Gun Control

For all of you who think guns are evil, I want you to try this exercise. Go to one of your gun owning friends, if you have any and ask to look at one of their guns. Take the gun, load it, take the safety off, and then set it down on the kitchen table. Observe the evilness of the gun as it sets there. Watch as it searches for an innocent bystander to maim and kill. Be careful that it doesn’t see you as it may decide to target you. What’s that, it’s not doing anything? Maybe it’s broken, try this with several guns. They all just set there? That’s because they are inanimate objects. They are incapable of evil or good. They are tools, just like a hammer or a screwdriver. They have a particular purpose that they are designed for, like all other tools, and require a human to use them. Whether that human use the gun for good or evil is in the heart and mind of the one who holds it, not in the gun. Some gun control legislation is important, to keep evil people from obtaining guns through fraudulent means, i.e. felony record checks for those attempting to purchase firearms. However, ostracizing one third of the American population with overbearing and intrusive gun control laws is a sure fire way to emotionally and politically separate law abiding, good citizens from their elected government. Criminals don’t obey laws, so control laws do not affect them. Not only that, but an evil person will kill you just as dead with a hammer or screwdriver if that is their intent. Think about how many lives are saved by firearms everyday instead of the very few lost. Here are a few good things firearms bring us:

Hundreds of police officers and the public at large are saved from being victims of violence through the use of firearms to maintain order and effectively subdue criminals.
Millions of varmints and dangerous wild animals that carry diseases and kill livestock, and humans, are killed each year, protecting our food supply and health.
The Sovereignty of America is protected each day by the hundreds of thousands of men and women who take up arms to defend the very things that make America great.
Hunters do a great deal of wildlife maintenance and preservation; and leasing of hunting grounds helps to keep nature intact instead of the land being stripped and farmed.
Countless firearm owners have contributed greatly to the economy since Obama’s electoral win, spending millions on rifles, handguns, and ammunition.


FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE

1. "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson

2. Those who trade liberty for security have neither. ~John Adams

3. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

4. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

5. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

6. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

7. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

8. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

9. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

10. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

11. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

12. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.

13. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

14. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you NOT understand?

15. Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians.

16. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves

17. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

Outback

This will probably sound like a Subaru commercial, but since this is a true story, think what you will.
This morning, a particularly stormy, rainy wet morning, I came up on a car with its flashers on. Since civilization is quite far away and cell reception spotty at best, I stopped to see what the matter was. Of course it was a group of kids acting stupid, stopped out there to potty and got their car stuck in the ditch. So I go and get my tow strap, but thanks to General Motors engineers, there is absolutely nothing to put a tow strap on to on their car(no wonder GM is out of business). So I decide I’m going to try to push them up out of the ditch from behind. Of course these kids are certain I’ll get stuck, so I told them I’ve never had the car stuck before, but I didn’t know if it would move their car in the mud. So I go around and head into the ditch, which is sloppy, but not any real problem for the Outback. I line up behind the kids car and ease up. I ride the clutch to try keep a little traction but start to spin anyway, and the car isn’t moving. I was a little dismayed that it wasn’t working, so I figured since I’m here I may as well give it hell. I let the clutch out and punch it, tires spinning and mud flying everywhere. In short order, my Outback catches traction, and pushes the other car right back onto the road. They are quite amazed and thanked me profusely for helping them. I told next time they decide to play in the mud, to get an all-wheel drive, and went on my way. My Subaru outback has almost 100k miles and has not needed anything other than scheduled maintenance and tires since I bought it at 60K. I don’t think mine is a fluke either, Subaru’s are gaining in popularity, and it’s because they are a solid well made vehicle. Not only they are made more in America than American cars are. So next time you decide you want a go anywhere do anything vehicle, check out Subaru. They bad A$$.

Gift Idea

I received this email today:

Christmas Gift Ideas- No not a Christmas list or "gift" idea. But a new way to give to your children. In order to simplify things in your household this Christmas consider this idea.
For each child (or Adult) give four items to fit into each category of- NEED, WANT, WEAR, READ.
And then you can still do a Santa gift if you like, just for the Magic of Christmas:)

So give something the child Needs, Something they Want, something they Wear (PJ's as the Christmas Eve gift is a great idea) and something to Read.

It will make each gift much more special and you can perhaps be able to purchase more quality items instead of spreading out your budget over a dozen toys.

After all Christmas isn't about the presents anyway. This is a great way to control spending, and not end up with a bunch of plastic parts to lots of toys scattered all over the house after Christmas.
Trust me your Children will not miss those, and neither will you!

Pass this idea along!

My Thoughts:

This is truly a great Idea. That old worn out cliché, “It’s the thought that counts” is really a very intriguing piece of wisdom. Instead of going out and purchasing a bunch of low quality, cheap and otherwise useless bunch of “stuff”, actually think about the four things. Plan your purchases instead of going to the store and throwing the brightest colored box in cart and waving around the almighty credit card in some idiotic gesture of indulgence. Think, that’s the thought part, about what your loved ones really need, and really want. Your loved ones, and your wallet will thank you. I have seen my family spend exorbitant amounts of money on my kids for Christmas. They want to see the glimmer of glee in their eyes that they had as a child. The only problem is that everyone is so overloaded with ‘stuff’ these days that the thoughts are hollow, and the glee isn’t there. We have donated so much “stuff” to charities after Christmas, sometimes still in unopened boxes that it’s difficult to imagine what “thought” went into those gifts. In my observation, there are generally only two toys each year that my kids play with constantly after Christmas time is over. That’s it 2 toys per season. So say you have a budget of $100 per kid. You do have a budget, right? You can buy ten, ten dollar gifts, of which two will make the cut(maybe). Or you can get two $50 gifts that will most likely be cherished, especially if you put thought into it. One way, you waste $80, the latter, you get your money’s worth. Besides, those $10 gifts usually aren’t a high enough quality to last till next year, while some $50 gifts will last a lifetime. I.e. I still have my original Legend of Zelda cartridge from when I was a kid. I occasionally play it just to remember those “Good old” days. So THINK about the gifts you give and who you will give them to, and everyone will be much happier this Christmas, except maybe Wal-mart’s CEO.

Tough Guys

Boy you have got to love tough guys! Always showing off how tough they are, putting out cigarettes on their arms, starting fights and generally showing that they don’t give a damn about anything. Real tough, not afraid of anything! At least so they seem. I want to see just one of those tough guys willingly go through this scenario: First, a sound thrashing with a cat-o-nine tails. Now the cat-o-nine tails is truly cruel piece of arsenal. It is a whip, actually several whips attached to one handle. And on the whips are barbs and blades which, when some into contact with living flesh, literally tear chunks out and shred it like cheese. Serious pain. After that, carry a 200 pound cross up a large hill several miles away, while being beaten and jeered at the entire way. Once you get up the hill, have your hands and feet nailed to the cross you just carried up the hill, and then slowly and painfully suffocate while some one shoves a feces soaked sponge in your mouth. Any takers? Where are you tough guys now? Jesus was a REAL tough guy. He could have stopped the whole thing at any time and rained down fire on his tormentors. But he didn’t. He knew he had a job to do and he saw it through to the end. He didn’t hate his enemies or destroy them even though he could have easily done so. He prayed for them and forgave them instead.
So, how tough are you? Will you see your job trough to the end? Can you forgive your tormentors? Will you take up your cross? Want to be a REAL tough guy? It’s not easy being a real Christian, it in fact makes life tougher. But you get a real tough guy watching your back 24/7, keeping you from losing your way and helping you see your job through to the end. This life is not about us, it’s about Him.

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Psalms 18:32-34