Of Guns, Entitlements and Financial Ruin

Wondrous words of wit and wisdom with which to while away a waning week....

* Gun Control:  I don't have a recipe in this cook-off.  I don't have a horse in this race, or a dog in this hunt.  Last time I fired a weapon was on a military firing range.  I carried a .38 on my hip like a gunslinger when I flew combat support missions, but I never fired one and probably would have hit everything but a target if I had.  One crewmember who did was playing with it between launch and orbit when it went off.  The bullet penetrated both the fuselage and a wing.  Luckily, the bullet was not a tracer.  But that's another story.

Those who are pushing for stricter gun control are pushing from the wrong direction.  The Constitution says that the right of individuals to bear arms will not be infringed upon.  Nowhere does it empower anyone to manufacture, sell, distribute or import firearms.  Seems to me they should be campaigning to outlaw those activities.  The only exemptions would be to fill specific orders from the military and law enforcement agencies.  Eventually, even though folks could still possess guns, there would be no more guns to possess.  Extend the ban to ammunition to speed the attrition process.  For good measure, tack on an extra ten years to the sentences of those convicted of committing a crime while in possession of a firearm.

Mark Kelly, husband of former US Representative Gabrielle Giffords, argued before the Senate Judiciary Committee that requiring private sellers of guns to complete background checks and getting those records into the system "will prevent gun crime."  Remember the Brady Bill and its seven-day wait requirement?  How did that work out for Gabby, there, Major Tom?

* The World Owes Me a Living:  Heather Johnson is 22 years old, unemployed, and lives with her mother in mostly upscale Bradenton, a bedroom community a few miles southeast of Tampa.  If I had to guess from her picture in the paper, I'd say she weighs in at about 325.  Whatever her actual weight, it is clear that she is not suffering from malnutrition.

Heather's pantyhose is in a knot because the Job Corps, to which she has applied for training so she might compete in the job market, has placed a moratorium on applications until at least July because of budget cuts.  She does not seem particulary distressed.

"They can pay for my welfare and food stamps, or pay for my education so I can support myself," Heather told a reporter.  Either way, somebody is going to have to pay so Heather can at least maintain, if not actually expand, her enormous girth.

Here's a tipper from your ol' Uncle Dave, Heather.  How 'bout you get a job emptying bedpans and changing diapers in a nursing home or bagging groceries and stocking shelves in a supermarket, and pay for your own education?  Just do yourself a favor and resist the temptation to work in the fast food industry.  Okay, Precious?

* Infrastructure vs Bells and Whistles:  Detroit is on the verge of bankruptcy.  Its annual debt-service cost alone is $597 mil, while its three biggest sources of revenue generate only $538 mil.  What's worse, its net assets, which in 2010 were worth $265 mil, now have a negative value.  The only question is whether the bankruptcy will be managed politically or through a conventional Chapter 9 court process.

And yet, as I reported in last week's blog, "Light Rail Redux", Detroit is preparing to spend $140 mil on a three-mile streetcar run through its downtown.  Tourists, if there actually were any, would presumably be able to enjoy a virtual tour of Beirut without ever having to leave the good ol' US of A.

Does the name "Jabberwocky" mean anything to you?