This garbage about stopping shooters from enjoying public land. . . . the Interior Department can shove this right up their interior.
I'm severely agitated over this because of the similar situation here in Virginia. This area used to be good-'ol-boy land: a place where my fellow hillbilly heathens and I gathered together to hunt, fish, shoot guns, shoot bows, and otherwise have a great time on God's green earth. That was back when the county's population was manageable. Now, my county and the surrounding ones are awash with yuppie families who moved down in droves from New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland to live in the "country," which has put the word "history" into "historic" Fredericksburg. Now you can't fire a slingshot or clap your hands too loud or one of these pathetic people will call the police out of fear.
I wish they would all leave.
My only hope is that I can convince my wife, our family, and several friends to move the hell out to a state where I can go for a walk without hearing the sound of traffic and sirens; where I can step out on my porch in my underwear and fire an overbored rifle at a distant crow without wondering how long it will take for the cops to show up to measure my backstop; where I can park my truck in the driveway knowing that at night, thieving little shits aren't going to syphon off all my gasoline before scattering a handful of trim nails under my tires; where it doesn't take me an hour to drive five miles to work or the grocery store.
Now you're telling me that the government wants to get involved in taking away the dwindling places where folks want to enjoy shooting? All because spineless hippies that are scared of their own shadow might "freak out" at the sound of gunfire?
There are plenty of places that these chicken-shits can go where shooting is already banned. Let them go there. The meek people who would use the government to intrude on peaceable folks, how about they go take a fucking shower instead of worrying their stinky little heads over hunters and shooters. How about a bill that makes the Interior Department send their high-falutin' asses right back where they came from? I don't like wimpy people around my kids; it creates a public disturbance. It's a social issue, get it?
Two can play at this game.
You can't convince me that they're seriously scared that an elk hunter might shoot their dog when these days urban folks are terrified that police will do the same thing when they raid their home looking for a pot plant. I guess these days there's no place safe for Cujo.
So, my question is: the hippies think they have a right to live in a place free from good folks who like shooting firearms? Good. I accept that, as long as they accept that shooters and hunters have a right to live in a place free from the sight of cowards out riding their high horse.
I think the next time I see someone who's fearfully looking at my openly carried Glock, I may have to whip out my cell phone and call the cops:
"The lady is obviously not of sound mind, officer; she looks like she might do something crazy any moment, like make terroristic threats or something. Oh, she just peed down her leg. Take her away, boys!"
Showing posts with label Rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rants. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Are these the new dangerous times?
When I was a kid, there was the always constant threat of all out nuclear war with Russia, which would have likely destroyed every living thing on the entire planet. I mean, Russia had something along the lines of 30,000 nuclear missiles, all of them pointed at the US, and that discounts their. . . .ahem. . .robust chemical and biological weapons programs, all of which were too, aimed at the free world.
To me, the threats that we face today pale in comparison. Not to downplay 9/11 or anything, as loosing thousands of Americans in a terrorist attack was definitely a defining time in this country, but for several decades people in the US went about their day knowing that if there was an attack, millions of people would die, and that is if everything didn't go as bad as we had been told.
Today I take a look at the news to find material to mock, and am treated with sensational headlines describing how some miscreant placed what could only be a plastic soda bomb on somebody's window sill, spraying high velocity shards of glass from a single window across ten whole feet of lawn, complete with breathtaking "RAW" footage of firefighters milling around their truck, and cops slowly walking through the woods with flashlights. There's also the breaking report of the DC GOP office getting its windows "shot out" (cracked, but still standing) by hard-core violent gangsters firing high velocity BBs from an air rifle. The audacity of these people. Oooh, and how can I forget the edge-of-your-seat breaking news story about shoppers in a mall in Roanoke loosing their shit over the sight of an old man walking the isles holding an umbrella, which they thought was an AK, or even an RPG picked up at a gunshow in Arizona for $38. It was raining that day, which is theoretically why a man would have on his person an umbrella; and the PEW PEW PEW sounds the man imagined coming out of the moist instrument were telepathically picked up by other shoppers and mistaken for actual automatic gunfire from a rifle. Lastly, the news is putting up a desperate attempt to scare the shit out of every American over the nuclear reactors in Japan with stories of "all hope is lost" and "DEATH CLOUDS!!!" DEATH CLOUDS will come and eat the brains of your children while they sleep peacefully in their beds dreaming childish stories of Chicken Little telling everybody that the sky is falling!
Be advised that DEATH CLOUDS are in no way related to DEATH BLOSSOMS (warning, language).
So if the latest round of news stories is any indication, America is about as secure as it could possibly be. And don't forget that this feeling of safety is facilitated in large part by bad ass Americans killing tangos across the globe.
To me, the threats that we face today pale in comparison. Not to downplay 9/11 or anything, as loosing thousands of Americans in a terrorist attack was definitely a defining time in this country, but for several decades people in the US went about their day knowing that if there was an attack, millions of people would die, and that is if everything didn't go as bad as we had been told.
Today I take a look at the news to find material to mock, and am treated with sensational headlines describing how some miscreant placed what could only be a plastic soda bomb on somebody's window sill, spraying high velocity shards of glass from a single window across ten whole feet of lawn, complete with breathtaking "RAW" footage of firefighters milling around their truck, and cops slowly walking through the woods with flashlights. There's also the breaking report of the DC GOP office getting its windows "shot out" (cracked, but still standing) by hard-core violent gangsters firing high velocity BBs from an air rifle. The audacity of these people. Oooh, and how can I forget the edge-of-your-seat breaking news story about shoppers in a mall in Roanoke loosing their shit over the sight of an old man walking the isles holding an umbrella, which they thought was an AK, or even an RPG picked up at a gunshow in Arizona for $38. It was raining that day, which is theoretically why a man would have on his person an umbrella; and the PEW PEW PEW sounds the man imagined coming out of the moist instrument were telepathically picked up by other shoppers and mistaken for actual automatic gunfire from a rifle. Lastly, the news is putting up a desperate attempt to scare the shit out of every American over the nuclear reactors in Japan with stories of "all hope is lost" and "DEATH CLOUDS!!!" DEATH CLOUDS will come and eat the brains of your children while they sleep peacefully in their beds dreaming childish stories of Chicken Little telling everybody that the sky is falling!
Be advised that DEATH CLOUDS are in no way related to DEATH BLOSSOMS (warning, language).
So if the latest round of news stories is any indication, America is about as secure as it could possibly be. And don't forget that this feeling of safety is facilitated in large part by bad ass Americans killing tangos across the globe.
Monday, November 8, 2010
On Daylight Savings Time
Many moons ago, some jackasses decided to fuck with the way human beings experience their lives while having enough light to see, and now twice a year we have to endure the mild mayhem that results in this arcane retarded practice.
