Of Guns And Fireworks - The Saga Goes On...

Amazing how SIMILAR those two photos appear....

OK, so the *new* gun bill (which stems from a 1968 law that apparently had fewer teeth than George Washington) passes the Senate. I fully expect this to blow through Congress as well. Hell, even the NRA is onboard with this baby.

The law will basically fix "flaws" in the background check system to keep people with mental health problems (such as the VT gunman) from being able to purchase guns (legally that is). Nice idea...should have been in place AGES ago.

The states will be required to automate their lists of CONVICTED CRIMINALS as well as the MENTALLY ILL (that would be all those that "hear God" on a regular basis, and not in the "good" way), who are PROHIBITED from purchasing firearms from that 1968 law mentioned above.

Now...all we have to do is get the ILLEGAL guns out of the WRONG hands!

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The FOURTH OF JULY is coming early (to an Allen County court room near you) with this Simon Rios case. This is the perp that killed his family and raped and killed the Guitierrez girl last year. The defense contends he:

(1) Didn't fully understand his Miranda rights as translated by an interpretor (funny thing...the LAST TWO TIMES he was ARRESTED, he understood them well enough - so says the prosecutor).

(2) Is mentally incompetent to stand trial (another funny thing...he was able to have a FAMILY, hold a JOB, and MAINTAIN a household complete with mortgage - so says the prosecutor).

The death penalty is STILL a possibility for Rios...nice to know justice hasn't gone out of vogue. I'm thinking "slam dunk" for the prosecution here (and about time).

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And speaking of the 4th of July, hope you have your FLAG out TODAY (it IS Flag Day, after all). This is one of those days that will sneak right past you if you're not careful. Lastly, how many out there from in and around our fair city (Fort Wayne) have gotten those "catalogs and flyers" from PHANTOM FIREWORKS? This is the newest store to sell the makings of IEDs...and they're open ALL DAMN YEAR, too...WOO-HOO! I was perusing the pages and I noticed some disturbing things.

What is the FIRST thing YOU think of when I say the following?

ROLLING THUNDER

BATTLE OF YORKTOWN

STRATEGIC AIR DEFENSE

DEF-CON ALERT

BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA

GATLING CANNON

NO...it's NOT today's lineup for the HISTORY CHANNEL...

How about these?

GOLDEN PYRO FUSION (not a sport drink)

THUNDER MOUNTAIN (not a NASCAR event)

HISSING COBRA (not a martial arts movie)
FEAR NO EVIL (not a biblical quote)

If you guessed FIREWORKS...give yourself a pat on the back.

Phantom is one of those chain stores selling these as well as...( you better clear you mouth of liquid or have a towel handy)....MORTARS! That's right, those devices used for launching projectiles into the air (where they come back down thanks to Isaac Newton's law).

They ain't cheap, but they STILL can due some damage is improperly used. Cripes, they look like smaller version of the items used in the PROFESSIONAL shows you see downtown, or at least something some Al-Queda insurgent might use against civilians.

Got $200 bucks? No problem....we'll hook you up so you can annoy the neighbors and terrorize your block! And how I got on the damn mailing list is ANYONE'S guess. Maybe it's a mass marketing ploy to ANYONE over 21, who knows?

Now even IF I had that much money (to waste) on thse types of fireworks, I would not consider getting them in ANY city. And IF I lived WAAAAY out in the boonies, I "might" think about it. It's not like I've never handled stuff like this either. It's just NOT one of the immediate "needs" at this time, nor even on the "want-list".

But rest assured that people with no visible means of support will be visably shooting this ordnance off come the 4th (if not sooner). Listen outside after the sun goes down tonight, and you'll hear people setting off fireworks, in blatant defiance of the "new law" here, unless you live in one of those "nice" neighborhoods.

Good luck in getting the police to be able to enforce this...they'll have to catch them setting them off, and if they're on bicycles or motor scooters (as I have seen and heard), that will be even harder. Sorry, but this ISN'T a fireworks "law"....it's more like the immigration bill vis-a-vis a SILENT AMNESTY (for those that just have to annoy others).

And right here, right now, we have a LOT more pressing issues to tackle.
I'd just wish we'd start doing it.