Why the Second Amendment is a good thing

A gun can come in handy many times, as shown in this blurb from the Ocala Star-Banner.

Corrections Officer Fires at Shooter

OCALA - The Ocala Police Department and Florida Department of Law Enforcement were investigating a shooting Thursday afternoon involving an off-duty corrections officer in a parking lot on West Silver Springs Boulevard.

Police officials gave this early account of the shooting:

A car was being detailed at the 1900 block of the boulevard at about 2:20 p.m. when another car pulled up and blocked it. The driver of the second vehicle got out and reportedly fired several shots at the man in the other car.

At that time, David Anderson, an off-duty Marion County corrections officer, saw what was taking place, drew a handgun and fired shots at the shooter.

The shooter's intended target rammed the second vehicle with first car and managed to escape. He, along with witnesses, called police. The shooter fled.

The off-duty officer and the man in the first car were not injured.

Yep, I think people just might behave better if they knew other people were packing.

Murder in The Villages-That's it for Justice

This happened on Tuesday, but I'm a little behind on my posting.

Well, it's finally over. The third murderer of Diana Miller was sentenced on December 16th.

OCALA - Theodore Houston, the youngest of the three men charged in a Villages slaying, and who testified against his co-defendants during their trial earlier this year, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday.

Houston, 19, pleaded no contest in late October to second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm and robbery with a firearm for his role in the July 2006 killing of 63-year-old Villages resident Diana Miller and the nonfatal shooting of her husband, James.

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Lambert, after listening to nearly an hour's worth of testimony from family members and mitigating arguments from the defendant's lawyer, told Houston before he was fingerprinted: "Your sentence was a little lighter than I thought I was going to impose, and that's thanks to your attorneys. I've taken into consideration that you did help the state."

Under the terms of his deal, Houston could have faced 40 years in prison.

And of course:

Family members of the defendant, who struggled to maintain their composure during Tuesday's hour-long hearing, wailed and burst into sobs as Circuit Judge Brian Lambert issued the sentence.

Afterward, they clustered in the hall outside the courtroom, crying and consoling each other.

"Ridiculous," muttered Curtis Houston, the defendant's 23-year-old cousin, regarding the 20-year sentence.

But what about the victims of this murder?

James Miller and a family member were present for the hearing, leaving quickly and without comment following the hearing.

That's right. One sentence.

Folks, that is it as far a justice can be obtained. Daughter Sheila Miller apparently will escape. Maybe there's justice in a next life.

If Thomas Sowell Says It...

You can believe it. I don't recall ever disagreeing significantly with Thomas Sowell...and I'm not going to start now!

Check out this column: "Postponing Reality"

It concerns the proposed bailouts of the Big 3 auto makers. Some excerpts:

Some of us were raised to believe that reality is inescapable. But that just shows how far behind the times we are. Today, reality is optional. At the very least, it can be postponed.

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We are told that the collapse of the Big Three automakers in Detroit would have repercussions across the country, causing mass layoffs among firms that supply the automobile makers with parts, and shutting down automobile dealerships from coast to coast.

A renowned economist of the past, J.A. Schumpeter, used to refer to progress under capitalism as "creative destruction"-- the replacement of businesses that have outlived their usefulness with businesses that carry technological and organizational creativity forward, raising standards of living in the process. Indeed, this is very much like what happened a hundred years ago, when that new technological wonder, the automobile, wreaked havoc on all the forms of transportation built up around horses.

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While Detroit's Big Three are laying off thousands of workers, Toyota is hiring thousands of workers right here in America, where a substantial share of all our Toyotas are manufactured.

Will this save Detroit or Michigan? No.

Detroit and Michigan have followed classic liberal policies of treating businesses as prey, rather than as assets. They have helped kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. So have the unions. So have managements that have gone along to get along.

Toyota, Honda and other foreign automakers are not heading for Detroit, even though there are lots of experienced automobile workers there. They are avoiding the rust belts and the policies that have made those places rust belts.

A bailout of Detroit's Big Three would be only the latest in the postponements of reality. As for automobile dealers, they can probably sell Toyotas just as easily as they sold Chevvies. And Toyotas will require just as many tires per car, as well as other parts from automobile parts suppliers.

Thomas Sowell is an economist who's in touch with reality. Would that there were more in charge of the crap going on today.

Florida: Then and Now

Interesting article on FloridaTrend.com: it shows many of the changes in Florida from 50 years ago.

To begin with: The cost of a Florida home is up 1,640% over the past 50 years. Bread is up 1,000%, and eggs, 250%.

$11,800 median home value in 1958	$205,500 median home value now
67.5% percentage of Floridians who owned a home in 1958 (nationally, 61.9%)	70.1% percentage of Floridians who own a home now (nationally, 66.2%)

More: and this is depressing and explains so much:

Lawyers

1958: Miami had one for every 440 residents
Now: One for every 217 Floridians

Real Estate Agents

1958: Miami had one for every 265 residents
Now: One for every 57 Floridians

Gasoline

	25¢ price per gallon in 1958
	$3.75 price per gallon now

There's more fun facts, especially for us old-timers. Check it out.

