Justin Jones, a member of the Tennessee house (district 52) was expelled for behavior and then reinstated. By chance I saw him and a Republican in a conversation on TV. I wish I could recall it verbatim but I simply did not anticipate that I would need to.
At any rate, this is something how it went. Rep. Jones insisted that we should remove guns from people, sorry, I don’t have the context. The Republican argued that in countries where there are no guns, people resort to knives, cars and steel pipes. Then he used my favorite, the first weapon used for murder was a rock. I’ve used the example many times.
As the republican continued to try to reason, Rep. Jones kept saying that we should remove the weapons from the people. I don’t specifically know if Jones actually meant it, but it seems to me he was suggesting that we should also remove knives, cars and steel pipes from the public. I don’t know about you, but that would certainly make it difficult to prepare food and eat it. Most steaks do not come pre-cut to bite sized.
Now when I heard that, it simply hit me like a brick. (which, as you know, can be used as a weapon) I figure he just really can’t be that dumb. The man did go to college. On the other hand, maybe it is his reasoning that is broke. I mean it is beyond reason and literally impossible to remove all possible weapons.
It immediately brought to mind the thing they had on TV 6 or 7 years ago where the warden of a major prison had a wall full of weapons taken from prisoners, some of which were use to kill other prisoners. If weapons cannot be kept from prisoners, how in the world can we keep them from people in a free society. I mean most anyone can go down the supermarket and buy knives. Pipes can be purchased at hardware stores, as well as rocks. On he other hand you can usually find them on the ground most anywhere.
Moreover, even if it were possible to remove all weapons, a person still has his hands. As an example, the word, karate litterally means open hand. It is well known that people holding black belts in karate can use their hands as deadly weapons. Then, of course, there is simple brute size and force…a 300 pound man. I would assume Rep. Jones would insist the man go on a diet to remove his advantage. From the looks of things, the man could certainly present a threat to Jones. It just might be a situation in which Jones might prefer to have a 9 mm; or maybe a 10.
For those who are not as large, for those who are female, the gun makes a very good equalizer. The big man might want to attack a 5 ft. woman, but not one with a gun. That would be a bad idea. If it is legal to carry a gun, then the 300 pound man must assume any woman might be armed. If it is not legal, then it becomes somewhat open season on 5 foot women.
I would suspect that Jones knows all this. I would suspect he is just playing dumb. That would mean he would have another reason to disarm the citizenry of the country. I think I have a pretty good idea what it might be.
Monthly Archives: August 2023
The Minimums
I didn’t really watch the debate last night. First, I don’t have cable so I couldn’t. Second, it didn’t seem I would learn anything new to me. However, I did see bits and pieces on the broadcast channels, mainly CBS.I noticed that there were some remarks about abortion. I don’t know why people are so deadest on allowing the killing of the unborn under any circumstances and, of course at taxpayers expense.Those who have been reading my posts know what I think. However, just for those who don’t know, I believe at least 4 requirements should be made, preferably at the federal level.
1. Every mother should be required to see a sonogram. They say it is a medical procedure. Well all medical procedures require informed consent. If the patient is not informed, how can she give her informed consent?
2. Doctors, nurses, and facilities should meet minimum standards to prevent complications. The pro-abortion people try to use the concept of hanger abortions to further their case. Well, let’s make sure that if it is done, it should be safe. As of now, using a hanger is legal in some states.
3. Proper followup should be required. The doctor performing the abortion should at least make a cursory examination to make sure there were no complications. Most doctors want to do followups even for simple stitches to check for proper healing and that there is no infection. Complications in abortions are far more common than with stitches.
4. For girls under 18, parent permission should be required. At the least, they should be informed. If things go sideways, the parents are going to pay for the extra medical care required, which can be very expensive. More important, they need to know to look for problems so that they can be treated right away…before they become serious, perhaps fatal.
As kind of a side note: if there are problems, the doctor should be every bit as liable as any other physician. It helps in two ways. The doctor will be more careful. Also, if the doctor caused a problem due to criminal negligence, he needs to be prosecuted.
