Changing gears, I think a dead snake is the only snake worth having.

I have to respond..... Gun control WILL prevent numerous things from happening..... but not even close to cutting criminal action.  I speak as a boy who grew up with guns.  We’ve never had an accident, nor was one used for the defense of our family or home.  Japan lets 8 yr olds drink - they have a next to nothing alchohol problem..... Texas has the death penalty and folk carrying guns and the respect can be noted.  I think EVERY gang member who is caught carrying should be fried, Thats a conservative view on how to nip it in the arse.  I think that judge should be fried...... not just for letting that felon free, but for pressing his political views upon society..... yep…

I think this is one of those issues where we have to agree to disagree, and cheer when our own point of view “wins”. I’m still not convinced, and I don’t think I’m as far from your point of view as you think I am. I just think that regulations should be in place for a reason. I don’t think that gun control will fix all of violent crime---of course it won’t. But if there’s one thing I am sure of, it’s the fact that everything is connected. Gun control is just one more piece of the infinite puzzle.

I’m sorry that Annie isn’t in Julian’s class! So far so good, but it’s only day 2. The Voice of Authority is a good skill to have---can you teach it to me?

Well, first, no, we did not get Miss Cress. We got Mrs. Miller. The fourth grade classes are packed this year, so we have decided not to rock the boat with a transfer request. Besides, if you look at Miss Cress’s student list, she has somehow managed to inherit most of the students that proved to be problematic in the past few years. If you haven’t looked, Julian probably told you. All the kids that made me want to revive corporal punishment in school are in there. No, Julian wasn’t one of them. He and I had a good understanding, and he would listen to me if I had to use my Voice of Authority… It helped that he loves knowledge and I could always refocus him with a question. Although, there was a fart or poop song that he kept singing on one of the trips that made me want to throttle him! I had to use the Voice of Authority twice on that trip to terminate the song…

> excuse criminal action as societal impact…

I understand what you mean about society impacting certain environments. However, no one shoots a shop owner, or a guy on the street who ticked him/her off, or rapes someone without knowing it is wrong. The criminal might justify it somehow in their own mind, and attorneys will plead that they were mistreated by society and therefore society should be held responsible. Horse crap. The gangbanger in Texas that raped and killed two teenage girls for a gang initiation fried, and should have. It should not have taken so long, or cost us so much. The illegal alien that sparked so much controversy in San Francisco, who was arrested for a felony some time ago (multiple felonies, if I recall correctly), was minimally punished and found his way back to the streets thanks to the Sanctuary City rules, and then gunned down a man and his two kids should also get the freakin’ chair. Don’t even get me started on the discussions regarding the humane methods of the death penalty. These predators and parasites deserve nothing. Maybe if they actually knew that that would be the result of their actions, they would think twice. Granted, I didn’t like what the gentleman in Texas said before he shot the intruders next door, but I bet criminals in that area will not be so bold as to break into a house in the middle of the day… Not when there is a risk of a neighbor filling them with lead. I heard the whole 911 call, and it seems like the guy was on the phone with the police for at least twenty minutes. The police did not arrive, and the felons were leaving. He took care of it. Fine, if law-enforcement is not able to respond given whatever the reason, We the People will fight back.

By the way, I think pepper-spray just results in blind fire, not incapacitation.

I am not sure about the chicken/egg thing. Rural homes are easy targets given the probability that no one will be there at certain times of day. Unlike here, though, criminals are far less likely to try something when an individual is around. I think it has to do with a fear that the person could be armed. I am fairly certain that someone that threatened my parents’ home would find themselves missing a kneecap or two, if not their entire head if they tried anything… My dad is a *really* good shot.

We all make our own decisions. No one else is responsible. I have a lot more things in my head, but this is already too long, and I have ‘homework’ for Annie’s class!

I meant nothing disparaging in the post, I hope you didn’t take it that way…

I usually didn’t mind, and I was really happy when ypu bought me a couple of Ocean Pacific shirts! Besides, the kids in Bolivar that made fun of me are in jail last I heard, and the kids in Tennessee I somehow managed to impress, and they stopped when they decided I was reasonably ‘cool.’ In fact, maybe I should go back to Tennessee. I don’t think I have ever had so many attractive ladies think I was interesting before!

For the record, I slept in my clothes not to get more sleep, but to keep from freezing in the morning. Just as often, I would just shove the clothes under the mountain of covers on my bed. That’s why my first stop every morning was the fireplace that you so graciously started well before I made it downstairs.

Inflation. I’m sure of it.

> these kinds of deaths were not nearly as prevalent

Yeah, you lived in an area where violent crime is not as prevalent, either. Chicken/Egg?

> excuse criminal action as societal impact

What does that MEAN? I don’t excuse anybody for their violent behavior. I would rather the circumstances be such that people wouldn’t resort to violence in any way. The reality is, though, that society does contribute to circumstances that creates criminals. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t defend yourself if someone comes at you with criminal intent (though a well-placed blow to the head with a shovel or a well-aimed pepperspray might be what is needed, no gun necessary). What I am saying, though, is that I have yet to see any proof that having a nation full of gun-bearing citizens will make any difference at all in the instances of violent crime. I strongly suspect (and I am pretty sure that there is evidence to back this up) that a populace all carrying guns makes for more instances of violent crime. Counter-intuitive, for you, I guess, but true.

On other fronts, how’s Annie? Did she get Miss Cress?

I think you did good for that amount of money.  For whomever reads this blog.  We didn’t shop at wal mart for clothes but did shop at Pennys and Sears.  I don’t think I ever knew you wanted better clothes.  This is the boy who slept in his clothes so he could stay in bed until the last minute in the winter.

Why do you think I brought it up?!

I have not researched the statistics, but I do recall that where I grew up, that these kinds of deaths were not nearly as prevalent. A criminal would think twice about going into a house because it was very probably that the owner had a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it. It was also a bit of a deterrent to see a rifle hanging in the window of a truck. It is like the dinosaurs. You don’t go after a beast that could hurt you. You could end up being the prey for someone else.

If no one is going to stand up to a criminal, they know the risk of serious impact to their actions is lower. As long as Liberals continue to excuse criminal action as societal impact as opposed to personal choice, they rule the system, not us. If someone comes in to my house and threatens our way of life, they will find themselves dealt with in the most severe fashion. That’s just the way it is. I will continue to stop on the side of the road if I see someone having a problem, despite friendly concerns that a psycho might try to end my life. However, the criminals will not change my behavior. They have to change because they are in the wrong. If the psychos and gang bangers knew that possible targets might be able to respond in a like manner, they would hesitate a little more.

My 2 cents…

Oh Lord, another thing we will disagree about vehemently. Sigh.

How do you explain the numbers of people who have been killed because of people “packing heat”, regardless of whether it was legal or not? Tell me why the statistics of people in the USA killed by gunfire far, far outstrips the numbers of violent crimes committed in any other developed country in the world? Yes, I know you’ll be safe with your handgun and will probably even teach Annie the safe way to handle a gun, but I am still strongly against it. And you will NOT show it to my son, either, unless I am there!

And I have gone to a shooting range and have pretty decent aim, by the way. I do have experience and am not talking out of ignorance.

If you could show me that a nation of citizens carrying guns reduced crime at all---especially if it was by more than the number of people who would be killed accidentally or by nutsos who shouldn’t be anywhere near any firearm---then we can talk about it. I just don’t see any reasonable research that says otherwise.