Ask What You Can Do For Yourself

I've seen the "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country" quote for years, but not thought much about it. My grandmother even had it on a wall hanging.

This article reminds us of Milton Friedman's response.

Isn't language fun? As a friend has suggested, maybe I need a course in rhetoric.

I had always thought it was promoting the sort of solidarity I saw after 9/11. I never considered that it was promoting the good of the government over that of the people. Or that it was encouraging dependence on the government like this:

Guns

Here is a Facebook post from a friend of mine and then my response follows.

What a week! Happy Friday to everyone.

Just a thought to share this morning and a post that is unusually not about my Megan. In response to the gun talk either for or against this week I have to take a side. 3 out of the 4 early morning news stories today included stories about shootings and or guns - nothing good came from any of them.

http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=13839429 (boy accidently shoots brother in middle TN)

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=13833132 (Second Harvest pulls out of firing range fundraiser to shoot Kiffen bobblehead dolls - was this something that they should have signed up for even before Tucson?)

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/13/1978007/at-least-2-wounded-in-sc-shooting.html (two men airlifted after gunshot wounds after arguing over property lines and trees - really???)

These three strories were proof once again to me that whether acciental or with intentional malice guns are a threat to all of us. If we have such a great military and police forces across this country to protect and serve why does anybody else need them?

I understand and support the sport of hunting - I get it. I agree that a hunter's license and gun owners license for that purpose alone makes sense. Beyond that though handguns in the hands of anyone other than military and police is senseless forever and always, period.

Not asking for any responses, just wanted to take a rare opportunity on FB to post one of my longest standing and strongest beliefs outside of religion and politics. One day I hope that I can be a part of the change through the system to support real change in our laws.

On a lighter note the two ladies from Williamson County who beat up a home intruder with a Shark vacuum cleaner are my new heros!!

My response:

I did not grow up around guns. I did not have strong opinions on the matter until recently. I did not own guns until recently. I normally do not post on controversial topics either, but I likewise feel compelled to add my voice to the discussion.

There are bad people in the world. There is no way to make all the guns in the world disappear. Bad people will get access to guns. Jenny has said that she hates that we live in a world where we might need a gun. I agree, but this world was defined by original sin and we can only work to make it better.

More laws simply guarantee that the people that follow the law will be unarmed. The bad people do not care what the laws are. New York Republican Rep. Peter King said he will introduce legislation to ban the carrying of any firearm within 1,000 feet of what he described as “high-profile government officials.” Ask yourself if such a law would have stopped Jared Loughner. He already ignored the law that said you shouldn’t murder.

More people will be killed in car accidents than from gun related deaths this year. Should we outlaw cars?

Guns sales have risen over the last few years. During that same period, violent crime has decreased. Even if there is no causation, we can say that more guns have not lead to show-downs at high noon on the streets.

If someone was breaking into your house and seconds mean the difference between life and death… the police are only minutes away. A bit trite, but it makes the point. The police cannot be everywhere.

I wish Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom had been armed.

The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed our 2nd Amendment rights in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago.

Ben Franklin wrote “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Some of the worse crimes against humanity have been perpetrated by dictators who have taken all gun rights away from their citizens.

Even during this tragedy, the father of 9-year old Christina Green understands the importance of our freedoms – “This shouldn't happen in this country, or anywhere else, but in a free society, we're going to be subject to people like this. I prefer this to the alternative.”

We should be spending more time talking about mental health issues. The root cause of the shooting was that Jared Loughner was sick.

If you would like to go shoot sometime, I’d be happy to host.

Women can take a free handgun carry permit course at Bass Pro Shop in Sevierville.

I did not include specific links to back up may facts, but I could have - most of them came from the bloggers you see on the Gun Links above. I also tried to make connections on multiple levels by providing stats; asking challenging questions; making a spiritual link; reminding her of tragic, emotional events from the Knoxville area; and discussing the larger issues of rights and mental health.

President Obama's Speech in Arizona

Full text of his speech here.

I was surprised. He took the high road and did not make it political. Lee Doren called it "Reaganesque."

Get your stop watch ready!

Sharp as a Marble likes to make you think.

Bad guy attacks you with a gun.
You take the gun away from the bad guy.
You shoot the man in self defense.
In your state, it is illegal to possess a gun.

Did you break the law by holding the gun long enough to defend yourself? If you held it for less or more time, would it be more or less legal?

Government Openness and Individual Privacy

It is a simple equation: Liberty is a function of Privacy of the People and Openness of the Government. Liberty decreases with the loss of privacy or openness.

I cannot fathom any reasonable arguments that would persuade me to think video-taping the police should be illegal. Who watches the watchmen?

Congressman Tweets in Morse Code

Via eHam.net...

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), aka W7EQI, used twitter to announce that he had been named Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. This subcommittee oversees the FCC.

Here is the text of his message:
.-- .. .-.. .-.. / -.-. .... .- .. .-. / -.-. --- -- -- / .- -. -.. / - . -.-. .... / ... ..- -... / --... ...-- ... / .-- --... . --.- ..

You can copy and paste the text into a Morse Code Translator, but I've saved you the trouble:

WILL CHAIR COMM AND TECH SUB 73S W7EQI