"Universal Health Care" is a universally bad idea...

So the other night, another cousin and I were having a discussion about our 2A rights. She informed me that she was more worried about the cost of our health care coverage than she was about being able to purchase an “assault rifle”.

Without going into a tirade about my right to own whatever means of defense I choose, I’m going to clarify a few things. First, there are a LIMITED number of true “assault rifles” available in America. With the exception of those sold to law enforcement and military, it is ILLEGAL to manufacture them in (or import them into) the United States…and has been since 1986. In order to legally own one, you have to fill out all sorts of forms, get fingerprinted at the local police station and have a form signed by the Chief stating that you aren’t a “threat to public safety”, and pay a ridiculous amount of taxes. The total cost is typically over $10k, and takes literally months before you can have one in your hands. If you have a spotless record. Your average gangbanger can’t go buy one at a gun show. It just doesn’t happen. Second, I’d like to add that our new president fully supports an outright ban on damned near every firearm except the muzzle-loaders our founding fathers used to free this nation 200 years ago, and has publicly stated this support on numerous occasions.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, back to the discussion at hand: The retardedly high cost of decent health care coverage in this nation. Of course it’s through the roof, and I know first-hand what the potential of not having it can mean.

When I was 12 years old, I made the foolish mistake of not listening to my father when he told me not to play with gasoline and fire. Being the rebellious little bastard that I’ve always been, it was less than a week later that I set my arm on fire in my driveway.

After seeing the ER doctor at the local hospital, my father was told that my right arm would have to be amputated to prevent infection. My entire right arm, from the armpit down to the base of my thumb, looked like a medium-rare steak. Much of my skin had melted off and dripped into the driveway, and the rest of it peeled away when they pulled back the bath towel my arm was wrapped in. Still, I think I would have rather died than knowingly allowed a man to amputate my arm, but the choice wasn’t in my hands.

Then, as fate would have it, a higher power intervened. My creator, working through the power of the almighty American Dollar, did not allow my dominant arm to be removed before I was able to learn to drive a stick shift, play a guitar, or do so many other things I’ve enjoyed doing since that time.

Money didn’t save my right arm from amputation. In fact, it was lack of money that saved it.

My father was “just another rat contractor welder” working inside Dow Chemical, but not “for” Dow Chemical. He made decent wages, but had no health insurance coverage to handle the cost of an amputation. Instead, I was sent down the road a bit, to a charity hospital. You know, one of those places that are more concerned with saving people’s lives than making that Lexus payment. In a week’s time, I was back at home…and my right arm is functioning just fine.

And this, my dear readers, is why I oppose “universal health care coverage”…or, as it is better-known, COMMUNIST MEDICINE.

When you get government involvement in anything, especially when it’s mandated, two things are assured. You’re going to get the worst possible service at the highest possible price. It’s going to happen. If you don’t believe me, go get your driver’s license renewed. That piece of plastic costs about thirty cents to print, and slightly less to mail. The entire process should take about five minutes, but routinely takes upwards of half an hour, per person.

When you apply this approach to medicine, it’s not going to be any different with regard to the level of service you’re getting. On top of this, you’re going to see some very bad things happen when you go to the doctor’s office.

One of these things is the amount of drugged-out people on our streets today. Ever notice how pharmaceuticals are advertised on prime-time television more than Chevrolets and McDonalds are? I can just imagine what it’s going to be like when the average working-class family of four gets to go see a doctor for free/cheap. Dad’s gonna get a prescription to make his pecker get hard, mom’s gonna get some hormone replacement therapy, Sally is going to get a pill because she is too fat to make the cheerleading squad, and Johnny’s gonna get doped up because he likes to act rambunctious during class. Never mind the fact that these pills are known to (respectively) make you go blind, get cancer, shit your pants, and kill yourself. Yes, this is just what America needs.

Better yet, advocates of socialized medicine think that you and I should pay for it. I don’t go see a doctor every time I get a headache, my back gets sore, or my stomach gets upset. When these things happen, I know the cause and I know the remedy…stop drinking until 3am and getting four hours of sleep before work, stop acting like I’m He-Man when I get there and have to install a 200lb bumper, and stop thinking hot wings are the only necessary ingredient in a balanced diet. I don’t need to have my company insurance plan pay a doctor to tell me these things, and you shouldn’t either. I don’t believe in B.S. maladies like “restless leg syndrome”. When I’m 65 years old and I can’t get my equipment to function, I think that’s God’s way of telling me that I’m too old to be gettin’ jiggy with it. When a woman gets old enough to experience menopause, them’s the breaks.

So it’s obvious I think one of the biggest causes of our outrageous health care costs are people abusing the system, and screwing it up for the rest of us. Another cause is the corporate greed found within the industry. I’m all for “stackin’ paper”, but it’s ridiculous to assume that the reason the cost of a prescription is so high is because of the costs associated with the research and development of that drug…especially when executives are making BILLIONS of dollars every year (that’s per person, not a combined total), and even more money is being spent on paying off doctors so they’ll prescribe so many of these needless prescriptions.

So what’s my remedy for this situation? For starters, let’s STOP arguing over who should pay for health care, and START examining why a hospital is going to charge you eight friggin’ dollars for a tablet of aspirin. Hospitals charge you eight bucks for an aspirin for the same reason dogs lick their own naughty parts. BECAUSE THEY CAN, AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT. Well, nothing except insisting that your elected representatives repeal the laws that allow them to do it.

No, I’m not talking about passing a law making it illegal to charge a certain amount for a tablet of aspirin. I’m talking about REPEALING laws that regulate the manner in which an individual and/or corporation is allowed to enter the health care industry or insurance industry. Imagine if every private business in America was REQUIRED BY LAW, PUNISHABLE WITH IMPRISONMENT FOR NON-COMPLIANCE, to become members of the local Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, and their respective trade association? Can you imagine the costs associated with this? Of course, the cost would be passed down to the consumer when he wants to buy a hamburger, get his roof repaired, or get a new car. On top of this, since these organizations are allowed to set their own rates, upon legal requirement they become able to force the less-profitable businesses out of the field…which equals less competition, and in effect, a limited monopoly on the industry.

This is already the case with both the health care industry AND the insurance…two industries that work hand in hand to ensure that you’re going to pay the highest prices possible for something that should be available to everyone. When this is socialized, you’ll see how these costs are distributed evenly amongst all people in this nation that work for a living…and you’ll soon see your “share” of the costs skyrocketing, because these two industries are going to bilk Uncle Sam for all he’ll allow them to. You’ll start seeing more instances of fraud. Worst of all, you’ll start seeing a drastic reduction in the quality of service provided, because doctors will no longer have an incentive to provide the best possible service. They’re going to get paid by our government for seeing someone, and the incentive to see a particular doctor vs. a different doctor stops being the quality of service and starts being the length of the line going into the office.

