How the Media Has Failed

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the negligent and indolent press and “that son of a bitch George Bush.”

secure in their persons

ANACORTES, WASH. — Looking to snag illegal immigrants, drug runners and terrorists, the U.S. Border Patrol is staging surprise checks of travelers on domestic ferry runs in the San Juan Islands. What they are catching is heat from ticked-off locals.

Border Patrol agents began conducting random checks and undercover surveillance at the Washington state ferry terminal in Anacortes this year. The agents intercept disembarking passengers, inquire about citizenship, request IDs, and run vehicle and criminal background checks. A plainclothes officer patrols the small terminal.  – LA Times.

You know what we need in this country? We need a constitutional amendment, limiting the power of the government to stop and search citizens without probable cause that they’ve committed a crime. I don’t know what it should be called. Maybe just give it a number or something. But it might go a little something like this:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

What do you guys think? I’m not taking credit for writing it, especially since it’s a bit obtuse, but it seems like a good rough draft.

I guess this is another perspective on my gun rant the other day: That if we give up all our guns, only the cops will have guns.

Here’s a Thought

The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.

-Patrick Henry, revolutionary (1736-1799)

If I Was A Terrorist

Bang, Your Dead!

This week, the Bush’s Personal Posse of Judges issued a very interesting decision on guns. I’m now getting a few minutes to read it, and while I initially thought it seemed relatively sober for that bunch of bushy nitwits, I’m only just beginning to realize how patently stupid it is.

In his majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia explicitly endorsed the wisdom of keeping a handgun in the home for self-defense. Such a weapon, he wrote, “is easier to store in a location that is readily accessible in an emergency; it cannot easily be redirected or wrestled away by an attacker; it is easier to use for those without the upper-body strength to lift and aim a long rifle; it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police.”

Scalia seems to see the gun as something over which the owner has exclusive and effective control, like a well-trained dog. Hooey. Have you ever kept a handgun in your home for personal protection? I have, and I can tell you it’s not like that at all. It’s like keeping a pissed off diamond rattlesnake in the drawer, in case you spot a rat. It looks docile, sleeping there. But once it’s out of the drawer, no one is safe. It doesn’t know you’re its owner, or care to spare your spouse or children. It can go after the rat, or it can just go fucking nuts.

“A number of scientific studies, published in the world’s most rigorous, peer-reviewed journals, show that the risks of keeping a loaded gun in the home strongly outweigh the potential benefits.”

Guns for Safety? Dream On, Scalia. – washingtonpost.com

That’s right. Not only can your gun go off when there’s no emergency, but when there is an emergency, that snake goes crazy because go crazy. A few days ago, I got into a confrontation with an asshole who parked in my private driveway to deliver food to my neighbors. He refused to leave, didn’t explain he was delivering food, called me names, etc. I ran downstairs to get a photo of his license plate number and call the cops.  It was all I could do – my brain boiling over with rage at this lowlife – to get my phone camera to work. If he had pulled a gun and I’d pulled one too, there would have been bullets flying all over creation.