Token

I've been busy and haven't made time to blog amongst the continued onslaught of work and college preparations.

Here's a good post from my good friend TBQelite to entertain you in my absence:

"23 Reasons to Support Gun Control"

Red Rover

From Woody:

"Dear Ask Rabenstrange,

I was recently reading a post on "Polka Dotted Pickles" blog, and she was talking about the game "Red Rover" My question for you, is where in the world did they get the name for it?"

Well Woody, I've looked into it and found several theories about the possible origin of the game's name. Here is the one I found most likely:

In 1863, during the Civil War, volunteers from the Sisters of the Holy Cross, a Catholic Order, borded a hospital ship. This ship and the Sisters aboard gave medical aid to the wounded on both sides during the remainder of the war. The name of the ship was the Red Rover.

It may be that the game received the name Red Rover as a sort of joking reference to giving medical attention to both sides.

My guess is that the above theory isn't accurate but I couldn't find anything that sounded more probable.

Taking Care of Business

And I've been...
Taking care of business every day
Taking care of business every way
I've been taking care of business, it's all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime

The last two weeks I've been putting in the OT at work. As a result my posting has gone down the tubes.

For some reason about two weeks ago I was sitting in front of my computer and realized that college was expensive. That probably doesn't seem like a huge revelation but for some reason, possibly because I'm just a slow oaf, it took a while for the implications of all those commas in the college cost figures to sink in.

Of course on some higher, theoretical level I've known all along that college was costly. It's finally started to kick in on a more practical, here-and-now level.

Fortunately for me, this epipheny coincided with several large orders coming in at the shop and the opportunity for a bunch of extra work.

Anyhow, I'm going to maintain my heavy work schedule as long as possible. Hopefully this won't continue to degrade by blog quality but realisticly it probably will.

Hearts of the Innocent

Last night I went to a concert with Mr. TBQelite and my Little Sister.

Four bands played, Stellar Kart, Disciple, Falling Up and Kutless. The bands are touring the country together on their "Hearts of the Innocent" tour to raise money for Compassion International.

There were ALOT of people at the show but we still managed to squiggle up to the very front. We were one row off from the stage and I got to shake hands with several of the performers when they leaned out over the crowd.


Stellar Kart played first. They are a pop/punk band with a sound very similar to Relient K, Hawk Nelson and FM Static. Most of you are probably familiar with the genre.

Towards the end of their set, the lead singer jumped out into the crowd... and fell straight through. It was pretty funny.

They were alright. Their stage prescence was averagish and I liked the songs they played. Unfortunately, the sound quality during their set was really bad and so the experience wasn't as good as it could have been. Their set included Spending Time With You and a re-make of Living on a Prayer. Altogether the played 7-8 songs.


The next band to play was Disciple. I wasn't really looking forward to their performance because I had heard a few of their songs at a friend's house and didn't like them. I was pleasantly surprised when they turned out to be AWESOME on stage.

Disciple plays relatively hard rock with a fair bit of screaming. Normally, I prefer singing bands to screamers but Disciple did an amazing job with blending the screaming into the lyrics. Their guitarists and the riffs they played were also excellent.

Although they were the band I least wanted to see, at the end of the night, they were my favorite performance.



Next to play was Falling Up. I've been a fan for awhile so I was eager to see them on stage. They didn't disappoint.

They started out with their lead singer playing on an upright piano. It doesn't sound that cool but they had the piano tricked out. The back of the piano had holes punched in it like a planetarium projector. Inside the piano they had mounted a fog generator and a bright orange light. As he played, smoke poured out from the holes. The orange light made it look like the inside of the piano was on fire. The light streamed out of the holes making orange beams of light shine out through the smoke. Halfway through the song the rest of the band came out and joined in on guitar and drums. Twas nifty.

When he wasn't behind the piano, the singer guy was really cool. He and one of the guitarists did one of the sweetest stunts I've ever seen. The guitarist braced himself and the singer ran at him and wall-flipped off him. (Wall-flipping is the stunt Jackie Chan does where he runs up a wall and does a back flip.) Throughout their set various members of the band did cool flips while playing. I was impressed.


Finally, the headlining band, Kutless came out. They were great as usual but I thought they were overshadowed a bit by Disciple and Falling Up. Before they played they did about a 10 minute plug for Compassion International, an orginization that helps feed, educate and evangalize kids in Africa and other third world parts of the globe.

