Keeping schools safe.

Once again, innocent people have been killed, and national attention is being brought to the issue. I've listened enough and watched enough video, that I feel the need to clarify some things.

The two large themes that have been brought up are: a. There needs to be a real conversation about mental illness. b. Gun control in general.

Mental illness is stigmatized in this country. Its nuances are very tricky, and the different types of illness are wide-ranging. Some illnesses are harmless to others, and have simple solutions. Some cause unpredictable, frightfully violent behavior.

One of the problems that is brought up in the debate about a mental health solution to public mass shootings, is that the mental health community would be required to readily provide medical records to the police. If someone who is depressed or has a legitimate problem is considering getting help, they will be less likely to go visit a psychiatrist if they think that it will result in a SWAT raid in the middle of the night.

The number of people who seek help will drop dramatically, and many legitimate problems will go untreated.

Now, that may not actually ever happen, but the possibility will definitely loom in the mind of a person suffering enormous stress. I know of one case where a Military Police officer was punished after seeking psychological help. Andy Brown was an MP at Fairchild Air Force Base when an unstable person entered the base hospital and started shooting people. Brown killed the man in the parking lot outside the hospital. After the shooting, Andy started having some psychological problems, which were normal reactions to such an event.

The day after he visited the psychiatrist, his duty weapon was taken away, and he was assigned to a desk job. He didn't visit the shrink again after that, though he continued to have problems.

For a full review of the incident, go here.

In addition, the mental health debate has been going on ever since Charles Whitman's shooting in Austin. There is an urge to try to understand these senseless acts, and a lot has been learned about the various shooters, and any warning signs or patterns that have been observed. However, many atrocities have been committed since the debate started, and so the mental health method of preventing mass shootings has not been perfected yet.

There are steps that can be taken right now that would make schools safer, I'll get to that in a bit.

The other topic that is being thrown around right now is gun control. Since the public can tell that mental illness is an extremely complex topic, the logically easier solution would be to pass some more gun laws. They can be passed, and take effect as early as next summer, after all.

I'll do another post about some of problems with passing more gun control laws, but right now I will just mention that AR-15 rifles have been the best selling rifles in America for the past few years, concealed carry is at an all-time high, and so any efforts to create more laws are going to have a much stronger resistance than in the 90's.


So keeping in mind that an acceptable mental health solution isn't perfected yet, and the new gun control laws aren't likely to pass, how can we make our schools safer?

In every state, there is a law that says it is illegal to have a gun on school property. There is included a list of people who are exempt from that law, typically police officers on duty, active duty military, federal law enforcement officers, etc. . .

To make our schools safer, go to that law and add "Any person with a valid concealed weapon permit".

That's it.

It would cost the state nothing, it would cost the schools nothing, because the cost of getting a permit is incurred by the individuals seeking the permit.

Now, every teacher isn't going to jump on this program, but a few will.

There arguments against this. "There are some teachers I wouldn't trust with a yardstick." "Teachers aren't trained with guns, a gun would just get taken away from them." "If teachers just start blasting away, then they will hit more people than the bad guy"

Remember, this proposal isn't for the government to hand out guns to every teacher, it is to allow anyone who wishes to get a permit, to legally have their weapon with them at school. These people would have virtually no criminal history and would have passed any state mandated training. Concealed weapon permits get revoked at a rate of less than 1%, and CCW permit holders pass through life in public every single day without problems.

But why can't we just rely on police to protect the kids?

If there were a police officer in every school, every day, it would have a deterrent effect and the officers would be able to stop a massacre. However, the police don't work for free.

Everyone of those officers cost $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 dollars per year. Would the district pay the cost, or the police department? It's not likely that we would be able to find the money to double or triple the police force in some areas, especially since some jurisdictions have cut back the police budget.

So the reality is that police will respond as fast as they can, as soon as a 911 operator is notified. But is one, two, or three minutes fast enough?

Let's look at some video of people getting attacked, and notice how quickly the situation unfolded.

Here is a shop owner in Turkey, if you don't want to hear the commentary then mute your computer.

Warning: People get stabbed, and the stabber gets shot. Footage starts at 30 seconds.



How could any honest person tell this shop owner that the only action he should have taken was to call the police.

Let's look at this video of a woman whose shop is about to get attacked by an armed robber.



Did this woman have time to call for police, and wait for them to arrive? If she had no weapon, who knows what that man would have done once he got inside the store?

Here is a home invasion in Arizona. 



What would have happened if he had to wait for police?



Allowing teachers to be armed, if they wish to be, is an issue of practicality.

 Allowing teachers to be armed, and then publicizing the policy change, may be the one thing that actually prevents future shootings. A killer looking to grab headlines by shooting many people, will not target a school if he knows he won't get very far. They want to kill, not get into a gun battle.

The debate will continue to rage, politicians and pundits will argue on television, mental health may get discussed, gun control laws will be proposed and fail, but in the meantime, let's take a step that will actually keep our children safe at school.