Want to hear good radio?

Well, I have a friend...Calico...who's a DJ at a radio station in Quincy (think Tallahassee) and she's on 4 nights a week starting at 7:00. But her Tuesday show is just her programming music: classic country and a heaping helping of classic and oldies rock.

I love it. I think you may too.

Calico is on WGWD-93.3FM (link here) so try it. Also the rest of the programming is pretty good. It's real programming by real people. Kind of nice for a real change.

Still my favorite Christmas cartoon

I'm known in my family as something of a Scrooge. Why? Well, maybe because I don't celebrate Christmas that much.

One reason is, I think, because I've never had children. And children make Christmas fun...and important.

But I do love a Christmas cartoon. This is my favorite, probably because it's a little dark.

I received as a card. I've posted it before and I still don't know where I got it, so I can't give it proper acknowledgment.

But it just cracks me up.

I'm an accountant....and I'm sorry (Update #3)

Okay, last post then I get off this hobby horse.

The American Spectator has five articles on "Mark to Market Watch" that explain the impact of this issue.

You can find them here, here, here, here and here. If you read nothing else, see part 3 here on "Rules Have Consequences."

They are short, very clear and show just what a negative difference has been made by this accounting rule.

But they also show what the positive results that can be obtained IF this atrocity is soon removed.

But I don't think it'll be soon enough.

Update (12/16/08)

The reason why I'm so pessimistic? Check out this article in the WSJ: FASB Studies Expanding 'Mark' Rules. Expand!! Hell, in gambling that would be called doubling down. When did accountants become so into gambling? (Okay, now I'm off this hobby horse.)

I'm an accountant....and I'm sorry (Update #2)

As I've said before, I feel I must apologize. Yes, I am an accountant. Been one for decades. Seen a lot of financial crap and crises in that time. For the first time I feel I'm part of the problem.

My profession has much to apologize for something called 'mark to market' for certain financial transactions. Here is my first updated post on that subject.

Well, a couple of days ago I read a very good article entitled "Mark to Market Means Mayhem" with which I agree.

What is most amazing about this crisis is that the government is unwilling to address one of the root causes of investor fears -- mark-to-market accounting. For some reason, normally stalwart free market thinkers are willing to support trillions of dollars of government intervention, but are unwilling to support a suspension of mark-to-market accounting. They trust government solutions more than private sector solutions.

This has happened before. In the 1970s, when inflationary pressures were rising because of excessively easy monetary policy, the government tried everything but tightening money to fix the problem. A partial list includes: wage and price controls, windfall profits taxes, tax hikes, credit controls, WIN buttons, and price caps on energy products.

None of this worked because inflation was a monetary phenomenon. But every convoluted attempt at fighting inflation that did not address the real problem created even more problems elsewhere. The end result of all of this was stagflation as government interference in free markets undermined growth.

Milton Friedman, who understood the problem, and proposed the solution that was eventually put in place by Paul Volcker, was considered too narrow-minded. Many thought that inflation was intractable and something we would have to live with.

Sadly, it seems that the U.S. government is repeating a similar error all over again. Conventional wisdom argues that the problems we face are fundamental in nature. That this is a classic case of an economy gone awry, and that the only way out is for government to bail us out.

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To understand this process, imagine that a forest fire one mile to the east of your home in Montecito, California, was being blown your way by the Santa Ana winds. How much would your home be worth at that moment? How about the loan on the books of your lender? Then imagine that the wind shifts to come from the ocean, your house is saved, and its value is unimpaired once again. Which set of books is right?

The only difference between this example and today's economic crisis is that no matter what price we place on the house, it will not affect the direction of the wind or power of the fire. But because marking-to-market impairs capital and therefore the financial system as a whole, it is causing the fire to burn hotter and the wind to blow harder. Marking to what might happen forces the system to accommodate losses that may not occur in reality.

Subprime loan problems, which started out as a $300 billion problem, have morphed into a $1.5 trillion dollar problem affecting many different markets and types of institutions. Even if the wind shifted, and the fire moved the other way, the damage would have already been done. In other words, it would not matter if the house had actually survived because the bankruptcy would have already occurred.

Suspending mark-to-market accounting will not keep institutions that took excessive risk from failing. Bad loans are still bad loans and there is no way to avoid the pain that they cause. It will, however, end the negative feedback loop, which drags everyone down. It allows time to see if the wind shifts and keeps the flames from spreading.

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The government has tried multiple strategies. The only thing they all have in common is that they are designed to offset or stop the damage caused by mark-to-market accounting.

