Gun control (I'm in a political mood this morning)

For those of you who haven't heard, the Supreme Court declared a Washington, D.C. ban on handguns unconstitutional this week, by a margin of 5-4. I don't have a handgun, and I don't live in Washington, D.C., but this is still good news to me.
The D.C. law basically outlawed any handgun that was not "registered", and also made it illegal to "register" a handgun. Therefore, all handguns were illegal with one exception. The Chief of Police could issue gun licenses, valid for 1-year. Even so, any licensed gun, could not be kept in the home without being either disassembled, or having a trigger-lock. (I own one gun (a hunting rifle) and I do store it in the home, and I don't have a trigger lock, but a bolt-lock. I just think it's a smart thing to do, especially with kids in the house)
I actually read the court's decision on this issue. The entire document is about 160 pages long, with Justice Scalia writing the majority opinion (64 pages) and Justice Stevens and Breyers each writing a dissenting opinion of about 45 pages each. If you're into debate, then you should read this report. I happen to think Scalia wrote the better opinion, and had more referenced information, whereas Stevens made more unverifiable statements. Anyway, not to bore you...
I won't get into all the details of the arguments, but one thing that I want to comment on is the checks and balances system in our government. Our government was established with three distinct branches, each having it's own distinct role. In our government, the Judicial Branch has the responsibility to make decisions on whether existing laws have been followed... In no way do they have the power to create or amend laws. What we see today in some of the radical judicial districts, and even in some members of the Supreme Court, is judges who are trying to abuse their power in ways that amend laws. Read Stevens' opinion, and you will see what I mean. At one point he rationalizes that since there is a huge gun violence issue in D.C., this should come into consideration when determining if the D.C. handgun ban is "constitutional". If this practice is adopted, then the meaning of the constitution necessarily changes with the season, thus amending the laws therein. Does this seem like a role of the judicial branch to you?

I apologize for my political mood this morning, I'll try to blog about more interesting things in the future...

Glenn Beck

My first political blog... Hopefully, it will not drive anybody away over boredom. Or anybody away out of offense... I'll try to make each political blog I write have an obvious title so that you can skip over it if you're not interested. Of course, in making that statement, I'm assuming that you're interested in the other stuff I blog about!
Glenn Beck, for those of you who don't know, is a conservative "Talking Head" on the CNN channel. He also occasionally rights commentary pieces for CNN's website. I happened to find this one the other day. It's entitled "Obama no, McCain maybe". What I like about the article is his definition of what a true conservative is, as compared to what a Republican is. I'm a Republican, but consider myself a conservative first. By this, I mean that I identify myself as a Republican, but if the party is to differ from my political views in a particular issue, I will not blindly follow the party, but will make my own decision. I should make it clear that I will be voting for McCain in November. I'm not posting this to dissuade anybody from their choice, only in hopes that you will read Beck's definition of what a true conservative believes. Some excerpts:

• A conservative believes that our inalienable rights do not include housing, healthcare or Hummers.
• A conservative believes that our inalienable rights DO include the pursuit of happiness. That means it is guaranteed to no one.
• A conservative believes that those who pursue happiness and find it have a right to not be penalized for that success.
• A conservative believes in personal responsibility and accepts the consequences for his or her words and actions.
• A conservative believes that real compassion can't be found in any government program.
• A conservative believes that each of us has a duty to take care of our neighbors. It was private individuals, companies and congregations that sent water, blankets and supplies to New Orleans far before the government ever set foot there.
• A conservative believes that family is the cornerstone of our society and that people have a right to manage their family any way they see fit, so long as it's not criminal. We are far more attuned to our family's needs than some faceless, soulless government program.
• A conservative believes that people have a right to worship the God of their understanding. We also believe that people do not have the right to jam their version of God (or no God) down anybody else's throat.
• A conservative believes that people go to the movies to be entertained and to church to be preached to, not the other way around.
• A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence.
• A conservative believes that a child's education is the responsibility of the parents, not the government.
• A conservative believes that every human being has a right to life, from conception to death.
• A conservative believes in the smallest government you can get without anarchy. We know our history: The larger a government gets, the harder it will fall.

