The Transgender Myth and Social Media

 

I'll start this post by stating that I do not care what consenting adults do behind closed doors, and I don't wish to stomp on anybody's right to believe what they want.

With that being said, a far too overlooked fact remains:  Mutilating your genitals and changing the way you dress does not change your gender, no matter how loudly you shout about it.

One of my favorite satire sites, The Babylon Bee, recently had their Twitter account suspended indefinitely (i.e., banned) for their satirical tweet naming Rachel Levine as their "Man of the Year."  Now, while Levine is clearly male, he parades around in drag, claiming to be female.  It's very sad, but what's worse is the expectation that 99% of the nation bow down before the social justice warriors and agree that Levine is a female.  Nope.  Not happening.  Speak out about it, however, and most social media platforms will be quick to punish you;  facts have no place on their platforms.  You can see more about it at this link: (click here). 

Any wagers on how long this post will remain on here?  How about how long before I'm banned from Blogger for stating facts? 

Veterans Day

 

This week brings about one of our nation's most appropriate holidays, Veterans Day.  The history of this holiday began after the cease of hostilities of World War I, which came about at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month.  November of 1918 is considered the beginning of what became Armistice Day, later changed to Veterans Day.  

Veterans Day is a day to honor those that have served our nation in one of the most meaningful ways, signing a blank check for an amount up to, and sometimes including, their very lives.  

To veterans everywhere, thank you, and well done. 

Military Retirement Is Not What it Used to Be

I am once again kicking the dust off of this little blog. I doubt that it gets much readership, but perhaps someone will get a kick out of my occasional ramblings. 

I recently retired from the United States Marine Corps, after 30 years of service. It was a good run, but I am tired, and it is time to make room for the younger guys (and gals). I won't lament on the changes to the Corps' policies and practices, as that is an entirely different discussion. I will, however, take a moment to point out the horrid decline in the military's retirement benefits. 

One of the biggest "carrots" that has been dangled in front of military service members for many years is the benefit package of retirement from our armed forces. A substantial pension for life, with cost of living increases, commissary and base exchange privileges for life, and "free" healthcare for life. Sounds great, doesn't it? Unfortunately, our elected tormentors have been steadily chipping away at our military retirement benefits. I posted about this a few years back (Click here to read that post). 

Today, the pension that many of us counted on is no more. There is now a "blended" retirement system, much like a 401k, which relies on the financial discipline of the service member. How financially savvy and disciplined were you as a teenager? How much of your income would you have given up as a young adult? This is a travesty. 

Health insurance is expensive. One of the substantial draws of a career in the military is (was) the healthcare. Do your 20+ years, and you could count on paid healthcare for life--Not anymore. The coverage for retirees now has a monthly premium, with co-pays for everything. Granted, it is less expensive than most civilian coverage plans, but there is still substantial costs for retired military members. 

"But John, this saves the government money, that they can use to 'help' more people."   That is the pipe dream of starry-eyed liberal dolts.  Looking at this situation from a logical standpoint, the government now spends less money on military retirees, but at what cost in the long run?  I pointed out in my original post that retirement benefits improve retention of quality service members.  Erode those benefits and retention will suffer.  This is not based on my emotions, but simple and glaring truth.  

To the slimy crooks that infest our nation's mechanisms of government: Shame on you.  To the hopeless idiots that voted for them: Shame on you as well.  Hey, at least we don't have to hide in fear of mean tweets. 

Young Whitetail Bucks

 I have held the belief for many years that there is nothing wrong with taking a young buck, but there are those who would argue against the practice.  I was excited to see Brody Henderson publish an article on Meat Eater saying exactly what I've long believed.  

Brody discusses the more common arguments against shooting young bucks, such as herd management and ethics, but goes on to state that, "if regulations don’t include minimum point restrictions, then there is absolutely nothing unsporting or ethically wrong with shooting young bucks, no matter what any hunter tells another."  You can read the full article by clicking here. 

I particularly enjoyed his dismissal of the idea that passing up a legal buck somehow improves the health of the deer herd.  He points out that herd management has more to do with the buck to doe ratio, not the age class of the bucks.  

