Self-Defense
I got an email labeled “Self Defense” this week from my brother-in-law Michael… a Naval Academy grad who served his country two tours in Viet Nam. It started with a narrative of a guy being awakened by intruders in his own home. The man grabbed a shotgun and went out to see who the heck broke into his house and was soon face-to-face with two men in the dark… one wielding some crowbar-like weapon and coming at him.
The homeowner did the only thing he should have done, and let loose with the scattergun inside his own home. Both intruders went down, one died.
I immediately recognized the story as that of Tony Martin when the text turned to discussing how the owner was subsequently vilified in the press and the intruders, both of whom had a criminal history, were treated as lovable rogues who were mistreated by a vengeful old man who snuffed one out in the prime of young manhood and caused irreparable damage to the other by his unconscionable action.
The true story occurred in the UK, where gun laws slowly crept to the point to where there are just not very many legal ways to use them for self-defense. Granted, had the man NOT had the shotgun he’d have been in the news too (as a death statistic most likely), but in the true tale he was sentenced to life in prison.
How Did We Get Here
Slowly. That’s how. It CAN happen in the US too, despite the fact that our 2nd amendment was put there to eliminate the possibility. You cannot read the writings of Thomas Jefferson without agreeing that he felt the 2nd was there to enable us defend ourselves jointly and individually from whatever danger confronted us, including all forms of two-legged predators.
His writings included statements that an armed populace is a hedge against a tyranical government, and that laws disarming citizens only assured criminals of a safer working environment because those that’d break the law to hurt you would certainly break the laws saying they couldnt have firearms… whereas law-abiding citizens would be by definition disarmed under that circumstance.
“The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes….Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.
Thomas Jefferson’s “Commonplace Book,” 1774-1776, quoting Cesare Beccaria’s of “On Crimes and Punishment”
Yep… TJ was the guy that wrote the statement that is the basis for “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” Next time you call the guys in the NRA “gun-nuts”… try to recall they are in rather auspicious company.
Changing Times
Some will say that times have changed and the constitution must change with them. Well, for starters… if you believe that, then try changing the constitution, not writing laws that are in direct contradiction to it. “Shall NOT be infringed” has meaning. If you don’t like that part of the constitution, change it by legal means if you can.
Fine, You can Have a Flintlock ONLY
Gotta love that argument that says the 2nd should only apply to guns in existence at the time the constitution was written. Really? If so, are you prepared to only apply the first amendment to handset type… or would you assume it also covers the internet, newspapers, radio, television, etc…?
Most anti-gun people have to do cerebral contortions worthy of an Olympic gymnast to try to make their arguments seem cogent, but the simple fact is they try to interpret every amendment as broadly as possible UNTIL they talk of the 2nd… then suddenly things are different.
Generational Change
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think those that want stringent gun control are *intentionally* disingenuous… I think they are a product of their times, as I am. I was raised by the WW2 generation. The men that affected my life HAD to carry a gun in their early days and it was the only thing between them and survival.
They knew it only performed on command, they were familiar with it, they knew it was a tool for survival. A huge portion of our country was involved in WW2, and their progeny were raised knowing the value of a firearm in keeping ones life.
NEXT!
The crop of adults coming into the world next were raised not by the guys that saved the world from the Axis powers… but by a generation much of whom spent their formative years dodging the draft and or protesting against it during the Viet Nam era. Their parents mostly did not go to war, they argued about it.
Where my parents grew up in a nation largely rural by nature and gun-friendly by design… the new crew grew up with little positive contact with guns. Guns were what criminals used and police had them to fight criminals. The end. Normal people just didnt own them.
Pardon me for not feeling their pain, but the simple fact is their perceptions that guns are evil do not change my constitutionally protected right to bear arms. In truth they are lucky the rest of us exist, because guys that’d do a home breakin don’t know which house I live in and which one they do.
How Does That Work in Reality?
Test it if you like. Put up a sign on your house that says “gun free zone”. Have a neighbor put up one that says “Protected by Smith and Wesson”. If one of them is gonna be subject to a home invasion… it aint gonna be the second one. People that do that sort of thing prefer NOT to get shot. Just works that way.
