Child warriors

Once upon a time boys played "Cowboys and Indians", even "Cops and Robbers", and the neighbors knew that they were playing, and they thought it was creative and healthy. Today, everyone wonders, "is that a real gun?", or "what are their parents teaching those boys!?". It is not that it is any less creative or healthy to use your imagination, it is because toys have become too realistic (not much imagination there...), and it would appear that too often maturity doesn't separate the "play" from the real like it used to. Toy guns get traded up to real ones, or - since they are so realistic but not really real - toy guns get brandished as if they are real - perhaps as a joke... And everyone wonders why that poor innocent child got shot??
I recently had to fight the gun battle with my son. It seems that one of his friends had a surplus BB gun which he gave to my son. I hate it. It is still in his room and I cringe every time I see it. It is my belief that most [semi-sheltered] teenagers do not comprehend the dangers that such a weapon carries. The unsheltered [i.e. exposed, wizened, "street"] teenagers do. By being in possession of such a weapon in certain situations, anyone - even [semi-sheltered] teenagers are considered a lethal threat. To police, gangs (they're everywhere), even to the homeowner with a right to protect his/her property. I have expressed this to my son and (I hope) I have convinced him not to take this BB gun anywhere, though I wish he would just get rid of it all together...
But what about this? It is not enough that we have BB guns that look like lethal hand guns, now we have toy assault weapons? Would you put this in your child's hands and send them out to play?

North Korea is out of control

I am sorry. I just do not consider 500 miles a wide enough margin. I like Hawaii! I'm kind of attached to the west coast as well.
http://my.bresnan.net/news/read.php?id=17214523&ps=1012&srce=news_class&action=1&lang=en&_LT=HOME_WLNWC00L1_UNEWS

Taxes (!?)

At what rate does the Powerball tax? Seems to me that every State got their share of this one...
One ticket wins $232 million, winner gets $88.5 after taxes are deducted?? I always believed taxes to add up to about half - seems closer to 2/3.
Really!
What is the logic, taxes are $143.5 MILLION and actual winnings are only $88.5 million?
Mind you, I could be extremely comfortable at $88.5 million (!) but still it doesn't seem quite right. Somebody is running a racket.