Michigan Public School Creates Separate But Equal Music Class for One 4-Year Old Child

All because her father exercised his legal rights.

A Kalamazoo mother says her daughter has been isolated and bullied all because her father followed the law. As Newschannel 3 reported, the KRESA West Campus was locked down after the father of a 4-year-old legally open carried his gun on campus. Now, the man's wife is speaking out for the first time about the ramifications of that decision. The mother says her daughter refuses to go back to the music class, because she's alone. All of the students have been transferred to another class on a different campus.

So...because a parent exercised his legal right to carry, the school decided that it was going to isolate the child from all of her other classmates. Because...feelings or something.

I remember back when schools created separate but equal facilities for some kids. I guess we're doing that again, huh. Maybe they'll start making this little girl drink at separate water fountains, too.

Forty years ago, Rick Monday saves Old Glory

On another slightly more serious note:

Rick Monday played 19 seasons in the big leagues, made two All-Star squads, appeared in the World Series two times and was a member of the Dodgers' 1981 World Series championship team. He was the first player selected in the first Draft in June 1965.

And Monday is best known for saving an American flag from being burned by two protesters on the outfield grass during a game at Dodger Stadium 40 years ago on Monday.

Rick Monday snatches the American Flag away from two protesters who were about to light it on fire at Dodger Stadium in 1976.

The Perfect Date!

Happy Monday, campers. It's the perfect date!

Chelsea Clinton has this idea that the Supreme Court will "next time" issue the "definitive" ruling.

I guess according to Chelsea, the Heller ruling wasn't "definitive". It must just be sort of a temporary ruling of some sort until the left can come out with the newer, more permanent ruling that is the opposite.

If the individual right to bear arms is important to you, Hillary ain't your candidate.

Prince is Dead

Wow.

I was never a big fan of Prince, but I do acknowledge he was a big time music icon. I'm not saying I didn't like his stuff. I"m just saying I didn't go out of my way to listen to it.

He was legend, though.

 He is pretty damn good at playing the guitar.

Harriet Tubman to Replace Andrew Jackson on $20 Bill; Alexander Hamilton Gets to Stay

So, okay. 

So Andrew Jackson is getting the boot. Not that I really care who is on my paper money, anyway. For what it's worth, I'm all in favor of a gun-toting, Christian, Republican woman getting some face-time on some currency.

Also, as I mentioned on Twitter, I'm sure that Ol' Hickory is probably glad to be off currency issued by a central bank, as he wasn't a big fan of central banking.

I guess now the Federal government will start the removal process and Jackson will just have to pack up all his stuff and march off to some other less desirable place without any sort of say-so in the process...

I doubt many tears will be shed for him.

20 Photographic Highlights of the Luftgekuhlt Porsche Show

Luftgekuhlt means "air-cooled", which is what every pre-1999 Porsche was. Enjoy.

I do love the classic lines.

70% of Marine Corps Hornet Strike Fighters Aren't Ready to Fly

Out of 276 F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters in the Marine Corps inventory, only about 30% are ready to fly, according to statistics provided by the Corps. Similarly, only 42 of 147 heavy-lift CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters are airworthy.

Thirty percent ready to fly is a statistic I would expect from some third-world country, not the United States Marine Corps.

The Marines are the tip of the spear for our armed forces, but that spear is starting to look rusty and dull. You can't have a well-trained fighting force when only 30% of their aircraft are ready to fly.

But hey, we got women on the front lines. That ought even things out, right?

"Sort of 1776 in reverse"

A rising number of Britons say they are offended that the U.S. president will try to persuade them to stay in the European Union, just as a poll indicates the “Out” forces have pushed into the lead in the national vote. “If the American people aren’t happy with foreign heads of state or politicians telling them how to vote, then they shouldn’t be happy with their head of state lecturing other countries,” said Rory Broomfield, director of the “Better Off Out” campaign to leave the European Union.

He described Mr. Obama’s pressure as “sort of 1776 in reverse.”

What It's Like To Be A U.S. Marine Watching Over The White House

This video breaks down a day in the life of the most badass doorman in America.

Some Thoughts on Self Defense and the Bible

As someone who is an advocate for self-defense, and therefore carrying arms, I am obliged to think about self-defense and when it's appropriate and when it's not.