Either way you look at it, you're screwing somebody out of the time/daylight continuum that they need to function. This is most apparent to me right now as all of my kids are wide awake at six o'clock in the morning, and stumbling around in exhaustion at seven o'clock at night because their little bodies don't know what the hell is going on.
I swear, anyone that I hear say that daylight savings is a good idea within ear shot of me is going to get punted right in the nuts. Period.
Pick a time already, and stay with it. Or at the very least, split the difference and call it settled. Humans are creatures of habit, and tweaking the clocks twice a year so that half of the office comes in an hour late is a stupid idea. My $.02
Either way you look at it, you're screwing somebody out of the time/daylight continuum that they need to function. This is most apparent to me right now as all of my kids are wide awake at six o'clock in the morning, and stumbling around in exhaustion at seven o'clock at night because their little bodies don't know what the hell is going on.
I swear, anyone that I hear say that daylight savings is a good idea within ear shot of me is going to get punted right in the nuts. Period.
Pick a time already, and stay with it. Or at the very least, split the difference and call it settled. Humans are creatures of habit, and tweaking the clocks twice a year so that half of the office comes in an hour late is a stupid idea. My $.02
Thursday, October 21, 2010
You're not fooling anyone
"In an effort to ease traffic and keep drivers safe, Gov. Bob McDonnell will be increasing the speed limit across Virginia highways by the end of the year."Uh-huh. Sure. It's all about safety, just like speed limits in general are all about safety.
It's well known to anyone who had driven on an interstate highway in Virginia that the flow of traffic towards the left hand lane is moving at 79 mph, if it's not completely gridlocked from all the out of state yahoos that have moved here from bumfuck New Jersey to escape that insanity.
The reason that traffic moves at 79 mph is because -- at least it used to be -- that anything over 80 mph landed you a big fat reckless driving ticket with big fat fines. Virginians know that 79 mph makes you safe from all the state, county, local Revenue generators - identified by their Crown Vics with light bar on the roof, or blacked out Charger sitting conspicuously in the crossovers in between the highway - because Johny Law isn't going to waste his time and risk getting run over on the side of the road over a $65 ticket.
Let me spell this out for those who think speed limits keep you safe: speed limits have nothing at all to do with public safety, and everything to do with courts operating in commerce with the gentle population.
Lots of research on my part went into this in my youth as I was constantly solicited by these Revenue generators for my hard earned FRNs over my callous disregard for the recommended speed limit. Take away the speed limit signs on Rt. 62whogivesashit and sit back and watch absolutely nothing happen. Why is this? Let's look at this scenario: You are on your way to work, but first have to drop off your two beautiful children sitting in the plastic car seats behind you at the day care center, and you're running a little bit late. It appears that there is no posted speed limit on this road. Man that's awesome! Should you take advantage of this obvious flaw of someone not telling you exactly how fast you can operate this powerful and heavy piece of machinery, and just punch it and go as fast as you can?
The answer is: of course not, because you are a sane individual who has driven a car for years and know by feel just how fast you should be going. Do you really need a sign to tell you this? I once read a book explaining that roadways are audited every five or so years for the safe speed by taking the total average speed of cars over a period of time, and then lowering it a tad. Thinking about that, what help would it be to the courts if everyone moseyed along at a safe speed which also just happened to be the lawful speed allowed? There wouldn't be commerce!
The book (I don't recall the title) made a compelling case about how absent posted speed limits, the vast majority of drivers would not swerve out of control all over the road in total, blissful, speedy abandon, but would instead drive along in what they perceive as a safe speed. The one's who have total disregard for their gift of life will of course drive like maniacs, but big ass signs will not remedy this. This is of course not much different than laws against shooting people in general anger; my point being that the vast majority of Americans don't need some screed scribbled down in a book in some court house to tell them not to kill people for the hell of it. They just don't do it as it's not right.
So call me unflattered over the speed limit getting raised by a whopping five miles per hour. If Governor McDonnell really wanted to make a difference in the lives of Virginians, and not just a half-assed perception of one, he would bar Virginia State Troopers from stacking up two fucking cruisers per mile on I-95 for the sole purpose of siphoning the sweat equity of my people.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Hey Speedo people
Riding a bicycle is cool and all, but seriously, do you really have to ride down what is possibly the most deadly road in all of Virginia in the morning when everyone is heading to work?
I've been pretty torn about bicyclists in the past; it's good exercise, it's economical, it saves pandas and shit. . . . but I lost a bunch of empathy this morning when I watched a car trying to pass some spandex clad bike warrior almost take out an oncoming driver. I look at it like this, you're not really endangering my life with your hobby when I'm riding behind you because I can choose not to risk trying to pass you. But what about if I'm coming the other way, and I collide with another vehicle that's just trying to pass your slow ass on some twisty back road? Not all that cool anymore, now is it?
In Europe, a lot of the roads have bike lanes built in from the start, as it would seem that municipalities actually consider the roads and other infrastructure beforehand, instead of just building houses with wild abandon and damn the repercussions. The extra four feet of pavement would be good here, in my opinion, because maybe some of the hippies that have infiltrated from up North would be able to bike to their work, instead of running me off the road or rear ending me while I'm on my way to mine.
But that's just not the case. Oh no. Instead, we have many of them that like to take the scenic route during morning and afternoon traffic hour, down the not so straight road that follows the river - River Road, imagine that - where the lanes are narrow, bumpy, banked the wrong way, with random creeks running across them, with visibility of about thirty feet, and overall just treacherous. Good decision.
And every one of these guys - every time without exception, gets miffed when you're tailing behind them and tries to wave you by angrily while going around a tight curve, like I'm gonna look back at my three kids buckled into their car seats and say "hold on tight now! Speedo man assures me that the way is safe!" and just nose my 5,000 lb. SUV across the double yellow line so I don't interrupt his tranquil bike ride. I'll tell you what, jackasses, if the decision between collisions boils down to me hitting a tree, an oncoming Tahoe, or your squishy ass, guess which one I'm gonna chose every time?
Please, for pete's sake, ride your little bicycle on a different road, or try riding at a different time.
I've been pretty torn about bicyclists in the past; it's good exercise, it's economical, it saves pandas and shit. . . . but I lost a bunch of empathy this morning when I watched a car trying to pass some spandex clad bike warrior almost take out an oncoming driver. I look at it like this, you're not really endangering my life with your hobby when I'm riding behind you because I can choose not to risk trying to pass you. But what about if I'm coming the other way, and I collide with another vehicle that's just trying to pass your slow ass on some twisty back road? Not all that cool anymore, now is it?
