Let’s Talk About Gun Control

No Guns (Photo credit: krazydad / jbum)

Why not, huh?  My big coming back debut, why not talk about this hot button topic.  As with most every other topic I am probably going to piss off everyone with this post, however, I stand by my original statement that these are my thoughts and as always I welcome spirited discussion on them.  Recent events (within the last year), have brought this topic into the forefront once again and it is far past time for me to comment on it fully and share my thoughts on all the different aspects of it.  Let’s start this off like this:

Should private citizens be allowed to own guns?  Absolutely!  Does the 2nd Amendment guarantee private citizens the right to own guns?  By my understanding of it, no it does not.  Seriously, prove to me you are in a militia and then we will talk.  Should there be some form of gun control in this country?  Fucking right there should be and all you cry baby republitards need to get a grip, or will it take one of your kids getting shot at school to make you see things differently?

I have talked about the 2nd Amendment before so I not gonna get into that here, however what I am going to talk about is why we need gun control/monitoring laws.  Answer me this, why shouldn’t you have to pass a background check to own a gun?  You have to take a test to get a driver’s license don’t ya?  Why should this be any different?  This has nothing to be with personal rights, if you are not willing to go through a background check, what is it you are trying to hide?  There should be background checks and qualification exams for many things in this country, such as owning a computer or becoming a parent.  Both of which any idiot can do and cause plenty of harm with both.  The entire point of background checks is to make sure that only stable/safe people are owning guns to lessen the chance of incidents like school shootings are lessened.

One incident that happened here in Maine that bothers me is a local newspaper publishing the names of people that have concealed carry permits.  That is very wrong in my opinion, that is setting them up to be a target.  Why not publish the names of people that have more than $250,000 in their bank accounts or who wear thousands of dollars of jewelry all the time.  While this information is available publicly there is no reason for a newspaper to publish it, very irresponsible.

I don’t care what you say or what arguments you use, there is no reason for private citizens to own fully automatic weapons, high capacity clips or armor piercings rounds or any of that other bullshit.  If you are truly only owning a gun for hunting, target shooting and home defense those items are not needed, not by a long shot.  All you are doing by creating an argument out of those items is clouding the real issue of gun control and making it last forever and creating more problems than there need to be.

If you want to own a gun I have no problem with it at all, but I do want you to go through a background check and prove that you can use and store it responsibly.  Not everyone is entitled to own a gun, just like not everyone is entitled to operate a motor vehicle.  Do I want to see guns removed entirely from the citizenry?  Of course not, but I do desire that my government makes sure that only safe people own guns.     Oh what’s that, “If you outlaw guns only outlaws will own guns”?  Kiss my ass, that is the lamest thing I have ever heard.  No matter what we are gonna have people break the law for the simple fact that they have no respect for the law regardless of the issue.  Guns, cigarettes, jaywalking…  it makes no difference if they decide to break they law they will.  That is where enforcement of the laws comes into play and with guns, the punishment should be even more severe for a crime committed with a gun.

The real problem, as I see it, is this:  If owning your guns is more important to you than the safety of children, then no, you should not be allowed to own guns.

Related articles

• Joe Manchin Grants Interview With Condition He Not Be Asked About Gun Control (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Colorado Senate voting on gun control bills (heraldonline.com)
• Colorado Senate Approves 5 of 7 Gun Control Bills; Including Magazine Ban (VIDEO) (guns.com)
• BackgroundCheck.us.org To Update Customer Service Training With Evolving Gun Control Laws (prweb.com)
• Colorado Senate give final OK to gun control bills (wfaa.com)
• Grassley joins fellow Republicans to oppose expanded background checks (thegazette.com)
• Hispanics Support Strict Gun Control Laws (hispanicbusiness.com)
• Gun Thread (3-10-2013) (minx.cc)
• For Some, Owning Guns Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Liking Them (givemeliberty01.com)
• Is This A False Flag Operation? (onlygunsandmoney.blogspot.com)

I Think I Am Getting Old

Let me be frank here, I love music, just about all kinds of music.  While I may not care for every song from a particular genre, I am very open to music and try to collect the artists that I do like.  Every now and again I will hear a song which creates an emotional response within me, typically in a romantic sense.  When I dislike a song it is never more than a simple dislike for it, although rarely there are some songs I hate–”Call Me, Maybe” being high on that list.  However, I have encountered a song which gave me a rather large WTF moment;  Carrie Underwood’s “Two Black Cadillacs”.

