance by civilized society was the norm, which was legitimately pursued by us all.

This is part of what is referred to by the common phrase "Family Values".

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: the attempt by a large society to impose legal constraints upon unsafe or unacceptable activity is misguided. The attempt by Government to impose the same code of conduct (typified by "Family Values") on individuals as would ordinarily be imposed by the Family ... is also misguided.

The ONLY way to reduce the number and chilling 'quality' of public misuse of firearms is to work to re-introduce the concept of Family to the general public, and to provide such community obligations as to make it seem both workable and attractive to both adults and their children.

This is much more difficult than introducing a piece of legislation ... and consequently much more likely to achieve the desired results.

Is it a good idea to require Middle Schools to teach "... firearms saftey [sic] and penalties for wrongful use of fource [sic]with firearms..."?

No, it's not

But it's not the approach which will achieve the un-stated goals:

No More Columbines!

Oops! Typo! My Bad

'Human error' shuts down Google - Times Online

THE world’s biggest internet search engine temporarily shut down today, leaving hundreds of millions of surfers stranded in cyberspace.

Google broke down for forty minutes this afternoon, paralysing everything from internet-dating to people checking out the latest news.

Anyone searching for a site using Google was blocked with the warning: “This site may harm your computer.” The problem started at 3.30pm.

As fear spread across the internet that hackers would bring the mighty search engine down and cause millions of pounds in damage, it emerged that the entire search engine was crashed by a rogue “/”.

I, of course, as a CoOmputer Prefessional, have never done anything like this.

Boy, I'm glad I don't work for Google. This stuff happens all the time. Usually, it's caught in User Testing before it goes into Production. But occasionally the press of business requires that 'minor changes' be pushed into production without at least two levels of testing.

Boy, it must be tough having the Eyes of the World watching your every keystroke!

For the poor schmuck wh\o made this single-keystroke error ... man, it sucks to be you!

NRA on Ballistic Fingerprinting

A couple of years ago (March 14, 2007), the National Rifle Association posted a video on YouTube which purported to legitimately point out the fallacies they found in a "60 Minute" segment discussing "Ballistic Fingerprinting".

There are several problems with the NRA production, perhaps as problematic as the 60 Minute segment. (Which I have not seen.)

In the first place, the NRA production failed to define the term "Ballistic Fingerprinting". Perhaps their point was that all "Ballistic Fingerprinting" techniques were fatally flawed. But my instinctive willingness to forgive the NRA is as insupportable as their nine minute video.

During discussions, the NRA seems to be talking about one aspect while demonstrating another. Most notably, during one sequence the seem to be talking about comparing the rifling marks on a bullet. But much of their footage demonstrates not bullet striations, but comparisons of the base of the cartridge.

Strangely, while they are in the middle of demonstrating how easy it is to change the striations on a bullet (they seem to be suggesting that simply cleaning the barrel, or perhaps using buffing compound to clean the barrel ... they are not clear here), they cut away to a shot of a lab technician filing the firing pin.

It's intuitively obvious that filing a firing pin will change the configuration of primer indentation, but they never mention that.

I have some doubts about the efficacy of a "fifteen second" application of (again, presumably) an abrasive grease on a bore cleaner rag at a cost of "no more than 20 dollars" will definitively change the striations on a bullet.

Not only do I suspect that this light-weight effort will significantly change the striation marks on a bullet ... regardless of their assertions ... but I even question the price they quote; I'm not sure where one can purchase a buffing compound which is so abrasive that it costs $20 for what appears to be a six-ounce portion.

I have no way of knowing how much time, effort and money the NRA has expended to produce this video, but I am disappointed. I have no doubt that any reader here could have been a better, more fact-based Producer or editor.

I have never been an enthusiastic supporter of the National Rifle Association. It's not that their espoused goal is not worthy of my support, but they all-too-often produce arguments in support of the Second Amendment which are so lame that I am embarrassed to admit my association with them.

