Where did you grow up?

Those of you who keep posting memes about guns in the back of every pick-up truck, exactly where did you grow up? If you kept a loaded gun in a gun rack, you are unsafe and very possibly a fool.

Where I grew up, there were gun racks in most pick-ups. I even went hunting and had a gun in my car when I did. It was also kept empty when being transported. You see, we took hunter's safety and most parents were very careful to make sure kids remained safe with weapons. At my house, guns were kept empty and locked up. 

At school, however, those racks were generally kept empty. If it were hunting season, you might see an occasional shotgun or rifle depending on the season. I can also almost guarantee that those guns were kept empty. These guns, by the way, are a long way from an AR-15 or for that matter any semi-automatic. So yes, occasionally, you might see a gun in a rack, but not every truck and not every day. 

There is also - and this is just a thought - a reason that guns disappeared from the windows of trucks. Advertising what you are carrying in your vehicle is not the brightest thing you could do. It's kind of like putting a sign in you window of "Please Break This Window and Steal My Stuff." Perhaps, it was more of a modern common sense idea than a political statement. By the way, you can still buy a rack for your truck, if you want. Here's one from Cabela's in case you want to advertise your stuff.

Memory is a funny thing. While there were guns used for hunting, they weren't a statement about how armed and dangerous we were. I don't recall anyone ever announcing he was carrying for protection. It wasn't a statement then. This is, quite honestly, rewriting history that didn't exist.  You're right, we didn't have nearly as much of a gun problem then. We do have one now. Living in the past will not solve the problems of today. As much as you may want to go back to that mythical, history of 50's and 60's television, it's not going to happen. It's time to deal with the problems of today. 

Welcome to the Land of Fictitious Quotes

We've talked about this one before, but one more time for the information impaired:

Washington never said that "that a free people need 'sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence' from their own government." The only thing he did say was, "A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined..." You can find the entire speech to congress here:  https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0361. The context he is referring to goes back to the idea of the establishment of troops for protection and have their own military supplies.

And despite what this sign seems to imply, the quote beneath the 2nd Amendment is not a part of the 2nd Amendment. 

As to the argument which frequently comes with this that the Supreme Court has said that no guns may be regulated or limited, that also is not true. Perhaps the most conservative Justice in recent memory, was Justice Anthony Scalia who writing a majority opinion on gun control in the Court's most recent decision, wrote "Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose... 

"It may be objected that if weapons that are most useful in military service – M16 rifles and the like – may be banned, then the Second Amendment right is completely detached from the prefatory clause."

In other words not all weapons are protected from being banned. The AR-15 is considered an M16 replica and was considered to be originally a military weapon. (https://gundigest.com/reviews/the-ar-16m16-the-rifle-that-was-never-supposed-to-be)

Check your facts.

Stop or My Teacher will Shoot

Arming teachers is one of the inanest thing I've heard. We've had this chat before. It is bordering on the idea that someone has seen one too many Bruce Willis or Clint Eastwood action flicks and has come to the conclusion this is reality. While I know a few teachers who would carry, they are pretty few. And no, there is not a preponderance of retired military folks who become teachers. There are a number of programs for the purpose of getting retiring military into education, but I could find no statistics about how many are using the programs.  In 2013, 72 percent of the eleven thousand educators surveyed said they would not carry a gun. 


We've discussed the "which sign will stop a tragedy" before. I am going to say this one more time about this either or style of argument meme, but first ask yourself how many people you see daily that don't follow speed limit signs? A sign cannot prevent or stop an act of gun violence. Got that? Good.

If you were to arm, as Trump has suggested, 20 per cent or one-fifth of all teachers, you are looking at 700,000 plus folks. If you were to give them a stipend of $1000 for carrying a gun, the cost would be at least 700 million dollars. Where is this money coming from, exactly? I've seen the argument before. If we need to fix a problem, it becomes education's responsibility. We cannot afford the materials we need for over-sized classes. We cannot give staff raises that keep up with cost of living. Yet, we are going to buy a gun; train teachers in active shooter procedure, which would have to be far more involved and expensive than a day long class; and maybe even give them a bonus for packing a gun? Do we buy them body armor too? We cannot hire enough people to lessen class sizes but we can pay for a gun, ammo, training and a stipend?  Teachers cannot keep Tylenol for students in their desk, but a gun is okay. Really?

Putting armed security hasn't really been that successful. Both Columbine and Parkland had armed security on campus. According to one study by the center for investigative reporting in bank robberies, where armed security was present,  shooting violence was three times more likely to occur than where no armed security was present. The fact is there is little empirical data about "hardening schools" because our congress has made rules forbidding research by the CDC on the dangers of guns. This was an NRA backed plan put in place now more than 20 years ago. I would also remind you that when Reagan was shot he was surrounded by guns and the shooter was using a simple handgun. Imagine what he might have been able to do with an AR-15. 

By the way, if you see this meme about arming teachers, no they do not arm teachers in Israel. Israel actually has strict policies about who can get and carry a gun.

