They ought to arrange for Capitol Police security at any event with a number of Congressmen in attendance. For that matter, Congressmen ought to ask local law enforcement to detail a couple of officers to any townhalls the Congressman might be giving. It's routine for law enforcement to detail some officers to cover high school ball games, they ought to be able to handle an occasional town hall.
Congress ought to straighten out the concealed carry situation in DC. They have jurisdiction. They should require DC authorities to issue a conceal carry permit to anyone over 18 who is not a convicted felon or a committed nut case. And require DC to honor conceal carry permits from any state. And provide jail sentences for any official who fails to issue the permit within two weeks of the applicant submitting his paperwork.
We ought to discourage politicians and newsies from calling opponents names, such as racist, feminazi, and the like. The name calling contributes nothing to the political debate and just inflames feelings. Publish objections to the opponents policies, not their persons. We cannot forbid name calling by law, but we could do a lot to mobilize public opinion against it.
And strengthen our mental health system. Nut cases ought to be detected early and committed to mental hospitals, not allowed to run around loose. There are no free beds in the mental hospitals. Cases where the individual volunteers to enter treatment have failed because there are no empty beds to put them in.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Friday, June 16, 2017
7.62 = 30 caliber
A Fox newsie was talking about the rifle used in the Congressional shooting. He described it as "7.62 big enough to kill an elephant." Let me enlighten a clueless newsie. 7.62 mm is the same as .30 caliber, the standard caliber for rifles since 1898. The US adopted the 30-06 rifle round back in 1906. It remained standard issue to US soldiers for WWI, WWII, and Korea. It is still in production. It was replaced by the 7.62 NATO round (otherwise known as 308 Winchester) in the 1950's. It's not an unusual round for rifles. Serious hunters carry 30-06 rifles today. Not so serious hunters carry the older and less powerful 30-30 rifle or the newer and less powerful 223 rifle.
The newsie was attempting to convince his audience that the Congressional shooter was carrying an unusually powerful rifle. Not true. The Congressional shooter was using an ordinary hunting rifle, chambered for ordinary .30 caliber ammunition.
The newsie was attempting to convince his audience that the Congressional shooter was carrying an unusually powerful rifle. Not true. The Congressional shooter was using an ordinary hunting rifle, chambered for ordinary .30 caliber ammunition.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
5000 Fools (tourists) visit North Korea every year.
Who wants to visit a communist dictatorship where they can arrest you, jail you, and even execute you just because they can? You would think Otto Warmbier's story, which has been in the news for better than a year, would discourage all but the most foolish tourist. They released Warmbier the other day, but he is in bad shape now. The medics didn't seem to know just what happened to him or how to treat him. They talked about loss of brain tissue, which doesn't sound good.
The Journal says that about 5000 fools from the West visit North Korea as tourists every year. Of which 1000 are Americans. And what is there to see in North Korea, other than a population being abused and starved? Creepy, I would pay money to avoid seeing that. I suppose some of the American tourists are of Korean decent, who might be visiting family members stuck in the communist hellhole. That's understandable. Other than that, it's hard to understand visiting North Korea. Especially as you can visit South Korea, a free, modern, decent, and successful country without risking your life.
The Journal says that about 5000 fools from the West visit North Korea as tourists every year. Of which 1000 are Americans. And what is there to see in North Korea, other than a population being abused and starved? Creepy, I would pay money to avoid seeing that. I suppose some of the American tourists are of Korean decent, who might be visiting family members stuck in the communist hellhole. That's understandable. Other than that, it's hard to understand visiting North Korea. Especially as you can visit South Korea, a free, modern, decent, and successful country without risking your life.
What is the worst thing about the Congressman Shooting?
It only kept the newsies off the Comey-Sessions-Mueller-Russians story for a day. Yesterday was 100% coverage of the shooting. Today they are back on the old groove, covering unsubstantiated innuendo and anonymous sources.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Schools Rethink Recess
Dawn over Marblehead. Anyone who can remember grade school can remember how hard it was to sit still and no talking. Recess gave relief, you could run around, talk, shout, play ball games. All practicing parents know how hard it is to get young children to sit still. Young children are bubbling over with energy and they have to work it off by running around and shouting.