Kutless played several new songs off of their new CD, Hearts of the Innocent, due to be released on Tuesday. The new songs sounded great. If they are any indication Hearts of the Innocent could be their best album yet.

Their stage performance was a bit tamer than I've seen it before. This was excentuated by the bands that proceeded them. Nevetheless, they didn't fail to put on a good show.

In addition to the bands there was a preacher on the tour who presented the Gospel during the change overs between groups. He layed out the Gospel clearly and, to his credit, without watering it down. He didn't omitt all references to Hell or the consequences of sin like many popular speakers do.


All in all, I thouroughly enjoyed the show. I was satisfied with the bands I knew and pleasently surprised by the one I didn't.The biggest disappointment was the poor sound quality and I suspect part of that was due to us standing too close.

Happy St. Pat's

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day I put in 14 1/2 hours at work. I'm going in again tomorrow.

I'm too tired to write a real post.

Have a nice weekend.

Rabenstrange Abroad

Today I added a new arrow to my quiver of college options.

A few days ago my sister talked to a recruiter from Temple University in Japan. She procured some information from him and passed it along to me. Since then, I've talked to my parental units and a few other relations, dug through their website and sent them a request for information.

Temple University is offering American degrees to students studying in Tokyo. All the classes are taught in English mostly by American professors.

According to recruiter, via Emily, the program is trying hard to attract American students and is waiving fees, giving away a lot of scholarships etc. Additionally, there are a lot of job opportunities for American students most of them at $25+ hr. (in yen of course). If things really are as presented, I might be able to get a great education there and come out ahead financially.

I have many reservations about living in Japan. My Nihongo language skills are very poor. Eveything is expensive there. Worst of all, I would be half way around the world from my friends and family.

Whatever the result it will be interesting to look into.

What is an InstaHot?

Ask Rabenstrange has received another inquiry, Randi of I Have to Say asks:

"What is an InstaHot? Am I going to feel old after you answer this question? Did I miss something? Am I behind the times?"

Answer #1:
An InstaHot is a plumbing fixture that dispenses near boiling water. They usually appear alongside a normal kitchen faucet. It's really handy if you feel like a cup of tea or in my case to make Ramen without turning on the stove.

Basicly, the way it works is you have a mini, super-hot water tank installed behind the sink basin. Whenever you want hot water you just turn the knob and it instantly gives you super hot water.

This model, made by In-Sink-Erator looks almost identical to the one we have:


Answer #2:
I don't think so. However these things have been out for a long time. Our family has had one for as long as I can remember.

Answer #3:
Maybe. An InstaHot is a really handy appliance and is probably well worth your time. Whenever I go over to someone's house and they have to put a pot on for tea I long for my Instahot.

Answer #4:
Probably not. I doubt InstaHot owners are in the majority. However, if I were updating a kitchen an InstaHot would be near the top of my list.

Baker Boy

After a long day at work, I baked my infamous Jell-O Cookies. These cookies are one of the few things that I cook. Like most teen-age guys, I have a mortal dread of making anything that doesn't use a microwave or InstaHot for its primary heat source.

I make green cookies once a year for St. Pat's Day. Usually, I bake a few other flavors throughout the year.

Here are my cookies in progress:


My Assistant Sprinkolator:


On the Pan:


And the lucky cookies that survived the process:



Recipe:

1/2 Cup Butter or Margarine
1/2 Shortening
6 oz. Package of Jell-O
1 Cup Sugar
4 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3 Eggs

Mix all ingredients together. Roll and cut out dough (just like sugar cookies). Bake for 8 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Eat.

In Defense of "Life, the Universe and Everything"

My pretentious title strikes again! This time even more bombastic than before.

Froggie89's mother linked to my post about my experience with the Marines. She invited comments and the results went something like this:

"I just don't buy it. His experience seems to me to have been embellished."

"His 99 ASVAB is also HIGHLY doubtful... My genius-IQ Naval Academy brothers with the best classical homeschool education scored 92 and 96."

"I agree with the other commenters; this young man's experience does appear to be embellished or exagerated."

"As for whether he's lying or not I don't know."

"I'm sorry to say that I just can't believe this young gentleman's experience was entirely truthful."

...etc.

