I'm Just Sayin'

We've Moved

2013-10-23T18:18:00.002-07:00

We've moved all the content from this blog to Blog O'Jerry. Content will remain available here (at least while it's still free), but all new content will be posted to the new blog site exclusively.

How Busy Could He Be?

2012-11-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

Here's the thing with being a part-time freelancer and full-time radio guy (not to mention husband, father and grandfather): there's never enough time. So while I have been writing, quite a bit actually, all of my writing efforts have gone towards work that actually pays. And since this blog doesn't pay, well it's been further down on the list of priorities. So here's a sampling of some of what I've been working on lately. Click on an individual heading to go to the full article.

I have been pretty busy writing

Motorcycle Safety And How To Ride Safely

Life is a risky business. You can minimize risk, manage risk, anticipate and have a plan for dealing with risk, but you can never totally eliminate risk. There is risk associated with riding a motorcycle. You can ride safely and do things, employ strategies to help ensure your safety, but, as the U.S. Supreme Court said in a workplace safety related case in 1980, "safety is not the equivalent of risk free."

There are two major areas of motorcycle safety or risk management that I'll look at here; avoiding getting into an accident in the first place and minimizing your risk of injury if you do have an accident.

Top Motorcycle Gear And Accessories

Every rider has different needs, a unique attitude and wants to express that when they ride. There is a wide array of gear and accessories available to help you ride comfortably, securely and in your own inimitable style. I've listed some of the basic categories here along with a list of some of the major manufacturers in each.

Five Things You Should Know Before Your Ride

Maybe you've been thinking about riding a motorcycle for a while. Perhaps you rode years ago, before the kids came along and now that they're about grown you're thinking of going back to two wheels. In my own experience as a rider I have only one regret, that I didn't start doing it 20 years earlier. It is one of the most pleasurable experiences you can have.

As much fun as it is though, it does require a good deal of thought before you jump into it. Like any new endeavor there's a learning curve. So before you throw a leg over that shiny new ride and motor off for adventure allow me to share a few things you should know before you ride.

Riding A Motorcycle In Winter

Shorter days and cooler temperatures signal the beginning of the end of the riding season for many bikers. But it doesn't have to. As long as you allow yourself a little more time to gear up and get where you're going, and you what winter hazards you're likely to face, you can ride pretty much year round.

Getting Your Motorcycle Ready For Winter

We bikers are a pretty hardy bunch. We long for the open road, the wind in our faces and the feeling of being one with our rides. Being closed up inside a four-wheeled, climate-controlled cage? That's a last ditch choice for those of us who favor the two-wheeled freedom of a motorcycle. And yet for those riders who live where the winters are harsh, snowfall is measured in feet and temperatures can dip well below freezing for weeks at a time it's often necessary to park the bike for the winter.

But simplhy putting your motorcycle in the garage for the winter can mean having a ride that's hard to start come spring. If it starts at all. It can also lead to an expensive trip to your local dealership if you don't take a few simple steps to get your bike ready for the winter. By taking a little time to prep your bike for a couple of months of inactivity you can ensure you're ready to ride when the weather finally breaks.

Another Shameless Plug

As if this entire peice hasn't been one big "please read my stuff" deal, here's another. You can subscribe to this blog or "like" my FaceBook page here to keep updated on what I've been publishing.

Some of My Latest on a New Website

2012-09-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

The Auto Resources section of InternetAutoGuide.com just went live. I have a number of articles published on this new site, with many more to come. Here are links to a couple of them, with a little info from each article.

Facts on the Classic Jaguar XJ6 Series III

Jaguar launched the XJ series in 1968, the same year that the company merged with the British Motor Corporation. The XJ series replaced all of Jaguar's previous four-door sedans, the 340, 420 and 420G and met with initial success, both commercially and critically. As ownership changed hands, Leyland bought out BMC and then the company was nationalized and became British Leyland. During this time, the XJ6 line suffered from quality issues which were finally rectified as Jaguar left the British Leyland fold in the 1980s.

List of Classic Muscle Cars

The definition of “muscle car” is one that is open to some interpretation. Merriam-Webster defines a muscle car as "any of a group of American-made, two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Some add that a true muscle car must have a V-8 engine, rear-wheel drive and an original MSRP that would have been affordable to the general car buying public. Smaller-framed vehicles that meet many of the other muscle car requirements are often referred to as pony cars. Some, but not all, pony cars can also be classified as muscle cars, depending on which “expert” you ask. This list makes use of the broader definition that includes some pony cars and defines the classic period for muscle cars as 1964 through the mid 1970s.

Early For Model T Information

The Ford Model T was a revolutionary car. Ford's use of the assembly line, introduced in 1913, helped to usher in and define the industrial revolution. In 1999, the Model T was voted Car of the Century. With over 15 million units sold between 1908 and 1927, the Model T held the record for the best-selling vehicle in history until 1972, when it was surpassed by the Volkswagen Beetle.

The Specifications of a 1929 Ford Model A

The Ford Model A replaced Henry Ford's "universal car," the Model T, which still stands as one of the best-selling automobiles of all time, with more than 15 million units sold during its 19 year production run. Introduced in 1927, the Ford Model A styling cues borrowed so much from its upscale cousin, the Lincoln, that it was dubbed "the baby Lincoln."

Tips on Driving in Subzero Temperatures

Winter weather brings unique hazards to drivers. Snow and ice make starting, accelerating and steering challenging -- and when temperatures dip below zero, weather-related hazards can be magnified. The extreme cold can negatively affect your car's performance, causing fluids to thicken and your battery to function improperly. If you must drive in such conditions, there are a number of things, both preventative and while on the road, you can do to help ensure you reach your destination safely.

The Republic Is Dead

2012-06-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

Turn out the lights, the party is over. The Republic has passed into the great beyond, the Supreme Court having shoveled the last of the dirt into the grave today.

Many have written about it more eloquently than I can, so here are some higlights and links to the full text of a number of them.

From Francis W. Porretto at Liberty's Torch

"That halting, choking sound you hear is the Cheyne-Stokes breathing of
the last remaining remnant of Americans' individual liberty.

The Republic has fallen. Let him save himself who can."

From T.L. Davis at TL In Exile

"We do not feel the joy we should at sharing our wealth, we feel resentment, we feel cheated when those funds go to someone who refuses work rather than to those who cannot find work. In a compassionate system the person who is destitute is not in need of funds, but in need of work. Those who offer kindness have no interest in giving money away, but do have an interest in providing opportunity."

From Anne Barnhardt

"And you know what the result will be? Not an iota of ObamaCare will be touched, much less repealed. The republicans want it every bit as much as the democrats. They're all gunning for that power. They will NEVER turn loose of that power voluntarily. We are now to the point where the only way we get rid of these people and re-establish a lawful government is through involuntary removal. In short, we are either going to have to have a junta, or an all-out hot civil war. I strongly, strongly advocate a junta at this point. A junta would be, by far, the least bloody solution. Sadly, there are no men of integrity left in the flag officer corps to do it - the U.S. military is populated by vile, power-hungry, money-grubbing Marxist degenerates just as much as the three branches."

And finally, with a look at the logical extension of the precedent that the Supreme Court established today, here's Donald Sensing at Sense Of Events

"Congress now has the Constitutional power to make you buy a firearm and ammunition.