While I appreciate the effort the NRA put into producing this video, I'm disappointed that they couldn't find competent editors who would make sure that the result was consistent, illustrative of the point they were attempting to make, and comprehensive.

My NRA membership has recently expired. I have no intention of renewing it. I realize that many readers will suggest that "They may be flawed, but they are the only organization which lobbies for your Second Amendment Rights".

Please.
If this is the best that Free America has to offer, I would just as soon save my $20/year (or whatever) and produce my own videos.

So if you will all please send me twenty dollars, I will replace the NRA. I may not be able to make such 'glossy' videos, but they will be at least better produced with the meager funds available.

Isn't that better than the CRAP that the NRA produces?

Rockets In Your Pockets

What the heck.

It's Saturday night, I have had a cold for two days now, and I'm getting cabin fever.

I feel like presenting a video of Alan Sherman's "Camp Grenada" (the official music of the Pacific NorthWet) but I can't find one.

Instead, I am reduced to watching "Whose Line Is It Anyway" videos on YouTube.

That was fun.

When I say I can't find a video of "Camp Grenada" by Alan Sherman, I mean that several videos can be found on YouTube, but almost all of them are without the audio track. A note on their webpages reads:

"This video contains an audio track that has not been authorized by WMG. The audio has been disabled."

That's not fun.

I've had that happen to me a lot lately as YouTube is increasingly patrolled by the Music Police. They either disallow access to the video, or delete the audio portion. Too bad, many of the videos are much more interesting with the music soundtracks.

FYI, here is the BEST version of a "Camp Grenada" video I could find ... and I only select it because it includes the written lyrics.

And the sound is terrible. I apologize for the the annoying "truck horn" at the beginning.

Here's a video where the song is used as the basis for a 'RuneScape' style video.

Racism as Defined by Obama, Et Al

"The Highest Social Concern"

Newly elected President B.H. Obama's new Economic Adviser, Robert Reich, has made a clear statement that a major part of O's new Economic Stimulus Plan be should used to get "Long-term Unemployed, Minorities, Women, People who are not necessarily Construction Workers or High Skilled Professionals" hired to repair and construct "Infrastructure" projects.

Reich goes on to clarify that he has "nothing against white-male construction workers. I'm just saying that there are other people who have other needs as well".
... "Criteria can be set so that the money goes to others" who are (women, non-white males, etc. etc. etc.)

(Rangel wants to "... find some way to establish formulas to expedites there where Governors are going to be forced to find some kind of formula to find out how to get the money where the hemorrhages are."

In other words, this is defined as NOT a way to improve the infrastructure ... bridges, roads etc. .. but to redistribute money from productive workers to wanna-be workers who have not the experience to know whether their work will result in another bridge collapse.

In the view of Reich and Rangel, the 21st Century America will rebuild and replace America's Roads and Bridges (etc) not only using the "Lowest Bid" contractors, but also using relatively unskilled labor.

Why is this a valid assertion?

Because Reich (and Charley Rangel) want to to base hiring on Race and Gender, and Economic Need, rather than on demonstrated competency.

While it has yet to be proven that the best use of Economic Stimulus funds will be to address "Shovel Ready" Infrastructure, R&R (Reich and Rangel) seem determined to play both the Race Card and the Victim Card when addressing the vital role of Infrastructure Rehabilitation.

Would I feel comfortable driving across a bridge built by R&R's New Deal Workers?

No, I would not.

Would you?

Geek Sick?

There are those among my readers (most of them) who would aver that the title of this article should be "Sick Geek!".

However, it is not my purpose to reward their intemperate canards.

Rather, I regret to report that I seem to have caught the Common Cold.

It has been slowly impinging upon my Co-Workers for a week. Andy had the cold last week, and continued to come to word "regardless". He makes his presence known by the occassional Ka-WHOOP!.

Deb missed Monday, and came in to work on Tuesday where she was immediately dubbed "Coughing Woman". She lasted for about six hours, finally yielding the the gentle advice (Geek in origin) to "Go home!". She hasn't been back yet, yielding three sick days and one sick-but-shoulda-stayed-home day.

