Update from 6/27/2011

Final games of the regular season. We lost both by wide margins. This team we had split with earlier in the season.

Since I've been on this team, this is the most we've lost in a season. We will likely be the last seed. Perhaps second from last.However, when we have everybody, we have the best talent we've ever had.

My bat was hot, and first time at the plate, I rifled the ball the other way for the first time in a long time.

Next up - post-season. I figure it might not be a long night.

Even more on BOA - 6/29/2011

I've written a lot about Bank of America. They really don't have their act together. Of course, they like using the scapegoat that their difficulties stem largely from the acquisition of Countrywide. While that may be a partial problem, I think the root cause is BOA not having their act together.

Today, it was announced that BOA will pay out over $8 Billion to mortgage investors that were defrauded... or misled... or whatever term they wish to use.

Dealing with young people.

I’ve been debating, since I started this blog two years ago, on whether to put down all of my thoughts on parenting and dealing with children. Let me start with facts: for over two decades, I’ve taught martial arts. Since 1995, I have been paid to deal with children whose parents wanted help with their child’s behavior.

Likewise, I have many friends who teach martial arts, and my wife is a certified educator with the state of Tennessee. I do not claim to know everything, but I have a certain skill level in this arena, and furthermore, I have outside resources that few others have. 


That said, I see many children who are being raised in such a stressful way, that they act out frequently. Their parents are often clueless as to why the child acts out. 


Schools don't help. In fact, they often mandate that the "problem child" be "medicated" or face expulsion. Of course, if these teachers knew how to effectively set boundaries and discipline, and if school boards allowed them to, then these problems would never exist.


Earlier, I stated that I see these children being raised in a stressful way. Let me elaborate on that. Children seek boundaries in life. Unlike grown liberals who wish to hide behind what they want to call "shades of grey," children know that there is wrong and right. Good guys and bad guys. Things you should do, and things you shouldn't. 


Boundaries
Children seek these boundaries, because the boundaries give them a set of rules to play and live by. Many young adults join the military for just this reason - as the military is well known for its ability to establish hard and fast boundaries. Without boundaries - physical and mental - the child becomes afraid, worried, and very unsettled. The child will seek to find these boundaries, and it is up to the parent or authority figure to set these boundaries. 


Why
With a set boundary, the child becomes secure in the knowledge of what they can and cannot do. This allows them to explore their world in safety. From time to time they may not recognize the boundary, or they may wish to test the boundary (needing you the adult to re-establish that boundary for their comfort and security), and as such they will act out, or otherwise be in a state of disobedience (outside the boundary). With properly set boundaries, all the parent / authority figure must then do is reaffirm the boundary, with clear expectations for the child as to what will happen if they continue to exist outside the boundary. 


Failure
So many people now completely fail to set the boundary. Often, the adult will give confusing signals for the boundaries, and the child will become even more unsettled. Worse yet, by providing unclear boundaries, the parent actually starts training the child to act out. Repeatedly training the child to act out will cause the child to think he/she must do that to communicate needs and wants to their parent. 


Result
A child who has been trained for years to act out, and knows no other way to communicate, will seem to be "ADD" or "ADHD" because they do not communicate the same way "normal" children do. Fact is, that this discontinuity in their communication skills is not due to some abnormality in the child, nor some "diagnosed" "disease" or "condition" - it is due to poor boundaries set by the parents or people in authority.


Symptoms
How to tell if your child's symptoms are indicative of improper boundaries? Easy. If they are not handicapped by a severe issue (Down's Syndrome, autism, etc.), and they fit the bill for "ADD" or "ADHD" or emotional immaturity (including most types of emotional "retardation" and many types of emotional trauma) or behavioral problems, and the like. 


Fixing it
Fixing it is easy to do. Most people, however will not stick with it. They just don't want to. They find it "easier" to just place blame elsewhere. They find it more convenient to not be a real parent. The way to fix it is to set boundaries, and consistently enforce them. I'll detail this and root causes in further blog posts.

