Southwest PA Self-defense Network Blog

My comments in red.  AMERICA IS EXCEPTIONALLY DUMB WHEN TO COMES TO GUNS By  Cynthia Tucker April 26, 2014 1:01 AM While Americans typically laud our national "exceptionalism" (She puts exceptionalism in quotes, which means it is not an accurate, literal term. So we're not really exceptional?) -- a sense that the trajectory of history has bestowed greatness upon the United States -- there are a few of our distinctive characteristics that don't deserve celebration. On the subject of firearms, for example, the United States is exceptionally irrational. No other nation has set guns aside as an object of worship. In addition, we have allowed the gun lobby to suppress research into the public health consequences of our firearms-worshipping culture. Indeed, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga. -- running in a crowded GOP primary for a U.S. Senate seat -- has recently reversed himself, going back on an earlier pledge to support such studies. It hardly gets any loonier than t...

I liked this article - finally, a women who isn't whining about how hard something is but she wants her early training to be tougher !  http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/a-marines-story-women-set-up-to-fail-usmc-s-most-grueling-test-223033894.html?vp=1 On the Radar At a petite 5’3’’, Sage Santangelo may not look like a combat fighter at first glance. But the female second lieutenant has never let that hold her back from pursuing her dream of becoming an infantry officer in the Marine Corps. Growing up, Santangelo found she was always able to keep up with the guys and enjoyed playing hockey on all boys’ teams. But when she joined the Marines, Santangelo found the playing field changed; she was segregated into female-only training units and as a woman, was relegated to less strenuous physical training than her male counterparts. And that’s why, Santangelo told “On the Radar,” she didn’t have a fair shot at passing the Marine Corps’ Infantry Officer Course...

One of more horrible couples and serial killers I've ever read about. Good support for the death penalty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Homolka http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/bernardo/18.html Stephen Williams in his book Unknown Darkness  describes Karla's idea: "She had really thought this thing with Tammy through. After all, she did not want to kill her own sister; she just wanted to knock her out and give her to Paul for Christmas. They sedated animals before they put them to sleep for surgery, so it should be all right to do it to her sister. There was some risk without the proper equipment — she would have to put the halothane on a cloth and hold it over Tammy's face — but she would make sure Tammy had plenty of air and check her breathing regularly." A truly organized rape, as only a thoughtful sister could plan. Maybe even the most thought out and organized rape ever. December 23, 1990, was the big day — Tammy's defl...

This article brings up a point that I've often said gun supporters duck or miss. What do you do with those that have a legal right to own a gun but simply should not? It's easy for this to be theoretical but what if it is your next door neighbor that is mean, a drinker and reckless? Open Carry, Concealed Carry and Crazy Carry 2950 Apr 22, 2014 11:13 AM EDT By Francis Wilkinson I often focus on the dangers of reckless people with guns, rather than criminals with guns, for two reasons. First, reckless people seem very plentiful. Second, they are invariably ignored in gun-rights rhetoric. The gun-rights movement advances a Manichean vision of criminals and "law-abiding citizens," with the latter always and everywhere in need of heavy firepower to defeat the former. National Rifle Association Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre's rhetoric about criminals -- "so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voic...

Inside the secret digital arms race: Facing the threat of a global cyberwar By Steve Ranger The team was badly spooked, that much was clear. The bank was already reeling from two attacks on its systems, strikes that had brought it to a standstill and forced the cancellation of a high profile IPO. The board had called in the team of security experts to brief them on the developing crisis. After listening to some of the mass of technical detail, the bank's CEO cut to the chase. "What should I tell the Prime Minister when I get to Cobra?" he demanded, a reference to the emergency committee the government had set up as it scrambled to respond to what was looking increasingly like a coordinated cyberattack. The security analysts hesitated, shifting in their seats, fearing this was the beginning, not the end, of the offensive. "We think this could just be a smokescreen," one said, finally. And it was. Before the end of next day, the attack had spread from banks to tra...

Here is one reason why our justice system needs adjusted. How is that a person spend most of his life in prison for something he didn't do with strong evidence that he was somewhere else. " Fleming had plane tickets, videos and postcards from his trip, said his lawyers, Anthony Mayol and Taylor Koss. But prosecutors at the time suggested he could have made a quick round-trip plane jaunt to be in New York, and a woman testified that she had seen him shoot Rush. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison and was due to have his first parole hearing soon. The witness recanted her testimony soon after Fleming's 1990 conviction, saying she had lied so police would cut her loose for an unrelated arrest, but Fleming lost his appeals." Just think if it was a relative of yours or even you. And what would have happened if he would have gotten the death penalty? http://news.yahoo.com/man-cleared-nyc-murder-25-years-prison-182841043.html

Although some would argue he was foolish for not just going with it, that's not the point. He didn't want to engage in any type of sexual activity. That was his choice and the law should back him up on that. He did make one very good observation " Stan told the court that he would have tried to overpower his attacker, but worried that people would think he raped her, The Mirror reports. He tried to escape without hurting her." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/11/angelina-jolie-lookalike-sex-stab_n_5133327.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

http://news.yahoo.com/alleged-victim-targets-accused-pedophile-priest-30-years-later-014011517.html The Rev. James Brzyski allegedly began molesting John Delaney when the altar boy was 11, persuading the child to keep quiet by saying his parents condoned their sexual relationship. “This guy had me all screwed up in my head,” Delaney said. More than 30 years later, the now defrocked Philadelphia Catholic priest is still trying to manipulate the narrative. When asked about Delaney by Yahoo News, Brzyski, 63, was silent for several seconds. Then he blurted out, “Quite a liar, John is,” and hung up the phone. Delaney, now 42, brushed off Brzyski’s denial. “You tell him John Delaney’s coming for him,” he said in a thick Philly accent. “I'm not a little kid anymore. You can't do this to me. I'm going to fight back now.” Delaney getting his day in court will be easier said than done. In 2005, a grand jury report made public by the Philadelphia district attorney’s office alleged B...