Media Influence
The media (whether we’re talking news media or entertainment) is also extremely anti-gun… for reasons we can only guess at. Their story is that it is because they are intellectually superior… though I personally consider Thomas Jefferson a helluvalot smarter than Rosey O’Donnell and her ilk.
If More Guns Cause Crime… Do More Spoons Cause Obesity?
Oddly that particular bastion of anti-gun fervor has her own armed bodyguard, and even if you ignore the hypocrisy (oh, it’s ok if somebody ELSE pulls the trigger to keep you safe) and accept the premise of her arguments about guns… you’d have to also accept that the answer to her obesity issues would be to outlaw spoons.
The effect of a media drenched society in which virtually everyone with an outlet to speak thinks guns are evil is that hordes of impressionable minds are led to believe people like Thomas Jefferson either didnt think firearms were appropriate or else the times have changed and NOW we have the police to protect us.
911 – A Great Way to Find the Victim
Police with any integrity will tell you that they cant possibly protect each and every individual. Most I’ve spoken to have taught their own spouse to fire a gun and have one in their home for self-defense. I’d also posit that it is intellectually dishonest to suggest that somehow you think you are clean if you call somebody *else* with a gun to accomplish what is necessary for your own defense.
There’s nothing wrong with calling 911…
But I’d suggest that in a home invasion scenario it’s highest and best use is to get the police there to remove a bleeding criminal from my carpet… not to find my own corpse. It’s my house. If the sumbitch wanted to live he shoulda knocked on the door like everyone else. Sorry, I have no compassion on that score.
You’re just a “gun nut” (aka: My Own Experience)
Actually, I own over a dozen or so, but I have only drawn a gun on a human once in my life. I didnt fire it, but I did convince him not to stab the guy he had on the ground who was helpless and in danger of losing his life. Guns do not always have to be fired to save a life, they’re remarkably effective visual aids, but then stories where somebody *saves* a life without taking one just aren’t newsworthy.
My guess is the guy that was on the ground is happy I had a gun in my car that day, and the attacker that was subsequently arrested after being held at bay (with what he didnt know was an unloaded gun) is probably banging the drum to get handguns outta the clutches of the populace. If you’re anti-gun… remember, so is HE.
Current Issues
The Tony Martin story may have happened in the UK, but it isnt far away here. In the UK, laws restricting guns were passed incrementally over about an 80 year period. Licensing requirements made it easy to ID and confiscate the arms of legitimate owners who would be criminals if they didnt give up their arms when subsequent laws made them illegal. As such I absolutely oppose registration requirements… those only give a government a way to disarm law abiding citizens… and my constitutional rights are only protected by the constitution… not GRANTED by it.
If that sounds like an extreme position… bear in mind it is also a paraphrase of something said by Thomas Jefferson. I’m not the least bit shy in suggesting the architect of many documents building the strongest free nation in the world was smarter than any of the people currently running it.
Memorial Day
Anyway, didnt plan to write a thesis… but those are the thoughts that come to mind on this day when we honor those that’ve donned the uniform to defend our nation and to aid those oppressed. To them I say thank you. Those home safely at peace owe that condition to those that put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf.
God bless each of you, past and present. Thank you for your service.
I'm Rob Jones... and I approve this message.
The most amazing Cinderella story to hit Kentucky Derby history in ages. The horses flown over in jets by bazillionaires didnt win. The big name high-dollar horses didnt win.
They all got blown away (6 and a half lengths) by a horse that was transported to Louisville in a trailer behind a pickup from New Mexico by the trainer, who was sporting a broken leg. It was probably a $20,000 horse *before* the race. It won at 50 to 1 odds.
The jockey was still on the horse being interviewed, almost crying in the emotion of the moment when suddenly…
We interrupt this program to give you Breaking News!
A big-ass tent at Valley Ranch in which the Dallas Cowboys were practicing blew over. Here’s a live picture of the cloth building NOT standing. Now let’s go live to the scene, where whats-her-name is interviewing people about a tent blowing down.
Seriously, nobody cares. Nobody. You people are just too damned stupid to live.
What a Glorious Time We Live In
How can you not appreciate the availability of a universal excuse?