Steven Rinella is fond of saying that you should never pass up on opening day what you would be glad to have on the last day of the season.  I, for one, would rather have venison in the freezer than some sort of inflated sense of moral superiority. 

My Thoughts on Gun Violence

As I was browsing through the book of faces this week, I found some funny memes about the fallacy of gun control.  One of my favorites was the man-bun wearing hippie saying that he was going to castrate himself to help prevent rape.  It got me thinking, again, about why someone that otherwise seems intelligent, would believe that we can legislate violence out of our society by infringing on the rights of the non-violent.  I understand that most fans of gun control legislation are motivated by emotion, but your emotion does not trump my right to defend myself and my family.  You will not move me on this, so I might as well say that right up front.  Despite my belief in my right to protect myself with the best tools I can muster, I am still interested in why we have problems with violence in this country, and what we should, or even could, do about it.

I am not naive enough to believe that I know all that there is to know about crime and what motivates people to prey on their fellow humans.  I have some ideas about all of it, and I'm not afraid to read or listen to opposing views.  I am not, however, patient enough to listen to the emotion-based rants of those that vilify me for being a gun enthusiast and a strong proponent of our individual liberty.  What follows are my beliefs, but I think that my beliefs are based on logic, the law, and facts.

We have a violence problem in America.  Like it or not, there are people in the country that will prey upon others and commit horrible acts of violence.  They will shoot, stab, bludgeon, or choke their fellow man for seemingly trivial reasons.  Why?  If you listen to the boob tube, it's because they have ready access to guns.  I know this to be false, but that doesn't answer the question of why so many people harm each other.  I believe there are multiple contributing factors.

Video games and movies teach children that violence is fun, while devaluing human life.  Some of the most popular video game titles are what's referred to as "first person shooters," where the game is seen from the perspective of the armed attacker, gunning down other players.  Children are rewarded for violence, with increasingly realistic visual elements, scores based on how many people they've killed, and catchy music.  Action movies show the hero shooting his way through an endless stream of attackers, getting shot himself, and just walking it off, or performing a home surgical procedure with supplies picked up at a gas station.  I firmly believe that video games and movies are contributing to the desensitization of our kids to violence.  The entire entertainment industry has driven a wedge between our traditional values and our youth. 

We are experiencing a moral decline in America.  "Get with the times, John!"  I know, I know, I'm very old fashioned.  I believe in crazy things like obeying the law, there are two genders, and God.  Those that would attack our traditional values are now in firm control of the media, education, and at any given time, roughly half of our nation's legislative mechanisms.  People are shouted down and labeled if they say that they believe in traditional family values.  During the recent outbreak of the Chinese variant of the Corona-virus, Walmart was deemed safe, but churches were declared off limits by blue state leadership (and blue cities).  Marriage has eroded, and more children are being raised without strong moral influences. In 1970 there were roughly 8.2 million children in single parent households; in 2015, that number was over 20 million (stats here).  Are single parents all bad?  Of course not, but the rise in numbers is a keen indicator of the direction our society is heading.

So, seeing these elements sheds a little light as to why there is so much violence in our nation, but what do we do about it?  Can anything be done about it?  Should we ban more firearms?  That hasn't really worked out so well for England.  Each time the Brits tightened their gun control laws, they saw an increase in violent crime.  Violence in England steadily increased after their handgun ban in 1997 (stats here).  FBI data has shown that in the U.S., strengthening gun control laws had no measurable effect on preventing violent crime. 

So, again, what do we do about violence?  I would argue that education is important, and shining a positive light on traditional family values is important.  Until we wrestle control of our media and entertainment industries from far left activists, we will continue to see a decline in the morals of our citizens, and the resulting violence that is tied to that decline.  

Social Media and the Rise of Stupidity

Is social media making us, as a species, dumber?  A 2014 article in Time Magazine (click here) suggests exactly that, but it's a little misleading--I know; that's shocking, right?  The article cites a study that simply examined how students learn, which concluded that humans have a tendency to copy from each other, or copy from social media.  Scott McGreal, a research psychologist, dispels the Time article (click here) and provides data on some other habits of social media users.  