The point I don't see other commentators getting is this: the ruling means that Congress now has unlimited power to tax. Congress now has the power to tax absolutely any activity or inactivity by individuals.

So does the Congress have the authority to make us eat broccoli, as one justice asked the solicitor general during the hearing? Now we know the answer: not eat it, but without question the Congress now enjoys the power to make us buy broccoli, whether we eat it or not. Don't buy it? Pay a special tax.

Congress has the power now to make everyone drive a white car - or pay a special tax if they don't.

Mark today's date on your calendars. June 28, 2012 is the day that the sovereignty of the American people vanished. This is the day we became subjects rather than citizens."

Now things should get interesting.

Alea iacta est

Christmas Cheer

2011-12-25T11:41:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2011 is more than half way over. Still lots of playing to be done and food to be eaten. I'm posting this entry from my phone, hopefully it looks ok. I'll try a photo upload or two also. Merry Christmas!

TJ & Toby in their new Christmas PJs

Chase & Kelsey in their new Christmas PJs

Blogging To Resume Soon

2011-07-14T04:47:00.000-07:00

It's been quite some time since I last posted here. The whole blog needs a little facelift. Part of the reason I haven't posted is that I've been busy on other writing projects, including a new blog under an assumed name (more on that in a future post). I've also been noodling on what direction to take this blog. It's kind of been all over the place with political and social commentary mixed in with motorcycle enthusiast and family stuff. I'll figure it out.

The other part of the reason for the posting standstill has been the return of my son and his family from Japan. They returned to the States on Christmas evening and have been staying with us since. I have a hard time justifying sacrificing time with them to blog. But honest, I'll be posting again very soon. And I'll be updating links to other work I'm doing.

Meantime, here are a couple of videos to give you an example of how I'm spending my non-writing time. Hope you enjoy.

Toby & Travis Discuss Super Mario

Kelsey & Toby On Four Wheeler

Caleb & Brandi Catch, Clean, Cook & Eat Dinner

Two Seasons: Christmas And Baseball

2010-11-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

Forget everything you learned in grade school about there being four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. There are only two seasons that actually matter, Baseball and Christmas.

Christmas embodies all that life was meant to be

Baseball Equals Life As It Is
Baseball is life itself, or at least the most accurate metaphor we have for life. The grueling 162 game season must be played out till its end, day after day. It begins in the spring, with every team, every player, full of potential and hope. The grind of each game, each inning, continues through July and August, wearing down those ill prepared for the long distance nature of life, sapping the energy of those who have stuck around one year too long, and cutting short others' promising careers with unforeseen injuries.

By September many teams have been eliminated from a chance at the post-season, but the games must still be played, though they seem meaningless to those with no hope of continuing into October. But even on those teams there is opportunity for individuals to excel. Baseball, like life, is a game where success is rare. If a hitter fails to reach base safely 70% of the time he is considered a star. For a team to win a few more games than it loses is reason for celebration.

There is more to success in baseball than numbers or even victories, at least for those who know what to look for. The batter who gives himself up to move a runner into scoring position, a shortstop who cheats a little toward to the middle of the infield against a hitter who tends to go that way, the hitter who takes an extra pitch or two in hopes of wearing out a tiring starting pitcher in the late innings and a team that plays to win even after they've been mathematically eliminated from contention are all admired by teammates and opponents alike. And, as in life itself, it is often these small moments of striving that give us the courage to face another day.

Christmas Equals Life As It Could Be
Christmas represents life as it was meant to be. The mystery of the Creator becoming the created, the One given for all, He who was wronged making the ultimate sacrifice to be reunited in fellowship with those who have wronged Him are all a part of Christmas. The hope and joy inspired by the season, the generosity and goodwill expressed by so many is but a foretaste of what is to come for those who recognize the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas embodies the hope, peace and love that can only be found through a relationship with the baby born that first Christmas. Promised through and to Abraham when he said, "God will provide the lamb." Born for the purpose of dying in place of all us, paying the debt that we owed to him.

For those of us who know Him, Christmas presents a tremendous opportunity. The message of the Gospel is plainly stated in the lyrics of many of the songs of the season, songs that are sung not only in churches but also on the radio and through the sound systems at malls and department stores all across the world. And people, even those who make no claim to faith or who would never attend a church service, have memorized these words and sing them every year at this time.

Christmas is a season to celebrate and give thanks and to share what life can and will be like if we but embrace the message.

The Biker Lifestyle

2010-11-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

If I have one regret in life, it's that I didn't start riding a motorcycle 30 years earlier.

How It Started
It was St. Patrick's Day 2007, a Saturday. Teri (my wife) and I were taking Kelsey (our daughter) and her then boyfriend (who shall remain nameless) to the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. Irish folk music on XM radio was our soundtrack for the ride and a light drizzle welcomed us as we waited in line for close to an hour.

We'd been at the aquarium for a little more than an hour when my cell phone rang. It was my son Caleb who at the time was stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. "Hey Dad, listen to this," he said and I heard the rumble of a 650cc engine as he fired up his brand new Yamaha V-Star Classic.

I was infected. The biker bug had bitten me and begun its incubation period. Over the next six weeks I researched motorcycles tirelessly. I learned about engine displacement, bore and stroke, compression ratios, chain vs. belt vs. shaft final drive systems, air cooled vs. liquid cooled, fuel injection vs. carburetors. And I looked at all the different styles and makes, cruisers, touring bikes, sportbikes, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda, Harley.

Spec sheets and model comparisons were shooting out of my printer until it ran out ink, twice. Motorcycle forums and online biker magazines were added to my web browser favorites. I did a couple of "just looking, thanks," stealth runs to my local big-four Japanese dealership (there wasn't a Harley dealership in Newnan at that time).

I narrowed it down to a cruiser between 500cc and 1000cc with shaft drive. There were actually quite a few models that fit those specs, so I did a little more research. At the time both Yamaha and Suzuki were offering pretty good financing deals so I focused attention on those two manufacturers.

Finally, I figured if the V-Star was good enough for Caleb, then it would be good enough for me. And the 2007 model was available in white, something that at the time, for reasons I can't fully explain, appealed to me. I called Cycle City (our local dealer) and yes they did have a V-Star Classic in white in stock.

Saturday of Memorial Day weekend Teri and I were at Cycle City. I went straight to the white V-Star and sat on it. Within seconds a salesman was standing next to me. I asked for the guy I'd spoken with on the phone, Bobby. He was with another customer, so I strolled around, looking at helmets and other gear that I knew I'd need. Meanwhile Teri was looking at a used Kawasaki Eliminator.

Bobby found me looking at saddlebags. We went back over to the V-Star as I told him that we'd spoken earlier in the week and what I was looking for. We talked about the V-Star for a couple of minutes and then he said, "Before you make up your mind for sure, let me show you this."

Parked a few bikes away was a blue-purple (or blurple) Suzuki Boulevard M50. The Boulevard had more of a chopper-muscle style with bobbed fenders compared to the full fenders on the V-Star. The Boulevard was also a little bigger, with an 805cc engine compared to the 649cc power plant on the V-Star. The Boulevard also had two other features that the V-Star lacked, liquid cooling and fuel injection. It was the fuel injection that pushed me over to the Boulevard side, though it was a little more expensive.