Much as it pains my soul to give credit to someone whose thoughts I’d much rather steal… here’s what I consider the definitive “get off your ass and do something about it” dictum from someone that is practicing what they preach, the girls (or “ladies”, “women”… pick a descriptive noun of your liking) of Outspoken Media.
Without further fanfare, take a moment to read “It’s Not the Recession, You Just Suck”.
[And yes, this *will* be on the test.]
Bottom line…
Yeah, sure… there have been better times in our economy, times when “showing up” was all that was required. For those that haven’t been paying attention, this ain’t one of ‘em. That doesn’t mean we wring our hands and wish for a different time.
In golf you play the ball where it lies, in poker you play the hand you’re dealt. In whitewater canoing you ride the rapids that are present, not the water you’d prefer… and dodge the rocks that are really there. In life you work with the economic conditions you’re in, not those you long for.
Opportunity is *always* there for those that actively seek it out and act on it. Thanks for the reminder, girls. Only thing I could add to their message is the wisdom of our grandfathers…
You don’t learn a damned thing when you get kicked by the mule the second time.
I'm Rob Jones... and I approve this message.
Hi Byron…
I hear you lost Tyla. You girls seem to be making all the wrong moves lately. What a shame.
Also noticed you arent doing well on the ONE Google search you absolutely need . I’d mention what it is, but don’t feel generous. [Sorry kid.] I suspect the loss was due to your own actions anyway (hate it when that happens). You are one highly skilled webmaster. LOL. Congrats on bringing your own web orders down. It will continue to get worse unless you fix your error.
What is that?
Umm… thats not my problem. Have fun figuring it out, you ignorant rookie.
Have a great Easter
Hope you and the half bro (a fine manager) are well. He’s a peach, and you do a great job of fulfilling the role of the flying monkey. :-p
Love ~ Rob
- I’m Rob Jones, and I approve this message.
Thanks to Moose (aka: Larry Watson) for this contribution via email.
Yeah… I’m gonna go with the theory that a good man could be driven to strong drink by being introduced to that particular promise.
I'm Rob Jones, and I approve this message.
Officer Robert Powell resigned today… and made a statement of contrition with a hope that others learn from this incident (see previous posts).
In the end he was contrite, maybe even convinced that he’d done wrong. It was *obvious* he knew he’d screwed up, but there is a difference between knowing you got yourself in trouble vs believing your actions were wrong.
He didnt acknowledge error during the incident, nor when questioned by his superiors after they were alerted by an officer from Plano that witnessed the travesty of justice.
He DID start to acknowledge he’d been wrong after:
- The Dallas Police Dept suspended him and started an Internal Affairs Investigation
- The City Council launched a separate investigation
- One Council member publicly called for his removal
- The dash tape generated a worldwide viral uproar of outrage
Yeah, that might be a sign you messed up.
Unfortunately a change of heart at that point is like a confession obtained under torture, you may say whatever you think somebody wants to hear in order to stop the pain.
Besides, it isnt that theres a need to see this kid grovel, even though he himself seemed to want others to do so in the presence of his badge. The issue is that until hit with the brunt of public fury it really never occurred to him that threatening people and saying things like “Shut your mouth… I can screw you over” is NOT a normal part of a traffic stop. He truly walked away from the incident thinking he’d done his job.
We ALL screw up. Unfortunately the problem isn’t JUST that he screwed up, it’s that he got into this job believing this is how people with a badge and a gun are allowed to treat the public. They can intimidate people and it is OK, because they ARE the law. Add his Xenga site posting where he looks forward to getting out of the academy so he can shoot people… and you have the profile of the last person I want to see with a badge.
I hope you find peace in another line of work Mr Powell, but apply for a job in law enforcement anywhere in this state I hope you are run out of town on a rail. Get counseling, but I dont want you to be pulling over any of my loved ones. You havent the maturity or judgemnt needed to babysit a houseplant.
Everyone has met their own Officer Robert Powell. The job attracts some for the wrong reasons. Hopefully this serves as notice for anyone that wants to use a badge as a boarding pass for an ego trip that the public will NOT tolerate abuse.
