let them eat lead

[oldr_n_wsr]

Don't be messing with AA.
Saves my life every day.

[wesw]

easy big fella, you really shouldn t take baseball so seriously....

I think that there is a 12 step program, for baseballaholics, but you have to acknowledge a higher power..., brooks robinson.

[RayThom]

I couldn't fix 'em. I had enough of the program shortly after New Year's day in 1982. I could never find my higher power. I was an atheist at meetings predicated on God's existence. Not surprisingly, I found plenty of inner power and serenity. Whatever floats your boat, right?

My friends and family all drink alcohol. I still go to bars and restaurants for all sorts of occasions. I keep beer, wine, and liquor in my refrigerator and cabinets. Here's what works for me. I stay as busy as I can, I never feel sorry for myself, I rejoice in the day, and I never allow myself to be lonely. Alone, yes, but never lonely. And I never hesitate to tell people I am an alcoholic once I feel comfortable with them.

By the by... I've been clean and sober since November 15, 1981. 34 years plus... but who's counting.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Good for you RayThom.
I have 16 months.

[Lord Jim]

if my fellow townspeople and I , independent of our government, got together at our church and formed a plan of assembly and self defense ii case our town was assaulted by a terror team, we would by definition be a militia and we would be within our rights as citizens and free people.

You would certainly have a legal right to do that because of a combination of both your second amendment rights, and your rights of assembly and free association. But that would in no way shape or form make your group a "militia" under the Constitutional definition. (though as Meade pointed out you can call yourself that if you want to, many such groups do...you can call yourself a strawberry milkshake or a '54 DeSoto, or The Squirrel Nut-Kings if that floats your boat)...

In reality, what you would be is a gun club with a political agenda. (Or if you also chose to wear military fatigues, you would be a gun club with a political agenda that likes to play dress-up) And you would have no more legal status than the Kiwanis Club...

And if you suspected someone of engaging in or planning terrorist activities, you would have no more rights of action then an unarmed non-member. You could contact the appropriate authorities, (your local police, the FBI, Homeland Security, etc.) and that's it. Your gun club would have no special Constitutional status or authority beyond that which is conveyed upon every citizen.

If your gun club tried to act like it did; if you tried to "arrest" someone, or search their home, etc, then you would be nothing but common law breakers, engaging in kidnapping, illegal imprisonment, breaking and entering, etc., and you would be treated as such under the law.

[wesw]

jim I never mentioned doing any of the things you said, you are again putting words in my mouth, I only said that we would make plans to assemble and defend our community in the event that we were attacked by a terror team.

I also never said that it would meet the constitutional definition of a militia, nor did I claim any special rights or privileges.

a group of citizens who organize and plan to come together in armed defense of their town is a militia, even if we call it a knitting circle.

it is just a hypothetical anyway, don t set your hair on fire, at least until you and the rest of the repubs get trump elected. you guys had better mount some kind of campaign to get one of your guys elected. the attacks haven t worked and the election season is right around the corner....

fa la la la la, la la la la....

eta- remember when you next attack trump: smilers never lose and frowners never win, so open up your heart and let the sun shine in.

[Lord Jim]

You're pulling a Ben Carson on me here wes...

Where you're claiming I've "put words in your mouth", when I've done nothing but examine your own words...

If you re-read my post, you'll see that one word that appears over and over again is the word "if"....

So I didn't "put words in your mouth" wes, when you say "we would by definition be a militia" just what meaningful "definition" are you using?

I'll use a verbatim quote so I can't be accused of "putting words in your mouth")

I also never said that it would meet the constitutional definition of a militia

Would you then agree that your group could just as easily be called "a heavily armed group of middle-aged boy scouts?"

Or as you put it; a "knitting circle"....

(Albeit a packin' heat knitting circle... )

[wesw]

the problem is, as it was with decimate, is that you whipper-snappers only go to modern definitions.

I had to go to definition number 3 in my 1968 world book dictionaries to find the definition of militia that I was using.

that required me to go into my kitchen, to turn on all the lights, to place my dictionary on the stove top, then to turn on my stovetop light too, to be able to read it.

now I must go back to my stove top to type it in...

3. militia-any citizens army; any non professional armed force organized or summoned to duty during an emergency

so, according to that, my knitting circle (meade s words, not mine) is in fact a militia

[wesw]

...and yes, when I play scrabble I use my 1968 world book dictionaries, unless there is an older dictionary available.

when I was a child I was a constant reader and had large quantities of old books at my disposal.

if the copyright began with an 18- the book moved to the top of my stacks

[kmccune]

Well I cant legally own a gun anymore,found out my Hoop-jumping would give Me the right to be on a jury again and vote,so I sez,no thanks,dont want to have dodge jury duty,Can probaly find a gun if I really need one however(that doesnt include supersonic BB guns,does it?)

[wesw]

you my man, are officially a soft target.

I will not possess more than an ounce of pot.

hopefully I can avoid a felony that way.....

[BoSoxGal]

Well I cant legally own a gun anymore,found out my Hoop-jumping would give Me the right to be on a jury again and vote,so I sez,no thanks,dont want to have dodge jury duty,Can probaly find a gun if I really need one however(that doesnt include supersonic BB guns,does it?)

It's not that hard to get enfranchised and it's not that hard to get out of jury duty legitimately - but honestly, we need more folks serving on juries who have dealt with the system and know how f'd up it is.

Truth is prosecutors don't seat former felons unless they are desperate. So you'd likely never serve, at least not on a criminal jury panel.

[BoSoxGal]

I wish Andrew D was here to weigh in on this thread.

wesw, if you're truly interested in opposing positions on the 2nd amendment, you should do a search and read some of the great threads before your time here.

[wesw]

I thought about that , bigsky, but I can hardly stand the threads that I m involved in sometimes....

[BoSoxGal]

Right, but these are threads you aren't involved in.

[MajGenl.Meade]

[dales]

Posts: 4684
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:24 pm

Lemme see, wes has only been posting a little less than 18 months but yet has managed to post some odd 4600 missives.

Which begs two questions:

1. Are there any threads in which wes has not contributed?

2. Does wes have a life outside this bbs?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yes - he's on more than one bbs

Lord - is it even near 18 months?

[wesw]

yes and yes

I have been fairly busy on the board today, because I haven t felt like doing anything else. I babysat my son s girlfriends baby today, as I do most days, and I don t actually stray far from home these days at all anyway. believe me, I ve made up for it in the past.

home is a fairly happy place these days, so I don t mind at all.

last winter I went a bit crazy on the board use because I was in bed all winter.

this board has allowed me to have the type of conversations that i have not been able to have for a long time because believe it or not there are not a lot of people around here who share my intellectual interests, and back when i was fabbing steel, i didn t have the energy to engage in any writing or debate at all after work anyway.

i don t hang out with the same people anymore anyway, and my one good friend that is still around here is in the clink, because of drink

so..., this board is my outlet.

[wesw]

no meade, I stray to cartalk on occasion , but I am on no other boards.

you are all I need big fella