In 1776, you needed flint, black powder, and balls to fire your weapon (pistol or long-rifle). Anyone of any age could walk into a general store and purchase any and all of these....even a 8-year old kid. Cash or credit via the local store keeper ensured the deal.
Statistically, there were 2.5 million Americans in 1776. We can figure, with our current statistics, that we had around ten percent of the nation that were alcoholics or mentally ill. That comes out to around 250,000 people that were a potential threat in 1776.
Strangely enough, by the time you counted swamp fever, chorea, yellow fever, rattlesnake bites, and pneumonia victims....you didn't really have to worry about being shot.
Over the course of 200-odd years....we didn't really care to think about or create the rules on flint, black powder, balls, or bullets. We actually advanced into the 1950s before anyone got around to some age requirement on the purchase of weapons.
The curious thing is that we've had a system for 200 years that allowed nuts the ability to purchase flint, black powder, balls, bullets and guns. There are no "*'s" listed in the Constitution to say that crazy folks can't buy weapons. The same is true that we don't have rules to stop crazy people from running for President, or voting in local elections. In fact, as long as you avoid a felony.....you retain your right to vote and could be certified as absolutely insane.
The difference in two hundred years? Flint, black powder and balls required a good minute for someone to load and fire. So he'd get off one good shot, and might be halfway through the loading procedure before you brought your handy Choctaw Indian hatchet up to the throwing angle and directed into the guy's body. One shot....maybe two max. That's it. You could kill one guy and that was pretty much the end of your personal vendetta....and then the reaction by the guy's friend was quick and ended judgement over whether you were insane or not. Being dead....kinda finished up the legal issue.
So what I'm suggesting here is something that came to be readily true in 1776.....the Constitution was written to give you access to rifles....single-shot rifles. And this meant flint, black powder, and balls. For the folks who talk excessively on the Constitution and your rights....Jefferson basically meant for you to have access to a simple weapon, with flint, black powder and balls. He did not write it to mean a 7-round clip or a 20-round clip, or even a 50-round clip.
Simplicity here draws you back to the state of affairs in 1776. You didn't have mass killings. You had one guy shot, and then the guy who pulled the trigger was usually killed by an associate. That was the extent of what they envisioned, and frankly.....it all kinda worked. Flint, black powder, and balls.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Bama Governor
Typically, most of us folks from Bama never get too peppy about our governors. It's safe to say out of every ten.....eight of them are idiots or folks that you'd really prefer not to mention much in public. It usually takes six months to a year after they take office....before you start feeling this way. With our new guy....Robert Bentley....it only took an hour or two after taking office....to get that 'not-too-peppy' feeling about the guy.
He came out quickly in a speech on Monday....announcing that while he plans to be the governor of all Alabamians....thus being totally color-blind.....he also mentioned that folks who aren't ''saved" Christians....aren't his brothers and sisters.
Course, later...he did explain that he didn't intend to insult anyone. Nope....this was never his intention. He just wanted folks to know up front and on day one....that they'd need to be "saved" Christians....otherwise, they weren't to be his brothers or sisters.
I sat and pondered over this. Frankly, the best that most of us from Bama can now say....is that we've got four years to wait this out....before we can dump this guy. Typically...we got through the first year.....and maybe into the second...before we got this feeling. So this might take a while, and a bit of patience.
The preacher scheme to run Bama government? Well....it'll be hard for the newspaper folks to take him serious. They will ask how jobs will come to Bama, and he'll launch into a Moses-on-the-mount moment where 'God will bring jobs to Bama'. You can imagine the editor to the Mobile Press-Register standing there and trying to figure out what that truly means. Then the reporter for the Florence Times will stand up and ask how crime can be contained in Bama....and the response will be that 'God will deliver evil unto the authorities'. After about a dozen comments like this....most reporters will look around for Miss Alabama to comment on bringing peace to Bama because it'll sound more realistic than whatever the governor says.
My fix for this? It's time to bring out a couple of actors and finally put on the Bama governor show....an honest-to-God movie. Let's demonstrate how a couple of newspapers pump up a guy's 'legend', then forget to ask any real questions....and then get everyone to vote for the idiot. Yes, I'm suggesting to embarrass everyone as much as possible. This is the only way that folks will realize how stupid they tend to vote.
As for next week in Bama? It's 'fight-Satan' week and we need all you folks to pray hard for our governor to take on Satan across the entire state. Naturally....this might mean making the entire state 'dry'. I'm hoping you can all learn to live in such a good clean Christan environment. If not....you can always move to Mississippi. (That was only sarcasm).
