Unions Serve a Purpose

Jan06
by Mike on January 6, 2014 at 11:30 pm
Posted In: Liberty, Politics
A teacher’s union in Michigan is fighting to get a $10,000 severance package for a convicted child molester whose case drew outrage earlier this year when his former school colleagues pleaded with a judge to sentence him lightly (source: Fox News). I am not surprised by this. Nor do I fault the union. The union is doing exactly what I expect it to. It is protecting the the interests of its members. Unions do not exist to protect the interests of their members' customers. They never have. Read more [...]

A Simple Regression Analysis of Crime Rates and Gun Policy in Australia

Dec20
by Mike on December 20, 2013 at 1:45 am
Posted In: Firearms, The Fallacy of Gun Control
Gun control advocates often to point to Australia’s 1996 gun ban success as rationale for restricting firearms in the United States. They’ll often tout Australia’s reduced homicide rate to justify the claims of success. A simple regression analysis tells a much different story. A quick look at a time series plot of Australia’s homicide rate leads one to believe that the 1996 gun ban has been effective at reducing crime. The 1993 rate is 1.88 homicides per 100,000 while the 2011 rate is Read more [...]

Duck Dynasty Debacle Demonstrates Ignorance

Dec19
by Mike on December 19, 2013 at 1:58 am
Posted In: Liberty, Politics
Some time ago, my brother introduced me to this redneck family in Louisiana called the Robertsons. They make these duck calls. They also have this "reality" TV show on A&E. Or least "they" used to. Patriarch Phil Robertson made some comments in an interview for GQ magazine that sent some folks into a tizzy. Then A&E effectively fired him and even more folks went into a tizzy. Seems most everyone's got their feathers ruffled in some way or another. And most everyone's upset for the Read more [...]
└ Tags: , ,

Let’s Regulate Guns Like We Do Cars!

Nov21
by Mike on November 21, 2013 at 11:15 pm
Posted In: Firearms, Liberty, The Fallacy of Gun Control
I often hear folks cite the level of vehicle regulation in the United States as justification to increase firearms regulation. Do they really want to regulate firearms like we do cars? I'm not so sure they understand what they are asking for. The folks asking for gun regulation similar to vehicle registration say things like: You have to buy insurance to drive. Why shouldn't you have to buy insurance to have a gun? When you buy your car, you have to register it. Why shouldn't you have to Read more [...]

My Veterans Day Hero

Nov12
by Mike on November 12, 2013 at 12:15 pm
Posted In: Sea Stories
I met a hero yesterday. I was fortunate enough to be an honored guest at Walnut Ridge High School's Veterans Day Celebration where I met a couple of Army recruiters. We talked about our young people and the difficulties they are having recruiting. While these two soldiers are indeed heroes, neither one is my hero of the day. I was also able to meet some awesome young people. They talked about what they wanted to study in college. One young lady wanted to pursue a technical job in the Air Read more [...]