Sleepless in Midland

News Roundup from Area Newspapers:

Midland Reporter Telegram

Due to geomagnetic storm, Northern Lights seen locally - The brilliant red glow of the Northern Lights was visible over Midland to anyone awake to see it early Wednesday.

Todd Lindley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Midland office, snapped photos of the lights northwest of the city around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday.

The photos were taken near the Midland Independent School District's bus barn on County Road 60.

----------------------

Midland ready to welcome General Franks - Four-star Gen. Tommy Franks (ret.) will be back in the Tall City today to receive the 2003 Distinguished Citizen award from the Boy Scouts of America Buffalo Trail Council.

Along with Franks, Gov. Rick Perry will be at the Midland Center for part of the program as well as State Sen. Teel Bivins and Boy Scouts Chief Scout Executive Roy L. Williams.

Guests at the banquet can expect to be in the presence of local dignitaries as well as get a heads up on the vision for local scouts.

Odessa American

A major telecommunications company plans to open an Odessa operations center with about 700 employees and an annual payroll of $12 million, Odessa City Council members were told Tuesday night. Neil McDonald, Chamber of Commerce economic development director, said "Project Diamond," which he first mentioned two months ago, has progressed rapidly.

"Soon, we're going to have a big signing ceremony," he said in an interview before the council's meeting.

The firm's identity and other details of the project will be announced in a week or two, he said. McDonald said the company's identity will not be divulged until contract details are worked out."

U.T Permian Basin Daily Falcon

Clinical laboratory sciences degree available from UTMB on U.T. Permian Basin Campus in Spring 2004: Persons interested in professions in the medical laboratory field will now be able to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences from the School of Allied Health Sciences at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston by attending courses on the campus of The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. The degree is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS).

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

State group hears Tech police concerns - As accusations of abuse and poor management at the Texas Tech Police Department continue to surface, members of a statewide po lice association met Wednesday day to bolster the spirits of Tech officers.

Texas Tech University Daily

Hantavirus diagnosis of Lubbock woman reversed to negative - The Texas Department of Health results disproved an independent lab's positive hantavirus pulmonary syndrome diagnosis of a Lubbock woman, said Ken Condon, epidemiologist for the city of Lubbock Health Department.
...
The hantavirus has a mortality rate of 36 percent to 50 percent, Condon said.

Last year, there were two cases of hantavirus in Lubbock County. Both victims died, Condon said.

San Angelo Standard Times

ROBERT LEE - Tommy Aycock of Robert Lee got a good look at Heidi Jean Haussecker's face as the car she was driving barreled down the road. ''She was looking straight ahead,'' Aycock said. ''Her face was expressionless.''

Seconds later, the white Ford Taurus crashed through the metal wall of Gideon Sheet Metal.
...
Forty-five-year-old Lax Kent Cole of Robert Lee was crushed to death by the car.
...
Haussecker was booked into the Tom Green County Justice Center on a charge of aggravated robbery, stemming from a San Angelo carjacking involving an elderly woman's vehicle. Altom said Haussecker could face more charges, possibly including capital murder.
...
Haussecker left a crime scene that started in her hometown of Midland early Wednesday morning and stretched across at least four West Texas counties, authorities said.

Troopers pursued Haussecker to Robert Lee. They tried to stop her flight by shooting out the left front and right rear tires of the car before it crashed into the yellow sheet metal building.

Abilene Reporter-News

"Secretary of Air Force says Dyess' fate unclear - Air Force Secretary James Roche was full of encouraging words for Dyess Air Force Base and the B-1 bomber on Wednesday, but stressed that he can't guarantee the future. ... Similarly, Roche declined to anticipate the outcome of the next round of military base closings starting in 2005. The next Base Realignment and Closure commission will be charged with deciding how the U.S. military should be structured in 2020 to 2025, then deciding which alignment of bases will best support that structure, Roche said. Individual factors the commission considers include the amount of civilian development encroaching near a given base and the quality of public schools in the host community, he said.

Roche said consolidation of the Air Force's 60-plane B-1 bomber fleet at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.,and Dyess, has worked out well. "

Pecos Enterprise

PECOS, Tues., Oct. 14, 2003 - Commissioners are dealing with budget problems linked to the shortfall of funds from the lack of inmates to fill the new 960-bed Reeves County Detention Center III project. The county faces a series of bond payments during the upcoming fiscal year on the new $40 million addition, along with the payment to the Town of Pecos City as their share of the South Worsham Water Field construction project.

