"Don't Be Cruel." Or Masochistic.

It's 2016, and that's suddenly special in Biscayne Park.  For the first time perhaps ever here, we're holding elections for Village Commission in an even-numbered year.  Until this year, we held elections in odd-numbered years.  We had thought we would capture the undivided attention of Village residents by avoiding elections where there were other races and voting issues, and it seemed worth it to us to pay a premium to do that.  But we didn't capture anything.  Voter turnout was invariably shamefully low-- lower than for any other election of any kind in the even-numbered years-- and we did no more than waste our money.  We paid more to get less.

The contested Commission seats this year are mine, Bob Anderson's, and Barbara Watts'.  I'm not running for re-election.  I have no idea what Anderson's and Watts' plans are.

But the real question is what your plans are.  I have come to understand that there are some Village residents who are uniquely qualified to be Commissioners.  They are smart, they don't miss anything, they do careful and unerring research, and they appear to have perfect judgment.  They're also vigilant, and they never fail to discern the mistakes made by other people, especially whoever is on the Commission.  Or part of the Village Administration.

What's weird, though, is that these people, at least some of the most prominent of them, are not themselves on the Commission.  And it's not that anyone doesn't want them to be.  It's that they don't run for Commission.  I've approached some of them, to plead with them to run, and they refuse!

The least of the problem is that I, as a current Commissioner, and my colleagues are left to make decisions that these people then inform us are faulty.  Hey, if I can't take the heat, I should get out of the kitchen.  Oh, wait a minute, I am getting out of the kitchen.

The real problem is that without these people on the Commission, the neighborhood suffers.  And these people themselves suffer.  They know the right answer, and it doesn't get enacted.

Obviously, there's a solution that does not involve these people being Commissioners (although why wouldn't they want to be?).  All that has to happen is that they tell everyone, at least the Commissioners, what the right answer is, and the Commissioners opine and vote accordingly.  But apparently, this approach doesn't work.  I've experienced it.  Even though the insights provided make clear that there is a right way to do things, and nothing is merely a matter of anyone's opinion, Commissioners-- people like me-- are not themselves smart enough to think of that right way.  And worse, either we don't understand from these neighbors what this right way is, and what's right about it, or we don't just do what they tell us anyway.  We should.  These neighbors very clearly identify themselves, and make inescapable what the right answers are.  All we have to do is not overthink it-- or perhaps even think at all-- and just do what they say.

I don't know how to respond.  Obviously, I don't understand that which is crystal clear.  And I somehow think my own researches are valid.  Occasionally, I mistake an issue as resting on opinion or taste or some other variable, when there is really only the simple matter of right and wrong.  I seem to have a knack for choosing what is wrong.  Or so I'm told by some of my neighbors.  And they're always right, so...

If you're one of these people, I'm talking to you.  I'm pleading with you.  Please become a Commissioner.  You've made painfully clear who you are, and I promise to campaign vigorously for you.  I want you in office.  It's the only way the Village can really succeed.

If you're not a Commissioner, you allow the Village to fumble and fail.  This is not good.  It's not fair.  Your neighbors will not have the best Village they could, they won't be happy, and things will be done poorly and inefficiently. And you'll complain to and about others of us-- the ones who keep making the mistakes-- which will result in our being frustrated and unhappy.  You'll show us up for being the idiots we are, and we're obviously too stupid to understand that we should just obey what you tell us.

Worst of all, from your perspective, you will leave yourselves unhappy.  You know what's right, and what's the right way to do things.  You try so hard to warn us, and then you're stuck having to tell us you told us so, after we get it wrong.  And you, more than most, suffer from the faulty results of faulty decision-making.  Everyone else simply gets a bad result.  You get a result you knew from the start was bad, and that you tried to warn us to avoid.  How frankly infuriating that must be for you.

So please run for Commission this year.  I will do everything I can to help you win.  You should win.  No one is more capable than you are.  And here's another inducement for you.  You know how you criticize the Commissioners for getting paid to do the bad job they/we do?  When you're a Commissioner, you can get the pay.  Sweet, huh?

