Guard Dog

And of course if you’re impatient you can always steal a nuclear missile and aim at the San Andreas Fault. As long as no pesky superhero stop you it’s a brilliant plan

Cops have been allowed to get away with a lot of deaths in this country. I remember there was a case I was following very closely. I believe it was in Iowa. A cop passing by sees a man and a woman arguing in the front yard. He decided to involve himself in it. Opened the gate went into the yard and the family dog came up to the police officer. He pulled out his weapon and fired at the dog and missed. Instead he hit the woman in the chest and killed her. he said in his report the dog bit him in that justified the shooting and he never faced manslaughter charges. Later on in a federal lawsuit the plaintiffs finally got the body cam footage of the shooting released. The cop lied he had never been bit. The city had to pay a huge settlement. As far as I know the cop is still on the job.

For second-degree manslaughter the jury had to answer this question: did he cause the death of George Floyd through action or inaction. Manslaughter does not require intention. If you kill someone without intending to do it it’s manslaughter. In this case the jury said yes. third-degree murder means the jury had to answer this question: did he kill George Floyd while committing an act that was in and of it’s self illegal or an act that the perpetrator might reasonably expect a death to occur. In this case putting a handcuffed man on the ground on his chest and then kneeling on his neck. The jury said yes. Now as an aside I am a little unclear what the element of intent means in relation to a3degree murder charge. I don’t know if it is required for third-degree murder or not. The best example I could give is if you fired a weapon into a crowd of people whoever you hit you may not have intended to hit that person but you did do some thing that you might reasonably expect a death to occur. Second-degree murder means the jury had to answer this question: did the perpetrator intend the death of the victim. Or did the perpetrator not care if the victim died during the commission of the crime. It’s the second part that they got him on second-degree murder. I believe that’s called hard minded or hard hearted indifference. But the biggest difference between a second-degree and third-degree murder I believe is the intention to harm a specific individual. since the jury convicted him on all three counts and they did not have to do that. They could have convicted on third degree but not second. They could’ve convicted on manslaughter but not third degree or second. But since they convicted on all three I believe he will be sentenced on all three but the sentences will be concurrent. Meaning if he does 20 years for second- degree murder for example, 10 years for thirddegree murder, and five years for a second-degree manslaughter he will still only do 20 years. Think of it like this. Suppose were talking about a man that weighs 300 pounds. So you ask the jury does the man weigh more than 100 pounds? Yes. Does the man weigh more than 200 pounds? Yes. Does the man weigh 300 pounds?. Yes.

Someone once advised me a long time ago “invest in real estate. They’re not making any more of it”

No surprise in the Chauvin verdict IMO. It’s no secret I do not hold police officers in particularly high regard. I am more than willing to except that the majority of them are honest, hard-working, civil servants trying to do a good job. The problem with that majority is they tend to look the other way when the badge heavy sadists do their thing. Don’t forget three other cops stood there and did nothing and said not a word while Chauvin choked a handcuffed man to death.

Yeah I was definitely wrong about that rifle in the Las Vegas shooting. But in my own defense I had never heard of bump stocks because I do not own an AR 15 and have no interest in ever owning one. The .223/5.56mm is, in my own estimation, a useless round to me. The .22LR and .17 HMR are perfect rounds for target shooting, pest control, and small game hunting. For large game anything under 30 caliber is ineffective and inhumane. The .223/5.56 mm has a projectile that weighs just 55-68gr. In an AR 15 it has a muzzle velocity of 3200 ft./s. Full jacket ammunition is illegal but because of the low bullet mass and the speed it is traveling inside of 300 yards the bullet is going too fast to expand after striking a target. The short answer that round is only good for one thing: killing people. That’s not something I have any use for. Don’t use them and would not. But that’s me. As far as bump stocks go, I have no problem at all with banning them. It is already illegal to modify a firearm to operate in full auto. Any accessory that does that for you it’s a no-brainer to ban. At the risk of repeating myself for the umpteenth time I disagree with you completely that the ultimate aims of political leaders it’s not complete prohibition and confiscation. Far too many, Democrats one and all, have stated that is their exact goal. Every “reasonable restriction“ leads to another and another and another. If you value the Second Amendment at some point you have to say no. Better to do so right from the get go. That’s not to say there cannot be compromise. Certainly there can and should be. But until the political opposition acknowledges what the Supreme Court has already held that the right to own a firearm is both individual and Incorporated how can there be compromise? That said there’s no reason why background check legislation can’t go through. But in my opinion it’s a solution in search of a problem. I have bought many firearms and had to have a background check for each and everyone of them. Actually that’s not entirely accurate, because I have a concealed carry permit I get to skip that part. But the permit comes with a very extensive background check that gets renewed every three years.