Unfortunately, our elected representatives have been bought and paid for by the American Medical Association, the insurance industry, and “Big Pharma”. Until we start demanding freedom to spend our money as we see fit, with whoever we choose for whatever reason, you’ll see the cost of health care rising continuously…and you’ll be paying this cost, regardless of whether you’re receiving the service.

A Few Good Hackers?

It seems the nObama administration has found that our nation's information infrastructure is vulnerable. Oh, no kidding? Really? You don't say...

Anyhow, the administration wants the Department of Homeland Insecurity to do something about it. The Pentagon's new budget request is asking for funds to train 250 "cyber-experts" per year, up from the 80 per year at its current rate.

Reading all of this brings back memories of my youth. I first used a computer at the age of five, when my mom's boyfriend of the month bought her a 1st-gen Apple Macintosh. Yes, that clunky box-looking thing that had everything built in, including the monitor. By the way, I would like to point out that Steve Jobs is the antichrist, and I am still cursing my mother for even owning such a device. Whatever.

Since the time of my early childhood experiences playing Zork on mom's Mac (and catching a massive unnatural asswhipping for using up all the printer paper to make "No Smoking" signs I plastered all over her house that summer), I've progressed a bit. I learned a basic programming language in Junior High (Apple BASIC, actually), and wrote a program on a IIe that did my Algebra homework for me one day when I got bored with mapping out parabolas. A few years later, my father bought me my very own computer...that was promptly confiscated a month and a half later, when I failed high school Algebra due to not doing any homework. I've since progressed to learning how to build computers, and some of my myriad functions at work involve running the company's online store and "fixing" our computers when someone screws them up. The rig I'm typing this on now has been built and rebuilt more times than Michael Jackson's nose, and is now practically NASA-grade. Anyhow, it's safe to say I know my way around a computer.

And yet, I have nowhere near the skill level these guys have. When the Pentagon trains someone for "cyber" specialties, they aren't training them to use the computer...they are training them to use the computer for what the Pentagon needs or wants, using pre-existing skills in their desired manner. Although I know more than the average 30 year old when it comes to bypassing a Windows product key, there are 12 year old boys who can do the very same thing. For every 45 year old man the Pentagon considers to be a "cyber-security expert", there are a dozen hormonally-challenged freshman sitting at home on a friday night wired to the nines on Red Bull and Skittles, who can slip right past these "experts".

Back in high school, during the "early years" of the internet (think "386" processors, hard drives were measured in "Mb" instead of Gb", we were just phasing out disks that were actually "floppy", et cetera), a friend of mine was one of these people. I won't go into details about what he did, but let's just say that A) he did it from the Angleton High School library, and B) he's the reason I found out what was in the FBI file that I've had since the age of 15. I was 16 years old at the time, he was 14.

Since the begining of computer networking, there have been people who understood how networks function. I'm not really one of those people, once we get beyond the basic fundamentals. If I were jogging, these people would be flying past me in a 400mph nitromethane-powered dragster. They know what's up. A third of it comes from natural ability to understand certain abstract concepts, another third comes from reading up on the subject, and the remaining third comes from personal hands-on experience.

Of these people, they typically fall into one (sometimes more) categories...people who make retarded amounts of fat bank working for Symantec, McAffee, et cetera, people who hack networks for ill-gotten profits, people who like to go in and tear shit up so they can brag about it, and people who just do it for the sake of doing it.

Now, here's what scares the living holy hell out of me...

The past eight years of Bush the Dumber have shown us that our government A) is willing to do all manner of illegal, immoral, and unethical things to ordinary citizens, including warrantless electronic surveilance, B) has set legal precedent by doing so (and passed laws granting future, present, AND retroactive immunity to those who illegally participated), and C) will not hesitate to utilize these methods against political and/or ideological enemies. Most of the complaints brought against the government regarding illegal surveilance of their private lives have not been from "terrorists", but rather people that were unliked by the administration and watched because of this.

Our new administration REALLY DOESN'T LIKE those of us who think for ourselves, and unfortunately for America, is stacked full of people who were loyal underlings during gov't-sponsored murders like Ruby Ridge and Waco. On top of that, they are armed not only with every modern weapon known to man, but also with the aforementioned legal protections against reprisal from their victims.

Then, let's take a good look at the people who would be willing to take a job from the gov't for doing this kind of work. Let's remember, these people aren't your typical American Idol-watching, American Eagle-wearing numbnut morons...they are COMPUTER HACKERS. They took a dump last night, and while doing so, forgot more about the internet than you and your six best friends will ever know about it. Yes, all seven of you, combined. Obviously, they "have a clue" about what's going on in this world, because they are exposed to information on a regular basis as a part of their everyday lives.

Taking those last three paragraphs into account, let's think back to those four classes of people I mentioned earlier. Which one of these four people is most likely to take a job working for our government?



Think about it. It won't hurt you, and it's not illegal yet...

In Re: Billiam's statements about Law Enforcement.

This particular posting is in response to my cousin's thoughts on Law Enforcement officers.

First and foremost, I'd like to point out a flaw in the reasoning found within your second paragraph. Power, in and of itself, is *not* good or bad. However, let's discuss the "power" you speak of. A policeman's power is limited only to removing liberty, safety, and occasionally lives, from the citizens he wields this power over. When this power is coupled with human nature, and we as a populace provide extremely little oversight, this power instantly becomes a very dangerous thing.

Yes, officers die in the line of duty. Much like every other occupation, most on-the-job deaths and injuries are the result of accidents. I'd also like to point out that, due to my specific occupation, I am statistically somewhere around ten times more likely to be killed or injured "on the clock" than a policeman is (that comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in case you were thinking I pulled it out of my ass or something). Your buddy's motorcycle-cop of a father was not run down intentionally by a criminal intent on killing a cop...he was injured in a traffic accident, much the same as I was when the idiot in the minivan almost ran me over while traveling down I-10 on my way to school. At the time of the incident, I was working as a CNC machinist. Your buddy's dad was a cop. Our respective occupations had absolutely nothing to do with our accidents, with the exception that your friend's dad was on the clock at the time.