Bear with me here while I attempt to explain my feelings about this song.  I understand perfectly the feelings described by the two women in the song, perfectly natural to feel hurt and betrayed in that situation and I am fully for the empowerment of women, however I think this song went to far by a long shot.  There have been other songs which relate women getting revenge on men in their lives, The Dixie Chicks “Earl Had To Die” and another by Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats.”  Now, both of these songs deal with revenge and illegal acts, even murder, but one can easily relate to the situations.    However, for me, Two Black Cadillacs, takes it much to far for the situation explained.  Yes, the duplicitous nature of the man involved was evil, however, killing him is very extreme in this situation and takes what had potential to be a good song and turns it into something dirty and hidden.

Honestly, this is just my opinion, one of many on the internet and I doubt it will matter to anyone all that much, just wanted to get it out of my system.

Related articles

• Review: Carrie Underwood “Two Black Cadillacs” (countrymusicnewsblog.com)
• Kick It Or Pick It: The Band Perry Vs. Carrie Underwood (thenew1037.cbslocal.com)

Parents Who Host, Lose The Most

As it is graduation season it seems like a good time for me to hop up on my soapbox and discuss graduation parties, graduates drinking and parents condoning the behavior.  Please do keep in mind before jumping all over my case that the legal limit to drink in the US is 21, which by correlation means high school seniors drinking is illegal–and yes, still illegal for parents to provide them with alcohol, or a place to drink it.  I know many simply see this as a rite of passage, however, it is wrong, dead wrong as so many teens and their families have found out over the last few years in car accidents involving drunk teenagers.

Blog Shorts — Mini Random Thoughts

So, I have found my title for items I wish to discuss but do not have enough to say to fill an entire post.  Some of these may evolve into full posts of their own, but for the most part I really do not think so.

An Understanding of the State of Maine

Many people have misconceptions about the state of Maine; ranging from inbreeding to illiteracy to a concept that we are all the poor white trash of the USA.  I am not a native to Maine, I was born in raised in NH; however, I have lived here long enough to have an understanding of what is going on in this state and the many issues which play into the hard times we face as a state.  Maine is indeed a beautiful state, a choice spot for many people to come on vacation due to the amazing amount of ocean beaches we have and the historic locations within the state.  However, we also have a floundering economy that is very dependent on tourist income and with high gas prices this is becoming an issue as well.

First, I want to talk some basic geography about Maine, some things that people either do not realize or do not take fully into account when thinking about Maine and its problems–this applies both to residents and people from outside of the state as well.  The important thing to realize about the state of Maine is we are bordered by only one other state–this is a unique situation in relation to the rest of the lower 48 states and does create issues for people to come to the state as there is only one “path” into the state via roadways.  If you are from the USA, think about the state you live in, picture it on a map, and really look at how many different ways people have of getting into your state, aside from airplanes of course–this will help in realizing the unique situation that Maine is presented with.

So, here we have a very basic map of Maine, however it will serve to illustrate my previous point and the point I want to address now.  As you can see, in reference to my prior point we do border only one other state, and only a small portion of the state is in fact on the border.  Which brings me to my next point, there are actually several different “unofficial” Maines within the one state.  If you look to the southern part of the map you will see Portland, one of our largest and most popular cities.  Everything from Portland south is one part of Maine, most populated by the tourists and at times referred to as Northern Massachusetts.  The next section, up for some minor debate on specific borderlines, ranges from Portland to Augusta or Waterville, depending on your point of view.  It really is not all that much of a discrepancy as the distance from Augusta to Waterville is minimal.  Augusta is the capital of the state and that whole stretch contains the majority of the non-tourists businesses and the “working class” population of the state.  Now, Bar Harbor is a spot all on it’s own, along with that whole coastal region.  Mostly home to the rich or properties owned by tourists who summer there.  From Waterville to Bangor is rather hard to explain.  Bangor is another large city similar to Waterville and Augusta, but nowhere near comparison to Portland.  That whole stretch has a lot of rural areas and homes, however most of the people are working class folks, the so called 1% I guess you could say.

Now we come to the interesting part, and the least known aspect of Maine.  As you can see easily from the map I have covered approximately 1/3 of the state of Maine, well the reality is that is mostly all people know about it, or in the case of most residents do not realize there is anything north of Bangor.  The fact is 2/3 of the state is North of Bangor, however, there is next to nothing there.  Zip-zero-zilch.  Sure, there are potato farms, some logging companies and such, but for the most part the towns up there are refereed to by numbers…  which is rather sad.  It is this 2/3 of the state which creates such a drain on the economy of Maine as the people are residents, however employment is few and far between in that region and the people rely heavily on state assistance (this is not a bad thing I am declaring, just a simple fact.)  This is a huge part of the state that we are ignoring and should be developing instead of overpopulating the areas that are already established with businesses.

