So, some new information on the shooting of the principal in Wisconsin. Turns out the perpetrator had been given in-school detention for smoking. He made the statement to a friend that he doubted the principal would live past homecoming, whether before or after the detention has not been stated.
The shooter was 15.
Now, before we go any further, what makes a 15 year old kid, with their whole life ahead of them, throw it away by murdering the principal over a detention? How does one make that...LEAP...from detention to murder? How do you justify that to yourself, and then choose to commit the crime? He knew he'd be caught, he knew he was torpedoeing the rest of his life over a couple hours sitting in the school office...how...what...
He's an animal. Unless it comes out that the principal was torturing him or threatening to kill his family, he should be tried as an adult, convicted, and at the very least be given life in prison without possibility of parole.
Now we turn to the actions of the not-guilty. The janitor who wrestled the shotgun away...did so BEFORE the kid shot the principal. He took it, the kid started digging in his pockets for the .22 revolver that became the murder weapon (don't bother to look for the Million Mom March or VPC to start calling THOSE assault weapons), and the janitor, now armed with possibly the most devastating close-quarters-combat weapon ever devised does...what exactly?
Does he shoulder the shotgun and blow the clearly armed miscreant off his feet? Does he fire a warning shot and yell for the student to drop and kiss the pavement?
No. Now that he's ARMED, he RUNS out the front door.
A quote of the unfortunately late Jeff Cooper's springs to mind: "An unarmed man can only run from evil. And evil is not defeated by fleeing." Or something like that.
So:Our little *expletive* takes his .22 revolver, enters the principal's office, and is immediately engaged in a scuffle for the weapon. During the course of which, the brave principal takes shots to the leg, chest, and head, and STILL manages to remove the weapon from the criminal.
The principal died of his injuries 7 hours later. If it hadn'tve been for the headshot, I think he'd still be with us.
I'll be blogging on school shooting/invasion preparedness drills in the near future, but I recommend you turn your eyes upwards towards Mr. Cooper's quote once more. It bears multiple readings.
Showing posts with label Recent Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recent Events. Show all posts
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Friday, September 29, 2006
Recent Events Pt2
Colorado School Shooting
Seems the hostage taker at the Colorado high school didn't get ventilated by the police.
Pity.
I would've liked it to have NOT been his idea.
What's not being discussed is why the gunman was the only man with a gun in the school. See, us law abiding folks generally, uh, abide by the law. Meaning, when the law says "Don't Carry Guns" we usually leave our pistols at home. Those that do not abide by the law, and choose to place themselves outside of society by causing harm to innocents will do whatever they dang well please. They'll do things like bring guns into schools, shoot people, take hostages, molest hostages, kill hostages...very much like the reprobate in Colorado did. While those that follow the laws do not bring guns to school, and because of their nature, do not engage in the acts that Mr. BadGuy did.
Simplifying that paragraph, if you prohibit people from arming themselves, the good people do so. If you prohibit people from arming themselves, the bad people will not. And then the bad people will have absolutely free reign to do whatever they damn well please. Ask Teresa Halbach about that.
What dismays me even more than the faculty members (or, heavens to Betsy, the students) not putting two rounds in Mr. BadGuy's center mass followed by another to the third eye is that no one used any other weapons to subdue him. Guns are merely the easiest way to dispatch Mr.Badguy - knives, pens shoved into various weakpoints like ears and throats, belts, or even feet all produce the same result in the end. And unless the captives were bound, it sounds like there were, er, several opportunities where he was distracted enough that SOMEONE could've tickled his brain with a Bic.
Give a kid a good knife, it may just save their life.
Another School Shooting
Elsewhere in the world, my state to be specific, several faculty members and students found they had the cajones to STOP a school shooting. Far south of where I live, a torqued off 15yo walks into school with a shotgun, shoots his principal once, and is promptly subdued by a janitor and other students.
A few notes on this:
1. A longgun is what you bring when you mean business. To achieve a guaranteed kill with a handgun, you have to shoot A LOT. Yes, two or three shots usually does it, but to be sure, going to slide-lock is recommended. A shotgun or mid-caliber rifle at room distances should produce the same effect (a kill) in one shot.
2.Contrary to popular opinion, unarmed people (and I'm SURE one person was using something as a weapon) were able to stand up to a villain armed with probably the deadliest close-range weapon ever invented and LIVE. And subdue him. If you comply, you will end up injured. If you resist and are unarmed, you are slightly less likely to be injured. Resist while armed, and your chances go WAY up. Crime statistics bear this out time and time again.