More crap from mainstream media

I'd seen this some time ago. This "article" on concealed carry is really noting more than a setup for the individuals.

All that is conclusively proven by this experiment is that a trained professional, who knows whom he will shoot, and where that target is sitting, can enter a room and "kill" said target before the target can respond (with non-lethal ammunition, of course!)

An interesting counter experiment would be to put a similarly trained professional in the room as the target, and not let the "assassin" know whom they are, nor where they sit, and see what would happen.


To add insult to injury, there is a caption below the youtube video which reads:

"CCW permit holders don't protect innocent people. They kill them."

As I've documented many times on this blog, legally carrying citizens, as a rule, are far more likely to protect a person, shoot the bad guy, and actually hit the bad guy (as opposed to police, who often "spray and pray"), than police. Also, they are far less likely to commit a crime with their gun. So this statement is clearly pure bunk - being pushed by the liberal's in their agenda to take guns away from Americans. 

Quick Question... June 2011

President Obama was seen golfing this weekend. Reports are that he has been golfing for thirteen straight weekends - a full quarter of the year.


No mention of this from the mainstream media. Wonder what they'd say if it I was President, and went shooting for thirteen straight weeks? That would be funny.

A feel good story

Today, my sister and her husband passed their handgun carry class. Both scored 100% on the shooting portion, and both scored well on the written portion.

My brother-in-law's groups on the shooting portion were tight. Most of his shots were in the 10-ring and X-ring... with a couple straying into the 9-ring. To my knowledge, the last time he shot a gun was a rifle with me back in the winter / early spring. I taught him proper sight picture and trigger control, and his 50-yard rifle groups went from as large as the paper, to a discernible improvement of about 3" groups. He still has that target hanging on his fridge.

My sister had a couple of shots stray into the 8-ring. All of the others were tightly grouped in the 9-ring and 10-ring, with plenty of X-ring hits, as well. From reports, she and the bro-in-law had the best targets of the day.

The instructor realized early on that my sister - the only female in the class of 8 people - was easy-going, and didn't mind being singled out in a fun way. He also complimented her shooting today.


Similarly, three years ago, my wife had very good groups - and received a similar compliment from her instructor (a completely different place and person) - he told my wife "looks like you've done this before," and walked on. That little comment meant more to her than any other compliment she's ever been given.


Also, I've noticed times with my sister and my wife at the range when men nearby get upset because these two ladies can out-shoot them.


Neither thinks herself a "good shot." That's the funny part.

Not surprising, really

After the Supreme Court declared Chicago's gun bans unconstitutional with the McDonald ruling, the city politicians went into overdrive, trying to create laws that circumvented the ruling, took away 2A rights as much as possible, and discriminated against minorities in so doing.

Don't believe me?

Well, we all know that gun control in the US started with discriminatory practices. It continued as means of controlling blacks (and other minorities, such as Asian, as well).

Here's a thread on it.
Here's an article on it.

I really don't care how much money a person has, or what their skin color - the government has no right to determine if they can keep or bear arms. That right is granted us by God, our Creator... and acknowledged and confirmed by the 2nd Amendment of our Constitution.

When the government at any level decided who can and who cannot do / own something, then that is discrimination. It is also the beginning of the end of that right of the citizens... for soon the government will ban all from doing or owning that thing.

Update - Games 6/13 and 6/20

6/13/2011
Split a pair with the team that we won over via run-rule earlier in the season. I had a very bad game at the plate - 2-6. Mr. Macho Man did not try anything foolish with me, though he did mouth off to the ump, and nearly got ejected for bat slinging after making contact.


6/20/2011
Split the games this evening. I made a put out at home.
The opposing catcher made 2 put-outs at home - one on a force play (bases loaded, grounder to 3rd), and one catch.

Despite several games with bad results at the plate, my average is hovering around .500, and I've had a hit in every game. With 3 or more RBI's next week, I'll have at least 20 RBI in 20 games played. Not bad for hitting dead-last in most of those games.

