Well, If You Don't Know

From the archives, here is a funny conversation that I was part of some years ago whilst job hunting. 

<<phone rings>>

Recruiter: "Hi. I am calling about the job you applied to."

Me: "Good morning. I have applied to several positions. Which one are you referencing?"

Recruiter: "Well, if you are applying to multiple positions, then that shows a lack of commitment, and our company really doesn't like that."

Me: "Well, if you don't know who you work for, nor what job you have available, I most certainly do not want to work there. That's a major red flag."

Recruiter: <<radio silence>>

Me: "Have a great day!"  <<hangs up>>

The rare jobs like this, that do not tell you the position, remind me of the little girl in 3rd grade that proudly exclaims, as if it were some sort of flex, "well, if you don't know, then I am not going to tell you." And, just like that little girl, it means they don't know, themselves, but somehow expect you to know - which is just asinine. 

What We Know Early On

This past Sunday, there was an attempted mass shooting at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. Lakewood Church is known for being the home church of Joel Osteen. 

Facts can be difficult to obtain early on, so I generally avoid forming opinions on situations such as this until at least three days have passed. Much gets circulated, and that includes less than reliable information. Here are some early observations, and I have included a comment about whether each fact is typical, or atypical in parentheses; and a short elaboration on each factor. 

The Shooter was a middle-aged transgender person (typical). 

97% of mass shooters are male. On this blog, Trannies are treated as male - so they can be privileged. Recent trannies who have conducted or attempted mass casualty events:

• Lakewood (this one)
• Iowa High School
• Nashville Covenant
• Colorado Springs
• Denver
• Aberdeen

The shooter was known to Law Enforcement

Multiple arrests. Also, neighbors to the church had been raising alarms over the actions of this person for quite some time. 

The Shooter has links to mental illness (typical). 

Mass shooters have a known link to SSRI "medications," and other forms of mental illness. As there is a clear link between transgenderism and mental illness, this cannot be ignored. 

The shooter started shooting with a long gun (typical)

The vast majority of mass casualty events start with a long gun. 

The shooter has ties to Radical Islam (typical)

The shooter had "Free Palestine" written on one of the firearms recovered. There is almost always a link to either mental illness, or radical Islam. 

The shooter was a leftwing person (typical)

The shooter has been linked to being a Bernie Sanders supporter. If we could somehow prevent extreme leftists from obtaining firearms, mass shootings would disappear. 

The church was attacked in the entryway (typical)

This was because there were metal detectors the killer would have had to navigate. 

Church shootings tend to start in the parking lot and/or entryway. 

The shooter was met with force early on, and hence, there were only 2 casualties - both wounded (typical). 

When met with force, mass shooters tend to cause fewer than 10 casualties, with 3 casualties being the mean (average). When people wait for police to respond, the expected number of casualties goes way up - average of 27. 

The shooter has an extensive arrest history and might be an illegal immigrant. (typical)

If this person were in the US legally, it would be all over the news. Had they purchased the gun legally, it would be all over the news. 

Police took roughly 15 minutes to arrive (typical). 
This is so close to the national average, that there really isn't much to add. 

The defenders were an off-duty law enforcement (typical with caveat). 
Defenders tend to be civilians and/or off duty police officers. This just depends directly on who is there. There are conflicting reports as to whether it was one defender or two.

There was no cross fire (typical)

EVERYONE asks me about training the entire church body when it is known that many in the church carry - the purpose is to avoid cross fire. Cross Fire when civilians respond has never happened in a mass casualty event. Uniformed police responses usually include cross fire. Police have a 38% hit ratio. One in three innocent people struck by police cross fire are fellow uniformed officers! 

The defender engaged with a handgun (typical)

In a mass killer event, statistics indicate there will be a casualty every 10 seconds. You do not have time to go to your car and get a rifle. You must respond with the pistol you are carrying. 

It is unknown at this time whether the defender(s) spent time in jail that night. If they are truly off duty or undercover officers, then they likely did not spend time in jail. If they were civilians, they likely spent time in jail that night. 92% of citizens involved in a defensive shooting go to jail that evening. 

When You Learn Something New

Setting: I was sitting in high school, Algebra II class. The teacher, who was a talented teacher of math, needed some tape - the purpose of which I do not recall. As he picked up his tape dispenser, something caught his eye...