3.If anyone among those heroes was armed, we'll never hear about. You ever hear about the school shooting where the principal went back to his car, got his gun, and stopped the shooter? Or the school shooting where two students with rifles subdued the attacker? Don't worry, most haven't. Of the roughly 800 stories generated about each of those incidents, only around 40 per mentioned any defensive action by anyone other than the police, even while the vast majority noted the make and model of the attacker's weapons. In the "2 students with rifles" story, most articles mentioning the action taken by the students say that they "tackled him." Why do you think that is?
Seems the hostage taker at the Colorado high school didn't get ventilated by the police.
Pity.
I would've liked it to have NOT been his idea.
What's not being discussed is why the gunman was the only man with a gun in the school. See, us law abiding folks generally, uh, abide by the law. Meaning, when the law says "Don't Carry Guns" we usually leave our pistols at home. Those that do not abide by the law, and choose to place themselves outside of society by causing harm to innocents will do whatever they dang well please. They'll do things like bring guns into schools, shoot people, take hostages, molest hostages, kill hostages...very much like the reprobate in Colorado did. While those that follow the laws do not bring guns to school, and because of their nature, do not engage in the acts that Mr. BadGuy did.
Simplifying that paragraph, if you prohibit people from arming themselves, the good people do so. If you prohibit people from arming themselves, the bad people will not. And then the bad people will have absolutely free reign to do whatever they damn well please. Ask Teresa Halbach about that.
What dismays me even more than the faculty members (or, heavens to Betsy, the students) not putting two rounds in Mr. BadGuy's center mass followed by another to the third eye is that no one used any other weapons to subdue him. Guns are merely the easiest way to dispatch Mr.Badguy - knives, pens shoved into various weakpoints like ears and throats, belts, or even feet all produce the same result in the end. And unless the captives were bound, it sounds like there were, er, several opportunities where he was distracted enough that SOMEONE could've tickled his brain with a Bic.
Give a kid a good knife, it may just save their life.
Another School Shooting
Elsewhere in the world, my state to be specific, several faculty members and students found they had the cajones to STOP a school shooting. Far south of where I live, a torqued off 15yo walks into school with a shotgun, shoots his principal once, and is promptly subdued by a janitor and other students.
A few notes on this:
1. A longgun is what you bring when you mean business. To achieve a guaranteed kill with a handgun, you have to shoot A LOT. Yes, two or three shots usually does it, but to be sure, going to slide-lock is recommended. A shotgun or mid-caliber rifle at room distances should produce the same effect (a kill) in one shot.
2.Contrary to popular opinion, unarmed people (and I'm SURE one person was using something as a weapon) were able to stand up to a villain armed with probably the deadliest close-range weapon ever invented and LIVE. And subdue him. If you comply, you will end up injured. If you resist and are unarmed, you are slightly less likely to be injured. Resist while armed, and your chances go WAY up. Crime statistics bear this out time and time again.
3.If anyone among those heroes was armed, we'll never hear about. You ever hear about the school shooting where the principal went back to his car, got his gun, and stopped the shooter? Or the school shooting where two students with rifles subdued the attacker? Don't worry, most haven't. Of the roughly 800 stories generated about each of those incidents, only around 40 per mentioned any defensive action by anyone other than the police, even while the vast majority noted the make and model of the attacker's weapons. In the "2 students with rifles" story, most articles mentioning the action taken by the students say that they "tackled him." Why do you think that is?
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Reflections On Current Events
Health Inspector Video
Courtesy of The Smallest Minority http://smallestminority.blogspot.com, we get this fine video of what happens when people draw their lines in the sand further and further back. Watch, but lock up anything that could damage your monitor 'aforehand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVACCaVxYEk&eurl=
At least he had the brains and guts to bring along a video camera. They really don't like it when their work winds up online. Only thing better would be getting the home addresses, work addresses, telephone numbers, car profiles, email addresses, driver's license and social security numbers, and photographs of those involved in the criminal trespass, and then posting them online. Everywhere you can think of. Sports sites. News sites. Adult interest sites. Gun sites. Goth sites. Democratic Underground. Dating sites. Sites for people recently released from prison. Bathroom walls in gas stations with the byline "For a good time."
Let's hope Mr. Cameraman winds up with all the property previously owned by Mrs. Health Inspector, who winds up spending the next ten years in the pen.
Treason In The House: Or, Reasonless, Warrantless Searches Of Children
Look for H. R. 5295 on http://thomas.loc.gov/ if this link doesn't work: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:2:./temp/~c109XZ2ysO::
Basically, it says that since schools are such nasty places, we need to set rules defining how to search children without warrants. The only type of searches not permitted are invasive - the precedent for which is set by the New Jersey Supreme Court which ruled that only cavity searches are invasive. Or so says public radio.
School Shooting In Colorado
Apparently a gunman wanders into a highschool, fires a handful of shots, the students flee, he hides with two teenage girls as hostages. Most recent development: He shoots a hostage, the police put him down. Rehabilitation by reincarnation - works every time.
