John, The Head

Those that know me know that I an a gun owner. Actually, I am a multiple gun owner. I carry a gun every day, I instruct, I shoot often, et cetera.For many years I refused to join the NRA chiefly because of the former president (Charlton Heston). I appreciate his acting, and to some extent agree with his politics, but I am forced to take issue with his methods. Somehow, standing in front of untold hundreds of army-surplus field jacket wearing gun nuts holding a rifle over your head yelling, “They can have it when they pry it out of my cold dead hands!” offends my sense of discretion.

You see, there’s nothing wrong with a citizen insisting upon his constitutional rights. There’s nothing wrong with a citizen defending his constitutional rights–Indeed, it is the duty of every citizen to safeguard their rights in order that the rights of others may be less often trampled. And while it’s not exactly wrong for a citizen to openly declare to the government that he would rather die than have his rights even remotely regulated (note the difference between regulation and infringement), it’s most assuredly not prudent. Remember putting your finger an inch from your sister’s nose while in the back seat on a road trip, repeating, “I’m not touching you!” until your father turns around and smacks you? What did you learn?

The concept is this: Insist on your rights. Defend your rights. Do not challenge the government to try to take away your rights as they are bigger than you, and though you may win in the end, you’ll certainly experience some loss from the whole process. Again: Insist on your rights. Defend your rights. DO NOT CHALLENGE THE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE THEM AWAY. You aren’t doing anyone any good.

Let’s look at the sociological issues of having a lunatic as the “talking head” of the national gun owners’ association.
1) The crackhead comments will give the liberals ammunition to lobby against guns
2) The crackhead comments will give the press ammunition with which to sway those who border on reason
3) The crackhead comments will make redneck, backwoods, inbred hillbillies think that sort of behavior is actually socially acceptable, thus causing them to come out of the woodwork.

So, recently I joined the NRA, as I hadn’t heard too many crackhead comments lately. They have since done two things that have irritated me greatly. One is to send me a DVD and a bronze “collector’s coin” with a likeness of an M1 Garand on the front. In the package was a letter stating that I was to either pay for the video (causing another video per month to be sent to me, automatically, which I am expected to pay for) or that I was to return the video.

Most people are going to say, “What’s the big deal? Just send it back if you don’t want it.” My response: If I wanted the damned thing I would have ordered it. I am irritated because they assume I am enough of a “sheep” to send them money for some dumb ass DVD about the history of guns (which can easily be summed up into a few hours, right?) simply because they have already sent it. They are telling me that I am obligated to take some action, either way. I am highly irritated by people who send me something I didn’t ask for and expect me to pay for it. They are trying to force their way into my wallet. FTG

The other thing that has pissed me off is of a far more significant nature. Someone from the state NRA-ILA organization (the political element of the NRA) sent out a mailing to all NRA members in Texas. It was in the form of a petition to state legislators and a solicitation for donations (to the ILA). The petition, while not very specific, was asking lawmakers to generally take away the requirement, in Texas, for an individual to attempt retreat prior to engaging a perpetrator with deadly force while the perpetrator is in an individual’s home.

I am not an attorney. I am, however, familiar with Chapter 9 of the Texas Penal Code, which governs justification of the use of force. I am familiar with it because I teach the subject in my Concealed Handgun classes. Chapter 9 of the Penal Code states that, essentially, if someone breaks into your dwelling, you have no duty to retreat. You can, at that time, use deadly force. They don’t have to be armed. You don’t have to be backed into a corner. They have broken into your home, and that’s enough of a threat to shoot someone.

My question is, then, what the hell is all this about? Certainly, the fundraising aspect is obvious. I mean, these people need to make money somehow. But what of the petition, asking lawmakers to change the law to read, well, how it already reads? WTF?

I’m not sold on the NRA thing. I’m not saying that they are a club exclusive to nut jobs, though there are a lot of nut jobs who are members, but stuff like this worries me.

Don’t paint me in a Michael Moore motif just yet. I may be a little pudgy these days, but I remain conservative. I’d like nothing more than to bitch-slap Michael Moore in the mangina (if you are not familiar with that peice of anatomy, watch Deuce Bigallo). I’m more than willing to stand up for myself, to fight for my rights, and to fight for the rights of others.

My question is, however, what precisely is the NRA up to?

So now I have a blog. Why, you ask? Because, well, I can, and I felt like it, and I’m on vacation, so why not? I mean, everyone else seems to have one.

What will I use it for? Well, the same stuff everyone else uses theirs for: To bitch, moan, complain, comment, criticize, bullshit, ramble, et cetera.

Right now it’s 0641 and I’ve been fiddling around towards setting up a blog for the past eight hours or so. After a very long day out with Alicia (my woman of record) stumbling through the Houston Galleria, Pet Smart, the Verizon Store, Wal-Mart, TGI Friday’s, and I’m sure someplace else that I cannot remember, I came home to fiddle with blogging. Of course, too late, I relized that I forgot to call Shaun, a Jarhead friend of mine in California who called for computer help. I feel bad–I was on my way out when he called for assistance and I told him I’d call him back… Someone care to remind me?

I feel obliged to mention my experiences at TGI Friday’s this evening. Alicia wanted to stop in for desert after all of our running around, and I obliged. This location (in Pearland) hasn’t been open very long. I’m not entirely sure when it opened, as it is nearly impossible to keep track of the new businesses in the budding metropolis that is Pearland, but it’s pretty new.

I digress: Our server was Rob. We decided on some non-alcoholic drinks, Alicia because she’s a light weight, and me because I’m pretty much always driving, carrying a handgun, et cetera. He did the requisite job of keeping our drinks full without irritating me, which is a bonus. We also ordered a couple of appetizers. Due to a screwup of some sort, they gave one of our appetizers to someone else, creating some sort of havoc. Our first indication was when the manager came out with the wrong appetizer and an apology, explaining the situation, offering us the incorrect appetizer (on the house) to tide us over until the correct appetizer was prepared, which would also be on the house. I agreed graciously without really thinking–We ended up pretty much engorged, and the left-overs are in the fridge.

Why am I writing about this? I find this experience to be practically uncanny. I frequent many establishements that are considered to be on par with TGI Fridays, such as Chili’s, Johnny Corino’s (sp?), two pretty much botched attempts at getting something palateable at Cheddar’s, and a few other places. Never have I really gotten good service at these places. You might say that I have been lulled into complacency by the bad service to the point where it is expected by me and perhaps too easily accepted. My service tonight (or last night, actually) was pretty outstanding. Furthermore, the manager showed a little bit of experience/saavy/customer-service-know-how. You see, when he came out he presented me with the problem (admitting their mistake), an apology, a reasonable course of action, and a peace offering. He put the customer (me) in the position to benefit immediately, and he put his organization in a position to benefit later (when I come back several times to that location). I like seeing people who understand that customer service is key to success in business.

Well, it’s 0700 and time for bed, considering I woke up early (by vacation standards) and was up pretty late/early last night.

Oorah
Head