The Scoper

Hubris is a bitch. If you don’t believe me ask Eric Cantor.

I am gobsmacked over the national dialog about the results of the primary election for congress in Virginia’s 7th district. Eric Cantor, the current house majority leader and until this week the most significant candidate for the next Speaker of the House, lost to a local conservative college economics professor David Brat. This lost came despite pollsters predicting Cantor’s victory by a margin from 15% to 30%.

I am not shocked that he lost. I am amazed that it is being treated as if it is a national referendum. In today’s New York Times the lead editorial headline is “In G.O.P., Far Right is Too Moderate.” A headline above the fold in the same paper reads, “Divided G.O.P. Sees Promise and Risk in Primary Upset.”

Let’s put the results in perspective. There were a total of 65,000 voters who participated in this primary election. Of those 65,000, 36,000 voted for the “underdog,” Mr. Brat. So all this national hubbub is the result of 36,000 voters casting a single vote. The district has about 758,000 eligible voters. In the last election, 381,000 of them voted with 223,000 of those voters going for Cantor. So the results of this primary was not the beginning of the establishment of some grand national platform, it was the result of people going to Starbucks for their Venti Skim Latte’ and a crumb cake rather than the voting booth.

The result of this primary has nothing to do with ideology. It has little to do with any grand lesson. It has everything to do with a poorly structured campaign that ignored that the main objective was getting people to the polls, not convincing voters that Cantor was the more qualified candidate. Look, it’s a primary where all that was being said in the weeks leading up to the election was that Cantor was going to win by a landslide. Given that, even I would probably choose to get to work early over being able to sport the “I voted” sticker on my lapel.

It is no surprise that the Democrats are promoting this as a major rift in the G.O.P. Certainly it is not surprising that they are using this to indicate that there is a resurgence of the dreaded Tea Party. The Republicans reaction to the election results is what’s most troubling. They should be smarter. They should be educating the public that it was a fluke that has no impact other than to teach them that primary elections are important. There was no message other than voters are inherently lazy, especially in primary season.

There was no national support of David Brock. While voters sympathetic to the Tea Party voted for him, he had no support from any national organization. He had no big money backing as indicated by his staggering low $200K of campaign spending. The Republican Party should be spending its time providing perspective to its constituents rather than backpedaling on positions taken on immigration reform and other significant social issues.

When is it Wrong to Help

When is helping someone wrong?

I was returning by train to Shanghai from Changzhou with a few of my business associates. We got off the train and walked down the platform to the long flight of stairs that take you down to street level. The stairs are stone, a bit slippery and there are many of them. There is no elevator at all.

I noticed two small women struggling with a suitcase that was literally almost as large as they were. It was on wheels. They were attempting to push it down step by step but not having a very successful time doing so. This was an accident waiting to happen as the crowd of primarily Chinese people pushed and shoved their way past them as is typical in China. I immediately walked over to the second step they had negotiated, grabbed their suitcase, and walked down the entire 3 flights of steps with it setting it on the ground and giving them back the handle.

All the way down these woman were saying thank you over and over to me in Chinese. At the bottom, obviously having given it some thought, they said a very proper thank you in English. I nodded in acknowledgment (one does not say “you’re welcome” typically in China) and continued walking with by business associates, one of whom is Singaporean but had lived in Shanghai for the last two years.

He said, “You don’t do that in China, that was wrong to do and risky.”

I asked him why.

He responded, "First of all, it just is not done. Second, if anything had happened to the suitcase during your helping them they would have blamed you and made you pay for something, even if it was not your fault." He added, “For example, did you notice the handle?” I said I had noticed that it was a bit ratty. He said, “If that handle had broken while you were carrying it, we would have had to negotiate a settlement with her on the street.”

He continued “You just don’t do those things here. It is not appreciated.”

I was thinking that this was probably just a bias on his part having lived his life in Singapore. I have spent a bit of time in Singapore and it is a country with a foundation of order, rules, and caring for one another. It was his reaction to now living in a country where chaos and lack of structure is a way of life. Just take a taxi across town in Shanghai. Street lights are merely a suggestion, the lines on the road provide guidance only for those that do not care about getting somewhere. He was probably just venting some frustration and being homesick.