In Europe, a lot of the roads have bike lanes built in from the start, as it would seem that municipalities actually consider the roads and other infrastructure beforehand, instead of just building houses with wild abandon and damn the repercussions. The extra four feet of pavement would be good here, in my opinion, because maybe some of the hippies that have infiltrated from up North would be able to bike to their work, instead of running me off the road or rear ending me while I'm on my way to mine.
But that's just not the case. Oh no. Instead, we have many of them that like to take the scenic route during morning and afternoon traffic hour, down the not so straight road that follows the river - River Road, imagine that - where the lanes are narrow, bumpy, banked the wrong way, with random creeks running across them, with visibility of about thirty feet, and overall just treacherous. Good decision.
And every one of these guys - every time without exception, gets miffed when you're tailing behind them and tries to wave you by angrily while going around a tight curve, like I'm gonna look back at my three kids buckled into their car seats and say "hold on tight now! Speedo man assures me that the way is safe!" and just nose my 5,000 lb. SUV across the double yellow line so I don't interrupt his tranquil bike ride. I'll tell you what, jackasses, if the decision between collisions boils down to me hitting a tree, an oncoming Tahoe, or your squishy ass, guess which one I'm gonna chose every time?
Please, for pete's sake, ride your little bicycle on a different road, or try riding at a different time.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Paranoid American
I link to this Hot Air post this morning because it really touched on how I feel. "What's a matter with you Americans?" Read it; it's spot on.
I can't speak for all Americans, but no doubt some are like me. I am naturally paranoid, and have a definite militant sort of nature. I am not at all a violent person; in fact, I am the type of person who is more than willing to give any sort of help to a stranger because I love my fellow man. I love human beings. I am drawn to serve for the good of others, at the expense of my own life if need be. And I am strongly skeptical of those who position themselves in places of authority or power and then claim that they are acting for the better of all. Most of the time they are selling snake oil.
Human beings will always have self interest in everything they do. That is not a flaw; people can still do selfless acts despite having that natural self interest. I believe that people who run for public office may very well want to help others - good intentions and all that - but the opportunity to advance their self interest goes starkly up with that power, and the road to hell I've heard is gorgeous.
I consider anyone who runs for any office to be a potential scumbag. By the very act of wanting that authority over others, as well intentioned as one may be, that individual has shown that they want to control others. Period. And at this point in my life, I am weary of people wanting to run my life for me; wanting to make my life better; wanting to take what is mine to make someone else's life better; wanting to take what is mine to advance science; wanting to take what is mine to save the whales, etc. I am weary of these intentions and I don't care about them. I don't trust you as far as I can through you, and I will not vote for you if you have ever passed a law, wanted to pass a law, or ever expressed or confessed a desire to pass a law that barred a human being from doing one thing, in the hopes of allowing another to do any other thing.
Unless you are in the business of passing laws that strip power from yourselves, or bar other public officials from meddling in the day to day affairs of Americans, than consider me opposed to your every move.
Yes, I understand that sending astronauts to the moon advances society, and that the money has to come from somewhere. I really do. But a dog can only stand to have so many fleas. You have had enough blood from me. So I'm telling you, leave my shit alone. I don't want to be a part of your vision of utopia. I am fully aware that people are starving all over the world; and if you tax 99% of every American's paycheck to buy them a sandwich, there will still be people starving all over the world. The same goes for the animals. Stop extorting my money to save the fucking dolphins, the whales, the desert tortoise, the chickens, and the polar bears: I Don't Care! They will die with or without the fruits of my labor, just like they have since the beginning of time.
When I was a kid, my parents taught me that if I took something away from someone against their will, no matter what kind of well intentioned ideas I may have, it was stealing. Taking from someone against their will = stealing. Got it. So when you take from me to give to another, it is against my will and it is stealing. Stealing! You got that! Virginia, are you listening? Governor McDonnell, are you listening? Mr. President, Congress, are y'all listening? I don't give one teensy weensy little tiny piece of shit about anything you are trying to give to me, or any other. It is not selfish. It is just reality. If you want to sit around all day conjuring up ways to stop people from doing shit, Fine. You can start by looking at ways to keep your hands to yourself, because I am not interested in any of your other ideas, and it looks like the vast majority of Americans feel the same way.
Jobs? Can y'all even create jobs? Of course you can't. You can either create the illusion that you're creating jobs, you can claim credit for creating jobs even though you didn't, or you can do us all a favor and get the fuck out of everyone's way and let them find jobs for themselves. Seems to me like y'all are the ones who caused this mess in the first place, at least in part, and you can definitely help the American people get back to work by just going home and watching some TV. Put your pen down, and go home.
I honestly can't imagine what good can come from people who go to work every single day with the intent to create a law with their name on it, just to stop someone from doing something. Why does Congress even work all day? Why can't they just meet once or twice a year, pass the budget, and then go home - just like they did to start with? When I hear some Congressman gloat about all the hard work their doing, I get really pissed off, because I know that they are ultimately working towards either stealing from Peter to give to Paul, or they are working on making some other facet of our lives illegal. If you think about it, they can't actually make something legal. Government can't give you liberties; they can only take them. So with their every day efforts, they work towards fucking you out of your liberty.
Just look at what has been done with Concealed Carry. Everyone I know smiles ear to ear when they get that paper card in the mail that says that they can carry a gun. I look at it with contempt. Why is it that people think that they can give me something I already own? A permit is not a liberty. It's not a freedom. It is exactly the opposite. Stimulus? You want to stimulate the economy? How about you give back the 30% of the labor that you forcefully take from everyone, and let them spend it on what they want. That way, it doesn't get wasted in the cogs of the most inefficient spending machine ever devised.
So from now on, you folk working on public office, just leave me out of your plans. If you must do something from day to day to draw a paycheck because you have no other skills, then work on dismantling this goat rope of statutes that you have created. Go on, there's plenty there to work on. Should keep you feeding at the public trough for centuries. Humanity will flourish when you scumbags finally move out of the way.
Update: Case in point. President Obama, you have no business meddling in this. You are Commander in Chief, not the head of college football; you were not hired for this. It is not your job. That you have focused even a moment of attention on this on public time means you are wasting the public's money which you do not have permission to use. Put your pen down and stay in your fucking lane!
I can't speak for all Americans, but no doubt some are like me. I am naturally paranoid, and have a definite militant sort of nature. I am not at all a violent person; in fact, I am the type of person who is more than willing to give any sort of help to a stranger because I love my fellow man. I love human beings. I am drawn to serve for the good of others, at the expense of my own life if need be. And I am strongly skeptical of those who position themselves in places of authority or power and then claim that they are acting for the better of all. Most of the time they are selling snake oil.
Human beings will always have self interest in everything they do. That is not a flaw; people can still do selfless acts despite having that natural self interest. I believe that people who run for public office may very well want to help others - good intentions and all that - but the opportunity to advance their self interest goes starkly up with that power, and the road to hell I've heard is gorgeous.
