Cooperating with Criminals Doesn’t Keep You Safe

Violent criminals will remain violent no matter what you do. Teen pleads not guilty to murder of Lexington gas station clerk.

Police arrested Bredhold yesterday afternoon. They say on Monday, he went into a Marathon station, demanded money from the clerk, Mike Patel, and even though Patel appeared to be cooperating, shot him anyway. They say he grabbed cash from the register and ran.

Mr. Patel was pronounced dead at the hospital after being discovered by a customer.

Cooperation in the face of violence is a strategy. It is not a guarantee. Self-defense is also a strategy. It also lacks a guarantee. “There are no guarantees in this life save death and next winter’s snows.” I am not blaming anyone except the person who pulled the trigger.

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

Even in Chicago, self-defense works. Police: Robber killed in exchange of gunfire, 2 others killed on South Side – chicagotribune.com.

Police say 25-year-old Demarcus Brandon tried to rob the store, in the 1700 block of East 87th Street, but was shot dead by the clerk about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Brandon was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Police found a handgun they believed to be his.

He was out on parole when he attempted to rob the store. He was serving time for a 13-year sentence for armed robbery with a firearm, and other offenses.

Faced with a violent criminal, the clerk of the store decided to defend himself. He acted with the law (self-defense). And what he did was morally justified. Self-defense is a human-right.

Uruguay Opts Out of the War on Some Drugs

Doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome is one definition of insanity. The War On Drugs is one example of that particular kind of insanity. Uruguay votes to legalize marijuana – The Washington Post.

Lawmakers in the small South American nation of Uruguay voted Tuesday to legalize and regulate marijuana, going further than any other country in the world toward decriminalizing the plant and lifting the stigma from its use.

With the move, Uruguay leaps to the forefront of nations that have sought alternatives to criminal anti-narcotics enforcement, frustrated with the human and economic costs of fighting a drug war that rarely shows signs of progress.

Don’t expect Washington to wake any time soon.

More on Grace Hopper

Shortly after she retired from the Naval Reserve, she appeared on David Letterman. Interesting interview.

Rear Admiral Grace Hopper – In Honor of Her Birthday: December 9, 1906

Grace Hopper (Amazing Grace) has to be one of my favorite people of the 20th Century.  Google celebrated her birthday (yesterday) with a Google Doodle. This post was compiled in 2006. (So some of the links might be broken.)

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Not very many women were getting degrees in mathematics in 1928. (Not many are doing so today.) Grace Hopper got her MA in 1930 and a PhD. in 1934. She joined the Naval Reserve in 1943. Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was a pioneer. She was one of the founders of modern computing.

Grace Hopper was the one who said, “It’s always easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” (This is one of my favorite quotes.)

Grace Murray Hopper often presented a piece of wire about a foot long, and explained that it represented a nanosecond, since it was the maximum distance electricity could travel in wire in one-billionth of a second. She often contrasted this nanosecond with a microsecond – a coil of wire nearly a thousand feet long – as she encouraged programmers not to waste even a microsecond.

Have you ever wondered where the term “computer bug” comes from? The Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator stopped working in September 1945. Lieutenant Junior Grade Hopper (who was always good with gadgets) was one of those who took it apart piece by piece until a moth was found stuck between the contacts of relay number 70. The log entry says “First actual case of bug being found,” and the word went out that the machine had been “debugged.” [click on the image for a large view of the log and the bug.]

Although programmers the world over love-to-hate COBOL (the COmmon Business Oriented Language), it was one of the first compiled languages.

Perhaps [Grace Hopper’s] best-known contribution to computing was the invention of the compiler, the intermediate program that translates English language instructions into the language of the target computer.

Her compiler lead directly to the development of COBOL; a major step into the modern world of computing we know today. And there is still a VERY good chance that COBOL wrote your last pay check, printed your last bank statement, tracks your car insurance, …

Amazing Grace even has US Naval vessel named in her honor. The USS Hopper (DDG-70) is a 500 ft. long AEGIS Class Guided Missile Destroyer, generates 100,000 shaft horsepower and was commissioned on 6 September 1997. The ship’s motto is “AUDE ET EFFICE” which translates to “Dare and Do,” a favorite phrase of Rear Admiral Hopper’s when giving advice.