But just then, a perfect stranger who had seen me carry the suitcase and observed my being chastised by my friend walked past and muttered something to my associate in Chinese. I asked him what he said.

“He said that you were too stupid to know any better.”

9/1/14

Update - interesting article about person fainting in Shanghai subway.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/09/01/344033379/why-did-crowd-flee-shanghai-subway-after-foreigner-fainted?utm_source=npr_email_a_friend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140901&utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_term=

The Day After

I am sobered this morning.

Sobered over an election that identified Big Bird and a woman’s claim of Native American heritage as significant issues. Binders full of women, abortion, contraception and the pregnancy that results from rape being a gift from god were foremost in people’s minds.

Politics has become a business model of taking money from those that do not support you and redistributing it to those that do. It has become analogous with cigarette ads of the late 50’s that sold the glamour and pleasure of smoking while fully aware that it caused long term irreversible damage. It has become the 15 minute intro to a late night talk show.

The lack of quality education in this country is a double barreled shotgun. It retards growth and development. It also reduces our ability to understand the substantial issues of our time and rank them in order of importance.

We have serious and significant systemic issues facing our country. The deficit is the most popular to site. But our inability to understand how process affects outcome is more critical. The fact that we choose to put on blinders that prevent us from seeing we have to make large sacrifices and need to work much harder in the coming years is even more impactful than the malignant growth of our debt. These are more important because one prevents us from seeing the problem and the other prevents us from understanding that there is no “silver bullet” or single event that will correct the situation. It does not allow us to understand process.

I hope that our history of being crisis motivated and responding in unity to those crises is still in us.

I Want To Grow Old Gracefully

So I want to grow old gracefully. But what does that mean? I guess it is up to each of you to define that for yourself. For me, it means waking up each day excited for what is to come. It is being consumed with the present and near future, not the ultimate. It is accepting of my new limitations and the journey to find joy not despite them, but in a strange way, because of them. Sound crazy? Perhaps. It is just that I believe that we need to change the way we think about aging. Embrace entropy! You spent the first half of your life fighting it. We all know the ride’s gonna stop. Are you going to follow the rules and keep your hands and feet inside the car or are you going to scream with delight, waving your hands and try to stand up for what could be the greatest part of your life?

Getting back on ground again, how have I defined what it means to grow old gracefully? Despite my optimism about what lies ahead, by the time you are really old you probably won’t be able to make the call, if that is the first time you give it thought. So on the way up the hill LISTEN to what those other people are saying about old people. Pay attention to the old people you know. Apply the lessons learned to your situation and ADAPT!

But paying attention and leading a thoughtful life can be really hard and tedious. Insight is a bitch and self-awareness is about as elusive as dog hair in Mitt Romney’s car. So if you are so inclined, you can use the rules of the road I have been developing. Keep in mind that they are ever evolving. However, if followed religiously, they may actually make people want to be with you despite that offending odor that is inevitable and cannot be covered up with excessive use of baby powder or applications of High Karate.

1. Rejoice in the crying baby

OK, you are in that nice upscale restaurant. I am not talking about Le Bernardin or Alinea. Let’s say a Capital Grill. Next to you, sitting at a table are an older couple, a younger couple, and a nine month old infant. And the infant is not necessarily digging the world class Porterhouse. You know, the perfect steak because it has a sirloin and a filet in one? Anyway, the baby is making a fuss. We’re not talking the scream from The Who’s, “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Below 80 decibels, which is about the amount of a ringing phone for those readers that know what the hell a ringing phone actually sounds like.

Do you act irritated? Are you enjoying your meal less? Are you talking about that annoying little thing at the table next to you or, ever worse, are you casting a disparaging glance towards them with the hope that your furrowed brow will be motivation enough for the parents to stick a steak knife in the baby’s sound box?

Nope. Growing old gracefully means you are actually enjoying the sound. You understand that nine month olds do a myriad of things that are unpredictable and not necessarily all that pleasant. But these things are what ALL nine month olds do at one time or another. It is inevitable and the essence of life. And while this nine month old decided to have a hissy fit next to you while you are attempting to mark the occasion of your making partner, an occasion only second to the rising of Christ and the invention of the McRib, your name will still be on the masthead tomorrow. And that sound is the sound of life, the next generation, or even your customer in a few years.