In connection with the effort to acquire new inmates for RCDC III, commissioners also approved the ratification of professional service contract between Public/Private Strategies Consult Inc. and Reeves County.
...
After seeking ways for three months to find inmates to fill the RCDC III, proposals are now being accepted by Reeves County from private vendors for the operation, management and/or lease of all three units of the 2,960 bed prison or each unit individually.
...
The management/lease offer would take away some control of the prison from county commissioners, but would allow the county to maintain its ownership of the facility.

Most of the 2,000-plus inmates currently in the facility come from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. But the BOP has refused to send any more inmates to fill RCDC III, saying it currently has no need for the extra bed space in Texas. Contracting with [lobbyist Randy] DeLay, the brother of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugarland, was part of the county's effort to find inmates for the new prison.

Sweetwater Reporter

Sweetwater Computer Shack first to offer high speed broadband - In this wonderful world of fast everything, it's good to know that, yes, you can be fast and still offer good quality service.

Such is the case with Sweetwater Computer Shack. They were the first to offer high speed broadband internet service.

Seminole Sentinel

We are sorry for any inconvenience, but our site will be out of service until further notice!

Tigers on the Car Lot

There's a local car dealer who pops up on my television screen practically every time I turn it on. The guy must spend a ton of money on television commercials, which means, of course, that he must be making a ton of money selling those cars.

Anyway, there a couple of things about those ads that can raise an eyebrow or two. One is the catch phrase that goes like this:

"If we make a deal we'll pay off your trade no matter how much you owe!"

Well, that sounds tempting. An easy way to get rid of some debt, right? But, surely no one is actually fooled into believing that it's not their own money that will ultimately pay it off.

But, here's the reason for this rant. Shortly after Roy of Siegfried and Roy was attacked by the tiger, we began seeing ads showing the car dealer walking a tiger on a leash through the car lot. He makes his pitch to sell cars, and that's all well and good. But then he brings his children into the act. The two kids look to be between about three and six years old, and there they are in the same scene with the tiger.

Now, if the car dealer chooses to assume whatever risk might be involved with standing next to a tiger then that's okay. He's a grown up and can make those decisions for himself. But can the kids make those decisions? I don't think so. Maybe the ad sells lots of cars, but I don't think I can ever look at him again without thinking about the risk he exposed those children to.

Amazon's New Search Feature

This news is a few days old by now, but Amazon now has a neat search feature that allows users to find words within books.

For example, I searched for the words "Midland, Texas" and came up with a list of 194 books containing those words. First on the list was the out of print book The Midland Discovery: A Report on the Pleistocene Human Remains from Midland, Texas by Fred Wendorf.

"Odessa, Texas" brings up a list of 112 books. However, only 18 books contained both "Midland, Texas" and "Odessa, Texas", among which was Barbara Bush: a Memoir.

Interesting, huh?

Joe Millionaire 2, update #2

[Update. For the latest post-show updates, click: David Smith, Joe Millionaire 2 - Post Show Update]

----------------------------

Last night's show was pretty good. Former Midlander, David Smith, is a rugged, good looking guy who has a lot of mannerisms characteristic of west Texans. There was one scene during which he met each one of the women contestants, but there were not enough chairs for them all. So, David strode across the room, picked up a love seat, hoisted it over his head and carried it back across the room setting it down so that all of the women could have a place to sit. That looked like a fairly normal thing to do. But the British butler rolled his eyes, and another servant shrugged his shoulders. One could get the impression that the European servants are not accustomed to seeing the elites actually exert themselves.

(To see all the items at this weblog about Joe Millionaire 2, click on "Television" either below or in the Categories column on the right. )

The Difference between Liberals, Conservatives and Texans (joke)

Sent by a friend - Thanks Don.

Question: You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, a dangerous looking man with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, raises the knife, and charges. You are carrying a Glock .45 and you are an expert shot.

You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?