I've thought about it a bit and I'm unsure how to respond. I didn't take a recording device so I can't prove anything. It seems odd to have people I don't know questioning my honesty. I guess I can rule out being a con man from my potential job opportunities. I can't even tell my own experiences convincingly.

First, I want to make it very clear that I am NOT anti-military and that I have an enormous amount of respect for the men and women serving in our armed services. I think I would like to serve but I am very concerned that it would interfere with my plans for starting a family. I have no desire to make the military a career. I just want to serve my country before moving on with my life. I'll confess I'm a little confused on the whole issue.

There were several factual issues brought up that I can address pretty easily. I'll address them in order of their appearance.


"His 99 ASVAB is also HIGHLY doubtful... My genius-IQ Naval Academy brothers with the best classical homeschool education scored 92 and 96."

I was a bit surprised myself. However, I did have an excellent homeschooled education. Possibly not "the best", but I wouldn't have traded my mother's instruction for any other. Our state requires homeschoolers to undergo standardized testing every year. I was in the 99.9+ percentile every year. I started testing post-highschool in every subject starting when I was 10 years old. For comparisons sake, I received a 1460 on the SAT(old style) and an Associate in Business with Honors and a 3.85 GPA. I don't mean to brag but I want to defend my academic reputation.

"The Marine Reserves by law can only be deployed for up to two years for any one operation. Which means Bush will need to change the name of the operation if he wants to keep the reservists there. Nobody is there for the eight years he's writing about."

From my understanding the Reserves are usually called up for one year. I really haven't looked into the Reserves much because if I were to join up I would choose the regular Army. However, the eight years I referred to was the time that I would be on the hook to be called up. All four branches require an eight year commitment. If you are in the Reserve you are eligible to be called up as many times as you are needed during that time. Lt. Gen. Dennis McCarthy, commander of the Marine Reserves, referring to units that have been called up to serve in Iraq says, "I would like to be able to go back to these units in a couple of years, if I need to do so, and redeploy them." (Read in context here.)

"I see this fellow is from Seattle...I wonder which recruiters he met with. I may have to ask around. It'd be fun to do a point/counterpoint on this one."

I'm have no desire to talk about a guy who can't defend himself on my blog for the world to read but I'd be happy to answer your questions via email. You can find my email address on the sidebar.

"Specifically addressing his comments about Reservists not being eligible for jobs with a multitude of employers: that, I believe, is bunk and pure propaganda... In my opinion, only an individual grasping at straws as reasons for NOT joining the Reserves would even worry about such an issue."

I found a couple of articles that talked about this online but the thing that really makes me question how easy getting a job as a reservist would be is the commentary offered by a local, conservative talk-show host. Brian Suitts is a 2nd. Lt. with the Army Guard. Recently, he talked about the difficulty his men were having finding jobs. He had lots of callers who were in the Reserves calling up and telling how employers were passing them over when they realized the applicants' military status. If you think about it, it makes sense. If I were a small business owner, without a special loyalty to the military, I would be very hesitant to hire and train someone who would likely be taken away from the job for a year or more. This might be a mere straw to Mr./Ms. MelM but it matters a lot to me. As previously mentioned, even in today's military a reservist is likely to spend less than half his time on active duty, how am I supposed to support a family without a job?

Finally, to address the whole lying recruiters problem, I would advise those interested to check out Military.com's discussion board. Browse the entries a bit and you'll find that recruiters lie and encourage others to lie on a regular basis. I'm not saying that all or even most do but there certainly are some and I stumbled on one*.


Sorry about the long, boring and self-righteous post but it really bugs me to have people who don't know me or what I believe saying that kind of thing about me.

*Only one of the three recruiters I spoke to on Monday gave me the "Marines don't deploy their Reserves" line. He was the boss though and the other two didn't contradict him. I didn't say anything at the time because he made it sound semi-plausible and I wanted to check my facts.

Marketing Christianity

A recent Boundless article caught my eye. Entitled "Feel-Good Faith" it described the reaction of Nebraska Senators to a preacher who gave a prayer that asked forgiveness for abortion before a legislative session. The article went on to discuss how Christians have tried to build a truce with the world and how this complacency is hurting the North American church.

I identified with the sentiments in this article because I have been grappling with my own churches move towards Feel-Good Christianity. I'm hesitant to be critical because the elders of a church deserve respect but it seems to me that something is wrong.

