tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post114368584584324688..comments2024-03-13T21:26:03.011-07:00Comments on Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher: Sheep, Wolves, and SheepdogsDarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143871117243468032006-03-31T21:58:00.000-08:002006-03-31T21:58:00.000-08:00Anon, remember the great wisdom of Lincoln, “Bette...Anon, remember the great wisdom of Lincoln, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”.<BR/><BR/>“Do you believe that the Second Amendment Guarantees my right to own a 155mm cannon that shoots nuclear projectiles? I sure hope not.”<BR/><BR/>I don’t recall mentioning artillery or nukes, only small arms (rifles and pistols exactly). And I don’t recall the NRA saying you should be able to buy artillery (except for licensed collectors or some of the Civil War re-enactors I know who own 12 pound guns for weekend play) Your resistant to answering the points I made in my posting show a lack of something, either guts or intellect. Which is it? <BR/><BR/>“There is a compelling government interest in regulating firearms. In fact, the government does regulate firearms, so quest is not “should the government regulate firearms”, the question where to draw the line.<BR/><BR/>The feds regulate firearms manufacturing and via the Brady bill, instituted a method of checking that people who cannot possess firearms (e.g. felons) are not allowed. (In theory…criminals usually don’t go to Academy Sporting Goods to buy their guns). They also stopped the snakes in the American Trial Lawyer Assn and other forms of scum from suing the industry out of existence. That sounds good to me. Beyond that I think the regulation of firearms use is a local/state issue. The Supreme Court agreed in many ways. They struck down the federal law requiring guns to stay 1000’ ft from a school. Why? It has nothing to do with the “regulation of interstate commerce” which is what Congress based this law on. Good to know there is some common since on the Supreme Court. This may surprise you Anon, but William F Buckley is in favor of gun control. But unlike Sarah Brady (who thinks the 2nd Amendment doesn’t exist) or Teddy Kennedy or Rosie O’Donnell (who think guns will get you killed, but for some reason they are surrounded by armed guards…one who think they would not want that), his is a respectable position. He has said very simply, first thing you must do is “repeal the Second Amendment”. Don’t agree, but I can respect the position.<BR/><BR/>“What people like me do not understand is the love affair that some people have with guns. I mean, if you have cockroaches in your house, it makes sense to buy some bug spray. If you live in a bad neighborhood, it makes sense to buy a gun. But was does not follow is the obsession gun nuts have toward their phallic symbols.”<BR/><BR/>I own 10 guns in all (four are for business) and I don’t recall them being phallic symbols…then again I’m not lacking. Sounds like you’re missing something in your life Anon.<BR/><BR/>“Guns shoot death. The penis shoots life. One would think that our society would worship the penis and find guns obscene. However, in America, we have it backwards.”<BR/><BR/>Anon, you male or female? Just curious. And again I ask, what was the thing about you being right handed…or is this clearing the subject up? Guns shoot a projectile or shot. It depends on how their used that makes deadly or not. Is it deadly to shoot my 40 Cal at paper targets? I don’t think so, the trees are already dead. If someone takes a gun and shoots a human during the commission of a robbery, what has killed this innocent man? In you screwed up mind Anon, the gun. Hate to tell you, it’s the shithead with the gun. This may be a radical subject, but again I refer you to the multi-trillion dollar study we commissioned to find out the root causes of crime. It’s criminals!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143866413141243602006-03-31T20:40:00.000-08:002006-03-31T20:40:00.000-08:00I'm so very glad to post comments like the previou...I'm so very glad to post comments like the previous one. I don't have to say a word about them--they speak for themselves.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143865683920058692006-03-31T20:28:00.000-08:002006-03-31T20:28:00.000-08:00Do you believe that the Second Amendment Guarantee...Do you believe that the Second Amendment Guarantees my right to own a 155mm cannon that shoots nuclear projectiles? I sure hope not.