Friday, September 17, 2004

Guns N' Ammo

Yet again I am inspired to comment on an article I found on CNN.com. This time it has nothing to so with their blatant ignorance on juducial proceedings.

I will refer you to the source article, Gun shops, police brace for assault weapon sales, which can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/09/13/assault.weapons.ap/index.html.

Apparently there has been a 10 year ban on the major assault weapons, and that ban is about to expire. Congress appears to be non-plussed! I am all for people having guns. I know guns are dangerous and I am not about to put a .45 in the hands of a 5 year-old. HOWEVER, I do think that the people of this country have the right to bear arms and all that good stuff. I also think that super strict gun laws are dangerous to the general public. The criminals are going to have guns no matter what, it's the law abiding citizen who is hurt when tough gunlaws make it impossible for people to defend themselves. The article actually makes my point for me when it states that:

"Of course, the legitimate owners of guns register them. Unfortunately, whether there is a ban or not, some individuals will find ways to get weapons that are illegal."

That being said I have trouble with Congress's lackadaisical attitude towards the expiration of this bill. Exactly what legitimate purpose does John Q. Public have for needing to own an Uzi??? I guess that's my main concern; I think people should have any many freedoms as possible, but this defies logic. Are there some amazingly huge killer deer out there that I am not aware of? Are Uzis and semi-autommatic machine guns a really big market among hunters?? Perhaps I am being too conservative here, but if anyone knows of a normal, logical reason why a non-military individual would need a serious assault weapon, please, enlighten me, because I am confounded.


Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Philosophy and Books and Me

So, it's been awhile since I posted. But I knew I was in no real hurry since I have the distinct suspicion that no one visits the site, but oh well, here I am. I am staying with the parentals for the time being and job hunting. [Not as easy as I had hoped.] Law school is over and the bar exams are just a gnawing thought in my gut as I suffer through the horrendous wait between now and late November [YES, November!] to get the results.

So here I am, staying with family, unemployed and broke and very, very bored. My spirits sometimes like to take a nosedive given the circumstances and I was feeling particularly dejected a couple of weeks ago. It dawned on me that I needed some positive fodder for my brain. Enter my favorite author of all time - Robert Fulghum. http://www.robertfulghum.com/index.php

His reading is good for the heart and soul. I am currently just beginning to reread another of his books, having devoured three of them already. I was pondering how much I enjoyed his work [I could go on all day about how much I love his books, but I'll leave it to you to make that discovery for yourself.] I discovered one of his later books when I was in high school, and now 10 years later I enjoy them just as much, if not more. By the second chapter I was hooked and just tonight I finally decided to "Google" him. Turns out the man has a web page! [No email mind you, but a bona fide WWW all his own.]

Now I have spent a good amount of time singing his praises and drafting imaginary letters to him in my mind, some random thoughts and some commentary on his writings. I doubt he cares as much about what I think as I do about what he thinks - in fact he probably wouldn't care much at all - but I digress. But now, to discover that he has a website! I wanted to share this newfound info with the world at large! Now instead of jabbering on about how great he is and trying to effectively capture and communicate his essense I can point people to his website! Hmm, now how to communicate this to people, I need a forum, hmmmmm. A duuhhhh, I have a BLOG for just that purpose. And so, here it is, noted again for those not paying attention several paragraphs above:

http://www.robertfulghum.com/index.php

Go ahead, read some. Buy a book perhaps, and enjoy. The perspective is astounding.