Opposition
Isn’t it nice to live in a country where the party in power kills those in the opposing party? I understand there is at least some suspicion that Putin had the plane shot down with what he felt was his opposition. I don’t know for sure, but I certainly would not put it past him. Putin is a controller who has the desire to control. Anyone that threatens that control is in danger of losing his life, or maybe more.
Of course, we don’t do that sort of thing here, do we. Now given another couple of decades, who knows. Of course we are well on the way to incarcerating the opposition and everyone associated with him. That is not that far away from Putin, is it.
Now, Here’s a Wild Idea
President Trump will soon travel to Atlanta and among other things they will set bail. I have thought about that. What if he decides to not post bail. I mean, he can certainly afford it. However, I don’t believe he has to.
Just what might happen? First, I doubt that anyone made any plans for it. It would mean that they would have to put the former president in jail. With him, invariably would be some Secret Service agents, maybe 5, maybe as many as 10.
Then too, just how much would it cost the county and or state. What kind of jail cell is he going to get? For him to be safe, he needs to live, sleep, shower and eat separate than the rest of the jail population.
Do you suppose, in light of the problems, they just might tell him to go to a hotel or perhaps back to Florida. Do you suppose they migh tell him to skip the bail.
As I said, a wild thought. I would like to see what would happen if Trump even made the threat not to make bond. You think that might send them into a tizzy?
President Trump would also have another big advantage. Old Joe ran his campaign from his basement. Trump will greatly out do him. He’ll run his campaign from the depths of a jail, and in a cell. It actually could be turned into a campaign slogan.
Moreover, they will have to feed Mr. Trump, 3 meals a day. I suppose they will also have to feed the secret service agents as well. They might even have to provide some kind of an operation center to work from.
Besides all this, it just might get Old Joe’s goat. He would not like Trump upstaging him. I mean, do you have any idea how much media attention it would draw.
Relations in the Workplace
When I was younger, I saw no problem with workplace romances. I mean, how many romance novels are based on secretaries marrying their bosses? It does sound nice. Sometimes, it actually works.
After years of looking back over things, I do have a little different perspective. There are at least five possible problems that can surface with close relations in the workplace. There might be more.
- The obvious one. It has two edges. A person might show favoritism to a subordinate. I have seen this firsthand and it can get ugly. It can become a fast morale problem. On the other hand, to keep from showing favoritism, the person might be rougher on the favored one. That is almost as bad. It can hold back a person who deserves credit and advancement.
- While a relationship is great today, it might turn sour overnight. It can cause a disruption and might ever bring things to a stop in the environment. Many times, it means that one or the other; or both might have to leave.
- Fraternization during business can be slow progress and can be distracting, throughout the office. Anyone who has been around office life very long knows exactly what I mean. While the couple is supposed to be working, they just might be doing other things.
- It can result in love triangles. Now really. Is this what a manager wants in his office…outbreaks in the office of one person fighting another over the desires of the third. This can really get bad if more than three are involved.
- One or the other or both might be married. Now that’s a disaster waiting to happen. Need I explain?
I am far from being an expert in the subject. However, I have seen many instances of friction in the workplace without the romances. There is competition: anger because the other guy was promoted; so and so got the weekend off and I had to work; and so on. There is no need inviting more problems.
It is the small list of what managers have to cope with continually. I have seen it and I’m sure anyone that has had a job for a while has seen it too.
Of course, this is something to be decided by the leadership of each business. If the management can deal with, or if they think they must deal the problems, it is up to them.
However, it becomes an entirely different problem with the “office manager” is a captain and the commanding officer of a platoon. Guess what, if the battle is raging and shells are landing all around, the last thing that captain is going to want to deal with is a love triangle.
It does happen. It is the natural way of things. You get men and women in the same fox hole and the commanding officer is going to have problems. Worse yet, is if one of the people in the relationship is the captain. You talk about fireworks. You talk about moral and morale problems. Guess what? It is going to shred discipline. A well oiled company can be torn asunder just almost instantly. I mean, if you’re a corporal and you are competing with the attractive corporal who is having an affair with the captain….
