21 July 99

This is from a friend who is a PI in FL:

“I completed the three-day course required by the state of Florida to obtain an investigator’s, statewide carry permit, not to be confused with the citizen’s carry permit, which I already have.

You just wouldn’t believe the ‘instructor!’ While lecturing, he slowly masticated a wad of tobacco, stopping only long enough to spit into a cup he kept handy, sometimes hawking and snorting a bit for extra enjoyment.

He is ‘strictly a revolver man,’ only condescending briefly to cover autoloaders, ‘because some of my students use them.’ He showed us endless taped footage of fast revolver shooting contests, and hooted and yelled whenever the cowboys fired their SA revolvers.

The rest of the classroom portion was spent in law enforcement yarn-spinning. We were even treated to a brief visit from Mrs Instructor, who, oblivious of the class in progress, waddled into the classroom and asked Mr. Instructor for money, because some relative was in jail (I am not making this up!)”

Lesson: Here is a classic illustration of the difference between public and private enterprise. A dithering buffoon like the one described above wouldn’t last a day in the private sector. However, because he is a public-sector employee he can’t be criticized, and he can’t be fired. Complaints about his lack of qualifications and utter incompetence are greeted with a chorus of yawns by an army of other, erstwhile unemployed, bureaucrats who, of course, couldn’t care less.

I was once in favor of mandatory training for CCW permits. Not any more. Wherever it’s done, it’s taught by idiots.

/John