Challenges, Some Are More So Than Others

I think the challenges Brett Kavanaugh's family encounters pale in comparison to those of the Lawrence family residing on Jacksonville’s Westside in FLCD-5/formerly FLCD-3.

This morning Mrs. Lawrence was riding her bicycle at 6AM EST as she commuted to work at Amazon.  She was hit and killed in an auto accident not too far from where her daughter stood awaiting her school bus.  There are many unknowns to the situation; more specifically, did she have safety lights, was the car traveling at a high rate of speed, etc., but that is immaterial.  Her death creates long-lasting challenges for her survivors and my heart aches for them like my heart aches for Brett Kavanaugh’s daughters.

Mrs. Lawrence’s survivors include:

1. A husband and 
2. At least 2 teenagers of which:

• One is the previously mentioned daughter and 
• The other is an older special needs child.  

Moreover, her survivors live in a trailer not too far from where the accident occurred in an area that I once trod as I conducted surveys door-to-door approximately 9 nine years ago.  I mentioned that only to paint the picture that this family is poor, but doing what they needed to do to survive albeit with a hope and a prayer.

I learned of Mrs. Lawrence’s death reading the local news immediately after reading about Brett Kavanaugh’s third accuser and her accusations.  I immediately thought about each family and how each would deal with their respective challenges.

Sadly, I think the Lawrence family will have considerable struggles and hardships for years to come whereas the Kavanaughs (especially the daughters) will most likely only wrestle with the notion that Brett Kavanaugh had arguably been disrespectful to young women when he was at an age not much older than his daughters.

Moreover, I can empathize more with the Lawrences than the Kavanaughs.  While I personally have known a few individuals with wealth and influence from time to time, I have for the most part felt like being on the outside only to look in from time to time.  I am very fortunate that my wife works as I have yet to find steady income after being laid off from a reduction in force (RIF).  I am in the process of improving my skills to find employment with upward mobility versus having to take on menial work at a place like a warehouse.  I realize my situation is a luxury that many people do not have so they take what they can, which makes it very hard for them to break the cycle of just-getting-by let alone poverty.

Therefore, I find it galling that our government may put on the Supreme Court a man who is arguably unfit to sit there for multiple reasons, the most important one being honesty.  Brett Kavanaugh with all his privilege squandered his opportunities, which I blame in part on his parents who I believe abdicated their parenting duties and the boarding school administrators failing to assume them as it seems Brett did not develop if he developed at all a strong moral compass.  It is possible Brett Kavanaugh developed a moral compass later on, but he has obviously failed to acknowledge it until today after the third accusation.

Another reason why he is unfit to sit on the bench is that his arguable lack of self-introspection makes it hard for him to fully understand the challenges a family like the Lawrences now encounters.  As such, we need people on the bench that not only know the law and respect it, but know and empathize with families like the Lawrences because I believe there are more of them than the Kavanaughs amongst us.

The Slippery Slope to Anarchy

Someone is lying. That someone is either Christine Margaret Blasey Ford or Brett Michael Kavanaugh.

Mrs. Ford, a college professor, has stated that Mr. Kavanaugh, the current Supreme Court Justice nominee, sexually assaulted her at a party 36 years ago when they were both teenagers.  Mr. Kavanaugh refutes that accusation.

Most if not all vectors point to Mr. Kavanaugh lying.  The most credible vector is that Mrs. Ford disclosed six years ago – six years prior to her ever knowing that the President would nominate Mr. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court – during a therapy session that she was physically assaulted by Mr. Kavanaugh. I could go on with a list of other vectors, but that is not the point of this post.

The point of this post is that we could be on the slippery slope to anarchy.

• Our President lies (he has been proven in a court of law that he has lied repeatedly in the past and arguably, in the court of public, currently, on a daily basis).
• Arguably, a past and current Supreme Court Justice has lied.
• The current Supreme Court Justice nominee has arguably and very much convincingly, lied  - on separate and multiple instances.
• And members of Congress for the most part condone it.  

Are we a nation of liars?

There are consequences to lying.  If those that enforce the law, such as our President lies, then others may be led to believe that lying, if not acceptable, may be expected, which is the beginning of the slippery slope leading to where no one can be trusted.  That is a scary proposition. Even God condemns lying; please look at the 8th Commandment. 

Another Gun Owner, Another Mass Shooting

Have a problem?  Well, if you own a gun then use it (for its intended purpose, killing a living being).  That's how you solve it (the problem, that is), is it not?  Who cares if shooting at someone creates more problems.

The NRA doesn't. Is this not true?  Look at Bakersfield CA. Javier Casarez, a gun owner, killed his wife and four others yesterday, September 12, 2018, because he believed she was cheating on him.  Did the NRA or any notable gun advocate state that these killings are unacceptable and runs counter to our founders' beliefs that our unalienable rights should not be infringed upon? No! Their silence portends that the loss of innocent lives by a gun owner firing his or her weapon is the price that our society must pay to have the Second Amendment (2A) - kind of like a sacrificial offering to the gods.  That attitude puts the 2A at risk.

I may not know the people killed in Bakersfield, CA, but I regret that they lost their lives and that their survivors now have a loss that they may never understand, that they may never find peace and solace and that they may take to their grave a pain unimaginable. Do you want this on your soul?  I don't.

These senseless killings must stop.

The answer is not gun restrictions because "guns do not kill people."

The answer is that people that want to own a gun must demonstrate that they are:

1. Responsible, 
2. Sane (aka mentally stable) and 
3. Have the discipline to properly care for a gun 

because "people (a gun owner as shown above in this instance) kill people" and guns are so much more efficient at doing the job.

