Money quote(s):
"The right to self defense is a fundamental Anglospheric human right, going back to the Magna Carta. It is only in the last few decades that it has been abandoned in the place of its birth. It is shameful."
And so it goes. There are reasons why this is so, just as there are reasons why "the Rights of Englishmen" linger still in places where no one thinks of themselves as English (and hasn't for generations).
Money quote(s):
"Fast forward to 2011 and look at the riots taking place in London, England: the city of unarmed people where crime was long ago vanished via the confiscation and destruction of handguns.
Now that the criminals are confident the citizenry is thoroughly unarmed, they’re going into homes and businesses whenever they wish, taking whatever they want once they go in, and walking (or running) away with a smile on their face.
(Oops! I guess someone forgot to tell the criminals that guns were the cause of criminality.)
Just consider an episode from London’s acclaimed restaurant – The Ledbury – from a few nights ago. Patrons talked of being attacked by rioters with “weapons,” who rushed into the restaurant and demanded customers “hand over wedding rings, cell phones and wallets.”
What “weapons” did the rioters use? Baseball bats of course. (That’s right – an entire restaurant full of people was controlled by kids with clubs.)
To be fair, the patrons said the restaurant staff fought back, with “rolling pins, fry baskets” and other “kitchen tools.”
Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and third President of the United States, once wrote of how denying a person their natural rights is akin to denying them part of their humanity. "
Just to fill in a blank, the right of self-defense is one of those "natural rights" to which former-Pres. Jefferson was referring.
"It is embarrassing to read of the abasement these Londoners have faced as a result of being disarmed. In fact, it is, as Jefferson would say, an insult to their humanity.
Where I live, if a gang of rioters comes busting through the restaurant doors swinging baseball bats at patrons, I doubt I’ll be alone in pulling my .45 and taking care of business. And the very act of doing that, though not hoped for, will prove a reminder that my life is too valuable a thing to be sacrificed on the altar of progressive policies and academic rhetoric."
As a matter of fashion, CAA doesn't (generally) bear arms when not in uniform. But it's not like it's something he's unprepared to do, at need. Speaking of fashion, one's holster and gunbelt (or shoulder rig) should match one's shoes, watchband, and belt. Just sayin.'
8/10
Dr. Jerry Pournelle at Chaos Manor ("The Original Blog *") is exceedingly vexed about a Constitutional issue.
Money quote(s):
"I need to think on this. The Constitution is clear. This is an act of defiance by the President. He is defying them to impeach him.
Perhaps the Congress can order the arrest of any official who pays salaries to the Czars?
Control of the purse is the fundamental curb on monarchy, and is the oldest of the rights of Englishmen. We all need to think on this. Constitutional Crises are to be avoided but sometimes there is no choice."