Grace Murray Hopper died in 1992 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, having become the first woman to hold the rank of rear admiral. Grace Hopper’s military awards and decorations include:

• Defense Distinguished Service Medal
• Legion of Merit
• Meritorious Service Medal
• American Campaign Medal
• World War II Victory Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• Armed Forces Reserve Medal with two Hourglass Devices
• Naval Reserve Medal

The Navy, fittingly, has named its Data Automation Center in San Diego after her.

$10.5 Billion Loss on GM Stock – Your Tax Dollars At Work

The bailout: U.S. sells rest of GM stock – latimes.com.

Taxpayers take a $10.5-billion loss on the bailout of the automaker.

It wasn’t a bailout of the automaker – it was a bailout of the union. The UAW (and maybe some associated folks) are the only ones who came out ahead in that deal. In a real bankruptcy – what we should have seen – the contracts would have been up for review. Couldn’t have that.

The Criminal Justice System – Still Acting Criminal

Just when you thought Rampart was behind us, LA jumps to the front on authorities abusing authority. Los Angeles sheriff's officials charged in jail misconduct probe | Reuters.

Eighteen current or former members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have been charged with corruption and civil rights violations in a probe of inmate abuse inside the United States’ largest county jail system, federal prosecutors said on Monday.

Four indictments and a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday include accusations that sheriff’s deputies subjected inmates and visitors at two downtown Los Angeles lockups to unjustified beatings or detentions and tried to cover up their wrongdoing.

This isn’t one or 2 folks having a bad day. This is a group of people doing bad things, and then trying to cover it up. And no one with real authority will be called to be responsible.

Soundtracks

I am in a very soundtrack-mood this weekend.

“Battle Without Honor or Humanity.” From Kill Bill Vol. 1, it is the music that accompanied O-Ren Ishii’s arrival at the House of Blue Leaves.

This is Hybrid’s remix of “Saladin” from The Kingdom of Heaven. Hey, it isn’t part of the soundtrack (as the original would put even me to sleep). This version at least some energy. And I do love Hybrid

News Flash: Politicians Lie

Reversal: Obama acknowledges living with Kenyan uncle in 1980s – CBS News.

The White House acknowledged Thursday that President Obama briefly lived with his Kenyan uncle as he prepared to attend Harvard Law School, despite insisting in 2011 that there was no record of the two ever meeting.

Shocking. A Chicago politician caught in a bold faced lie. Nothing will come of it.

The most interesting quote…about this issue, “Nobody spoke to the president.” Seems like no one speaks to this President. Not about matters of fact. Not about Healthcare.gov. Not about scandals and whatnot. Makes you wonder who is running the show.

Opening Scene of “The Replacement Killers”

This is a musical interlude in disguise. The song is “Keep Hope Alive” by Crystal Method. They tend to do a lot of soundtracks. (The Matrix, and Blade Trinity come to mind.)

The Replacement Killers was the first movie John Woo made in America. He produced, not directed. Antoine Fuqua directed.

It stars Chow Yun-Fat, and Mira Sorvino. With some notable supporting characters. It is an excellent action movie, and deserved to do better at the box-office.

I Know I’m Behind the Times, But Was Detroit’s Bankruptcy Really That Newsworthy?

A Google News search on “Detroit bankruptcy” makes it sound like the courts were going to ignore reality.

The simple truth is Detroit IS bankrupt. My guess is that Illinois (new pension rules notwithstanding), California and a number of other states and cities are also bankrupt – or on the edge. It isn’t going to get any better.

Detroit cannot make its payments. Hasn’t been able to for some time. Needs to reorganize. Is it fair? Probably not. But then I can’t seem to locate my copy of the “Life is Fair™” guarantee.

Was it fair when the Indiana police and fire pensions lost out in the GM “restructuring?” No. Or all the bond holders got thrown under the bus in favor of the unions? No. Is it fair that parents in Detroit have to send their kids to schools that have left the city about 40 percent functionally illiterate?