2. Live in a Heliocentristic way.

The Ptolemaic system, where all the other planets and the sun revolved around the earth, was shown as folly by Copernicus with later support from Kepler and Gallileo. They proved that the Heliocentric theory, that in which the earth and other planets revolved around the sun, was spot on.

So let me be the first to tell you that the world does not revolve around you, Bunky. You are just one of billions of other people many of whom have incredibly interesting life experiences. Sure, those close to you are concerned about you. But when it appears that all you share in common is the concern about you, they will continue to visit and pay attention but in a most superficial way. Remember, you do not want to ask them to visit you. You want them to ask to see you. When being with you makes them feel good, you will feel even better. Trust me, I know.

3. Listen hard, talk easy.

Stephen Covey said it best, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

You spent a great deal of your life learning to speak and, hopefully, write. You probably did not spend any time learning to listen. That’s a shame. There are really four kinds of listening.

Pretending – Usually indicated by timely grunts, uh-huh’s, looking at other things in the room or checking email.

Selective – You tune in and out based on if there was a “key” word uttered that was important to you.

Attentive – Not bad. You’re actually paying attention to the words being said. I call this superficial listening.

Empathy – The score! You are listening with great intent to understand what is being said from the other person’s point of view. You want to really understand their perspective and feelings.

Poor listening skills are not an exclusive characteristic of the elderly. It is a virtual epidemic. It is so pervasive that when you find that active and skilled listener, it is almost shocking. You will find yourself thinking that your new friend, the active listener, is actually a wise scholarly person. Someone who really understands the world. A great thinker and philosopher. And then you will realize he or she hardly said a word except those needed to clarify your ramblings or to provide positive feedback that they are really listening. How’d that happen? That is the beauty of being a great listener. People think you are smarter than you are. People think you are more insightful than you are. And they want to be around you because it makes them feel good.

4. Incoming or outgoing – We really don’t care what you ate or what you evacuated.

You may be in a nursing home that has food prisoners would riot over or you may be housed in the guest suite at Le Cordon Bleu. Either way what you consumed or what you did with it afterwards is really boring.

5. You’re Slowing Down – The world isn’t. Keep up.

Actively read the newspaper. Keep up with what is happening in the world. There is more to what is happening than presented by the nightly network news. Get more details. Read The Economist. And while you are at it, cancel your AARP membership.

6. Entropy sucks, we know.

Physically and mentally things generally don’t get better after 60. There are two things about entropy that are critical to growing old gracefully. First, take specific actions to slow it down. You ain’t gonna stop entropy so if you slow it down you will be a huge winner. Physical and mental exercises are the answer, if you still remember the question.

Second, don’t talk about it. It is about as interesting as what you had for dinner. Everyone has their issues. Yours may be not having the stamina you did when you were 21. The 21 year old you are visiting with may be worrying about making rent, working with a boss who is a psychopathic sociopath or that his girlfriend just cheated on him. You’ve got yours. They’ve got theirs. Listen to theirs. Chest yours. Besides, what they think are their problems will probably make you laugh, so enjoy.

7. Hang with young people – Old people can be a pain.

Let’s call it as it is. They are prettier, more energetic, and smell better. By definition they know what is happening with the young people and believe it or not, young people can have pretty good ideas. They’re not tainted by the bitter lessons of life, yet. You can laugh (internally, please) at their nativity and general ignorance. Hey, it’s not their fault. They have only experienced a fraction of what you have. An added benefit is they can drive better than you and if you fall, they can easily pick your skinny ass up.

8. Don’t eat dinner before 7:00 pm.

This will prevent you from going to bed at 7:00. Fuck the early bird special.

9. You are not the Roger Ebert to the world’s population

Of course people are not as smart as you, as kind as you, as insightful as you, and, obviously, as judgmental as you. Listen, Sparky, waiters, store clerks, gas station attendants, the people sitting next to you on the bus or in back of you at a movie do not all live for the sole purpose of making your life a living hell. So stop complaining about them. Just remember, you’re no picnic either.