I say apparently because: It could not have happened. School zones are gun free, totally. The law prevented anyone from bringing a gun onto the premises. Therefore, since law is so effective, no gunman.
Non-sarcastically, this is NO excuse to pass legislation restricting anyone's unalienable right to defend themselves (ie victim disarmament, or "gun control"). It sounds harsh, but I DON'T CARE what happened, I DON'T CARE how anyone feels, my rights are not dependent on others' good behavior.
No Shooting This Week
I've been getting out to the range every week to fire 50 rounds through my battle-rifle. I go with just my brother (we only get one day a week when our days-off coincide), I use my rifle, he takes a .22 of some variety, we spend two hours total, everyone goes home happy. This week
we detoured around construction on the way to the range. And: Spent 1.5 hours cruising the countryside, looking for a way home. Ran through an entire Bon Jovi CD looking for the range and then the highway home, wound up following a dump truck into town.
I've budgeted completely for my 2 new battle-rifles in November. Now I'm looking at that Sig 220 I wrote about last year. It's still there, and I still want it.
Courtesy of The Smallest Minority http://smallestminority.blogspot.com, we get this fine video of what happens when people draw their lines in the sand further and further back. Watch, but lock up anything that could damage your monitor 'aforehand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVACCaVxYEk&eurl=
At least he had the brains and guts to bring along a video camera. They really don't like it when their work winds up online. Only thing better would be getting the home addresses, work addresses, telephone numbers, car profiles, email addresses, driver's license and social security numbers, and photographs of those involved in the criminal trespass, and then posting them online. Everywhere you can think of. Sports sites. News sites. Adult interest sites. Gun sites. Goth sites. Democratic Underground. Dating sites. Sites for people recently released from prison. Bathroom walls in gas stations with the byline "For a good time."
Let's hope Mr. Cameraman winds up with all the property previously owned by Mrs. Health Inspector, who winds up spending the next ten years in the pen.
Treason In The House: Or, Reasonless, Warrantless Searches Of Children
Look for H. R. 5295 on http://thomas.loc.gov/ if this link doesn't work: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:2:./temp/~c109XZ2ysO::
Basically, it says that since schools are such nasty places, we need to set rules defining how to search children without warrants. The only type of searches not permitted are invasive - the precedent for which is set by the New Jersey Supreme Court which ruled that only cavity searches are invasive. Or so says public radio.
School Shooting In Colorado
Apparently a gunman wanders into a highschool, fires a handful of shots, the students flee, he hides with two teenage girls as hostages. Most recent development: He shoots a hostage, the police put him down. Rehabilitation by reincarnation - works every time.
I say apparently because: It could not have happened. School zones are gun free, totally. The law prevented anyone from bringing a gun onto the premises. Therefore, since law is so effective, no gunman.
Non-sarcastically, this is NO excuse to pass legislation restricting anyone's unalienable right to defend themselves (ie victim disarmament, or "gun control"). It sounds harsh, but I DON'T CARE what happened, I DON'T CARE how anyone feels, my rights are not dependent on others' good behavior.
No Shooting This Week
I've been getting out to the range every week to fire 50 rounds through my battle-rifle. I go with just my brother (we only get one day a week when our days-off coincide), I use my rifle, he takes a .22 of some variety, we spend two hours total, everyone goes home happy. This week
we detoured around construction on the way to the range. And: Spent 1.5 hours cruising the countryside, looking for a way home. Ran through an entire Bon Jovi CD looking for the range and then the highway home, wound up following a dump truck into town.
I've budgeted completely for my 2 new battle-rifles in November. Now I'm looking at that Sig 220 I wrote about last year. It's still there, and I still want it.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Reflections On Conspiracies
Not a far distance from my house, well within the limits of the city I inhabit, 3 teens were recently arrested for conspiring to perpetrate a Columbine style school shooting. According to reports, articles, and interviews on tv, radio and in the paper, they’d been planning this attack for years, had amassed an arsenal to rival that of Frank Castle, and were training to, among other things, commit mass murder on a grand scale and blow up their school.
The newspapers waxed horrific about the dozens of weapons found at the kids home, the bombs, the training sessions, yadda yadda yadda…and I must’ve seen the same footage of the box of guns being carried out of one of the kids’ home a gross of times.
If you will pardon the pun, I’m about to shoot a few holes in this story.
First off, the majority of the “weapons” the kids had were BB and airsoft guns. Easily identifiable in the tv clip by their bright orange muzzles. The remainder of their weapons were single shot .22s, a shotgun, an SKS, and .40SW handgun. If the mayor and the police chief consider that enough of an arsenal that a televised press conference is desperately required, they’d have a heart attack if they looked under my bed most nights, never mind the basement shelves. (By the way, if anyone from the Green Bay Press Gazette is reading this, you can't use AKS rounds in an SKS. But what I'm sure you meant to confuse the issue by confusing the AK47 with the SKS. Leave the paper, grow a brain stem, and THEN go back to journalism.)