This afternoon Mark started clearing his throat -- loudly -- of congestion every few minutes. I realized that every time he HrrrUMPPed!, I HrrrUMPPED immediately afterword. This continued until, about 4pm, I realized that my HrrUMPP was changing to a robust Ka-WHOOP!

And then my nose started to run.

I finally left the office about 15 minutes early, unable to further ignore the undeniable evidence that I was Catching A Cold.

There are more than the usual number of down-sides to this, quite apart from my own discomfort and loss of work-time:

• I can't be around SWMBO when I have a cold. Her immune system has been entirely suppressed by the chemotherapy, and she isn't really strong enough to deal with a cold.
• The redoubtable Hobo Brasser had planned to come down to visit us this weekend. His Lady Wife, the estimable Mrs Hobo Brasser (aka, in her own right, "Spicey") had planned to furnish dinner ... her made-from-scratch Macaroni and Cheese is reputed to be The Stuff that Childhoods Are Made Of. I am gonna miss this, but they did want to have dinner and visit with both of us, and I am temporarily rendered Hors d'Combat.
• A co-worker has recently purchased a new pistol. I had tentatively planned to take him to the range this weekend to both provide him with an opportunity to shoot it, but also to make sure he has the gun-handling instructions which will help him to use it safely.

(Break: Now I'm sneezing, and my nose is running worse than it was when I started writing this. Ha-CHEW!)

I really don't appreciate it when people bring their Winter Colds to work. It's like "Take Your Daughter To Work Day", only with fewer annoying squeaky voices and more disappointment.

Here's a personal hint, from me to you:

If you have a cold, please stay home and enjoy it. You may feel you are an important contributor to your office (jobsite, whatever) efficiency. In reality, you may be willing to "play through the pain", but the rest of your co-workers are probably going to end up spending some work-days at home. They will not thank you.

Hmmmmm - I'm not sure I got the message through to everybody. Let's try it again:

If you have a cold --

STAY THE #*@& HOME!!!

Thank you for your kind attention.

The Presidential Agenda: Sportsmen

President Obama's official agenda does not specifically address support for the Second Amendment. However, he nicely covers this under the category of "Sportsmen".

Sportsmen

President Obama did not grow up hunting and fishing, but he recognizes the great conservation legacy of America's hunters and anglers and has great respect for the passion that hunters and anglers have for their sports. Were it not for America's hunters and anglers, including the great icons like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold, our nation would not have the tradition of sound game management, a system of ethical, science-based game laws and an extensive public lands estate on which to pursue the sport. The President and Vice President recognize that we must forge a broad coalition if we are to address the great conservation challenges we face. America's hunters and anglers are a key constituency that must take an active role and have a powerful voice in this coalition.

That's nice.

The Presidential Agenda effectively equates the Second Amendment with the right to keep and bear fly-fishing rods.

I wonder what his position is on Deep Sea fishing equipment, which has no legitimate purpose except the wanton slaughter of innocent Marlins outside the 12-mile limit off the American coast.

Maxine for President!

BAIL EM OUT!

Back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we are trusting the economy of our country and our banking system to the same nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey.

OPTV

Welcome to "Old Pharts TeleVision"

Dundee Practical Shooters hosted a Club match this weekend, and for the first time in several months I not only attended, I participated.

[sigh]

Good weather (Winter in Oregon, but no rain and no wind), good stages, good people to shoot with. It don't get no better than this.

(click here to see the scores)

I looked very much like a guy who hasn't fired a round in practice or in competition for several months, and I didn't expect much more than a good time.

Going to a USPSA match when you're out of practice is like kissing an ugly girl; you don't expect much, and you're grateful for anything that exceeds your expectations, but mostly you just really, really want to get ... kissed.