It is why I don’t like women in combat. I think most of those who have seen combat firsthand will agree with me. However, it seems those experts, the ones who have never been shot at know better. That is the way they are trying to run these armed forces and they are weaker because of it. It is difficult to prove, of course because this country has not been in a really serious war in decades. The closest thing to it was Iraq, but considering the American superiority, it can hardly be classified as a serious war.
True. Some of our guys were killed, but compared to Iraq’s losses??? It was not much more than a training exercise, one in which we were able to test our equipment and tactics.
However, it doesn’t stop there. What if all those in your combat company are men. Then, right in the middle of everything, one of your men comes in and complains that the other man in his fox hole keeps hitting on him.
Guess what? When you allow homosexuals on the font lines, you get the same problems as with women, only worse. If I were a CO of a company, I certainly wouldn’t want those kinds of problems while I’m actually trying to fight a war.
As a S/Sgt in the Marines, I never had to deal with anything like that, thankfully. It was really difficult enough. Every one of the men I was in charge of wanted to be treated fairly. Being human as they were, some wanted to be treated more fairly than others.
Thank goodness, I never had to deal with romances, triangles or homosexuals. I think I would have asked for a demotion to private. I’d let others have to deal with that kind of thing, thank you.
One more, important thing to remember. When you have problems in the office, you can fire those involved. When you are in a battle and the enemy is closing on your position, you’re stuck with what you have. There’s no firing anyone. Indeed, in situations like that, a leader just might be forced to use a little physical discipline to snap those soldiers into shape. It does happen, though maybe not with the women.
Does Anything?
I guess, when I was young, my father did. The fear of failing grades in school did.
Certainly when I had a wife and two kids to support, that motivated.
Nowadays, it is a little difficult to get me out of the house. If it weren’t for my wife, I’d likely stay at home for weeks. I try to take her out at least once a day. Sometimes we go out two or even three times. We really should go out more often.
I have looked for a place for old folks to get together but it seems there aren’t many around here. Most of our friends have either moved away or passed on. Most of the neighborhood aren’t interested in hanging around with an couple like us.
My wife loves to talk, even when she has nothing to say. We go out to eat and she will strike up conversations with anyone. Sometimes, the strangers don’t understand her, but most remain friendly.
The way I figure it right now, my job #1 is making spoiling her for as long as I can. If I can do anything else, that will be good too.
One Thing Learned About Our Taste in Movies
Not too many with the same taste in movies as me. Looking back over the results, it looked pretty broad. Few of the writers had the same favorites. I guess that means most of us have varied taste.
Contradiction
While they meet in Nashville, TN to write new gun laws, the special prosecutor supposedly prosecuting Hunter Biden is bending over backward to keep from prosecuting a gun law we have.
This might seem odd but he explanation is simple. Old Joe knows if his son goes to prison, he might be as well. Though no one told me, I am sure that Hunter has told his Pop as much. Very likely it was worded something like this, If I go to jail, then so will you. Then again, it’s just a guess. You noticed no quotation marks because I can’t quote verbatim.
However, if you don’t believe it, maybe you can explain why Weiss is willing to risk his law license to save Hunter.
Very Interesting
Over the years I have seen many good movies and to call out just 10 would be very difficult. I guess “Fiddler on the Roof,” has to be my very favorite. Overall it just had a very good plot, which quite frankly opened my eyes to the way the Jews were treated in Russia. Before the movie, I simply had no idea.
More than that, it had a lot of humor, far more than I expected. If you saw it, I’m sure you know of what I speak. The music is very likely the best or nearly the best of all times. It was very good, but more, there was a lot of it. Many of my favorite songs came from “Fiddler on the Roof,” especially Sunrise, Sunset; Matchmaker; and If I were a rich man. It is a movie I have watched many times.
