Rogue Columnist

Childen and guns

The thing about most guns is that they kick, something especially true of shotguns and automatic weapons. When the firearm discharges, the explosion in the chamber and subsequent chain of events and physics to send the bullet or shot at, say, 1,200 feet per second or faster, causes the barrel to rise. In the case of a shotgun, it also sends the stock back against the shooter — in some cases hard enough to knock him down.

I learned this as a child in the West. I learned it the right way, with competent, demanding adults and on properly prepared and supervised ranges.

For example, the first time I ever fired an automatic rifle was when I was nine years old. Yes, the same age as the girl who accidentally killed her "instructor" at an Arizona "shooting range" when an Uzi kicked up and out of control.

In my case, some essentials were different. For example, I had been taught basic gun-handling at an early age. Never take a firearm without making sure it is unloaded; with an automatic or semi-auto, that means not just dropping the magazine (not a "clip" unless it's an M-1 rifle) but also clearing the chamber. Never point a gun at someone "unless you intend to shoot them," said my mother the crack shot. Never traverse a barrel in someone's direction as you are handling the weapon. Even if you know the gun is unloaded. You always "police your brass" after shooting.

The economics of Ferguson

Rogue's note: This originally appeared Friday as my online column in the Seattle Times.

While the world is watching Ferguson, Mo., it is useful to examine how this inner-ring suburb is emblematic of many unfortunate economic trends in America. In 2010, the town was more than 67 percent African-American, a demographic particularly hit hard not only by the Great Recession but by disruptions with a longer arc.

The homeownership rate in Ferguson was almost 10 percentage points lower than the state's as of 2012. Median household income of $37,517 compared with Missouri's $47,333 (Seattle: $63,470). Twenty-two percent of the population was below the federal poverty level vs. 15 percent statewide. This despite the world headquarters for Emerson Electric being nearby.

As of July, the national unemployment rate for African-Americans was 12.2 percent. For those aged 16 to 19, it was a staggering 36.8 percent (a year earlier, it had been 42.9 percent). For whites, the comparable numbers in July 2014 were 5.6 percent and 18.9 percent.

AUGUST SABBATICAL: Barring major war or an outbreak of good sense in Arizona, I must leave you to focus on the new David Mapstone Mystery. I'm pretty good at multi-tasking, but some things finally had to take a pause. There's still plenty to read:

• The Front Page (to your right) will continue to be updated.

• So will the Special Reports (Arizona's Continuing Crisis, Best of the Front Page and Climate/Energy/Water).

• Browse the archives, including the ever-popular Phoenix history columns.

This post can be an open thread for your comments. See you again with all new columns in early September.

Arizona economy update

Even the local media are admitting that Phoenix is back in a housing slump. I mean no disrespect to hard-working Arizona journalists. But let's face it, the Real Estate Industrial Complex controls the conversation, withholds or doles out ad dollars and can, ahem, ensure that offending columnists are run off. So when the local media admit to a problem involving this sacred cow, head for the bomb shelter.

More about housing (yawn) later. The most arresting data come from a new report by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. Arizona's per-capita personal expenditures, adjusted for inflation, were virtually flat in 2012 compared to 2000.

And this is "consumer spending" kept afloat with massive debt considering that most wages have been stagnant or falling, and the typical American household saw a 36-percent decline in its wealth between 2003 and 2013.

Other mid-year observations:

Fewer people are working than before the Great Recession, and the available labor force has fallen...

The preservation police

Whether through absent-mindedness or a Kookish desire to obliterate the memory of FDR, the state came very close to tearing down the 1938 administration building at the Arizona State Fairgrounds built by the WPA. The loose-knit community of preservationists — the preservation police, as one called it — went into action and the building was saved.

It's exhausting work done by average people. Phoenix lacks a wealthy steward such as Paul Allen, who saved and restored Seattle's magnificent Union Station and Cinerama. Phoenix lacks a widespread preservation ethic, too. There have been successes, such as saving the Frank Lloyd Wright house. And crushing failures, such as Robert Sarver's demolition of two territorial-era hotels to make...a surface parking lot.

Precisely because of these things, because Phoenix does have a fascinating history worth protecting even if it lacked the abundant good bones of older big cities — this makes the battle so important. Cities with enchanting old buildings and streetscapes also attract the creative class and urban-oriented tech workers and startups.

Our losses are profound. Here are a few of the ones most worth mourning:

1. The Japanese flower gardens along Baseline Road.

2. The Fox Theater, torn down in 1975 by City Hall vandals to make way for a municipal bus depot.

Borderline personality disorder

Here's the way the media see things. "House Republican Flailing Over Border Bill Drags On," from Daily Kos. "House GOP Abandons Border Crisis Bill Amid Conservative Opposition," from Talking Points Memo. The New York Times writes:

Many Republicans worried that leaving for the break without passing any border legislation would be damaging to them politically in the midterm elections, and vowed to stay as long as was necessary to reach a compromise within their own ranks.

The House may pass some kind of bill, but the meme, among some smart journalists, rests on some questionable assumptions.

One, that Republicans want to make a constructive response to the "border crisis" of the moment. Two, that the GOP is terrified that it must address this and other immigration issues or lose the future to changing demographics. Thus, failure to "do something" is a Republican defeat. Three, that there is a split within the Republican Party that has any real meaning.

I addressed the third point in a previous post. Today, I want to explore the first two assumptions.