Since the gun industry fails to promote the three (3) criteria stated above then our government must pass laws that dictate the proper behavior.  These laws will NOT place restrictions on guns but instead ensure proper behavior to ensure every one's unalienable rights are secured and protected.  Seems reasonable to me, does it not?

Sue The Gun Manufacturers

Tonight I attended Duval County Public Schools' monthly Board meeting to give a speech, a first in a series, which I show below.

Good evening Duval County Public Schools Board Members. Thank you for taking my comments.

Fear lays like a shroud upon our schools. At first blush our schools are not much different than prisons – 6ft or higher fences, gates & doors locked, access via a single door and security guards with a weapon prominently displayed.

Even worse, this loss in liberty was preceded by a loss of many lives in Parkland FL.

We have “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness” and “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it?”

I want to exercise that right to alter our government; however, I cannot do it alone.

I seek to help everybody in this room and those watching on TV that we most act in a brave and bold manner to protect our children and our nation.

The MSD Act:

1. Does more to infringe on our children’s’ unalienable rights than protect them;
2. It fails to hold accountable those people that have directly and indirectly infringed upon our rights; and
3. It redirects dollars that could be invested in more accretive activities

This is not the first time a government entity has incurred costs from the use of unsafe manufactured products by its citizens. A large group of US government entities successively sued manufacturers 2 decades ago. This renowned lawsuit is known as the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).

Should not our district sue the gun manufacturers?

Regrettably, we will most likely have to sue our state and federal government as the majority of the elected officials have arguably allowed themselves to be corrupted by the gun industry for example:

1. MSD act funnels money to the gun industry – more guns, ammo most be bought and 
2. Congress passed H.J.Res. 40 less than 2 years ago that it made easier for someone with documented mental health issues to purchase a gun.

In reference to the latter, in 2008 the US Supreme Court in the renowned DC vs. Heller opinion, which affirms that a gun may be owned for self-defense, the court states the Second Amendment right is NOT UNLIMITED.

For example, the majority writes, those with mental illness should NOT be allowed to have a gun. In short, our nation’s highest court says there must be people restrictions.

Regrettably, the burden falls on us. As I see it,  school districts are the only avenue to affect meaningful and lasting change.  I encourage DCPS to sue the gun manufacturers. I am confident others districts will join. We have case law at our back.  I believe and hopefully you do to that we must act to protect our unalienable rights, of life liberty & pursuit of happiness so we can remove the shroud of fear from our schools.

NPR Seeks To Know What Issues Affect You

In my news feed today I noticed that NPR seeks to know what issues affect us.  I share with you below what I shared with NPR.

The issues that affect me are promoting responsible gun ownership and tackling our nation’s healthcare challenge; however, we cannot focus on these issues because of dysfunctional leadership at the Federal level.

In reference to the latter, dysfunctional leadership, we have a President that lies.  His political party, the GOP, will not hold him accountable.  I do not think the other party, the Democrats, is much better.  This mess is due to campaign finance – primarily, the rich and special interests have considerable control on our choices, which are typically poor, so instead of voting for someone we end up voting against someone.


In reference to guns, the argument needs to change to match reality.  The argument should be “responsible gun ownership” not gun restrictions.  For people to own a gun they should have to demonstrate they are responsible enough to own a weapon.  The Heller opinion states on page 2 that there should be prohibitions on people who are mentally ill.  Moreover, gun dealers, need to demonstrate that are responsible as well to ensure they will not sell weapons to criminals.

In reference to Healthcare, it is only going to get worse.  The increasing costs are crowding out other purchases, such as investments in infrastructure to facilitate economic growth.  This issue continues to be ignored.  Neither solely universal nor solely competitive is the answer.  It is a mixture of both; however, I believe we will go to universal in 10 years to eventually arrive at a mixture 30 years hence.

THX NRA! FLA Kindergartners Now Receive Active Shooter Training

Yesterday, my daughter brought home a letter from the school's principal making us aware of "three very important security updates," which are:

1. Announce the school's Independence Day (it should actually be called Parent-Child Separation Day) this coming Tuesday; 
2. To inform parents that school staff received active shooter training; and 
3. All school age children, including kindergartners, must receive active shooter training on a monthly and quarterly basis with initial training with introductory videos later next week. 

"Independence Day" is when the parents leave their children at the school entrance and let the children walk themselves to their classroom. My fifth grader is not happy about that, but she would have most likely been in a state of tears if this occurred when she was a kindergartner. This so-called "independence day" seems more like Separation Day and analogous to what occurred at the southern border.

The videos are below, but the producers of these training videos have no clue about a live shooting environment. The teachers/actors tell the viewers (children) that they "won't be scared if they are prepared."  I am sorry, but I believe they lie, lie to themselves and lie to children.  It is normal to be scared when your life is in danger. Even police officers who are trained are scared in these types of situations. I think Sacha Baron Cohen's video shown further below creates a more realistic situation.

THANK YOU NRA and NRA SUPPORTERS! 

Thank you for the lose of our children's freedoms so YOU MAY HAVE THE FREEDOM TO PURCHASE A GUN WITHOUT DEMONSTRATING MENTAL STABILITY or the ABILITY TO PROPERLY HANDLE and CARE FOR YOUR WEAPON (of death).

Florida Training Video For K thru 2 Grade

Florida Training Video For 3 thru 5 Grade
Sacha Baron Cohen's video