Bobby sensed my resistance at the additional cost, so we talked a little more and with the deal Suzuki was offering he got the price within sniffing distance of sticker on the V-Star. We filled out some paperwork, I took the tire replacement option (a total waste of money, don't bother with this if it's ever offered to you) and the pre-paid service deal (which was definitely worth the money, over the three years of the agreement I more than got my money out of it with oil and fluid changes and valve adjustments). Bobby ran the paperwork back to the finance department, a tech took the bike into the shop for final prep and I picked out a Fulmer helmet, Tourmaster jacket and Cortech gloves.

My ride, the 2007 Suzuki Boulevard M50

This whole time Teri was looking around, but she kept going back to the Eliminator. "Do you want it?" I asked her. She took a minute to answer and said, "No...not today. I can ride on the back of yours."

Twenty minutes later I was geared up and sitting on the M50 in the parking lot, thinking I was going to ride it home. I was wrong. I had little a trouble mastering the friction zone on the clutch and stalled it three times. One of the techs rode it home for me. I spent the rest of the weekend riding up and down the driveway. Once I'd done it ten times in a row without stalling I ventured out into the neighborhood.

Over the next two weeks I got my motorcycle permit and signed up for a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course at a Harley dealership up in Cobb County, about 45 minutes away. The earliest the course was available was August. And I started riding further, with Teri following in the car. That lasted for almost three weeks and then Teri realized I was having all the fun. So it was back to Cycle City. On the drive over she said, "If the Eliminator is still there we'll get it, but if it's gone, maybe I shouldn't get a bike." It was still there, and I rode it home myself. By that time a Harley dealership had opened in Newnan and Teri took her MSF course a week after I'd finished mine.

Embracing The Biker Lifestyle
Picture in your mind a biker. Chances are you thought of a grizzled looking bearded guy in a leather vest with tattoos, a one percenter, a member of an outlaw motorcycle club (MC). In the last few years the image of motorcycle riders has improved, thanks in large part to TV shows like American Chopper, Monster Garage, Biker Build Off and the two Ewan McGregor documentary series, Long Way Round and Long Way Down and the John Travolta movie Wild Hogs. But shows like Sons Of Anarchy, while well written and compelling, and the History Channel's Gangland continue to portray the stereotypical outlaw biker. I'm not talking about those guys.

I'm not talking about these guys

When I talk about the biker lifestyle I'm talking about the sheer joy you can only experience by punching the starter button and leaning into that first turn out of the driveway on your way to it doesn't matter where. You become acutely aware of the slightest change in temperature as you roll down a slight incline. You feel the gust of a tractor-trailer traveling in the opposite direction. It is at once mind clearing and demanding of your total concentration. It is ultimately about the ride, but there's more to it than that alone.

Nothing I've been involved with has started more conversations than motorcycles. Complete strangers will come up to me in a parking lot and ask about the bike, how long I've been riding, where I got it, how much it cost. They'll say how they've always wanted to ride but just never got around to it. If they're a fellow biker they'll share some of their favorite rides or invite me to come and ride with their club. On the road every other biker is a brother (or sister) and gets and returns the biker wave, left hand, first two fingers pointing down. While the number of women bikers, and their percentage among all bikers, are increasing every year, a female rider (as opposed to a passenger-there is no such thing a motorcycle "driver") is still rare enough that Teri will often get a "Woo-hoo, you go girl!" from passing women cagers (a "cager" is biker speak for someone in a car).

Motorcycling For The Empty Nesters
Once Teri got that Eliminator we discovered that motorcycling was an activity we could share both on and off the bikes. Our son, Caleb, was already out of the house with a family of his own. And Kelsey, our daughter, was then a junior in high school, just a little more than a year away from going off to college. It was the perfect time to adopt a new, shared lifestyle.

We bought a couple of books, Proficient Motorcycling and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Motorcycles and read them together. We shopped online together for accessories and gear, visited Cycle City often enough that we're on a first name basis with most of the staff, and attended motorcycle shows. We helped each other install saddlebags on both bikes (and then on Teri's new Kawasaki Vulcan 500, and then on her latest ride, a Kawasaki Vulcan 900). We put a rider's backrest on the M50 and a windshield on the Vulcan 900. We got each other heated gloves for Christmas one year and a bluetooth motorcycle intercom set the next.

Teri's most recent ride, the 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 900

Kids? What kids? Did we used to have kids? Actually we're not totally empty nesters yet. Kelsey still lives at home and commutes to school. She will, on rare occasions, accompany us on an outing, riding on the back of my bike. About the only thing we're still putting off is a multi-day trip, since we don't want to leave Kelsey alone for a weekend, not that she'd notice we were gone. But there's still plenty of time for that once Kelsey moves out on her own.

Ride Your Own Ride
Teri prefers to have a specific destination in mind when we ride. That's fine with me. We've enjoyed planning out our rides almost as much we enjoy the ride itself. We've found some wonderful restaurants within a couple of hours of home. There was Butlers Mill in Graham, Alabama, a little buffet place on the banks of the Little Tallapoosa River that specializes in seafood, or is catfish technically riverfood? It's in an old cotton mill not far from the Georgia state line. We've also ridden to Juliette, Georgia and had lunch at the Whistle Stop Café, site of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. A little closer to home, and our most frequent ride to eat spot, is Senoia Coffee & Café, where they roast their own coffee and serve a mean cheesecake.

We don't always ride together. When she was working dayshift at Newnan Hospital Teri would ride to work. And when I was employed full-time I rode every day unless it was raining or below 35 degrees. I still ride when I have on-site jobs. And since the beginning if one of us is riding solo we always call the other one when we've arrived at our destination. When Teri and Kelsey do a girls' day out I'll take off on the M50 and just wander with no particular end in mind. I've not always known exactly where I was, but I've never been lost.

We've done a few group rides. Quite a few churches in our area have motorcycle groups and we've ridden with a few. There are a number of Harley riders in our own church and we've been out with them a time or two. The wife of a colleague of mine recently finished up her Master's degree and treated herself to a motorcycle. Teri and I took her on her first "group" ride, just the three of us. We went to Warm Springs, Georgia, another of our favorite destinations and home of FDR's "little White House".

Still More To Look Forward To
I'm still very satisfied with the M50 and I think Teri will be happy with the Vulcan 900 for quite a while. But I still check out the new models every year. I've already picked out a couple "next" bikes. My first "next" was the Kawasaki Mean Streak, but they discontinued that model before I was ready to trade up. Lately I've been lusting over the Kawasaki Nomad and Voyager, something a little better suited to a multi-day trip (cause Kelsey will eventually strike out on her own). I also kind of like the Harley Fat Bob, if only it was liquid cooled.

Truth is I'll probably have picked out half a dozen new "next" bikes before I'm actually ready to buy. But there will be a next bike, or three. And when (if) I ever get too old to hold a two wheeler upright at a red light there's always a trike. See, that biker bug that bit me back on St. Patrick's Day 2007, it's incurable. I only wish it had bitten me 30 years earlier. I'm just sayin'.

