Finding my center

As you read this, I will be about halfway through a week long Caribbean cruise with my new girlfriend. I say new, even though we have now been together for two months. We are enjoying some alone time. One of our common interests is travel, and I think one of the points of this trip is to see if we can stand to be around each other for more than a couple of days at a time.

We will be enjoying Grand Cayman and Cozumel, as well as the cruise ship itself.

Life is good.

Selfies for Defense

The Democrats, as evidenced by the Obama administration countering a possible Russian invasion of the Ukraine by having the State Department Tweet out a 'Selfie' are clueless when it comes to countering people intent on performing violent acts.

This comes as no surprise to me. This has been the plan that Democrats have had here in the US for years. A person tries to rob you? Just give them what they want, and they will go away, but whatever you do, do not resist with violence, you will only make things worse.

Maybe the State Department will next advise the Ukrainians to pee or vomit on themselves as the Russian Troops cross the border.

Disney

Disney has a no weapons policy for everyone. If they find out you have a weapon on their property, they do their best to have you arrested. Since many of the deputies that are on property are working there as a side job while wearing their taxpayer supplied uniform, weapon, and radio, and are standing there doing their employer's (Disney's) bidding while being covered in the qualified immunity afforded to police officers, the person caught with a weapon on property is often arrested for SOMETHING, and then trespassed.

Of course, when their employers are accused of an actual crime like pedophilia or distribution and possession of child pornography, they are given a free pass.

This policy leaves guests and employees defenseless against criminals. This explains why the critters have started robbing Disney employees who are on their way home.

I go to the theme parks. I carry a gun. That is exactly why.

In the name of safety

The problem with laws that are passed to make us safe, is that this can be used to justify nearly anything. For example, safety is cited when police ticket people $280 for throwing a football at an NFL tailgate party.

Hey voters: Go F*uck yourselves

A Rhode Island state senator recently told an Infowars reporter to go fuck himself after the reporter asked whether the senator knew what "shall not be infringed" meant with regards to the Second Amendment. The senator released an apology of sorts after the video of the expletive went viral. The apology gives us a larger view of the senator's true colors: 

At the end of a press conference in which I participated, an individual representing a website notorious for conspiracy theories started berating members of the coalition and intimidating elderly veterans, members of the clergy and victims of violence.
It quickly became a highly charged atmosphere, which required the presence of the Capitol Police. The individual in question is not new to the State House and is known for his aggressive and intimidating manner. He also was interrupting legitimate members of the media who were attempting to conduct interviews.
After watching him antagonize an elderly veteran he swung his camera my way, which produced a very human and guttural reaction. I respect both the Second Amendment and the First Amendment. It is important to note that the individual in question was physically removed from a committee room by the Capitol Police later that evening.
Regardless of the emotions and atmosphere of the moment, it does not justify the language I used that day. Out of respect for the decorum of the State House and the constituents I represent, I offer my apologies. (emphasis added)

 You hear that? Only certain members of the media are considered to be 'legitimate' and anyone not on the approved list deserves to be told to go fuck themselves, and will be removed from the capitol by the armed guards of the state.
The First Amendment applies to everyone, you dickhole. A US government that forgets that may soon find itself being reminded why the Second Amendment is not to be infringed. Were I a Rhode Island voter, I would do all in my power to ensure that this douche nozzle lost the next election.

Sleepy man banjo boys

These kids are incredible. They are brohters, and the banjo player is only 9 years old.

Rude behavior

I drive a Dodge Challenger with the 5.7L Hemi. One of the first things that I did when I bought the car was to have the exhaust straight piped. This makes the car fairly loud, and for this reason, people often think the car is going faster than it is.
Periodically, I have people (always women) yell at me to slow down. The conversation usually goes like this:

Woman: "You should slow down. The speed limit here is X."
Me: "How fast do you think I was going?"
Her: "Too fast."
Me: "Are you a cop?"
Her: "You need to slow down."
Me: "Go fuck yourself."