Much like you, I also have friends that I jokingly refer to as "pigs". There's a (now-retired) officer that was with the Angleton PD that I became well-acquainted with when I worked in the attendance office during my senior year of high school. Two of my friends from school became cops, and are now employed with the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office...and I'd actually trust my life with them. Not because they wear a badge, but because I know them to be good people in general...and, to the best of my knowledge, they haven't let the power go to their heads.

Yes, police are hated as a pariah by the majority of people who don't know them. Officers know this, and still do the job. Some people even actively wish to kill police officers, yet these officers still go to work. Officers are fully aware that the majority of our State Penal Code is based upon revenue generation and/or penalizing activities that harm absolutely no non-consenting adults, yet they still clock in. It is the fact that, even knowing that the majority of our penal code goes against the tenets of freedom that this nation was founded upon and STILL wish to work as a police officer, that I have very little respect for most of them. At least my friends are honest about why they work as cops.

Just because it hasn't happened TO YOU doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence...and you should understand this, otherwise you're going to make a shitty cop. I've only had a gun pointed at my head on three occasions in my lifetime...all were unwarranted, and all three of those pistols were in the hands of men wearing badges. As I've repeatedly mentioned, there have been numerous instances of unlawful arrest, and I have the case dismissals to prove it. You can't open the Houston Chronicle for more than two days in a row without seeing a front-page story relating to police misconduct in some form or fashion. And yes, I have had my front door kicked in by police officers with drawn sidearms...because there were too many cars in my driveway! Not because of a noise complaint, or any illegal activities occurring, but for having too many cars in my driveway! Furthermore, the fact that you knowingly committed a criminal offense that the police deemed worthy of an "investigation" (and readily admitted doing so) should render your privilege of being a Law Enforcement Officer null and void...after all, why should you be allowed to arrest others for a crime that you yourself have committed?

What you see on COPS is the edited version of reality. As I pointed out in a previous post, cops typically run from cameras like Richard Simmons runs from a naked woman. I'd also like to point out that some police actions that have been "legalized" by the state/county/local policies ARE NOT inherently legal according to the United States constitution, and continue to go on only because no one has taken the fight all the way to SCOTUS yet. Beyond this, we must also look at the fact that this state's penal code is slammed full of things that will land a man in prison, even though many of these "crimes" do not affect anyone except the consenting adults involved in these activities. Chapters 46, 47, and most of Chapter 43, of the Texas Penal Code, are coming to mind here. A policeman is not only willing (as evidenced by the fact that he VOLUNTEERED to become a policeman), but able (as evidenced by the fact that his employer has allowed him to perform the task at hand) and AUTHORIZED (as evidenced by his status as a "Licensed Peace Officer") to issue citations and/or confine a person for engaging in acts that don't hurt anyone except, perhaps, those who willfully partake in these acts. Not only is he willing, able, and authorized to issue citations and/or arrest a person for these acts, he is REQUIRED as a condition of his employment to enforce these laws. Ergo, if you are a licensed and employed peace officer in this state, you are REQUIRED to violate my fundamental and basic human rights bestowed upon me by my creator and guaranteed by my constitution, upon my choosing to exercise said rights.

In your last paragraph, you make the assumtion that every man and woman that has ever encountered a policeman has had that encounter occur as a direct result of the violation of a criminal statute...and, knowing from my own personal experience, I can say that this assumption is completely and totally devoid of any truth or fact. Failure to break a law put three slugs in Derek Hale's chest, and a GI-issued flag on his coffin. Not being a criminal put a slug through Robbie Tolan's lung, after protesting the manhandling of his mother, in his own front yard. Just being a law-abiding citizen put a bullet through the back of Oscar Grant, and left his daughter without a father. At least Liko Kenney got some payback for having his car rammed and being pepper-sprayed by a giggling cop, via the sound and fury of some .45cal freedom coming from the business-end of his Glock.

Not breaking any laws is what has led to numerous arrests, extended stays at the "State Motel", beatings, shootings, et cetera at the hands of the police. Every now and again, these jackbooted thugs are even prosecuted...albeit, extremely rarely.

In your last sentence, you ask the question, "So I ask you this, you want protection from the police...but who's going to protect the police? "...and here's my answer: the surest way for a policeman to get protection from those who don't like their rights being raped is, quite simply, to NOT BE A POLICEMAN. If you're not part of the solution, you're either part of the problem or you're part of the landscape. If you don't want to be mowed down with the weeds, get out of the lawn.

Don't forget...there's not a single police officer in this nation that was FORCED to be a police officer. Every single one of them became a police officer of their own volition, and as a grown adult in a free society, should be fully aware of the risks involved with any occupation that person has chosen. Including law enforcement.

I work for a living, and as a result, I bleed for my wages on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, there are fresh bloodstains on the left leg of the pants I'm wearing right now. Much like a policeman, I also know that there are certain risks involved in my job...risks that actually make me more likely to die on the clock. The difference between me and a cop shot "in the line of duty" is quite simple...if a jackstand fails and the rear end of a truck crushes my bean, or if I slip with an air grinder and slice through my wrist, or some jerk runs me over in the parking lot by mistake, NO ONE will be saying that I died while performing a duty to restrict the liberties of others.

On the upside, if this nation continues to go down the path it's on, you won't be hurting for employment...

Some thoughts on the Tea Party, as well as some opinions on the 2nd Amendment.

So I went to the Tea Party yesterday afternoon, and it damned near got me fluffy. It started at 4:00pm, which is a time that I would normally be wishing it was 6:00pm, because after starting work at 8:00am on a normal day I'm ready to punch that clock and go home.

Well, I scheduled the day off a month in advance, because I was just unhappy about that day and wanted to see my misery in peace. So I left my house at 2:30pm, in hopes of beating the crowd, and it was epic failure. I left early enough to beat traffic, and didn't run into any until I hit I-45-N. I completely forgot about parking spots. Oops. Parking was subterranean hell. Found a spot (finally), and hit the street at 4:15. By 4:30, the fire marshal had already declared "Maximum Occupancy" of Jones Plaza (didn't know they did that at outdoor areas, but whatever).

I brought my camcorder with me, in hopes of catching any pigs starting trouble. I've come to notice that cops REALLY DON'T LIKE having their picture taken. Seriously, they will turn away from a camera faster than a fat kid runnin' from rice cakes. I didn't see any tasers, which I first thought was a good thing...until I started seeing an over-abundance of of large "riot" batons. These aren't your average nightsticks, these are your 3' long hardwood prole-beaters. May of them looked well-used, judging by how the paint had been worn off in the "business" areas.