To run an effective grade school, you have to let the kids outdoors for recess to let off steam. Otherwise the kids are just too bouncy to absorb any kind of learning. Back in the day, we got two 20 minute recesses every day.
Modern "educators" think recess is a waste of time, and they have been advocating no recess schools, keep the kids noses to the grindstone all day.
According to a piece in today's Wall St Journal, some "educators" have wised up and are recommending a whole hour of recess every day.
To run an effective grade school, you have to let the kids outdoors for recess to let off steam. Otherwise the kids are just too bouncy to absorb any kind of learning. Back in the day, we got two 20 minute recesses every day.
Modern "educators" think recess is a waste of time, and they have been advocating no recess schools, keep the kids noses to the grindstone all day.
According to a piece in today's Wall St Journal, some "educators" have wised up and are recommending a whole hour of recess every day.
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Do I support a flat tax?
Today's mail brought a thick envelope marked "New Federal Tax Reform Information Enclosed". No return address, no indication of the organization doing this mailing. I didn't really believe it was from the IRS, despite the effort to make you think it was an IRS letter. So I opened it, and it was one of those "take a survey, send us a donation" letters that have been popular with the fund raisers.
This outfit, The Conservative Caucus, or perhaps Americans for Constitutional Liberty, I'd never heard of either before. They are advocating for a flat 10% income tax for everyone, no deductions except charitable contributions and mortgage interest. And they denounced the length and legalisms of the humongous Internal Revenue Code and the existence of the IRS
Thinking about it, I cannot go with them. The way I see it, we have three groups of people in the US, the well off, the ordinary working stiffs, and the really poor. And I think we ought to tax the well off somewhat more, and the really poor something less. In other words have three tax brackets. I think everyone ought to be liable for taxes, unlike the current setup where half the population owes NO tax, and the well off pay most of the Federal government's expenses. I think it is important that all citizens, even the very poor, pay something in taxes, just to let them know that the government benefits, of which we have so many, have to be paid for.
I do like the no deductions for anything, except charitable contributions. I'd even go so far as to eliminate tax breaks for dependents (children) and being married. I'd dump the mortgage interest deduction, especially deductions for mortgages on second homes. I'd get rid of capital gains. Income is income, doesn't matter where it comes from. I'd dump the earned income tax credit.
I'd declare all 75,000 pages in the Internal Revenue Code null and void, along with all rulings of the tax courts over the years. I'd abolish the tax courts. If the government has a beef with us taxpayers, let the government go to regular courts, like everyone else.
They advocating getting rid of the IRS. Well, we ought to skin 'em down a bit, but we have to have some government office to mail our tax forms to. Someone has to open the tax return envelopes and cash the checks. So we have to have something. On the other hand, we should remove the IRS's power to garnish your wages and seize your bank account. If the IRS has a beef with us taxpayers, they can take us to court, a real court, not a "tax court" where the judge is getting paid by the IRS. They don't need the power to bankrupt us on just their say-so.
This outfit, The Conservative Caucus, or perhaps Americans for Constitutional Liberty, I'd never heard of either before. They are advocating for a flat 10% income tax for everyone, no deductions except charitable contributions and mortgage interest. And they denounced the length and legalisms of the humongous Internal Revenue Code and the existence of the IRS
Thinking about it, I cannot go with them. The way I see it, we have three groups of people in the US, the well off, the ordinary working stiffs, and the really poor. And I think we ought to tax the well off somewhat more, and the really poor something less. In other words have three tax brackets. I think everyone ought to be liable for taxes, unlike the current setup where half the population owes NO tax, and the well off pay most of the Federal government's expenses. I think it is important that all citizens, even the very poor, pay something in taxes, just to let them know that the government benefits, of which we have so many, have to be paid for.
I do like the no deductions for anything, except charitable contributions. I'd even go so far as to eliminate tax breaks for dependents (children) and being married. I'd dump the mortgage interest deduction, especially deductions for mortgages on second homes. I'd get rid of capital gains. Income is income, doesn't matter where it comes from. I'd dump the earned income tax credit.
I'd declare all 75,000 pages in the Internal Revenue Code null and void, along with all rulings of the tax courts over the years. I'd abolish the tax courts. If the government has a beef with us taxpayers, let the government go to regular courts, like everyone else.