Liberal Answer:

Well, that's not enough information to answer the question! Does the man look poor or oppressed? Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack? Could we run away? What does my wife think? What about the kids? Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand? What does the law say about this situation? Does the Glock have an appropriate safety built into it? Why am I carrying a loaded gun and what kind of message does this send to society and my children?

Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me? Does he definitely want to kill me or would he just be content to wound me? If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?

This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for a few days to try to come to a conclusion.

Conservative Answer:

BANG!

Texan's Answer:

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click...

(sounds of reloading).

Wife: "Sweetheart, he looks like he's still moving, what do you kids think?"

Son: "Mom's right Dad, I saw it too..."

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click.

Daughter: "Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips?"

Most unusual robbery

Here's a report of a robbery from the pages of the 10/28/03 Midland Reporter Telegram. Note the day of the week and the time of day, highlighted:

Midland Police search for robbery suspect

A suspect allegedly stole two bags of money early Sunday morning outside the First American Bank at 1100 Andrews Highway.

The victim was carrying the bags, containing an unknown amount of money, out of the bank at 1 a.m. when a male dressed in a white shirt and dark shorts pushed the victim and took the two bags, said Tina Jauz, public information officer for the Midland Police Department. The male then fled on foot.

Police have no suspects at this time, Ms. Jauz said. ©MyWestTexas.com 2003

So, it was 1:00a.m. Sunday morning, and someone was carrying two bags of money out of the bank. If the bank was open then it certainly must have customer friendly hours - I have a hard time finding a bank open on Saturday morning.

How to bring peace to the Middle East - send Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston.

Did Thelma and Louise use a road map? I wondered that when I read that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston are involved in an effort to bring peace to the middle east.

In the movie "Thelma and Louise" Brad Pitt played a low-life character named J.D., a hitch-hiking cowboy, who robbed either Thelma or Louise and helped put them onto a path that led to their driving off a cliff. But hey, that was just a movie. Let's get actors out of their cocoons and into the real world.

From Sky News.

The Hollywood actors are launching their very own Middle East peace mission, it is reported.

The husband and wife team are among a group of movie stars hoping their fame will help stop decades of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.

They have agreed to join £4m peace initiative, called One Voice, launched by Daniel Lubetzky, an American-Jewish businessman.

"The past few years of conflict mean that yet another generation of Israelis and Palestinians will grow up in hatred," reads a statement from the stars.

"We cannot allow that to happen."

It is not clear how the couple, who are being joined by the likes of Danny DeVito, will be able to succeed where some of the word's greatest leaders have failed.

'Ordinary folk'

The Daily Telegraph reported that they may appeal directly to "ordinary folk".

Here's a thought. Just Shut Up and Sing.

Pictures from Hubble Telescope

Cat's Eye Nebula

"This Hubble Space Telescope image shows one of the most complex planetary nebula ever seen, NGC 6543, nicknamed the "Cat's Eye Nebula." Hubble reveals surprisingly intricate structures including concentric gas shells, jets of high-speed gas, and unusual shock-induced knots of gas. The image was taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 on September 18, 1994. J.P. Harrington and K.J. Borkowski (University of Maryland) / NASA"

More at Astronomy.com.

Dallas Cowboys Training Camp moves from San Antonio to Oxnard

I was looking at Google News for a report on whether the Cowboys won their game today (they lost) and came across news that they are moving their training camp out of San Antonio to Oxnard, California. Here's what the San Antonio Express News said on October 25:

But those hopes were dashed last week when the team learned the city wanted it to pay up to $320,000 annually to use the dome. When negotiations began after this year's camp ended, the Cowboys said all they wanted from the city was a new turf field. The team spent nearly $400,000 last summer to place a state-of-the-art synthetic grass field in the dome.

The Cowboys "were pretty upset last week when they heard about the rent," a source close to team owner Jerry Jones said. City officials in Oxnard "were very opportunistic. They said to (Jones), 'Why do you want to get beat over the head by the San Antonio City Council?' Why not come here?"

But, it appears that the $400,000 was originally paid by San Antonio to the Cowboys. Here's more:

The city paid the Cowboys $400,000 last year to return to the dome for a second straight year, but it took in just $129,371 from camp operations.

And here's a sober assessment by city council members:

Councilman Chip Haass said while he has been a Cowboys fan all his life, the city's financial interests had to come first.