I'm Rob Jones, and I approve this message
To: Dallas City Council and Chief Kunkel
RE: Officer Robert Powell
Subj: Dismissal for “Conduct Unbecoming”
Exactly how long does it take to review a 20 minute video? If my math is right you can do it three times in one hour.
For ease of use, here’s the subject matter:
A review of the video is all it takes to decide this. I don’t care if Powell has also saved numerous kitties from trees… the public does NOT need to have an immature bully with a gun, a badge, and an “I can screw you over” attitude that is so ingrained he will verbalize it when he KNOWS he’s on tape.
Abuse under color of law is a VERY serious issue, and those that practice OR condone it are unfit to serve. That was NOT a traffic stop, that was assault with a deadly weapon.
I don’t know if Powell’s issues are with blacks, with blacks that are wealthier than him (aka: “uppity”), with *anyone* wealthier than him regardless of color, or just with anyone he thinks can power trip on. It doesn’t matter.
Simple fact:
He has issues that preclude handing him a gun and a badge with which to terrorize citizens.
Now that Texas has again had yet another 15 minutes of international shame thanks to a punk that anyone viewing the tape can see should have been cut during his initial psych eval… kindly do your job and get rid of him.
While you’re at it, get rid of ANY officer that considered his actions justifiable. It’d be a nice litmus test to detect power-tripping sociopaths. Correct answer: They were not.
BTW – A serious note… y’all take a look at this story on HonestLoneStar’s blog.
http://www.texasdiscussion.com/2009/…mother-in-law/
I’d planned on addressing it on my blog already, but it’s a story about an idiot Dallas Police officer (Robert Powell) who decided to let a guy that broke some traffic laws rushing to the hospital for his wife’s mom’s dying moments spend those moments being harassed about running a red light.
Talk about abuse of power
This officer should have his picture in the dictionary beside the phrase.
Here is the news report including THE DASHCAM VIDEO.
A Bully with Anger Issues – “I can screw you over…”
The officer drew his weapon on the desperate flustered man and his wife for running a red light. The wife ignored the idiot and went into the hospital. The husband remained below as the officer screamed at him, said “I can screw you over”, threatened to jail him for running the red light, threatened to jail him for not being able to locate proof-of-insurance (the officer could have checked himself, they now have computer access to the database), told the man “Shut your mouth!”, and in general acted like a bully with anger issues instead of a public servant.
Lack of Discretion, Judgment, or Human Decency
Common sense dictated letting the guy go up to the hospital room. Several nurses and a Plano cop begged the officer to do that, assuring the officer that the patient the guy came to see was dying even as events unfolded… but he persisted. The mother-in-law DIED while the guy was downstairs being screamed at by this idiot who should never have given handed a badge and a gun. There is a responsibility that comes with the job, and this guy doesn’t get it.
Watch the Dash Video
After I saw it, like pretty much everyone else here I found the officers actions to be ridiculous, asinine, inhumane, pedantic, and contemptible. I support the police in the performance of their duties, I do not however support giving guns and badges to immature bullies with anger issues and a total lack of sense or compassion.
Dallas Police Chief Kunkel
Chief Kunkel is a local guy from Hurst, graduated from Bell a few years before I got outta local rival Trinity. Given his background you know he was raised to believe this kinda behavior is wrong. This officer simultaneously reinforced pretty much every negative stereotype about policemen that exists, and his fellow officers don’t deserve to be tarred by his brush.
It isn’t good for the department to have Powell out there. He demeans the badge, and it is a violation of their commitment to public safety to allow a little bully with anger issues and zero judgment running around with a badge and a gun abusing people under color of law. I have no doubt Chief Kunkel will give his actions the appropriate due diligence, then unceremoniously return the little bully to the ranks of the public he obviously holds in such contempt.
There seem to be almost as many social networks as there are people on the net, but this one has gained enough traction that I figure ignoring it puts me behind the curve. Well, far be it from me to ignore the old adage that it’s easiest to ride a horse in the direction it’s already going.