They advocating getting rid of the IRS. Well, we ought to skin 'em down a bit, but we have to have some government office to mail our tax forms to. Someone has to open the tax return envelopes and cash the checks. So we have to have something. On the other hand, we should remove the IRS's power to garnish your wages and seize your bank account. If the IRS has a beef with us taxpayers, they can take us to court, a real court, not a "tax court" where the judge is getting paid by the IRS. They don't need the power to bankrupt us on just their say-so.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Advice for New HS graduates soon to be incoming college freshmen
You want to think about what you want to do after you graduate college. I know that is four years in the future, which seems like forever. But college goes by quick and you will be out in the job market before you know it.
College is expensive, you or your parents, are paying for it. If you are borrowing the money to pay tuition, you have to pay it back after you graduate. You gotta have a job to pay off your student loans. Which means you need to pick your college major to make you employable. For instance a bachelor of science in electrical engineering, and you will have a decent job no problem. A bachelor of arts in gender studies, and you will be waiting tables for a long long time.
The best majors, looking toward making yourself employable, are the STEM majors, Science (physics, chemistry, biology) Technology (computer programming, premed), Engineering (electrical, mechanical, chemical, civil) and Mathematics (calculus, statistics, matrix algebra) Engineering, in addition to being decently paid, is interesting and satisfying. Engineering is a lot of new design work, and being the engineer who designs that new automobile, new handheld electronic best seller, new building, new aircraft, is very satisfying work. Beats the bejesus out of selling used cars.
STEM fields often require math up thru integral calculus and differential equations. In fact you may need that math under your belt in order to even understand the homework in your major. You want to find out what the mathematics requirement are in your chosen field, and sign up for those math courses ASAP, freshman year. Electrical engineering is probably the most math intensive. A simple two component circuit (a resistor and a capacitor) require a first order differential equation to analyze. Things like biology and computer programming are less demanding in the math dept.
If you just cannot warm up to a STEM field, consider the liberal arts. Traditionally there are seven liberal arts, English, History, Foreign Language, Music, Art, Philosophy, Theology. English ought to teach you how to write. Industry offers a lot of jobs to people who can write, specifications, instruction manuals, advertisements, articles about the product, endless written materials. History will also teach you how to write, and offers a broader field, all of human history, every age, every culture, which makes picking a thesis easier. English is limited to the works of a relatively small number of English authors. Picking a thesis in English literature that hasn't been written about a thousand times already is hard. Foreign languages are always useful to any company doing business overseas, which is most of them these days.
If you are a musician or an artist, Music or Art majors are rewarding. If you are not a musician or an artist, they won't do you any good at all. There are next to no jobs for music or art majors who are not themselves practicing musicians or artists.
Philosophy and Theology used to be big, back in medieval times, but they won't get you a job today.
One other major, which isn't STEM or an Art; that is education. If you want to teach in the public schools, you have to take the ed major. The ed major will get you a job, no problem. If you can stand the total boredom of the major, and you like teaching, go for it. The ed departments pretend that education is something that can be taught and will make you a better teacher. In actual fact, the ed major is endless chit chat about trivia. It's easy enough to pass the major, but most students find it REALLY boring. The best teachers I ever encountered didn't even have college degrees, let alone an ed major. They were good Air Force enlisted men pulled right off the flight line to teach in the base Field Training Detachment. They knew their subjects (jet engines, aircraft instruments, radar, nav electronics, hydraulics, what ever) backwards and forwards. And that's all you really need to be a good teacher. If you want to teach in the private schools, then you can major in something useful, the private schools are less hung up about the ed major than the public schools.
Then there are the majors that aren't sciences but want to be sciences, (sociology,political science, anthropology, economics, ecology, psychology) To be a real science you have to conduct experiments to validate your theories. Conducting experiments in sociology or any of them is not possible or totally unethical. The courses usually boil down to political indoctrination. And there are no jobs to be had with these majors.
Then we come underwater basket weaving majors. These won't get you a job (other than waiting tables)
Black Studies, Gender Studies, Men's studies, Any kind of Studies, art appreciation, aroma therapy, and others. Stay away. Total waste of four years and a lot of money.