On Obama's "working under the radar"

Recently, President Obama said he and his cabinet were working under the radar on gun control issues.

I wonder if this whole thing with the ATF and guns seized from Mexican drug cartels is one of the ways they were doing this?
The logic is simple - blame the weapons used by the drug cartels as having been bought thanks to "lax US gun laws" and use that as a basis to ban guns from the hands of lawful gun owners.

Problem is, the ATF was handing the guns to the cartels. Additionally, the Mexican government was the source for many of those guns. And the simple fact is that most of the guns used by the cartels simply cannot be traced to the US.

Say Uncle has a good blog post that details some of these facts.

Even more fascinating

Back in April, The Department of Homeland Security couldn't seem to get enough of this blog. They especially liked my stuff on the shooting program known as Appleseed.

Recently, there's been similar interest from Oslo, Norway. Now surely, this wouldn't be DHS masking their IP address and looking at my little ol' blog, would it?



Hi guys!

It is finished

Last Day. From this article, you know why I was searching.

New gig means a base pay higher than my previous total comp, commissions for the life of the client, and a more close-knit company.

PS - in the previous article, I'd mentioned that it would be Feb., 2011 before I could earn a reasonable commission check again. It just so happened that the actual month was March.

Another one down

Ohio's State Senate and House of Representatives have both passed a bill allowing concealed-carry permit holders in their state to carry in establishments that serve alcohol. Ohio Governor John Kasich is expected to sign it into law, making Ohio the 43rd such state that allows carry where alcohol is served.

Naturally, the liberal press is claiming blood will flow in the streets.

Fact is, Ohio took a more restricted approach, like my home state of Tennessee, and put in conditions:
- Drinking and carrying is expressly forbidden.
- Being drunk and carrying is expressly forbidden.
- Establishments may post a sign and this would forbid carrying there. (this is a bad move, I think)

More freedom!

The Wisconsin State Senate passed a bill legalizing concealed carry. It is expected to pass the State House of Representatives, and Governor Scott Walker supports the bill, and is expected to sign it into law.

This will make 49 states that allow concealed carry in one form or another - only IL is left.

Politics update 6/9/2011

Seems there are reports that Newt Gingrich's aides are leaving him. 

Many, myself included, hope this brings his campaign to a halt. Newt is not a conservative, he would simply pull conservative votes away form a true conservative.

It is expected that the folks jumping ship might jump to Perry's camp.

Scary Possibilities

A coworker just passed this article along to me.

Link.

We must not let this become the law of our sovereign land!

I predicted this

Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton has resigned amid scandal.

Seems the pressure of being unable to hire and keep quality coaches was beyond his grasp. Now the basketball and football programs are facing NCAA sanctions, and they have lost the best coaches from both programs, and have virtually nothing to show for it in return.

I called for this back in March.

This is why we can't have nice things

Some people are really defensive of my criticisms of the Appleseed project, and some other gun-related organizations.

To be clear, I am critical because we, as gun owners, need to be very mindful of whom we have out there representing the "gun culture."

For example, I do not really care much for the range closest to me - the range officers there are often rude, and have no idea of real gun laws. I'm not the only one, either - "Say Uncle" has had issues, and more issues.


The real issue - education:
There are far too many gun laws. For every law, there are three supposed laws that do not really exist. Gun owners, range officials, dealers, and those otherwise involved in the culture need to educate themselves. We, the people, need to elect officials who will strip gun laws from the books.

The real issue - preference:
Let's face it, not everybody agrees on everything. Variety is the spice of life. But where otherwise normal people might accept that another human being prefers a different food, for example - the same person would dislike another's choice of firearms, and then try to regulate that choice, or otherwise make life more unbearable for that person.

Say Uncle's issue back in 2005 is an example of this. Likewise, many at the range closest to me do not like the AR15's. Most of them will come up and admire my M1 Garand, though. Again, these people would do well to learn that variety really is the spice of life.