<BR/><BR/>There is a compelling government interest in regulating firearms. In fact, the government does regulate firearms, so quest is not “should the government regulate firearms”, the question where to draw the line.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>What people like me do not understand is the love affair that some people have with guns. I mean, if you have cockroaches in your house, it makes sense to buy some bug spray. If you live in a bad neighborhood, it makes sense to buy a gun. But was does not follow is the obsession gun nuts have toward their phallic symbols. <BR/><BR/>Guns shoot death. The penis shoots life. One would think that our society would worship the penis and find guns obscene. However, in America, we have it backwards.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143825490996965942006-03-31T09:18:00.000-08:002006-03-31T09:18:00.000-08:00Anonymous,To paraphrase the great Dan Ackroid, “Yo...Anonymous,<BR/><BR/>To paraphrase the great Dan Ackroid, “You Ignorant Slut!”<BR/><BR/>Insanity<BR/><BR/>I don’t think so. It’s a bit of an expansion of the fight or flight principle, if you’re confronted with a threat will you fight or will you run. <BR/><BR/>Either we can count on the military and police to protect us, or we can't. Make up your mind.<BR/><BR/>No, we can’t. The Supreme Court has already ruled the government is not obliged to protect the general public. Someone tried to sue a city after he got his ass kicked (this was sometime in the late 60s). In a simple sentence, you are responsible for you own protection. Just like you are responsible to educate your children, cloth yourself, feed yourself….do you see a pattern emerging? BTY, I am a Houston Police Officer and an Army Reserve Officer, currently on duty in Kuwait (35 and a wakeup! )<BR/><BR/>I hate right wing gun nuts that are in love with death<BR/><BR/>I never knew I was in love with death. Cool. But full disclosure, I am the friend Darren referred to earlier in this message, “And I'm not an NRA member, despite the valiant, almost-decades-long attempts of a friend of mine.” We’re both middle aged (we both may be getting older but we refused to grow up!) and that is still a goal of my life! <BR/><BR/>I used to know a gun nut that would carry a loaded 45 everywhere, but refused to use a seatbelt. Seriously. <BR/><BR/>He was like the anti-nuke nut that would protest anything nuclear, but would not even consider having his own basement tested for Radon. <BR/><BR/>I own a gun; I’m just not a gun nut. There is a difference.<BR/><BR/>And what does the seatbelt and the guns have in common? I’m just curious. I wear my seatbelt everywhere (especially when I’m patrol….speed does kill). And what is a gun nut? How many guns do you need to be considered a gun nut? <BR/><BR/>To be honest with you, I don’t spend much time worrying about the problems that can be solved via the barrel end of the gun. It’s the ones that cannot be solved in this manner that I find much more challenging. <BR/><BR/>Good, you don’t seem to be working through the problem much.<BR/><BR/>P.S. I’m right handed.<BR/><BR/>OK? I must have missed the point on this one.<BR/><BR/>Now, are you crystal on the difference between a gun owner and a gun nut?<BR/><BR/>No. Just because someone thinks carrying a firearm for his protection and he chooses not to seatbelt himself in have nothing to due with them except they are decisions one makes. You may make the decision to eat McDonalds 6 times a week knowing it’s not good for you, but you make that decision. My father refuses to use a seatbelt. I hear him scream “I haven’t used one in 60 years and I’m not dead yet!” Does that make him a “seatbelt nut”?<BR/><BR/>The problem that I have always had with the NRA is that manufacturers and merchants are too influential in that organization, at the expense of consumer safety.<BR/><BR/>Sadly it has had to change over the last 40 years because of changes in American society. We live in a country where no one is at fault for what you do. The NRA does a lot for shooting safely, marksmanship, hunter education. But it also has to spend an excessive effort on preventing gun sports from being wiped out (e.g. schools banning shooting sports, state hunting grounds being closed up or sold) and the gun industry bankrupted. Case in point is the attempt by several cities to sue the gun industry in class action law suits (similar to the extortion the states did to the tobacco industry). The NRA spends a lot of money and time to elect politicians who support the gun industry and passed a law banning of class action litigation against the gun industry a couple of years ago. <BR/><BR/>With the NRA, it’s more about sales than rights.