Housing prices will reach the point where no one can buy. Then, coupled with interest rate hikes, will cause the market to collapse. The same cycle that has been going on for years. You should sign up with the Clerk of the County Court in your home and surrounding counties for real estate auction notices. I bought a vacant lot in Shelby County that way.

Does Biden and Waters comments create a realistic grounds for appeal? Seems like a stretch to me. But, there is a real good chance the jurors hear about it before the verdict.

Amy Coney Barrett asked to recuse herself from 1st Am case don’t know how this will play out but it does not seem like an unreasonable ask. The way it looks she is only tangentially connected to one of the litigants. But it seems like a good idea to me to avoid even the appearance of bias.

Loose dog wins relay race

@Gromnir if it were just you and I deciding the future of gun ownership in this country I would make that compromise with you right now. I would give up handguns completely IF that is the end of it. No more reasonable restrictions. No more common sense measures. Leave the rifles and shotguns alone. And just to sweeten the deal we can keep all restrictions on fully automatic weapons and armor piercing munitions in place. I own eight handguns. Two are antiques and not fireable. I’d be the first one to hand the other six over if that is the end of the discussion about gun control in this country. too bad you and I are not in charge because if that will never happen. Neither side will ever give.

You know it IS perfectly ok to accept some things famous thinkers have said without buying into the whole of their philosophy. I thought Rand made some good points in Atlas Shrugged, that does not mean I am objectivist. I can think Marx made some good points without being communist. Philosophical absolutism is not one of my vices

This was in the WSJ the other day. I just saw it this morning. Sharing here because we were just talking about it https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/the-real-lessons-of-the-cuban-missile-crisis-11617985606

Have you ever read Von Clausewitz? You should. War is simple. It is the simplest of things. So simple even someone as stupid as a politician can grasp it. Some of the things you mention and the other things that I frequently object to are a bit more complex. And they are not taught in PoliSci or Law schools. Others are nothing more than petty harassment . Well if you’ve never read Von Clausewitz i’ll summit up for you in one sentence. The moment an aggressor believes a war is winnable the war becomes inevitable. To secure a peace you must prepare for war. If China believes an invasion of Taiwan will lead to a general war with the United States and that such a war is either unwinnable or too costly then it will never happen. It does not need to actually be true. They just have to be made to believe that it is. One of the big reasons the Cuban missile crisis end the way that it did is because Robert Kennedy told the Soviet ambassador that if they did not accept the offered terms World War III was going to begin on Day 14. Those were not his words obviously but the implication was clear. And Kruschev believed it.

There has never been any other kind

Everyone. Do you think of China invades Taiwan there is not going to be a mass killing of Taiwanese? Heck even if they assimilated the island peacefully if it goes anything like Hong Kong people are still going to be disappeared on a regular basis. Maintaining the status quo has to be the best option and it has to be obvious to everyone that it is the best option. The moment a country like China gets in their heads that a war is winnable there’s going to be one.

The thing tp remember about the Bay of Pigs it was not US troops making the landing. It was Cuban nationals. Yes they were being supported by the United States and it might be a distinction without a difference but it is a distinction. In 1962 the Soviets had eight submarines capable of launching four ICBMs each. None of them had a range of more than 1000 miles. That missile base in Cuba was a very very big deal. You say we don’t want to return to MAD. Reality we’ve never really left it. If peace with China means selling out Taiwan and abrogating our joint defense agreement with them we will not have peace after that either. That’s only going to invite more Chinese aggression elsewhere. Only now no one will be willing to make agreements with the United States because we cannot be counted on. Ronald Reagan was right about one thing peace can only be achieved through strength. And it’s not enough to have the strength it’s demonstrating the willingness to use it. It sucks because you are correct the life of every human is gambled every time this kind of brinksmanship goes on. This is the world we live in. As homer wrote we men are wretched things.