Upon further investigation, he popped open a panel on the body of the dispenser, and made a realization. He exclaimed "some dummy filled this with sand. Of all the pranks!" And he proceeded to dump the sand into the nearest wastebasket. He popped the panel back onto the dispenser, and went to set it down. 

Then he realized...

"Oh, maybe that was what gave it some weight," he said as he gestured with the dispenser, realizing how light it was now. 

We all had a good chuckle. 

And I learned that day that sand is put inside tape dispensers to give them a little weight.  

Another "Good Riddance"

Some time back, while researching for another post, I came across a fact that I found interesting. First some of the back-story:

As has been mentioned countless times on this blog, I worked for a major car rental chain right out of college. My experience was standard, based upon the sharing of tales with others whom have also worked for this chain (there's a whole Facebook group that proves this). And, it was a good learning experience. Naturally, not all of it was good - there have been negative things about every employer I've ever had. 

One of those negative things was my 3rd manager at this company. I was at the same location where I started, and six months later, we were on our 3rd manager - the previous two having been promoted. While we got along, I noticed at the next payday that my check was surprisingly low. 

For context, we worked an average of 55-60 hours per week, and I was paid overtime for hours worked over 40 in a week. 

Well, my paycheck was seriously short - so the first thing I did was to check my hours. Perhaps I had forgotten to enter them into the computer? No, I'd entered those hours. But what showed in the computer was not at all what I had worked! For an entire week, it showed me coming in at 9:00 am and leaving at 4:30 pm - no more than 8 hours per day. For reference, we came in at 7:00 am and rarely left at closing - 6:00 pm. Often going until 7 or 8 pm. And it wasn't like my manager didn't know this - she carpooled with me to the office (it was 38 miles away)! 

So I took action - after submitting my hours the following pay period, I checked every morning and every afternoon for a week. Sure enough, I saw when my manager had changed them again! My first solution was to change them back to the accurate hours - and that worked. So I did this every week. Finally, after 6 weeks or so of this cat-and-mouse game, my manager confronted me: "are you changing your hours after I approve them?" was her question. 

"Yes, and if you would like to chastise me, then let's include HR as I have proof you were changing the hours to intentionally not include time when I was on the job - and that is illegal." was my reply. 

She did not have a reply for that, and we immediately discontinued car pooling. I was moved to another branch within weeks, and all was well in the world. When another Management Trainee started at her location, I reached out to that person privately and warned them. Sure enough - it happened to them, as well. 

Back to the main part of the story. 

So, I was conducting research for an article, and I came across this obituary. As I have stated before, in the words of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain), "I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." And this was an obituary that gave me a measure of pleasure to read, as I despise thieves, cheats, and liars. 

Be Able to Accept Criticism

A reader wrote in and said that this blog is "too negative." Well, if you think honest assessments are negative, then who am I to argue?

Nevertheless, the Bible states in Proverbs 15:31: "One who listens to live-giving rebukes (we might call that "constructive criticism") will be at home among the wise."

Therefore, in an effort to be wise, if a potentially "negative" post, tale, story, etc. needs to be published, I will also offer a positive one in return. Stay tuned this week for more. 

They Are Full of Jokes

Yesterday, this blog discussed how #LibNuts know so much that isn't so. Today, they have jokes. 

"Thoughts and Prayers Tax’ bill filed in Tennessee legislature"

Joke #1 - #LibNuts make fun of people who offer up thoughts and prayers when there is a tragedy. It's a shame. And it is natural, because #LibNuts would not offer prayers for those affected, nor positive thoughts. 

From the article: 

Rep. Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) filed HB 2193, which would impose a new 15% tax on the retail sale of all firearms in Tennessee. 

...

When crafting the legislation, Mitchell said the 15% figure included came directly from an assault-style rifle: the AR-15.
“Tongue in cheek, I made it AR-15 percent,” he said. “I call it the ‘Thoughts and Prayers Tax.’

Joke #2 - an "AR-15% tax. Joy. 

 

Also from the article:

Mitchell asked all responsible gun owners in the state to contact their legislators to show support for safe storage laws, a red flag law and an assault weapons ban. If all of those bills were to pass, Mitchell said he would even be happy to sponsor legislation to remove all gun sales taxes.

Joke #3 - A #LibNut politician saying he would vote to revoke a tax. 

None of these jokes are funny. 

They Always Miss The Mark

“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant. It’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
― Ronald Reagan

Many times, the things they know that aren't so, is because they intentionally misrepresent things. Problem is: it is very hard to tell which one sometimes. 