Dancing In The Minefields: The Married Lifestyle

2010-11-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

This monogamy business, it's hard work. "I do are the two most famous last words. The beginning of the end."

The happiest couple 07-15-1978

They're Dropping Like Flies
I reconnected with a dear old friend on Face Book recently. I've known him and his family for 18 years; his wife was pregnant with their first child when we met. They are no longer together, separated in 2008, divorced in 2009. Financial difficulties played a role but that wasn't the sole reason. Good Christian people, both of them. That didn't seem to matter.

Through Face Book I've found quite a few long lost friends. A good many of them have thrown in the towel on marriage. Face Book itself played at least a contributing role in one of the break ups, maybe more.

Love, it would seem, is not all you need. At least not that romantic butterflies-in-the-stomach, light-headed, sweat-on-the-brow, ringing-in-the-ears kind of love. That kind of love is fine for what it is. And it's that in-love sensation that leads many couples to the altar. But like the flu, whose symptoms it shares, that kind of love will pass. Oh, it can come back, but it's elusive, and you have to work for it. For too many, once that initial wave is over, so is the marriage.

A Little Marital Advice
Teri and I met in September 1977. We were married in July 1978. I know that love-at-first-sight phenomenon. And I know it can happen, to the same couple, more than once. But going into it no one dreams it's going to be as hard as it turns out to be.

Many people have given us advice over the years. The two that I remember the most came from grandfathers. The day before our wedding my Grandpa Stirmel told me, "Lots of people will tell you that marriage is a 50-50 proposition. It's not. It's 100-100."

On the celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary, Teri's Grandpa Forester told me, "That's a long time to spend with one woman."

The kind of love that is required to sustain a marriage is an act of the will. It's hard work and resolve. To more fully grasp what is necessary to make a marriage work it helps to understand where marriage came from and what it represents. God cooked the whole thing up. Some would say He ordained it. And while there are very real here and now, on this world, in this life reasons for it, ultimately marriage is a metaphor for God's love for us in Jesus.

Without getting into a theological discussion, allow me to make one more point on this particular part of the topic. On the night before He went to the cross (which was necessary to make the relationship with us possible in the first place) Jesus sweated blood in anticipation of what He was about to do. That should give us a hint as to the level of consideration marriage deserves before it is entered in to.

Worth The Price
In the end, it's worth it all. Of course I say that without having reached the end. So let me rephrase. After 32 years, it's been worth it all. It has, at times, been easy. But not often and never for very long. I'm not sure if I qualify as an expert on the subject, but I have managed to stay married to the same woman for more than three decades. I've been married for most of my life, so I think I know a thing or two about it. So here's my two cents for those considering marriage or who are married and may be having a rough go of it: Remember who you are, and hang on. And in the face of all the chaos remember to dance.

The love of my life

Minefields And Storms
Singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson has likened marriage to dancing in a minefield. His song, Dancing In The Minefields says it better in three and a half minutes and 319 words than I could in 2500 words. Thanks Andrew, for reawakening the romantic in so many of us. Andrew's been married for 15 years, so he still has quite a few landmines to two-step around. Those first 50 years are the toughest. I'm just sayin'.

Dancing In The Minefields
Andrew Peterson

Well I was 19 you were 21
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much to young
But we did it anyway
We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road
We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

Well "I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard is a good place to begin
Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price for the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
That's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love's chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith
to the end of all my days
when I forget my name, remind me

Cause we bear the light of the son of man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadow lands
Till the shadows disappear
Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos baby
I can dance with you

So lets go dancing in the minefields
Lets go sailing in the storms
Oh lets go dancing in the minefields
And kicking down the doors
Oh lets go dancing in the minefields
And sailing in the storms
Oh this is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
That's what the promise is for

Hopeless Change

2010-11-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

The toughest decision on this post was how to title it. Do I go straight SEO (search engine optimization) and somehow incorporate "Tea Party", "Republican" or "Nancy Pelosi"? Should I fall for the veiled reference to the fallout of the Republican's new majority in the House of Representatives with something like "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead"? I considered "The More Things Change..." and "Too Little Too Late".

Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead

But I like "Hopeless Change". It has the same number of syllables as Obama's 2008 campaign slogan of "Hope and Change" while reflecting what yesterday's (Tuesday November 2, 2010) election has accomplished, at least as it applies to the overwhelming majority the Democrats had held in both houses of Congress. And it pretty much sums up what that change will ultimately mean to this nation.

The Republicans and the Tea Party and Restore the Constitution folks will be celebrating, believing they've sent a message to Washington. And they have. Americans are tired of the way things in Washington work. In the words of newly elected Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, "We've come to take our government back." Problem is, the people who are expected to deliver the message are the very people we need to take the government back from.

Don't Expect Real Change From The Feds
The kind of change we need at the federal level is not going to be accomplished by the federal government. No matter how many of the newly elected Congressmen campaigned on how bad Obamacare is (and it's worse than most people fully appreciate) it isn't going to be repealed. Oh sure, the Republicans may manage to pare it back a little, but it's still going to wind up costing me and you way more money than we're paying for health care now. It'll cost us directly in higher premiums for individuals and small businesses. It'll cost us indirectly as those higher premiums are passed on to us as consumers in higher prices and in taxes to pay for it.

And Obamacare is only the tip of the iceberg. Not only has government gotten too big, it's gotten too arrogant. And by that I mean the people we have elected. They have forgotten their place. They tend to think of themselves, at worst, as rulers, and at best as leaders. They have forgotten that they are, to put it in Biblical terms, stewards. And we have allowed them to forget as we have forgotten that it is we, the people, who in this nation are sovereign. Los Angeles Guns Rights Examiner John Longenecker has written extensively on this concept of sovereignty in the U.S.

A Long Line Of Sidestepping The Constitution
To be fair, Barrack Obama is not the first of our national stewards to overstep his authority, though he has been the most blatant. This transfer of power from the people to the government, our relinquishing power unconsciously as our elected managers eagerly usurped it, has happened like a frog in a kettle. You know the analogy, throw a frog into a kettle of boiling water and it will jump out, but put a frog in a kettle of cool water and then turn up the heat under it and the frog will boil to death. In this instance we are the frog and the federal government has been turning up the heat for a century and a half or more.

It goes back even to good old honest Abe Lincoln when he suspended habeas corpus. Then Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Roger B. Taney defied that suspension and ordered a writ of habeas corpus. Lincoln and the military didn't honor the Justice's writ. Taney then ruled Lincoln's suspension unconstitutional and Lincoln ignored that ruling. Franklin Roosevelt was a mastermind of sidestepping the Constitution to fatten big government with his New Deal alphabet agencies. And of course under George W. Bush the Patriot Act was an egregious violation of Constitutional rights. All of which, at least tacitly, paved the way for Obama's nationalization of GM and Chrysler, bailouts and Obamacare and the march down the road to America becoming a socialist state.

The Patch Over Of The Tea Party
Now the Republicans have taken control of the House and made major gains in the Senate. As of noon today (Wednesday November 3, 2010, the day after the election) there were three Senate races that still had not been decided, Alaska, Colorado and Washington. Without those seats the Senate stands at 49 Democrats, 46 Republicans and two independents, who both caucus with the Democrats.