If you want some comedy, read the comments that are attached to his article... One responder said, "Thanks for reminding me of the reasons I'm not a conservative." My logic leads me to the same beliefs that Beck outlines...

On a side note, when we were in Boulder, waiting for BNL to perform, I was in the bargain books section of the store, and happened to pick up a book about "conservatism" (as defined by a left-wing liberal, so you know it's accurate **sarcasm alert**). His main point was that to be a conservative means to resist ALL change. That is a very narrow view of the matter, and justifies a narrow definition of a liberal, which is (in my view), "A Liberal loves change for change's sake. If something is working, don't worry, they'll "fix" it."

Snacktime with BNL

First, let me apologize for the novel that follows... I'm a fan, and can't help it!

I'm finally blogging about our experience with the Barenaked Ladies (BNL) last weekend. For those of you that dont' know who BNL is, they are one of my favorite bands of all time, and they happen to be awesome performers, so any show of their's is a good one!

I got word that one of my favorite bands of all time was going to be up in Boulder, CO at the Barnes and Noble bookstore. They just released their kid's cd, "Snacktime", and were there to promote the cd. They played a 30 minute set, and then spent an hour signing the cds. It was a huge blast! We got there about 2 hours before the show started, because we needed to get wrist-bands to have our cds signed. We still didn't get good seats, but it was kind of a blessing in disguise. We set up camp right near the main aisle as you come in the store. I stayed there and made myself look as big and smelly as possible, while Laurie and Gracie went to look at kids' books. While I was sitting there, I swore that I saw Ed Robertson (one of the "Ladies") walk into the store and right by me... I thought I must be imagining it, but then about 15 minutes later, I know that I saw Tyler Stewart (the drummer) walk by, so I started keeping my eyes peeled. Laurie and Gracie came back to hang out with me, and it was a good thing, because Laurie had the camera. Not too long after she got back, I yelled (not loud), "There's Jim!!! Where's the camera?" (Jim is the bass player for BNL). Our camera takes for ever to power up, but it made it just in time for me to yell "JIM" and he turned to wave!

What great luck!!! I held on to the camera, just in case we saw more of the "Ladies" up close, but no luck at that point...

The concert started, and Laurie and I took turns holding Gracie on our shoulders. She loved the show so much! She saw wiggling, and clapping and laughing... It was really cute!

When the show ended, they started autographs, but they were only letting a few people go at a time, and BNL was only going to sign for 1 hour... It came down to the wire for us, as we were some of the last group to get signatures. It was a total blast to be able to talk to each of the band members. I have to admit that I even got a little tongue-tied when I talked to Steven Page, who is probably my favorite band member. I asked him a question about one of the songs we sang on his solo album, and I couldn't even remember the name of the song, so I totally botched it!!! Ed Robertson was kind enough to allow Gracie and I to have a picture with him. He's my other favorite...

Here's a crappy picture of the other band members (From left, Kevin Hearn, Steven Page, Jim Creeggan, Tyler Stewart):

It was such an exciting day for me, and I think Laurie and Gracie enjoyed themselves as well. If any of you happen to listen to their new cd, check out 7-8-9 and Pollywog. Those are our favorites. By the way, you can watch an animated music video for 7-8-9 here, and you can also download it for free on the BNL website. Check out the music video. There is a hilarious line at the end, but I'll encourage you all to watch it on youtube by not repeating it here.

After the autographs, we took a quick drive up the canyon that Boulder Creek runs through... I'm guessing it's called Boulder Canyon, or Boulder Creek Canyon, but I don't know. Whatever it is called, it was beautiful, and it looked like there were tons of places to pull off and have fun in the water.

Long story short, Boulder can be a fun place to visit even if you're not a hippy or bleeding-heart...

My First Blog

Hello to anyone who reads my first blog...
My wife has a family blog, and I'm sure she'll be better at keeping people up to date on most of our news than I will. I'm starting my own blog because I think that my blog topics won't be of the same flavor as the family blog, and I don't want to dilute that blog. I'm not saying the my blog posts won't likely be family-friendly. I'm only saying that when I want to rant about something I don't want that to be followed by some blog about some funny thing that Gracie did.
So, welcome to my blog... I hope it's entertaining, and I hope that I'm able to incorporate Doogie-esque morals to the story and feel good messages occasionally...