10. And while we are on the subject of complaining, feel free to complain as much as you compliment.

Got the concept? Hey, there are things that are not so nice. But there are a bunch of things that are really cool. If you’re going to ramble on about one, palaver on about the other. People will listen more if you are balanced in your perspective.
If all you do is complain, no one will want to be around you. If all you do is wax on about how wonderful the world is, they will assume you lost one of your oars and it is time for admission to the Memory Clinic.

11. Stop driving sooner than you think is necessary

If you are a man, this is like saying you should cut off a significant portion of your penis. Look, I know that this is a really serious thing. If you do not live in an urban area, it is a huge change-of-life issue. But think about getting into the car and backing down the driveway and not seeing that 4 year-old on the Big Wheel in back of you. Think about getting disoriented and stepping on the gas instead of the brake in a crowded place. Rejoice in having someone else drive you around. Get a Kindle and read. Take a nap. Other drivers are assholes so think of the flusteration you are forsaking (Not a spelling error. It is a combination of the words Frustrated and Flustered. Courtesy of Gary White, RIP.)

12. If help is offered, take it!

Why the hell not? If it is one of your kids, remember the help you gave them. Endless hours of feeding. Cleaning their diapers of deposits that would make a major hazmat site look like The Big Rock Candy Mountain. Watching them on the playground and taking them on vacations that included Wall Drug and Reptile Gardens. And what about the financial help?!?! Sheesh. It’s time for a little payback. Rejoice. They owe it to you and you need it. Work the magic.

13. Not this.

Woman, lipstick teeth. Men, nipple high pants. ‘Nuff said?

Romney’s Acceptance Speech – Well Executed and Vapid

Romney’s nomination acceptance speech was like eating a Hostess Twinkie. When you first bite into a Twinkie it tastes sweet and good. A few more bites later and you realize there is not really much to it and you should not have wasted the calories on something so void of substance. Romney’s speech got you excited. It was well written and attempted to show Romney in a more approachable light. But like reflecting on the last bite, when you review what Romney said it was like the Twinkie. Well formed, consistent, and void of anything interesting or substantial.

The closest he came to making a declarative policy statement regarded new trade agreements. Obama has certainly dropped the ball in this regard having closed only a handful, and all of which were started in the Bush Presidency. Other than that, there was really nothing terribly meaningful in what Romney said. For example:

“I have a plan to create 12 million jobs.”

We have heard that from Obama, Bush, etc. Presidents cannot create jobs, it is just that simple.

“First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables.”

Fuel sources are quite fungible. How do you prove pure independence? Besides, it is not only impossible, it is really ill advised and the pursuit of it will cause far more hurt then these guys are acknowledging.

“Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance.”

Cool. But Mitt is a fan of the DOE as well as No Child Left Behind. Again, nice concept with nothing concrete to support it.

“Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements. And when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences.”

This is the good one. Go Mitt! But easy on the Chinese regarding the cheat in trade thing. I know they are in your cross hairs and I preach caution. It could break really bad.

“Assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget.”

I dig the support of the small business person. And increasing output will help reduce the deficit. But with no mention in the speech about the big three there is no hope of impacting the deficit.

The big three are Medicare, Social Security, and Defense. If you do nothing to impact these, you cannot do anything to reduce the size and the growth velocity of the deficit. Period. That simple. Unfortunately, in his speech he said: “[Obama's] trillion dollar cuts to our military will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, and also put our security at greater risk”

“His $716 billion cut to Medicare to finance Obamacare will both hurt today’s seniors, and depress innovation— and jobs—in medicine.”

“I am running for president to help create a better future. A future where everyone who wants a job can find one. Where no senior fears for the security of their retirement.”

So he got the trifecta. Will not cut defense spending, will protect Medicare, and will not even look at Social Security.

But in his defense he said exactly what we want to hear. We are in fact the problem, not Mitt. We don’t want to hear that we need to change our expectations on Medicare or Social Security and/or increase taxes. Probably both. That makes us uncomfortable and sad. We want to be rallying around the guy we think has the answers that will take care of us with no personal sacrifice. Or if he loses, we want to feel self-righteous attacking the other side because they are incapable to helping us.

Romney’s speech was spot on and exactly what we, the customers, wanted.

Hmmm…. I’m thinking about a MoonPie next. Love me a good MoonPie.

And the Hits Keep Coming

As reported in today’s Chicago Tribune, former Arkansas governor Huckabee and one time GOP presidential contender said that rapes, though, “horrible tragedies,” had produced admirable human beings.