John Boehner, Republican House Minority Leader from Ohio, who is expected to become the next Speaker of the House, calls the Republican showing a "mandate for Washington to reduce the size of government." But, again, that's not going to be an easy mandate to realize by those at the federal level. Not because there's anything stopping them from doing so, save their own self interest.

It started before all of the ballots had been counted last night. Republicans are trying to annex the Tea Party. If this was an episode of Sons of Anarchy it would be called a "patch over", where one MC (motorcycle club) influences a chapter of another, usually allied but weaker club to become a chapter of the stronger club so the stronger club can consolidate its power in a certain area. The weaker club then has to wear the patch of the stronger club.

Republicans last night were talking about the need for party unity and strongly encouraging the so-called Tea Party candidates to moderate their stance in favor of said unity. The TV network talking heads repeatedly referred to the "Tea Party Republicans" as if the Tea Party was an official subgroup of the GOP. The Tea Party can not allow that to happen, but that's a topic I'll discuss in the coming days.

Our Hope Is With The States
The real good news in the results from yesterday's elections is what happened at the state level. Republicans have gained a majority of state governorships. That's good news because if any real change is going to be realized at the federal level it's going to have to be initiated by the states. After all, the federal government was created by and gets its authority from the states. The bad news is that the states, like we individual citizens, the people, have largely forgotten that.

There has been some rumbling in the past year or so at the state level. Several states have passed state sovereignty firearm legislation aimed at exempting firearms, ammunition and accessories manufactured, sold and kept in state from federal firearm regulation. New Hampshire went so far as to add a clause making it a felony for a federal agent to enforce federal firearms regulations on firearms manufactured and kept in New Hampshire. And a handful of states have passed or are considering legislation aimed at exempting their citizens from participating in any federally mandated health care scheme.

The states defend this type of legislation based on the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." That's the part of the Constitution most often ignored by those in federal government. And it may be our best hope to affect real change. There are those two words again, "hope" and "change". I guess Obama got at least one thing right.

I'm just sayin'.

Barack Obama: Vampire or Zombie

2010-10-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Carter has managed to live long enough to see something we could not have imagined, an American president worse than himself. Barack Obama is a failure as a president, a leader, a statesman, an American. When the liberal mainstream media, which only a few short months ago were heralding Obama as some sort of savior, start writing things like Mark Halperin did in the Monday October 11, 2010 issue of Time magazine, you know Obama is in trouble.

Halperin wrote, "With the exception of core Obama Administration loyalists, most politically engaged elites have reached the same conclusions: the White House is in over its head, isolated, insular, arrogant and clueless about how to get along with or persuade members of Congress, the media, the business community or working-class voters." (Full article here.)

Actually, Halperin paints a picture that is too rosy by half, but you have to consider the source. Time magazine and Halperin in particular have long been Obama cheerleaders. But even the Wall Street Journal is pointing out the similarities between Carter and Obama (read the story here).

Obama's politic career is dead. Trouble is he's still in office. So I guess he's really un-dead. And that begs the question; just what type of undead is he, vampire or zombie? He has demonstrated characteristics of each type of monster.

Zombama

Zombies don't think, they simply plod along violently, eating any living creature unfortunate enough to fall into their path. Obama has reacted with zombie-like bloodlust on a number of occasions. There was the time he called the Cambridge, MA police "stupid" and threw down the race card. He wanted to know "whose ass to kick" over the BP oil spill. And he's predicting "hand-to-hand combat" with Republicans should they, as is widely expected, take anything close to a majority of the seats in Congress in the November 2010 mid-term election. Zombies are monsters of opportunity, and Obama has certainly tried to seize his share of monstrous opportunities.

Barakula

On the other hand he has often exhibited the qualities of the vampire. Operating under cover of darkness, the way he and his lackeys did in passage of the Obamacare bill. The mere fact that he has lackeys is much more vampiresque than zombie-like. And he has them, from the Black Panthers intimidating voters in Philadelphia and Attorney General Eric Holder who refused to investigate them, to the bug eating Renfield-like Nancy Pelosi.

Switched at birth?


Renfield Pelosi

And like the vampire he has hypnotically created his own army of the children of the night, oblivious to the coming disaster, heeding only their master's voice. And he has used the classic images of the horror movie to keep them in line, such as when he summoned a group of Wall Street CEOs and told them, "My Administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks." (Story here)

I fear that Obama is a vampire rather than a zombie. And that frightens me because a vampire is much more difficult to destroy. All it takes to fell a zombie is good clean shot to the temporal lobe. And this can be accomplished in many ways, from a swat with a shovel to a sniper's bullet from hundreds of yards away. The traditional problem with zombies is in their number. They have no organization, no plan, no leadership. It's just that there are usually so many of them that they tend to wear down the living and exhaust their supplies along with their resolve. Most of the knuckleheads in Congress today would fit that description.

But a vampire can be defeated in only one of two ways, exposure to direct sunlight or a wooden stake through the heart. Obama isn't going to be drawn into the light any time soon. He's had way too much experience with dealing in the dark, going all the way back to his days in the corrupt Chicago Democratic machine.

Where is Van Helsing when you need him
No, we're going to need a Van Helsing to take out the vampire residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Trouble is, Van Helsings are rarer than vampires and there isn't one in view. No one currently in Congress has been up to the challenge. Among those running for Congress in November there are 55 candidates who have never held national office (story here). But even if Republicans take every seat up for grabs (and that's an extremely long shot at best) it's doubtful that any of them will have the testosterone levels necessary to get close enough to Barakula to hammer a political stake into his chest.

That stake would of course be impeachment. The U.S. Constitution states that a president can be impeached on grounds of "Treason, Bribery or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors". (That last phrase, "high crimes and misdemeanors" is described in some detail here.) Obama's nationalization of GM and Chrysler almost certainly fall under that meaning, as may his use of ACORN and the firing of Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service Mark Walpin.

Beware the angry villagers
It's doubtful that any of those who will be elected in November, rookie or returning incumbent, will raise the impeachment flag. So we will be stuck with a bloodsucker in the White House until at least 2012. And then the question still remains, who will challenge him then? John McCain surely wasn't up to the task in 2008. And if that was the best the Republicans could trot out against Obama you have to wonder what we have to look forward to in two years. Sarah Palin? Please. The only vampire hunter Palin conjures up is Daphne from the Scooby Doo crew.

Daphne Palin

There is no one that I am as yet aware of who is ready to take on Barakula, not after the November election or this far from the 2012 presidential race. The Tea Party and Restore the Constitution movement have the momentum, but they are the pitchfork-wielding villagers. And the villagers always need a frontman, a Van Helsing. So we will have to wait and hope that one materializes, and soon.

If the Republicans can't overturn some of the catastrophic legislation of the past two years, or at the very least, hold the imbecilic policies and legislation coming out of the White House at bay; we may not have time for a Van Helsing to show up. At the point that the Republicans fail to demonstrate some decisive action to reverse the socialist course Obama has taken us down, the villagers are going to turn their pitchforks on anyone and everyone in the castle. And it won't take till the 2012 presidential campaign if there's not some swift action early in 2011.

So we wait and see how November 2, 2010 turns out. Allowing a short period of celebration should the Republicans do as everyone expects. Then it has to be down to business, and not business as usual inside the Beltway. We wait for Van Helsing.