This year, the "qualifying period" (when you can declare your candidacy) is August 15-30.  You can go to www.biscayneparkfl.gov to find the relevant information and documents you must complete.  You'll then have over two months to campaign, and the election is on Tuesday, November 8.  You must have been a Village resident for at least one year before the day you declare.  You do not have to be at least 35, and you don't even have to own your own home here.

FREE "SURVIVING AN ACTIVE SHOOTER" WORKHOP

Active shooter incidents in the United States continue to rise in frequency, with new FBI statistics showing the highest average of incidents ever in a two-year period.

The FBI’s latest review of active shooter incidents came just three days after the worst mass shooting in American history, when a 29-year-old Florida man, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen, opened fire in an Orlando nightclub frequented by members of the gay community, killing 49 and wounding more than 50.

According to the FBI, 2014 and 2015 each saw 20 active shooter incidents. That’s more than any two-year average in the past 16 years, and nearly six times as many as the period between 2000 and 2001, the starting point for the FBI’s review.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, an "active shooter" situation describes a shooting in progress, "an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area." Unlike a murder or mass killing, the "active" aspect implies that both law enforcement and civilians have the potential to impact the outcome of the event.

Mass shootings are a largely American phenomenon. From 1966 to 2012, nearly a third of the world's mass shootings took place in the U.S. This is according to a 2016 study that used the FBI definition of 'mass shooting' below. It surveyed 292 incidents and found 90 of them occurred in America. Put another way: While the U.S. has 5% of the world's population, it had 31% of all public mass shootings.

The number of 'mass shootings' changes depending on how you define it. The government has never defined "mass shooting" as a stand-alone category. So, depending on whichever informal definition you go with, the tally can drastically vary. According to the Gun Violence Archive, which compiles data from shooting incidents, a "mass shooting" is any incident where four or more people are wounded or killed. That number can include any gunmen as well. By that definition, we've seen 136 mass shootings in the first 164 days of this year.

The Orlando attack was by far the deadliest shooting in U.S. history (49 killed), and it is not even 10 years removed from the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre (32 killed), and the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting (27 killed). In fact, of the 30 deadliest shootings in the U.S. dating back to 1949, 16 have occurred in the last 10 years. People have a greater chance of dying in mass shootings if they're at school or work. According to data from 2013, incidents in schools and businesses represent 7 out of 10 active shootings. Some of the country's most high-profile mass shootings have occurred there: Sandy Hook, Columbine, Virginia Tech and San Bernardino. Overseas, these incidents typically happen near military installations.

In this age of terror, we struggle to figure out how to protect ourselves — especially, of late, from active shooters.

One suggestion, promoted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security, and now widely disseminated, is "Run-Hide-Fight."

The idea is:

• Run if you can




• Hide if you can’t run




• Fight if all else fails.

This three-step program appeals to common sense but is much hard to do than you would expect. The problem is that there are no one-size-fits-all answers for these questions. No one can tell us how we should or will act under these circumstances. The general concept of "Run-Hide-Fight." is a good one. The best thing to do, really, is to empower everyone to do what they feel most comfortable doing, without fear of subsequent repercussions or recriminations,"

Underlying the idea of "Run-Hide-Fight." is the presumption that volitional choices are readily available in situations of danger. But the fact is, when you are in danger, whether it is a bicyclist speeding at you or a shooter locked and loaded, you may well find yourself frozen, unable to act and think clearly.

Freezing is not a choice. It is a built-in impulse controlled by ancient circuits in the brain involving the amygdala and its neural partners, and is automatically set into motion by external threats. By contrast, the kinds of intentional actions implied by "Run-Hide-Fight." require newer circuits in the neocortex.

Contemporary science has refined the old "Run-Hide-Fight."" concept — the idea that those are the two hard-wired options when in mortal danger.