We have a Starbucks in the church lobby. Everything we do seems to have some fancy sounding label that looks like it should be followed by a little TM. There is never any mention of sin, Hell or anything else that might sound judgmental or unpleasant.

It seems like this is a growing trend for churches across the country.

Are we marketing instead of witnessing? Christianity needs to be about a persons connection with their Creator. It shouldn't be something that people "buy into".

Life, the Universe and Everything.

Isn't that title pretentious sounding? It almost makes you think that I'm going to reveal some great truth or maybe just solve one the mystery of some great phenomenon. Well, I'm not. I just came up with a ostentatious title because I don't have anything super cool to say.

Oh, wait a minute... I just remembered. I do have something interesting. Notice how I'm writing this stream-of-conscience? I'm just typing whatever I thinking at the exact moment my fingers hit the keys. Oh no! What will I do after I end this paragraph.

Oh yeah, the intersting thing.

This Monday I met with a recruiter from the Marines. I really wasn't seriously considering joining the Marines but he kept calling me and I was curious to see what they were offering and I didn't think it would take that much time. Besides, maybe he'd get the picture that I wasn't going to sign up.

Anyhow, he offered to meet me somewhere and I chose the local Library. I walked up and met instead of one recruiter there were two. The good 'ol tag-team.

Anyhow I talked with them for a bit and I guess I didn't sound skeptical enough because they asked me if I would be available that afternoon to take the ASVAB. Basicly, the ASVAB is like the military's propietary exam. It is a lot like the SAT except with more practical stuff like mechanical and electronic knowledge.

I didn't have anything to do that afternoon and I'd been looking into some of the Army's options. I thought I'd take a whack at the ASVAB and get some sort of an idea where I was. If I didn't get a good score I could always try again.

Anyhow, one of the recruiters bought me lunch and I filled out a little bit of paper work. Don't worry I read EVERYTHING before I wrote down anything. Then a third guy drove another possible recruit and I down to the MEPS to take the ASVAB. They were able to waive the scheduling that normally would be required for me to take the test and sent me in as a walk on. That seemed to tick-off the lady who was checking people in for the test and she was already having a bad day.

I went in and took the test. I had to make educated guesses on several of the questions so I didn't think I had done very well.

After the test, the recruiter who had brought us in picked us up and brought us back to the recruiting office. They had our scores already. I got a 99. I don't know much about the ASVAB but according to what they told me and what I've found out online that's the maximum possible score. The head recruiter guy said that he had only seen two 99s in the 9 years he had been in recruiting. I suspect that part was pure sales pitch.

All day long they had been leaning on me to go for the Marine Reserves. I had thought that the Reserves sounded like a lousy deal because I'd definitely get called up. They assured me that this wasn't the case. They claimed that the Marines aren't like the Army and that they don't deploy their reserves. According to them, the Reserves was one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer in exchange for full college tuition and $500 a month.

I came home interested but skeptical. I went online to see if I could varify what they said. I found out that they had been giving me a load of garbage. First, coming in I would get about $200 a month, not the $500 they pressented. That would have ticked me off but the big thing was that according to Lt. Gen. McCarthy, commander of the Marine Reserves, the Marines were deploying their Reserves to Iraq at a higher rate then any other branch. Additionally, he said that he wanted to redeploy reservists who had already been called up and then gone back home. Google revealed dozens of stories of Marine Reserve units being called up and sent overseas. The recruiters appear to have been lying through their teeth. Why would I trust these people in combat if they lie to me in the recruiting office? Finally, as icing on the cake, I found loads of articles that explained how civilian employers were responding. Basicly, if you are in the Reserves for any service you will find it almost impossible to find a job. Companies have no desire to hire people who are going to be shipped half way around the globe for a year and if they come back are likely to be shipped out again. If I hand joined up I would be condemned to sitting around working a low-hourly job waiting for the Corps to send me to some sand box for EIGHT YEARS. Thanks alot, USMC. Obviously, Semper Fi doesn't mean much when you're trying to recruit gullible teenagers.

I have a desire to serve my country but I feel that at the same time I have a responsibility to my future wife and family to do so in such a way that lets me out on a solid financial footing. At least the Army guy I talked to a year or so ago was honest. If I ever join up it won't be in the Corps.

