STAND YOUR GROUND

Most of you faithful readers won’t recognize the tone or voice, and maybe not even the views, of this blog post. You see, my father is recovering from some medical issues, so he asked me to help him write this month’s blog posting. He picked the topic, but the views shared are a combination of his and mine. So, read on, if you dare!

      Since George Zimmerman shot Treyvon Martin a lot of time and energy has been spent arguing the pros and cons of Stand Your Ground laws around the country; especially in Florida.

      Do you have the right to "Stand Your Ground"? More importantly, should you have that right?

      Let's start with a simple fact. George Zimmerman never claimed immunity under Florida's Stand Your Ground law. SYG assumes that a person has the opportunity to retreat or flee from a confrontation and chooses not to. In the case of George Zimmerman, one of two things happened, depending on whom you believe:

1. Zimmerman targeted, ambushed, and killed Martin.
   or
2. Martin pinned Zimmerman to the ground, and began punching him in the face and slamming his head in the concrete. Zimmerman fired his gun from under Martin, to stop the deadly assault.

      This first scenario is what the prosecution claims, and it is murder, cut and dry. The second, which is what the defense claimed, is a clear case of self defense in every state in this country. This is why the defense waived SYG during pre-trial¹.

      In spite of this fact, calls for the repeal of this and other laws have appeared across the country. Some, such as from our President, implied a connection between the law and the case² while others³, including calls from Martin’s own mother blame the boy’s death and his killer’s acquittal directly on the law. Though this case was not about SYG, the national interest in this type of law invites an examination of what a Stand Your Ground Law really is.

      SYG is simply the belief that, if you have the right to be somewhere, no one else has the right to assault or attack you or to use force or the threat of force to chase you away. In the words of Michigan’s stand your ground law, “An individual who has not or is not engaged in the commission of a crime at the time he or she uses deadly force may use deadly force against another individual anywhere he or she has the legal right to be with no duty to retreat. . .”⁴ if that individual is in fear of their life.

      You have the God-given right to stay where you are; to "Stand Your Ground". All 50 states employ the so-called "Castle Doctrine" which mandates that if an intruder enters a person's home, the victim does not have to retreat and leave his or her home before using forceful self-defense. Fourteen states have enacted explicit Stand Your Ground laws, like the one we see above, while still others have doctrine through judicial interpretation ⁵.

      Is Stand Your Ground right? I am not willing to comment on any particular state’s version of the law, but I strongly agree with the basic doctrine. If someone confronts me and threatens me, regardless of where I am (assuming I am there legally), I shouldn’t have to try to figure out how to defend myself AND get out of there. I should have the right, but not the obligation, to retreat.

      Think about this; if I am armed, and you are not, and we are both being assaulted, what if I retreat and you can’t?

At least that's my opinion. What's yours?

Citations

^{1 The Law and the Trial}

^{2 Obama on UTube}

^{3 Aljazeera on SYG}

^{4 Michigan Self-Defense Act (exerpt)}

^{5 States with SYG}

Have a conspiracy you'd like me to research? Got a question about 

crypto? Want to rant and rave about how crazy I am? Write your 

question or comment HERE and I'll do my best to find and post the 

answer.

^{If you wish to unsubscribe from this blog, please send an email to pyrate02@gmail.com with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE”in the subject line.}

A FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY

     My blog has quite a diverse following, so I thought some of you folks may
be interested in my son’s business. He is a franchise consultant, specializing in retail and service concepts. He has worked with some of the top franchises around, including being the CAO of a company that was in 2008 the fastest growing franchise brand in the country.

If you are wondering how to franchise a business, please be sure to check
out his site, FranchiseBeacon.com
     They also provide consulting for people who are wondering how to buy a
franchise, or who want help running their current retail franchise
business.
     In addition, he maintains a franchise blog , so be sure to check that out, too.

     Ok, that’s the end of my shameless plug. But seriously, check out their franchise opportunities.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA

God Bless America and 

God bless all the men and women 

that risk their lives 

so that we may continue to live free.

HOAX, CONSPIRACY OR REALITY?

My son usually proofreads my articles prior to posting them. After reading 

this one he said: "Overall, I don't know how I feel about the article. I usually 

walk away from your writings feeling like I learned something; what are you 

teaching here?" In answer to that, I'm not trying to teach anything with this

post. I am trying to get people to think and to approach the subject not with

 preconceived notions but with an open mind. I hope I have succeeded.

     I'm going to start this post out with the following basic premise: until 

about 10,000 years ago, a large portion of our planet was covered with ice. 

Many believe that ice was up to a mile thick in some places.

      Yes. I know! There are those that would disagree. Some people think that 

the earth is only 4,000 to 7,000 years old^1, dinosaurs never existed and
 
 
espouse a lot of other ideas opposed to mainstream science. I won't get into 


that discussion here. That is way beyond my field of expertise. This article is 


for those of you that do subscribe to standard thought and who believe in the 


ice age(s).