I consider anyone who runs for any office to be a potential scumbag. By the very act of wanting that authority over others, as well intentioned as one may be, that individual has shown that they want to control others. Period. And at this point in my life, I am weary of people wanting to run my life for me; wanting to make my life better; wanting to take what is mine to make someone else's life better; wanting to take what is mine to advance science; wanting to take what is mine to save the whales, etc. I am weary of these intentions and I don't care about them. I don't trust you as far as I can through you, and I will not vote for you if you have ever passed a law, wanted to pass a law, or ever expressed or confessed a desire to pass a law that barred a human being from doing one thing, in the hopes of allowing another to do any other thing.
Unless you are in the business of passing laws that strip power from yourselves, or bar other public officials from meddling in the day to day affairs of Americans, than consider me opposed to your every move.
Yes, I understand that sending astronauts to the moon advances society, and that the money has to come from somewhere. I really do. But a dog can only stand to have so many fleas. You have had enough blood from me. So I'm telling you, leave my shit alone. I don't want to be a part of your vision of utopia. I am fully aware that people are starving all over the world; and if you tax 99% of every American's paycheck to buy them a sandwich, there will still be people starving all over the world. The same goes for the animals. Stop extorting my money to save the fucking dolphins, the whales, the desert tortoise, the chickens, and the polar bears: I Don't Care! They will die with or without the fruits of my labor, just like they have since the beginning of time.
When I was a kid, my parents taught me that if I took something away from someone against their will, no matter what kind of well intentioned ideas I may have, it was stealing. Taking from someone against their will = stealing. Got it. So when you take from me to give to another, it is against my will and it is stealing. Stealing! You got that! Virginia, are you listening? Governor McDonnell, are you listening? Mr. President, Congress, are y'all listening? I don't give one teensy weensy little tiny piece of shit about anything you are trying to give to me, or any other. It is not selfish. It is just reality. If you want to sit around all day conjuring up ways to stop people from doing shit, Fine. You can start by looking at ways to keep your hands to yourself, because I am not interested in any of your other ideas, and it looks like the vast majority of Americans feel the same way.
Jobs? Can y'all even create jobs? Of course you can't. You can either create the illusion that you're creating jobs, you can claim credit for creating jobs even though you didn't, or you can do us all a favor and get the fuck out of everyone's way and let them find jobs for themselves. Seems to me like y'all are the ones who caused this mess in the first place, at least in part, and you can definitely help the American people get back to work by just going home and watching some TV. Put your pen down, and go home.
I honestly can't imagine what good can come from people who go to work every single day with the intent to create a law with their name on it, just to stop someone from doing something. Why does Congress even work all day? Why can't they just meet once or twice a year, pass the budget, and then go home - just like they did to start with? When I hear some Congressman gloat about all the hard work their doing, I get really pissed off, because I know that they are ultimately working towards either stealing from Peter to give to Paul, or they are working on making some other facet of our lives illegal. If you think about it, they can't actually make something legal. Government can't give you liberties; they can only take them. So with their every day efforts, they work towards fucking you out of your liberty.
Just look at what has been done with Concealed Carry. Everyone I know smiles ear to ear when they get that paper card in the mail that says that they can carry a gun. I look at it with contempt. Why is it that people think that they can give me something I already own? A permit is not a liberty. It's not a freedom. It is exactly the opposite. Stimulus? You want to stimulate the economy? How about you give back the 30% of the labor that you forcefully take from everyone, and let them spend it on what they want. That way, it doesn't get wasted in the cogs of the most inefficient spending machine ever devised.
So from now on, you folk working on public office, just leave me out of your plans. If you must do something from day to day to draw a paycheck because you have no other skills, then work on dismantling this goat rope of statutes that you have created. Go on, there's plenty there to work on. Should keep you feeding at the public trough for centuries. Humanity will flourish when you scumbags finally move out of the way.
Update: Case in point. President Obama, you have no business meddling in this. You are Commander in Chief, not the head of college football; you were not hired for this. It is not your job. That you have focused even a moment of attention on this on public time means you are wasting the public's money which you do not have permission to use. Put your pen down and stay in your fucking lane!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Government fail
I got up this morning to find out that every school or official government function was closed due to snow. Here in Northern Virginia, we receive an email at work warning us about the weather and telling us to look to Quantico to see if they're closed. If Quantico is closed, we're closed.
Well, whoever makes the call to close the base must have a hell of a hangover, because the roads are treacherous, and there are cars wrecked and overturned everywhere in the wake of this snowfall, and the base is still open. Not only that, but until a few minutes ago, you couldn't even get on the Quantico website to check to see if the base was closed, or even delayed.
Next time, spare me the email telling me to look for guidance at your non-functioning crap website that takes ten minutes to load on a good day. I'll make the freaking call myself since you can't muster the courage to close up shop on the first significant snowfall that we've had in three years.
On an angry note: to the stupid pompous woman in the SUV who was riding my bumper as I was getting ready to merge onto I-95 this morning - yeah you; the one who decided that I wasn't going fast enough so you swerved around me and cut me off AS I WAS MERGING ONTO THE RAMP - thanks for endangering the life of my eighteen month old daughter so you could get to work five minutes faster. It's probably wrong to say, but I was definitely looking to see the mangled wreckage of your car on the side of the highway so I would have some vindication that idiots like you get what you deserve. Sometimes I just hope for some Darwinism.
It used to be that Virginian drivers were competent to drive in the snow, but now that Al Gore stopped the snow in our area with his freaking global warming, we haven't had any, so now Virginians loose all control in any inclement weather and go about spinning and careening off the roads and flipping over; cars wrecked everywhere. What a shame.
Well, whoever makes the call to close the base must have a hell of a hangover, because the roads are treacherous, and there are cars wrecked and overturned everywhere in the wake of this snowfall, and the base is still open. Not only that, but until a few minutes ago, you couldn't even get on the Quantico website to check to see if the base was closed, or even delayed.
Next time, spare me the email telling me to look for guidance at your non-functioning crap website that takes ten minutes to load on a good day. I'll make the freaking call myself since you can't muster the courage to close up shop on the first significant snowfall that we've had in three years.
On an angry note: to the stupid pompous woman in the SUV who was riding my bumper as I was getting ready to merge onto I-95 this morning - yeah you; the one who decided that I wasn't going fast enough so you swerved around me and cut me off AS I WAS MERGING ONTO THE RAMP - thanks for endangering the life of my eighteen month old daughter so you could get to work five minutes faster. It's probably wrong to say, but I was definitely looking to see the mangled wreckage of your car on the side of the highway so I would have some vindication that idiots like you get what you deserve. Sometimes I just hope for some Darwinism.