Using social media might not make you stupid, but it will certainly expose you to those that are.  I believe that social media simply gives stupid people a larger venue to amuse us.  We've probably all seen examples of people asking for advice on social media; my neighborhood's Facebook page comes to mind.  I've even seen people asking for advice on legal issues via social media; why not just look up the law yourself?  I doubt that, "Some guy on Facebook said..." will hold up in court.

Social media doesn't make people stupid, but stupid people use social media.  Seek your information from reputable sources, don't believe everything you read on the internet, and apply more rigorous intellectual standards to what people are posting. 

Online Shopping Best Practices

In a relatively short period of time, we've gone from a widespread fear of accepting rides from strangers and meeting people from the internet, to paying money to get a ride from a stranger from the internet (hello Uber).  We've also seen explosive growth of online shopping.  Shopping online is enticingly convenient, and can lead to some great cost savings.  With the ease of access also comes additional risks.  Here's a few tips that can help avoid the headache of getting ripped off.

Start by doing some research.  Shopping online with the bigger companies is usually pretty safe, but even some of the big sites, such as Amazon, will sell wares from third party vendors. When ordering from Amazon, ebay, etc, pay attention to the name of the seller; do you recognize it?  Do your homework on these smaller vendors, and see what others have to say about them.  Quite often, you can read reviews about the seller right on Amazon's website.  If not, head to your favorite search engine and look them up.  

Most sellers, even the smallest ones, will have a Facebook page, with reviews.  Go read those reviews!  

Check with the watchdogs.  The Better Business Bureau keeps tabs on many online sellers, and will allow you to search for reviews and complaints.  They even have a scam tracker (click here) that allows you to search by name or location. 

If you've never heard of a seller or business, and you can't find any information about them via search engine (google), avoid them.  Any reputable business will have some information available, with positive reviews on their Facebook page, Yelp, etc.  When in doubt, don't click that mouse button!

Doctor Grumpy

Go give this guy a read (click here).  Dr. Grumpy posts comedic stuff about his medical practice, family vacations, and other adventures.  If you read about any of his family vacations, scroll down to "day one" of each of them; it will be worth it, I promise.

.45 ACP vs 9mm Debate Rages On

One of the oldest debates among gun enthusiasts is which caliber of handgun is best for self-defense.  The two top (or most contentious) calibers are 9mm parabellum and .45 ACP.  20 years ago, this debate was moot, as the .45 was simply superior in capability, while the 9mm had an advantage in magazine capacity.  Today, with advancements in modern ammunition, the gap in capabilities between these two calibers has narrowed greatly.  I've been asked a few times which caliber I prefer, and I answer enthusiastically with .45 ACP.  Remember that there's a difference between personal preference and ballistic capability.  Let's talk about both.

One of the best (and most exhaustive) tests available on this topic was conducted by the folks at Lucky Gunner.  You can view the article and results at this link.  You'll note that there are several good ammo choices in both calibers, as well as in .40 and .380.  You'll also note that the .45 simply makes a bigger wound, 20 percent bigger in most examples.  Before you complain about the shortcomings of ballistic gelatin, go read the article.  They included layers of heavy clothing in front of the gel, more closely simulating a real-world shooting scenario.

Another interesting article can be found at Ballistic Magazine (click here), where 14 "experts" give their opinion.  Note that some of the experts are simply competitive shooters, and don't have any real world experience with defensive shooting or training.  All of the assembled experts prefer the 9mm cartridge over the .45.  What is telling about their opinion is the reasons given.  Without exception, the top drivers of their opinion are cost and magazine capacity, not terminal ballistics.

There are even a few articles out there written by folks in the medical profession, and many of them indicate that larger caliber handguns cause more devastation in human tissue.  The ways to stop a human threat are to either cause rapid loss of blood, or incapacitate the central nervous system. In other words, you need to cause large wounds to vital organs and blood vessels, or score a hit to the brain or spine.  Rapid blood loss cannot be counted on to instantly incapacitate, but will a larger wound work faster?  Some of the doctors interviewed state that the end result is the same, so caliber is (in their opinion) not as relevant to the discussion.  Since they were not present at the shootings, how can they calculate how quickly the human was incapacitated?    