Tagged by Bugblaster

1. What time did you get up this morning? 0855. I didn't sleep well last night so I compensated by sleeping great this morning.
   2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds. Pearls aren't sparkly.
   3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Pink Panther.
   4. What is your favorite TV Show? The greatest science fiction show ever: Firefly. It has witty dialogue, a continuing plot and nifty action.
   5. What did you have for breakfast? N/A.
   6. What is your middle name? Mueller.
   7. What is your favorite cuisine? I don't know if Mom's cooking is considered “cuisine” but that's what I like best.
   8. What foods do you dislike? Over cooked veggies. Most shell fish. Mayonnaise.
   9. Favorite Potato Chip? I prefer corn chips but if I had to choose I'd say Lay's Salt and Vinegar or Tim's Jalepeno.
   10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? All my CDs were stolen more than a year ago and I haven't really listened to CDs since.
   11. What kind of car do you drive? A rusty blue van.
   12. Favorite sandwich? Ham and cream cheese on an Everything bagel.
   13. What characteristics do you despise? Pettiness,
   14. What are your favorite clothes? BDU pants, t-shirts and hoodie sweatshits.
   15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go? Israel.
   16. What color are your eyes? Grue or Blay or however you want to describe eyes that shift from blue to gray.
   17. Favorite Brand of Clothes? Military Surplus.
   18. Where do you want to retire to? Idaho where the Govmint will get off my back and I can shoot guns on my own land.
   19. Favorite time of day? 2100. My brain just seems to work better and faster at night.
   20. Where were you born? Seattle, Washington.
   21. Favorite sport to watch? I don't like to watch sports.
   22. Whom do you least expect to respond to your tag? Froggie89
   23. Person you expect to send it back first? Woody
   24. Coke or Pepsi? Coke. Why would you drink over-sweetened, chemical water when you could drink Coke?
   25. Are you a morning person or night owl? Night Weasel
   26. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? I took the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery and got a 99.
   27. What did you want to be when you were little? Filthy Rich. Now I realize that wealth can be a burden and I just want to be well off.
   28. What is your best childhood memory? Digging my trench system in the back yard.
   29. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Bindery boy.
   30. Nicknames: I really don't have any currently. In times past, Hewie, J.R.
   31. Piercings? Thanks for asking my opinion. Other than ear piercing most of them are pretty nasty.
   32. Ever been to Africa? Nope. I don't plan on it either. Unless I feel a call to the missions field in Africa I'll avoid the Dark Continent.
   33. Ever been toilet papering? No. I'm a good boy.
   34. Been in a car accident? Yes, back in my car seat days. I don't recall the details.
   35. Favorite day of the week? Friday. The real last day of the week.
   36. Favorite restaurants? Chang's Mongolian Grill, Billy McHale's.
   37. Favorite flower? Bleeding Heart.
   38. Favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough... I guess the actual ice cream part is vanilla.
   39. How many times did you fail your driver's license? 0. It's hard to fail a test you haven't taken.
   40. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? A paintball buddy.
   41. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? My credit card has the minimum possible limit. A choice I purposely made to give myself an extra layer of protection from doing something stupid. As a result, my card wouldn't go very far in any store.
   42. Bedtime? Around 2100.
   43. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire? Froggie 89
   44. Last person you went to dinner with? A Marine recruiter.
   45. What are you listening to right now? “Eric's Song” - 12 Stones
   46. What is your favorite color? Uh. Hmm. Uh. Maybe black. I also like dark purple.
   47. How many tattoos do you have? 0.
   48. How many people are you sending this e-mail to?
   49. Why doesn't this have a question #50? Probably because someone was careless and didn't select it when they cut and pasted.

I guess I'll tag Woody and Froggie89.

Paintball Day

This weekend I went along on a Rangers campout with my dad and little brother. The campout was intended mostly as a merit work day but they planned to play a bit of paintball so I tagged along.

We were trying out a new site, a 22 acre lot owned by a developer who attends our church. The owner of the property let us use his very nice land for free. Thanks Mr. G!

Friday, I got Dad picked me up from work early. He had already packed most of our gear so it didn't take us long to pack up the few remaining items and get going.

That afternoon we set up the camp and scouted the area a bit. After all of our campers arrived, we made tin foil dinners, a simple but tasty meal (at least if you season it right). That evening the boys worked their way through the First Aid Skills merit.