Final word. Don't trust advice from guidance counselors, ESPECIALLY as to the requirements for your major. You have to get in ALL the required courses in order to win a degree. Find the college catalog, the current catalog, not one from last year. All the major requirements are in the catalog. Look them up, write them down (a spreadsheet is good) and sign up for them as early as possible. Don't trust a guidance counselor to steer you into the right courses, they don't know, and don't really care, not the way you care.
College is expensive, you or your parents, are paying for it. If you are borrowing the money to pay tuition, you have to pay it back after you graduate. You gotta have a job to pay off your student loans. Which means you need to pick your college major to make you employable. For instance a bachelor of science in electrical engineering, and you will have a decent job no problem. A bachelor of arts in gender studies, and you will be waiting tables for a long long time.
The best majors, looking toward making yourself employable, are the STEM majors, Science (physics, chemistry, biology) Technology (computer programming, premed), Engineering (electrical, mechanical, chemical, civil) and Mathematics (calculus, statistics, matrix algebra) Engineering, in addition to being decently paid, is interesting and satisfying. Engineering is a lot of new design work, and being the engineer who designs that new automobile, new handheld electronic best seller, new building, new aircraft, is very satisfying work. Beats the bejesus out of selling used cars.
STEM fields often require math up thru integral calculus and differential equations. In fact you may need that math under your belt in order to even understand the homework in your major. You want to find out what the mathematics requirement are in your chosen field, and sign up for those math courses ASAP, freshman year. Electrical engineering is probably the most math intensive. A simple two component circuit (a resistor and a capacitor) require a first order differential equation to analyze. Things like biology and computer programming are less demanding in the math dept.
If you just cannot warm up to a STEM field, consider the liberal arts. Traditionally there are seven liberal arts, English, History, Foreign Language, Music, Art, Philosophy, Theology. English ought to teach you how to write. Industry offers a lot of jobs to people who can write, specifications, instruction manuals, advertisements, articles about the product, endless written materials. History will also teach you how to write, and offers a broader field, all of human history, every age, every culture, which makes picking a thesis easier. English is limited to the works of a relatively small number of English authors. Picking a thesis in English literature that hasn't been written about a thousand times already is hard. Foreign languages are always useful to any company doing business overseas, which is most of them these days.
If you are a musician or an artist, Music or Art majors are rewarding. If you are not a musician or an artist, they won't do you any good at all. There are next to no jobs for music or art majors who are not themselves practicing musicians or artists.
Philosophy and Theology used to be big, back in medieval times, but they won't get you a job today.
One other major, which isn't STEM or an Art; that is education. If you want to teach in the public schools, you have to take the ed major. The ed major will get you a job, no problem. If you can stand the total boredom of the major, and you like teaching, go for it. The ed departments pretend that education is something that can be taught and will make you a better teacher. In actual fact, the ed major is endless chit chat about trivia. It's easy enough to pass the major, but most students find it REALLY boring. The best teachers I ever encountered didn't even have college degrees, let alone an ed major. They were good Air Force enlisted men pulled right off the flight line to teach in the base Field Training Detachment. They knew their subjects (jet engines, aircraft instruments, radar, nav electronics, hydraulics, what ever) backwards and forwards. And that's all you really need to be a good teacher. If you want to teach in the private schools, then you can major in something useful, the private schools are less hung up about the ed major than the public schools.
Then there are the majors that aren't sciences but want to be sciences, (sociology,political science, anthropology, economics, ecology, psychology) To be a real science you have to conduct experiments to validate your theories. Conducting experiments in sociology or any of them is not possible or totally unethical. The courses usually boil down to political indoctrination. And there are no jobs to be had with these majors.
Then we come underwater basket weaving majors. These won't get you a job (other than waiting tables)
Black Studies, Gender Studies, Men's studies, Any kind of Studies, art appreciation, aroma therapy, and others. Stay away. Total waste of four years and a lot of money.
Final word. Don't trust advice from guidance counselors, ESPECIALLY as to the requirements for your major. You have to get in ALL the required courses in order to win a degree. Find the college catalog, the current catalog, not one from last year. All the major requirements are in the catalog. Look them up, write them down (a spreadsheet is good) and sign up for them as early as possible. Don't trust a guidance counselor to steer you into the right courses, they don't know, and don't really care, not the way you care.
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