Prior to any speakers, there was a man waving his Gadsen flag and shouting on a bullhorn about the rape of our rights in this nation, and declared that we were "living in a police state". I was standing across the street filming him at the time, and happened to be standing next to three of "Houston's finest". One looked at his friend upon hearing that comment, and said "Did you hear that? This is a 'police state'!". I pointed my camera in his direction, and asked for his thoughts on the subject. Needless to say, I was promptly waived off without a word coming out of his mouth.

The closest thing to actual disturbance I saw was another of "Houston's finest" threaten to arrest a US Marine Corps veteran for "felony possession of a deadly weapon"...because he was attempting to cross the street with a picket sign. I got it on film, and later promised that salty old Marine that the ordeal would be broadcast on YouTube.

The end portion of my "highlight reel" will be the bum riding the trike, with the "We Love Obama" sign mounted on the back.

Speaking of film, I was increasingly pissed off at Bill Gates and Steve Jobs last night...because QuickTime video files are incompatible with Windows Movie Maker, and I'm not paying for QuickTime Pro. Eventually, I'll be able to illegally download a QuickTime editor, so I can put the footage together without all the dead space.
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Now, I'd like to respond to something my cousin posted on Facebook this afternoon, regarding "the flow of guns" to Mexican dope cartels.

Before I go any further, I'd like to point out that my rights are not granted to me by a "Goddamned piece of paper". They are inherent and common to every man and woman upon his or her birth. They are not privileges that can be granted by bureaucrats, or taken away upon the whims of the legislature. They are RIGHTS...and yes, I have them. They aren't yours to take away.

I (like most others who understand it) call it my "Second Amendment Right" not because it was given to me by a paragraph written two hundred years ago, but because that particular right happened to be listed second in the Bill of Rights. In case you still don't understand this, the Bill of Rights wasn't what gave us these rights, it just happened to be the document that clarified the facts that A) they exist, and B) they are protected by our legal system.

Now, let's get another misconception out of the way. My 2A (short-hand for "second amendment") right has nothing to do with hunting a duck. As a matter of fact it has, actually, very little to do with street crime. My 2A right is what gives me the ability to resist those who would threaten my life and/or freedom.

I personally own a 12ga shotgun, BATFE-registered (even though I strongly disagree with this regulation) in my name, and have for more than a dozen years. I lawfully own ammunition for this weapon that will pierce a Chevy small-block...after traveling through the radiator. When loaded with 00 buckshot, I can clean out an entire Post Office without having to reload more than twice. To date, it has only been pointed at another human being ONCE, and that was when a now-convicted felon threatened my life with a tire iron. That's ONE INSTANCE, in almost 5,000 days...and was in defense of my personal safety. I'd say I'm blessed, especially in this day and age, to have only had to pull it once.

On numerous occasions, I have been wrongfully arrested (so many times I can no longer count them on one hand), and all but the one instance I naively plead Nolo Contendere, have been dismissed. The Supreme Court of this nation has determined that an unlawful arrest is an assault upon a person, and my state legislature has given me the authority to use any force necessary to resist an assault upon my person. And yet, because I still have a tad bit of faith in our legal system (and my right to a trial by jury, which the District Attorney has never bothered to put me in front of), I have not ever even once drawn a bead on a cop...even though doing so, and by extension pulling the trigger, would have been justified.

As evident by yesterday's showing at the "Tea Party" rallies across this nation, the citizens of this nation are getting fed up with the bullshit going on in this nation. Technically, the "Tea Party" was about excessive taxation. In reality, it was about people just getting fed up with gov't in general.

We're getting tired of not being able to live free. For the past eight years, we've dealt with "Bubba Dubbya" keeping attention diverted to "socially conservative" (read: RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALIST FASCIST) issues, to keep our eyes off of how his buddies were raping the rights and the wallets of this nation. Within the past three months, we've seen how our new president is following in his footsteps, while attempting to pass off the appearance of "Change" and "Hope". Their friends are getting paid, they are getting paid with OUR money, and they are raping our rights in the process. Lady Liberty needs more than a band-aid, because that poor woman is bleeding from every orifice right now.

Let's put it this way...if you're reading this, I'm sure you know someone that has been an enlisted member of our military at some point or another. You'll notice that, when they swore their oath of enlistment, they didn't swear to defend "America". They didn't even swear to defend the citizens of the United States of America. They swore to defend and uphold our constitution. My three uncles did it. My grandfather did it. Several of my cousins, second and third cousins, and dozens of friends have done it. In February of 1997, I did it. That's an oath that none of us have ever forgotten, no matter what. It's all about freedom, and our constitutional guarantees thereof.

You can't have freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom from unlawful search and/or seizure, et cetera if you don't have the right (and the means) to defend yourself. It's that simple. Our 2A right is there to ensure the other nine, period. That's the end of that story.

Moving right along, let's look at one of the most hated parts of the Clinton administration I can remember...yes, the dreaded "Crime Prevention" bill. Also known as the "Assault Weapons Ban", it was passed through the House and Senate amidst much debate, but didn't do a damned thing to reduce crime. Why? Because, even prior to the "ban", only 2% of all gun-related crimes were committed with firearms classified as "assault weapons".

Remember the shotgun I mentioned earlier? Remember how I mentioned that I have owned it for a dozen years, and it was BATFE-registered in my name? Well, I bought it at my local Wal-Mart, right off the rack. And yes, during 1997, that shotgun was legal to purchase. In fact, after one of my arrests, the firearm was confiscated from the backseat of my SUV by the local police...and, after being released less than half an hour after this arrest, the confiscating officer was forced to give it back to me. Yes, I was legally allowed to walk across the parking lot of the Angleton Police Station with a LOADED pistol-grip shotgun slung over my shoulder. I felt like John Wayne on viagra and steroids. Did I mention the post office was right next door?

Obviously, banning guns (or even certain types of guns) isn't going to solve the world's problems. It didn't do it 1994-2004, and it won't do it now. Interestingly enough, EVERY SINGLE GUN IN POSSESSION OF A MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL is currently illegal, under Mexican law. Yes, all of them. Even a single-shot rifle with a 28" barrel. It's not just because these people belong to a drug cartel...it's because guns are completely illegal to damned near everyone in Mexico, with the exception of cops and certain ranchers who have to jump through nine different kinds of hoops to get a license that grants them specific access to a specific gun of a specific caliber and ammunition for that specific gun.