And while we wait, just in case, I'm investing in precious metals. Lead. In brass jackets. Just in case the villagers run out of patience.

I'm just sayin'.

Tyler Clementi and the Gay Lifestyle

2010-10-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

Tyler Clementi is dead. He jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. It took NYPD a week to discover his body, floating in the Hudson River north of the bridge.

Tyler Clementi's Facebook Profile Photo

Google “Tyler Clementi” (here) and you’ll see that most news sources trace the story of his suicide to Sunday, September 19, 2010, a short three days before he jumped to his death.

On that Sunday Tyler, an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey, had asked his roommate if he could have some privacy in their dorm room. The roommate, Dharun Ravi, Twittered that night, “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.” Ravi then streamed the feed from his webcam live over the Internet.

Sometime between that live streaming of Tyler on Sunday night and his swan dive off the GWB on Wednesday the following events occurred. Word and gossip spread through the dorm of the live Internet feed of Tyler. Tyler found out about it and went to campus officials requesting a room change. Tyler had another encounter of a sexual nature with a male in his room that Ravi attempted but failed to stream. Ravi apparently knew beforehand that Tyler was going to be involved in a second encounter because he alerted his Twitter followers with the times to be watching. Tyler sought advice on how to handle the issue in a gay chatroom on the Internet. And finally, on Wednesday the 22nd, shortly before he jumped, Tyler posted on his Facebook page, “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry”.

This story, and the way it has been covered and the reaction it has generated beg several questions. First, with whom did Tyler share that Internet streamed liaison? And was that second encounter with the same individual or someone new? And how come no one else seems to be asking this question or trying to track down Tyler’s lover or lovers? The New York Times, the Star-Ledger, ABC, CBS, CNN, MTV, none of them mentioned this person or persons except in passing, simply identifying him in the course of describing the streaming of an encounter “with another man.” Two websites that I write for, Examiner.com and Suite101.com, both covered the story without mentioning whom Tyler had been with.

What sort of sorry excuse for reporting is that? Any half way decent reporter would want a reaction quote from possibly the last person to have any meaningful contact with Tyler. And it would be natural to ask how that person felt about the Internet streaming episode, since their privacy was equally violated. Either everyone on this story got lazy (too lazy to even include a line like “Tyler’s lover could not be identified” or “Tyler’s lover could not be reached for comment” just to cover their own butt) or they’re hiding something.

The second question is what happened in those last hours of Tyler’s life that put him on that bridge? From all accounts he seemed to initially handle the situation well. He went to school officials to report the invasion of privacy and ask to have his room assignment changed. He sought advice online. He even showed up on Wednesday afternoon to rehearse with another student for an upcoming performance with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra where he played violin. Then at 8:42 PM on Wednesday September 19 Tyler posted on his Facebook page “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry”. Witnesses report seeing someone jump from the George Washington Bridge shortly before 9:00 PM.

Reaction has been largely predictable. Ellen DeGeneres cried as she spoke about it and other celebrities, both gay and straight, decried bullying in general and bullying of gay teens in particular. Politicians clamored for tougher anti-bullying laws.

What I have not heard anyone say is this: Jesus died for Tyler Clementi. And that fact makes Tyler’s death all the more tragic.

There are those who know that fact and yet act as if it were not so. Not only that, but they act like, and go so far as to say, “God hates homosexuals”. I’m not talking about your run of the mill gay bashers and homophobes. I am talking about those misguided knuckleheads who make a claim to Christian faith, those who are, in the words of Paul in his second letter to Timothy, “holding to the outward form of godliness, but denying its power.”¹

These are the lunatic fringe of Christianity. Those like Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. There’s a group like that where I live. They used to regularly assemble on the road in front of Wal Mart with their bull horns and placards painted with what they must have thought were clever phrases like “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”

What do these foolish people hope to accomplish with such behavior? Do they really think that a homosexual is going to hear their ranting or read their signs and suddenly see the error of their ways and repent? Surely no one is that naïve. More likely their behavior will accomplish what Jesus accused the Pharisees of doing, “But woe to you…hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven.”²

Besides their motives I also question why, almost exclusively, they focus their attention on the gay lifestyle. Yes, I know what the Bible says about homosexuality, I’m not disputing that. But the Bible is much more prolific in dealing with scores of other issues, like adultery, divorce and drunkenness, to name just a few. Why aren’t these guys out in front of Wal Mart with signs that say “It’s until death do us part, not debt do us part”?

By their strident condemnation of gay people they demonstrate that they have forgotten, or are willfully ignoring, the basic truth that Jesus loves and died for gay people as surely as He loves and died for them.

Now before anyone gets too carried away with the last five paragraphs or so, either for or against what I’ve said, allow me to focus attention on the other side of the debate.

It is incomprehensible to some in this age of militant political correctness that there are still people who look unfavorably on the gay lifestyle. Those who can’t understand how someone could be unsympathetic to homosexuality are, of course, delusional. They are the type of people who believe “if a mental model is esthetically pleasing then it must be true.” And by implication “if you truly believe in something, it’ll happen.”³ I’m not condoning gay bashing or bullying. But to be shocked that prejudice of any kind exists is naïve.

Activist gays will try to tell you that homosexuality is normal. They try so hard and so loud that I suspect they’re really trying to convince themselves. But by any definition, mathematical or logical, of the word “normal” a group that comprises at most 2.5% of a population cannot be considered the norm, or normal.⁴

And that insistence to demonstrate how “normal” and ubiquitous the gay lifestyle is is one of my major concerns with the group. They are presenting a picture that is so overstated as to be a lie. And they’re so successful in doing it because they have infiltrated areas of society that shape public opinion, like Hollywood. It seems that most TV series now have at least one recurring character who is gay. The teen-targeted show “DeGrassi”, set in a Canadian high school, has had so many major characters who are gay that, statistically speaking, every gay kid in Canada must attend that one school. There’s no balance. You don’t see a statistically accurate portrayal of other groups on TV. When was the last time a regularly appearing character was portrayed as a Christian? Not your nut-job psycho Christian, as is so often the case with Hollywood’s portrayal of people of faith, but a normal American Christian. I can’t think of any.

Up until 1973 the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a mental disorder, and the decision to change it was very controversial. It took the rest of the world’s psychiatric community another 20 years to do likewise. Many studies show that homosexuals suffer an inordinate amount of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety disorder, conduct disorder and being between 2.5 to 6 times more likely to attempt suicide.⁵

No, homosexuality is not normal. They might have a stronger argument to say that it is natural. The science on that argument is inconclusive at best. Still, there are other behaviors which some people have a natural tendency towards that are not normal or healthy; alcoholics, kleptomaniacs, gambling addicts, even some murderers may suffer from a naturally occurring physiological condition. But if they act on those tendencies there are consequences. I’m not saying that homosexuality is tantamount to these conditions. I am saying that even if it turns out that for some being homosexual is a natural phenomenon, it does not excuse the behavior. In the immortal words of Katharine Hepburn as Rose Sayer in The African Queen, “Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above.”

