ON A FOLLOWUP TO THE TEXT MESSAGE MURDER IN FLORIDA THEATRE

UPDATE--ORIGINAL BLOG BELOW:

In a "you've got to be kidding me" followup I am updating a previous blog published January 20, 2014. I have re-published the original below...and, no, I am not republishing to show my spot on predictions for Oscars.

The Tampa Bay Times today published an article based on court documents related to the case of Curtis Reeves, Jr. Mr. Reeves is awaiting trial for shooting Chad Oulson in a Tampa movie theatre. Mr. Oulson's crime was texting during the previews.

Mr. Reeves son, a Tampa police officer named Matthew Reeves, told deputies after the shooting on January 13th that he sent a text to his father telling him that he was running late to meet him at the theatre. His father answered the text telling his son he and his wife, Vivian, were already seated in the theatre.

Yes!  You read that correctly.  The man who shot another man for texting in the darkened theatre...before the movie started...also was using his cell phone to text in a darkened movie theatre before the movie began.

I can only guess the elder Reeves either had a cellphone that allows you to text without lighting the phone's screen. Thus, his texts would never bother anyone around him.  Mr. Oulson, on the other hand, had one of those cellphones that lights a screen so you can read the message you are sending.

Or, perhaps, Curtis Reeves, Jr., the former Tampa police captain, subscribes to the notion that, "What's good for the goose is NOT good for the gander."


ORIGINAL BLOG:

ON CINEMA AND GUNS*

I am a movie buff.  For more than 60 years I have spent a portion of almost every weekend in a movie theatre.  When I was five years old my brother took me to my first movie.  I do not remember the feature, but I do remember there was a Serial feature.  It ended with The Phantom stuck in quicksand about to inhale his last breath.  You had to visit the same theatre's Saturday matinee the following week to learn if our hero survived.  I was hooked.

Movies have always been part of my life.  I have sat in movie theatres as far away as Australia, the Philippines (during which I endured an earthquake), and Colombia to assure I did not miss the latest well-reviewed feature. As a pre-teen I walked to the corner to catch the next street car to downtown Baltimore. Arriving downtown I would search among the half dozen first-run movie houses and sit in the usually small dark theatre to enjoy the latest Fellini or Tati flick.  Later,  Pauline Kael, may she rest in peace, became my goddess of movie reviewers.  Her positive review of any film made it a must see. I would go alone, or with someone, but go I did.  I just could not stand to miss the latest first-run films.

This award season is typical of my movie going.  Of award nominated films, I have seen Captain Phillips (B), The Wolf of Wall Street (C), American Hustle (B+), Blue Jasmine (A-, Cate Blanchett my choice for Best Actress Oscar), Inside Llewyn Davis (D-), Dallas Buyers Club (A+, Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto my Male Lead and Male Supporting Oscar picks), 12 Years a Slave (A+, Best Film Oscar), Philomena (A), Gravity (B+), and Nebraska (B+).  Still on my list are Her and August: Osage County.

However, something happened January 13^th that kept me from the movies this past weekend.  A retired 71-year-old police captain decided that a father’s text messaging during the previews to the feature film, The Lone Survivor, was enough of an annoyance that he felt compelled to pull a pistol from his pocket and kill the 43-year-old man and wound the man’s wife.

I am someone who has always requested my theatre companions to sit quietly during a feature.  I have even on rare occasion risen from my seat and walked to another person’s seat to ask them, quietly and without anger, to please be quiet and let me and others enjoy the movie.  In my experience 99.99% of movie goers go quiet after something is said.  Since cell phones and text messaging have come on the scene, this has become more challenging.  The light from the telephone is always brighter and more distracting than the texter imagines.  It is very annoying.  However, it is not a capital offense.

Until now I never imagined someone in the theatre would have a gun with them.  I am a Marine Veteran of the Vietnam War and I have never found a reason to own or carry a weapon.  My brain, coupled to my mouth, has gotten me this far and I will continue to use it to get me out of jams.

