Letter of the Week
This week’s letter of the week comes in a response to our recent story about the proliferation of concealed handgun permits and the sheriff’s refusal to release the identity of permit holders. Thanks for the letter, R.T. We’ll promise to keep the safety on.
Your story about the number of handguns in Deschutes County illustrated a conundrum about our obsession with guns. It is estimated that Americans own a half billion guns. Yet this has not stopped our government from spying on us, tapping our phones, intercepting our emails, opening our snail mail, and trashing Habeas Corpus rights – all in the interests of “security.” Conservative Supreme Court Justices like Antonin Scalia are willing to allow the Constitution to be subverted by giving Bush the right to decide when to suspend Habeas Corpus, the foundation document of our democracy: every person accused of a crime has the right to stand in a court of law and defend him or herself.
The NRA, that most stalwart and relentless gun lobby has spent millions electing politicians like Bush and other enablers who have imposed a “velvet” police state on the American people. All this time the NRA has been a docile lap dog of the Bush Administration while proclaiming that it is protecting our 2nd Amendment gun rights. It doesn’t seem to occur to these stalwarts that a government that can suspend Habeas Corpus at will, can also do the same to the 2nd Amendment. Where has the NRA been in protesting this repressive government intrusion on our freedoms? My guess is that if and when there is ever a shooting war between a repressive government and those of us who own those half billion guns, the NRA will side with the repressive government. I would like any NRA member out there to prove me wrong. It would give me hope.
R.T.Tihista, Bend
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2008.
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Well, R.T., how does one use a gun to keep the government from spying on us? Or tapping our phones? Intercepting our emails? Are you suggesting a revolution? (Don’t. Clueless left wing idiots would be among the first up against the wall) Otherwise, when you compare oranges against a 1941 Tu-tone Tan Pontiac with a burnt exhaust valve on #6, the conclusion is just as ridiculous and asinine as your proposition. Those of us with a CHL understand the obvious personal limits and responsibility inherent in the rights to that ballistic science; it is clear you do not.
You proclaim the NRA is a docile lap dog of the Bush administration, but your enormous mouth seems to have overloaded your meager ill-informed ass, as you offer no examples of this supposed dynamic to back up your biased hysteria. Lies are difficult to back up, as you have no doubt found on your journey down an eight lane freeway of gross prevarication. Further, the NRA is about keeping our gun rights. It’s not about supporting left wing elitist philosophy. Presumably, you would be in favor of the NRA advocating against trans fats and hydrogenated oils as well, but that is not their mission, either.
If it comes to a shooting war with our government, do you actually think anyone with a neuron firing would give a chocolate covered raisin induced shit WHAT side the NRA took? If that happened, the NRA would be just as superfluous and insignificant as you are.
In summation, you went on a rather disassociated and mindless rant against the Bush administration, gun rights, and the NRA, without making a single, logical, valid point that pertains to any issue, past, present or future and any entity, alive or dead. You also failed to demonstrate what the hell your Daily KOs inspired invective had to do with guns or my right to own them. Upon examination, it’s clear why this farce is the letter of the week: it’s factually wrong, not logical, shows a strong left wing bias and the editors wet their britches at the idea that a lot of folks are packing guns who were not brainwashed by leftist professors like they were, instilling the ludicrous belief that humans should not, under any circumstances, possess the means to defend themselves. These elitist left wingers believe that one’s personal defense is a job to be hired out to those low brow scum suckers, those low life dregs of society who never went to the Inspired Leftist Brain Laundry, as they did. Being an elitist, it never occurs to these pinheads that hiring folks to do a job that they are unwilling to do, or will not do for themselves, is neither moral or ethical.
“Oh, my goodness! Me pack a gun or defend myself? Don’t be ridiculous! Bullets fly out of those damn gun things! I can get somebody to do that for $12.50 an hour! Let them get their ass shot off! Who cares? Jeez! Let’s get a nice Chardonnay and watch something cool, vile and anti-American on the Daily KOs…”
Did someone mention ranting????
dodgebalz: Hi, blind sniper. Your squirt gun is empty.
Wow. I think that John got almost every single ditto-head cliche into one single letter. I’m a little disappointed that he forgot “femiNazi,” though. Maybe next time…
One question to John…how is defending the fourth amendment a “left wing elitist philosophy?” Attacking the Constitution like that makes you sound a little un-American to me.
Calm down, take your medicine, turn on Bill “Falafel Man” O’Reilly and have a nice weekend playing with your guns.
Here’s a paradox: In every state you need a license from the state to drive a car and cars must be registered with the state. You don’t hear anybody objecting to that. You don’t hear anybody screaming that the eeeeee-vil gummint is gonna “take away our cars.” Yet having mobility is at least as important to personal liberty as having a gun is — probably more so, for most people. If a tyrannical government DID take away our cars, leaving only public transportation, bicycles and our two feet to get around on, how could we fight it effectively?