It used to be that Virginian drivers were competent to drive in the snow, but now that Al Gore stopped the snow in our area with his freaking global warming, we haven't had any, so now Virginians loose all control in any inclement weather and go about spinning and careening off the roads and flipping over; cars wrecked everywhere. What a shame.
Monday, September 8, 2008
More on technical difficulties
Toshiba sucks! This shitty computer can't even get out of it's own way. I officially can't open my comments on this blog because of this worthless piece of electronic excrement. I would write a nasty-gram to Toshiba, but my list of places that deserve a letter describing their complete and total incompetence is growing by the minute. Add Hertz rental cars to that list as well.
If I had money I would smash this thing right here, right now, and then reimburse my company for doing them a blessed favor by ridding this world of pure plastic trash.
The VLC Media Player immediately shuts down when I do the whole ctrl+alt+s thing, or use the snapshot tool. I get the error message too. I have a nasty suspicion that it's not any fault of the program. When I go to open comments on my own blog, another window pops up like it's supposed to but it doesn't connect to anything. Sometimes it has the wrong address. No, the fault lies in the bowels of this laptop made by Toshiba.
Throughout my life electronic stuff has failed me repeatedly. I would seem that I have an invisible force field around me that damages all devices such as this shit computer, and makes it go all stupid. Take today for example. I was at the ticket line at an airport and everything went weird. I was double charged for my check baggage, and then the nice lady's computer went haywire. Then two of the printers stopped working. I was at that counter for over a half an hour waiting on the pile of people who were all scratching their heads trying figure out what the problem was. I have shut down every register at Wal-Mart with the swipe of my credit card twice, and I wish I had a dollar every time some poor sap said "this has never happened before" while rebooting their cash register or work computer. For me computers are the most unreliable pieces of gear one can get.
All I ask for in life is that a product perform as it's supposed to, and not stop working because it's put together improperly, or because the design sucks. I now think of Toshiba as a company that produces a piss poor product. Their design sucks. Hertz rental cars is in the business of overbooking their cars. That kinda defeats the purpose of "reserving" a car now doesn't it? That means Hertz sucks. Avis and Budget rental cars are in the business of giving you the car that you didn't ask for. Nothing like "reserving" and SUV so you can safely and comfortably transport all of your people and gear, but instead wind up with an Aztec or PT cruiser. Avis and Budget rental car sucks.
It's not that hard folks, just give what is asked for or tell me you can't fulfil my request beforehand. Do you want me to do it for you? You should be ashamed.
Update: Apparently opening my email is just too much to ask from this PC because now Outlook is totally hosed up. Not only that, I can't open up two windows at the same time. It's a good thing I'm stuck with this for the next three weeks!
If I had money I would smash this thing right here, right now, and then reimburse my company for doing them a blessed favor by ridding this world of pure plastic trash.
The VLC Media Player immediately shuts down when I do the whole ctrl+alt+s thing, or use the snapshot tool. I get the error message too. I have a nasty suspicion that it's not any fault of the program. When I go to open comments on my own blog, another window pops up like it's supposed to but it doesn't connect to anything. Sometimes it has the wrong address. No, the fault lies in the bowels of this laptop made by Toshiba.
Throughout my life electronic stuff has failed me repeatedly. I would seem that I have an invisible force field around me that damages all devices such as this shit computer, and makes it go all stupid. Take today for example. I was at the ticket line at an airport and everything went weird. I was double charged for my check baggage, and then the nice lady's computer went haywire. Then two of the printers stopped working. I was at that counter for over a half an hour waiting on the pile of people who were all scratching their heads trying figure out what the problem was. I have shut down every register at Wal-Mart with the swipe of my credit card twice, and I wish I had a dollar every time some poor sap said "this has never happened before" while rebooting their cash register or work computer. For me computers are the most unreliable pieces of gear one can get.
All I ask for in life is that a product perform as it's supposed to, and not stop working because it's put together improperly, or because the design sucks. I now think of Toshiba as a company that produces a piss poor product. Their design sucks. Hertz rental cars is in the business of overbooking their cars. That kinda defeats the purpose of "reserving" a car now doesn't it? That means Hertz sucks. Avis and Budget rental cars are in the business of giving you the car that you didn't ask for. Nothing like "reserving" and SUV so you can safely and comfortably transport all of your people and gear, but instead wind up with an Aztec or PT cruiser. Avis and Budget rental car sucks.
It's not that hard folks, just give what is asked for or tell me you can't fulfil my request beforehand. Do you want me to do it for you? You should be ashamed.
Update: Apparently opening my email is just too much to ask from this PC because now Outlook is totally hosed up. Not only that, I can't open up two windows at the same time. It's a good thing I'm stuck with this for the next three weeks!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
What a week
It seems that I have a penchant for getting busy at this time of the year. Travel is killing me, and it will get worse before it gets better. As it stands I will be in the air more than I will be on the ground in September. I hate flying, can't stand airports, and I think the security measures that we currently have are pathetic. I don't feel that the security checkpoints in the airports accomplish a damn thing but to humiliate people, and I make it a point to make that opinion known to all who work there, to include the US Customs scumbags. That may be offensive, but I could care less due to the amount of absurd and mindless handling that I have had to endure, and the shear amount of personal possessions stolen from me by those bastards over the last five years or so.
There hasn't been too much for me to mock in the news as of late because of the election. I don't usually post political crap on this blog because the whole election this year has been too much like a celebrity death match. Our biased media has again made our decisions for us out of the "goodness" of their heart, when all I wanted was fair coverage of every candidate so I could make up my own mind. So far I have refused to play along with it, and am still convinced that neither political candidate has anything for me.
Admittedly, I am now paying some attention to McCain's camp for choosing Palin as his running mate. Not that I'm convinced or anything; I vote small government, which McCain certainly is not, but Palin may be. Time will tell. Visiting the lefty blogs makes me laugh as their opinions are all over the place, and I don't believe they have realised the whole picture yet. I think they underestimate conservatives, pro-gunners, and pro-choicers. Their pointing out the lack of experience thing is laughable on its own. At least the Republicans are putting the experienced candidate on the ticket for President, instead of the other way around. The cart before the horse and all. I personally think that McCain now has it in the bag.
I am not at all loyal to any political group because I think that's foolish, but as I said I vote small government, which means I rarely vote Democrat. My disdain for Republicans is just as strong as for any of the other parties. A candidates stance on gun rights is my yardstick for measuring their view on civil rights, and how they will treat me as a citizen. I will not vote for an anti-gunner under any circumstances, but I won't vote for a terrible candidate just because he or she is pro-gun either. Small. Government. That's it. That rules out drug warriors and anti-gambling yahoos. It rules out nanny staters and socialists. It rules out McCain and Obama.