If anyone is interested these are two really excellent books on the Cuban missile crisis. The first will actually put you on the bridge of the four Soviet submarines and gives the account of their four commanders. As well as on the bridge of the US destroyers that were hunting them. It is a really cool perspective. The second one was written by Robert Kennedy who of course was on EXCOM And was present for absolutely every meeting.

What else could Kennedy do? Stevens was telling him to do nothing. The absolute worst thing you can do in the face of provocation is nothing. Bobby and All of his people were telling him to invade. Well we know now there were four Soviet submarines in the area with nuclear tip torpedoes and the local ground commander had tactical nuclear weapons with authorization to use them. The invasion would have been a disaster and absolutely would have led to World War III. Kennedy and McNamara wisely chose a third option Once a nuclear weapon has been used there is no more room for cooler heads to prevail. But the moment someone signals they are unwilling to go that far it only invites aggression. Suppose China makes good on its threat and actually invades Taiwan. Would you stand by and let them? I can’t imagine that you would. Biden and whoever follows him cannot back down. The must indicate a willingness to go all the way all the while looking for a third option As far as Kruschev goes, he genuinely believed he could put those missiles in Cuba without the US finding out about it. It was a dangerous and reckless gambit but the Soviets did not comprehend us surveillance capabilities and also didn’t know their submarine radio burst system had been found and that the US could track Soviet subs. This was a mess largely of his own making although the KGB really let him down here because as wanted as their capabilities were they were continually underestimating American capability. He took a step back and he got something in return for doing it. The removal of the US missiles in Turkey. But it’s hard to give him any credit in this scenario when he was the creator of it.

Depends. Do you consider protecting Taiwan from China projecting? Should we even be doing that? I’d say yes because not doing so will invite even more aggression. Indicating absolute willingness to employ total war including the use of nuclear weapons will make maintaining the status quo very attractive I’d think. It certainly kept the peace throughout the Cold War

Ohtani is something else! Shohei Ohtani's 119-mph double | 04/12/2021 | MLB.com Plus I love how the Japanese media is following him. There are 11 former NPB players on major league rosters. I can only name like four of them off the top of my head. Well, Yosimoto Tsutugo is easy because he's on the Rays. But Ohtani is the one folks are really watching.

Nah, I’m white. They just tell me to “slow it down sir. Have a good day” In all seriousness I’ve never been worried when interacting with cops. Funny story though. I used to own a business calibrating test equipment in Fort Lauderdale. I was renting an office space in an industrial park in Dania Beach. I had T-shirts made up with the business logo on it and the logo was on a sign on the door. It’s about 11 o’clock at night and I’m trying to get into my office when a Dania Beach police officer pulls up. Asked to see my ID and asked me what I’m doing here. I pointed out my T-shirt and at the logo on the door and I said “you’re quite the detective aren’t you?” The cop of course did not find that funny but the confrontation with no further than that. Anyway I told that story to a black friend of mine a few years later and he laughed and said if he had tried to do that same thing a beating would have followed. And he’s probably right.

Based on what I’ve read The worst part about that stop in Minnesota is that kid was pulled over for having an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror which is apparently illegal in that state. The penalty for which was death in this case. That is some nanny state bull crap right there. That’s the kind of law a cop would be justified in ignoring. The stop in Virginia was even worse. The cops flat out lied about the whole encounter. They said he had no tag but you could clearly see the paper tag in his rear window. They also said he “attempted to elude” by pulling into a well lit place with witnesses. Then the cop that was fired said he was assaulted as the suspect left the vehicle. His own body cam shows that didn’t happen. Then they threatened him if he reported their misconduct. Firing was a good start but it’s not enough. It’s become rote to say “Most cops are good but...”. I hope that it true but I’m not sure. One thing is true though, a good many of them mix a toxic blend of lack of education (I think Gromnir is spot on here) hubris, a complete lack of understanding of the laws they are enforcing, an absence of empathy, and a large helping of sadism. As for the earnest and conscientious civil servants in the profession in whatever percentage of the whole they make up we can only offer our thanks. And our commiseration for being lumped in such low company.

It’s a start. That whole stop was BS.