Public Safety Reporters: A Natural Disaster

Posted on by

One day Henny-penny was picking up corn in the rickyard when—whack!—an acorn hit her upon the head. “Goodness gracious me!” said Henny-penny, “the sky’s a-going to fall; I must go and tell the King.” – Henny-Penny: The Sky is Falling!, English Fairy Tale

Public Safety Reporters are the Henny-pennys of fairy tale “news”.

They “report” on things like natural disasters (something so natural is hardly news), weather (isn’t that the weatherman’s work?), traffic (OpenStreetMap can take care of that), among other terrifying tidbits. Public Panic Reporters are busybodies: they scratch the surface, then go nuts, spewing so-called “news”. They’re ever-so-ready to chirp n’ chatter on Twitter about their personal fears.

Today’s example of the sky is falling comes from Jason Pohl. This guy is falling.

Jason is a Public Safety Reporter at the Coloradoan (aka USA TODAY, aka Gannett Company, Inc.). Below, he’s made a tweet, packed with devastatingly wrong info:

Screen cap of Coloradoan Reporter Jason Pohl's lies

Devastating lies from Reporter Jason Pohl of the Coloradoan (soon to be working for Arizona Republic).

Lies, lies, lies. Jason, how much time did you spend researching your bosses’ childish numbers on kids and guns? Please, before you go writing about the topic of firearms, I beg of you: utilize gun truths at GunFacts.info. All it takes is a quick click. The truth is out there.

Jason Pohl's haunting Twitter post

A haunting tweet by Jason Pohl, filled with lies. He needs to read GunFacts.info.

The lesson of this story? It lies upon the conscience of readers. To you, I ask, “Do you believe everything you read?”

“I do not,” say readers of this blog, including Foxy-woxy, Ducky-daddles, Turkey-lurkey.

Yes, that was a loaded question, with a charged answer. I already know the vast majority of this blog’s viewers are critical thinkers who question everything, gobbling up accurate facts n’ stats. Y’all exited The Matrix long ago.

Jason: I’m not picking on you. There are so many Henny Pennys out there, it’s hard to choose who to expose. Your “work” happened to roll across my news desk. I’m sure you’re not all that bad. I’m focused on setting the story straight for firearms facts. I’ll leave it to the rest of the universe to comb through your other stories/topics.

Jason Poh's Twitter post needs to be corrected

Wow. Interesting lies. Reporter Jason Pohl needs to find gun truths at GunFacts.info.

Yet I’m solidly skeptical of your remaining “news” stories, wondering what’s fairy tale vs. fact. Things look bleak. Are you a Brothers Grimm? Or an Adam Ruins Everything? I rally for the latter.

Perhaps there’s hope for the past articles you’ve composed. I dunno. Maybe nope. Yes?

Please seize the moment. Think twice, before pouncing to post lies, regurgitated by USA Today, who eats up numbers from skewed anti-gun groups like Everytown for Gun Control and The Brady Bunch & Co.

Above all, Jason Pohl, stay classy.

Twitter post of Jason Pohl's book and beer (drug).

Jason Pohl enjoys drinking beer, a drug.

Jason Pohl's Tweet "Drug Death in America Are Rising Faster Than Ever"

Jason Pohl finds this data to be staggering, even if the graph’s sourced by New York Times.

Chart: Alcohol is the drug of choice for 64.5% of American with a Substance Use Disorder

Alcohol is the drug of choice for 64.5% of Americans with a Substance Use Disorder, according to this graph that Jason Pohl didn’t tweet about.

#JasonPohl
@pohl_jason
@Coloradoan
#Coloradoan
#ArizonaRepublic
#FakeNews
#Everytown

Quote of the day—Brett

Posted on by

I honor my ancestors who clawed their way to the top of the food chain.

How much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a head of lettuce?