"We're not going to sacrifice fiscal responsibility in order to get them here," said Haass. "If they can find a better deal somewhere else, more power to them."

Said Councilman Richard Perez: "The bottom line is we need to cover the costs of the facility. What we proposed did that."

Perez said the public viewed the hosting deal provided the Cowboys this year as a "giveaway."

Said Perez: "We're not going to get into that situation (again)."

So, it looks like the arrangement had been a money loser for San Antonio. Too bad.

Update On the New Joe Millionaire

[Update. For the latest post-show updates, click: David Smith, Joe Millionaire 2 - Post Show Update]

----------------------------

Today's Midland Reporter Telegram contains a profile by Georgia Temple, entertainment editor, of David Smith, the former Midlander who is the new Joe Millionaire on the Fox tv show. Ms. Temple provided some information obtained from a Houston Chronicle article of October 20, but she also did some first hand reporting of information from Mr. Smith's friend Nick Benevedes who is a teacher in Lubbock. Here are a few qoutes from the article:

"I was shocked," said longtime friend Nick Benevedes, who teaches school in Lubbock. "I was aware he was going to be in a reality show. He had called me before he left and said if I tried to call him and all I got was his e-mail, that he would be gone for six to eight weeks filming the show. He didn't know what the show was. All we knew was that it was a reality show and that it was with Fox."

Smith was approached the evening "he won the Mesquite rodeo," Benevedes said. "He called me that night. Two females approached him and asked him several questions. 'Are you married? Single? Have any kids?' 'What is this all about,' David asked. They stepped back and took his picture. Then they asked, 'Would you be interested in being on a reality TV show?' He asked, 'What is it all about?"'

When Smith was in Los Angeles, "there were tons of interviewers interviewing thousands of guys," said Benevedes. "We were assuming it was going to be something like a 'Survivor.' After he got picked, he knew where he was going, but he couldn't tell me."

...

"If you know David the way we do, knowing he's a great person, it's hard for him to go in there and portray the guy he is right now and keep a straight face. He's going to be in for the long haul. He's going to end up getting hurt himself because it's going to hurt him to do what he's doing, to lie to those women."

"David's like a guy you'd want your daughter to marry," said Nick Benevedes. "He's a good guy. He's always been straight forward, a good Christian. He's a guy that I've always been able to depend on. If I've needed anything at all, I've been able to call on Dave."

Nick Benevedes also remembered Smith as a "guy that succeeded in everything. I remember as a kid he'd win bowling tournaments and he'd win the junior golf for younger kids in the city. He's always been successful in everything he did. His first hit in high school was a home run."

Monday on Fox at 7:00 p.m. C.S.T.

Update 10/28/03: Last night's show was pretty good. David Smith is a husky, good looking guy who has a lot of mannerisms characteristic of west Texans. There was one scene during which he met each one of the women contestants, but there were not enough chairs for them all. So, David strode across the room, picked up a love seat, hoisted it over his head and carried it back across the room setting it down so that all of the women could have a place to sit. That looked like a fairly normal thing to do. But the British butler rolled his eyes, and another servant shrugged his shoulders. One could get the impression that the European servants are not accustomed to seeing the elites actually exert themselves.

(To see all the items at this weblog about Joe Millionaire 2, click on "Television" either below or in the Categories column on the right. )

Cold Front

A cold front rolled through Midland early this morning. The temperature shown on the back yard thermometer was a chilly 38 degrees - the coldest temperature yet this fall. Brrrrrrr!

Misleading headlines re: Wal-Mart and cleaning contractors' undocumented employees

Today, the print version of the Midland Reporter Telegram contained an AP article by T. A. Badger which had the following headline:

"Federal raids yield arrests of dozens of undocumented Wal-Mart workers in Texas".

And the online version has this as the headline:

"Undocumented Wal-Mart workers arrested in Texas".

These headlines were very misleading, but we have to read farther down into the article to find out that the undocumented workers weren't actually Wal-Mart employees but instead were employees of contractors with whom Wal-Mart had cleaning contracts.

Sometimes I wonder if some reporters understand the difference between employees and contractors. An ancient copy of Black's Law Dictionary provides a pretty good general definition of a contractor:

One who in pursuit of independent business undertakes to perform a job or piece of work, retaining in himself control of means, method and manner of accomplishing the desired result.