John Reese: Although your post is entirely content-free, I have to admit your language is picturesque. You get 100 points for style, zero for content, which gives you an average of 50. And I’ll add 5 points for each of your three uses of “elitist,” the right-wing wackos’ buzzword du jour. Unfortunately that still only brings you to 65, so you flunk. Sorry.
Quick question: Why the hell are the right-wingers so damn ANGRY all the time? Sheesh!
Getting all red in the face, eyes popping, neck veins bulging, spittle flying — it’s not an attractive picture, guys, nor one that is likely to win many over to your cause, such as it is.
Um…how is it “left wing elitist philosophy” to support the 4th amendment?
HBM- Your post displays woeful lack of knowledge about current gun laws and registration requirements. Every legal gun purchase made in the Great State of Oregon, and the rest of the United States, requires a criminal background check and registration with the state. Thumbprints are also taken at the time of purchase. The cost of the background check is borne by the purchaser and adds an additional $10-$20 to the transaction. CHL holders are required to take a class addressing legal use of force, gun safety and proficiency.
The recent Supreme Court ruling against the District of Columbia enshrines gun ownership as an individual right, but also recognizes the need for reasonable government regulation of the ownership of firearms. While no law abiding citizen should be denied the right to own a handgun, easy access to rocket propelled grenades, surface to air missiles or heavy machine guns is not necessary or desirable. There should be a serious debate to define the balance between individual liberty and restricting weapons that are impractical for use by the general public. Unfortunately factually incorrect partisan hit pieces written to fit the leftist nanny state agenda do not add anything useful to this debate or our representative democracy. Furthermore there is nothing dangerous about supporting Habeas Corpus, protection from unreasonable search and seizure and due process to American citizens. However it is extremely dangerous leftist ideology to extend these rights to foreign fighters and terrorists actively engaged in hostilities against the United States and its people.
And as far as firearms role in the defense of liberty and the framerรข โขs intent of the scope of the 2nd amendment, none said it better than George Washington himself;
รข Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.รข ย
“The recent Supreme Court ruling against the District of Columbia enshrines gun ownership as an individual right, but also recognizes the need for reasonable government regulation of the ownership of firearms.”
And I agree with that ruling.
“Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.รข ย
With all due respect to Washington, he could not have foreseen the types of weapons possessed by the modern United States armed forces. Believing that citizens armed with rifles and handguns could put up an effective resistance to a tyrannical government wielding such weaponry is just a fantasy.
HBM: Nineteen clueless rag heads, as you call them, brought down the twin towers, killing 3000, crashing the stock market, with no guns at all. Because you are apparently flamingly ignorant of modern guerrilla warfare and improvised weapons and tactics, doesn’t mean the rest of us are. 1000 trained and dedicated subversives could bring down this country, this entire government, in 30 days or less. What could 50,000 do? How about 500,000? Ten well trained bad guys with NO guns could halt the state of Oregon in 72 hours. There would be no electric, no potable water, no communication and no edible food. What the hell do you think would ensue? Total chaos?
What does your B-2 bomber do now? Who does your military shoot with their high-tech weapons? What the hell use is a tank? You, Dude, are the silly left wing peckerhead living in an ignorant fantasy.
“Rag head?” “Peckerhead?” Really?
I think that I just figured out why you rightwingers are always so angry…you are afraid that someone will catch you peeing in your pants out of fear. Geez. John, are you that afraid of the boogeyman that you are willing to destroy our country from within, just for a false sense of short term security? Our president swears to protect the Constitution, not your single wide. Ever hear of “give me liberty or give me death?” Why are you so afraid, you traitorous coward?
“Nineteen clueless rag heads, as you call them, brought down the twin towers, killing 3000, crashing the stock market, with no guns at all. … 1000 trained and dedicated subversives could bring down this country, this entire government, in 30 days or less.”
Well, there ya go. Thanks for proving my point. It appears guns are not necessary for resisting the government.
“Who does your military shoot with their high-tech weapons? What the hell use is a tank?”
And I might ask why the hell do we insist on trying to wage a “war on terror” with conventional weapons and tactics.
In Switzerland every able bodied man is part of the national guard, has a rifle and is proficiently trained to use it. During WWII the Germans came up with a plan to invade and occupy Switzerland, but abandoned it when they realized it would cost them 500,000-1 million casualties.
While privately owned firearms may not guarantee the preservation of liberty, any prospective foreign or domestic oppressor will have to think twice and know that America will not go quietly into the night.
As an aside, John Reeseรข โขs posts may be hate filled and content free, but they basically mirror the Sourceรข โขs journalistic style. Apparently this is the only sort of black and white emotional diatribes you morons can understand.