I have visited many states and have never encountered a situation where such a large portion of the state is flat out ignored.  In fact, I think the only comparison I can think of would be Alaska, however, that is an entirely different situation.  I would really love to see this states politicians propose ideas to bring businesses into the Northern part of our state.  The only reason I have continually voted no on the casino issues is because they should be put into the areas that need developing and not into cities/towns that already have businesses running there employing people.  Sure, it’s a bit of a travel to get there, but so what?  If we could develop that 2/3 of Maine, it would help boost the economy of this state in a huge way.

However, after all these years I am beginning to see that this is just a pipe dream.  Everyone seems content to ignore northern Maine and just continue shoving as much into the portion of Maine that goes from Portland to the border of NH.  Perhaps we should do as the people of northern Maine have been wanting for decades now and simply divide Maine into two separate states.

Breastfeeding In Uniform

I had initially decided to not post about this one because, well, I am a man.  However, as a critical thinker, and after seeing many outraged Facebook posts and comments I decided I had to step up on the soap box and address this one in hopes of getting some rational thinking out there about this topic.  That being said, I want to state that I fully support breastfeeding as it is quite natural and best for the baby.  I also support a woman’s right/choice to breastfeed wherever she wants to; people really need to get over the entire “OMG look a titty!” deal.  The American society really is stuck in Puritan mode when it comes to anything even remotely related to sex and honestly, it is far past the time when we need to get over it, however I diverge from the main point here.

So, exactly what is at issue here with the image at the top of this post?  Is it women breast feeding while wearing a military uniform?  Women having a “sexual” body part exposed while wearing a uniform?  The answer is no to all of the above.  It has actually really started to irritate me how indignant people online are becoming about this issue when they are not even fully informing themselves about what the issue is.

What the main issue is, what the military is reacting to is the fact that the uniform was used to promote a cause, this is a no-no by military standards.  You cannot use a military uniform to promote any cause whatsoever, that is it folks, nothing about breast feeding at all.  These women have not fallen under any sort of punishment and really the only thing that will come about from this is the incident will be used as a form of education to remind soldiers about the policy concerning uniforms.

I beg you all, before commenting on an issue actually look into what it is about.  Critical thinking skills are very important and will benefit you well in all aspects of your life.  Make sure you are getting all the information available and keep asking questions until you have all your answers.

As a slight side note, given all the requirements for the appearance of a military uniform I honestly do not understand why women would breastfeed while wearing the uniform and risk staining it and then have a surprise inspection called.  However, that is just me using those same critical thinking skills I was just talking about.  By no means am I saying they shouldn’t, I just think that personally it is something I would not do just for the sake of convenience.

 

Related articles

• ‘Proud’ military moms pose while breastfeeding (wtvm.com)
• We’re Seriously Debating Whether It’s Okay for Military Moms to Breastfeed While in Uniform? [Breast Intentions] (jezebel.com)
• Photo of breastfeeding military moms draws controversy (wjla.com)
• Mothers Photographed Breastfeeding in Their Military Uniforms (fox4kc.com)
• Military Moms Breastfeeding in Uniform Surprised at Controversy Stirred by Pic (inquisitr.com)
• Breastfeeding in Military Uniform is like Urinating in Uniform….WTH? (nolababybump.wordpress.com)
• Photo of military women breastfeeding in uniform stirs controversy (foxnews.com)
• Breasfeeding Women in the Military (singlemomontherun.com)
• Photos: Military Moms Proud to Breast-Feed in Uniform (abcnews.go.com)
• Breastfeeding time again (feministphilosophers.wordpress.com)
• Military Moms Breastfeeding in Uniform: National Pride or Over the Line? (thehollywoodgossip.com)
• Breastfeeding Military Women Causes Freakout (buzzfeed.com)
• Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign Featuring Women In Uniform Causes Outrage (alan.com)
• Military Wife Defends Breastfeeding In Uniform Photo (news4jax.com)
• Moms in the Military Breastfeed! What Shall We Do? (thefashionofwords.com)
• Military moms in uniform breastfeed in ad (wnd.com)
• Controversy Erupts Over Photos Of Military Women Breastfeeding (thinkprogress.org)
• Breastfeeding in Uniform Stir Controversy (whoopsies.wordpress.com)
• Military Moms Breastfeeding in Uniform Stir Controversy (gunnyg.wordpress.com)

Nancy Reagan Isn’t Firing On All Cylinders

Official Portrait of President Ronald Reagan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I honestly cannot believe that Nancy Reagan has given her endorsement to Mitt Romney.  I understand they are both Republicans and all, however, Romney is of the era of new Republicans who are not required to have a brain or a conscience.  Even as a Liberal I respected Ronald Reagan as President and honestly, I do not think he would have cared for Romney, or any of the GOP candidates that we saw during this campaign.