<BR/><BR/>Sales and rights are hand in hand. Without the right to keep and bear, we don’t have the sales.<BR/><BR/>The longest and most detailed pro-NRA diatribe I ever experienced in my life, was back in 1999. The proprietor of Pat Pawn & Gun in Ogden Kansas was helping me choose a shotgun for shooting trap. Eventually the conversation shifted to the Brady Bill and President Clinton.<BR/><BR/>Oh boy, did I get the full spiel. <BR/><BR/>For 2 hours this person went on and on about how Clinton was the worst President ever and how every American should be carrying a firearm 24/7.<BR/><BR/>A week later, I went trap shooting and mentioned Pat’s pro-gun speech. My friend mentioned to me that good old Pat had been investigated by the ATF and FBI for personally selling guns to Timothy McVeigh.<BR/><BR/>That’s interesting….how did he sell guns to a federal prisoner? McVeigh was in jail from 1995 until he assumed room temperature in 2001. And from what I gather from a bio of McVeigh (http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/03/29/profile.mcveigh/), before the federal building he destroyed he wasn’t a felon. There would be no reason to not sell him a firearm.<BR/><BR/>Now, you’d think that that would be a relevant detail, if you are going to give an otherwise complete stranger your life story. <BR/><BR/>I thought he gave you “full spiel…on how Clinton was the worst president ever and how every American should be carrying a firearm 24/7”?<BR/><BR/>The lesson is that these people do not even think about the consequences of their actions, even when confronted with them. <BR/><BR/>I don’t think McVeigh used a gun to kill 170 people….he used some fertilizer, chemicals and a truck. Should the farm supply guy who sold him the stuff feel guilty? Or the U-Haul dealer? I think not. In no way did the dealer think he was going to use a simple farm supply into a weapon.<BR/><BR/>One thing I never understood is why someone would carry a gun for personal protection while also being a chain smoker who doesn’t wear a seatbelt. Is the goal to live long enough to die of cancer?<BR/><BR/>The goal of carrying a gun for personal protection is to have it on you when you need it. Guns are like blood or a parachute. You don’t need them unless you need them real bad. Again, you comparing apples and oranges. Because I carry a gun in my truck doesn’t have anything to do with smoking (which I don’t do) or testing my basement for radon (which I can’t do…I don’t have a basement). Two reasons. One, the state of Texas requires it (All peace officers must have a duty or off duty firearm “available” at all times, which is generally interpreted as having it on you or in your car). But before I got a badge I carried a gun in my truck because of some of the areas I travel in are not safe. I don’t threaten people, I have it so it I am threatened I have an option. BTY, in 8 years on the street I have never had a problem with a concealed carry permit holder. They are the law abiding people in the state. It’s the crooks who don’t follow the law I worry about.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Personally, I think that firearms should be regulated like automobiles with registration, licenses and such. <BR/><BR/>Thankfully the 2nd Amendment comes in. And before you start a tirade about the National Guard that is not the militia. The militia, if you read the writings of the Founding Fathers, is defined as “every able bodied man”. Also, you may be surprised many states, such as Texas and LA have state militias. They are semi-military volunteer organizations that drill monthly, are not paid and called for state emergencies (floods, etc). There are several states and cities that do regulate firearms (Washington DC banned guns…you can see how well that stops crime). Tell me, if the gun causes the gun crime, why is it for decades guns were more common and there was less gun crime. When I was younger is wasn’t a big deal to carry a rifle to school (you were on the shooting team). But we taught youngin’s how to safely handle firearms, we raised our children right. Anon, I just got back from a vacation in the UK. They banned pretty much all firearms in 1997. Has that stopped gun crime? No. Why? Criminals, by definition, don’t obey the law. They are the wolves (we go again to Dr Grossman’s article). Hell, Scotland was debating licensing and registration knives. I am serious. Anything other than a household knife would have to be licensed by the state. I don’t know what was more ridiculous, that or the fact I was committing a crime by carrying Swiss Army knife on the Tube. Assuming that is passed, will that stop killing by cutting instruments? I really don’t think so.