“Ethel Water, for example, was the result of a forcible rape,” Huckabee said. He added “I used to work for James Robison back in the 1970’s – he leads a large Christian organization. He, himself, was the result of a forcible rape. And so, I know it happens, and yet even from those horrible, horrible tragedies of rape, which are inexcusable and indefensible, life has come and sometimes, you know, those people do extraordinary things.”

I believe the next step for the Republican Party will be to add a position to legalize rape to their platform for the upcoming convention. This will allow more “extraordinary things” to happen without the negative social stigma of rape all the while making every act legitimate.

Let's Assume Maybe That Didn't Work or Something

Todd Akin is a six-term Republican congressman from Missouri currently running for the Senate. He was being interviewed by KTVI when they asked a question if abortion should be legal in the case of rape. It was a question that could easily be predicted because Congressman Akin has always touted his social conservative philosophies. His response:

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare," Akin said of rape-induced pregnancy.

“If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," Akin continued.

"But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

Oh my.

Can It Get Any Lower – Obama Super Pac Accuses Romney of Killing Man’s Wife

Priorities USA Action, which is led by former Obama aid Bill Burton, has been running an ad that has an ex-steel worker, Joe Soptic, claiming that Bain Capital closed the factory where he worked which caused him to lose his health insurance. This was done, according to Joe, so that the Bain partners could pocket billions of dollars.

He then goes on to say that because he had lost his insurance, his wife delayed seeking treatment for what turned out to be cancer. He said, “And a short time after that my wife became ill. I don’t know how long she was sick. And I think maybe she didn’t say anything because she knew we couldn’t afford the insurance.”

His wife died. And while tragic, her death had nothing to do with the plant closing. Joe should be ashamed of himself for using his wife’s death to falsely promote a cause. Worse than that is the fact that the Obama camp did not issue a public statement about the ad saying it was patently false and should be immediately removed from the airwaves.

Here are the facts about Joe, his wife’s insurance and death, and Romney’s/Bain’s involvement.

1. Bain bought GS Steel in 1993 for $75 million.

2. There were plans made to merge it with another steel company and take the company public, but market forces started throwing them curves.

3. In 1997 the company had its first labor strike in 40 years. It lasted 10 weeks and was pretty divisive.

4. Electricity and natural gas prices, both used in the production of steel, skyrocketed.

5. A flood of cheap imports drive prices down in the later 1990’s.

6. GS filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The KC plant where Joe worked was shut down and 750 people lost their jobs.

7. And yes, it was reported that Bain more than doubled their money on the deal by then.

8. Joe’s wife had health insurance for a year or two after that through her own employer.

9. She had no insurance later because a shoulder injury caused her to leave that job that provided coverage. That was the immediate reason for her being uninsured, not the plant closure.

10. Soptic said, "A short time after that (the closing of the plant), my wife became ill. The illness took place in 2006; some five years after Soptic lost his job.

11. And at the time of the plant closing, Romney was very involved in running the Olympics and probably had no direct involvement in this situation.

12. Jen Psaki, an Obama staff spokeswoman, said the Obama team had "no involvement with any ads that are done by Priorities USA. We don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family." This is interesting in light of the fact that the Obama campaign had featured Soptic in a previous ad and campaign officials had participated in a briefing with reporters where Soptic had talked about his wife.

It may surprise you that I do not blame Obama for this lack of moral compass in regards to the ads he uses. I blame us. We allow it. In fact, we revel in it. We do not want to listen to what is important to us and our collective future. That is hard, complex, and would make us uncomfortable. We would rather stand by like a group of children watching two kids fighting on the playground cheering and taunting them on. And so again we will have a choice this November between Lousy Option A and Lousy Option B.

I guess that is really what we all want.

(To see the ad, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj70XqOxptU&feature=player_embedded)

Great Oratory is Inspirational

Barack Obama derided Republican rival Mitt Romney's tax plan on Monday as Robin Hood in reverse - "Romney Hood " - saying it essentially would rob ordinary Americans to help the rich.

"We have been watching the president say a lot of things about me and my policies -- and they're just not right," Romney said. "And if I were to coin a term, it would be 'Obamaloney.’”