Recently, my friend posted on a "Hip" page on social media a link to Patriot Training. I did not ask him to do this. In fact, I did not learn of the post until 10 hours later. Here is the post: 

Because Blogger deletes photos for unknown reasons, here is my friend's text:
If you are interested in weapons training, I highly recommend Patriot Training!! Amazing instructor!! Locally owned!!
Here’s the link:
https://patriottraining.info


Since the full text is not visible as the picture is cut off, here is a screenshot from that part of the Patriot Training website:

The segment reads:

Patriot Training is a civilian firearms training academy.

THE RIFLE

At Patriot Training, we specialize in teaching people the use and art of the rifle. The United States of America was founded by Riflemen who stood for freedom. And while there are still many freedom lovers in America today, there are not as many Riflemen! Patriot Training seeks to change that.

Millions of Americans own AR-15 rifles. 

Millions more know how to shoot them.

But this is not enough!

At Patriot Training, we take your skills to the next level and forge Americans into RIFLEMEN.

"Regular" civilians come to Patriot Training to gain and improve their skills with a rifle.

Current and former military come to Patriot Training to fill in the gaps and round out their skill set.

Current and former Law Enforcement come to Patriot Training to build on skills and learn new ones.

Naturally, the #LibNuts were triggered. When aren't they? 

The triggered #LibNuts reported the post. The moderator let the post stand, citing, "There were reports concerning a post on firearm training. It is encouraged that if someone is going to handle a firearm that they know how to safely use it. For safety reasons the post will remain."

This #LibNut triggering, and the refusal of the admin to delete the post, prompted this reply post: 

Again, since Blogger deletes pictures without warning, here is the text (this author has included some spacing to make the post readable):

"I was one of those reporting the post with the "gun safety" ad. Believe me, I'm all for educating gun owners about safety. If that were all the ad was about, I would be fine with it. The full text of the ad is about something else entirely. It literally gave me nightmares. I have been directly impacted by mass shootings with AR-15's, not just once, but 3 times in 3 different communities. A friend of mine was killed and friends of mine lost family members, including children. 

What is objectionable about the post is: 

1. It equates owners of military grade weapons with riflemen of the American revolution which is a false equivalency. 

2. It equates ownership of military grade weapons with patriotism which is a false equivalency. 

3. An elected public official posted the ad. Whether intended or not, it can be read as a veiled threat against people like me who hold different political views, especially around 2nd amendment issues. 

That's why I'm posting anonymously. I joined this group hoping to find a friendly place to share news about the community we live in. I know it's no skin off anyone's back, and some of you will even say good riddance, but I will be leaving this group as it is no longer a safe place for me."

As Reagan said, there is so much in here that just isn't so. Let's break it down since this person either has poor reading comprehension, or is engaged in willful misrepresentation. 

The full text of the ad is about something else entirely.

This was no ad. This was a screenshot of a webpage. The post was a suggestion for those who might seek training. The owner of Patriot Training did not pay for this promotion, nor was aware of it at the time. However, the owner of Patriot Training was quite happy to see the post!

1. It equates owners of military grade weapons with riflemen of the American revolution which is a false equivalency. 

False. In fact the text from the webpage specifically states, "Millions of Americans own AR-15 rifles. Millions more know how to shoot them. But this is not enough! At Patriot Training, we take your skills to the next level and forge Americans into RIFLEMEN." There is no equivalency drawn by mere ownership. The webpage clearly indicates one needs to train to gain the skills of a Rifleman, like the Founding Fathers did. Ownership is not enough - and that is clearly stated!

2. It equates ownership of military grade weapons with patriotism which is a false equivalency. 

False - no such claim is made. This #LibNut is being triggered by the name of the firearms academy, specifically, the "Patriot" in Patriot Training. Here's a hint - the owner of Patriot Training could give two flips of a wooden nickel about offending people who dislike the word "Patriot." 

3. An elected public official posted the ad. Whether intended or not, it can be read as a veiled threat against people like me who hold different political views, especially around 2nd amendment issues. 

False. The amount of cognitive dissonance it takes to draw this false equivalence is mental gymnastics, the likes of which have not been seen since Mary Lou Retton. There is no threat here. People have different opinions on things. If you don't want to take a class, then don't. 

Conclusion: 

The mark has been missed. By a mile. You have to wonder how hard they have to try to miss by that much.