[Rhodes22-list] Politics

[Roger Pihlaja]

Steve,

By golly you're right, I did type "Citizenship In The World" twice, didn't
I?  Spelled it perfectly too, so the spell checker didn't catch it.  Yes,
that 3rd required merit badge should have been Citizenship In The Community.

I don't routinely carry a gun either.  But, maybe if we all did there would
be more common courtesy & respectful behavior out there on the street!  Just
kidding, ha ha.  In the case of the sniper, with their custom-made concealed
shooting platform in the trunk of their car, it wouldn't have mattered if
everyone on the street had been packing guns because nobody saw them.  I
understand they somehow circumvented the gun purchase background security
check laws by purchasing the gun under the table from an unscrupulous gun
dealer in Washington state.  Does anyone really believe that crooks are
going to obey the law or not attempt to find ways around the law?  I live
out in a rural area near a small Midwestern town.  If I lived & worked in a
big city where there was a lot more gang activity & street crime, I might
consider obtaining a concealed carry permit & carrying a handgun.

I'd have to get a different handgun though.  I have a Beretta 96FS chambered
in 0.40 S&W.  It's great fun to shoot, but this is a full size semiautomatic
pistol.  It's a little too large to conveniently carry in a briefcase or a
shoulder holster & probably makes the wrong fashion statement if worn on the
hip!

How many drunk people do you routinely encounter where you live?  In the
circles I move in, a drunk is pretty rare, except perhaps on New Years Eve.

Roger


----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Alm" <salm@mn.rr.com>
To: <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Politics


> Roger,
>
> I earned those merit badges too and by the way, you mistyped--the third
one
> is Citizenship In The Community.  I'm well aware that there are many more
> issues at stake here than just the schools, the Arts and the guns.
Perhaps
> my sarcasm mislead you--I'm not at all anti-gun and I'm a pretty good shot
> myself.  It's just hard for me to imagine going to work with a tidy little
> nickel plated .32 tucked in my waistband.
>
> It's fine and good to rhapsodize about our nation on the grand scale but
> let's bring it down to street-level.  As much as I like the old Western
> movies, I really don't want a bunch of drunken pistoleros in the saloons
> where I'm just playing the piano.  I hear a lot of rhetoric about
> responsible, law-abiding citizens vs. the criminals.  The reality is that
> people just don't fall neatly into those two categories.
>
> Slim
>
> On 10/30/02 7:39 AM, "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402@centurytel.net> wrote:
>
> > Steve,
> >
> > As one of the requirements to earn their Eagle Scout rank, Scouts must
earn
> > 21 merit badges, of which 11 are required.  Three of these 11 required
merit
> > badges have to do with citizenship; Citizenship In The World,
Citizenship In
> > The Nation, & Citizenship In The World.  Over the years I've been an
adult
> > leader, I've taught all three citizenship merit badges several times
each.
> >
> > When I teach the Citizenship In The Nation merit badge, we have a
detailed
> > discussion of the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill Of Rights.  Many
of
> > my Scouts come from antigun families & just as many come from families
that
> > are active hunters.  So, the discussion on the 2nd Amendment usually
gets
> > pretty spirited!
> >
> > We talk about the abuses in England and other parts of Europe in the
17th &
> > 18th centuries vs. conditions in the new world that led up to the
> > incorporation of the 2nd Amendment.  We talk about the important Supreme
> > Court decisions which have interpreted the 2nd Amendment over the years.
> >
> > Certainly, there are a lot of downsides to having such easy gun access
in
> > this country, particularly these days when guns have gotten so reliable,
> > lethal, easy to conceal, & simple to use.  However, I make the point to
my
> > Scouts that the 2nd Amendment is really the ultimate safeguard over all
the
> > other liberties spelled out in the U.S. Constitution.  With only a few
> > remarkable exceptions like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and
Abraham
> > Lincoln; any politician seeking the power of public office is
intrinsically
> > not to be trusted with it.  No matter what the politician says during
the
> > election campaign, it is very difficult to know how they will actually
act
> > once they get elected.  The 3 stellar political examples I cited above
only
> > get that accolade based upon the judgment of history.  The ballet box is
a
> > very weak deterrent on the abuse of power.  But, having an entire
population
> > armed to the teeth automatically precludes the worst excesses of any
> > politician's greed or extreme political ideas from being enacted into
law.
> > The 2nd Amendment is the final guarantee that government will be by the
> > consent of the governed.  This is all without firing a shot.
> >
> > Anyone who claims we have gotten so civilized and so sophisticated that
we
> > don't need the 2nd Amendment anymore is either naive or has frustrated
> > ambitions of power.  The safeguards which the 2nd Amendment provides for
all
> > the other liberties spelled out in the U.S. Constitution make the
casualties
> > worth the cost.
> >
> > I get a lot of angry phone calls from antigun parents.  But, I never
back
> > down from my position & point out that their sons have a right to hear
> > cogent arguements on both sides of the issue.  I never tell my Scouts
what
> > to think.  James Madison made such an eloquent original case that I
don't
> > have to.  So far, none of my Scouts have been forced to quit over this
> > issue, but there have been a couple of very close calls.
> >
> > By the way, I also teach the Rifle & Shotgun Shooting merit badges.
These
> > merit badges are all about gun & hunting safety. Both merit badges have
> > challenging shooting tests with a minimum required score in order to
earn
> > the badge.  Each of my sons have both merit badges & both are are
excellent
> > shots.  They are also both very good with a handgun.
> >
> > Despite Daniel & Gary's expertice and gun safety training, all of our
guns &
> > ammunition are locked up in a gun safe.  My wife & I have the only keys.
> >
> > Roger Pihlaja
> > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Steve Alm" <salm@mn.rr.com>
> > To: <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
> > Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 4:43 AM
> > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Politics
> >
> >
> >> First let me say that I have a profound distrust in all politicians
from
> >> left to right.  They all have hidden agendas like keeping their jobs,
> >> wielding their power and controlling the money.  I realize how cynical
> > this
> >> sounds but the laws that are passed in this country have less to do
with
> > the
> >> issues and more to do with "politicking."
> >>
> >> In the past, I've gone to the polls voting for whom I think is the best
> > for
> >> the country, state, or city.  But who am I to say what's best for
everyone
> >> else?  These days I go to the polls and vote for what's best for my own
> >> household. Since my wife and I are both teachers and performing
artists, I
> >> have to ask what the conservatives have done for (to) me lately.  Well,
I
> >> guess I'll get to keep my firearms, so if anybody wants to shoot the
piano
> >> player,  I just might shoot back...and I suppose that should make me
feel
> >> better about America.  Maybe I'll even get to right off the bullets.
> >>
> >> True, while Mohammed and Salvo were out sniping, we didn't hear many
> > stories
> >> about other murders.  I doubt that many of you could name, off the top
of
> >> your heads, a single murder victim in Los Angeles in the whole decade
of
> > the
> >> nineties besides the two that were killed at a certain Brentwood
estate.
> > I
> >> didn't hear anything about tighter knife-control then.  I think this
all
> >> says a lot less about the law and a lot more about the media.  I want
to
> >> vote out the incumbent TV producers!
> >>
> >> Slim
> >>
> >> _________________________________________________
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> >>
> >
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