Brett
June 27, 2017
[This was regarding his dietary preferences.—Joe]

If you carry don’t provoke

Posted on by

In several of the self-defense classes I have taken the instructors have told the class that if you carry a gun you will be held to a higher standard of behavior than those who do not carry. And specifically, do not pick a physical fight you are nearly certain you are going to win.*

We now have a real life example playing out of why this can cause you (and the gun rights movement in general) serious problems.

Remember the University of Washington incident involving a speech by former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos (see also my blog post here) on January 20th of this year? The couple who were involved in the shooting are now in trouble because there is evidence they went to the event with, shall we say, “a poor attitude”:

Assault charges filed Monday against a Ravenna couple in connection with the shooting of a protester outside a speech by former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos on Jan. 20 allege they went to the University of Washington campus that night looking for trouble.

Marc and Elizabeth Hokoana had armed themselves — him with pepper-spray and her with a Glock semi-automatic handgun in a holster under her coat — and went to the protest intending to goad demonstrators they knew would be there, King County prosecutors allege. Some witnesses said Marc Hokoana appeared to be intoxicated.

According to the charges, the day before Yiannopoulos was scheduled to talk at Kane Hall, Marc Hokoana had messaged a friend on Facebook, stating, “I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’m going to the milo event and if the snowflakes get out off hand I’m going to wade through their ranks and start cracking skulls.”

His friend asked him if he was “going to carry.”

Hokoana responded, “Nah, I’m going full melee,” but then wrote “Lily … is,” referring to his wife, Elizabeth.

I’m sure Elizabeth Hokoana didn’t help her case when she was interviewed by the police.

H/T to Julie S. for bringing this new information to my attention. She is also a personal friend of Josh Dukes who was shot by Ms. Hokoana.

* I would generalize this to don’t pick physical fights, but there may be some people who have an issue with that and that discussion is beyond the scope of this post.

Quote of the day—Baltimore Evening Sun

Posted on by

It may take years, but make no mistake, the time will come when the United States will adopt laws similar to those in European nations—laws which virtually ban handguns altogether and which place the most stringent restrictions on ownership of any kind of firearm. There is no other answer.

Baltimore Evening Sun
January 4, 1991
Page A8
[Reading the history of the Evening Sun results in enough schadenfreude to cause me to sleep with a smile on my face tonight:

In 1959, the afternoon edition’s circulation was 220,174, compared to 196,675 for the A.M. edition.[18] However, by the 1980s, cultural, technological and economic shifts in America were eating away at afternoon newspapers’ market share, with readers flocking to morning papers or switching to nightly television news broadcasts.[19] In 1992, the afternoon paper’s circulation was 133,800.[20] By mid-1995, The Evening Sun’s readership — 86,360 — had been eclipsed by The Sun — 264,583.[21] The Evening Sun ceased publication on September 15, 1995.

Also:

In the 1990s and 2000s, The Sun began cutting back its foreign coverage. In 1995 and 1996, closed its Tokyo, Mexico City and Berlin bureaus. Two more — Beijing and London — fell victim to cost-cutting in 2005.[7] The final three bureaus — Moscow, Jerusalem, and Johannesburg, South Africa — fell a couple years later.[8] All were closed by 2008, as the Tribune Co. streamlined and downsized the newspaper chain’s foreign reporting. Some material from The Sun’s foreign correspondents is archived at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.[9]

So, it turns out the prediction made by The Evening Sun of the disappearance of gun ownership in the United States more accurately reflects the disappearance of The Evening Sun and it’s sibling paper The Sun.

But the biggest take away from this is that you should never let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]

Quote of the day—NRA-ILA

Posted on by

Pew’s recent survey on firearm-related attitudes and experiences of U.S. adults found – based on the percentage saying “yes” to the question about whether they are NRA members – that more than 14 million Americans consider themselves NRA members.  The real NRA membership of about 5 million falls well short of this measure, even accounting for any statistical error the survey produced.

