Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

sarisataka

sarisataka's Journal
sarisataka's Journal
February 27, 2017

African-American gun club says membership surged in Trump era

African-American gun club says membership surged in Trump era

More African-Americans appear to be taking an active interest in their right to bear arms since the election of President Donald Trump, gun club leaders and firearm sellers say.

A national African-American gun club has doubled its membership since Election Day, and gun sellers say they've noticed more black customers buying firearms.
At Stoddard's Range and Guns in Atlanta, one thunderous clap after another reverberates through the room, mixing with laughter and the smell of gunpowder. A group of men are bonding over a hobby they love. Moments later, with their clips empty and a stream of hot shell casings on the floor around them, each man holds up his target showing clusters of bullet holes.
They are members of the National African American Gun Association, a group that has added 9,000 members since Election Day, said Philip Smith, the group's national president. The group launched on Feb. 28, 2015, and added 4,285 members over the same time period the year before, between Nov. 2015 and Feb. 2016.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/us/african-american-gun-club-trump/index.html
February 27, 2017

African-American gun club says membership surged in Trump era

African-American gun club says membership surged in Trump era

More African-Americans appear to be taking an active interest in their right to bear arms since the election of President Donald Trump, gun club leaders and firearm sellers say.

A national African-American gun club has doubled its membership since Election Day, and gun sellers say they've noticed more black customers buying firearms.
At Stoddard's Range and Guns in Atlanta, one thunderous clap after another reverberates through the room, mixing with laughter and the smell of gunpowder. A group of men are bonding over a hobby they love. Moments later, with their clips empty and a stream of hot shell casings on the floor around them, each man holds up his target showing clusters of bullet holes.
They are members of the National African American Gun Association, a group that has added 9,000 members since Election Day, said Philip Smith, the group's national president. The group launched on Feb. 28, 2015, and added 4,285 members over the same time period the year before, between Nov. 2015 and Feb. 2016.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/us/african-american-gun-club-trump/index.html
February 19, 2017

2 dams illustrate challenge of maintaining older designs

2 dams illustrate challenge of maintaining older designs

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Twelve years ago, widespread destruction from Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast helped compel federal engineers 2,000 miles away in California to remake a 1950s-era dam by constructing a massive steel-and-concrete gutter that would manage surging waters in times of torrential storms.

The nearly $1 billion auxiliary spillway at Folsom Dam, scheduled to be completed later this year, stands in contrast to the troubles 75 miles away at the state-run Oroville Dam, where thousands of people fled last week after an eroded spillway threatened to collapse — a catastrophe that could have sent a 30-foot wall of floodwater gushing into three counties.

Together, the two dams illustrate widely diverging conditions at the more than 1,000 dams across California, most of them decades old. The structures also underscore the challenge of maintaining older dams with outdated designs.

"Fifty years ago, when we were evaluating flood risk, the fundamental assessment was the climate was stable, not changing. We now know that is no longer true," said Peter Gleick, chief scientist with the Pacific Institute, a California-based think tank specializing in water issues.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/2-dams-illustrate-challenge-maintaining-older-designs-141702163.html

Infrastructure- maintain now or pay more later...
February 12, 2017

Lt. Gen. Hal Moore dies; depicted in film 'We Were Soldiers'

Lt. Gen. Hal Moore dies; depicted in film 'We Were Soldiers'

Retired Lt. Gen. Harold G. "Hal" Moore, the American hero known for saving most of his men in the first major battle between the U.S. and North Vietnamese armies, has died. He was 94.

Joseph Galloway, who with Moore co-authored the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young," confirmed Saturday to The Associated Press that Moore died late Friday in his sleep at his home in Auburn, Alabama.

Galloway said Moore, his friend of 51 years, died two days shy of his 95th birthday.

"There's something missing on this earth now. We've lost a great warrior, a great soldier, a great human being and my best friend. They don't make them like him anymore," Galloway said.
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/lt-gen-hal-moore-dies-depicted-film-were-232543730.html
February 11, 2017

Planned Parenthood protest draws outsized counter-rally in St. Paul

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Counter-protesters outnumbered protesters 10 to 1 at a St. Paul rally Saturday morning calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Sarah Stoesz, president of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, called the counterprotest an unprecedented event. A St. Paul police commander on scene estimated the original protesters numbered about 500 while the counter-protesters numbered about 5,000 to 5,500.

“We’ve never seen anything like this at Planned Parenthood here in Minnesota,” Stoesz said. “Here in Minnesota we have 64,000 patients and about 24,000 of them would lose access to their health care if Congress is allowed to so-called defund Planned Parenthood. So it’s a very serious matter and you can see people are taking it very, very seriously.”

