Way to Screw Things Up For EVERYBODY!!!!

First off, the blog lives again. Second, this wasn’t the post I was planning on doing, for reasons that should soon become obvious.

This is probably going to be a huge shocker to most of you, but I’ve never actually fired a gun before. Yeah, I know. In the past, I’ve made several attempts to go to a range that rents guns and shoot, but either life/work got in the way or I just didn’t get around to it. So over the weekend I decided “screw it, I’m going for real.” I know of a range near me that rents guns, which is the one I’d planned on shooting at before. I went on their website to double check their store hours and range rental rates & policies… and stumbled upon a little something I hadn’t noticed before:

To help ensure the safety of the staff and other patrons, the following policy is effective immediately:

• NO CUSTOMER MAY RENT A GUN IF THEY ARE SHOOTING ALONE

Exceptions:

• If customer is in the possession of their own firearm that they will be shooting at the time of the rental

• If customer is a member and it is not their first time on the range

How is this a problem for me? I don’t own a gun, my present living situation makes my buying a gun nigh impossible, none of my friends who shoot live local (college will do that), and since I’m the only one in my family who even likes guns, let alone has any desire to shoot one, no way I can get another member of the Raptor Clan to tag along. So that range is out.

A quick Google search turned up a few ranges fairly close to Casa del Raptor that rent guns… and every single one of them has a similar rental policy. You can’t rent a gun if you’re going to be shooting alone. The only exceptions are if you’re taking a firearms safety or basic pistol class. Now don’t get me wrong; I was planning on taking one anyway. Only problem is that those classes run about $100, which will add up pretty quick, and I really don’t want to waste my time or the instructor’s time re-learning the same basic stuff all over again.

Now, I can (and probably will) spring for a membership at one of the ranges if it’ll get me around the no-shooting-alone rule, but still, it’s aggravating. Mostly because I figured out why these policies are in place.

Shooting Range Suicides.

Do a quick Google search for the above three words and you’ll find dozens of news stories of people who went to shooting ranges, rented a pistol, walked out onto the firing line to their assigned lane, and shot themselves in the head. In one particularly chilling incident, a mother brought her son to the range with her, rented a pistol, then shot her son in the back of the head before taking her own worthless life. As a result, because of insurance reasons and because we are a lawsuit-happy society, ranges that rent guns can no longer afford to operate unless they put the no-renting-if-you’re-alone rule in place.

While this may or may not have an affect on ending shooting range suicides (personally, I doubt it), I can  tell you for certain that it does affect something: new shooters, like me, who don’t/can’t own a gun of their own but want to be able to practice and develop their shooting skills, but don’t have anyone to go to the range with them, can no longer shoot.

Way to go, you thoughtless, selfish [CENSORED]s. I hope y’all are happy, ’cause you’ve royally screwed things up for the rest of us.

Some Thoughts On Bullying

I want to tell you all a story. It’s true, but for privacy’s sake, I have to withhold most of the details. A student was being tormented by a group of bullies. Another student confronted the bullies and demanded they stop. In response, one of the bullies assaulted the second student. Second student immediately punched the assailant in the face. The incident ended with the assailant receiving a minor punishment, the second student getting the maximum punishment the district could legally hand out, and the first student is still being tormented by the same group of bullies.

You want to know what the really sad part is? That story isn’t the exception: it’s the rule. And not just at this one school district, but around the country.

Not so long ago, it was expected, even demanded of students that they stand up to bullies. If Bubba Joe was picking on Little Billy, and you saw it, it was Billy’s jobto make Bubba Joe stop, and if that meant splitting Bubba Joe’s lip, then oh well. Bubba had it coming to him. Billy might get sent to the principal’s office, but so would Bubba, and it was almost guaranteed that Bubba would come out with a much harsher punishment than Billy… if Billy even got punished at all. And rest assured that when Billt got home, Mommy and Daddy would praise him for doing The Right Thing.

Now? Now, if Bubba Joe beats up Little Billy, odds are that Billy will get in as much trouble as Bubba Joe, if not worse, even if he doesn’t fight back. Most schools nowadays have so-called “Zero Tolerance” rules that punish the victims for getting into “a fight,” even if said “fight” is Little Billy cowered against a locker whilst Bubba Joe beats the snot out of him. And if Billy dares to take a swing at Bubba Joe to protect himself, odds are he’ll wind up getting arrested and thrown in Juvie for “assaulting” Bubba Joe.

This begs the question: WHAT THE FLUFF HAS HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY?!?!?! How in the fluff did The Right Thing change from “make the bully stop hurting you” to “bend over and take it?” And why have we made defenselessness not only acceptable, but praiseworthy?

Best-Selling Authors Cause of Budget Crisis!

At least, that’s what President Obama thinks/wants us to think. No, really, I’m not making this up:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/07/11/obama_warns_best-selling_authors_youre_not_off_the_hook.html

“We weren’t balancing the budget off of middle-class families and working-class families. And we weren’t letting hedge fund managers or authors of best-selling books off the hook. That is a reasonable proposition.”

You gotta be kidding me. What fantasy world is this guy living in? Actually, I know the answer: the same one I was when I first got the bright idea of wanting to be a writer. Most authors, even the best-selling ones, make roughly the equivalent of minimum wage off of each book they write. The millionaires like Clancy and J. K. Rowling are the very rare exception to the rule. And how’s this for hypocracy: Obama is also a NYT Best Selling Author. I wonder if he paid his fair share, of if he’s part of the problem too? [/sarcasm]

IMO, this proves it: Obama’s lost it. He’s taken a swan dive off the high dive into the very deep end of the pool.

For a real best-selling author’s opinion on the matter: check out this post by NYT Best Selling Author Larry Correia. It’s very entertaining and an excellent read, but then again, Larry’s stuff always is. That’s why he’s an NYT Best Selling Author after all.