I got kissed by the Ugly Ammo girl. I had a bunch of high primers. Out of the 150+/- rounds required in the match, I experienced misfires once on four of the six stages. I've been having problems with my Dillon XL650 for several months, which explains why I haven't shot many matches lately ... at least in part. The high-primer cartridges weren't obvious. I had gauged and inspected all of my ammunition and didn't catch those four. (Sorting through my ammunition box, I found another 'suspicious' round and dumped it into my range bag. I'll check that out 'later'.)

The match was better than my shooting. Evil Bill set up a six-pack of challenging stages which met the minimum requirements for 'rainy season' matches. There was a lot of steel, and in case of rain the targets could easily be replaced right out of stock without time-consuming painting. I talked to Evil Bill about this:

"I've changed my stage designs. If I want to restrict the shooter's access to the target area, I don't often paint it black. I just staple a no-shoot on top."

I saw a couple of black-painted targets during the match, but they were the exception, not the rule. This makes it much easier to replace targets during the match, because there are no concerns that the 'hard-cover' matches the original target.

Evil Bill made the maximum use of steel targets for this match. He had a Texas Star, a plate-rack (you'll see this later), and many Pepper Poppers and US Poppers to provide challenging stages without the need to replace a lot of cardboard targets (both Classic and Metric targets were featured).

The most interesting stage in the match was on Stage 1, Bay 1: "Get Over It".

Brief description: This was a symetrical stage, based on a six-plate plate rack. Vision barriers prevented full view of the plates from either side. You could only see six plate-rack targets, plus a single 9" plate, and 3 full-vision Metric targets from each of the two sides of the stage. Vision barriers forced the competitor to move from one extreme lateral side of the bay to the other in order to see/engage all of the targets. Eight plates and six Metric targets comprised the challenge and for the average shooter 20 seconds with no more than 3 or 4 points 'down' constituted a good run.

Here's how it looked for three Ol Pharts who were all shooting Open Division with varying degrees of success:



One of the things I appreciated about this match, which featured three "lateral design" field courses, was that the round count for most stages exceeded 20 rounds. This challenged the shooters using high-cap (over 20 rounds) magazines to decide when, where and whether they would reload.

The Hobo Brasser twice announced, at the end of these stages, "I should have listened to The Geek". I had advised to use 20-round magazines rather than 25+ round magazines, because that strategy would force the Open shooter to reload during the long run from one side of the bay to the other. The COFs were so challenging that only one or two misses would throw your round-count past your magazine capacity.

I admit, I made the same mistake on three stages, where I ran out of ammunition before finishing the stages (taking a miss rather than do a standing reload).

The thing about Old Pharts is that we know all the ways to screw up a stage, but we are beyond learning from our previous experience or the advice of our peers.

(Incidentally, Fish beat the crap out of Geek and The Hobo Brasser, because he took the time to make sure that he got first-shot hits on the plates. There's a lesson here, but I'm not quite sure what it is.)

And although there were a plethora of Old Pharts shooting Open Guns, one young man named Dante (attending with his father) was also shooting Open in this squad. He did a fine job, even though he forgot his holster and had to shoot from the "low ready" position. [This may be the wave of the future, but I hope not.}

Near the end of the match I approached Dante's father, Adam, and told him:
"I wish you had told us that your son was shooting without a holster because he didn't bring it with him. I thought you were teaching him USPSA shooting before you introduced him to holster work. I have a holster, magazine carriers and belt in my car that I would have been glad to loan him, if I had only known".

Adam replied: "That's okay. It will teach him a lesson. I think he will never go to a match without making sure that he has all of his gear".

(I never mentioned that in the past 25+ years I had forgotten almost every piece of equipment when attending a match, including pistol, holster, magazines and ammunition.)

"So, you are big on giving lessons, are you?" I replied.

"Yes".

"I'm glad you aren't my father" I said.

But this was not intended as criticism of Adam's parenting techniques. Actually, I think he has done The Right Thing. If my father had introduced me to Competitive Shooting instead of to shooting in general, I may have avoided a lot of embarrassing matches.

Here's how Dante looked at one of the match stages:

I Have A Dream ....