Okay, so we've covered how guns are necessary for freedom. We've covered how banning guns (and even certain types of "evil" guns) didn't reduce crimes in this nation. We've covered how guns are completely illegal in Mexico, for damned near everybody...including drug cartels.

So now that we've covered all of this, will someone please tell me how taking away my right to possess whatever armaments I deem appropriate for the defense of my life and freedom will help to reduce crime? Can someone please enlighten me here?

Seriously...I dare you. You can't do it, because there's nothing but rhetoric and noise backing you up.

Has anyone seen my Taser-resistant jacket? And some political "definitions", as I see them...

Tomorrow morning, I'll being going through the final stages of preparation for the first instance of actual formal public protest against our government that I've ever been involved in. Yes, that's right...for all the bitching and moaning that I've done about the way our government has repeatedly raped our rights and wiped its collective ass with that "goddamned piece of paper" known as the constitution, I'm actually going out and raising my voice loudly and proudly. I'm going to make use of my right to free speech and my right to peaceably assemble.

*********DISCLAIMER***********
I honestly hope that tomorrow's protest goes smoothly, and The People are able to make their voices heard without disruption from counter-protesters OR law enforcement.
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And I hope I don't get Tasered. Or pepper-sprayed. Or arrested. Or shot.

Well, it turns out, I don't really have a "Taser-resistant" jacket...but I do have the next best thing that's legal to bring in a public place without a permit. It's called a camera. Say it with me, kids...CAM-UH-RUH.

Yes, any cop will tell you (and this is actually something you can trust when they tell you, because I know from personal experience that it's true!) that a camera is your worst enemy when you're guilty, and your best friend when you're innocent.

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This is completely and totally unrelated to the topic mentioned above, but a friend was asking me about this earlier...so I felt the need to throw it out there for public consumption.

Now, for the unknowing, I'd like to throw in some information about the world we live in.
This nation is not the "melting pot" we're taught that we live in, but rather, it's the amalgumation of five distinct (albeit occasionally intertwined) groups. I figure the definition of these people will help others further understand my frame of reference...

1) The Clueless. There are those that, quite honestly, just really don't give a shit about anything that happens in this nation. They're quite easy to spot...female specimens are typically found at a shopping mall, wearing over-priced t-shirts bearing the words "Air Mail" (often written in french), while sporting oversized sunglasses and displaying photos on myspace depicting the "pouty" look. Male specimens have been known to drive "rice rockets", or as popularized in southern states, large 4x4 pickups covered in an oddball combination of chrome and RealTree(r) camouflage...and are often known to wear flip-flops, cargo shorts, and mass-produced Chinese t-shirts bearing a generic almost-American symbol or something that evokes a Bram Stoker S&M nightmare. Their main hobbies include watching American Idol and pretending to have a clue. These people are not my ideological enemies, they are merely ignorant of the world around them.

2) Neo-Conservatives. Those who continue to support undeclared "wars"...such as wars on terror, drugs, and any other random bumper-sticker slogan that Rush Limbaugh wants to popularize this week, regardless of how the "necessity of winning" may cause our government to trample upon our constitution. These are quite easy to spot, as well...they are typically seen still displaying stickers reading "W. Still the President" on the back window of an over-priced land barge that gets six miles per gallon, while resorting to the come-back of "Shut up, you stupid liberal" whenever someone vocally disagrees with them. It matters not whether the person disagreeing with them is actually a "liberal" or not, because to a Neo-Con, the term "liberal" is synonymous with an inherent evil worse than Charles Manson's wet dreams...even though a Neo-conservative is highly unlikely to even understand the definition of the word "liberal", and often fails to realize that he is in fact, a liberal himself. Neo-Cons pride themselves on being "supportive of the troops", although they often "support" their nation's military by purchasing a Chinese-made sticker depicting a yellow ribbon...because joining the military is somewhat dangerous. Neo-Conservatives are known to complain about illegal immigrants while eating meals prepared by illegal immigrants, as well as being proponents of the "Fair Tax". Neo-conservatives are also known to be statists, to a very strong degree. Neo-Cons are highly antagonistic toward "big brother"...unless it suits their purposes.

3) Liberals. Not Neo-Con liberals, who are actual liberals but think they are the polar opposite, but those who proudly declare themselves to be "liberals". The two terms can be differentiated by the capitalization of the "L". Liberals are often under the misguided assumption that candle light vigils will actually reduce crime more succinctly than your typical handgun used by a law-abiding citizen. They are known to run amok, spewing trite crap about the "scientific consensus regarding global warming" when we can't even predict the weather next tuesday. Liberals have a fondness for Che Guevara and other murderous communist revolutionaries, but are often silenced by the mere mention of Stalin or Chairman Mao. Liberals tend to think that our nation's problems can be solved by involving the government, which leads me to believe that most Liberals were too stoned to remember the last time they were at the driver's license office. Female Liberals can often be spotted by their inherent failure to shave where it matters. They often have "issues" with anyone who thinks that a woman should be able to kill a spider on her own before insisting that she have the "right" to serve in combat. Male Liberals can also often be spotted quite easily, due to their inherent ability to, ummm, make a coherent verbalized sentence without repeatedly using the word "ummm". This is most commonly attributed to the over-abundant usage of mind-altering substances...which is also the reason he has been unable to hold a steady and worthwhile job. Liberals are known to wear "flip-flops", but these are not to be confused with the "Crocs" typically worn by the Clueless and the Neo-Con youth. Liberal sandals are usually made of leather, because plastic promotes global warming...unless the Liberal is an "oppressed vegan", who is wearing plastic shoes because the man is keeping him/her down. And wearing leather is murder. Liberals are known to be statists in the second-highest degree.

4) Statist bureaucrats. These are actually statists in the highest degree. They are actually employed by the state, which means they are employed by YOU AND ME. They are easily spotted. The most common statist bureaucrat you will encounter wears a star-shaped piece of metal known as a "badge", and is commonly referred to as a "pig", a "cop", a "hater", or a "Law Enforcement Officer". That last moniker is typically only used by pro-statists promoting the agenda of statist bureaucrats, and/or statist bureaucrats themselves. Other statist bureaucrats are known by the title of "Senator", "Mayor", "President", "*insert acronym here* Agent", "Municipal Utility District Clerk", and a myriad of other names. They have achieved something that many persons have thought impossible...they have managed to systematically screw up more peoples' lives and livelihoods in this country over a period of 200 years than anyone had ever previously imagined possible. Statist bureaucrats often lead a "double life", claiming to disagree with the actions of their government at every opportunity but refusing to vocalize their opinions publicly...or actually quit their jobs. They are often known to be very whimsical, providing speedy and polite service at seldom and random intervals, while most often taking as much time as possible to get the job done. This is not due to being "paid by the hour" or "not being paid by the hour", but rather due to "being paid, regardless".