I know teachers. There are some wonderful, dedicated folks out there in the profession and these same folks I would barely trust with a hammer and nail, let alone a gun. I also know a number of teachers would leave the profession if guns became a way of life in schools. A teacher's nature is to protect, support, and guide; it isn't  to run to the lock box and get a gun or pull one from a holster they have strapped to their ankle. A teacher is not a security officer and most don't want to be. 

There is also the possible damage that "hardening" schools could do to the relationship kids have with teachers and school. Think of going into a building, surrounded by a security fence, everyday where you enter through camera-watched, secure doors, are searched by metal detectors, are under constant surveillance, and taught by someone who may have a 9mm glock strapped to his/her person. Prison-like anyone? You may secure the kids but at what cost?  

A pistol is no match for an AR-15 in power, range or the number of bullets. An armed person with a pistol is facing a person who has planned his attack for months if not years. An armed person with a pistol is facing someone who may even be wearing Kevlar.  An armed person with a pistol is facing a shooter with at least one rifle, multiple clips for that rifle and possibly other weapons. An armed person with a pistol is facing a person who isn't planning on finishing the day alive. 

Folks, who lived through the Cold War, did we learn nothing from the Arms Race? The answer to peace is not more war. It is less. Weapons of war do not engender safety. They are for war. If they did make things safer, explain to me why C-PAC, a major platform for the NRA, bans all weapons by its attendees or why the White House and Congress bans them from visitors. More guns do not equal less death. It equals more gun sales for the gun manufacturers and that's pretty much it. 

What is Wrong with You?

Quit attacking the victims. What is wrong with you? No! They are not 'crisis actors.' That is so wrong on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. Seventeen people died at Douglas High School. Twenty-six died at Sandy Hook Elementary. Your lack of simple human decency is staggering.

What in the heck does the fad of tide pod eating have to do with anything? Before you talk about doing dumb things, I suggest you look at your own life. If you've never did anything that was stupid, you are lying to yourself. From actually eating gold fish to hood surfing to fishing with M-80's or a high-powered rifle, we've all done plenty of idiotic things. And posting this unfounded garbage counts as doing something stupid.

These kids have survived the most horrific incident anyone could imagine. They watched friends and people they respected die. And you are posting memes about tide pods and crisis actors. You need to go and find where you left you compassion and your decency.

Look, it boils down to one and only one thing, and it's not the tin foil hat sites that you think are actual news. 

Which do you value more: The Assault Rifle or the lives of kids? 

No Angst-Ridden Teen Spider-Man

Spider-Man Homecoming is a bit of a reset for the franchise. Marvel and Disney have taken back the series from Sony and have decided to go with the original teen version of Spider-Man without yet another origin version of the story. Tom Holland's web-slinger is more high school teen than angst-ridden movie teen. Holland will face one problem and that is how long he can get away with playing the teen version of the superhero. The only real issue I had in the movie was when the movie dialog tried to make us believe that Peter Parker is 15. Holland, who is 21, may get away with playing a "teen" but not one quite that young.

That said, Spider-Man Homecoming is a fun movie with the right blend of action and humor. It includes appearances of Robert Downey Jr. as the fast-talking Iron Man and some quite humorous PSA videos of Captain America (Chris Evans). Having the character of Stark/Iron Man also helps explain a slightly puzzling question of how the very working-class Peter Parker could afford his costume and gadgets. Tony Stark pays for it.

The movie is an updated version of Spider-Man. It follows the events of the first Avengers movie and the introduction of Spider-Man in Civil War. Peter Parker, who lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), goes to a high school for gifted students. He wants to become a full-fledged Avenger, but he must first learn the original theme of most Spider-Man movies - the infamous line with great power comes great responsibility. Spider-Man with his trusty best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) must find his way as a superhero who really is dealing with great power at an incredibly young age and still has all the problems that an orphaned, teen age genius must deal with, girls and the Homecoming dance. Yes the movie's title really does have something to do with a high school tradition. Add to this is the bad guy, Vulture. Michael Keaton plays the villain with just the right of bad guy and greatly wronged blue collar worker. He has his henchman (Bokeem Woodbine) who is a new version of Shocker.

Spider-Man is more or less on his own. He must learn to be a hero and understand the sacrifices that could come with that choice. He must also deal with adults who often seem not to be listening to him, a not uncommon complaint from many a teen. All and all, Spider-Man Homecoming is different from its predecessors while still keeping the trade-mark quick banter of Spider-Man. I liked the move and once again Marvel has a plot that is more than special effects balancing on fun characters. It is not a deep movie, but it is a fun one. I will buy the Blu-ray.