I so love a wise and insightful debate.

To Carry Concealed or Not is Not the Only Question

We have had the shooting of Travon Martin, the Aurora Colorado rampage and now, today, a gunman at a Sikh temple killed 6 and left three critically injured before he was killed.

This has resulted in a huge amount of public debate over the issue of allowing citizens to carry a gun concealed. And like so much of our dialog, people are taking simple and rigid positions behind prominent ideologues. You either believe that guns should be outlawed and no one needs to even consider carrying one in public or you believe that the right to carry concealed is similar to the right to breath air.

I think the discussion is more complex than presented. To qualify my comments, I want to state that I am an active gun owner and have taken many classes in tactical gun training. I do not conceal carry because I live in Illinois.

I consider the concept of conceal carry as a public safety issue in two very different ways. First, the most obvious reason to carry a concealed weapon is to provide a person with the opportunity to defend themself and others against physical harm by another person. Conversely, the legally armed citizen that has all the best intentions but is ill trained or simply incapable of properly using the weapon can fail to defend themselves and actually hurt other innocent people. That ability to hurt other innocent people is why this issue is complex. If the result of incompetence with your firearm was restricted to you, the entire concept becomes very simple and I would be an unqualified supporter that everyone should be allowed to conceal carry. Unfortunately, the incompetent can be as deadly as the person against which they are trying to defend themselves. They can do this by hitting innocent bystanders or by using inappropriate ammunition or both.

I make the comparison to flying an airplane because there are many similarities and I am a pilot as well. Flying a plane is really very simple and easy just like shooting a gun at a range. The bulk of our flight training is to prepare us for the most unlikely of events. The preparation is so important because it gets your muscle memory and mental memory ready for a task during an event that by definition is highly stress filled. Shooting an approach to land in bad weather is challenging. Doing so and losing an engine definitely adds to the event. If you have repeatedly practiced single engine approaches “under the hood;” your muscle memory and mental preparedness could turn the event into a smooth landing versus a spiral stall into the field next to the airport.

And just like an errant bullet, an out of control aircraft could land in a field or a highly populated area. In other words, my incompetence as a pilot could kill uninvolved people.

Likewise, handling a gun during a real event requires practice, situational awareness, calm and focus. Tough stuff under the circumstances. No disrespect to our police but there are many reports of shootings involving police where there were many, many more misses then hits. Regardless of whether you think our average policeman has adequate training, I fully believe that they are much better trained then the average citizen that participates in concealed carry. Despite that fact take a look at some statistics.

“The mean score for NYPD police officers (1990-2000) for all shootings is fifteen hits per 100 shots fired, which is almost the identical hit ratio seen among Miami officers who in the years 1990-2001 fired some 1300 rounds at suspects while recording fewer than 200 hits. Almost unbelievably, some NYPD figures show 62% of shots fired at a distance of less than six feet were complete misses.” (http://www.pointshooting.com/1acamp.htm).

This statistic amplifies the point I am trying to make. These are trained professionals who in theory, are ready and alert for a situation. An untrained citizen in a surprise emergency situation cannot be expected, on average, to do any better and I believe would do much worse. Does this mean that they should never be allowed to conceal carry? No. It just greatly concerns me that in many states you can get a carry permit with nothing more than a background check, one day class and license fee. I believe this is inadequate for a license to carry in the general public. Defending your home is very different, although not absolutely. Your skill or lack thereof will likely only impact you, assuming you are using appropriate rounds. Use a full metal jacketed high power round and your neighbors could become a part of the situation. But assuming you’re using the right bullets, your training as it applies to the use of the gun in your house should be a personal choice.

There are even more complexities to this situation than I have written about here. For example, the deterrent factor of a criminal in a situation where he knows there are armed citizens could be significant. Another complexity is that by adding requirements to the license generally adds costs, which would restrict lower income people the right to defend themselves.

I believe that there should be more required training and education to carry a gun in public. I do not see that as a restriction in my freedom or an offense to the Second Amendment. I acknowledge that it is not a perfect solution, there rarely are those. Lower income people may be shut out of the right and even trained, certified citizens can be incredible boneheads. But I do believe it will actually increase the effectiveness of those who carry a weapon into the public and will reduce the risk to innocent bystanders.