Am I saying that homosexuality is wrong? I’m saying that the act of same gendered sexual relations is wrong, yes. In Biblical terminology that act would constitute a sin. But no more or less than the other behaviors listed by Paul in I Corinthians 6:9 – 10. James 2:10 – 13 tells us that if we’re guilty of breaking one point of the law we’re accountable for all of it.

But James then goes on to say that mercy triumphs over judgment. And that’s the whole point. No one goes to hell for being gay. No one goes to hell for anything that they do. The only way to hell is for what you don’t do, and that would be to not accept the mercy and grace God has made available exclusively through Jesus.

Personally I don’t care if you’re gay, at least not any more than I care if you cheat on your taxes or your wife. That, ultimately, is between you and God. And even if you don’t believe that or refuse to deal with it now, you will deal with it. But in the meantime, please shut up about it. The gay lifestyle is the only lifestyle I’m aware of that is so fixated on a single component of the human existence, sexuality. And frankly, I’m sick of hearing about it. So I’ll stand up against gay bashing and bullying if you’ll keep your freaking parades out of the street, deal?

I’m just sayin’.

Footnotes

¹2 Timothy 3:5 (NRSV)

²Matthew 23:13 (NRSV)

³In his article, Government by Wishful Thinking, Steven Den Beste talks about the corrupted version of teleology that is rampant today. Here's the link. It's worth a read.

⁴In the course of researching this article I've seen quite a few studies and surveys, many of which are extremely slanted in their view on both sides of the debate. From what I've found I think it's a pretty safe bet that homosexuals actually account for less than 3% of the population. Here's one pretty easy to decipher chart, based on data from the U.S. Census. And here's a more complete study on the topic.

⁵The article Homosexuality and Mental Health Problems gives a pretty straight forward view of the topic here.

Guns In Church

2010-09-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

Guns in church, it’s a potential perfect storm of controversy combining politics, religion and firearms. There are First and Second Amendment issues. And the debate has already started here in Georgia. (I’ve provided some background on the issue in Georgia below.)

America has a heritage of carrying guns to worship.

First Amendment Question: Can Government Tell You What To Do In Church

There are really two questions in this debate, at least in the states with bans on carrying a weapon in a house of worship. And that introduces the first issue; should the government be the one deciding what a person can or cannot do inside a church, synagogue or mosque? The recent lawsuit, still pending, in Georgia is about that issue (see background here). Most worshippers would be appalled at the thought of the government telling them which version of the Bible they had to use in church, or from which hymnal they had to sing. Those are decisions only the individual congregations have the right to make. Government has no business to even consider these things, let alone legislate them. And the same goes for the question of carrying a gun in church. That’s a decision that must be left up to the individual congregation. Yet four state governments, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and North Dakota, think they know better than the congregations in their states, even though the First Amendment to the Constitution directly tells them otherwise. These states allow other private property owners (like restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, etc) to make that decision on their own, but not houses of worship. Do these four states not trust people of faith to make this decision on their own?

That’s right, there are only four states with outright bans on carrying a weapon into a house of worship¹. That may be a surprise to some, and I suppose that surprise is understandable, given how prevalent government meddling in our lives has become. The truth of the matter is that bans on carrying a weapon anywhere only impact the law abiding citizen, and actually have the potential to do the exact opposite of the ban’s stated intention. What the government will tell you is that banning guns from churches or schools or post offices or anywhere, is meant to ensure the safety of the people who frequent these places. At best that reasoning is naïve, at worst (and in the case of government mandated bans I suggest this is the case) it’s an outright lie. What banning firearms in a given location does accomplish is to render the people at that location virtually defenseless. Who obeys those bans? Law abiding citizens do, which includes those of us who have gone through the trouble of becoming legally licensed to carry a gun².

Gun Free Zones Don’t Work

Where do you think most mass shootings occur? Let me Google that for you here. Let’s see, school, school, government office, school, England. In all of these places guns were banned. Guns are virtually banned in all of England, yet since those gun laws have gone into effect crime in England has risen dramatically³. If someone is determined to commit an act of violence chances are that a ban on firearms in a given location is not going to deter that individual. They’ve already decided to break any number of laws, including murder. Are we to believe that such an individual will reconsider rather than risk a weapons charge? Put it this way, when was the last time there was a mass shooting at a gun show? Never. Why may that be? Well my guess is that while these mass shooters may be crazy they aren’t necessarily stupid and they realize their best chance of success is in a location where they don’t have to worry about someone shooting back. If you read some of those stories I Googled for you you’ll see that the standard knee jerk reaction from the liberal mainstream media and gun control fanatics is a cry for more gun free zones and tougher gun laws, yet in all of these instances the shootings occurred in places where guns were already off limits. Gun free zones don’t work.

Here’s one view on the effectiveness of gun free zones

Here’s another, slightly more serious view

It seems obvious, at least to me, that laws forbidding congregants to carry a gun into a house of worship will not stand up to the scrutiny of lawsuits as they are a violation of the Second Amendment protected right to bear arms, and, more importantly for this argument, a direct violation of the First Amendment guarantee of the freedom of religion. Which leads us to the second question in the guns in church debate.

The Spiritual Dilemma: Should You Carry A Gun In Church

For some people carrying a gun in church may seem like a lack of faith. “Surely God will protect me in church, of all places,” they may say. Allow me to pose the question this way; when you’re in your car do you wear a seat belt? Do you have a fire extinguisher in your home? Do you look both ways before crossing the street? If you ride a motorcycle do you wear a helmet? Do you go to the doctor for regular checkups? If you have small children in the home do you put medicine, poison and sharp objects in locked cabinets or out of reach? Do you see where I’m going with this? And how about other safety considerations at church, surely there are fire extinguishers somewhere in the building. And many houses of worship require some sort of background check on those folks working with children. Taking responsibility for your own safety and the safety of your loved ones is not a demonstration of a lack of faith; it’s an act of love and obedience to God, regardless of where you practice it, at home, church, work, wherever. I’ve already detailed why I carry a gun everyday and everywhere that it’s legal for me to do so (here). I don’t carry at church, but not out of a belief that it would somehow be wrong or unspiritual to do so. I don’t carry at church because for the time being it is illegal for me to do so, but once that law is changed…

In the suit challenging the law in Georgia, Rev. Jonathan Wilkins is quoted as saying he needs to have a gun for his own protection while working alone at the church, during services and “for the protection of his flock, his family, and himself.” Putting aside the question of how carrying a gun reflects on one’s faith, let’s ask, “how likely is that you’d ever actually need a gun to protect yourself or others in church?” Let me Google that one for you here. There’s Richmond, California; Knoxville, Tennessee; Hampton, Virginia; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Youngstown, Ohio. And that’s just the first page of results. Was God not paying attention to those churches? That question borders on blasphemy. Of course God was paying attention, and yet those shootings all took place in churches. Funny thing about how God works; He often chooses to use people to accomplish His will. As His people we have a responsibility to be prepared for any eventuality. I kind of like that saying, “Pray like it’s all up to God, and work like it’s all up to you.”

Not only are churches not immune to a crazed individual shooting up the place, but to many criminals houses of worship appear to be easy targets. The assumption by most is that no one will be armed at a church. And there’s a good deal of temptation at a church for a thief looking for what appears to be easy pickings; lots of cash on a Sunday morning, office equipment, sound equipment, computers. And don’t forget the parking lot. While everyone is inside during services there’s a squadron of unattended vehicles just begging to be broken into. A few years back we had a number of car break-ins in our church parking lot over the course of several Sundays. The church instituted a policy of having several men patrol the grounds and the break-ins ceased.