It isn’t fair that the politicians of Detroit have overseen the destruction of its tax base, the decimation of the police force, the deterioration of roads and public services. But it is reality. You can hide from reality only so long, then it rears if ugly head and knocks some sense into you. If you are lucky. But it doesn’t treat you fairly.

The Tea Party Making Itself Ridiculous

There are idiots in every movement, but the Tea Party has stopped being about taxes and morphed into the religious right. Tea Party Activist Upset that Atheists, Wiccans, Muslims Allowed in US (Video).

I’m not sure that is even fair, since I some of the people on the religious right are in FAVOR of freedom of religion. The woman profiled in the linked article – spokeswoman of the Tea Party News Network – was apparently upset that freedom of religion meant that non-Christians were allowed in the US.

And of course being a member of the religious right, she has to take a swipe at abortion. Which at last count didn’t count as a tax-related issue in anybody’s lexicon.

Now I have no idea who this person is, so whether she actually represents the feelings of the majority of Tea Party members or not, who can say. But if the Tea Party is really about taxes, they should stick to that issue. Otherwise they should change their name to the “far right religious Christian party.” It would be more honest.

2Hour Wait for 911 Response

He was shocked to learn that there wasn’t an officer ready to aid him at a moments notice. 10News – San Diego homeowner wants change to 911 response times – 10News.com – News.

He could not believe the answer he got from 911 when he called to report someone trying to break into his house. No one could respond.

The dispatcher said all units were responding to a call of a shooting near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Ysidro.

As this was happening, a stranger was banging on the Warrens’ security door.

“It went on for 20 minutes before he left, but it was several hours before we got police response in our area,” Warren said.

Calling 911 is a fine thing, and it will often bring you the help you need. But not always. And in too many instances, victims won’t be able to call 911 before the bad things happen.

Calling 911 is a strategy. In this case, the quality of the door defeated the person trying to break in. But it could have worked out differently. There are other strategies for dealing with this kind of thing. One of which is being armed. Even if the police can get to you in 5 or 10 minutes, that is still a lot of time for bad things to happen.

Medical Insurance is NOT Equivalent to Medical Care

Somewhere along the line people began thinking that if they had medical insurance, they would be assured medical care. The two are distinct, and in the process of becoming unrelated. New York physician says Obamacare ‘chaos’ for doctors.

The administration released a 50-state report Tuesday morning saying that nearly 1.5 million people had been found eligible for Medicaid during October, far outpacing enrollment eligibility in subsidized private coverage. But as Obamacare puts more people in the Medicaid system, Grace said fewer doctors are treating Medicaid patients.

“The problem is, who’s going to care for you when you have Medicaid?” he said. “For an hour-and-15-minute evaluation of a cancer patient, I get $6.50. That won’t even pay for the electricity. What kind of physician will you get … what kind of specialist will you get?”

Doctors are “already leaving in droves from accepting Medicare,” he said. “They’re going to concierge practices. They’re limiting the number of Medicare patients they take. They’re taking only commercial insurance plans, and the premier physicians are taking no insurance at all.”

So you have Medicare or Medicaid. If you can’t find a doctor to treat you, are you any better off than if you were uninsured?

Speaking of Socialized Medicine… The UK’s NHS

The state of the NHS in the United Kingdom. It isn’t good. 'Disturbingly poor care is too common in NHS', says chairman of Mid-Staffs inquiry – Telegraph.

Brain tumors ignored. Anorexics starving to death. A blind woman left without food or water.

This is what happens when you the bureaucrats in charge of health care.

Death Panels in the UK

The UK had this “end of life” protocol known as The Liverpool Care Pathway. It resulted in thousands of people dieing of thirst, or starving. It seems it is back, with a twist. Liverpool Care Pathway being ‘rebranded’ not axed – Telegraph.

Under the new proposals, any patients unable to swallow could be denied food and fluids by tubes unless a hospital team decides it is in their “best interests” to have them.

So a team (or panel) from the hospital will decide if it is in your best interest to die of dehydration. Or starve. Lovely.

But then is what happens when you put the government in charge of health care.