continuing proofs America is wacko

Yeah, quotas are the stupidest things to impose on police officers. I mean, if the police are doing a bang-up job, shouldn't the number of crimes go down due to prevention? Sheesh.

There is much I'd like to say on how my employers operate - and sheer madness sometimes seems the main modus operandi, though I say it with a clear knowledge that I don't know all the facts behind decision making - but of course I must not be too opinionated. (That wouldn't be the Orwell (Chief Moderator) you know and love so well. ) And it could get me a kick if I say too much!

I suspect that the word 'quota' might to some degree apply for road traffic matters (at least, bosses want 'figures' at the least as proof of the Road Safety work getting done!) but quotas for any other crime - drugs for instance - don't exist as far as I know where I come from, and I don't want to know, because the idea is absurd in the latter cases. Crime is crime and it must be dealt with where and when it's found. I'm a simple hobbbit after all.

I've had a waking dream go through my head!


Constable Kindly: Sir! You wanted to see me?

Superintendant Crashan-Bashem: Yes... It's these Family Violence figures....

Kindly: Yes?

Basham: Well, in June there were eighty two reported family related assaults.

Kindly: Yes Sir. Seventy two arrests, and two hundred and eighty seven charges, and fourteen perpetrators doing time - which means fourteen women and their children were safe for awhile...

Bashaen: Yes, yes - can't complain about your work ethic, Kindly! Now, July it was seventy reports, August sixty two, September fifty five...

Kinly: Yes Sir, our sheer determination to help and protect battered women seems to be working...

Bashem: Well and good well and good... Look here! October, twenty eight. Twenty eight! Did you hear that? Twenty fookin' eight!

Kindly: Yes... a good figure I'd have thought, especially if you remember we're talking about real people not being belted up in front of their kids because we've put their lovers in a prison cell...

Bashem: Real people?

Kindly: Women, Sir.

Bashem: Oh yes, I see, I see... November, fifteen!

Kindly: I don't quite understand...

Bashem: The way we're going I'll have to send some of our Family Violence Team back to General Duties... My troops! Not enough work, you see...

Kindly: Oh dear! I see your point!

Bashem: So what we'll do is put a few of our best operators out in civvies and start a Whispering Campaign...

Kindly: Yes, Sir, I'm all ears.

Bashem: And what they'll be whispering is: 'She needs a whack that woman of yours. I mean, she's your 'wife' (or 'partner', if we must use that ghastly term) and so she should obey you. Know what I mean? Needs a biff to keep her in line. Know what I mean?'

Kindly: I see. So we'll keep the Family Violence happening while getting good figures in arrests, Sir?

Bashem: It's a question of balancing the books and keeping my empire.... err... staffing in shape... Good Lad!

Kindly: Yes, Sirrrr!

Bashem: Oh yes, and by the way Kindly...

Kindly: Sir?

Bashem: You really must do something about that name of yours.

Kindly: Yes, Sir. I see exactly what you mean.

Bashem: Good Lad.

Kindly: But Sir, what if the "Petty Tyrant" types of this world get wind of our cunning plan?

Bashem: That fookin' bleedin' heart liberal! Never mind him. No one ever really listens to his type.

Kindly: Right you are, Sir! Right you are!


Funny dream. Plausible? Maybe, who knows, I wonder...?

{{Mind, I really shouldn't really be putting these odd ideas into Petty's head. He does have enough of them already one would think. )








Bashem:

I bloody knew it!!!!

So did I!

Has anyone seen the open letter written to Se. Diane Feinstein by a former Marine . Quote " I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government’s right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime. You ma’am have overstepped a line that is not your domain. I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one" . The White house is suggesting using bussiness incentives to get Walmart and other retailers to stop selling assault weapons . I think if this happens you will see a HUGE UPROAR from gun owners . They will not stand for theyre tax dollars being used to bribe retailers .

I am not your subject. I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant. I am the flesh and blood of America.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/letter-from-marine-to-dianne-feinstein-goes-viral/#WQZxGOMF9s5jhKSQ.99

Did he refuse to register his car too?