Second, target practice for these young reprobates consisted of firing airsoft pellets into Styrofoam heads. This is to target practice what writing a letter to granmaw is to winning a Pulitzer. Their “bombs” were toilet paper tubes filled with bbs and gunpowder, detonated by firecracker – certainly capable of causing injury, but if you’ve ever spent the weeks leading up to the 4th playing with all manner of fireworks conceivable, you know that single firecrackers have about the same fuse time as a sneeze. Yeah. Blown up criminals.
Their much ballyhooed napalm was gasoline and Styrofoam shavings. That ain’t napalm folks, that’s a cheap imitation.
I certainly hope the mayor wasn’t watching that night we buried artillery shells in the lawn and used them to launch bricks and basketballs…they'd probably get the electric chair out of mothballs just for me...
And the “years” of planning…three kids plan an attack on a highschool for years, even before they get there? You know what that means? They were THINKING about it. “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if…” And they never had the guts to do it. For years. If thinking about something earns you a conspiracy charge, we’re all in deep trouble. Calvin of Calvin And Hobbes fantasized one Sunday about nuking his kindergarten with an F-16. Innumerable fiction writers have written innumerable books describing in graphic detail terrorist and criminal acts. I myself am currently engaged in writing a novel about the start of the third American Revolution.
Obviously, these kids were seriously disturbed individuals. They could’ve done some seriously bad stuff, had “luck” been on their side or if they’d been a hair more competent. We can’t do a catch and release here, they WERE planning on trying to hurt a whole bunch of people. That’s unacceptable. They need to be punished. But the question remains, what is the best punishment for coming up with a half***ed plan to kill your classmates with contrived and unworkable bombs, fewer and lower-quality weapons than the average Texan household, and chickening out on it a dozen times?
How do you punish evil defeated by one's own cowardice?
The newspapers waxed horrific about the dozens of weapons found at the kids home, the bombs, the training sessions, yadda yadda yadda…and I must’ve seen the same footage of the box of guns being carried out of one of the kids’ home a gross of times.
If you will pardon the pun, I’m about to shoot a few holes in this story.
First off, the majority of the “weapons” the kids had were BB and airsoft guns. Easily identifiable in the tv clip by their bright orange muzzles. The remainder of their weapons were single shot .22s, a shotgun, an SKS, and .40SW handgun. If the mayor and the police chief consider that enough of an arsenal that a televised press conference is desperately required, they’d have a heart attack if they looked under my bed most nights, never mind the basement shelves. (By the way, if anyone from the Green Bay Press Gazette is reading this, you can't use AKS rounds in an SKS. But what I'm sure you meant to confuse the issue by confusing the AK47 with the SKS. Leave the paper, grow a brain stem, and THEN go back to journalism.)
Second, target practice for these young reprobates consisted of firing airsoft pellets into Styrofoam heads. This is to target practice what writing a letter to granmaw is to winning a Pulitzer. Their “bombs” were toilet paper tubes filled with bbs and gunpowder, detonated by firecracker – certainly capable of causing injury, but if you’ve ever spent the weeks leading up to the 4th playing with all manner of fireworks conceivable, you know that single firecrackers have about the same fuse time as a sneeze. Yeah. Blown up criminals.
Their much ballyhooed napalm was gasoline and Styrofoam shavings. That ain’t napalm folks, that’s a cheap imitation.
I certainly hope the mayor wasn’t watching that night we buried artillery shells in the lawn and used them to launch bricks and basketballs…they'd probably get the electric chair out of mothballs just for me...
And the “years” of planning…three kids plan an attack on a highschool for years, even before they get there? You know what that means? They were THINKING about it. “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if…” And they never had the guts to do it. For years. If thinking about something earns you a conspiracy charge, we’re all in deep trouble. Calvin of Calvin And Hobbes fantasized one Sunday about nuking his kindergarten with an F-16. Innumerable fiction writers have written innumerable books describing in graphic detail terrorist and criminal acts. I myself am currently engaged in writing a novel about the start of the third American Revolution.
Obviously, these kids were seriously disturbed individuals. They could’ve done some seriously bad stuff, had “luck” been on their side or if they’d been a hair more competent. We can’t do a catch and release here, they WERE planning on trying to hurt a whole bunch of people. That’s unacceptable. They need to be punished. But the question remains, what is the best punishment for coming up with a half***ed plan to kill your classmates with contrived and unworkable bombs, fewer and lower-quality weapons than the average Texan household, and chickening out on it a dozen times?
How do you punish evil defeated by one's own cowardice?
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