We at Modern Martial Arts & Fitness have an updated version called "Flee, Barricade, Fight" focusing more on Fleeing and Fighting than in hiding. We all remember playing hide and go seek as children and we got caught many times so hiding isn’t always the best option. If you are faced with an active shooter who has experience in tracking or hunting you will have very little chance of escaping with your life by simply hiding under your desk or in the closet.

Because of this we are holding a FREE Active Shooter Workshop on Saturday, July 9^th, 2016 from 2pm to 4pm. This workshop will consist of:

Viewing and discussing the "Surviving an Active Shooter" video



Go over information packets and



Learn Active Shooter self-defense techniques



Discuss possible scenarios



Participate in an Active Shooter Scenario using safe training weapons

There is limited space for this workshop so reserve your spot today by contacting us at ModernMartial@gmail.com or by visiting our WEBSITE at and clicking on the workshop image.

Until next time be safe.

Instructor Joe Chao

One of our residents needs some help

Good Evening Everyone, One of our Homeowner residents Gustavo has been diagnosed with a life altering diagnosis last month and suddenly has found himself unable to work to dedicate himself to getting cured and healthy again.  He has 3 very young boys he adores and is dedicated to.  He has a goFundMe page set up to  assist with his expenses- Please if you can contribute anything- he would appreciate it as would all those that care for him. Happy Fathers day.
https://www.gofundme.com/gustavoinzillo

Thanks for your help!!!

Bad News, Worse News. I Know, It's Political. But Localish, Too.

The bad news:  Some disturbed, angry homophobe decided to destroy a bunch of strangers at a nightclub, and he took advantage of the liberal availability of guns to do it.

The worse news:  Here in the land of the free, the home of the really brave, and the playground of gun-happy goofballs, who are given full permission to shoot up anyone they want, as long as they can concoct some story about how the person might have been threatening in some way, not one person prevented or intervened in this crime.  In fact, by 2:00 AM, the night club was advising people to leave, because mayhem was occurring, and it wasn’t until 5:00 AM that the police SWAT team got there.  Three hours for local heroes (OK, Zimmerman, NOW!) to show their stuff, in the State that gives them every possible excuse, and not one person came to anyone’s rescue.  There was no difference between Florida citizens having full permission to bear and use arms, and their being prohibited from doing so at all, except that in the latter instance, the assailant wouldn’t have had a gun, either, so the crime would never have happened.  That sounds like a really good deal.

Some people will misuse and corrupt this tragedy to suggest something wrong with Muslims.  (We’re led to think the assailant was Muslim.)  But he didn’t kill anyone because he was, if he was, Muslim. He killed a large number of people, because he was an angry homophobe who was undone by witnessing two men kissing each other.  In another city, in another county, on a different day.

There are crimes of this kind of passion: the passionate intolerance of the private lives of other people.  But in this country, those crimes are almost always committed by adolescents or angry 20-somethings, and more often than not, they seem proud to let the world know they’re Christian.

This was a crime of rage, immaturity, and intolerance, abetted by the ready availability here of a gun.  It’s an arduous and uphill battle to evolve citizens so that they’re not angry, not immature, and not intolerant.  The best we can do in the short run is to prevent them from making themselves lethal.

Sausages, Laws, and Developed Properties

According to Bismarck, "Laws are like sausages: It is better not to see them being made."  I can go Bismarck one more.

There has been considerable dissatisfaction expressed lately in the Village, and the problem is new construction and some improvements.

The first new project was the "Larry King house," at the corner of Griffing and 119th.  The old "Larry King house" was a mess.  Someone mercifully razed it and replaced it with a new and contemporary structure.

The early stages of the replacement were met with great concern.  The house, as it was being outlined, and the outer shell was constructed, appeared very imposing.  It seemed high and almost too close to the street.  Harvey Bilt pointed out that the house appeared to be an example of the Village's failure to make a statutory limit on the height of house stories.  I myself mistook the early appearance to suggest that the new building was two stories.  No, it was one.  And the tall chain link fence, right up to the property line, made the construction look even more threatening.

The house is finished now.  It is painted, and many aesthetic accents were applied.  Landscaping was installed, with the creation of a hill, planted with trees.

