Here we go again

Off to Fort Meade in about 30 minutes for surgery. The Mrs. and I went to chinatown for lunch yesterday, then to the Air&Space museum, then off to visit with some friends for supper. (Thanks again Kevin & Rebecca (and Dan--I need to buy some more stamps today!)

Two things pissed me off, the first one was prolly the most frustrating: I saw some of my hard earned medals for sale in DC. Not at a street vendor, or at the kiosk at the Vietnam Memorial, but IN THE AIR AND SPACE GIFT SHOP, on a curio rack with hat and tie pins and money clips. I realize it's legal to sell any medal except the MOH, (and they even put a sticker on the back of the package that quoted the regulation) but I really don't think tat is what the legislators forsaw when they wrote the regs. They wanted to (I believe) make it easier for veterans to purchase their awards through AAFES, Military Clothing and Sales Stores, and at the other various uniform shops that sell them--MarlowWhite, etc.
I don't think they should be sold as fashio items at a f u c k i n g (I'm madder'n hell right now) curio shop, where every wandering tourist can grab one. These awards (and many others) are not simply decorations. they are not costume jewelry. They denote wartime service to the Nation, they stand for the months and years of sweat, toil, frustration, dedication and the common valor shared by all soldiers. They DO NOT BELONG ON SALE IN A MUSEUM GIFT SHOP.
PLEASE WRITE, FAX, AND CALL ALL OF YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE TO PUT PRESSURE ON THE SMITHSONIAN TO STOP THE SALE OF THESE MILITARY AWARDS. Get every veteran's group you can think of involved in supporting new legislation restricting the sale of these items to servicemembers and veterans. Write the curator, board of directors and whomever else at the smithsonian can put a stop to this and ask them nicely to do so. Just because the can do something, doesn't mean they should.

(Also, why is it that almost everything I saw in the gift shop (other than the medals) was stamped "Made in the Peoples Republic of China"? You'd think that if there was one place you'd find made in America stuff, it'd be in a gift shop of a museum showcasing some of our greatest National Achievements. Go figure.

Finally, the loonies are at it again. Via Kim:
Yup… we conservatives really taught the Republicans a lesson in the last election, didn’t we? Here we go again:

H.R. 1022: To reauthorize the assault weapons ban, and for other purposes

Now this is early days, and the bill has simply been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. There’s not even any text for the bill yet, but the intent is plain.

Now consider this little plum:

In the post 9/11 world where supposedly “everything has changed,” perhaps it is time for Americans to reconsider the value of public gun ownership.

The idea of public gun ownership simply does not make sense anymore. The right to bear arms, as enumerated in the Second Amendment, was meant for the maintenance of a “well-regulated militia.” At the time the amendment was adopted, standing armies were viewed with a great deal of suspicion, and therefore, gun-owning individuals were seen as a protection mechanism for the public. These gun owners were also seen as guardians of the republic against the tyranny of the rulers. The framers of the Constitution saw the right to bear and use arms as a check against an unruly government. That state of affairs no longer exists.

Today, only a handful of citizens outside of neo-nazi and white supremacist goups view gun ownership as a means of keeping the government in check.



Neo-Nazi? White supremacist? Is that what I am? Or am I just one of the handful of "others"? I guess if I am a member of a small enough minority, MY RIGHTS JUST DON'T COUNT.

Go out, today, and buy an AK, SKS, M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, FN FAL, or any semi-auto "battle rifle" you can find, and about 500 rounds of ammo. (and if you have a spare AK collecting dust somewhere, just send it my way, I'll give it a good home.)

--Chuck