Curtis Reeves, the former policeman, has changed all of that for me now.  I know I will not sit quietly and let someone spoil my feature by chatting with seat mates, talking on the telephone, or texting.  I do not believe in the rule of standing one’s ground.  So, I have used my brain to tell me to no longer visit movie theatres in Florida.  I will wait for Her and August: Osage County to hit Netflix.  And, next year, I will watch the Oscars to find out which movies I will rent.

*No, I have not been to a movie theatre since I wrote this blog.

ON CRAZY CRASH THEORIES ABOUND WHEN MALAYSIA'S MILITARY REFUSES ASSISTANCE

According to The Guardian Vietnam has announced a suspension of its search efforts for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 and its 239 passengers and crew.  "We've decided to temporarily suspend some search and rescue activities, pending information from Malaysia." said Pham Quy Tieu, Vietnam's deputy minister of transport.

The Boeing 777 aircraft has been missing since early last Saturday morning. The United States, Vietnam, Thailand, China and more are trying to assist tiny Malaysia with this complicated search. Despite consistently changing and/or withholding information about the plane's flight path, the Malaysian military insists it will remain in charge of the search.

Vietnam is not alone in expressing its frustration.  U.S. and Chinese authorities have also expressed annoyance at the lack of detailed information provided to date. So, what happens when military egos and secrecy get in the middle of a search for a lost aircraft? Crazy theories.

Reuters has listed several.  One of the wildest comes from Malaysia's New Straits Times quoting a shaman claiming the airplane was "hijacked by elves" and is suspended in mid-air. China has reported that relatives of passengers have called cell phones that ring, but are not answered, as proof that passengers are still alive. Agenda NWO, on YouTube, suggests the airliner was shot down by a military jet over the Gulf of Thailand. And, a member of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party had to apologize on Twitter after suggesting the plane went down in a "New Bermuda Triangle" off Vietnam.

Of course the crazy theories started with the assumption that terrorists took the plane down after learning two Iranian nationals boarded the flight with stolen passports.  Evidently Malaysia does not check with Interpol's free access stolen passport network before allowing passengers to board their aircraft. Thus, Malaysia's civil and military authorities had little in the way of credibility from the very beginning of this incident.

More than four days have now passed since the airliner disappeared. We may never find this plane.  But, someone needs to shake up Malaysia's government and allow a nation with the resources, like the U.S. or China, to lead this search. Perhaps Ban Ki-moon needs to get involved quickly with this search before Malaysia's ineptitude spoils all hope of a recovery for the families and loves ones, as well as providing the world with an understanding of just what happened to this popular Boeing aircraft.

As for my theory?  With no debris field it appears the aircraft crashed in one large piece.  As to why, that is a mystery that will only be resolved by finding the aircraft and its black box.  Right now, let the search continue near Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

ON FLORIDA CONTINUES TO LEAD THE NATION ON CRAZY GUN LAWS

Florida is well-known for its willingness to throw caution to the wind when it comes to guns and laws. Everyone in America knows by now that the famous "stand your ground" law allows white Floridians to chase down Skittle-bearing black teenagers and shoot them without consequence. The law has recently been proven to include the slaughter of black teenagers for playing music in their car.  The one caveat is they must be playing music you do not like and playing it loudly [read: rap and hip-hop].

Did you know, however, that Florida law also allows students to keep guns on college campuses?  A Florida Appeals Court ruled that Florida colleges must abide by state law allowing students to carry guns on campus. A group known as Florida Carry has filed a lawsuit demanding that students also be able to keep their guns in their dorm room. According to a January 29, 2014, Huffington Post article, the group's attorney, Eric Friday, stated, "Students have a fundamental, constitutional right in the U.S. and Florida constitutions to defend their lives against criminal attacks."

In the meantime in Big Pine Key, Florida, Doug Varrieur has set up a backyard firing range, according to the newspaper Sun Sentinel. Despite complaints from neighbors about the North Carolina snowbird, Monroe County officials said there is nothing they can do.

In 2011 Governor Rick Scott signed legislation that made it illegal for local Florida governments to pass laws restricting the use of firearms. To add muscle to this mandate, the local official(s) attempting to add such laws would be immediately removed from office, face a $5,000 fine, and would be held personally responsible for any legal fees resulting from a citizen's lawsuit against the law(s).