What's odd, and interesting, about what is now the end of this project is that the house no longer looks so massive.  It is no longer imposing.  It has a sedate, if stylish, appearance.  Although it was way too soon to have been able to tell, I had a feeling I might not like that house, when it was in a more raw state.  Now, I like it a lot.

Several blocks to the east on 119th Street, one block west of my house, there is another new structure.  This one is a real two story house.  I watched it evolve, from the ground up.  It had the obligatory covered chain link fence, too.  This house, like the other one, looks massive.  Various people have complained about it.  It was a central stimulus for the "McMansion" flap some months ago.

I've learned to withhold reaction to new houses, or perhaps other things, based on early appearance.  And lack of finishing and softening touches, like landscaping.  The house, although now painted, is still stark, in the sense that it is the only thing on the lot.  That's not a fair basis to judge what the finished project will look like.

The Village has articulated new parking requirements.  In an effort to keep people from parking on grass or dirt, and ideally even to avoid parking in the swale, the Code Review Committee proposed a requirement for "approved parking surfaces" on the actual property, and enough to allow parking for a specified number of cars, depending on the house (duplexes need more spaces than single-family houses do).  The Commission ratified that proposal.  One of our neighbors dutifully installed the required surface of turfblock in front of a duplex on the east side of 11th Place, at about 117th Street.

This was very disturbing to others of our neighbors, though.  Their impression was that now, the entire front yard was turfblocked, and they felt it looked terrible.  They saw flora replaced by turfblock (paradise was paved, and a parking lot put up, as Joni Mitchell would have complained).

I saw this project, too, in its early stage.  And I agree: my first impression was that the approach to the house looked ruined by what appeared to be an elevated massive platform of turfblock.  But again, I told myself to withhold judgment, and ideally even to withhold reaction.  The project was not completed, and no landscaping had been installed.  The fact is, I didn't even know if landscaping was planned.

Today, because of continued complaint from the neighbors, and their assertion that the project was completed three days ago, I drove by that property.  I see that the parking installation does in fact appear to be complete.  The holes in the turfblock have been filled, the border of the turfblock is now softened by an approach of dirt, and landscaping has been installed, or at least begun, at the border of the house.  I think it looks nice.  I didn't think so before, but I do now.

It's hard to withhold reaction, especially in an early stage of construction of a project.  It's not the business in which I'm an expert, and I don't have the eye, or the vision, to "see" what a project will look like when it's finished.  So I have trained myself simply to wait.

No one begins a project intending that it will look bad, or fail in some way.  It's presumptuous to come upon a beginning one, and declare it faulty or unworthy.  All of these projects-- the two new houses and the new parking surface-- were done to improve the neighborhood, and to be credits to the developers or owners.  Why would anyone assume that these goals would not be met?

Imagine walking up to a lonely ATM at your favorite bank in broad day light with nobody around you. As you take the money from the machine you hear from behind "Turn around slowly and hand me your money" 

What would you do? 

Let's take it a step further. It's early Sunday morning and you are late for church. You just left your car and are walking to the building when suddenly that car that was parked all the way on the other side of the parking lot rolls up behind you and a man jumps out with a gun demanding your purse. 

What do you do? 

These and many more situations can be answered at our Armed Robbery Defense Workshop. At this workshop we will be covering... 

• Gun defense drills from various angles and situations 
• Knife defense drills from various angles and situations 
• What to look for and how predators think 
• The workshop will be held: 

WHEN: SATURDAY JUNE 4TH, 2016 from 2PM - 4PM 

WHERE: Modern Martial Arts & Fitness, 9025 Biscayne Blvd. Miami Shores FL 33138 

HOW: Reserve you spot by emailing us at ModernMartial@gmail.com or call us at 305-542-5549 

Instructor Joe Chao

Modern Martial Arts & Fitness

9025 Biscayne Blvd.

Miami Shores, FL 33138

(305) 542-5549

 www.MiamiShoresKickboxing.com

www.mma-f.com