My two bits on the colorado shooting

Having been a communication major, I notice the way things are phrased in news reports.

In a CNN opinion piece,  this guy made the claim that "And in a crowded setting, such as the movie theater clouded with tear gas and smoke, it would be virtually impossible to distinguish the bad guy with a gun from the good guys with their guns."

This claim is tossed out as an automatic reaction, to discourage people from carrying guns for personal protection. While it may be accurate sometimes, the 'virtually impossible' line is misleading. Every situation is different, but most of time it's pretty easy to tell who the murderer is.

When someone says that it would be virtually impossible to distinguish between good and bad, the implication is that it would be virtually impossible for the POLICE to distinguish, because the police will surely be arriving any second, and therefore you really don't need to carry a gun.

Of course in this case, the police showed up in time to grab the guy as he was getting into his car in the parking lot.

But as even more striking evidence that the line is at best a knee jerk reaction, and at worst a deliberate deception, see this video.

It is a video of a crowded business, where there are two men with guns. Do you think these patrons were confused about who was good or bad?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t5f5AwkkiY





 In this case it was pretty easy, in some cases it might not be so easy to distinguish, but it's wrong to lie in order to discourage people from taking responsibility for themselves.

A Crusader Weaponry video.

This is from the most recent rifle class. The next class coming up is a shotgun course on July 10th. $200, contact George Hill through MadOgre.com

Post Graduation

School is OVER!!!!! Now I can focus all my energies on investigating employment opportunities, and of course, actually becoming employed for money.


But yesterday I got to go out and film a Defensive Pistol Class for Crusader Weaponry, I plan on using this footage, to experiment with Motion, Livetype, etc. . . to make some cool promos and commercials for them.

But yesterday, in addition to creating some professional opportunities, I go to to shoot my gun a little. I got a major confidence boost when Larry Correia genuinely and persistently complimented my shooting accuracy.

Here is a video of me doing a fun exercise called the Zombie Drill. It makes feel good about practicing magazine changes so much in my spare time.

Enjoy. Go to my youtube channel or facebook to see more videos of the pistol class.

Also stay tuned for more videos to come.

It's availabe in HD, so if you want to see me reload in incredible detail, you can.

A new level of communication

KC learned a new word today.

Antelope Island Buffalo Run

My beautiful wife had signed up to run a race a few months ago, and then promptly developed foot pain and was unable to continue training. It was sad.

The race was today, and we went out to Antelope Island to claim our race packet, and just do something fun outside this week.

We found a hiking trail that just happened to be the route that everyone was running.

By the time we got hiking it was just about nap time, and for whatever reason, he just didn't want to be in his external frame baby backpack.






But after thrashing around for a few minutes, I took that video. Then I showed him the video, and he thought it was funny to see a baby crying like that, and calmed down.

He ended up having fun, though he got a little toasted, because he hates wearing hats.









That place is fun. You basically go back in time to see how Utah looked when the Pioneers rolled in. It's a very pretty, rugged, desolate place, and you can visit for only 9 dollars a day. It's very pleasant in March. Go check it out sometime.

Genius

Sometimes people throw around the word GENIUS to refer to entertainers, especially with Saturday Night Live. 'Tina Fey is a genius' 'Will Ferrel is a genius' 'Mike Myers is a genius'

I don't think that being good at making people laugh makes you a genius.





However.






This OKGO video is pure Genius



This Too Shall Pass






This Marching Band Version is awesome too, put on headphones and crank up the sound when you watch it.


This Too Shall Pass

Old stuff

I was going through some old pictures for a class the other day, and I found this video that I had someone take at the Sugar bowl in New Orleans. It's called Push, and for the two years I played the tenors, it was the bane of my existence. My hands and arms would always seize up at the tenor solo because of the fast sixtuplet notes. I had a hard time getting the sticks from drum 3 all the way on the right to drum 4 all the way on the left. I swear that I tried to relax my arms so that I could play lighter, and therefore faster, but my forearms would seize up. I would have to muscle my way through the crampy arm muscles, which meant I played harder, which meant a loss of control and so it was always really dirty.

However. This night in New Orleans, we hadn't played really heavily for a few weeks, but it was at the end of the season, I was strong, there was no pressure to perform, only to have fun, and it was really warm. So as you can see, I was able to spit out those notes, my hands were really loose which let the heights of the sticks go way up, but I had enough strength to get the ends of the sticks back down on the head to play the music in time. And it was clean.

Just looking at that video now, I feel good that I finally did conquer that freaking cadence after two years of trying, and that it got recorded so I can go back to see it.

Mormons Tend to be in shape

I'm a pretty glaring exception, of course.

But one reason why we may be slimmer is that most LDS churches have a gym inside them. So if you get bored in sunday school, you can take a few laps around the gym, which is what KC likes to do.

Weird alarm

I was leaving class last night and noticed an alarm console by the door as i was leaving. I don't know what it is supposed to be monitoring, but whatever it is, it's very dirty.