Nancy Reagan made a statement about Romney’s “strong principles.”  Exactly which principles is she referring to here?  His love of big corporations?  His hatred for the homosexual population of the country he want to be President of?  His complete disrespect for women?  I am honestly hoping that Alzheimer’s is something that can be passed between married people and Nancy caught it from Ronald and that is the reason behind this endorsement.

Actually, I do not know why I am getting so worked up over this–its not like Romney stands a chance of winning come November, not with his stance on the issues.  We all know that Obama will get a second term, the democrats will take over Congress, as well as those states doing elections, and we will see some actual change come about.

Related articles

• Romney wins endorsement of Nancy Reagan (rawstory.com)
• Is Ann Romney a New Nancy Reagan? (socyberty.com)

George Zimmerman, The Victim (Or How I Learned To Hate The Hoodie)

As I was perusing my news feeds this morning, I cam across this little gem.  It still baffles me how people are putting George Zimmerman in the victim/hero role with this case.  Did he gets his ass handed to him by Trayvon Martin?  Most likely and good on Martin for doing so.  Zimmerman effectively stalked him through that neighborhood and even after being told by the police to stay in his vehicle, he got out and confronted Trayvon.

In the newly released documents, lead homicide officer on the case, Chris Serino of the Sanford Police Department, called the shooting “avoidable” had Zimmerman remained in his vehicle.

Even the lead cop on this case says Zimmerman was at fault for what transpired on that evening.  It really does not matter that pot was found in Martin’s system during the autopsy, Zimmerman is by no means and expert in the matters and his statement of “acting like he is on drugs or something” is nothing more than profiling.  I still stand by original statement that Zimmerman was looking to earn his spurs and Martin was unfortunate enough to come up on his radar that night.

For Geraldo Rivera to make the statement that Martin was dressed like a “thug” is like claiming a woman was at fault for getting raped because of what she was wearing.  It just does not hold any water and just continues to show how much of a complete idiot Rivera is, something I have believed for a couple of decades not, at least.  Rivera really needs to go back to his talk show with midget Klansman and stay there, he is a hate-monger only satisfied with firing up people and profiting from it.

Zimmerman needs to be held responsible for what he did.  This is not a case of self-defense, no one can ever convince me of that.  As soon as Zimmerman stepped out of that vehicle and accosted Martin it became nothing more than someone standing up to a stalker, which in reality is all Zimmerman was.  He needs to spend time in jail at the least and never be allowed to owe a firearm again.  His actions are despicable and his lawyers are tools, the kind of defense lawyers I really hate for trying to vilify the victim in order to exonerate their client.  Well sorry to say folks, this is the internet age and we are not going to stand for that crap.

I will not speculate on the ramifications of Zimmerman getting off of these charges, only to say I will be keeping my eyes on the headlines as I always do.

 

Related articles

• Evidence details timeline in Trayvon Martin case (clickorlando.com)
• George Zimmerman evidence released (news4jax.com)
• Police report: Trayvon Martin’s shooting was “avoidable” – USA TODAY (usatoday.com)
• George Zimmerman evidence released (click2houston.com)
• Video Shows Trayvon at Store (newser.com)
• George Zimmerman evidence released (local10.com)
• More Details of Trayvon Martin’s Last Minutes Emerge (nymag.com)
• George Zimmerman evidence released (clickorlando.com)
• FBI May Charge George Zimmerman With Hate Crime – Could Face Death Penalty (thegatewaypundit.com)
• Why Is Trayvon Martin Dead? (my.firedoglake.com)
• So Much for Geraldo Rivera’s Apology on Hoodies (themoderatevoice.com)
• Re.: the Trayvon Martin killing (writingsbysay.wordpress.com)
• Zimmerman Case: Should It Be Dropped? (abcnews.go.com)
• Cultural Commodity As Distraction: Clothing As Racial Rhetoric (redsociology.com)
• Florida v George Zimmerman Blood Analysis Compiled (princss6.wordpress.com)
• Report: George Zimmerman May Face Hate Crime Charges (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• 9 Facts That Aren’t Being Considered In The Trayvon Martin Case (therussparrmorningshow.com)

Items That Are To Short For A Post By Themselves

Secrecy in the George Zimmerman Case – Now this does not surprise me at all.  This entire fiasco has been shady from the start and I really do not see it getting any better.

