Legal Ease

 I am not involved in The Law.

     Legislatures make The Law.

     Judges interpret The Law.

     Attorneys argue The Law.

     Cops enforce The Law.

I sit in abject fearful submission to the whims of all of them. They, and their legalese¹ have the power to destroy.

Dare I comment? Well. You know me … daring to go where wise men do not tread.

Today I read of a jury's decision to find guilt on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony.

The U.S. Supreme Court has a rule that juries must consider lesser included offenses in capital murder cases. This law’s idea is that imposing the death penalty is unconstitutional when juries are not allowed to consider lesser included offenses.

The 1980 case that created this rule involved an Alabama law that prohibited judges from giving juries the option of convicting on lesser included offenses when the death penalty was applied. Before the Supreme Court ruling, Alabama juries in these situations had to either impose the death penalty or acquit the defendant.

That Supreme Court holding plainly states “... must consider lesser included offenses.”

To my uneducated but opinionated way of thinking that does NOT mean “must also find … guilty of lesser included offenses.”

Seems to me that the practice of convicting on the maximum charge and also on the lesser charges violates the proscription against double jeopardy. (means that if a person is ... convicted ... cannot be punished again for that (same) criminal act.)

1 the formal and technical language of legal documents that is often hard to understand.

A Memo from a friend

The following was sent to me by a long-time friend and hunting companion shortly before he died:

 I had a reputation across South Texas as the pre-eminent stock maker. Choosing good wood, finishing it to perfection with 20 LPI checkering. The pride of ownership of a rifle with a Bill Johansen stock brought me many customers.

I bought, per the customer's preference, an action, a barrel, and wood for the stock. And combined them to create a functional work of art.

Most chose a Douglas barrel. Some opted for a Shilen, while a smaller minority asked for a Hart.

I helped the customer decide which action to use. Some insisted on a military surplus, such as a Mauser or the '03A3, for sentimental reasons. I used more Remington actions than any other to build rifles.

I mounted the customer's choice of scope. Seems like most wanted a high power variable. The more experienced chose a fixed power. A few even refused to install a scope.

Strange are the motivations of rifle shooters.

The set up of the barrel and action was routine and straight forward. I passed on the cost of the hardware with only a small markup.

I made my profit on the stocks.

Some of my customers had me sight in the gun. The more gun-savvy shot in their own.

 

It was mid-August when they first entered my shop behind my home in Alice. 

 Suits. At first I thought that they were BATF. But they were unaffiliated.

They declined to disclose any association. But they got my attention by handing me a thousand dollars in fifty dollar bills, just for thirty minutes of my time.

They explained to me what they wanted: A rifle built on or like an M-14.  Semi auto, twenty round mags, four power Weaver or Leupold scope, chambered for the Italian military 6mm.

I had a few questions. They answered all that were technical in nature, but adamantly refused to discuss purpose.

I deliberately quoted an unreasonably high price, so that I'd have room to negotiate. To my surprise they accepted my price.

They designated a date for delivery — that is for pickup by their people: October 15, 1963. No delay. And they would be inquiring for progress reports every two weeks.

“Would that be acceptable?”

Well, it would be cutting into my seasonal rush for deer hunters. But at the price they agreed to, I would manage.

More: They provided a box of commercially loaded 6mm ammo. And a surplus Italian military rifle.

"Can you remove the barrel from this surplus rifle, and use it on the gun you assemble?"

I assured them that it was doable, but would diminish the value and appearance of the finished gun.

They reassured me, "Not a problem."

“You wll wear gloves to handle the rifle and ammo. No fingerprints. As you assemble the weapon you are making, you will wipe every part as you assemble the gun — no fingerprints. Is that clear?”

I nodded.

“Acceptable?”

I agreed.

“You will sight in the rifle you create, zeroed at 100 meters, and provide us the target for record. Acceptable group size is to be five shots in 100 mm. You will wrap the rifle in plain wrapping paper for pickup.”

"Okay."

I prepared the weapon as specified, and had it ready for pickup on October 1^st. They paid me in anonymous fifty dollar bills, and took the rifles, with no comment or question.

You are doubtless speculating on the probable use and destination of that gun. Don't think that I haven't gone there, many times. I  thought of contacting authorities; but due to the circus of the Warren commission I decided that the better course was silence.

Now, as I await the final rendition of my accelerating heart's misfunctions I feel a need to share this history. Not that it will accomplish anything, but it may satisfy some curteosities. And at 97 I am beyond the reach of official retribution.

B.J.,  Alice, TX,  Nov15, 2021

Martinis Around

 I watched a clip from an old Sean Connery film. You know, that fellow was actually very good actor? 

 Believable, such that he conveyed emotions from the story he portrayed. He made me feel the grief of his character in times of great emotional duress. And yet I did not feel any unreasonable fear.

Which is to say I was stirred, not shaken.

Words of Wisdom

In any population there are characteristics which manifest across a spectrum.

One of these properties is wisdom. It is distributed by an indifferent nature in a wide range of capabilities. Some functioning groups assume an air of superiority that is not always justified. A particular profession is noted as presuming to be “just a little lower than the angels.” Vocal critics may challenge that self-aggrandisement.

Authors — those who wrote books intended to be consumed by the general public — display a span of competence. Some unabashedly borrow from the intellect of others.

Novels that I have read which put forth a gem of wisdom include “The Heart of Danger” by Howard Pease:

“Go straight to the heart of danger, for there you will find safety.” (Chinese Proverb)

Another is the Basuto proverb presented in “Something of Value” by Robert Ruark.

“If a man does away with his traditional way of living and throws away his good customs, he had better first make certain that he has something of value to replace them.”

These enduring axioms have lived in my soul for decades.

Invitation to my readers: if you can provide a preface of worth from a book you've read, please quote it in the comments. I will list submissions in a future blog. 

Shifting North Pole

 CLIMATE, EARTH SCIENCES, GLACIERHUB BLOG

Melting Glaciers Have Shifted the Earth’s Axis

http://geoscience.wisc.edu/geoscience/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/carlson_2008_nat_geo.pdf

“In the 1990s, the Earth’s axis underwent a major shift. It is normal for the Earth’s axis to move by a few centimeters each year. But, in the 1990s, the direction of polar drift shifted suddenly and the rate of the drift accelerated. The reason for this sudden change was previously unclear, but a team of scientists in Beijing recently published a paper that shows that the main driver of the change in direction of the axial shift was glacier melt caused by global warming.“

That cited publication noted shifts of the axis in centimeter magnitudes. The measurements assessed the response to removal of groundwater that altered the balance of the spinning top that is the earth.

It is noted that fifteen thousand years ago there was a more summer like climate, lush vegetation and a population of large mammals in the area that is now frigid Siberia. And the Laurentide ice sheet covered Canada and a significant portion of the United States. The volume of ice, and its weight is beyond comprehension. The North Pole and the center of earth's rotation lay within the Laurentide.

(It is my understanding that the North Pole, the upper end of the axis of rotation of the earth, determines the location of the Arctic ice mass -- not vice versa.)

When the cataclysmic celestial event at the time of The Younger Dryas melted a large portion of the ice, the resulting imbalance, as the meltwater flowed to the oceans, caused a shift in the location of the axis of spin of the earth. Assuming a new position of stability, the new axis allowed the margin of the Arctic to reposition, covering Siberia with lowered temperatures that changed the nature of Siberia to the frigid waste that it is today.