Wal-Mart, like millions of other companies in America, apparently engages in the practice of contracting with companies that specialize in cleaning buildings after business hours. The contractor has to meet certain guidelines, but the contractor's employees are the ones who actually do the work, not Wal-Mart's employees. And the contractor is responsible for its employees not Wal-Mart.

Do reporters really understand how businesses operate? Sometimes I wonder.

Bumper Sticker

[Found at Google newsgroup tx.gun] --

Bumper Sticker:

If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you read this in English, thank a Soldier!!

Guns don't kill people. Dogs with guns kill people.

The dog didn't actually kill anybody, but the dog did cause a gun to accidentally discharge. In Athol, Idaho:

So Cindy [Whitaker], who is wheelchair bound, wheeled outside with a pistol. She went to check on her husband's dog, Baby, because she heard some odd noises coming from Baby's doghouse. When she opened the door, baby came rushing out, knocking the gun and Cindy to the ground - Baby then accidentally stepped on the gun and the gun went off.

The bullet is still lodged in Cindy's leg, however, doctor's are hopeful for Cindy's full recovery. As for baby, Cindy and her husband say they hold no ill well towards the animal who was just being a dog. The Whitakers say their accident is a good reminder to gun owners that safety locks on weapons can come undone if a weapon is dropped. Link.

Another incident of a dog causing an accidental discharge to strike a human happened a couple of weeks ago in Mexico. I'm really curious about what kind of guns these were. They must have been awfully easy to shoot. Too easy if you ask me.

Via: Fark

Jessicaswell.com - Deserves a prize!

Jessicaswell.com deserves a prize! What an amazing blog post!

There are going to be people belly aching about the U.S. no matter what we do, and as proof, Jessicaswell provides us with an example of it happening six months after the end of World War II. "Americans Are Losing The Victory in Europe" is the title of the article in the January 7, 1946, issue of Life magazine. It's so eerily similar to what we are hearing today.

This blog posting at Jessicaswell.com is a true blogging phenomenon. Linked by Instapundit.com, AndrewSullivan.com and many others as well as mention by Tony Snow on Fox News Sunday and elsewhere, it has gotten national attention, maybe even world wide attention.

And why? It made a very valid point. It was timely, concise, loaded with irony, had a great graphic and was extremely relevant. It was the ultimate blog post!

And it was an excellent comeuppance to the nay sayers amongst us.

So, I hereby nominate that post as the BEST BLOG POST of 2003, if such a contest exists. And if it doesn't, perhaps some of the mega-bloggers will create a contest so we could all see Jessicaswell get the recognition it deserves.

The Ageless Project

Here's an interesting concept for a web log: the ageless project.

It asks for bloggers to submit their site links and birthdays, and it lists them by birthdate. The oldest blogger on the list was born on 12/29/30, and the youngest was born 5/14/90. Nearly a 60 year spread!

Joe Millionaire 2 - Midland Cowboy

[Update. For the latest post-show updates, click: David Smith, Joe Millionaire 2 - Post Show Update]

----------------------------

"The Next Joe Millionaire: An International Affair" premiered on Fox last night. I missed it, but a friend told me about it - thanks Bob.

The first "Joe Millionaire", the tv reality show, drew 40 million viewers for the finale. So, there had to be a sequel, and with this one they selected 14 European women who did not know about the first one.

Anyway, to the point. The new Joe Millionaire is a guy from Midland! Here's what USA Today said:

David Smith, spotted by producers at a rodeo, plays the role of millionaire. The 24-year-old from Midland, Texas, makes $11,000 a year and lives in a trailer, his income boosted by his dad, who's in the oil business.

Smith watched only the finale of Joe Millionaire, so he wasn't quite sure what he was getting into. "I thought it was a group of guys and a group of girls. I don't watch much TV. When you're on the road, you sleep in the truck a lot.

And here's more of the same from the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

Debuting tonight, it features hunky Texan David Smith, a 24-year-old rodeo cowboy from Midland/Odessa whose $11,000-a-year salary is even smaller than previous JM bachelor Evan Marriott's $19,000. The dirty trick, of course, is that he's pretending to be worth $80 million while wooing 14 European lovelies in a glamorous villa in the Italian countryside.