What this means in terms of polling, and one thing that Pew and others simply do not make clear to the public when reporting on the survey results, is that Pew did not actually survey NRA members.  Any views, beliefs, or opinions they ascribe to “NRA members” is a simple guess on their part.  Pew does not know what percentage of NRA members support one law or another, how many guns they own, or anything else for that matter.  At best, they can claim to have the responses of Americans who SAY they are NRA members, but they certainly cannot say much beyond that.

…

Unfortunately, this simple truth hasn’t stopped Pew from attempting to present to the public, along with an eager media, multiple claims or measures about our members’ opinions. Nor has it stopped the similar and blatant attempts by ideologically-driven gun control advocates to claim they know, from polling data alone, how NRA members view particular topics.

NRA-ILA
July 7, 2017
Remarkable Finding from Pew Survey
[In addition to he conclusion outlined above this has rather far reaching implications and one or more of the following:

  1. Many people are lying about belonging to the NRA and want to skew the poll results
  2. Many people align themselves with the NRA but haven’t maintained their membership
  3. Pew sampling is faulty
  4. Pew is lying
  5. NRA is lying about their numbers by understating them by a factor of 2.8

It’s difficult to see how it would be to the NRA’s net advantage to lie in this manner so I am mostly discounting this option. It also seems unlikely that Pew would lie in this manner. Could Pew sampling be this far off? I suppose it’s possible but I doubt it.

That leaves options 1 and 2 as the most likely resolution to the discrepancy. I can only come up with weak cases for either option and end up being dissatisfied with the result. What am I missing?—Joe]

Quote of the day—Mark Prichard

Posted on by

You know how liberals are going to solve the Republican problem? … They are going to get better aim. That last guy tried, but he needed better aim. We will get better aim.

Mark Prichard
July 6, 2017
Police arrest man for allegedly threatening Sen. Flake’s staff
[“The Republican problem”?

Hmmm… I see.

As always, liberals channel Trotsky and think like Goebbels.—Joe]

Gun cartoon of the day

Posted on by

This is what they think of you:

guncontrolfreaks

Via Kimberly Morin. As Morin says, “Gun control addicts never have been the brightest bulbs on the tree.”

Quote of the day—Mac Slavo

Posted on by

There’s no evidence to suggest that magazine capacity laws are in any way constitutional, nor is there any proof that they would actually reduce gun violence. In fact, anyone with any firearm expertise can prove that magazine capacity limits are no barrier for a criminal or mass shooter.

But that doesn’t matter to liberals like Xavier Becerra. He has his agenda, and he thinks the “will of California voters” trumps the fundamental rights of every resident in his state. Thank god we don’t live in a pure democracy, or we would have lost all of our rights long ago.

Mac Slavo
July 5, 2017
Federal Judge Blocks California Magazine Confiscation Law: “The Constitution Is A Shield From The Tyranny Of The Majority”
[See also Sherriff’s demo of how magazine size makes very little difference:

Go to 9:35 of the video to see the myth of shooter being tacked during a magazine change be busted.

It’s not about safety. It’s about control.—Joe]

Story post wrap-up

Posted on by

I know some people don’t like serialized stories; they want to whip through the whole thing at once. I understand. I’m just dropping a quick note for those of that sort who like short stories that the one I linked to is all up so you can read the whole thing at once. As a quick reminder, it’s a sword-type, Conan-esque stand-alone tale, about 15k words. Young guy, getting his start in life on a harsh world, and having an experience that leads him to make a career choice. Starts here, ends here. Comments, corrections, feedback welcome.

Good to know

Posted on by

If you ever are in a situation where you are in proximity to a tank when it is firing its main gun (emphasis added):

The primary role of the tank cannon during urban combat is to provide heavy direct-fire against buildings and strongpoints that are identified as targets by the infantry. Only large earth berms and heavy mass construction buildings can provide protection against tank fire. The preferred main gun rounds in the urban environment are MPAT (ground mode) and MPAT-OR, which perform much better than sabot rounds against bunkers and buildings.

