Heading out

I'll do my best to keep everyone up-to-date on what's going on...and have Sarah post some letters or something when I can. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

The Final Countdown

The continued countdown to OCS...um...continues. Only a couple days to tie up any loose ends and make sure everything is ready to go. Yeasterday, I checked out of my unit, and my CO gave me a little "Oorah" speech. It was pretty motivating. I just have to keep thinking of my grad date, and how awesome it will be to see Sarah again. Definately have to stay motivated...

The Nanny State

Libertarians abhore large government mostly because it doesn't do things particularly well or effeciently...and it also implies that the people are too stupid to do it right themselves. Case in point: A no-spank ban. California is well on the way to becoming the Socialist Republic of California...

SACRAMENTO - The state Legislature is about to weigh in on a question that stirs impassioned debate among moms and dads: Should parents spank their children?

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, wants to outlaw spanking children up to 3 years old. If she succeeds, California would become the first state in the nation to explicitly ban parents from smacking their kids.

Making a swat on the behind a misdemeanor might seem a bit much for some -- and the chances of the idea becoming law appear slim, at best -- but Lieber begs to differ.

``I think it's pretty hard to argue you need to beat a child 3 years old or younger,'' Lieber said. ``Is it OK to whip a 1-year-old or a 6-month-old or a newborn?''

The bill, which is still being drafted, will be written broadly, she added, prohibiting ``any striking of a child, any corporal punishment, smacking, hitting, punching, any of that.'' Lieber said it would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine up to $1,000, although a legal expert advising her on the proposal said first-time offenders would probably only have to attend parenting classes.

The idea is encountering skepticism even before it's been formally introduced. Beyond the debate among child psychologists -- many of whom believe limited spanking can be effective -- the bill is sure to face questions over how practical it is to enforce and opposition from some legislators who generally oppose what they consider ``nanny government.''

``Where do you stop?'' asked Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, who said he personally agrees children under 3 shouldn't be spanked but has no desire to make it the law. ``At what point are we going to say we should pass a bill that every parent has to read a minimum of 30 minutes every night to their child? This is right along those same lines.''

My head is exploding. This law once again promotes the idea that The People are too stupid to raise their own kids...and The Government knows how to raise them right.

At least I can add some sanity to this story: Majority Oppose Calif. Spanking Ban

A poll of 500 Bay Area adults conducted for CBS 5 by Survey USA on Thursday found 57% would oppose such a bill, while only 23% would support it. The poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%, showed 11% undecided.

Still, that 23% scares me pretty badly...

Faster, faster...

It seems the days are going by far to fast. The countdown to the begining of OCS is closing to the final hours. I've been working on lots of arrangements prior to my flight to Quantico...but it just seems that there will never be enough time.

Guns, Women, and Self-Defense

...also titled "Hotness" because she was doing pullups in my flak...

Awhile ago, a former roomate and I had a discussion on weapons and self-defence. He and I pretty much agreed to disagree on some definitions and such. This post from Michelle Malkin's website (posted by Mary Katherine Ham) discusses some of the arguements I still stand by...and provides lots of anecdotal evidence of the place of self-defence weapons. The meaty ones can be found here and here.

Ever since the disturbing story of the family stabbed to death by someone while the hustband/father was deployed has echoed fears in the back of my mind, I've been proactive in teaching my wife how to use weapons. Sarah has been a willing student shooting several weapons...and displaying quite a bit of proficency in basic handgun marksmenship (albiet with a Browning .22).

In terms of defending herself, I know she'd put up quite a fight. An intruder would find themselves peppered with either 7.62 mm or .40 holes. She's good enough with both:

Then again, these are simply tools. Contrary to what some lawmakers believe, anything can be a weapon. A woman my mother knew killed an intruder...with a 14" iron skillet.

More social engineering idoicy...

More morons in large groups: Los Angeles to Study Trans Fat Ban

Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to study the feasibility of banning artificial trans fats from restaurants there, and the City Council in December had asked for similar report on at least restricting it.

"I'm very concerned about the whole trans-fat issue," Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said after Tuesday's vote for the study. "Every time I buy something, I look to see if it has trans fat."

Oddly, enough, that quote hits the correct side of the issue...it you care, look. If you don't care, don't look. Vote with your dollars...not with stupid restrictions that will probably be found to be stupid in the future (trans fats, after all, were the product of the "butter/lard is bad" era).

When war vets get threatened...

Awesome:

The incident happened around 4:30 a.m. Nov. 19. Police were called to Hackett's Indian Hill house after Fee failed to make a curve and ran into a fence at the home on Given Road, according to the police report.

When White arrived at the house, Hackett's wife, Suzi, told him that her husband had called her to say he had stopped the men on Keller Road.

White called for backup. He arrived at a driveway in the 8700 block of Keller Road to find the three men lying face down near their small, black car and Hackett's pickup truck. With a flashlight, White saw a strap on Hackett's right shoulder and "what appeared to be an assault rifle hanging along his right side," White's report said.

White told Hackett to put away the rifle and "not take things into his own hands."

Fee was the only person charged. He is scheduled to plead to the charges Jan. 24, according to court records.

During the investigation, Hackett told police Nov. 30 that he was carrying an AR-15. He said one round was in the chamber and that he usually has 28 rounds in the magazine. He also told police that he did not point the weapon at the three men, the safety was on and he never put his finger on the trigger.

Hackett said he had followed a trail of fluid left by the car, and the vehicle stopped in a driveway. Hackett told police that he hopped out of his truck and that he was armed.

"He told the boys to 'Get the ---- out of the car and get on the ground.' ... He said he did not touch the vehicle with the rifle and maintained his distance. 'I knew they saw I was armed,' he said. He said he had done this about 200 times in Iraq, but this time there was not a translation problem," the Indian Hill police report said.

Moore said Hackett was woken up by "criminal activity" and "took affirmative action to protect his wife and family from an unknown disturbance at his house." He then "attempted to bring the perpetrators to justice who had fled from the scene," according to Moore.

Just as an FYI to non-gun people, the AR-15 is the civilian version of the M-16. This was a high quality use for it.

A new PFT and more news

I performed my last pre-ship PFT for Officer Candidate School. I finished with a 248: 100 crunches, 15 pull-ups, and a 22:22 3-mile run. I'm reasonably pleased as that puts me in pretty good shape scorewise. I'm definately not worried about failing my initial PFT. Progress-wise, I'm amazed. Last year, I had 8 pull-ups, 100 crunches, and a run around 24 minutes. I've moved ahead physically and mentally. I think I'm gonna make it...I just have to pursue those gold bars. With God's strength, I will.

In other news, I passed my EMT-Basic practical. This moves my next goal to finishing my state-level qual with the "written" test (now not so written, now that it's on the computer). I'll be arranging that shortly, but it'll be tough with all the random stuff I still have going on.

In sad news, I'm mourning the loss of my work jump drive. I placed it in a computer to load some faculty member's files...and it ceased working. I fear the worst...all 4 GB of it...

Well...

...my sister looks far too comfortable with this: