Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Wounded soldier told to return enlistment bonus

I read this story today and became sick to my stomach. This is only one story of a wounded soldier being told to return his bonus enlistment money, because he cannot serve the rest of his active duty commitment. I am willing to bet there are others out there.

Sometimes government/military bureaucracy actions are deplorable, and I would hope that any official who does not vote yes on the proposal of Congressman Jason Altmire would be voted out of office the next time they run.

Monday, November 12, 2007

In celebration of Veteran's Day

I hope everyone who reads this post took time out of their day to thank a Veteran for their service to our great country. Our nation is so wonderful and prosperous due to our fighting forces and the men and women who serve our country.

In celebration of the day, Kathy and I went with her father and brother out to East County to participate in our second amendment right to own and use firearms. It was a clear, crisp, yet warmer morning, and we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do something fun. We made a whole morning of it by going to to breakfast to help the local economy, then headed to the shooting range. I had not been to the chosen range before, but enjoyed the facility and the rules they had as standard operating procedure. The location was the Project 2000 Shooting Range.

People often make fun of those of us who live in East County, San Diego, as many of us camp and do many outdoor activities including rifle and pistol sports, as well as hunting. I often note on liberal blogs a story about the occasional idiot who was misusing a firearm and caused a horrible accident. They are always presented as the typical gun owner, and how more gun control laws are needed (I will elaborate more on this at the end). However, upon first arriving, I confirmed yet again that the people who live out here and participate in firearm sports are some of the greatest Americans.

The facility and our experience:

The first thing I noted was the absence of foreign vehicles. Indeed of the 15 cars parked in the lot, there was one Toyota Prius. EVERY other car was American-made. Upon entering, we were greeted by two friendly female counter workers who immediately handed us a safety manual to review, followed by a test which had to be answered perfectly. Once we completed this task, we were informed of the reasonable prices and options for shooting.

I also noted that the shooting range was set in a location between a construction yard and a dump site for the grinding of concrete and base. It was an excellent use of the space and was away from homes and other businesses.

I noted that behind the counter, a large array of supplies were available for purchase and most were American manufacturers. Of the foreign manufactured items, most were related to the rental weapons, which included American firearms and some foreign options. The shop was clean and well-maintained.

The indoor shooting area was clean and well-maintained. The cease fire rules and other maintenance and rules pertaining to use of firearms were strictly adhered to by all shooters. They had a cease fire every hour for target retrieval on the long range course and also shell clean up and a smaller cease fire, I believe every half hour. I conversed with three other men who were shooting during the breaks, and all were very friendly. I also noted a few father/son pairs, and a few women were there to shoot as well. Everyone properly kept their actions open during the cease fire and their weapons were unloaded. No one crossed the barrier except when allowed to retrieve their targets and there was routine cleaning of the discarded shells.

Our firearms consisted of a .22 Ruger pistol, two black powder replica pistols which shot lead balls and a Mossberg shotgun with 8 gauge rounds. We all had the opportunity to shoot the black powder, which was very fun, and a favorite of Jim's. After we went through a few boxes of ammunition and a few black powder pistol reloads, we packed up and secured a booth for the shotgun. During our wait, we went out and watched three people shoot clay pigeon's. The staff were all adorned in safety vests and helped keep score and to release the pigeon's. It was very professional.

There was a well-maintained restroom, plenty of shade and seating, and safety was priority #1. I did not witness one person mishandling their firearm.

In sum, it was nothing like I usually see gun owners and gun enthusiasts portrayed on many liberal blogs. It was a friendly and good experience, and I fully plan on going back very soon.

After we left:

As we were leaving, I noticed something that I think the others in my vehicle missed. There was a car parked on the road across the street, and a guy was obviously protesting the site and/or gun owners. Two signs were posted: "Support stricter gun laws" (is "stricter" a word?) and "Protect Americans, take away all guns!" What made me laugh was his assumption that taking guns away from responsible owners somehow saves more lives, but what really made me chuckle was the large bumper sticker on his car "Buy American and Americans work". Truly a good idea, except his car was a Nissan and the little canopy and chair set he was using was made in China. I know this because I was looking at the exact same set in a catalog a few weeks ago. I doubt his imitation birkenstock sandals were made in America, as I have a pair just like them, and they are made in Indonesia. I doubt many of his clothes were American made as well.

Gun control:

I have weighed on this in the past, yet I feel it is appropriate to make brief mention of some of the debate here, then perhaps weigh in more someday. Gun control is a good thing, and I believe almost all gun owners practice safety first and adhere to gun regulations. The problem I often see with regards to the need for more strict gun control is that measures to ensure the person purchasing is not a criminal are not more thoroughly implemented, but not necessarily by the location where the firearm is being purchased. The government does not have an adequate database and background check, and that needs to be improved. I am fine with waiting periods and mild limits on the type of weapons purchased, but only a few limits. Americans as consumers have the right to purchase items for their own use.

I also believe that limiting gun ownership only gives criminals an advantage because they will not obey gun laws anyway and will seek out firearms which are stolen or smuggled in from another state or country. I remember a blog I read where someone proudly indicated that they have over 20 weapons, including collectibles, and some semi-automatic rifles. The outrage was obvious. Questions were asked, such as Why so many? Why semi-automatic? And of course comments on his intelligence, education and how stupid he was and how it was so unnecessary.

It may very well seem like excess to someone, and that is their opinion and they have a right to it. But do you see the gun owner telling these people that they cannot own certain vehicles, or they have too many of something?

There is more to this topic and perhaps if interest is noted I will comment on it more. These are just some thoughts I decided to put down.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Does the bumper sticker make the man?

Now that the fires have died down here in San Diego, it is largely business as usual in our great town and county. I wanted to convey a story about an experience I had with a liberal while driving. I posted this story on KLSD, but I doubt they will play it or mention it over the airwaves.

People who read this blog locally may have heard of AM 1360 KLSD's attempt at right wing bashing with their "sticker wars", which began over an alleged firing of a woman due to her sporting a bumper sticker for the radio station. Assuming the story is true, she has a right to sue her employer and I hope she did. I could not find any updates to the story, but will keep looking.

Anyway, on occasion, I would hear someone call regarding something horrible being done to them, for nothing more than sporting a KLSD bumper sticker on their car. Morning host Stacy Taylor and his band of jovial clowns would eat the story up like it was cake! While I believe some of the stories may have some merit, I have no doubt that many were completely bogus and many were largely over exaggerated. This area has plenty of independent publications which would love to pick up on stories just like this, yet I have not really heard of any others.

About a week ago, around 5pm, I was driving home from a class I am taking. As I merged on the 15 freeway, I began to get ready to cross over the few lanes that are added from the 8 West to 15 North merge about 1/2 a mile after my merge. The first exit is Friars road, and you have to move over to at least one "merge" lane to get off. I have been close to being hit a few times by drivers who merge and do not pay attention to those of us already on the 15, so I am always careful here.

Today was no exception. A van had just moved onto the 15 from the 8 and as he passed me on the right, he began to move into my lane. Now mind you, he saw me as he passed me and when he started to move over, the front of my car was about parallel with the driver side door, so he was not even close to being in front of me. As he rolled into my lane, I had to swerve into the next lane and I honked my horn. He then moved back into his lane and as I pulled next to him, he began shouting inside his card and flipped me the middle finger. I responded by smiling and giving him a hearty wave. Nothing more than a friendly wave.

I then proceeded to pull ahead of him and merged over. Mind you, I did not cut him off, slam on my brakes, nothing of the kind. I then proceeded to exit. So, imagine my surprise, when he exited as well. He was trying to move on to the 15 no more than 30 seconds earlier, so why get off? He followed me as Friars becomes Mission Gorge road and followed me up the hill. When I would switch lanes, he would do so as well, always staying behind me.

I finally elected to pull into a parking lot and confront him if he followed me. Sure enough, he exited and parked near me. I waited a second for the man to get out. I then unfolded my rather "large-6'4"-built-and-overweight" frame from my compact-to-mid-size sedan and walked towards him. The man looked at me and then turned back to the van. He got in and closed the door but before he could roll up the window, I reached the van. I told him that he was lucky because I was letting him go. However, he needs to be careful because the next time he acts like an ass then has the nerve to follow someone to confront them after he made the driving error, he may be messing with the wrong person and could get his ass kicked. He then pulled away.

And wouldn't you know it? The man sported three bumper stickers! An "A.M. 1360 KLSD" sticker, an "Obama 2008" sticker, and a "Republicans Suck" bumper sticker. I was able to find that exact sticker and a whole host of other "anti-Republican" stickers here.

Which makes me wonder . . . . Liberals love to point to idiots like Ted Haggard or other conservatives or Christians who do not practice what they preach and pigeon hole all conservatives. Do I now get to do the same? Are all liberals:

a) Bad drivers
b) Profane speaking idiots who like to use inappropriate symbols
c) Angry jerks who love to pick fights only to,
d) Run away like cowards when they pick on the wrong person
e) Inconsiderate jerks who are non-contributors to society
f) All of the above

I don't believe all liberals are all of these, or even some of the things listed above. However, my experiences on a few sites on the web would cause me to conclude that some are all of these and many more things. Yet, I don't choose to place all people of various political views into one category, or make generalizations. I hope most liberals don't either.