When the M256 fires, it creates a large fireball and smoke cloud. In the confines of a built-up area, dirt and masonry dust are also picked up and added to the cloud and the target is further obscured by the smoke and dust of the explosion. Depending on the conditions, this obscuration could last as long as 2 or 3 minutes.

The overpressure from the 120mm cannon can kill a dismounted infantryman within a 90° arc extending from the muzzle of the gun tube out to 200 meters. The overpressure can also cause glass in surrounding buildings to shatter.

Sabot petals, including those on APFSDS, MPAT, and MPAT-OR rounds, endanger accompanying infantry elements. From 200 to 1,000 meters along the line of fire, on a frontage of about 400 meters, dismounted infantry must be aware of the danger from discarding sabot petals, which can kill or seriously injure personnel.

M256_danger

Quote of the day—Jeff Snyder

Posted on by

It is impossible to address the problem of rampant crime without talking about the moral responsibility of the intended victim. Crime is rampant because the law-abiding, each of us, condone it, excuse it, permit it, submit to it. We permit and encourage it because we do not fight back, immediately, then and there, where it happens. Crime is not rampant because we do not have enough prisons, because judges and prosecutors are too soft, because the police are hamstrung with absurd technicalities. The defect is there, in our character. We are a nation of cowards and shirkers.

Jeff Snyder
2001
Nation of Cowards page 17
[This essay was originally published in 1993 by The Public Interest.—Joe]

Mocking gun controllers

Posted on by

I stumbled upon a collection of images which, among other things, does a lot of mocking of gun control people. This was one of my favorites:

ecbfc7bd302b896d9edf650619a484db--men-s-health-health-care

Dr. Joe’s Cure may extend your life

Posted on by

Dr. Joe’s Cure for Everything may help you live longer:

Scientists have uncovered the first biological evidence that frequent bedroom activity boosts lifespan by protecting our DNA.

…

The study focused on telomeres — protective caps on the ends of DNA — that predict a person’s biological age.

Thought of as tiny internal clocks, they shorten with time and eventually become so small that cells die.

…

Shorter telomeres have been associated with aging, disease and a higher risk of death.

The researchers found women who had sex during the course of the week-long study had telomeres that were up to 30 percent longer.

But relationship quality had no effect on them.

Scientists did not study men, but believe an active love life would also add years to their lives.

I’m thinking they should add nuns, Catholic priests, monks, and prostitutes into their study populations.

In the mean time go with the best evidence to date and don’t be a science denier. If you want to have a better chance at a long and healthy life take Dr. Joe’s advice.

Posted in Sex

Quote of the day—Barb L.

Posted on by

I like these kind of trails the least. These are the kind where you fall to your death.

WP_20170704_12_18_52_Pro

Barb L.
July 4, 2017
While on a hike near Tolmie Peak Lookout
[While I admit she had a point, I didn’t feel the impending disaster she did. But then, she was convinced I was “channeling my inner mountain goat”.

The picture below was taken by Barb at nearly the same time as I took the picture of her above:

IMG_0943

It was a great hike with epic views. And you don’t need to traverse the areas shown above to get the epic views like this:

WP_20170704_11_14_17_Pro

Highly recommended day hike.—Joe]

Quote of the day—John Feinblatt

Posted on by

The gun lobby loves to talk about freedom, but then they shamefully traffic in fear and violence in order to advance their dangerous ‘more guns for anyone, anywhere’ political agenda.

John Feinblatt
President of Everytown
July 3, 2017
A gun-control group’s cheery response to the NRA’s ‘dystopian’ recruitment ad
[We traffic in violence? No. Feinblatt is just demonstrating rules #1 and #3 in SJWs Always Lie. They lie and they project. It’s what they do. It’s in their culture.