I've got to remember to set the VCR!

(To see all the items at this weblog about Joe Millionaire 2, click on "Television" either below or in the Categories column on the right. )

Near Earth Asteroid - pushing it aside

Anyone who has ever watched a Discovery Channel program about asteroids probably has a healthy respect for the damage one could do to our way of life if it struck Earth. So, if one is headed this way, what do we do? One theory is to intercept it with a nuclear bomb and blow it into smaller pieces. I suppose then we would be bombarded with a bunch of smaller, radioactive, asteroids.

Well, there's got to be a better way, and here's an intriguing theory from Space.com about an Asteroid Tugboat.

In the grand cosmic scheme of things, it's only a matter of time. Our planet is bound to tangle with an Earth-crossing asteroid, an event sure to make a mess. Some of these space rocks could demolish a city. Other monster boulders, the really big bruisers, could snuff out our civilization.

But why be at the mercy of a menacing asteroid that has Earth in its cross hairs? Now an expert team of astronauts and space scientists has blueprinted a safety strategy for Earth: an asteroid tugboat. The group says NASA is already working on the right recipe of technologies to make the tug a reality. It would be the greatest public safety project in history. Furthermore, they propose a mission to demonstrate the asteroid-tug concept by 2015.

I feel safer already.

"Friday Night Lights" the movie

The movie "Friday Night Lights" based on the book of the same name by H.G. Bissinger, about the 1988 Odessa Permian Panthers football season appears to be on tract. From an article by Raechal Leone dated October 11 in the Odessa American:

Mojo fans might have been too absorbed in the game to notice, but there was a crew of fans from Los Angeles cheering for their team from the sidelines Friday night.

About 20 representatives from the companies behind the upcoming "Friday Night Lights" film — Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment — were there to see Odessa's biggest event of the year first-hand.

"I think that you can never fully capture it without being there in person," Stacey Snider, chairman of Universal Pictures, said.

The film will be based on the H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger book of the same name, which focuses on the Panthers' 1988 season.

The officials blended in with the crowd of local media and coaches and seemed to be catching the Mojo spirit.

Director Peter Berg wore a Permian hat and threw up his fists and gave high fives when the Panthers scored the first touchdown of the night.

Producer Brian Grazer and others in the group carefully watched the players and coaches, stopping to watch them gather in a huddle.

"I think it's so fun living inside the culture of Odessa," said Grazer, who also produced "Apollo 13" here in Texas.

"It's shocking," he said of the crowd.

The crew was also in town to do film tests, or check for lighting and other elements, Snider said.
Crews will probably begin filming footage of games in Odessa toward the end of the year, Grazer said.

[Note: To see all of the items at this weblog about the making of this movie click on the category "Friday Night Lights"].

Identity Theft - poor choice of victim

Man steals identity of sex offender:

Call it a case of mistaken identity theft.

Worried his four drunken driving arrests in Florida would prevent him from getting a Connecticut driver's license, James Perry assumed his neighbor's identity, police said.

...

But when Perry got arrested for disorderly conduct and identified himself as Robert Kowalski, he learned just what kind of trouble surrounded his former neighbor. A routine police background check revealed Robert Kowalksi was a convicted sex offender in Michigan and not registered in Connecticut as required by state law, police said.

Read it at Findlaw.

Gun control - Teutonic Shift in Opinions

A few years ago in the U.S. the anti-gun movement was very strong. Sarah Brady was a prominent national figure, and pro-gun groups such as the NRA were derided as gun nuts. Yet today public opinion seems to have gone against the anti-gun factions. Democratic party politicians seeking office seem to be backing off of the anti-gun stance as that stance in the recent past has driven away too many potential voters. And instead, they are dropping "gun control" in favor of the more user friendly "gun safety".

There are still some strong hard core anti-gun organizations around. And some people can see a televised report about Colin Ferguson shooting unarmed people in a Long Island commuter train and think that the problem resulted from not enough gun control. Yet, many more people wonder what would have been the outcome of only one of those citizens on the subway had a gun and knew how to use it. So, in spite of the hard core anti-gun groups, I think we're witnessing a Teutonic shift in thinking about guns. And it's an impressive thing to watch.