I have been told that I am being rude. I agree. However, when another person appoints themselves as the monitor of my behavior, my attitude of "you're not the boss of me" kicks in, and I tell them to stop. While rude, I don't think it is out of line.
The stopping distance of my car from 30 mph is 23 feet. The stopping distance for a minivan from 20 mph? 25 feet. Why? Because I have
Anyway, just who appointed you to be the traffic monitor?

Prohibited people

New Hampshire's House recently passed HB1410. This law redefines domestic violence to include animal cruelty. Cruelty in this case is defined as "acts or omissions injurious or detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of any animal, including the abandoning of any animal without proper provision for its care, sustenance, protection or shelter." The text of HB1410 is here. The legal definition of animal cruelty is here.

This can result in any person that breaks up with their domestic partner and moves out of the house without making arrangements for the goldfish to be taken care of being slapped with a domestic violence restraining order, even if there is no evidence that the person in question has committed any violent act. This, in turn, will result in the person in question becoming a "prohibited person" for the ownership or possession of firearms under Federal law.

Slippery slope is not a fallacious argument.

Equality sucks

Equality sucks, if you are normally part of the privileged class, that is. Recently, 40 Sheriffs went to address the state legislature in Oklahoma, and were told that they had to either disarm or leave. They chose to leave.

Many conservatives applaud the sheriff's position and think that the legislature was wrong. Not me. The cops did not do this as some kind of protest against stupid gun restrictions. They walked out because they feel that they are above the rules that the rest of us are forced to follow:

Colbert doesn't know for sure which senator complained, but has his own complaints about the complainer.
"We're the people that protect these people," he said. 

 The cops don't care one whit about your rights to arms. They care only about their power and privilege. This was not a stand for rights, but a turf battle between two sets of elected officials.

More improvements

Because of my recent data security problems, I finally wound up changing everything. I now have new bank account numbers, a new phone number, and all of my internet passwords have been changed. The only things I haven't changed are my street address and my email address.

In other news, the woman that I began dating 5 weeks ago and I have agreed that we should stop seeing anyone else, so that we can see where things go without distractions. Life continues to improve.

Grayson is a prohibited person

Stop me if you've heard this one before: An anti-gun congressman is a prohibited person, forbidden by Federal law from owning or possession of a firearm.

Alan Grayson believes that gun control is the way to go.The very law that he once supported is being used against him.

My own view is that domestic violence injunctions are far too often used falsely as a lever in court, but I admit to a certain amount of schadenfreude when I see an anti-gunner hoist on his own petard.

Like us, only better

An off duty cop is arrested for DUI after leaving a local country music bar. As the state trooper is doing the arresting, the cop under arrest tells him that his career is over because he dared to arrest another police officer. Bravo to the trooper, and I hope this entitled piece of shit that he arrested sees an end to his career.

I would also point out that the deputy who was arrested for DUI after the trooper spotted him going 60 mph in a 35 mph zone and followed him for over a mile as he watched him weave all over the road, is allowed to carry a concealed weapon nearly anywhere in the nation without a permit for the remainder of his life, even if he is convicted of the crime of which he has been accused.

Why? Because cops are more trustworthy than the rest of us, or something.

Tort reform needed

I truly believe that many people and businesses only do what is right when they are faced with a lawsuit. Nothing gets a person's attention like a subpoena. It is one of our basic rights: you have the right to sue someone to enforce a contract or other obligation.

With that being said, the law is abused far too often. Case in point: An 18 year old woman is suing her parents because they won't pay for her to go to college, after she moved out because she didn't want to abide by the house rules set forth by her parents.

There has to be some way to stop this type of foolishness without trampling on the rights of those who actually DO need the courts to enforce their rights.

Winter in Florida

I went SCUBA diving on Sunday afternoon. Here is what the weather at the marina was like:

The water was flat and 76 degrees, the air temp was a beautiful 82.

 It was a fine Florida winter afternoon. My apologies to those of you in more northern climates.