Then there is “Support Your Local Sheriff.” This one really surprised me. The movie just simply had me laughing almost from beginning to end. It is likely the best thing James Garner did. Also, loved Walter Brennan. The bit with red paint and the jail really caught me by surprise. The cannon at the end, though…it still makes me laugh at it as I think about it.
It’s kind of a toss up between “Support Your Local Sheriff” and “Kelly’s Heroes” for second place. Perhaps the Local Sheriff was more humorous, but “Kelly’s Heroes” had more of a real plot. Besides, I really love the theme song, “Burning Bridges.” I could just about listen to it all day.
From here on out it sort of gets jumbled up. There are the Musicals of Oscar and Hammerstein and those of Sigmund Romberg. Most don’t even know who Romberg is. Nonetheless, Desert Song is my favorite of his. However, I have repeatedly watched “New Moon” and “Naughty Murrieta” many times. Should I live long enough, I’ll likely watch them many more times.
Incidentally, Oscar and Hammerstein did not seem to be afraid of attacking a few social matters of the day. The lieutenant took up with the native woman and the nurse married the old French man with the native children. Most movies of the day simply didn’t get into things like that. Nowadays, it is taken for granted.
I suspect that there are many movies I have slighted. Every now and again something will happen to make me remember.
Oh, yes. Can’t forget Bob Hope in “The Pale Face,” “Eight on the Lam” and “The Seven Little Foys.”
As I said; I is difficult narrowing it to 10. Maybe 25.
Sorry folks. Just cannot include “Gone With the Wind” or “Ben Hur.” Had a hard time staying awake through them.
Key-less
This afternoon, the wife and I got in the almost new (about a month old now) Nissan Ariya. It’s just really hard to break old habits. I got my keys out and actually started to insert them in the ignition. That would not work and I knew it. Still it took a while for me to realize error.
You see, the car has no place for an ignition key. In fact, normally it doesn’t use a key at all. Because I had a fob in my pocket, I was able to simply touch the door handle with my finger to unlock the door. Then once inside, the normal procedure is to put my foot on the break and press the power button, (about the size of a quarter just to the right of the steering wheel). Then I put the car in reverse to back out of the driveway. Without the fob, none of this would occur.
I don’t totally understand all the workings, but it would appear to me as if it is as close as possible to being the highest security possible for a car. It operates on a proximity basis. When the fob gets close enough, I can control the car. If I don’t have the fob and the door is locked, I cannot unlock it. If I push the power button, it will have no effect.
The beauty of the system is that I am very unlikely to ever lock the fob in the car. I just put it in my pocket and keep it there. When I leave the car, it is unlikely I’d leave the fob behind. I don’t have children, but if I did, it would be almost impossible to lock them in the car with the keys.
In fact the system is so good, I would love to have it in my home. If fact, I have no idea why they haven’t had something like that already, not only for homes but also for businesses. Well, it that case, I would assume the fob would need an on/off switch to keep the door from being unlocked while you are inside.
I asked about that at the Nissan dealer. He told me that the system knows when I am inside. Once I am in and the door is locked, I am safe, that is unless someone broke the window.
The system they have is one of the biggest reasons for me to chose a Nissan. Never did enjoy carrying around all those keys. Never did like the idea of locking myself out of my car because I left the keys in the ignition. Maybe it isn’t the perfect system, but it has to be close to it. It gives me the security of locks while still allowing me the convenience of no locks. If I am in a hurry to get in my car at night, with my hands full, there is no fumbling for keys.
There is of course, no steering column lock as on most modern cars. However, I tried to turn the wheel while the power is off and it is just almost impossible. I don’t know if it is intentional, but it may as well be.
Now, having said all this, I must back up and say there are two exceptions. First, the car can be unlocked by Nissan in an emergency. Secondly, for those who get the app to download on their phone, not only can the doors be locked or unlocked remotely, but it is also possible to control climate control remotely. I don’t have any idea why you would want to, but you can do it from anywhere you can get an internet connection for your phone. I’m not sure about needing the internet connection by the car. It might use satellite.
Now, if I can just get used to leaving my keys in my pocket when I want to go somewhere.
bfrhodes99 