I don't hold any real hope that this simple solution will ever be implemented. Too many people will have to admit that they were wrong in the first place and that this error in judgment contributed so much to this financial meltdown.

Again, as an accountant, I apologize. I repeat a point I made before: Accounting is for clarity and transparency...or it should be. It should not be the instrument of wholesale destruction at the hands of regulators.

Pearl Harbor-Do You Remember

December 7th...a day that will live in infamy.

Do we still remember? Or do we now just think there is moral equivalence between America at that time and Imperial Japan?

I choose to remember the men killed and wounded. But also our nation that bounced back and won two wars...against Japan and the Nazis/fascists in Europe.

Always remember the brave who came before us. And always strive to be brave even when all looks lost.

And I will do the same.

This is supposed to be an exceptional weekend

Yep, that's what all my friends and acquaintances from Gainesville (think Univ of Fla) have been on about all damn week. Something about a football game. They do seem to get very excitable in these parts during football season. They can get positively manic when the Gators are winning. Oh well, I guess it takes their mind of the economy, etc.

Frankly, it means much less to me. I went to Florida State. And I eventually grew up.

Anyway...Good Luck, Gators!!

UPDATE (12/7/08)

As you may have heard, the GATORS won...big! My friends are going to be intolerable for the next few weeks, but at least it's not as bad as if they had lost.

Now to cleanse the mental images...

from my mind after the last post.

Here's a clever You Tuber's vision: "Hey-Ya! Charlie Brown Style"

UPDATE (12/7/08)

Okay, if you liked that, try this: Charlie Brown Christmas (by cast of Scrubs)

Be careful what you ask for...in Marion

First, I'd like to say that this is an aberration for Marion County. But I might be lying to you.

I'm hesitant to even post this. It plays into a stereotype that we Southerners are kinda "white trashy" but I found this interesting...sad, yes...but kinda funny. Maybe it's me.

SILVER SPRINGS - After a day of arguing, witnesses said Janice Lou Benton's 51-year-old male house guest urged her to "go ahead and kill him."

He told the 67-year-old woman to get her rifle, cock it and pull the trigger. So she did, according to reports.

Benton then put the rifle back in its rack and returned to stand over the dead body of Ricky O'Conn or "in disbelief."

The bizarre tale is the account Benton and her son gave to a Marion County sheriff's detective investigating the death at 255 N.E. 118th Ave. Road in the Ocala National Forest.

Benton was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder.

She told Detective Rhonda Stroup that she met O'Connor about two weeks ago at The Pub Bar in Ocala. He had recently gotten out of the Marion County Jail.

Benton brought him home.

He wanted a sexual relationship, she said, but she wasn't interested. On Nov. 26, some friends came over, and another man spent the night with her. O'Connor didn't like that and made rude remarks about it.

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Go ahead-read the linked article. You know you want to.

Then pray that you don't have such people in your family. I'd like to do the same...but I can't. I know I have a few in mine.

By the way, this is the femme fatale in question.

Janice Lou Benton

Caution: Another Marion County Genius at Work

Every now and then I let you know of the antics of some of our local geniuses. Just to give you a flavor of what to expect if you visit. Well, here's another.

Headline - Police: $15,000 check proves fraudulent

OCALA - With the stock market losing a lot of its value and some investors going broke, one man claimed his investments struck gold and went to a check-cashing business to cash in on his newfound wealth.

But police say it turned out the proposed windfall was a hoax, and the supposed wise investor, 41-year-old William Boyd Martin, perhaps didn't prove so brilliant after all when he was outsmarted by the cashier.

Ocala police arrested Martin on Thursday and charged him with uttering a forged instrument.

On Thursday, Martin went to ACF Cash Express, 908 S. Pine Ave., to cash a $15,000 check. Martin told the cashier he had received the check in the mail based on money earned through investments he made with his attorney, according to a police report.

But the cashier said Martin could not provide a telephone number for the attorney.

The clerk took the check to the back of the business and called the company listed was on it – Standard Dairy Consultants LLC in Ocala. Officials there told her the check was fraudulent and that two to three weeks ago someone got a copy of their business check, copied a bunch of them and mailed them to people.

Ocala police were called, and, on scene, Martin told them that he had received the check in the mail and believed it was a reward from an investment. He said he had attempted to contact the company, but didn't get a response. Martin was then arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail.

We are so proud.

Good news for the 2nd Amendment

Good news...and it's about time.

WASHINGTON - People will soon be able to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges.

The Bush administration said Friday it is overturning a 25-year-old federal rule that severely restricts loaded guns in national parks.

Under a rule to take effect in January, visitors will be able to carry a loaded gun into a park or wildlife refuge - but only if the person has a permit for a concealed weapon and if the state where the park or refuge is located also allows concealed firearms.

Our national parks have become much more dangerous and the number of parks personnel have never been high. The best security in such cases is personal protection.

Of course, this will only last until the Obama-holics get into power.