He came out quickly in a speech on Monday....announcing that while he plans to be the governor of all Alabamians....thus being totally color-blind.....he also mentioned that folks who aren't ''saved" Christians....aren't his brothers and sisters.
Course, later...he did explain that he didn't intend to insult anyone. Nope....this was never his intention. He just wanted folks to know up front and on day one....that they'd need to be "saved" Christians....otherwise, they weren't to be his brothers or sisters.
I sat and pondered over this. Frankly, the best that most of us from Bama can now say....is that we've got four years to wait this out....before we can dump this guy. Typically...we got through the first year.....and maybe into the second...before we got this feeling. So this might take a while, and a bit of patience.
The preacher scheme to run Bama government? Well....it'll be hard for the newspaper folks to take him serious. They will ask how jobs will come to Bama, and he'll launch into a Moses-on-the-mount moment where 'God will bring jobs to Bama'. You can imagine the editor to the Mobile Press-Register standing there and trying to figure out what that truly means. Then the reporter for the Florence Times will stand up and ask how crime can be contained in Bama....and the response will be that 'God will deliver evil unto the authorities'. After about a dozen comments like this....most reporters will look around for Miss Alabama to comment on bringing peace to Bama because it'll sound more realistic than whatever the governor says.
My fix for this? It's time to bring out a couple of actors and finally put on the Bama governor show....an honest-to-God movie. Let's demonstrate how a couple of newspapers pump up a guy's 'legend', then forget to ask any real questions....and then get everyone to vote for the idiot. Yes, I'm suggesting to embarrass everyone as much as possible. This is the only way that folks will realize how stupid they tend to vote.
As for next week in Bama? It's 'fight-Satan' week and we need all you folks to pray hard for our governor to take on Satan across the entire state. Naturally....this might mean making the entire state 'dry'. I'm hoping you can all learn to live in such a good clean Christan environment. If not....you can always move to Mississippi. (That was only sarcasm).
The Stand-Up and Count Strategy
This week...the effort in Congress will start over the health care business. The Republican Congress will pass the repeal in quick fashion. My guess is that they will carry all of the Republican Congressmen, and maybe even a dozen Democrats.
As it moves to the Senate....it will face a shortage of votes. My best guess is that it carries all 47 Republican votes and maybe even three Democratic votes....falling short of the 60.
So it never moves past that point. The entire strategy here? They know it will fail one way or another....but the effort is to get political figures to vote "no" and to identify them for the 2012 race. The feeling is that they can use this 'no' vote as a political tool and take down another dozen Democratic Senators.
The potential for this strategy? The President is being quiet about expenditures for his race but it came out over the weekend that he's preparing to spend almost $1 billion on his re-election....which ought to help the Democratic party and the Congressmen and Senators involved. The only trouble I see with this suggestion is that 'big' money donations typically come from companies or industry......and they have been mostly negative against him over the past two years. So the money would have come from the public sector....private citizens. It's difficult to view this as an achievable result.
The next step after the health care law is preserved? The Supreme Court. And based on the increasing number of law suites each month....I'd say the odds keep increasing that bits and pieces of the law will be tossed. Statistically....it'll be difficult to preserve it intact, and without the "all citizens" part of the law.....I'm guessing it's kinda doomed for failure.
As it moves to the Senate....it will face a shortage of votes. My best guess is that it carries all 47 Republican votes and maybe even three Democratic votes....falling short of the 60.
So it never moves past that point. The entire strategy here? They know it will fail one way or another....but the effort is to get political figures to vote "no" and to identify them for the 2012 race. The feeling is that they can use this 'no' vote as a political tool and take down another dozen Democratic Senators.
The potential for this strategy? The President is being quiet about expenditures for his race but it came out over the weekend that he's preparing to spend almost $1 billion on his re-election....which ought to help the Democratic party and the Congressmen and Senators involved. The only trouble I see with this suggestion is that 'big' money donations typically come from companies or industry......and they have been mostly negative against him over the past two years. So the money would have come from the public sector....private citizens. It's difficult to view this as an achievable result.
The next step after the health care law is preserved? The Supreme Court. And based on the increasing number of law suites each month....I'd say the odds keep increasing that bits and pieces of the law will be tossed. Statistically....it'll be difficult to preserve it intact, and without the "all citizens" part of the law.....I'm guessing it's kinda doomed for failure.
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