According to the Orlando Sentinel it has been legal for gun ranges to be set up on private property for 27 years. However, since there were no rules in this law regarding backstops or types of weapons or ammunition, most Florida cities and municipalities set up local laws to disallow these ranges. These laws are now preempted by Governor Scott's 2011 law.

As Florida moves toward passing New York as the third largest state in the union, the Florida legislature is not resting on its laurels. Six new gun-related laws are in consideration this term, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

SB968/HB753-These bills allow school superintendents and principals to designate employees to carry concealed weapons on school campus.

SB1060/HB7029-Prevents children from being disciplined for playing with simulated weapons in school, this would include a student who chews his Pop-Tart until it is shaped like a gun.

SB544/HB523-Allows tax collectors to accept applications for concealed weapons permits.

SB448/HB89-Extends "stand your ground" protection to those who fire warning shots (evidently stand your ground requires the gunman to actually shoot another person).

SB424/HB255-Prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against gun owners.

SB130-Requires law enforcement to set guidelines for neighborhood watch programs and requires members of these programs to observe and report crimes only.

Because SB130 does not have a companion House bill, coupled with the fact it makes so much sense, it probably will not pass this session.

In my estimation, however, Florida must do more to keep its position as The Gunshine State.  Besides electing former NRA President Marion Hammer lifetime Governor of Florida, more legislation needs to be passed.  I propose the following.

1. Every citizen of Florida over the age of 7 is required to own and carry a pistol.
2. Every person flying into Florida for business or vacation shall be required to pick up a gun within 48-hours of arrival. For convenience, these will be available at airport and rental car counters throughout the state. Publix supermarkets will be the vendor of choice for those driving into the Orange State.
3. All people of color within the State of Florida are suspected to be one of the following: gangsters, thugs, illegal aliens, drug addicts, criminals, rapists, or murderers.  If you are a non-Hispanic white or Caucasian person please draw your weapon first before approaching any of these "types."  If you fire your weapon be sure to remember these two lines. "I feared for my life." "I was standing my ground."
4. No local or county law may be enacted to require weapons or firearms training of any kind.  
5. No taxes other than those already in existence to allow the state to claim its status as a "no income tax" state may be enacted to specifically tax ammunition or weaponry of any type.
6. No laws may be enacted that allow non-NRA members to run for any local, county, or state-wide office.

Bang, you are dead!

ON AMERICAN LEADERS APPLAUD KIM JONG UN ELECTION YESTERDAY

The Associated Press has reported this morning that Kim Jong Un has been elected a member of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Korea. Running in his first public election in North Korea since being named Supreme Leader by his father, Mr. Kim is now a member of the highest legislative branch of his country's democratically-elected government.

The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces won the election with 100% of the votes in his district, according to The Telegraph.  The U.K. daily newspaper also noted that his district honored the Chairman of the National Defence Commission with 100% voter turnout as well.

"This is an expression of all the service personnel and people's absolute support and profound trust in supreme leader Kim Jong Un as they single-mindedly remain loyal to him," according to the Korean Central News Agency.

In a message to the new member of North Korea's legislature, Speaker of the House John Boehner said, "I am always happy when a legislature is filled with only one party and leads with one voice."  He went on to tell the young leader that he should, "be glad he does not have the disrupting influence of Democrats or Tea Party members in his People's Assembly."

Bill O'Reilly, of the FOX News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor, congratulated the new legislator by calling him a strong leader, "unlike the wimpy President of the United States who wears 'mom' jeans."

John McCain, in words presented by his spokesman, said he was, "happy to hear the people of North Korea have chosen such a non-feckless new member for their legislature." "I wish we had such a strong presence in the world," McCain's spokesman added.

Sarah Palin reminded everyone that she can see North Korea from her back porch, right next to Russia. When asked by The Nome News and Grizzly Bear Weekly about whether she was surprised by the election results just announced, the former Vice Presidential candidate said, "Of course not, I predicted this when the Supreme Leader was born."