Statist bureaucrats are often known to be supportive of both mainstream political parties, depending on which partisan actions will guarantee the "necessity" of a statist bureaucrat. Often, when statist bureaucrats are prosecuted for illegal acts, it is because they have in some way angered those in a position to prosecute them...or screwed up, and allowed these illegal acts to become part of the Six O'clock News. Statist bureaucrats top my list of ideological enemies, for three simple reasons...they serve no real purpose, they cost me money, and they often do things that really just piss me off.

5) The rest of us. We just want to be left alone. We don't need, nor do we want, universal health care. We don't need someone to tell us we're driving "too fast", because we're smart enough to figure that out on our own. We know that cigarettes and trans-fats are bad for us and will probably kill us, but we just don't give a damn. We don't smoke crack or own anti-tank missiles, but feel that we should have the right to do so if we so choose. We know that we live in world that couldn't give two shits about us if we don't fit some random minority demographic, and as a result, we really don't give two shits about the rest of the world. We don't want to be told that we need to pay some statist bureaucrat every four years before we're allowed to drive a car we paid for on a road we paid for. We certainly don't want to wait in line for four hours, just so someone we're already paying can take our picture, ask us questions we don't want to answer, and waste even more of our precious time. We don't want to be strip-searched at the airport, even if it's "randomly", when we haven't been convicted of any wrongdoing. We don't want private conversations with our wives, girlfriends, or random skanks we're banging this week to be monitored by someone who gets paid to read our private emails. We disagree with the idea of mortgaging our children's and grandchildren's future to foreign nations so we can keep propping up other nations because those nations want to further someone else's foreign policy ideals. We don't think our government has any business imprisoning someone for being in possession of a rock of "crack"...but also don't think our government has any business supporting those who choose to be "crackheads". We don't think it's right that despots in third-world shitholes should impose authoritarian rule in the nations they rule...but we don't think it's our responsibility to be the world's police force. We don't think our resources should be used by anyone but us and those we care to share them with...because they honestly don't belong to anyone but us. We just want to be left alone.

Your lives are not our fault, our lives are not your business.

They called me a "terrorist" again, as if it means something. Can we start the revolution yet?

I was going to at least attempt to bring some light-hearted humor into this blog, and get away from my typical anti-state rantings, for at least a day. Unfortunately, something a "friend" I've never actually met in person decided to share something with me today that just really got under my skin.

Yeah, they called me a "terrorist" again. Travel a little further down the rabbit hole by clicking the linkie, and you'll see a nine-page document that lumps me in with a bunch of racist hillbillies and abortion clinic bombers. Apparently, religious "fundies" and neo-nazi skinheads fit the definition of "right-wing extremists"...as do people who are fed up with our government's wasteful spending, intrusions into our civil liberties, and many of Barrack Obama's socialist policies.

I am a libertarian, and do my best to live by the motto of "My life is not your fault, your life is not my business...and your life is not my fault, my life is not your business." As a follower of this philosophy, I have made it a point to live my life according to the requirements of those who provide the things I need. I don't do things to piss off the person who owns the home I reside in. I don't dress, groom myself, or act in a manner that irritates my employer. I don't intentionally do things that I know to be harmful to others, without prior provocation and justification for doing so. As a result of this, I DO NOT agree with the notion of "socialism", as it violates every tenent of the American values set forth by our Declaration of Independence.

I have the right to own my own property, so long as I can afford to purchase it. I have the right to work where I choose, so long as I can gain employment there. I have the right to deny others the fruits of my labor, even if they are truly in need. Yes, actually backing up that last statement with action is truly heartless, and goes against everything they taught me in Sunday School. If you remember correctly, Jesus H. Christ himself was the original "O.G." socialist.

Although Jesus himself would have me give to the needy and the poor, the bible also tells us that the freedom to choose to follow the Word (or not), and actually doing so, is what makes a pious man. Taxation, at the barrel of a gun, ain't exactly the same thing. Again, my life is not your business and your life is not my fault. If I ASK you for something, then my life becomes your business. Until then, it isn't. If you ASK me for something, I have the right to determine how, when, AND IF it will be used.

So here we are. I disagree with my government's usage of my money, especially when this money has been taken WITHOUT MY CONSENT and used for THINGS I DON'T AGREE WITH. Want to give the helpless a helping hand? More power to you, as long as you don't do it with my money. Want to keep giving retarded amounts of money to rogue governments around the world? More power to you, as long as you don't do it with my money. Want to keep providing crackheads a means to support their habit? More power to you, as long as you don't do it with my money. Your life is not my fault, and my life is not your business.

Okay, I think it's been established that I'm not too fond of what OUR GOVERNMENT is doing with OUR MONEY. That should be plainly obvious, if it isn't yet.

I've covered the things that our government is doing with OUR MONEY that kinda irritate me because they are completely wasteful, useless, and costly to the American taxpayer. Now, here comes the fun part! Get ready, because this shit is gonna warp your fragile little mind!

If you're like the majority of the people I know IRL, you're one of those "mainstream" Americans. You tolerate people like me because we provide a valuable service, either personally or professionally. Personally, we're very loyal people who would die to ensure that our friends never wanted or needed for anything. Professionally, we see a problem and find a solution faster than most, which is why we still have gainful employment, in spite of who we are. Yet, we are merely "tolerated", because we are so far out of the mainstream that most people just can't wrap their little heads around us. They can't understand the idea of principles over practicality, and frankly, that idea scares the shit out of people.

Think back to about four and a half years ago...that was October of 2004. America had a choice to make. It was Bush Jr. part II, or John Kerry. I didn't exactly agree with what John Kerry stood for, but Bush Jr.'s track record scared the living shit out of me. Because we were just beginning to find out what he had done, and what he was capable of, not too much was known about the full extent of his presidency...and people called me a paranoid lunatic for feeling the way I did about him.

Oh yeah, I'm a "radical" because I think constitutional rights should extend to everyone in this nation...even "non-citizens", because our constitution does not make a distinction. I was called a "terrorist-lover" and an "America-hater" because I disagreed with the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo...because I had a conscience and a slight understanding of international law regarding the Geneva Conventions.