In his August 28, 1963 "I Have A Dream" speach at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King Jr. said many things. Among these dreams he described was this one.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

We celebrated King's birth yesterday (January 19) although his birthday was actually January 15.

Today, January 20, 2009, we celebrate the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama in his term as the 44th President of the United States of America.

As a Conservative American, I find myself less than entirely enamored of this president.

His politics are not only not conservative, but incomprehensible. At best, he can be said to be anti-Second Amendment. At worst, he is a Socialist.

What was his campaign platform? "Change!"

It's not uncommon for a candidate, especially a Democratic Candidate, to run on the platform that "I am Not The Last President", and while that is such a popular platform it remains uncommon for the sole plank to be "change". Usually, candidates are more specific about the changes they would make in the presidential administration. We did not see this in the latest Presidential Campaign.

The primary appeal for this candidate was his race. It is generally accepted that the impetus of his campaign was that he was Black, and his election would validate Dr. King's "Dream" speech.

In fact, Mr. Obama's election on the primary basis of his race is a direct refute of Dr. King's dream.

For any candidate to be elected on the basis of his race is NOT what Dr. King said would validate his dream.

Mr. Obama was elected not because of the content of his character, but because of the color of his skin. Given that his character was constantly assailed ... and the controversy was never answered by the Obama campaign ... it seems only logical to conclude that Race was the primary factor leading to his election.

I can only hope that the low expectations described by conservatives in this country are exceeded by Mr. Obama's performance.

I hope that he respects the Constitution.

I hope that he respects the traditional American values of Capitalism and a Free-Market Economy.

But I don't expect it.

I do, however, expect that these words will encourage his supporters to castigate me as a Racist, because I do not support this candidate on the basis of his policies (as nearly as we can interpret them, given the paucity of his platform definitions.)

I don't think I'm the racist here. I did now admire the Republican candidate's platform, either, but at least I had a good idea where he stood.

McCain was not an appealing candidate; Obama was not a candidate, he was merely an opponent. That should have given him the lead, but not by the margin recorded by the polls.

The single advantage to Mr. Obama's presidency is, that he will make Mr. George W. Bush look good by comparison.

Unfortunately, we must survive the next four years of the Obama Presidency, and the Republicans must field a legitimate candidate, to recover from this administration.

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New Gun_Grabber bill from Illinois (HR 45)

H.R. 45 - "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009" (Introduced in House)


From World Net Daily:

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is hoping to pass a firearm-licensing bill that will significantly rewrite gun-ownership laws in America.

Among the more controversial provisions of the bill are requirements that all handgun owners submit to the federal government a photo, thumb print and mental heath records. Further, the bill would order the attorney general to establish a database of every handgun sale, transfer and owner's address in America.

The bill claims its purpose is "to protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of firearms to criminals and youth."

... not to get to excited, this is just another "Feel-Good" bill thrown out to make the Congressman look good to his gun-grabber constituents. Still, it's a harbinger of tomorrow's federal legislation.

If passed, the bill would make it illegal to own or possess a "qualifying firearm" – defined as any handgun or any semiautomatic firearm that takes an ammunition clip – without a "Blair Holt" license.

To obtain a "Blair Holt" license, an application must be made that includes a photo, address, all previous aliases, thumb print, completion of a written firearm safety test, release of mental health records to the attorney general and a fee not to exceed $25.

Further, the bill makes it illegal to transfer ownership of a qualifying firearm to anyone who is not a licensed gun dealer or collector. Exceptions to this rule include transfer to family members by gift or bequest and loans, not to exceed 30 days, of a firearm for lawful purposes "between persons who are personally known to each other."

The bill also requires qualifying firearm owners to report all transfers to the attorney general's database. It would also be illegal for a licensed gun owner to fail to record a gun loss or theft within 72 hours or fail to report a change of address within 60 days.

And if a minor obtains a weapon and injures someone with it, the owner of the gun – if deemed to have failed to meet certain safety requirements – faces a multiple-year jail sentence.