John Kerry, in a rather un-statesmanlike response to the election announcement, said, "like his Uncle Jang the North Korean leader is corrupt, uses drugs, gambles, and, overall, leads a dissolute and depraved life and is worse than a dog."  Mr. Kerry made the comments while flying to god knows where from god knows where.

ON BEING: PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA, BUT SHORT IN STATURE

The ICD-10 index of disease codes does not have a reference for "short man's disease." However, the Urban Dictionary defines it as, "an angry male of below average height who feels it necessary to act out in an attempt to gain respect and recognition from others and compensate for his abnormally short stature."  Also called "little man syndrome," no one in the world epitomizes this sickness more than 5' 5" (168 cm) Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

If he is not riding horseback in bare chest, he is playing with a tranquilized bear or tiger cub. Cameras always seem present to catch every second of action of this self-aware he-man. He pushes people around and expects to get away with it because he has always gotten away with it. Mr. Putin spent 16 years in the Soviet KGB where fear and punishment were used to move people, not tact and diplomacy.

Only four years old when Premier Nikita Khrushchev told Western Ambassadors that Russia would bury the West, Putin grew up in a nation that ruled a huge portion of the world.  To watch the Berlin Wall come down, and the subsequent breakup of Russia's empire, must have been humiliating.  He is no longer KGB, but now President of Russia. Finally, he has the power to take back what he thinks others gave away.

This little guy with a giant ego has read his Hitler history well.  Take small pieces of land, then announce to the world you are only protecting people who are ethnically your own. Under this premise he takes South Ossetia and Abkhazia, parts of Georgia, in 2008.  Now he has moved on the Ukraine to conquer Crimea. Just saving more of the Russian-speaking world, he proclaims.  He even uses "volunteer" forces to control the populace, just as Hitler did in 1938 in Czechoslovakia when he took the Sudetenland.

This egomaniac seems to be imbued with some of the worst traits of Stalin as well. He becomes friendly with pariahs like Iran and Syria if only to stick a finger in the eye of the West. Edward Snowden, secrets and all, is allowed to settle in Putin's homeland. He allows former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich exile in Russia while wanted by his countrymen for murder and for plundering the treasury.

Sixteen years in the KGB. President and/or Prime Minister of Russia since 1999.  He has overstayed his welcome. He has turned his country into a homophobic imperialist bully with no direction other than to stand as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Thugs rule Russia with impunity.

The U.S. should not send troops to the Ukraine. However, that does not mean we should do nothing. We should mobilize our forces, not for war, but to force him to move his forces to counter.

I would include carriers and large missile ships in this equation. Place vessels in the Sea of Okhotsk on Russia's east coast, in the East Siberian Sea on its northeast coast, the Barents Sea on it northwest coast, and the Black Sea at Mr. Putin's southwest border. This would remind this man with the Napoleon complex that he lacks the resources to project power like the United States and Europe. Make him move his forces all over Russia. Sometimes a bully needs someone to poke him just a little to get his attention. Russia should also be removed from the G8, removing him from a place where it appears he leads a major world player.

He will not go to war.  He will not push a button.  I believe he will see the error of his ways and back down.  We can give him an out with some dignity, as was done with Khrushchev, but stop Mr. Putin we must.

We should also reach out to his Premier, Dmitry Medvedev.  Ask him to take his friend aside and say politely, "Vlad, it is time to hit the road...don't forget your shirt."

ON WHY BLACK MALES NEED GUNS IN FLORIDA

There is a famous scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when Harrison Ford's character, Indiana Jones, is confronted by a man with a sword. Rather than engage in a sword fight, Indiana pulls out his pistol and shoots the man dead. Evidently white people who live in Florida think every black man must have a sword in his pocket.  Why else would they all feel justified in shooting black men and boys without guns?

Just yesterday, in Brandon, near Florida's west coast, Lew Tyree lost his life when, according to the Tampa Bay Times, he stabbed a cat, attempted to break a window, and was carrying a butcher knife.  Three Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies shot him, "at least three times," because they could not talk him into dropping the knife.  They fired at him when he made, "threatening comments," according to the paper.  Mr. Tyree was a black man, age 41.