People thought I was absolutely apeshit crazy when, during the summer of 2008, I encouraged people to stock up on ammo and food because a hard rain was gonna come down in September of '08. Well, lo and behold, that rain came down just like I said it was going to. Economic hardships upon this nation hadn't been seen like this before in my lifetime...and are said to rival the "Great Depression" of the '20s and '30s. But I was crazy, because I didn't "roll on".

In the wake of 9/11, we saw a drastic increase in the assumed powers of our government...not only the powers assumed by our executive branch on their own, but also assumed powers granted by our legislature. National Security Letters, the "Patriot Act", and the completely illegal spying on American citizens by their government via conspiratorial collaboration of telecom corporations have left many Americans wondering what happened to the constitution during the Bush administration.

The violation of the Posse Comitatus act, as well as the numerous violations of 2nd Amendment rights, during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans (not to mention the use of BlackwaterUSA mercenaries), the complete denial and ignorance of F.I.S.A., et cetera have become rallying cries for those who worry about what their government is capable of.

Keep in mind, I was 26 years old when Katrina hit the shores of Louisianna...but I hadn't forgotten how an FBI sniper murdered a woman holding her infant child after the government screwed up, or how that same FBI sniper was redeployed to less than half an hour's drive from my uncle's home where the ATF, FBI, and other government agencies murdered people without cause.

I also haven't forgotten the struggle that this nation's founding fathers had gone through, when they risked their own necks for the sake of freedom. I remember my Knowledge teaching me about the "blood stripe", and it's meaning on the legs of an NCO's trousers. I have seen damned near every movie, read every book, and glued my eyes to every documentary, that ever covered the story of why this nation entered into WWII. My mind is still scarred with images of death camp victims of Nazi Germany via photographs, and I know people who had relatives that lived through it....and then I saw my grandfather's DD214, and heard a few stories. The old man had the chance to go home, but chose to get his skinny ass on the boat, instead...because it was the right thing to do.

I have listened to Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech, and still get teared up about it. I have a very distinct memory of sitting in a Denver motel room with my dad while on vacation, when we watched "Forrest Gump" together for the first time, and watching his reaction to the really twisted shit this nation did to its own people. I remember hearing my father tell me about his father telling him that it was a good thing the CSA lost the civil war...because we were poor, and there's a good chance that he and I would be slaves today.

It's 11:00 in the PM right now, and I'm far too tired to remember who said it, but I can remember the quote distinctly..."Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it".

Everyone who called me a "paranoid lunatic" four years ago, when I was shitting solid gold twinkies with chrome-plated cream filling just thinking about what our government was doing to "radicals", is now taking a good look around...and maybe they're thinking they may have been wrong about those thoughts.

In Missouri, the Missouri Information Analysis Center (in conjunction with the Missouri State Highway Patrol) published a pamplet "exposing" us freedom-lovers as "potential terrorists". In 2004, the Texas Department of Public Safety decided to call me a potential terrorist because I wear Levi's and pay in cash. Apparently, the popularity of Ron Paul's supporters (and their backlash) has forced MIAC to rescind their pamphlet in its entirety. Too bad my state cops still think I'm a "terrorist", even though I help pay their damned wages. Even more unfortunately, I see that my federal government feels the need to call me a goddamned terrorist because I believe in freedom.

So yeah, I own a few guns and I stocked up on ammo. If given the choice between the right to own a gun and the right to speak freely, I'll take the gun. If I have a gun, I'll say whatever the hell I want, because I have a gun...and dare you to tell me otherwise.

Yeah, I disagree with what our government is doing, have disagreed with this for quite some time, and will for quite a while...because I enjoy the idea of freedom.

Yeah, I don't agree with a third of my earnings being removed from my paycheck for the purposes of paying for the "less fortunate" when I see these "poor unfortunate souls" getting paid for sitting on their asses.

Yeah, I tell my friends and family to stock up on ammo and canned food, because my grandmother remembers the Great Depression.

Oh, yeah...one more thing. Do you see this finger? It's a symbolic gesture, focused at my government, telling them exactly what they can go do with their free time...and I don't really care how long they spend doing it, so long as they aren't doing it with my money.

"Get with the Program", and BCS...

Ummm...huh? I was just about to embed a video regarding the Law Enforcement Support Office, entitled "Get With The Program"...but it seems that the video has been removed from YouTube. Perhaps too many people heard about it, and raised a ruckus? ***EDIT*** I retrieved the video from my drive, and uploaded it under my own YouTube account. It is embedded at the bottom of the page, and will remain there until YouTube decides that I've committed copyright infringement for posting a video that was produced with my own tax dollars...

Perhaps you're wondering, specifically, exactly what the hell is "L.E.S.O."? Well, it's quite simple...it's the Department of Defense's way of dispensing with surplus equipment to local, county, and state law enforcement. I'm not really sure why the local SCHOOL DISTRICT's S.U.V. needs to be outfitted with a forward-looking infrared camera, but take a good look the next time you see a Law Enforcement vehicle with a small dome-shaped appendage on its roof. I'm sure you've seen the old Swarzenegger film "Predator", and know what infrared imaging looks like and what it does...it detects heat, and is used to locate warm bodies that otherwise can't be seen. I guess truancy is becoming a real problem, huh?

Many people would also wonder why I'm even concerned about this, seeing as how I haven't been enrolled in high school for more than a decade. My problem is this, specifically: OUR NATION IS TURNING INTO A POLICE STATE.

Becoming a police officer is, quite frankly, one of the most easily-obtained occupations in the United States today. Seriously, even I could become a cop, after going through a six-month course at the community college and passing a state exam...yes, even with my Class-B misdemeanor conviction. Unfortunately, being a policeman doesn't pay all that well, which means that you're going to get a bunch of applicants that, umm...well, let's just face it. Some of them aren't the brightest crayons in the box.

While my cousin and I were sitting and waiting in traffic court the other day, she played the role and pointed out the fact that physical fitness wasn't exactly high on the list of priorities, as exemplified by the "heavy duty" Sheriff's Deputy who walked through the court room. I guess that rules out "physically demanding" as something you have to deal with when being a professional cop.

Okay, so we've already discovered that stupid and lazy people can and do become cops. I'm not saying that all cops are stupid and lazy, as many of them are highly intelligent and even more of them fall into the category of complete and total "health nut". However, take a look around when you go to work tomorrow...in toto, how many smart people do you see? How many complete and total idiots do you see? How many "physically fit" people do you see around you, versus out-of-shape people? Get my point?