<BR/><BR/>We do not permit blind people to drive cars, but we do allow them to shoot guns.<BR/><BR/>Where do blind people shoot guns? I’ve not heard of this one.<BR/><BR/>Only in America<BR/><BR/>Don’t forget Switzerland. Something that may have slipped your mine. The Swiss Army is for the most part a reservist organization. The men keep their firearms at home. Now, by your theory Switzerland should be a war zone. Their crime is very low. Anon, you may not have heard this news. We spent trillions of your tax dollars on a new study and figured out the root cause of crime. It’s called “criminals”. Tell me Anon, are you one of the people who get confused by the fact crime is down even though the incarceration rate is up?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143822122723417682006-03-31T08:22:00.000-08:002006-03-31T08:22:00.000-08:00Bill Whittle had a great essay about this:http://w...Bill Whittle had a great essay about this:<BR/><BR/>http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000129.htmlLordSomberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483452672640797537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143784640826266212006-03-30T21:57:00.000-08:002006-03-30T21:57:00.000-08:00I just cut/pasted from email. Blogger does the re...I just cut/pasted from email. Blogger does the rest--I don't do any html at all.<BR/><BR/>I wonder why it looks perfect w/Firefox....Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143782594661023122006-03-30T21:23:00.000-08:002006-03-30T21:23:00.000-08:00FWIW, it looks like crap in Safari as well.The roo...FWIW, it looks like crap in Safari as well.<BR/><BR/>The root cause is that, for some reason, the text is surrounded in <pre> tags (pre for preformatted). The lines then only break where you force the line breaks to occur (either through newlines in your text or via <br> tags.<BR/><BR/>I don't know how you're pasting this text in.<BR/><BR/>If what you're trying to get is some sort of "quoted" feel to the pasted text, I'd suggest using <blockquote> tags.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143758326856671232006-03-30T14:38:00.000-08:002006-03-30T14:38:00.000-08:00I own seven rifles, four shotguns, and eight handg...I own seven rifles, four shotguns, and eight handguns. I'm also an NRA life member -- then, I'm from Indiana. And since you posted that letter, here's <A HREF="http://rightwingnation.com/index.php/2006/03/30/1173/" REL="nofollow">another you might like</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143744000347419602006-03-30T10:40:00.000-08:002006-03-30T10:40:00.000-08:00The longest and most detailed pro-NRA diatribe I e...The longest and most detailed pro-NRA diatribe I ever experienced in my life, was back in 1999. The proprietor of Pat Pawn & Gun in Ogden Kansas was helping me choose a shotgun for shooting trap. Eventually the conversation shifted to the Brady Bill and President Clinton.<BR/><BR/>Oh boy, did I get the full spiel. <BR/><BR/>For 2 hours this person went on and on about how Clinton was the worst President ever and how every American should be carrying a firearm 24/7.<BR/><BR/>A week later, I went trap shooting and mentioned Pat’s pro-gun speech. My friend mentioned to me that good old Pat had been investigated by the ATF and FBI for personally selling guns to Timothy McVeigh.<BR/><BR/>Now, you’d think that that would be a relevant detail, if you are going to give an otherwise complete stranger your life story. <BR/><BR/>The lesson is that these people do not even think about the consequences of their actions, even when confronted with them. <BR/><BR/>One thing I never understood is why someone would carry a gun for personal protection while also being a chain smoker who doesn’t wear a seatbelt. Is the goal to live long enough to die of cancer?<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Personally, I think that firearms should be regulated like automobiles with registration, licenses and such. <BR/><BR/>We do not permit blind people to drive cars, but we do allow them to shoot guns.