The fact that many people get all weak in the knees at the very sight of Obama is just ridiculous, and it strikes me as being dangerous. Underneath it all, US Presidents are still civil servants, and need to be viewed as such. Treating them as if they were a deity is wrong because, ultimately, it is the population of this country that runs the show. The people giveth, the people taketh away. That's how it's supposed to work anyways.
Many pundits say that Palin is a poor choice for McCain because she is not a "Washington insider." With the type of approval ratings that congress earns nowadays I wonder why anyone would want her to be. She is attacked for not having foreign policy, but Obama's foreign policy is piss poor at best, and he's running for the office of President, not Vice President. I treat every politician with outright scepticism even if their political beliefs align with mine. Even if my own mother became the President I would give her the awkward eye. Still, I'm not convinced at this point to place my allegiance with any candidate.
To tell you the truth, the promise of government run health care scares me more than anything. I've had government run health care before; it's called Tricare, and boy what a sugar coated turd that is. When I was on active duty in the Marine Corps, I can remember going to physical therapy for my back at the pool. The instructor would give you a floaty belt to put on and you would perform calisthenics for about an hour. The only problem was that there was only room for twenty two people in the deep end of the pool, including the instructor, and eighteen of those would be overweight Marine wives and three would be injured Marines trying to get off of light duty. I would be sitting on a bench with four or five other Marines who were waiting to get into the pool and start their session, but none of those large ladies ever gave up their spot, and I don't recall any of them making any progress. Three months of this told me that physical therapy was a waste of time. My visits with the civilian doctors brought more of the same; most just wanted you out of their office so they could continue to play put-put, and we're not even getting into places like Walter Reed hospital. Last I heard, Medicare wasn't doing so hot either.
Changing the subject, Movie Guns will be some time tomorrow; hopefully in the morning. The idea started out with just a few pictures, but now the whole thing has evolved into a monster. I like the monster. I have so much fun doing Movie Guns that I wish that I had the time to do one every other day. I probably wouldn't run out of films to cover either. Right now it takes about six hours to get one post complete, and usually that time is spread around five or six days. I do know that I need to go movie shopping soon. I expect that in the next couple of weeks I might get off schedule, but I will deliver as soon as I get my feet back on the ground.
There hasn't been too much for me to mock in the news as of late because of the election. I don't usually post political crap on this blog because the whole election this year has been too much like a celebrity death match. Our biased media has again made our decisions for us out of the "goodness" of their heart, when all I wanted was fair coverage of every candidate so I could make up my own mind. So far I have refused to play along with it, and am still convinced that neither political candidate has anything for me.
Admittedly, I am now paying some attention to McCain's camp for choosing Palin as his running mate. Not that I'm convinced or anything; I vote small government, which McCain certainly is not, but Palin may be. Time will tell. Visiting the lefty blogs makes me laugh as their opinions are all over the place, and I don't believe they have realised the whole picture yet. I think they underestimate conservatives, pro-gunners, and pro-choicers. Their pointing out the lack of experience thing is laughable on its own. At least the Republicans are putting the experienced candidate on the ticket for President, instead of the other way around. The cart before the horse and all. I personally think that McCain now has it in the bag.
I am not at all loyal to any political group because I think that's foolish, but as I said I vote small government, which means I rarely vote Democrat. My disdain for Republicans is just as strong as for any of the other parties. A candidates stance on gun rights is my yardstick for measuring their view on civil rights, and how they will treat me as a citizen. I will not vote for an anti-gunner under any circumstances, but I won't vote for a terrible candidate just because he or she is pro-gun either. Small. Government. That's it. That rules out drug warriors and anti-gambling yahoos. It rules out nanny staters and socialists. It rules out McCain and Obama.
The fact that many people get all weak in the knees at the very sight of Obama is just ridiculous, and it strikes me as being dangerous. Underneath it all, US Presidents are still civil servants, and need to be viewed as such. Treating them as if they were a deity is wrong because, ultimately, it is the population of this country that runs the show. The people giveth, the people taketh away. That's how it's supposed to work anyways.
Many pundits say that Palin is a poor choice for McCain because she is not a "Washington insider." With the type of approval ratings that congress earns nowadays I wonder why anyone would want her to be. She is attacked for not having foreign policy, but Obama's foreign policy is piss poor at best, and he's running for the office of President, not Vice President. I treat every politician with outright scepticism even if their political beliefs align with mine. Even if my own mother became the President I would give her the awkward eye. Still, I'm not convinced at this point to place my allegiance with any candidate.
To tell you the truth, the promise of government run health care scares me more than anything. I've had government run health care before; it's called Tricare, and boy what a sugar coated turd that is. When I was on active duty in the Marine Corps, I can remember going to physical therapy for my back at the pool. The instructor would give you a floaty belt to put on and you would perform calisthenics for about an hour. The only problem was that there was only room for twenty two people in the deep end of the pool, including the instructor, and eighteen of those would be overweight Marine wives and three would be injured Marines trying to get off of light duty. I would be sitting on a bench with four or five other Marines who were waiting to get into the pool and start their session, but none of those large ladies ever gave up their spot, and I don't recall any of them making any progress. Three months of this told me that physical therapy was a waste of time. My visits with the civilian doctors brought more of the same; most just wanted you out of their office so they could continue to play put-put, and we're not even getting into places like Walter Reed hospital. Last I heard, Medicare wasn't doing so hot either.
Changing the subject, Movie Guns will be some time tomorrow; hopefully in the morning. The idea started out with just a few pictures, but now the whole thing has evolved into a monster. I like the monster. I have so much fun doing Movie Guns that I wish that I had the time to do one every other day. I probably wouldn't run out of films to cover either. Right now it takes about six hours to get one post complete, and usually that time is spread around five or six days. I do know that I need to go movie shopping soon. I expect that in the next couple of weeks I might get off schedule, but I will deliver as soon as I get my feet back on the ground.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Oh! The horror!
Parents of minors allowing their kids to drink alcohol? That's just insane! Everyone knows that kids should be kept in the dark about alcohol so that they will never become curious and learn to drink from the local homeless guy in alleyway behind the Piggly Wiggly.
And when this article (and possibly the study) says "drinking," they actually mean "getting hammer drunk" because parents exercise no restraint when it comes to actually taking the time to teach life lessons to their young. Parents don't have the common sense to let their kids have a Miller Light or two so that they get the taste (pun intended) of what social drinking is all about, and instead opt to give their kids overwhelming doses of booze every time. The solution, of course, is probably government control of some sort, although that is not in the article.
How many of those 7.2 million people who binge drink learned how by hanging out with the homeless guy? And I'm sorry, but one does not become responsible enough to drink on some arbitrary day that some congressman thinks up, nor does one earn responsibility from "abstinence" from the hard stuff, or anything for that matter. Responsibility is something that proper parenting can prepare you for, so this alarmism is ridiculous.