My father once told me that there were only two reasons why most cops became cops...it's because A) they don't want to actually work for a living, or B) they were bullies all through school and they wanted a job getting paid for being a bully instead of getting in trouble for it. After my *extensive* personal experience (which, btw, went back 15 years this past January) around local, county, and state cops, I've come to realize that dad wasn't too far off the mark. Then again, my father is the son of a WWII veteran that routinely referred to the Texas Department of Public Safety as "The Gestapo"...maybe it was because of their brown shirts? Hmmm...I never met him, I guess I'll never know.

Before I go any further, I'd like to say that I've met many fine upstanding individuals who wore and/or still wear a badge. Unfortunately, for every one of these people, I've met AT LEAST a dozen badged bullies that suffer from "BCS". For the unknowing, that's "Bitter Cop Syndrome".

Specifically, what is "Bitter Cop Syndrome"? "Bitter Cop Syndrome" is what occurs when a badged agent of our government sees himself as necessary to society, and gets highly upset when he realizes that he really isn't. One of the most common manifestations of BCS is when the officer declares himself to be a "Law Enforcement Officer", utilizing seven syllables, when the one-syllable word of "cop" will suffice. That is the first warning sign.

There are, of course, several others. Other common symptoms of BCS include "flexing the badge", which is commonly seen when the officer displays non-existent authority over ordinary citizens with absolutely no legal basis whatsoever.

You may also see an individual suffering from BCS display physical symptoms, such as:
A shaved head, and/or other "military"-style haircut.
Leather gloves, typically of the "fingerless" style.
A mustache.

BCS-afflicted law enforcement personnel also has an affinity for pretending they are the "civilian military force", and examples of this can be seen when they feel the need to don military-grade equipment.

I'm sorry, but there is no valid reason for a standard patrol officer to be in possession of a full-auto military rifle that is unavailable for the common citizen, even if they have been "trained" to use it. The majority of the male members of my family have had extensive firearms training (and many of them were trained by the US military), so it's safe to say we know what we're doing when we pick up a gun. When a cop gets to pack a full-auto rifle, the amount of training required to do so isn't exactly what I'd call "significant".

Many would say that there is a necessity for a policeman to have one of these rifles that does not extend to a need by the common citizen, but I would disagree. Aside from the rate of fire, there is no real difference between the M16A2 in the trunk of a cop car and the semi-auto AR15 found in the gun cabinet of your local citizen afficianado. The only real purpose of providing such weapons is to provide the psychological advantage of "I have something you can't have, because I'm better than you".

The same holds true with local county sheriff's departments' use of tanks and armored personnel carriers for the purposes of conducting "raids". Seriously, these things get about half a mile per gallon, and the maintenance on them must be out of this world...yet, we still see our local law enforcement using them, as they did on the FLDS compound in Midland County, TX.

While this sort of thing isn't costing any initial dollar figure when the federal government gives our local LE community a tank or a machine gun, there are certainly other costs involved. First and foremost, there are the federal income tax dollars required to purchase the equipment for the military in the first place. A tank or tracked APC will run well into the six-figure range. Even at "bulk pricing", military rifles are still going for several hundred dollars a pop.

On top of this, we have "training" expenses...which consist of the man-hours required to train our local idiots to use a tank, helicoptor, grenade launcher, and anything else they may think they "need" from the Pentagon.

Top that off with maintenance costs. You think brake pads on your chevy are expensive? Imagine new wheel bearings on a tank. An air filter for a helicopter engine. Replacement filters for an NBC suit's breathing apparatus. All of this stuff adds up...and, for this gear to be effective in the slightest, it requires continuous training for any and all who may be using it...which, in turn, wears out the working parts and requires more frequent maintenance.

These costs are nothing compared to the cost upon a free society, when you get a bunch of BCS-afflicted "occifers" suited up in riot gear, armed with M16s, riding around in an armored personnel carrier, and willing to "get with the program" when it comes to enforcing the state's already-encroaching threats against our civil liberties.

Perhaps the reason most police officers don't see the danger in doing this is because they aren't afflicted by the affronts upon our civil liberties, for the simple reason that they wear a badge. When you're a member of the local "finest", the laws don't really apply to you....after all, you get paid to ENFORCE, not follow, the law. Maybe it's because they just don't give a shit, as long as the checks still come in.

Every single one of these factors is, in and of itself, not that bad of a thing...but let's look at the big picture here. When you take someone like this guy, put him behind the trigger of a rifle that's apparently so dangerous that you and I can't own one, and then give him the stereotypical "we have to give him leeway, his job is so dangerous" response when he screws up, you have a very dangerous situation...especially when employees of our police departments are far less likely than the general public to be indicted for assaults and homicides (in Texas, it's a common saying that you can "indict a ham sandwich" due to the limited requirements for indictment), and even still, a very small fraction of indictments ever end up in convictions. As a matter of fact, for all the deaths that have been attributed to police officers in Harris County, only ONE officer has ever been convicted of an unlawful homicide while in uniform...and that cop served 60 DAYS IN JAIL for shooting a 14 year old boy.

So...do we really want a bunch of renegade cops running around, with access to machine guns, tanks, helicopters, et cetera? I don't know about you, but I don't think they need anything else to help their inflated egos. They already have tasers and handguns, and many of them can't be trusted to use those in accordance with the law.

Within the past month, we've seen numerous situations right here in Texas where police have been abusing their authority. The case that has gained the most noteriety is, unfortunately, the case that caused the least amount of physical harm to the victim...of course, I'm speaking of the Ryan Moats case.

Aside from that, we have a Bellaire PD officer currently under indictment for shooting a man through the chest, after wrongfully pointing a gun at the man's head in his own front yard after mistakenly thinking the man was driving a stolen car.

Right here in Brazoria County about two weeks ago, we had a cop get fired from the Freeport Police Department because he assaulted an elderly "mentally challenged" man. Apparently, Officer Chris Bake incorrectly thought the vehicle was stolen (am I seeing a pattern here?) and rammed the vehicle in order to stop it. After the 65 year old man stood up after getting frustrated by seeing his own vehicle get rammed by a cop car, and then being forced to sit on a curb with the driver and two other occupants, he was pepper-sprayed and kneed in the face. Charges have still not been filed on the officer.

Seriously, if this is the best we can do for our police departments, I'd honestly like to see them disbanded so we can keep the money and look after ourselves. If you think this is a bad idea, I propose a challenge...ask yourself, "What has a cop done for me lately"? If you can't remember anything that cops have done for you in the past decade that you couldn't have done for yourself, what's your reasoning for wanting to continue to finance them?

Now that we've cleared that up, do you still think they should be "getting with the program"?