For those that’ve been hiding under a rock, Twitter is like a mini-blog. It’s a stream of consciousness thing, people write short statements (it won’t take long ones) on whatever is on their mind. Like a blog, it isnt directed at specific individuals, it is seen by whoever “follows” your feed. Also like a blog, the vast majority of what you’ll see either doesnt pertain to you or is simply horse shit.
Maybe it’s a fad, maybe not, but nobody could afford to BUY the kinda publicity Twitter is getting on the news and various talk shows, and there are a lot of people utilizing it that might be worth following to see what they have to say.
Granted… I don’t fit that last part, but I can at least read what the one’s that do fit that profile have to say. Meantime, if you’re terminally bored or just addicted to reading the pithy and/or irascible nonsense with which I entertain myself (hey, it’s a gift), feel free to add me to your list. My Twitter address is:
Of course, for following what a few hundred of your closest friends say there’s already FaceBook, which lends itself a bit better to that purpose. [Btw, to those who bare their most intimate thoughts on FaceBook, WTF are you thinking!?]
Twitter might be a better app for following the thoughts of the truly newsworthy and such. For example, I don’t think George Stephanopolis is sitting around waiting for me to ask him to add me as a friend on FaceBook, but I can follow his posts on Twitter without imposing on his privacy.
Gotta admit the biggest draw for many Twitterers (not sure of the nomenclature, should they be called “twits”?) may be the simple fact that the Twitter dashboard doesn’t say “215 idiots are reading your blather”… it says “You have 215 followers”.
How could having “followers” not be good for morale?
I'm Rob Jones, and I approve this message.
Told Ya So…
Like I said when they did the OTHER bailout… the money would mostly go to the hogs at the trough and do pretty much zip. Now that’s the way it is being assessed, and I watched Nancy Pelosi blame that bailout on, imagine that, the Bush administration and all Republicans.
Yes, that’d be the same Pelosi that was the Speaker of the House when it was in a House controlled by the Democrats, the same Nancy Pelosi that literally screamed when it didnt pass the first time saying it was due to GOP holdouts (which is odd given the DNC majority… but math apparently isnt her strong suit).
Bailout #2… The Sequel
And as I said before, when that bailout failed, they’d be back for another. Just once I wish Washington politicians would quit living up to my low expectations.
But What About Saving the AutoMakers?!
Hell no. Handing tax dollars to the auto companies that painted their own way into a corner is designed to garner votes, nothing more. Politicians viewed as having “let GM die” are going to get lambasted by the employees that lost jobs, the stockholders that lost money, unions that lost a free lunch, the suppliers that went under in the process, and they’d lose their Washington gravy train job.
Propping up companies being robbed from the top by ridiculous executive compensation packages and looted from the bottom by stupid union regs is stupid. It’s like the movie “Weekend at Bernies” where the guys visiting a beach house discover the host is dead, so they spend the next few days posing him in lifelike positions.
HINT: The sumbitch is dead either way. Throwing tax dollars in after the money they’re hemorrhaging isnt bright.
When your computer OP system is corrupted do you…
- A – Do an op system “upgrade”?
- B – Wipe the hard drive and totally reinstall?
The answer is “B”. The auto companies are corrupted beyond repair. Doing “A” retains most of the errors.
Yes, let them crumble
Someone that has a brain will buy them and rebuild them without:
- Contractual obligations to pay silly sums to assholes at the top who expect golden parachutes and
- Having to live by union regs designed to stifle any semblance of a work ethic.
They’ll rise out of the ashes like a phoenix and be stronger for it.
What about the stock-holders?
Seriously, anyone recall these stockholders offering to donate their profits to the taxpayers in good times?
We are creating a terrible precedent if we let people to assume they can take any risk and keep it if they make money… but if they lose they get tax dollars. If they’d paid attention they’d have voted out the directors that allowed this to happen.
Putting it in perspective
If I go to a Vegas Roulette wheel and bet everything I own on 31 Red… can I keep the money if I win and ask for reimbursement if I lose?
No, and requiring every man woman and child in the nation to involuntarily fork over dollars to companies that ran their business as if that were the norm is possibly the stupidest idea to come out of Washington, and given their history that’s a pretty tall hurdle.
I'm Rob Jones... and I approve this message.