DC Finally Hits A Bullseye

Wonder Woman is the movie we've been hoping that DC movies would be. Instead of a solely dark and grim movie with black humor if any humor comes in the movie, Wonder Woman, while still having dark moments, becomes a well-balanced super hero movie. While different still from the Marvel movies which often have over-extended fight scenes and far more humor, Wonder Woman seeks to build stronger characters for which we can actually root. Of late, the heroes of the DCMU have become far too humorless and dark. Even the once bright and shiny Man of Steel lost that heroic and often patriotic stature or "good guy" feel. Not so with Wonder Woman. 

Not only is it high time that Hollywood give a live action feature film dedicated to a female comic book hero, but also this movie has opened the door for a better slate of DC movies than the uninviting universe of Suicide Squad and of Batman v Superman. Hopefully Justice League and future standalone Batman, Superman, and Aquaman movies will give us the heroes we need and not the ones we deserve. 

Gal Godot plays the role perfectly. She is both strong and an innocent as we learn the origin of Wonder Woman, Diana Prince. Her wide-eyed innocent is perfectly balanced with great action scenes with classic comic book poses. Gal Godot is also a stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful woman. She is perfect as the classic super hero goddess. Gone are the hokey and silly special effects of the Wonder Woman TV series. In its place is finally proof that DC movies have potential to become really good. It is also fun to see Chris Pine play the reverse role that far too many women have been relegated to playing.  The cast is over-all pretty good in set-up and execution even if the Amazons become a bit two dimensional in depth.

Yes, the characters are not as fleshed out as they could be. Yes, the movie is somewhat predictable. I had a pretty good idea who would survive and who would turn out to be the big bad pretty early on in the movie. Yes, the movie does depart the comic book story line of Wonder Woman from the comic books which give us a pretty good idea that Wonder Woman 2 is probably not going back to that story line again. The movie's success also guarantees that there will be a Wonder Woman 2 and hopefully will open the door for more standalone female super heroes. 

 

I liked the movie and highly recommend it. I didn't really see much addition in seeing it in 3-D so you might want to save the additional cost. I will buy the Blu-ray. 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Rights A Wrong

I finally made it to a theater to see Johnny Depp as he reprises his role of Captain Jack Sparrow for the 5th time in the most recent installment of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Men Tell No Tales. Saying it is perhaps the best of the 4 sequels to the original Curse of the Black Pearl, really isn't saying much about whether the movie is good or not. It is better than the others. In fact, I was thinking that if the odd numbered movies were edited and had a few plot point continuity fixes and we pretended that movies 2 and 4 didn't exist, Pirates might be a decent trilogy. The simple truth is that the original was an entertaining, fun, exciting, lighthearted adventure. Movies 2 through 5 became dark tales of death and drooling monsters while Jack Sparrow became steadily more foolish and drunk and the rest of the pirates became dirtier and with poorer dental care. 

Dead Men Tell No Tales at least makes the attempt to rectify the gruesome darkness of the other sequels, but it is still dark and the bad guys, the ghost pirate killers, are pretty gruesome. The attempt comes with the over-the-top antics of Sparrow and company, unfortunately Jack has become so foolish and drunk it's like watching one long, bad joke. We do see a sparkle of the Jack we came to love in the first movie at the end of this one, but for the most part there is only so much staggering and suddenly dozing off that I found funny. There are some good humorous lines in the movie, but they are pretty far apart. What the movie does do is give us a good bad guy, grows the character of Barbarossa, give us a pretty exciting end and moving last scene, and a fix to that horrid ending to the original trilogy At World's End. 

The plot, which is pretty thin, consists of Jack Sparrow, who is out of luck, has become, if possible even more drunk and irresponsible. We also meet Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) the grown son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). You may recall that in the third installment, Will Turner gave up his life and family to replace Davy Jones. Many people, me included, really hated that ending to what was supposed to be a romance adventure. Henry has sworn to his father that he would break Davy Jones' curse and sets out to do so believing that Jack can give him that answer. 

Jack has become cursed. He has no luck, no ship, and barely any remaining crew. He drunkenly stumbles around with the Black Pearl still stored in the bottle it was placed in by Black Beard in the 4th movie. What the search for Jack does do, it leads Henry to Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) who has a clue that will give Henry a way to break the curse. Jack is now being chased by the ghost pirate killer, Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his ghostly crew that Jack as a young and newly minted pirate captain tricked into his destruction in to going into the Devil's Triangle. 

One bright spot in the movie is how vengeance driven Salazar is and how well Bardem works the character. Another bright spot is also the growth of Geoffrey Rush's character of Barbossa who has his own secret twist from the days when he and Jack sailed the Pearl together. All in all, without telling you how, Will and Elizabeth finally get the happy ending that they should have had two movies ago. By the way, there is an after credits scene that hints at a sixth Pirates' movie. 

All in all, despite its weak plot and the caricature that Jack has become, Dead Men Tell No Tales is an okay movie with enough moments of humor and adventure and nice moments to carry it. I don't feel like I wasted my money, and it is possibly the best of the sequels. Still, don't go expecting to a sequel that has captured the sparkle of the original movie. If I buy the DVD, I may wait for the price to drop before I invest in it.