Whether you choose to carry a gun at all, to your house of worship or anywhere, whether it’s legal or not, is between you and God. I’m only hoping to present some considerations for why you might decide to carry a gun. If you opt not to, well, I hope you never run into a situation where you’re faced with a serious threat of violence and one of us law abiding, freedom loving, God fearing licensed gun owners isn’t around. I’m just sayin’.

Background on guns in church debate in Georgia:

On June 8, 2010 Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law HB308, the Common Sense Lawful Carry Act, authored by my friend, State Senator Mitch Seabaugh⁴. That bill originally included a provision to allow guns to be carried in houses of worship with the stipulation that the presiding official permits it, either for all or some designated license holders. The governor said he wouldn’t sign the bill with the church carry provision remaining, so a committee removed that language from the final version.

Then on June 28, 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court incorporated the Second Amendment against the states with their ruling in the McDonald v. Chicago case. With that ruling many predicted there would be an avalanche of lawsuits against other state and local gun control laws. On July 7, 2010 GeorgiaCarry.org filed a suit in the Superior Court of Upson County Georgia seeking to have the ban on carrying firearms in places of worship ruled unconstitutional, citing that the ban violates the First and Second Amendment. The case was moved to federal court. U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal held a brief hearing on Monday August 23, 2010 where he refused to block enforcement of the law but he also declined to dismiss the case. His final ruling on the case is still forthcoming. Some analysts expect Royal’s ruling, regardless of what it is, to be appealed and eventually go before the U.S. Supreme Court. More details on that case are here.

The same week that the Georgia lawsuit was filed Louisiana enacted legislation to allow parishioners to carry concealed weapons in houses of worship. The Louisiana law does have some stipulations on additional training and the fact that there are armed worshippers must be announced (story here). That leaves only four states, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi and North Dakota, with outright bans on guns in houses of worship.

Footnotes

¹GeorgiaCarry.org has an interactive map of carry restrictions by state here.

²All states that issue some type of license to carry a firearm have a number of requirements that must be met before that license is issued. At the very least an applicant must go through a thorough background check by law enforcement. Many states also have minimum training standard that must be met.

³The World Conservation Trust website cites a study showing that gun murders in London went up by 90% within a year of England’s handgun ban.

⁴I actually do count Senator Mitch Seabaugh as a friend. We first met in 2000,when he was campaigning for the Georgia Senate for the first time. He was a guest on my morning show on J93.3 (WVFJ). We have kept in touch over the years. By the way, his wife Leah makes one mean rhubarb pie.

Why I Carry a Gun

2010-09-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

I carry a gun. Everyday. Everywhere. At least everywhere not prohibited by law, which is, as of June 8, 2010, a much larger list, and much easier to determine in Georgia, where I live. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I did not enter into this practice of everyday carry lightly. I can’t pinpoint the exact date I began to seriously consider purchasing my first gun, nor the impetus for that consideration. It was sometime in the latter third of 2008. My daughter left for college. Barack Obama won the presidential election. My car was broken into while parked in the lot at work. And it seemed that several times a week there were stories in the local news of home invasions, carjackings, bank robberies and drug busts, not just in Atlanta proper, but in my county and the surrounding communities. It could have been any one or a combination of those things that started me thinking about getting a gun. Maybe I just started paying closer attention.

Whatever the reason, I began to research gun ownership, carry and use. Several years prior, upon discovering that a friend carried a gun, I asked if you needed a license to carry in Georgia. This person told me that all you needed was a driver’s license. They were wrong. During my research I discovered that Georgia is a “shall issue” state, one of 38 states that, by state law, must issue a license to carry if the applicant meets the requirements of the state, allowing no discretion on the part of the issuing agency. Most, 27 in fact, shall issue states do not require a license to carry openly, so what they are issuing are concealed carry licenses. And three states (which I’ve included in the 38 shall issue states), Alaska, Arizona and Vermont, do not require any permit to carry a concealed weapon. So if I were going to carry a gun in Georgia¹ I would need to get a Georgia Firearms License² (GFL).

I also learned that Georgia has a “Stand Your Ground” statute. Stand Your Ground or Castle Doctrine laws generally state that an individual has no duty to retreat and has the right to use force, up to and including deadly force, when confronted with an attack or threat of an attack that causes the individual to have a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or others. Under Georgia law “Stand Your Ground” encompasses any place an individual has the legal right to be. The use of force, even deadly force, under Georgia law renders the individual immune from criminal and civil prosecution.

The more I learned the more I came to appreciate the gravity of my decision. And so I bought a gun³ and got my GFL. Which, finally, brings me to the “why”. I always understood that owning and carrying a firearm was a right. A right enunciated in the second amendment, but also a right that pre-dates the constitution or any form of government for that matter. The right to defend oneself and others is inherent in the right to life itself.

What I learned through my months of research is that being armed with an instrument of deadly force is more than a right; it’s a responsibility. Ultimately I alone am responsible for my own well being and that of my family. As a Christian I have a responsibility to be prepared to come to the aid of someone who is not able to defend himself. As a citizen I have a responsibility to defend the rights afforded by the constitution and my creator.

I take these responsibilities very seriously. So in addition to getting licensed and carrying a gun, I took a firearms course through my local sheriff’s office. I joined Georgia Carry (GCO), a citizen’s advocacy group that has been instrumental in much of the recent legislation in Georgia to revise and loosen gun laws. I practice regularly and have even participated in several shooting competitions though GSSF (Glock Sport Shooting Foundation), which I have joined, and IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association).

I now regularly practice open carry in an effort to help make guns more ubiquitous in my community. Oddly, the Glock on my hip generates very little attention. Two people have asked me if I was a police officer and a cashier at the supermarket commented that when she got through with her shift she was going to the range for some target shooting.

Finally, I have purposed in my mind and heart that I am ready to act on these responsibilities even to point of using lethal force. Not that I seek out an opportunity to do so, quite the contrary. I now pay much more attention to my surroundings and do my best to avoid placing myself or loved ones in situations that may reasonably be unsafe. Unfortunately we can’t always predict where or when violence may be visited upon us. So I prepare for that which I pray never happens, ready to meet the challenge that I hope never comes.

Footnotes

¹Georgia law does allow you to carry a weapon in your own home, vehicle and place of business without a GWL, so long as you are eligible to be issued a GWL should you apply.

² As of 06/08/10 with the passage of SB308, the Common Sense Lawful Carry Act, the GFL became a Georgia Weapons License (GWL). SB308 also eliminated Georgia’s nebulous “Public Gathering” law (a holdover from Jim Crow days) and replaced it with a short and exhaustive list of places off limits and clarified all laws dealing with weapons.

³In addition to researching the law, I also did quite a bit of research on guns. Handguns vs. rifles vs.
shotguns, caliber, brands, etc. I wound up buying a Taurus Millennium Pro PT111 9mm semi-automatic pistol. I have since purchased a Glock Gen 4 G17 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a Mossberg 500 12 gauge shotgun.