A Liberal Dose Of Crazy Outside Our Door

I walked out of our apartment today and immediately noticed the car parked in front of me leaving little room for me to walk passed. After mumbling a few choice words about visitors parking in resident spaces and the specific orifice they resemble, I began reading the collage of stickers blanketing the front bumper. As I read this brilliant little snippets of mental flatulence it seemed as though the breeze carried a faint wisp of patchouli. With my curiosity piqued, I had to see what was plastered on the back of this tiny car.

Well, I can’t say that I agreed with everything that was being pitched on this mobile billboard but what really got me is just how blatantly liberal and uncompromising a simple car can be. Additionally, the contrary nature of the views expressed demonstrate a lack of follow through with their own thoughts. While I wish I had also gotten a picture of the front bumper, the basic gist of it was contrary to those stickers on the back… the two that I specifically recall are the pro-choice and supporting the rights of all people.

You read that correctly and probably reacted the same way. The same person that preaches peace and pro-life on the back supports abortion on the front. The same person that supports the rights of all people on the front is happy to strip the individual right to bear arms on the back. It is not even a matter of voicing an opinion it is the fact that they don’t know what opinion they have… there is even a bumper sticker on top of a bumper sticker.

Now I am not a stranger to having things stuck to my car but I am very conservative (in more ways than one) about what I have displayed. I have a couple Masonic symbols on the back of my trunk along with a Philly Friendship Circle magnet, a NRA sticker and college stickers in my back window (on the edges so that my field of view is not obscured) and a Rotary sticker in my back side window. Honestly, I think my little collection is pushing it but this lady (as I found out later that the owner was actually a female hippie) took it to a whole different level.

I can and will stand behind everything that I stick to my car and I feel they are consistent with my views and beliefs… they represent one voice. Many believe that your car says a lot about you and, to a certain extent, I can support that theory. But that isn’t always the case anymore… while Herbie may have been a VW Beetle it is obvious that times have changed, now we have Sybil the Honda Fit. I think that may be the perfect bumper sticker for that little car.

Say Goodbye To Baseball Bats

I know the title has some of you thinking about the meaning behind the statement but it really is very simple. I have decided to take the advice of the President and will start doing anything I can to save lives. After all, “if it saves one life, it’s worth it.” And so begins the campaign to ban baseball bats or, at the very least, require a background check in order to purchase one. It only makes sense to start looking at sources of unregulated weapons (especially if they’re black and scary looking) to ban or control first before going after other items (themselves innocuous) used in crimes.

Essentially, a criminal can walk into any sporting goods store, Wal-Mart, or thrift shop and buy a weapon without showing any form of idea, without filling out any forms, and without a background check having been completed. Even children can buy bats at numerous retailers, even the tactical black models. How long are we going to sit on the sidelines quietly and wait for these kids to recreate the meeting scene from “The Untouchables”. This unregulated market needs to stopped and only professional athletes paid to play this sport and certified trainers should have access to these items with such deadly potential.

Of course, this is only the first of many initiatives. Knives are also an unregulated weapon which children and the mentally unstable have easy access to and the same can be said for household cleaners, fast food, and power tools. All of these things have been the cause of death on countless occasions. Also, while tobacco, alcohol, cars, and prescriptions are regulated to a certain degree, they are still prevalent aspects of daily life which also cause a substantial amount of deaths every year. Ban them all and save thousands of lives. Maybe tens or hundreds of thousands of lives.

I know what you’re asking, but why would I chose to go after baseball bats and not guns? Well, they simply aren’t as big of a concern. Contrary to the rhetoric being bandied about recently, those statistics are trending in the right direction and, therefore, should not be our first priority. After all, at least you have to pass a background check to legally buy a firearm. But why take my word for it…

As was reported by the U.S. Department of Justice and Pew Research Center, gun crime statistics continue to steadily decline while gun ownership, especially in recent years, has experienced a sharp rise. According to DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. gun-related homicides dropped 39 percent over the course of 18 years, from 18,253 during 1993, to 11,101 in 2011. During the same period, non-fatal firearm crimes decreased even more, a whopping 69 percent. The majority of those declines in both categories occurred during the first 10 years of that time frame. Firearm homicides declined from 1993 to 1999, rose through 2006, and then declined again through 2011. Non-fatal firearm violence declined from 1993 through 2004, then fluctuated in the mid-to-late 2000s.

Additionally, Pew researchers observed that the huge amount of attention devoted to gun violence incidents in the media has caused most Americans to be unaware that gun crime is “strikingly down” from 20 years ago. In fact, gun-related homicides in the late 2000s were “equal to those not seen since the early 1960s.” Yet their survey found that 56 percent believed gun-related crime is higher, 26 percent believed it stayed about the same, and 6 percent didn’t know. Only 12 percent of those polled thought it was lower.

In the end, if you really want to save a life, turn in your baseball bat and buy a gun.

Happy Unday!

For some, including many of my fellow Rotarians, today was one of celebration as most of the world celebrated United Nations Day. There were long speeches given and countless messages of peace and recollections of what the UN has done for the world. And I am one that whole heartedly agrees that the UN has done some phenomenal work to make this world a better place.

However, this international body is a shell of what it once was and the blind faith and loyalty that some have given to this misguided body is naïve at best. What was once a means to ensure the freedom of people around the world has veered so off course that now they are trying to strip United States citizens of their rights and their freedom like they have in so many countries in recent years. How sad it that?

What makes the situation even worse is the fact that this ‘impartial’ body of, let’s be honest, politicians refuses to enforce any real sanctions that would have a measurable impact on the nations of this world that have promoted and preached hate over the last several decades (and longer). Oh, that’s right, we can’t punish those who deserve it because they may not like us and that wouldn’t be nice. After all, if I make them mad they might break my rose tinted glasses.

However, what is downright shameful is the way that the UN has treated Israel while pandering to the Palestinian Authority. Almost every time, if not every time, Israel defends herself against countless attacks who is the one that gets blamed by the United Nations for the ‘hostilities’? That’s right; Israel is the one that is blamed because they gave a quick jab to the jaw of someone that was running at them throwing haymakers.

The UN has been diluted into a delusional CF comprised of castrated politicians that more closely resemble a fanny pack (those in Ireland will understand what is truly meant by the use of that expression) rather than a just delegation of international representatives. So, rather that celebrating UN Day, from now on I am simply going to consider it an unday. A day when we think about how far we have come and so far we have gone off track.

Hopefully, the United Nations can resurrect itself and realize that the utopia that rattles around in their heads is by no means reality and if you want the support of the people you must support and uphold the rights and freedoms of the people. The UN must be in opposition of those try and strip us of our rights. They must oppose those who serve as catalysts of conflict.

It is time to stop being pukes and start acting like a drill sergeant…