Much of the credit for this shift, I believe, should go to John Lott who has done extensive research and concluded that guns in the hands of honest citizens result in a reduction of crime. I watched a debate on C-SPAN one Sunday afternoon several years ago featuring John Lott and two or three other participants. The main opposition consisted of a statistician who agreed with Lott's overall conclusion but faulted some of Lott's statistical methods (interestingly, Lott is still taking heat for some of his methods). But, the clincher came at the conclusion of the debate. It was a statement by the moderator who apologized for not being able to provide a more spirited debating opponent for John Lott. The moderator said that they had invited the prominent anti-gun organizations to appear at the debate, but no-one would come.

More and more states are adopting "right to carry" laws - see the red states on the map above. And more and more people are coming around to the view that the possession of a gun is not only a right but something that could save a life.

Final Note: The map above, along with other useful information on the right to carry can be found here.

UPDATE: Carolyn McCarthy's husband was killed by Colin Ferguson on that Long Island commuter train in 1993. And she's one of those who decided that strong gun control laws were the way to prevent such an incident from recurring. She ran for Congress as a Democrat in New York state, was elected, and is said to be gearing up for a fight to extend the Assault Weapons Ban. However, she is up for reelection in 2004, and a Newsday.com report suggests that there is a good possibility that Republican James Garner, the black mayor of Hempstead, NY, and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, plans to run against her next year in the tightly balanced Long Island district. As Drudge says "developing...".

Pro Gun Sites Blocked by Symantec Filter

Internet Security is a software program sold by Symantec Corp which is supposed to allow parents to block internet access from their computers for certain sites. The theory is that a parent can block access to porno sites to prevent children from pulling them up on the screen. But, an NRA alert of September 28, 2003, advises that the software blocks access to pro-gun sites but not anti-gun sites. And, there's this:

A Symantec corporate official contacted by ILA staff explained that if certain broad categories are selected to filter, it will block sites such as ours. He said that end users can change the default settings so that specific desired sites are not blocked. Interestingly, however, gun prohibitionist sites such as those for the Brady Center are not blocked in the default setting. Information on anti-gun sites is left virtually unfiltered.

Geeks With Guns (what a great name!) provides a long list of pro-gun websites that were blocked by the software as well as a long list of anti-gun websites that were not blocked. Very interesting.

Yes Boosh , No Sadam

Here's an interesting item. A Manhattan art curator was able to obtain some drawings from Baghdad school kids made shortly after the bombings ended.

Unfortunately, the curator seems to be unable to see the big picture, as he makes statements like this:

"I was catapulted into the depth of the actual crimes committed against the children of Iraq by the Bush administration's 'war on terror.'"

But the pictures probably reflect the kids' true feelings, and those feelings aren't all the same. Anyway, here's the link. (Note, the pictures are supposed to open up larger with Javascript which doesn't work on my computer. And even if it doesn't work for yours, the small size pictures can still be seen.)

More to the story ...

In the post immediately below titled "Sexual Assault Against Minor" I quoted a police department press release regarding the dropping of charges against a person and the arrest of the accuser for filing a false police report. Today's Midland Reporter Telegram has a more comprehensive the story.

The way the facts appear now, the police took the report from the accuser and then approached Alamo Junior High School teacher Prince Rupert Ricker II for a statement. Ricker said he would like to speak with an attorney. The police responded by arresting him and charging him apparently without any investigation beyond taking the accuser's statement.

None of us can read their minds, but it appears as if the police made the assumption of guilt merely because the defendant wanted to do what anyone in that situation would be wise to do, and that was to talk with an attorney.

The defendant then did his own investigation. He read the accusers statement, found inconsistencies, and told his attorney. The attorney then told the police. The police questioned the accuser about the inconsistencies and were unable to reconcile them, and the accuser confessed. At this point the charges were dropped, 38 days after the arrest.

Here's the money graf:

Aaron [MPD Deputy Chief of investigations] said Ricker pointed out some contradictions in the girl's story through his attorney.

"We had our doubts and we re-interviewed the girl," he said. The girl admitted to making false allegations and was arrested, Aaron said.

Well, it's a good thing that the defendant was able to prove his innocence (although some of us have the quaint notion that he shouldn't have had to do that). And, it's a good thing that the police and prosecutor were big enough to acknowledge their mistake. Some real damage to an innocent person could have been done had they not been able to do that.