There are well over 300 million firearms in the hands of private citizens in this country. And we consume well over 12 billion rounds of ammunition each year. If we actually were violent, Feinblatt would have plenty of evidence for it rather than just false accusations.—Joe]

Google giving millions to gun control groups

Posted on by

I think Google is a great company in a lot of way. But their politics sure isn’t one of them. This is the latest insult to gun owners (emphasis and links added):

At the first national organizing summit for a new campaign to empower local gun violence prevention innovators across the country, the PICO LIVE FREE campaign announced that Google.org is providing them with a new $2 million grant to support local efforts to reduce homicides by firearms, decrease mass incarceration, and center communities of color in the fight to reduce gun violence in America.

…

The Peacemaker Partnership is made up of national, leading gun violence prevention and anti-racism organizations including:

PICO LIVE FREE Campaign
Community Justice Reform Coalition
Kellogg Foundation
Advance Peace
Alliance for Gun Responsibility
Americans for Responsible Solutions
Amnesty International
Athletes for Impact
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Campaign for Black Male Achievement
Chorus
Cities United
Civic Engagement Fund
The Daniel Initiative
End Rape on Campus
Everytown for Gun Safety
Guns Down
Jobs R 4 U
The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Live Free Chicago
Meridian Solutions
Million Hoodies for Justice
Moms Rising
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Domestic Violence Hotline
National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
Operation LIPSTICK
Organizing for Action
PICO California
Revolve Impact
States United to Prevent Gun Violence
Voto Latino

It’s back to using Microsoft Edge as my browser and Bing as my search engine.

Rounds in the last month

Posted on by

In June I reloaded 1947 rounds of 180 grain Black Bullets and 1753 rounds of 180 grain JHP Montana Gold bullets in .40 S&W. This, 3700 rounds, is most I have reloaded in a single month with the exception of when I first started reloading and loaded 10,944 rounds of 9mm in the month of October 1996.

This brings my lifetime reloaded ammunition totals to:

223: 2,424 rounds.
30.06: 543 rounds.
300 WIN: 1692 rounds.
40 S&W: 70,017 rounds.
9 mm.log: 21,641 rounds.
Total: 96,317 rounds.

So far this year I have reloaded 10,599 rounds. By this time last year I had reloaded 9,094 and ended up the year with a total of 18,265. I only need to reload another 3,683 rounds to reach my goal for this year of 100,000 rounds. I might even reach this goal this month.

God’s Pistol*

Posted on by

Not quite sure how I missed this little coincidence.

Any guess on the subject of Revelations 19:11?


1911

1911

Continue reading →

Quote of the day—Sir Launcelot

Posted on by

In your country, people who criticize the government can be arrested and sent to “re-education” camps. But over here, if government agents started trying to do stuff like that, they’d likely get blown full of holes by pissed off Americans with guns.

So our guns protect our freedom of speech.

I can criticize my government if I want to. I can say “Donald Trump is a corrupt pompous ass and his cabinet is full of lickspittles and toadies.”

Or I can criticize the Chinese government if I want to. I can say, “Xi Jinping heads an evil government that oppresses the rights of Chinese citizens while the Party lackeys grow rich from corruption.”

Now you try. Go on, post something critical about the Chinese government.

Sir Launcelot
July 1, 2017
Tomb Raider forum post in the The mass shootings and gun control debate thread
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Fred Schwaderer

Posted on by

I have a plan.

1.) Institute a ban & buy back for “play army” weapons.
2.) Automatic 5 year prison sentence for any “responsible gun owner” whose weapon is stolen because they failed to secure it.
3.) Mandatory reporting of any stolen, lost or destroyed weapon to police.
4.) Mandatory gun accident insurance on each and every weapon any person owns.
5.) Background check and 10 day waiting period for EVERY change in gun ownership.
6.) Enforce all gun laws currently on the books.
7.) Have the Supreme Court codify the meaning of “a well regulated militia”.

That’s my plan.

Fred Schwaderer
July 1, 2017
Comment to Democrats should rethink their support for gun control
[Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]