Yes, you read that correctly; we are at war. We are at war with people who wish to do Americans harm.  No matter the motivation, reason, scope or method; in the grand scheme of things, those factors are not important.  The fact that we are at war is real and troubling. What is more troubling however is that a substantial portion of Americans and politicians don't grasp this. Nor do they grasp that individuals have a natural right to defend themselves in this war. (more…)

On October 1, 2017, America once again was forced to confront another horrific mass shooting wherein (50) some people were killed and over 500 injured.  The shooter was not a stereotypical mass gunman.  Of note was the fact that Richard Vasquez, the former chief of firearms technology for the ATF, said the fact that Paddock was able to purchase 33 guns  should tell us "he had a very clean background." Additionally, at least 12 of the 23 firearms found in the hotel room had been fitted “with ...

[Ed: Read the Herring commentary, then Dr. Edeen's rebuttal below. The Dallas News first offered to publish this, cut by 3/4; then as just a 200-word Letter to the Editor. Hardly equal time, so here it is.] Dear Doctor Herring: As a fellow pediatric orthopedic surgeon practicing in the State of Texas, I have the utmost respect for the professional excellence in your practice of orthopedics and in your dedication to training the current and next generation of orthopedic surgeons.  Howev...

[Ed: Dr. Faria provided DRGO his response to another case of misinterpreted statistics. This was published as an Opinion Column in  The Telegraph (Macon, Georgia) on October 17, slightly edited here.]  In a recent letter to the editor in The Telegraph, Mr. Colin Frayne began his letter pointing out the need for “factual information” about guns.  He cites the statistic that for 2016, “36,861 total annual deaths [were] from guns, of which 58 deaths were from terrorism.” And compares it to ...

[Ed: Today we are happy to welcome new contributor Christopher Eckert.] Legal gun owners do not want people who should not have a gun to get one. Unfortunately, if one is opposed to liberal "common sense" gun control, you are painted as a gun nut who wants anyone to be able to get a gun so that children will die. (more…)

Firearms are misused a minute fraction of the time; that is vastly exceeded by the good uses they overwhelmingly have, at times uniquely life-saving. Most studies never adequately consider the contribution of increased legal gun access to preventing criminal violence (which is far the greatest cause of shootings). When there is enough ambiguity to claim an anti-gun conclusion, there is also enough evidence to discount it. (more…)

B. L. Brown is a police officer who wrote Rules of Engagement about trying to understand and improve police-citizen interactions. The book has several notable successes and some shortfalls. There are several references to Georgia law, reflecting the author’s base, but she is careful to point out that other states may employ different terms, and in fact may have different legislation. The introduction explains that this will be a conversational text. She then begins with a very useful glos...

I had a chance to offer my Mom a little advice recently.  She was upset with someone.  She told me what had occurred, and asked what I thought she should say. I suggested that rather than simply trying to decide what to say, she needed to first determine what she wanted to accomplish.  Without doing that, there would be no rational basis for assessing possible courses of action and deciding which provided the highest likelihood of accomplishing her goal.  (more…)