H.R. 45 is a resurfacing of 2007's H.R. 2666, which contained much of the same language and was co-sponsored by 15 other representatives and Barack Obama's current chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel. H.R. 2666 was assigned to the House Judiciary committee, where no action was taken.

H.R. 45 currently has no co-sponsors and is likewise assigned to the House Judiciary committee.

The bad news is, this is just the first of many bills which we can expect to be presented to congress in the next four years of the Obama White House.

Is this "Ipso Facto" firearms registration? Yes, that would be the minimum effect of this (and any similar bills).

Sooner or later, somebody is going to propose a gun-grabber bill which is going to stick.

Expect it to be much more egregious than this 'touchy-feely' bill.

Just so you know, the Obama administration will probably encourage a continuing onslaught of bills restricting the Second Amendment.

The only "good thing" about the Obama election is that he will, ultimately, show George W. Bush as a more effective president, in terms of preserving constitutional rights.

SWMBO and the Get Well Card

I haven't talked about SWMBO lately.

Her Oncologist pulled her out of Chemotherapy at the end of the 9th week during her evaluation. She was so overwhelmed by the chemo, and associated medications, that she was unable to walk unassisted. Also, she was disassociated ... couldn't think straight.

So he too her off Chemo around New Years (December 31st, to be precise) and told her she would have to recover from the debilitation before he could decide on a new course of treatment.

She took a couple of weeks off treatment, to allow the heavy metals to dissipate, went back yesterday for another evaluation.

They did some tests, inclding Scans and Xrays; the doctor said they needed to be able to say that the tumor was ruduced my 50% to determine that the chemotherapy was working.

He was unable to do that.

Show she's going to stay off the chemo for another two weeks, and he'll put her on a weekly regimen of Avastin only (constricts the blood vessels to reduce the amount of nutrients to her tumor ... and also to the rest of her body.)

This every-other-week addition to her weekly infusions have caused her a lot of problems in the past, but her oncologist thinks it will help slow the growth of the tumor, and that the side-effects will be lessened because it will no longer be infused along with the other 'heavy metal' drugs.

So she'll be working on maintenance procedures for a while (indeterminate length, perhaps in terms of years) while her doctors work to find a curative palliative. They're talking about some possibilities, but she probably won't be going back to the normal chemotherapy for the foreseeable future.

The Greeting Card
In the meantime, I received a mysterious message early this week from Mike of Mister Completely. He wanted my street address to "mail (me) a package".

When I got home tonight, after stopping at SWMBO's house to see what I could do for her, I found he Mystery Package. It was a large box, addressed to (Jerry the Geek) "Re: Sandie".

I took it inside and opened it up quickly. Unlike most parcels addressed to me, it did not include reloading components.

Instead, it included a huge Gift Basket with "Get Well" ribbons wrapped around the handle.

I didn't look for a gift card. I didn't even take the basket out of the box to look for a card. Instead, I just came upstairs to email Mike and ask him if this was the surprise package he had promised me.

He said it was (and included the story behind it, which I will not relate here).

---

What a wonderful surprise for both me and for Sandie. I put the box by the door to take out to the car later, so it will stay cool and fresh until I can bring it to her tomorrow night.

Want to know the amazing part?

I've never met Mike. I've corresponded with him, he has posted comments in support of Sandie and me during her current battle, and every year he invites me to the Gunbloggers Rendesvous in Las Vegas (I've never taken him up on that ... I don't like Las Vegas and it's too far to travel.)

In fact, I don't think Sandie has ever heard of him. Well, she hasn't spent much time on the computer lately, and she doesn't surf GunBlogger websites as some of us do.

To receive this open expression of support from Mike is a wonderful thing, in my mind. here's a guy who only knows her third hand ... only knows me 2nd hand, and still he goes out of his way to make such a generous gesture.

I can only repeat the few things that I have said often, but not often enough.

You meet the nicest people in the Shooting Sports. And you meet surprisingly nice people on The Internet.