I would rather my kids learn to drink responsibly under my supervision at my home than to learn to binge drink at college from a guy earning a career education. It really blows some people away that parents want to teach their 18 year old some self control and let them drink in the safety of their home. Maybe parents should just ignore it or tell them that "it's just bad, m'kay, so don't so it" since that has worked out so well for sex and drugs. I'm not saying to give your kids drugs or supervise their first sexual encounter before sending them off to college, but it's freaking alcohol, not heroin. Think letting the state teach your kids about drunk driving is a good thing?
I think parenting in America is going down the toilet because too many people are scared of actually disciplining or teaching their kids lessons in life. Instead they let the school systems or the courts parent their kids, and that is turning out to be really dangerous.
Grow up and take back control over your kids lives.
And when this article (and possibly the study) says "drinking," they actually mean "getting hammer drunk" because parents exercise no restraint when it comes to actually taking the time to teach life lessons to their young. Parents don't have the common sense to let their kids have a Miller Light or two so that they get the taste (pun intended) of what social drinking is all about, and instead opt to give their kids overwhelming doses of booze every time. The solution, of course, is probably government control of some sort, although that is not in the article.
About one out of five of those aged 12 to 20 -- or roughly 7.2 million people -- said they had taken part in binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past month, the survey said. Rates were significantly higher if they lived with a parent who engaged in binge drinking.
How many of those 7.2 million people who binge drink learned how by hanging out with the homeless guy? And I'm sorry, but one does not become responsible enough to drink on some arbitrary day that some congressman thinks up, nor does one earn responsibility from "abstinence" from the hard stuff, or anything for that matter. Responsibility is something that proper parenting can prepare you for, so this alarmism is ridiculous.
Over half of current underage alcohol users were at someone else's home when they had their last drink, while 30.3 percent were in their own home.
I would rather my kids learn to drink responsibly under my supervision at my home than to learn to binge drink at college from a guy earning a career education. It really blows some people away that parents want to teach their 18 year old some self control and let them drink in the safety of their home. Maybe parents should just ignore it or tell them that "it's just bad, m'kay, so don't so it" since that has worked out so well for sex and drugs. I'm not saying to give your kids drugs or supervise their first sexual encounter before sending them off to college, but it's freaking alcohol, not heroin. Think letting the state teach your kids about drunk driving is a good thing?
I think parenting in America is going down the toilet because too many people are scared of actually disciplining or teaching their kids lessons in life. Instead they let the school systems or the courts parent their kids, and that is turning out to be really dangerous.
Grow up and take back control over your kids lives.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Yet another reason why carry "permits" are a bad idea.
This thread at The High Road is about a gentleman's experience during a traffic stop where he was disarmed by a LEO.
This sort of thing is a minor reason why flagging a citizen with a ridiculous card saying "he has a gun," while entering him or her into a state database that can be browsed by the public, or just outright exploited to the whims of some dickhead journalist, is such stupid policy.
I don't understand why we think we're winning the fight for gun rights when we are asking our government to ensure that we're "authorized" to exercise them. When are we gonna learn?
This sort of thing is a minor reason why flagging a citizen with a ridiculous card saying "he has a gun," while entering him or her into a state database that can be browsed by the public, or just outright exploited to the whims of some dickhead journalist, is such stupid policy.
I don't understand why we think we're winning the fight for gun rights when we are asking our government to ensure that we're "authorized" to exercise them. When are we gonna learn?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
My rant to Wal-Mart
I didn't have the time during the week, but here is what I sent them today:
To whom it may concern,
It upsets me to hear that Wal-Mart signed into agreement with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Mayors Against Illegal Guns. This group works diligently to destroy the rights of guns owners, and I can't see how this agreement will produce anything useful. Federal and State law are adequate for retaining the Federal Firearms License needed for Wal-Mart to sell firearms, and to go “above and beyond” based on the assertions of a blatant anti-gun organization is disingenuous.
My first firearm, a Mossberg Model 500 shotgun, was purchased at the Wal-Mart here in Fredericksburg. I defended Wal-Mart when the decision was made to reduce firearm sales, and I have always purchased ammunition and other shooting supplies at my local Wal-Mart because prices are always lower than other stores. However, I will not defend nor patronize a business that takes measures to stand on my rights.
This agreement assures that I will be taking all of my business elsewhere. Please spare me the generic reply that Wal-Mart has issued to the outraged gun owners before me; I have seen that reply, and find it to be lacking.
Sincerely,
Carlton
Fredericksburg, VA
Time will tell what their response is, but as of this week I am officially off the low price teat of Wal-Mart. My problem now is that Target sucks, and doesn't sell ammo, and I have been on a borderline Gander Mountain boycott for over a year now.
Update: That didn't take long. Wal-Mart responded with the generic email that I specifically asked them not to send. They did, however, say that for further correspondance, reply to this email. I will see what else I can get from them.
To whom it may concern,
It upsets me to hear that Wal-Mart signed into agreement with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Mayors Against Illegal Guns. This group works diligently to destroy the rights of guns owners, and I can't see how this agreement will produce anything useful. Federal and State law are adequate for retaining the Federal Firearms License needed for Wal-Mart to sell firearms, and to go “above and beyond” based on the assertions of a blatant anti-gun organization is disingenuous.
My first firearm, a Mossberg Model 500 shotgun, was purchased at the Wal-Mart here in Fredericksburg. I defended Wal-Mart when the decision was made to reduce firearm sales, and I have always purchased ammunition and other shooting supplies at my local Wal-Mart because prices are always lower than other stores. However, I will not defend nor patronize a business that takes measures to stand on my rights.
This agreement assures that I will be taking all of my business elsewhere. Please spare me the generic reply that Wal-Mart has issued to the outraged gun owners before me; I have seen that reply, and find it to be lacking.
Sincerely,
Carlton
Fredericksburg, VA
Time will tell what their response is, but as of this week I am officially off the low price teat of Wal-Mart. My problem now is that Target sucks, and doesn't sell ammo, and I have been on a borderline Gander Mountain boycott for over a year now.
Update: That didn't take long. Wal-Mart responded with the generic email that I specifically asked them not to send. They did, however, say that for further correspondance, reply to this email. I will see what else I can get from them.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Stand and be judged
I have been thinking lately about the requirements to carry a concealed handgun, and there are so many things about it that I just don't like. It comes as no surprise to me that there is someone else that shares my resentment towards the whole "permit" system, AKA "CHP," "CHL," "CCW" etc.
Make no mistake; when your state, local or even federal government requires you to fill out paperwork, to be fingerprinted, to have your past life investigated, to be judged, rated or otherwise fondled by those who you have voted into office, then you are, in fact, asking for permission to exercise your right.