 
Today is Saturday; June 29, 2013.

 

     As I am sitting down to write this most of the United States, along with 

several other places on earth are experiencing a historic heat wave.

 

According to ThinkProgress.org: "...by the end of the heat wave, we may see 

a record tied or broken for the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth."

     This picture was taken yesterday (06/28/2013) at Furnace Creek 

California.

    

      The National Park service states that the record for the world's highest 

recorded temperature of 134°F (57°C) was on July 10, 1913 at the 

 

aptly-named town of Furnace Creek. 

 

     The forecast called for Death Valley to reach 128 degrees today. It may go 

higher; possibly topping the record. You can track the temp at the NOAA* 

web site HERE to see if the record gets broken.

 

UPDATE 7/1/'13

"According to the National Weather Service, Sunday's highest 

temperature was 129 degrees, making it the hottest June temperature 

ever recorded in the U.S."

 

     The National Weather Service says that our average temperature for 

June 29 here in Billings is 72°F. It is 88°F today. Is that significant? Are we 

all  doomed to bake to death?

     In February of this year, the Earth Policy Institute said: "Without a 

dramatic reduction in fossil fuel use, we will veer even further away from the 

“normal” temperatures and weather patterns that civilization is adapted to." Is

this true? Is the world as we know it about to end? More importantly, are we 

doing it to ourselves and if so is there anything we can do to stop and/or 

reverse this impending disaster?

 

     Those that want you to believe that the ice sheets are melting,

deserts are growing, temperatures are rising and it's all because of

pollution and carbon emissions are ignoring a very basic scientific

point: if it wasn't for global warming, Washington to New York² would

still be covered in glaciers and you could probably go skiing in Phoenix.

     Fortunately earth warmed up a few degrees and the last ice age ended a

long time ago. Global warming is responsible for the earth's current

current temperate climate in which we thrive as a species.

 

Click HERE for this and other charts

      The fact is that the earth is warmer than it was a couple of thousand 

years ago and colder than a couple of hundred years ago. History and geology 

teach us that our home planet will get warmer - and colder. Sea levels will 

rise and fall. Ice ages will come and go. Earth's climate will change.

So what does this mean for those that want to stop putting all greenhouse 

gases into the atmosphere? Should we all start powering our homes with 

solar cells and driving electric cars? Is global warming real?

     That, my friends, is the wrong question. The question we should be asking 

is how much of global warming is man creating and how much is a natural, 

unavoidable consequence of an ageing earth?

      Let us start by getting rid of the political hype. Obama has said that he 

wants to bankrupt the coal industry to help the environment³. Al Gore, along 

with several scientists have almost  completely destroyed any credibility the  

had with their claims about man-caused global warming using citing false 

and falsified data⁴.

 

     On the other side there is the "It's all a hoax" point of view. These folks 

would have you believe that mankind has no negative effect on our climate⁵. 

On April tenth of this year, Real Clear Politics printed that "global 

warming has existed essentially only in computer models."

      If we are quickly destroying Planet Earth by burning fossil fuels, then 

should we all invest billions to institute so-called "Green Energy" wherever 

possible and as soon as possible, at the expense of the status quo?

      If it's all a conspiracy or hoax should the coal mines, auto industry and oil 

companies continue to make those same billions by continuing to do what 

they have been doing for over a century?

      As with most things in life the truth lies not to the far left or far right, but 

somewhere in the middle. Look between the extremes and you will find the 

reality. Do your own research before you climb onto one band wagon or the

other. Before you entirely make up your mind though, remember that old 

crime-fighting adage: Follow the money. In other words, who has more 

(money) to gain by convincing you of their point of view? They are probably 

lying, or at least exaggerating a little(?) bit.

      This is one area [of many] where I don't have the answers. Hell! I don't 

even have all the questions. What I want you to take away from this article is 

this; at least if you arm yourself with information from all sides, you can 

make an informed decision for yourself. Don't buy ANYBODY'S bullshit. 

Think for yourself. The future - ours and our children's children's future 

depends on it.

 

At least that's my opinion. What's yours?

*National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Citations

¹ Young Earth Thoery

 
  ^{Dinosaurs Are A Hoax}

² Ice Age Glaciation

³ Obama and Coal

 

 Promise to Bankrupt the Coal Industry

⁴ Forbs: The Earth Is Cooling

   The Fabrication of Global Warming


    Scientists Caught Producing False Data

    False Temperature Data Uncovered

⁵ Real Clear Politics

   Collapse of the Global Warming Hoax

   Global warming conspiracy theory

Have a conspiracy you'd like me to research? Got a question about 


crypto? Want to rant and rave about how crazy I am? Write your 


question or comment HERE and I'll do my best to find and post the 



answer.

If you wish to unsubscribe from this blog, please send an email to pyrate02@gmail.com with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE”in the subject line.