Gun Friendly Tennessee

This blog is mainly for my out of state readers who may reside in less gun-friendly towns. I find it interesting that while gun owners everywhere are stocking up on ammunition preparing for either the acopolypse, a hefty tax on those who choose to bear arms,or some equally ominous fate somewhere in between, Tennessee seems to become more gun-friendly everyday.

On May 14th our State senate passed the "guns in bars" legislation that allows those with a concealed weapons permit to mix "guns and alcohol." Subsequently, on May 26 our senate also passed a "guns in parks" bill allowing guns to be carried into both state and federal parks (both are currently awaiting the governors final approval). However, my inspiration for this gun-friendly blog is the fact that this week, in Cleveland Tennessee (my current home town), a member of the city council opened fire on a man who was attempting to steal his neighbors push lawn mower. When the alleged thief tried to get away, the city councilman took it upon himself to chase the man down in his vehicle. The end result was a three car crash that ended with 2 people in the hospital. The best part of the whole story to me is that to this point, the councilman has not been charged with anything. I'm no gun law expert but I'm pretty sure stealing a lawn mower from a neighbors yard isn't reason enough to "empty a clip." I can't make this stuff up...

http://www.clevelandbanner.com/index.cfm?event=news.view&id=70906A45-19B9-E2E2-67F97698D7E88828

I'm not sure if this should make me feel safe or scared. On one hand, it would be nice to have a gun-weilding neighbor who watched over my house like a secret service agent daring any potential villian to step even one foot on my property. On the other hand, you haven't met my neighbors.

What i'm thinking about this month...

I keep a word document open on my computer where I briefly type things when they come to mind or copy quotes or excerpts from articles that I find particularly interesting. Here is a sample from this month’s random thoughts

1.Much of our life can be thought of as a struggle between emotion and rationality.

2.Where is the line between learning from your mistakes and becoming jaded and hopeless? Do our experiences really show us the way things always are or just the way things were one time? How can we balance rationality and idealism?

3.“I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man”

“Many will call me an adventurer - and that I am, only one of a different sort: one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes.”

Che Guevara is surrounded by a lot of controversy for his ideals and methods of revolution but I admire the fact that his passion and convictions were so strong he would take great risks to make things “right”. Is there anything that I am this passionate about? While he may have been misguided he cared about his cause in a way that I cannot relate to. I can’t wait to see Benicio Del Toro’s depiction of his life. At the same time, I’m perplexed by liberals who champion Che’s revolution and place him on a hero’s pedestal. While I understand their affinity towards his “message” I’m not sure how they can overlook his methods. If your anti-war, Che Guevara probably isn’t a guy you should be wearing on your t-shirt. Maybe you could consider Gandhi…or Stephen Colbert…

4.Is everyone better understood if we understand their context? I believe that we must strive not to judge people or their behaviors because we have no idea where they are or where they have been. “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”

5.Horseracing, Nascar and golf are all starting to be covered regularly on ESPN and are seeing record breaking popularity. I wonder if this means that Americans are generally more bored than they used to be…I guess there could be other logical explanations

6.I would bake more if I wouldn’t eat what I made. I love to bake but I don’t want to look like I love to bake.

7.“I don’t preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people are hungry, Jesus didn’t say, “Now is that political or social?” He said, “I feed you.” Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.” –Bishop Desmond Tutu

8.At the risk of sounding braggy, before the end of this year I’m going to Cambodia, Lollapalooza, and Ethiopia. It is possible that I am equally as excited about all three. I’m not sure I should share that…It feels wrong somehow that Lollapalooza made the list with my visits to two developing nations