I sometimes feel all the uproar by gun owners derives from a hidden sense of guilt. As Eldo said, everyone registers their cars without complaint. To me the one of the purposes of registration is to provide a least a thin reason for restraint before you do something stupid. If you knew you were unidentifiable you'd be a hell of a lot more likely to speed. If you know your gun is identifiable, you'd be less likely to fire a shot in the heat of the moment unless you knew you were in the right.

Criminals won't register their guns. They have them illegally in most cases. A database cannot control them. Only us.

The scenario you describe halfwise must surely only be a fraction of overall gun crime. And I'm not sure if in the heat of the moment you would remember you registered your gun anyway.

I have to agree with Ally .As a gun owner , when i purchase a new firearm through a retailer , it is immediately registered with the ATF , where the problem comes in is if I was to tranfer that gun by sale or gift to another person the paper trail ends with me , there is no process that I know of Like the transfer of title and tag on a vehicle ,Im not against this legislation and I dont think most gun owners are . Where I have a problem and other gun owners probably do also is the thought of the FBI or ATF knocking on your door and saying step aside we are going to search your house for any un-registered guns, we can see from our records you are a gun owner , if any are found you instantly have become a Felon & with the broad powers the Feds have with the Patriot Act they will be able to do that without a warrant. Once that has happened The Feds have crossed the line on another Constitutional Amendment , Your right to Privacy and it wont stop there .

Sit down and read The US Constitution none of the Amendments are not written in a very descriptive way , there is room for alot of scrutiny of the true definition of the writers meaning and intentions . The Burden of of Interpretation of these laws and amendments falls squarely on the shoulders of The US Supreme Court ,The legislative body doesnt have the legal powers to write new laws over the top of Amendments for the purpose of circumventing the legality of the amendment or law as it is written. You can do the same thing with the First Amendment ( Freedom of speech) when do you have the right to free speech, if you talk back to a police officer he can cite you for disorderly conduct, if you speak in a courtroom you will be charged with contempt, these laws can all be challenged by the right to free speech, the line has to be drawn somewhere and it is , the constitution is written this way for the sole purpose of making it tough to challenge it.
Since I am a sportsmen I hear alot of the concerns of pro -gun people ,when these debates have come up before , I didnt hear a whole lot of concern from my friends about the future of firearms but this time Everyone I know is talking about how far this will go and people on the edge of this circle who where on the fence about whether they wanted to own a firearm or not are rushing out to get one , there is also alot of hoarding of firarms going on, the end result of this is alot more guns on the street because of the panic created by politicians and the media of the loss of gun rights . Some of these people most likely would have never owned a firearm and should have never owned one . I truly believe most gun owners look at things alot differently than the NRA & The FEDs and I truly believe that most of us agree alot more neesd to be done about keeping weapons of all kinds out of nut case and criminals hands, Im willing to talk about it and think most other sportsmen are but I know none of us are willing to let anyone strongarm us into a position we dont agree with .

There is also talk in political circles of putting a perishable shelf life on ammunition, I fail to see how this would help matters at all . The people of the United States need to come to a concensus but not at the expense of our constitution. Better treatment for mentally Ill people would be a great start as well as more stringent background checks at the state and federal level.

I've been against the Patriot Act from the beginning (for which I've been called a dirty liberal who hates America on more than one occasion) so I can agree with you on that point. I also agree that gun-hoarding is a regrettable practice with the potential for some nasty consequences, but this occurs after every major shooting when people are afraid of their guns being taken away. Given that we haven't seen the federal government kicking in doors and confiscating guns yet, I think it should be clear to reasonable people that these fears are, at the very least, overstated.

Also, the most common methods for criminals to acquire guns: straw purchases and corrupt sellers, can be combated through a registration system. I'm not saying that registration is going to make these problems disappear overnight. But it's certainly easier to, say, track down people who make legal gun purchases and then illegally turn them over to criminals if the front men have to identify themselves. Besides, in the case of school shootings (to go back to the incident that put gun control back in the news), the majority of shooters have used technically legally-acquired guns.

the truth wrote:There is also talk in political circles of putting a perishable shelf life on ammunition, I fail to see how this would help matters at all . The people of the United States need to come to a concensus but not at the expense of our constitution. Better treatment for mentally Ill people would be a great start as well as more stringent background checks at the state and federal level.