Sexual Assault Against Minor

One of the things that really gets people fuming is the idea of a deviant sexual predator targeting minors. The very idea is so repugnant that we want to do everything possible to corral these guys.

But, what if the perp was actually innocent? In that regard, here's an interesting press release from the Midland Police Department:

SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES DROPPED Midland Police Detectives and District Attorney Prosecutors learned of new investigative leads into allegations in a one month old Sexual Assault case.

On September 8, 2003, 42-year-old Prince Ricker of Midland was arrested for Sexual Assault of a Child. Late yesterday, the 16-year-old that made the allegations was arrested for making a false report to a peace officer. She has been charged and taken to Culver Youth Center.

Charges of Sexual Assault of a Child against Ricker will be dismissed by the District Attorney's office.

The original report was made to police on September 1, 2003.

Machine Guns - the Thrill of Full Auto Fire Power

Instapundit links to a story in Opinion Journal about a trip to the machine gun shoot at Knob Creek Gun Range (note: the Knob Creek site opens with Java, if that matters to your browser).

The Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot & Military Gun Show is a three day event that occurs twice a year - the last one was Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week, and the next one will be April 9, 10, and 11, 2004. At this event visitors can rent and shoot fully automatic weapons - a treat not often available to most people.

I have not attended this function, but it looks like a great time. I've been fortunate enough to have shot an MP5 and a Tommy gun at the Midland Shooters Association full auto range.

My all time favorite is the Tommy gun, see picture above. The Tommy gun - the gun that put the roar in the roaring 20s - shoots the .45 caliber automatic pistol cartridge, and it's really fun to shoot! There's nothing that compares with the thrill of blasting away with one of those.

In addition to all of the usual cautions regarding gun safety, here's one additional warning. It's not a good hobby for the thrifty. You can burn through a full magazine in a fraction of the time than it takes to load it.

12 Gauge Shotgun for U.S. Army - Preparing for Urban Fighting

The Army's Dismounted Battlespace Battle Lab at Fort Benning, Georgia, has developed and is testing a 12 gauge shotgun system that attaches under the M-4 carbine. By itself it weighs just 2 pounds 11 ounces and is 16.5 inches in length. It fires either a lethal, non-lethal or breaching round.

The immediate plan, when testing is complete, is to field the weapon with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan.

Here's the Army News Service press release.

"The dog ate my homework -

- then shot me."

Mexican shot by his own dog

A Mexican man who was shot in the back and neck says his dog did it.

Juan Evangelista Poot, 22, from Yucatan, told doctors he was outside his house when he was hit.

He turned around and saw that the dog had picked up his gun and was holding it in his mouth, reports Las Ultimas Noticias online.

Mr Poot took himself to the Hospital de la Seguridad Social Federal.

He said: "I don't know how this happened. One minute we were playing and the next he had the gun in his mouth. This dog is my best friend."

A police spokesperson said: "This is the most amazing story I have ever come across. And, so far as we can tell, the man is telling the truth.

"Somehow the dog managed to fire the gun, but it is not like we will arrest him is it?"

From Ananova.

Workers of the world, drink moderately.

COMMIE KAZE - mix vodka, ice and Leninade.

New Texas District 11

The Texas Senate and House have finally passed a redistricting bill which is supposed to go to Governor Perry for signature, reported by the Midland Reporter Telegram.

Here's a map in pdf format showing the new districts. (Cartographers and residents of Sutton County probably wonder why the map shows the district line slicing through Sutton County rather than hugging the county line.)

Midland will be within the new District 11 which covers a sprawling area containing 35 counties which amazingly reaches to the East to within about 25 miles of central Austin.

Here is a list of all 35 counties within the new District 11 -

Andrews, Dawson, Martin, Scurry, Mitchell, Loving, Winkler, Ector, Midland, Glasscock, Sterling, Coke, Runnels, Coleman, Brown, Comanche, Mills, Ward, Crane, Upton, Reagan, Irion, Tom Green, Concho, McCulloch, San Saba, Lampasas, Schleicher, Menard, Mason, Llano, Burnett, Sutton, Kimble, and Gillespie.