<BR/><BR/>Only in America.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143700914199354232006-03-29T22:41:00.000-08:002006-03-29T22:41:00.000-08:00By the way,The author is for real, because I own "...By the way,<BR/>The author is for real, because I own "On Killing" - I bought it at a Borders in Tacoma, WA in 1997. How do I remember that? Because I was in the Army, stationed at Fort Lewis at the time. I was a sheepdog.<BR/><BR/>From one right-wing Sacramento teacher to another, I just wanted to say, great blog Darren!<BR/><BR/>ChanmanW.R. Chandlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05908482384887766964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143695762024649022006-03-29T21:16:00.000-08:002006-03-29T21:16:00.000-08:00I can't speak for your father.I'm quite clear on t...I can't speak for your father.<BR/><BR/>I'm quite clear on the difference between owners and nuts. My uncle is an NRA nut. I own a .22 rifle.<BR/><BR/>I'll admit I've come around more to the NRA's thinking on one issue--gun control doesn't work well, it's fairly unconstitutional, and we need to enforce the laws we have before we write more. I also like what I've heard about their safety program.<BR/><BR/>But Charlton Heston (or whoever that woman is now) is *not* my president, and "my cold dead hands" doesn't convince anyone who's not already convinced.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143695433856059312006-03-29T21:10:00.000-08:002006-03-29T21:10:00.000-08:00Ok, so we have that in common.Now, are you crystal...Ok, so we have that in common.<BR/><BR/>Now, are you crystal on the difference between a gun owner and a gun nut?<BR/><BR/>The problem that I have always had with the NRA is that manufacturers and merchants are too influential in that organization, at the expense of consumer safety. <BR/><BR/>With the NRA, it’s more about sales than rights. <BR/><BR/><BR/>P.S. The "gun nut" I was referring to earlier was my father.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143695087619778512006-03-29T21:04:00.000-08:002006-03-29T21:04:00.000-08:00I own a firearm, too. Have only had one the last ...I own a firearm, too. Have only had one the last three years. And I'm not an NRA member, despite the valiant, almost-decades-long attempts of a friend of mine.<BR/><BR/>And I'm right-handed as well.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143694701699024292006-03-29T20:58:00.000-08:002006-03-29T20:58:00.000-08:00I used to know a gun nut that would carry a loaded...I used to know a gun nut that would carry a loaded 45 everywhere, but refused to use a seatbelt. Seriously. <BR/><BR/>He was like the anti-nuke nut that would protest anything nuclear, but would not even consider having his own basement tested for Radon. <BR/><BR/>I own a gun; I’m just not a gun nut. There is a difference.<BR/><BR/>To be honest with you, I don’t spend much time worrying about the problems that can be solved via the barrel end of the gun. It’s the ones that cannot be solved in this manner that I find much more challenging. <BR/><BR/><BR/>P.S. I’m right handed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143689162130929372006-03-29T19:26:00.000-08:002006-03-29T19:26:00.000-08:00Anonymous, my mind is pretty much made up. I reco...Anonymous, my mind is pretty much made up. I recommend that it is *you* who must make up *your* mind.<BR/><BR/>Do you count on the military and police to protect you? If not, how do you recommend we deal with those problems that *can* be solved with firearms, as you alluded to in your last paragraph?<BR/><BR/>And who, exactly, are you referring to when stating that "right wing gun nuts" don't understand that there are "problems that cannot be solved by the barrel end of a gun?"<BR/><BR/>Lefties. Gotta love 'em. I'll try to speak their language here: "Ba-ah-ah-ah-ah."Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-1143688325350843082006-03-29T19:12:00.000-08:002006-03-29T19:12:00.000-08:00Insanity.Either we can count on the military and p...Insanity.<BR/><BR/>Either we can count on the military and police to protect us, or we can't. Make up your mind.<BR/><BR/>I hate right wing gun nuts that are in love with death.<BR/><BR/>They don’t seem to understand that the world is full of problems that cannot be solved by the barrel end of a gun, but only concern themselves with those that can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com