Back in July of last year, in Escambia County, which is located in north Florida and includes the city of Pensacola, 60-year-old Roy Middleton was shot by two sheriff's deputies because a neighbor did not recognize him and called 911. Mr. Middleton was getting cigarettes out of his mother's car parked in his driveway. The deputies fired on the unarmed black man 15 times, severely injuring Mr. Middleton. The Sheriff's office blamed "officer anxiety" for the shooting, according to CNN.

Two 17-year-old boys, Trayvon Martin, shot and killed in February 2012, and Jordan Davis, shot and killed in November 2012, were murdered before they could celebrate their 18th birthdays.  Martin, armed with Skittles, and Davis, armed with loud music, were both African-American. They were not shot by deputies, but by two white men who both claimed were in fear for their life. George Zimmerman, who shot Martin, actually chased the boy before shooting him. Michael Dunn, who killed Davis, kept firing his gun even after Davis and his friends tried to flee.

I have been a white guy in America for more than 66 years.  I have never had to shoot a black man or boy. I have never feared black men or boys.  I grew up in the city of Baltimore, which had a predominantly black population when I lived there.  Never once was I threatened by black folks of any gender.  I lived in center city Philadelphia for ten years.  Same scenario, no threats.  Even living in Florida, where, evidently, black boys and men are seen as evil, I have not been threatened in any way by people of color.

According to LegallyArmed.com, through August 2013, Florida had issued almost 1.2 million concealed carry permits. Further, there are more than 35,000 armed police officers in Florida. So, from this man's perspective, African-American men living in, or vacationing in, Florida need to have a weapon.

Do not arm yourself with a knife, carry a gun. At least you will be able to defend yourself from the armed citizen or the deputy who wants to shoot you for something you did not do. Just make sure you have a carry permit so you can claim you were, "standing your ground."  By the way, in Florida we honor all valid out-of-state concealed carry permits.

ON ACCIDENTAL SHOOTINGS

Today I read the Sports pages of the Tampa Bay Times to learn that a 14-year-old Seminole High School freshman pitcher will miss the entire baseball season, "due to an accidental shooting at a friend's house on Sunday." According to TV station WQAD in Illinois, a 15-year-old freshman died this past Saturday due to an "accidental shooting" at the home of an Illinois State Trooper.

If you type the words "accidental shootings" on Google you will get plenty of stories about shootings occurring over the past year. On Huffington Post alone I learned a murder suspect accidentally shot himself in Washington State; a 10-year-old girl died in West Virginia, accidentally shot by her 9-year-old brother while target shooting; a 62-year-old man accidentally shot himself in a City Hall building in Michigan. On and on these articles go about people being shot "accidentally."

Attention, friends, as the National Rifle Association likes to say, "guns don't shoot people, people shoot people."  A gun is an inanimate object.  It must be loaded with bullets by a person. The safety must be released by a human.  The trigger must be pulled by someone with, typically, 4 to 6 pounds of pressure. There can be no accidental firing, as this scene from "Pulp Fiction" highlighted.

Because law enforcement, along with the media, keep calling these shootings "accidental," very rarely is anyone held responsible.  When kids under 18 are involved, the parents should be held responsible.  If the gun was found in the home of a friend or neighbor, then the friend or neighbor needs to be held responsible for allowing access to their weaponry. We must begin to hold people responsible for keeping others safe from the weapons they own.  The 2nd Amendment gives every citizen the right to own a gun.  It does not give citizens the right to mishandle them.

Maybe, as many argue, we do not need new gun laws. Perhaps, however, we need lock laws. Laws so tight that if a loaded gun is found in a home where children are present, and that gun does not have a trigger lock or is locked in a safe, the owner of the home should be charged with criminal negligence. If a gun is used in a suicide, murder, or "accidental shooting," the owner of that gun should be charged with criminal assault or homicide depending on whether the victim lives or dies.

Let us stop fooling ourselves.  Using words that suggest no one is responsible is just plain wrong.  If I drink and drive and kill someone, I am guilty of a criminal act. Likewise, if I handle my gun irresponsibly, I should be guilty of a criminal act.

Let us stop this nonsense.