The defund rally was one of over 200 coordinated nationwde by the #ProtestPP Coalition, according to Brian Gibson of Pro-Life Action Ministries.

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/2017/02/11/planned-parenthood-protest-draws-outsized-counter-rally-in-st-paul/

February 11, 2017

Planned Parenthood protest draws outsized counter-rally in St. Paul

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Counter-protesters outnumbered protesters 10 to 1 at a St. Paul rally Saturday morning calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Sarah Stoesz, president of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, called the counterprotest an unprecedented event. A St. Paul police commander on scene estimated the original protesters numbered about 500 while the counter-protesters numbered about 5,000 to 5,500.

“We’ve never seen anything like this at Planned Parenthood here in Minnesota,” Stoesz said. “Here in Minnesota we have 64,000 patients and about 24,000 of them would lose access to their health care if Congress is allowed to so-called defund Planned Parenthood. So it’s a very serious matter and you can see people are taking it very, very seriously.”

The defund rally was one of over 200 coordinated nationwde by the #ProtestPP Coalition, according to Brian Gibson of Pro-Life Action Ministries.

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/2017/02/11/planned-parenthood-protest-draws-outsized-counter-rally-in-st-paul/

January 25, 2017

Secret Service looking at agent who suggested she wouldn't defend Trump from bullet

Secret Service looking at agent who suggested she wouldn't defend Trump from bullet

The Secret Service said Tuesday it is taking "appropriate action" after one of its agents suggested on Facebook that she would not defend President Donald Trump should someone try to shoot him.

Kerry O'Grady, a senior agent in the Denver field office, made a series of now-deleted postings on Facebook during the campaign saying that she supported Democrat Hillary Clinton and that she would not honor a federal law that prevents agents like her from airing their political beliefs publicly. O'Grady deleted the posts shortly after The Washington Examiner reported them on Tuesday.

"As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle not to violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median," she wrote in one Facebook post, as reported by the Examiner. "To do otherwise can be a criminal offense for those in my position. Despite the fact that I am expected to take a bullet for both sides."

"But this world has changed and I have changed. And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here. Hatch Act be damned. I am with Her," she wrote.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/24/politics/secret-service-agent-trump-bullet/index.html
January 18, 2017

AR-15 stolen from unmarked Ramsey County squad car

AR-15 stolen from unmarked Ramsey County squad car

Police are investigating after someone broke into a locked Ramsey County sheriff’s office vehicle and stole an AR-15 rifle in St. Louis Park.

St. Louis Park police responded to the reported theft in a third-floor parking ramp at 1600 Utica Ave. on Friday, Jan. 6, at 7:30 p.m.

Ramsey County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Clark, who was on duty and had been attending a work-related class in the building, told police he’d parked an unmarked sheriff’s office car in the ramp at 12:30 p.m. and found it had been broken into when he returned about 7:30 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office and Jacqueline Larson, St. Louis Park communications manager.

Someone had pried out the front driver side door handle to get into the car. Several items were reported missing, including a department-issued AR-15 rifle with a loaded magazine that had been pried from its secured locked rifle mount. The rifle mount was severely damaged in the process, Larson said. An additional rifle magazine and 9mm handgun magazine were also stolen.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/18/ar-15-stolen-from-unmarked-ramsey-county-squad-car/

What sanctions should the department face for not properly securing their weapons...
January 13, 2017

MIT freshman tries to save lives with smart guns

MIT freshman tries to save lives with smart guns

When Kai Kloepfer points his .40 caliber handgun, it fires like any other weapon. But when someone else gives it a try, it doesn’t work. It’s the first firearm with same built-in security as many smartphones.

If the gun is picked up by an authorized user, a sensor recognizes the fingerprint and it will fire.

Guns that only work for their owners used to be the stuff of movies, like James Bond’s gun in “Skyfall,” but Kloepfer thinks he has the technology to make them a reality, reports CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil.

“I think this could be huge. I think it could really be the future of firearms,” Kloepfer said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/smart-gun-fingerprint-reader-biofire-kai-kloepfer-pushback-firearm-community/

Let the market decide if it is a good idea, but I would recommend he try to greatly improve from “relatively reliable.”

One (of several) important questions- if the owner wishes to sell the gun, what is the procedure to wipe fingerprint from memory and authorize the new owner's prints? How can it be protected so a thief could not simply do the same with a stolen gun?

Profile Information

Gender: Male
Hometown: St Paul MN
Home country: USA
Current location: Here
Member since: Wed Mar 21, 2012, 10:41 PM
Number of posts: 18,600
Latest Discussions»sarisataka's Journal