I absolutely agree with both of your suggestions. As for the Second Amendment though, aside from being the most poorly written amend in the Bill of Rights, I think one needs to use a lens of modernity when trying to apply rules written for rural 18th century militias to modern life, especially in urban or suburban rather than rural areas. I believe that the Constitution is a living document in general, though.

Now see there Eldo , you and I actually are not that far apart on issue . It was a legally purchased weapon , but he was not the legal owner ,which is the case with most criminals who have a firearm, not just the mentally ill .So how do we keep the mentally ill from getting theyre hands on a firearm or any other weapon for that matter.

well it is what is , and our country desperately needs to come together and try to solve these problems , I will be 49 next month and I cannot remember a level of division this great between the people and the government since I was a kid .

We do seem to largely agree, and I agree that greater background checks, especially into mental health, needs to be an important component of any future efforts regarding firearms. My biggest concern about mental health in this country is the seemingly pervasive attitude that people with mental health problem are just "loonies" and that there's nothing much that can be done to help them. Sadly this mentality transcends political beliefs and policy positions. I hope to see increasing understanding of mental illness in the near future but I worry that events like this will just confirm some people's preconceived notions that the mentally ill are beyond saving.

This is a semi-separate topic though since it concerns much more than just firearms.

It sad Eldo I worry for my son and young people your age , what kind of country are we leaving for them . Or really what kind of world . I wish the best for your generation , i truly do . Your quite an intelligent young man .

the truth wrote:well it is what is , and our country desperately needs to come together and try to solve these problems , I will be 49 next month and I cannot remember a level of division this great between the people and the government since I was a kid .

You're right that people need to come together. I'm much younger than you but sadly I feel that this level of divisiveness has been around during both Presidencies that I clearly remember (Bush and Obama). I had been hopeful (lol) that things might change in 2008 but it seems like the biggest change was the parties switched places when it came to who was defending the President.

That said, the tragedy in Connecticut seems to have made a much bigger impact on people than previous shootings so I hope people will be able to come together and enact meaningful reform. It's obviously a very emotional topic though. I'm glad we're able to have reasonable discussion of it on here, at least.

the truth wrote:It sad Eldo I worry for my son and young people your age , what kind of country are we leaving for them . Or really what kind of world . I wish the best for your generation , i truly do . Your quite an intelligent young man .

Thank you very much. I can be cynical at times but I do make an effort to be optimistic. I think most people are good at heart. Despite the myriad disagreements throughout the country, when people all want the best (regardless of what the best is), they're able to come together on a personal level. Part of the problem with politics I think is that it is so far removed from everyday life -- being in the realm of Washington and cable news -- that it's hard to connect on an emotional level with "the other side". I consider myself fortunate that the majority of my friends disagree with me on a lot of political issues (and this despite me going to a state university! ) since it makes it easier to stay out of the echo chamber. Still, it takes an effort to listen to all sides, and I still struggle with that. Watching the news rarely seems to help on that front, but it should really be the other way around.

Yes I agree with you 100 perc. I think its the un-reasonable that need convincing , people like you and I will always find common ground because we are rational . Yes you are spot on about the division time frame

You will do well in life Eldo, there will still be alot of growth & change in your personality in the coming years . I really like this forum also it seems most folks on here are optomists although we all have our quirks , There is not the negativity that there was on the other hobbit forum.

Have a Great Day , Eldo

You too, Truth. I appreciate getting to talk about this with someone who has a very different perspective!

Same here It makes me feel a little better about the future of our country.

Nobody comes knocking on your door saying they are planning to check for unregistered vehicles. I'm sorry, I just see so much paranoia among gun owners: the government simply doesn't have the manpower to do this kind of thing unless they have reason to worry there's serious stockpiling going on with less than peaceful intentions.

I do understand the fear that America could head the way of soviet Russia, but the vanguard of preventing that from happening is in exercising a vigilant democracy, not the ownership of guns.

Yes Ally, criminals will not use registered guns, but that's like saying vehicles need not be registered because criminals will not use registered get away cars. A law abiding citizen should have no fear about registering their gun. That same law abiding citizen will be more thoughtful in how they handle their vehicle because they know it can be tracked. Or in selling their gun to shady people.