Good Drum Corps

This is the Cavaliers amazing show from 2002. Awesome.





This is the James Bond show from 2004. The Cavaliers are so physical, is it any wonder that when you meet a Cavalier in real life, they are skinny as a rail? Could you imagine rehearsing this show for half a day? Whew.


The University of Utah has been trying out some new moves with their Appalachian Spring, and I say good job. Audience, we should applaud their efforts so we can see more cool stuff.

AR-15s aren't reliable and AK-47's are

Right?




Well, the AR won't do as good.




Hmm. . .

Shooting between Conference

We were in Manti for Conference weekend and went shooting. It was going to be really fun, except we forgot to bring the watermelon and giant zucchini that we were going to shoot. Or the 2 liter bottle on a string to practice hitting a moving target with. Oops. But we did set up a version of the Ogre Zombie Drill. Here is a video of Kristen doing the Zombie as well as one that involves reloading. I can't remember if it's the Farnam drill, or the Bill Drill, but any way here they are.

Police Impostor?

This first photo was taken on my parent's street. It's the area on the Wasatch Front just north of Little Cottonwood Canyon. I liked it because it's so green, and the clouds were making such cool shadows on the mountain side. It reminded me that I want to live somewhere close to nature.




These photos were of something that I thought looked suspicious. First of all, it's an old Impala, the kind that police agencies are trading in for this year's model. The light bar on top looks old and beat up, like it's really dusty, and the plexiglass looks faded and scratched. If it was part of a real police force, they would keep it clean and professional looking. The thing that really makes me suspicious is the un-named aspect of this car. The shield on the door has a weird color to it, like its cheap and has been in the sun too long, plus its a STICKER! Or a magnet. But its just stuck onto the car! The one on the back is really obvious, and all they say is POLICE. Not Salt Lake, not West Valley. Plus its got a U.S. Government License. Local police have state plates with an EX on them, and the FBI or DHS wouldn't drive a surplus patrol car with the words POLICE stickered onto the side. If this Guy tries to pull you over, I would call the real cops, and don't cooperate with the impersonator.



Here is exclusive Blue Devils video that they are trying to keep away from prying eyes. Its an exercise so revolutionary that if anyone else tried it, they would win every time they competed.

And finally, to give the public what it wants, a video of KC and grandma.






---Update--- A police guy said that it is a real police car. There is a statewide police training seminar and that car was probably from a smaller department that doesn't have a budget to buy the newest cars. The police guy said if you aren't sure if the policeman is the real deal, you can ask to see identification, and there is a number you can call if you want verify the authenticity of a highway patrol car that's pulled you over.

some pictures

here are some pictures I've taken over the last little while with my cell phone.

GUNS!

Are great! Our ward sponsored a shotgun shoot yesterday, and it was really fun. I discovered that the mini glock is a good fit for kristen's hand. One of the counselors in our bishopric has a glock 27, which is a .40 caliber. Those little glocks are the only ones that feel good in my hand, as well. I thought since it is a double stack magazine, that kris would be unable to reach the trigger, but she really liked the way it fit, and with the heavier .40 cal bullet she said it felt the same as my too-big-for kristen sig 9mm. We also shot our elder's quorum president's F2000, which looks like a squirt gun, this photo is of me commenting on how weird that gun was. If you needed a gun to be really small, then this would work just fine, plus it uses AR15 magazines, so its mags and bullets are compatible with other rifles and bullets that are common in america. Dan had an EOTac sight on it that was sighted in just perfectly. Still, a weird looking gun. Must be a pain to take apart. I keep saying that if i'm ever going to spend that much money on a fighting rifle, I'd like to go for the sig 556, but I'm not going to be making that much money for a while, so I really should not think about it too much until I'm in a position to do something about it. Maybe I should get a job at a PR firm like Dan so I can support my family and pay my debts first. I shot dan's new xcr, and it was pretty sweet, and its a salt lake company, robinson arms. The only guns in our future are ones that kristen will like to shoot, so we can go shooting together and both enjoy ourselves. Like a revolver and a shotgun. I also got to shoot an HK USP compact .40, i didn't like it. The glock was more comfortable, even though its tiny. The HK just wanted to fly back and hit me in the face. My sig was the most comfortable for me. (Duh, thats why I bought it) Shotguns are really versatile and fun, because you can do skeet shooting. The first one i shot was a really lightweight, expensive feeling beretta semi auto. It kicks, not the hardest, pretty kind of hard, it would take some getting used to. Then I shot an old Browning Over and Under that was purchased by the owner's granddad when he was a young go-getter. It was kept in really good shape. Alex calls it the "Peacemaker". It was a little heavier than the beretta, and was much more comfortable to shoot. Until I accidentally shot both barrels at the same time, that was a little bit of a surprise. Billy in the red sweatshirt is holding the peacemaker, and kristen is in the background trying to unjam the beretta.

Cute Baby Video

Kay has discovered the internet. Well, the modem to be specific.

Little Boys are wired to destroy.