Now, I don't like the word "permit" either, but that's what came to mind when I walked away from the courthouse where I asked the county judge to grant me rights that I already had from the day I first drew breath. Not only that, but I had to prove that I had training to exercise this right, and had to pay a fee on top of that.
I often wonder at how we got to this point in our freedom minded society where we ask for things of which we don't need permission, pay fees for things inherited, and ask for judgment to be performed upon us to make us feel more qualified about ourselves. Peer review, it is not.
There are those who carry a firearm concealed with the lawful qualifier of the "CHP," and belittle those who lawfully open carry without the granting of a "license," as somehow their fellow man has deemed them to be superior by handing them a piece of paper. I grin in painful disdain at the very sight of these shiny things, which are sold in every gun magazine that I have ever picked up.
Somehow I can't help but to draw a parallel to many of the television shows where folks stand before a "panel of experts" and wait to be judged for their actions. Granted, they are not asking permission to exercise a right, and they're being judged for their previous actions vs. the chance of future actions, but it does highlight that they are looking to be held in higher esteem by those they find themselves inferior to.
I'm not knocking competitive spirit; I'm just pondering the idea that some feel that in order to be qualified at something, that that qualification has to be determined by someone better than themselves. Is this a self esteem issue?
In my eyes this goes along with the idea that only a cop "licensed and authorized by the state" shall be the only one professional enough to stop a criminal, as if we are all too stupid to accurately determine if our life or limb is in danger of being destroyed by some scumbag.
Remember the spin the media put on the story where Jeanne Assam gunned down a goblin in a church? Apparently she was "qualified" by being a "security guard" with a "license" to have a handgun for protection in order to lawfully engage in a firefight with the man. Good thing she was predetermined to not be crazy so that she could use her right!
We "license" police to attend to society's protection without interruption, and to that end we hold them accountable -- thought not so much these days -- for actions against individuals within the community to ensure that rights are protected, but I am under the firm belief that it is every one's duty to protect his or her community.
This is not to say that everyone in society should be a vigilante, but that everyone should be vigilant. We should intervene when it is morally right to do so, up to and including righteously gunning down a scumbag with accurate fire from defilade, in support law enforcement. To force a citizen to prove themselves worthy of this right by obtaining a permit or license beforehand is madness.
Licensing for many careers is often a laughable idea that often causes unknowing folks to be less cautious when choosing a person or business to perform a service.
In a past life I was an electrician. I am very well trained, with both formal school education and "on the job training" with two of the most professional master electricians I have ever met, and they taught me how to do quality work.
Now that I'm out of the business, it's almost embarrassing to see the terrible work performed by many of the popular "licensed" electrical companies when I do fix-it work around my house or a friends.
However did the Egyptians survive without "titled" interior designers?
Licensing sets the bar at a fixed point, and has no bearing whatsoever on the quality of the task performed, nor the principals or integrity of the person who holds it. The individual can change his or her mind at any time, and there is nothing that prior restraint is going to do to stop it.
That people who carry a concealed weapon for protection do not start blasting into crowds of innocents has nothing to do with being licensed by a judge, or shielded by these shiny things, it is because that virtually all of them have no desire to hurt their fellow man.
We need to cast out this mindset that we are all incapable of protecting or providing for ourselves unless someone better than us says we may.
Make no mistake; when your state, local or even federal government requires you to fill out paperwork, to be fingerprinted, to have your past life investigated, to be judged, rated or otherwise fondled by those who you have voted into office, then you are, in fact, asking for permission to exercise your right.
Now, I don't like the word "permit" either, but that's what came to mind when I walked away from the courthouse where I asked the county judge to grant me rights that I already had from the day I first drew breath. Not only that, but I had to prove that I had training to exercise this right, and had to pay a fee on top of that.
I often wonder at how we got to this point in our freedom minded society where we ask for things of which we don't need permission, pay fees for things inherited, and ask for judgment to be performed upon us to make us feel more qualified about ourselves. Peer review, it is not.
There are those who carry a firearm concealed with the lawful qualifier of the "CHP," and belittle those who lawfully open carry without the granting of a "license," as somehow their fellow man has deemed them to be superior by handing them a piece of paper. I grin in painful disdain at the very sight of these shiny things, which are sold in every gun magazine that I have ever picked up.
Somehow I can't help but to draw a parallel to many of the television shows where folks stand before a "panel of experts" and wait to be judged for their actions. Granted, they are not asking permission to exercise a right, and they're being judged for their previous actions vs. the chance of future actions, but it does highlight that they are looking to be held in higher esteem by those they find themselves inferior to.
I'm not knocking competitive spirit; I'm just pondering the idea that some feel that in order to be qualified at something, that that qualification has to be determined by someone better than themselves. Is this a self esteem issue?
In my eyes this goes along with the idea that only a cop "licensed and authorized by the state" shall be the only one professional enough to stop a criminal, as if we are all too stupid to accurately determine if our life or limb is in danger of being destroyed by some scumbag.
Remember the spin the media put on the story where Jeanne Assam gunned down a goblin in a church? Apparently she was "qualified" by being a "security guard" with a "license" to have a handgun for protection in order to lawfully engage in a firefight with the man. Good thing she was predetermined to not be crazy so that she could use her right!
We "license" police to attend to society's protection without interruption, and to that end we hold them accountable -- thought not so much these days -- for actions against individuals within the community to ensure that rights are protected, but I am under the firm belief that it is every one's duty to protect his or her community.
This is not to say that everyone in society should be a vigilante, but that everyone should be vigilant. We should intervene when it is morally right to do so, up to and including righteously gunning down a scumbag with accurate fire from defilade, in support law enforcement. To force a citizen to prove themselves worthy of this right by obtaining a permit or license beforehand is madness.
Licensing for many careers is often a laughable idea that often causes unknowing folks to be less cautious when choosing a person or business to perform a service.
In a past life I was an electrician. I am very well trained, with both formal school education and "on the job training" with two of the most professional master electricians I have ever met, and they taught me how to do quality work.
Now that I'm out of the business, it's almost embarrassing to see the terrible work performed by many of the popular "licensed" electrical companies when I do fix-it work around my house or a friends.
However did the Egyptians survive without "titled" interior designers?
Licensing sets the bar at a fixed point, and has no bearing whatsoever on the quality of the task performed, nor the principals or integrity of the person who holds it. The individual can change his or her mind at any time, and there is nothing that prior restraint is going to do to stop it.
That people who carry a concealed weapon for protection do not start blasting into crowds of innocents has nothing to do with being licensed by a judge, or shielded by these shiny things, it is because that virtually all of them have no desire to hurt their fellow man.
We need to cast out this mindset that we are all incapable of protecting or providing for ourselves unless someone better than us says we may.
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