...you know the one that says our right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed so that there will be a well regulated militia. It is not saying that we have the right to keep and bear arms in order to form militias, it is saying that said right will not be infringed in order for us to be able to form militias for the security of a free state. Get that, in other words it means the right to keep and bear arms was there for us regardless of the 2nd amendment, but that said, the 2nd amendment specifically insures us that said right cannot be infringed by our government (like they ever paid attention to it). Now the solicitor general of DC (District of Columbia), a politician who is not federal and not even part of one of the 50 states in our great nation, wants to have that right stripped from the people of all 50 states by saying it is a right that applies only to militias. If that was so it would not specifically state in the 2nd Amendment that it was a right of the people. Read it see if I am right or not:
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
Then read this article: D.C. Argues Gun Rights Only For Militias found at this link:
http://www.wfsb.com/politics/10485690/detail.html and see if the solicitor general of DC is out of his mind as I suppose he must be.
Well, regardless of what I believe, the solicitor general of DC should read the news. Look to Asia in the Pacific region. Look to the country of Fiji. Look to the coup that just took place there. Read this article, Fijians divided over coup outlook @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6209620.stm and say: 'Hey, wow, sounds a lot like a nice guy who took over because he wants to promote tolerance for other groups'. Of course, as the opening lines point out: "Fiji's coup leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama sees himself as the great protector of his country's multiculturalism."
Note it does not say that the rest of his countrymen see him that way, that is as a nice guy. As it turns out, maybe that is because he is not so nice. Go to this article and have a look: Post-coup Fiji warns dissenters @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6166779.stm. You see the majority of people oppose him. Those who are brave enough to speak out against him are brought into the police stations for "questioning".
"When we hear or it is reported that some individual is attempting to make some statement that we see as inciting or could create problems, we will call the individuals in and speak to them," said Maj Neumi Leweni, a military spokesman.
You see multiculturism is okay only if you agree with his brand of it. If they do not agree with him, they are sought out. Then if they do not agree to go to the police station for questioning when ordered to do so, they are persuaded by other means. Imagine that happening here in the United States of America. Hmm, do these types of tactics sound familiar? Let's see, in recent history it could be like people being forced to allow police to enter their homes in New Orleans, after hurricane Katrina, so police could search for legal firearms to confiscate them, or being kidnapped in Israel by Palestinian terrorists because you profess another religion than Islam, or it could be like what used to happen under Saddam Hussein - you spoke against him and you vanished, or it could be like what happened in Pinochet's Chile same as with Saddam, or it could be like what happened in Nazi Germany, like when children ratted out their own parents to the Gestapo if they disagreed with Hitler. It happens again and again around the world but not here in the USA - so why not? Look to Fiji and ask why.
The people there, in Fiji, who had been under a democratic form of government are now under a military dictatorship. Suddenly, overnight as a matter of fact, they no longer have the right to assemble, even if they did they would no longer have the right to free speech once assembled. You can bet the same goes for freedom of the press, it has disappeared. Do you know what right may have prevented this from befalling Fijians, what right may have prevented this military overthrow of the justly elected government? Yes, that's the one, the one that is written about in our own Constitution's 2nd Amendment - the right to keep and bear arms by the people. The Fijians were not armed as are American citizens in the USA. There was nothing to prevent a military overthrow of the government, of the people.
The military in this country while greatly out gunning the public with military hardware still would not ever likely try a coup if only because there are so many of the people who are armed. Our Founding Fathers were wise men indeed. They made certain that after they had enumerated several rights of the people in the 1st Amendment, they then enumerated some others in the 2nd Amendment - those rights that would keep us a secure and free nation. The solicitor general of DC should eat a copy of the U.S. Constitution and choke on it as far as I am concerned, because as I see him he is a traitor to his own government, and an ass at that.
The right to keep and bear arms is a right we enjoy with or without the second amendment, our right to form militias is likewise, our right not to have either of those rights taken away from us is the one written into the 2nd amendment. It makes the right to keep and bear arms the most secure right we have, yet politicians just don't get it; or should I say do not want to get it probably if only because it is the right that keeps them best in their places as servants of the people, it keeps us living in a secure and free state, and it prevents them from becoming tyrants and from taking that all away from us.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Love, Loyalty, and Longing to Live...
...are attributes that can make people do things above and beyond what they normally would attempt. Such was the case with James Kim, the 35 year old husband and father, who set off through deep snow in an attempt to rescue his stranded family. As it turns out, authorities misread a map, and they then miscalculated on just how far he had walked through the wilderness while without proper food, or clothing. (See this article: Calif. Man Walked 16 Miles Before Dying @ http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Dec10/0,4670,MissingFamily,00.html.
Over the course of the days he was alone, on foot in that bitter cold wilderness, he walked a total of 16 miles from his car in an attempt to find help. Now 16 miles may not seem like much; but when it is freezing cold, when you are hopelessly lost, when you don't have sufficient food to keep you going, when you don't have proper clothing to keep you warm, well then such is an outstanding feat. In fact, it is quite possible that he walked much more than 16 miles if he meandered about while lost. He was one heck of a good father and husband to have taken that chance, sadly he paid with his life.
There are some lessons to be learned by the rest of us when we travel, especially when, but not only necessarily when, we travel that far from home. Keep supplies in your car. The supplies should at least include road flares, flashlights with extra batteries, drinkable water, food stuffs, protective clothing (for the season), blanket(s) preferably wool, a compass, a good knife, a survival rifle (where legal), matches, a first aid kit, a cell phone with charger. It does not matter if you are a city person, or from the country, carry this stuff in your car, and your chances of survival will be better.