The combination of the two can only be said to be "The Best of The Best".

Many people have told me, in relay to Sandie:

"If there's ever anything that we can do, please let me know". The obvious reply to this is "okay, can you show up this weekend to vacuum the floors, Friday to do the laundry, Wednesday to do the shopping?" I'm sorry, we sometimes get a little bogged down in the mundane details.

So if you want to show Sandie some support, I'm afraid the the Gargantuan Generous Gift Basket niche has already been filled.

Can you show up on Tuesday to take the trash cans out to the curb?

____________________________-

PS:

Yes, I'm making light of this. What else can one do? But we do receive so much love and encouragement from our friends and acquaintances, and it's impossible to keep up with the volume here. When someone at a match says "Tell Sandie 'Hi' from me and tell her we miss her", I put it on my list and dutifully recite it only a few hours later, when I get back to her. She appreciates your support, and if I don't make the effort to return the greeting, please be patient with me. SHE receives your message, and SHE thanks you individually ... even if not in person.

Sandie and I are both doing as well as can be expected now, and we're hoping that she can spend some time on her day job in the near future, as soon as the worst of the drugs wear off and she canconcentrate again. Her fingers are still numb, so it's hard for her to type on the computer.

But if you will accept a group THANK YOU, here it is.

Sandie will probably not show up at a local match soon, but I do keep her informed on the odd occasions when I show up, such as last weekend's match at ARPC.

And I still have my camera, so unless you want' to be profiled here ... don't shoot yourself!

It's a Jungle out there!

But she can read your messages, or I can read them too her, and we both appreciate

Economic Stimulus Payment Scam

This comes from The HoboBrasser, who can be relied upon to know a scam when he sees one:

From: Internal Revenue Service [mailto:stimulus.payment@irs.gov]
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 8:16 AM
Subject: Please submit your Stimulus Payment form

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a Stimulus Payment.
Please submit the Stimulus Payment Online Form in order to process it.

A Stimulus Payment can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To submit your Stimulus Payment form, please download the document attached to your email.

Note: If filing or preparation fees were deducted from your 2007 Refund or you received a refund anticipation loan, you will be receiving a check instead of a direct deposit.

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service

If you receive an email similar to this one, it is a good idea to NOT reply to it.

And for goodness sake, don't click on the psuedo-link (which has been de-activated) with the expectation of getting free money from the Federal Government!

Remember the old canard: "We're from the Government, and we're here to help you."

Any time you hear that phrase, or a variation of it (see above), your best chance is to run, don't walk, to the nearest exit.

It's a lie.

Area 1 Director Election

From The Hobo Brasser, Secretary of the Columbia Cascade Section:

Chuck Anderson had thrown his hat in the ring for Area 1 Director. He is looking for signatures for his petition. He will be at Dundee on the 24th.

As with Tom Chambers, the board sends this out as a courtesy to Chuck, a member of the Columbia-Cascade Section. Sending it is for the purpose of information only and does not constitute an endorsement of any kind.

If you are a member of USPSA in Area 1, please consider signing the petitions for any Director candidates which you favor. I have already signed the petitions which have been presented to me, for the candidates I favor. It's perfectly acceptable to sign petitions for all candidates. The actual vote will sort out the winner.

I understand that there are more than the two candidates for this position. If you are a candidate, or if you know someone who wants to be considered, please contact the secretary of the Columbia Cascade Section (see here) for information about how to send your petition to be available for member consideration at CCS matches.

Or send them to me (in WORD or PDF form), and I will see that they reach the right person to insure that your petition is made available to local USPSA members.

Mr. Chambers and Mr. Anderson, you have already provided petition copies to CCS, so it will not be necessary to provide them again.

However, prospective candidates from outside the CCS section may choose to solicit support in Oregon's CCS section. Please understand that you are encouraged to solicit support from CCS members by the methods described above.

We only want the most viable candidate to win the election. If you don't let us know that you are a candidate, we won't have the information needed to make an informed choice.
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