Others claim that because the FBI chose the 9mm round for all of their issued handguns, it must be the best for self defense.  I would argue that the FBI has a much different mission than a civilian defending themselves from an armed assailant.  The FBI must be prepared to possibly face multiple suspects in a lengthy gun battle; in circumstances like that, magazine capacity is an important factor.  Cost is also a driving factor, along with recoil and speed.  The 9mm cartridge produces less felt recoil than the .45, enabling most shooters to fire a follow-up shot more quickly.

 So, the 9mm is almost as lethal as the .45, but it has a distinct advantage in cost (ammo is cheaper in 9mm), felt recoil, and magazine capacity.  With all of that, why do I still prefer the .45?  The number one reason is that I love the 1911 platform.  I can shoot better with my 1911, chambered in .45 ACP, than with many other handguns, in any caliber.  This includes simulated defensive shooting drills.  Yes, there are 1911s available in 9mm, but the magazine capacity is still less than in other designs, so I'm not sold on the idea of making the switch.  I would save some money on ammo and have ten rounds in the magazine, instead of 7 or 8.   

In the end, the best answer to the debate over these two calibers is that you should shoot what you're most comfortable and capable with.  Shoot both calibers in a variety of guns, and pick what you like best in comfort, shootability, concealability, etc.  

Hurricane Florence and Human Character

I live in Eastern North Carolina, and we were recently visited by Hurricane Florence.  Florence has cost an estimated $38 to 50 billion in damages, and killed at least 39 people in NC alone.  This was a huge natural disaster.

As the storm was approaching, some in our neighborhood evacuated, but many stayed in place.  My family was among those that stayed, along with the rest of the military base near us.  It was an adventure, for sure.

During and after the storm, we saw the true character of many of our neighbors.  As the flood waters began to rise, much higher than anticipated in our neighborhood, my wife and I realized that we were in a very dangerous situation.  The water was almost to the top step of our porch when one of our neighbors helped me pile my wife, daughter, dog, and cat into a canoe, and swim alongside, pulling them out to safety.  

Over the following couple of days, we huddled together with two other families in a vacant house in our neighborhood.  The homeowner, who had the house listed for sale, gave us permission to stay there, and we were very grateful.  Neighbors showed up and offered us blankets, food, and other necessities.  There was much help and comfort from those that stayed through the storm.  A couple of neighbors that evacuated even gave offers of their homes and belongings via text messages and phone calls.  It was heartwarming.  

As things settled a bit, my family was able to return to our house.  The floodwaters had mostly spared our home, but four houses around me were flooded, to include the two families that we spent the last couple of days with.  Additionally, others in the neighborhood began returning from wherever they had evacuated to.

One woman in particular, who had previously offered to let one of our neighbors stay in her house and use her belongings (towels, blankets, food, etc), returned home and began to sing a different tune. She accused our neighbors of breaking into her home and stealing from her, despite having texted them an offer of her belongings, leaving them a key to the house, etc.  She made sure to visit all of the neighbors and spread these lies.  I also suspect that she contacted the owner of the vacant house we stayed in, as the sheriff deputies showed up there to run us off after a couple of days, claiming that the owner had been told that we were tearing up the place.  Told by whom? I can only guess, but I suspect that the same woman that suddenly decided to label us as burglars and thieves was to blame. To be clear, we left that house in better shape than we found it in.

What kind of person does this?  This disaster brought out the best and worst in people.  We had many offers of help, and a few looters as well.  We also had one neighbor that chose to attack and defame us.  The real irony is that one of our neighbors that stayed in that borrowed home was planning to buy it; she ended up buying a different home in the neighborhood, so the liar not only inconvenienced us all in a time of need, but she cost that homeowner the sale of their house.   I hope she doesn't ever find herself in a position where she needs a favor from me.

True character comes out in times of stress.