Subpoenaing Tweets For What Purpose? - What do they hope to find?  That he was venting about financial inequality?  That he was going to protest?  What a waste of tax-payer funds.

Defining A Fetus on a White House Tour – Really?  Is this really the best the Republicans can do?  Why aren’t they focusing on important issues like…  fixing the economy!

Real Life LightSaber – Nothing more I can add to this one.

America’s Greatest Mistake Was Letting Women Vote – I honestly do not know what is making me giggle more, the fact that he really believes this drivel or the fact that he is black.

Hot Manhole Covers – Who would steal manhole covers and for what purpose?  It’s not like license plates that you can hang on the wall…

An Almost Nipple Slip – Really?  I am quite over the whole wardrobe malfunction thing.  While I am sure there is some horny 13 year old teens out there eagerly awaiting to see it, please let it rest.

Obama Wishy-Washy on Gay Marriage – I like the guy, I really do and I like what he has done for the country.  However, he needs to set his personal beliefs aside and put this through already.  Gay people deserve the right to legally marry who they choose to.  This will eventually come to be at any rate and it is far past the time to bring the future to the now.

 

Finally, A Killer Is Off The Streets

Trayvon Martin - Million Hoodies March 2012 020 (Photo credit: calvinfleming)

Notice I used the word killer and not murderer.  Although the two words are considered to be synonymous, they really aren’t.  A murderer, at least to me, is someone who has been convicted of killing someone else–as it stands right now, George Zimmerman has not been convicted, yet.  Oh yes, I really used to word yet, because I do believe he will be convicted and will be spending some time in prison for his actions, as he rightly should.  I won’t rehash my stance on how he stalked Trayvon Martin, but suffice it to say my stance has not changed, in fact I have grown more determined in the fact that he is guilty and should be punished.

Special prosecutor Angela Corey has stated that the public uproar over this incident has had nothing to do with the charges being brought…  I call bullshit.  Until this incident was brought to the national spotlight, and the uproar that happened both online and off happened, the police of Sanford, Florida were doing nothing to investigate the case properly.  It was only with the online activism and real life demonstrations that the outside investigation team was brought in and the chief of police for Sanford stepped down.  Personally I think the prosecutor should have gone for a premeditated charge, but I do understand the difficulties of proving any murder case, it will be enough for me to see him tagged with a murder conviction and not just manslaughter.

I also really hope Zimmerman is denied bail.  Why?  Quite simply to keep other people out of jail.  Everyone knew he had shot Trayvon and he was walking around free for six weeks before the charges were brought.  To put him out on bail would create to much temptation for people that want to take the law into their own hands and confront him and “stand their own ground.”  Zimmerman is far safer behind bars both for himself and everyone else out there.  Despite anything else, he stalked Trayvon, he wanted to confront him and because of his actions Trayvon is now dead.  Whether or not Zimmerman intended to kill him, his own actions led to the youth’s death.

This trial will be well documented and talked about both online and off.  When it is over, we can only hope that justice will be served and Zimmerman will be put behind bars.  I have no sympathy for the man at all, his own actions caused all these events and he has no one to blame but himself and his delusions of wanting to be like John McLane.  Perhaps a decade or two behind bars and shower room love will adjust his mental attitude and allow him to be more tolerant once he is reintroduced into society.

Related articles

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• [Official] George Zimmerman charged in murder of Trayvon Martin (bazaardaily.com)
• Justice: George Zimmerman to be charged in murder of Trayvon Martin (bazaardaily.com)
• George Zimmerman Charged With Murder (abcnews.go.com)
• George Zimmerman To Be Charged In Trayvon Martin Death (mediaanarchist.wordpress.com)
• In Trayvon Martin Case, Voice Screaming For Help May Decide Case (fidlerten.com)
• George Zimmerman charged in shooting death of Trayvon Martin (theprovince.com)
• George Zimmerman to be charged in Trayvon Martin shooting death: Washington Post (theprovince.com)
• Southlanders React To Arrest In Trayvon Martin Case (losangeles.cbslocal.com)
• Open Season on Bunnies and Black Folk… (darkactsbible.wordpress.com)
• Watch: Zimmerman’s Concerned About Fair Trial: Attorney (abcnews.go.com)
• Zimmerman/martin Case – Murder in the 2nd Degree Definitions and Info (bonjupatten.com)
• Justice in the Trayvon Martin Case? (thebeautifulheresy.com)