Another lesson to be learned is - when lost, do not leave the area in which you are lost. If anyone had any idea of the route you would be traveling, or the place you were last seen, then help is more likely to find you if you stay in one place. Of course there could be reasons to set out to look for help, such as someone in your party requiring medical assistance, but if no one is hurt, your chances maybe better just waiting for help, that is if you have supplies as outlined above.
There is one other lesson to be learned from this man's story. It is a harsh lesson about how things in life that seem trivial are quite possibly inexplicably interrelated, and how a little thing to some can later lead to a big disaster for others. Yes, I am talking about the reported fact that vandals had apparently cut a chain that had secured a gate across the road down which the Kim family had turned when they got lost. The road is normally closed for the winter, apparently because it is dangerous to travel during winter months. That act, by someone who wanted to get onto that road for whatever reason, left that gate open. It left the road accessible to the Kims; and as fate would have it, the Kims turned down that road and got stuck. Had it not been for those vandals opening that gate, the chances are that the Kims would never have turned down that road, and that Mr. Kim would have survived, and that his wife and children would have enjoyed his company for many years to come. I hope they catch the bastard(s) and convict them of negligent homicide or something to the effect. Even if they never catch them, whoever cut that chain and opened that gate is aware that he, she or they did just that, and that it led to Mr. Kim’s death. I hope it haunts he, she or them forever.
Think about that, the terrible feeling of guilt you would have to live with if you were the one who did it. Think of that the next time you are about to do something that seems just a little bad, because in the end it could lead to disaster for someone else, and to a life filled with guilt for you.
My sympathies go to the family and loved ones of Mr. Kim, a very courageous man who obviously loved his family very much.
All the best,
Glenn B
Over the course of the days he was alone, on foot in that bitter cold wilderness, he walked a total of 16 miles from his car in an attempt to find help. Now 16 miles may not seem like much; but when it is freezing cold, when you are hopelessly lost, when you don't have sufficient food to keep you going, when you don't have proper clothing to keep you warm, well then such is an outstanding feat. In fact, it is quite possible that he walked much more than 16 miles if he meandered about while lost. He was one heck of a good father and husband to have taken that chance, sadly he paid with his life.
There are some lessons to be learned by the rest of us when we travel, especially when, but not only necessarily when, we travel that far from home. Keep supplies in your car. The supplies should at least include road flares, flashlights with extra batteries, drinkable water, food stuffs, protective clothing (for the season), blanket(s) preferably wool, a compass, a good knife, a survival rifle (where legal), matches, a first aid kit, a cell phone with charger. It does not matter if you are a city person, or from the country, carry this stuff in your car, and your chances of survival will be better.
Another lesson to be learned is - when lost, do not leave the area in which you are lost. If anyone had any idea of the route you would be traveling, or the place you were last seen, then help is more likely to find you if you stay in one place. Of course there could be reasons to set out to look for help, such as someone in your party requiring medical assistance, but if no one is hurt, your chances maybe better just waiting for help, that is if you have supplies as outlined above.
There is one other lesson to be learned from this man's story. It is a harsh lesson about how things in life that seem trivial are quite possibly inexplicably interrelated, and how a little thing to some can later lead to a big disaster for others. Yes, I am talking about the reported fact that vandals had apparently cut a chain that had secured a gate across the road down which the Kim family had turned when they got lost. The road is normally closed for the winter, apparently because it is dangerous to travel during winter months. That act, by someone who wanted to get onto that road for whatever reason, left that gate open. It left the road accessible to the Kims; and as fate would have it, the Kims turned down that road and got stuck. Had it not been for those vandals opening that gate, the chances are that the Kims would never have turned down that road, and that Mr. Kim would have survived, and that his wife and children would have enjoyed his company for many years to come. I hope they catch the bastard(s) and convict them of negligent homicide or something to the effect. Even if they never catch them, whoever cut that chain and opened that gate is aware that he, she or they did just that, and that it led to Mr. Kim’s death. I hope it haunts he, she or them forever.
Think about that, the terrible feeling of guilt you would have to live with if you were the one who did it. Think of that the next time you are about to do something that seems just a little bad, because in the end it could lead to disaster for someone else, and to a life filled with guilt for you.
My sympathies go to the family and loved ones of Mr. Kim, a very courageous man who obviously loved his family very much.
All the best,
Glenn B
An Oreo of a different sort...
So some of you may remember I am into reptiles and amphibians (herps) as a hobby, though I don't post much about them here (that may change soon). I have kept all sorts of herps since I was a kid. I don't usually give them names, at least not since long ago. They just are not pets like a dog or cat, not responsive if you call them. One I acquired recently though has struck me so much as for me to feel the need to name it; I'll just call it Oreo - you can see why. I may have to waste of bag of Oreo cookies to get some amusing shots of this guy as he crawls amidst a pile of the cookies. Got Milk??????
All the best,
Glenn B
Thanks...
to my readers, the few of you who there are, this site will achieve a thousand hits today. I know it is not much as other sites go - some with millions of hits, but certainly you guys make it worth my while to keep on writing. We have all got to start somewhere, and you folks have helped me get this going. As long as you keep reading, I'll keep writing. Any suggestions for topics are always aprpeciated, you can leave em in the comments section if you like.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
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