Unfortunately the ground was a bit bumpy and the night was cold. In my rush out the door I forgot to bring proper sleeping gear so my I didn't get the best rest but that's the way things go sometime.

The next morning we ate a quick breakfast and the boys burned their way through the Firecraft merit (Sorry about the bad pun, I'm currently out of good ones.). Then, finally, my patience was rewarded and we got to paintball.

I LOVE paintball. I love the mix of strategy and physical exertion. The tactics and skills involved are fun to learn and I love the reward of success... a nice string of welts on an opponent. At the same time, paintball hurts just enough that it gives an incentive to avoid being hit. The pain gives the game an element of risk which compounds the fun.

WARNING: The rest of this post contains graphic descriptions of paintball violence. I will be recounting my latest "war stories". If you hate fish stories, scar stories etc. you will probably want to skip over most of this.

We were playing, 2-hits-out, team elimination, woods ball. We had 8-9 guys playing each round. Here's my account for the day:

Rounds: 5
Frags: 5-7
Deaths: 1-3
Wins: 2
Losses: 3

Round 1:
Since there were eight people playing we devided into 4 vs. 4 teams. The two most experienced players were appointed as captains and we took turns picking players. The teams came out very even.

My team was send into the field first. I set my guys up along hillock in a clump of trees. The ground was relatively open and I knew that the opposing team would have to hunker down along a parrallel rise to exchange long range fire or face a hopless run across the open ground.

Sure enough, the attackers formed up along the ridge, right where they were expected. Once we were solidly engaged I broke off from my team and headed off parrallel to the line of battle. Once I felt that I had cleared the end of the enemy formation I attempted a flank.

Unfortunately, I had misjudged their positions and I came under fire as I attempted to cross the open area. I was able to get into cover in the middle of the no-man's-land and waited for circumstances to change.

It didn't take long. When the guy opened fire on me he revealed his postion to the main body of my team and he came under fire from one of my team mates. I was temporarily ignored and I used the opportunity to dart across the remainder of the open ground into a clump of trees directly to the side of my assailant. He was caught in a crossfire and I quickly eliminated him. I then moved into his position. From there I began working my way along the rise hoping to catch the rest of the team by surprise.

Meanwhile, unknown to me the enemy team lost two guys to long range fire. I came upon their final guy blazing away at my team across the field. I crept up on him from the side-rear and when I got close I opened up. My gun spit out two balls and jammed.

I was using old, low quality paint and my first shots went wild. There I was charging an enemy with an high ROF gun and I was effectively disarmed. Not knowing what else to do I charged.

He was on his knees and somehow, I managed to avoid his flurry of fire and run behind him. I pressed my barrel into his back and demanded that he surrender. Not realizing that I couldn't shoot him and not wanting to be shot from literally point blank he complied.

Fortunately for me, the hill we were on was in full view of the camp and the "out zone" so everyone got to see my move. I got to pull off a gutsy, slick move in front of everyone. My ego probably didn't need that expansion.


I was intending to document all five rounds but you're probably all bored stiff and it's almost 2300. I need to get to bed.


Oh, one last thing the reason my stats are shown as ranges is that we had a few young guys who were making sub-standard ethical judgments when it came to admitting when they were out. Dishonesty mucks up scoring.

Canada, Guns and Crime

Photo curtesy of http://www.thoseshirts.com

When I wrote my “Wait a Minute!” post yesterday I expected all my readers to say, “Amen, gun control is trash.” That's not what happened. Bugblaster raised the objection that he doesn't want a handgun and he believes that strict gun laws make firearms harder to acquire. He also challenged me to compare Canada's gun crime rates with those of the good ol' U. S. of A.

I did a little bit of research and here is what I found:

The first thing I learned is that Canada's murder rate went up 12% and abductions are up almost 13% in 2004 (I can't find numbers for 2005. They probably aren't available yet.). To be fair, the data shows that aggregate crime has fallen 1%, driven by a large decline in reported crimes in Ontario. Canada had a reported violent crime rate of 963 per 100,000 and the U.S. had a rate of 475 per 100,000 in 2003. With all due respect Mr. Bugblaster, maybe another comparison would support your position better.

