On Australia’s Gun Ban Part 2

Oct04
by Mike on October 4, 2017 at 12:07 pm
Posted In: Firearms, Liberty, Politics, The Fallacy of Gun Control
Yesterday, I shared a simple analysis I performed on Australian gun policy and violent crime in Australia some four years ago. It was picked up by a couple of gun rights groups and shared several more times. This resulted in a few folks challenging my findings. I admit that there are a lot of factors left out of consideration that are meaningful. However, the analysis was a simple regression exercise; one dependent and one independent variable. Any good, honest researcher will attest to the fact Read more [...]

How I Changed My Mind on Abortion

May03
by Mike on May 3, 2017 at 4:10 pm
Posted In: Liberty
Like some of you reading this, I once thought that abortion was health care choice that should be left to the woman and her doctor. When I questioned when life became self-sustaining and when it was no longer self-sustaining, I began to see things differently. And yes, social media did play a role in that. You see, the claim that abortion is a woman's choice rest solely on the assumption that the pre-born child is not an individual with rights protected by the Constitution. So when does it Read more [...]

It Was Time for a Change

Jul13
by Mike on July 13, 2015 at 10:55 pm
Posted In: Health & Fitness
Ever since my time in Navy, I have always been a “big boy.” But, this was out of control. At 300 pounds, I was staring down some serious health issues. It was time for a change. During my first couple years on active duty, I went from my super skinny high school weight to a lean and fit 225. And boy was I fit. I scored excellent on PFTs. I was running 3-5 miles a day. I did fully inverted sit-ups for fun. I was basically paid to work out twice a day and I did my job well. And then in Read more [...]

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 [...]