Certainly, it makes sense for anyone who carries arms for self-defense to think about these things before they are in a situation where quick action is needed. You can't call time-out to sort out your thoughts on self-defense. You need to already have though about what you are willing to do, or not do.

To avoid thought on this topic is in itself poor preparedness, as having the right mindset is a significant part of self-defense, as much as being armed.

In that regard, one source of thought that I turn to (among others) is the Bible. I was having a back-and-forth over at Brad's Bar and Grill about self-defense and someone brought up the admonition in the Sermon on the Mount to "turn the other cheek". I see that admonition as not resorting to violence in the face of an insult or a rebuke. Simply being insulted is not grounds for violence. If you're insulted, simply allow that person to insult you again.

As I see it, an insult or a slap in the face is not the same as a serious attack on your life. Accordingly, I don't agree with the old ethics of having a duel to defend your honor like they had back in the Napoleonic Era. Dueling for honor isn't something that I would have participated in. You simply turn the other cheek.

At a later point, Brad brought up the question of what Jesus would the say about Good Samaritan, if he had encountered the robbers in the act. Should the Good Samaritan have intervened, or should he have waited and then helped the man. Apparently, someone thought this was a difficult question. It's not. You help people. Need some controlling authority?

Psalm 82:4 "Rescue the weak and the needy; Deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

However, I don't think we mere mortals should get too carried away with ourselves. Having the means to defend yourself does not necessarily make you all-powerful. Don't trust your tools too much. At the end of the day, you have to realize that you're not in control. Even David, before he killed Goliath said:

“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

My thoughts on self-defense put these two passages from the Bible together. Do what you can to protect the weak and the needy, but realize that you’re not in control of everything. Don’t trust yourself and your arms to the exclusion of God and his plan.

Your mileage may vary.

Trump's Comments on Abortion

His comments on abortion illustrate one of the (many) horrible things about Trump, and regardless of what your position is on abortion, I think you'll agree with me on the following:

It’s painfully obvious that Trump has not really given more than 1.6 seconds of thought to the abortion issue, and he just sort of made things up on the spot.

Leaving aside the substance and the abortion debate itself, it’s clear that Trump has never actually studied the issue, read anything about all of the metaphorical cease-fires and truces that both sides of the abortion debate have sort of worked out in the larger context of the debate. He hasn’t thought about the issue at all, so he’s reduced to sort of just winging it. And he does that with everything.

I see it as both arrogance and laziness. He’s arrogant enough that he just assumes that he can get by without really having a deep understanding of an issue, and he’s not intellectually disciplined enough to actually take time to come to a deep understanding of an issue. I find both of it terribly offensive given the enormous magnitude and power of the office he’s running for.

He just doesn’t care to study that hard. But hey, maybe that’s part of Trump’s appeal to some people. Maybe the thing I find to be a bug is a feature to others.

There are lots of people out there who don’t think hard about the issues and just sort of make stuff up on the spot. Maybe Trump doing the same thing appeals to them on some level.

But hey, I’ve given up on the 2016 election. It’s really very freeing.

I kind of feel like Lt. Spears when he runs through all the fire when E Company takes Foy. He’s just already accepted that he’s a dead man.

Gun Sales Continue to Set Records

March 2016 sets another record for gun sales.

(And I didn't even buy any guns in March!)

Book Review: Master and Commander

For the last few years, almost all of my pleasure reading has been non-fiction. I really enjoy reading about military history, and inevitably, reading a book focused on one topic sparks my interest in an ancillary topic, so I've sort of being going from book to book in an odd method of free association.

For instance, I read some books about General Patton, which led me to want to read about him more as a young man in WWI, which led me to read more generally about WWI, which led me to read more about MacArthur (who also fought in WWI), which got me interested in his rivalry with Halsey, which sparked my interest in reading something about Admiral Halsey.

However, I wanted to take a little break from all the non-fiction, and I have a few friends how really like the Aubrey/Maturin series, and since I was trending toward naval warfare anyway, this seemed like a good fit.

I was heavily advised to start at the beginning of all the books, which seemed natural enough to me. The first is Master and Commander, which I have just finished. (Note, the movie Master and Commander: Far Side of the World is sort of an amalgamation of many different books.)

My review of the book is below:

April Showers [Art Open Thread]

Happy Friday. Please return your seat-backs to their locked and upright position, as the pilot is on final approach to the weekend.

Rain in Belle-lle, Claude Monet - 1886

April showers...