Update from Games 6/6/2011

Last night, we played a team that we were more evenly matched against. We sprang out to a 4-0 lead in the first game of our double-header, and things went downhill from there.

I was a miserable 1-5 at the plate, dropping my average below .500 for the first time in over three years. Not many of my teammates did any better. We scored 11 runs in the two games. Usually, a team should score at least that much per game to stay competitive.

Follow up on a fraudulent company

I wrote last year about leaving Bank of America (the article was posted in March of this year). Some have asked me what bad things has BOA done to others. So here's a quick compilation:

BOA 'forecloses' on a home where the owner never even had a mortgage!
From this story:

"It all started five months ago, when Bank of America filed foreclosure papers on the home of a couple, who didn't owe a dime on their home."
...

"After more than 5 months, the bank still hadn't paid the legal fees, and the homeowner's attorney did exactly what the bank tried to do to the homeowners. He seized the bank's assets.
"They've ignored out calls, ignored out letters, legally this is the next step to get my clients compensated, " attorney Todd Allen told CBS.
Sheriff's deputies, movers, and the Nyergers' attorney went to the bank and foreclosed on it. The attorney gave instructions to to remove desks, computers, copiers, filing cabinets and any cash in the teller's drawers.
After about an hour of being locked out of his bank branch office, the bank manager handed the attorney a check from the bank for the legal fees."

A year prior, BOA did the same thing. 
From this story:

"But as usual, the no holds barred winner in the irresponsible bank tricks department is BofA (BAC).
...
BofA admitted the mistake and is fixing it at its own expense, a spokeswoman tells the paper. But you'd have to say this isn't the bank's first turn at unfunny foreclosure tricks.
...
He reached an undisclosed settlement, his attorney said. Court documents showed that Schroit wanted compensation that would be "adequate to deter BOA's arrogance.""

Seems that amount wasn't quite enough to deter BOA.


BOA tries to foreclose on another free and clear house. 
In this case, BOA claimed to want to try to fix the mistakes, but actually did nothing until the homeowner took it to the Sun Sentinel - the local newspaper!


The origin, according to BOA.
A lot of the loans in question stem from Countrywide, whom BOA purchased in a fire sale a while ago. Countrywide had some problems - and BOA paid $108 million to settle a lawsuit brought on by the government. In a statement, BOA said it wanted: "to avoid the expense and distraction associated with litigating the case" and "put all of these matters behind us."
Guess that didn't happen now, did it?


This poor woman got her bird taken away by the bank. 
Along with her home. BOA claimed she was behind on her mortgage, which she wasn't (remember my problem???). Perhaps there is some consolation in the fact that at least she actually had a mortgage, unlike a couple of the ones listed so far - so it was actually technically possible for them to foreclose on her under certain circumstances (which of course, never existed).


Speaking of not having a mortgage, it happens again here. 
Only this time, BOA tries to foreclose on a soldier returning from Iraq! This time, BOA claims it was an "honest mistake" - they simply foreclosed on the wrong home!


Update (6.16.2011)
BOA tries to foreclose on a man for a $0.00 balance. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up!



Summary
Since BOA cannot be trusted at all to foreclose properly on any house, I'd suggest that anyone going through foreclosure with BOA to fight it in court. Make these idiots prove that they are in the right in foreclosing on the property!

So far off the mark, it's almost funny

In an anti-gun article, USA Today showed a picture of an AR15, in an article titled:

"AK-47s are turning up more in US"

In the small print caption under the photograph, the rifle is correctly labeled as an AR15. Still, why not show the AK47?

Another Living MOH Recipient

It was announced yesterday that US Army Ranger - Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry - will be the next living Medal of Honor recipient.

This is the one thing Obama can do that a Republican President cannot - award a MOH without having the decision improperly scrutinized by the left-leaning media.

Back to Petry, the real man of the hour. He will be awarded the MOH for his brave actions - he threw a live hand grenade away from himself and his fellow Rangers - losing his right hand in the process. Oh, and he'd been shot several times just prior to that action.