Canada of course blamed the problem on the United States and our looser gun control laws. Apparently, the logic goes that since guns are harder to get in Canada, criminals come to the United States to acquire weapons and then return to commit crime. This may or may not be true. According to a Royal Canadian Mounted Police report quoted in a National Review article the RCMP said that they “cannot know if [the guns] were traceable or where they might have been traced.”

This is an interesting accusation. To explore whether or not this has any basis I thought it would be interesting to look at England, an island nation that is located thousands of miles away from the U.S. and its loose* gun control laws.

When looking at England it is important to remember that they have a total ban of handguns and near total ban on other firearms. These restrictions are like a government guarantee offered to criminals assuring them that their victims will be unarmed. As I understand it, Canada merely has strict controls as opposed to a total ban.

According to an analysis of crime statistics, serious violent crime is up 69%, robbery is up 45% and murder is up 54% since 1996. As of the year 2000 (since which crime has continued to rise) violent crime in England and Wales was twice the rate of the United States. National Review Online reports, “The British government banned handguns in 1997 but recently reported that gun crime in England and Wales nearly doubled in the four years from 1998-99 to 2002-03.”

Another island country that is even further from America's corrupting influence, Australia, had a similar experience. After the Port Arther gun-control measures were passed in 1996 violent crime rates averaged 32% higher in the six years after the law was passed than they did in 1995.

Is it possible that Canada's gun control is part of the problem? I think it is. If Canadians are successful in implementing a total ban I expect that their serious violent crime rates will go up similarly.

During this time (the '90s) many of the States were passing concealed carry legislation. 38 states have enacted “shall issue” legislation requiring state governments to issue permits to all qualified applicants, 8 states have “may issue” legislation which allows permits to be issued and 2 states allow adults to carry without a permit of any kind. States with “shall issue” legislation show crime dropping even faster than the nation average.

Another under-appreciated fact: this one cited in John Lott's excellent book More Guns, Less Crime, 70% of American murders take place in 3.5% of our counties. Does it surprise you that these counties are largely ones where guns have been banned (New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago etc.)?

Finally, I want to acknowledge my sources. I found links to most of these statistics in a National Review Online Article, "Canada Blames Us" and the Canadian National Firearms Associaton website.

This is a subject I feel very passionate about (along with taxes and abortion it is one of my “Big Three” issues) and I welcome questions, comments and differing opinions from my readers.

*I use as it applies to the relative difference in U.S. vs. Canada, U.K. etc. laws. I believe gun laws are already far to restrictive in the U.S..

Quote of the Day:
"If anyone tries to kill you, you try and kill them right back! You hear me?" - Malcolm Reynolds

Wait a Minute!

According to a Yahoo News story, two ushers were shot at a Kayne West concert in England when they apprehended a group which had sneaked in without tickets.

Wait a minute! Guns are illegal in the United Kingdom. The politicians promised that if firearms were banned that all the violence would go away.

After months of research at the Rabenstrange Braintank and Pizza Parlor, I have finally discovered a fascinating datum that explains why shootings like this still occur.

The revelation is pretty ground breaking. Please make sure you're sitting down before you read it.

Are you ready? Here goes: Criminals break laws.

That's right. It doesn't matter if you ban guns, the criminals won't listen. The only people being disarmed are honest citizens.

If you're interested in seeing how gun control really works I invite you to look up crime statistics for England before and after the ban.

Micro$oft to Release New Search Engine

Micro$oft thinks that they're about to release a search engine that will be much better than Google. Well, best of luck to them.

The funny thing is that it really doesn't matter if the new Micro$oft search is better or not. No one is going to change over. Almost everyone is already used to Google.

I'd like to take this moment to point a finger at Redmond and let out a peal of mocking laughter.

The Pickle recently posted her "doll" on her blog. She mentioned that she couldn't imagine a guy following her lead.

Since I've always been a big fan of dolls, *insert a Deathstar load of sarcasm here* I thought I would fulfil the fantasy she couldn't imagine.



Note to readers: This is a selfless act of bravery. I am fulfilling the great dreams of one of my readers just like they do on all those home makeover shows. It might be appropriate to tear up hear. This should not be interpretted as a petty attempt at filler. This pathetic offering has NOTHING to do with the fact that I'm feeling a little tired and can't figure out a more worthy offering. What you don't believe me? You're questioning my honesty? I'm hurt. I really thought we were past this. Don't you trust me?