Observe & Retort

Listing to a news report this morning a journalist asserted something about the "Far Right" that struck me as odd. The assertion was that the racists groups we know as Neo-Nazi's and the KKK were part of the political right, specifically those on the far right end of the political spectrum, the extreme conservatives. After thinking about it for a moment I began to wonder how 'left' or 'right' such fringe groups actually are. Is Antifa actually left or liberal? Is the Alt-Right actually conservative? There is also the statement or idea that can be paraphrased as; the far-right is not racist but most racists are far right. Is that accurate? I think that we can say with some degree of confidence that people that tend to hold some measure of ethnic bigotry associate with conservative principles when it comes to things like marriage equality and illegal immigration, as do the extreme people (KKK, etc.) that want to do something about it, but the political righ...

So it's been nearly a week (as of this draft) since the mess in Charolettesville VA. As a person who applies the scientific method in his work I like facts, so let's try and point out a few. Of those protesting the removal of the Confederate statue and the renaming of Lee Park to something else there were: 28% Southern Nationalists 19% White Nationalists 19% Alt Right 19% ProudBoys and AltKnights 17% Militia and Oathkeepers (Constitutionalists) Let's see, 28+19(3)+17 = 102%... somebody's rounding up, so much for facts but we can get a glimpse of the make-up of these people. There doesn't seem to be much difference between the Alt Right and the White Nationalists, but I've never read anything racist about the Oathkeepers. What I'm wondering is where are the Neo-Nazi's and the KKK in this? Clearly we saw some? These numbers come from the FB page of one of the organizers so we can put its objectivity into question. Facts become less concrete. Let...

rep·a·ra·tion ˌrepəˈrāSH(ə) noun the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged. Apparently there is a new movement with the end goal of getting reparations paid by the U.S. government to African Americans for the slavery that ended 152 years ago. Yes this is real. Where do I start? It's Divisive  Let's start with the divisive nature of this "movement". By proposing such an idea one is in fact asserting that African-Americans are in fact separate from the rest of America. This is in direct opposition to the efforts of liberal people/politics since the 1960's (the last 50-55 years) for ethnic equality based on the idea that we are all simply Americans and we are all equal. There is a hypocrisy inherent in this thinking, you cannot have it both ways. How effective will this be? The claim is that black Americans are impoverished still because of the trauma slavery has caused them, and ...

Terrorism noun: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. James Alex Fields Jr. chose to drive his car into other vehicles and civilians. What is available so far is that the guy was most likely associated with a white supremacist group, or a sympathizer of one since the victims were folks protesting the presence of Alt-Right, Neo-Nazi's and KKK members in Charolettesville. The man had a history of violence at least with regard to his mother whom had called the police on more than one occasion because her son had gone off his meds and been violent and threatening around her. Oh, wait, his "meds"? So we are not talking about a mentally healthy person, right? Let's just assume that he was on his meds and decided that his White Nationalist Party demonstration getting cancelled by the local government and state troopers because of their fear of violent anti-protests triggered the emotional outrage tha...

Occasionally I read an article that just resonates with me and some of the thoughts I've been having regarding our Western society. Typically I link to them and comment on parts, this whole article is a great read, please check it out  HERE Favorite quotes: "In this age where every bit of information is at our fingertips, it seems we've never been so ignorant; as if the omnipresence of information has inoculated us against wisdom. " "So many today don't speak of truth, they speak of "my truth."  But when everyone has their own truth, there is no wisdom.  They don't even speak about religion, they call it "spirituality" which is simply like a GPS which tells you you're always exactly where you're supposed to be, which, to me, doesn't seem like much help.  And the only surviving "sin" is believing that sin exists at all."

The assertion that if there are less guns there will be less gun violence seems like a logical conclusion right? In the realm of science people may draw conclusions without data that seem reasonable but then the scientist will go out and test that theory. So I wanted to do the same. Below is what I discovered. The correlation between gun ownership and gun violence is inverse. Gun Ownership stats 46% of U.S. households reported owning guns, may have been some under reporting so might be in the 50's There are over 320 million guns in the U.S. 36% of which are handguns Ownership rose enormously from the 1960s to 2010 Fewer than 100,000 guns are used in violent crimes yearly, or 0.03125% of guns in American are used in violent crimes yearly Ownership is highest where gun violence is lowest. Whites own more guns than Blacks, but there is statistically more gun violence among blacks Middle-aged  own more guns than  Young, But there is statistically more gun violenc...

Before Commenting (below) I want to present some actual statistics, or at lease those I could find with a relatively quick search. Domestic Flights per day: 1.73 million.  Number of Muslim travelers affected by Trump's ban day1: 109 or 0.006% of travelers From Wikipedia - the order suspended the entry of alien nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries — Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — for 90 days, after which an updated list will be made.[9] The order allows exceptions to these suspensions on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Homeland Security later exempted U.S. lawful permanent residents (green card holders).[10] Restrictions by previous administration Between 2015 and 2016, the seven countries listed in the executive order were placed on the list of "countries of special concern" by the Obama administration.[24], which meant that any person who has visited these countries after 1 March 2011 is ineligible for the Visa Waiver Progr...