Gun Control

As you read this one and the next one, you'll see how
C~B~N spent his time this afternoon~~ watching a
wonderful movie based on a John Grisham book;
who is one of my favorite authors. The man can write
a legal thriller!

The excerpt is Dustin Hoffman's character of attorney
Wendall Rohr giving his summation in the trial against
the gun makers in "Runaway Jury":

"You heard Mr. Garland Jankle, Chief CEO of Vicksburg
Firearms, sit in that chair and say to you that what we
do with his guns is not HIS problem and he's right! You
can make it HIS problem with your verdict. You may for
the first time make gun violence the gun industries
problem. If you do, you are going to see fewer senseless
deaths."

~~~~~~~~~~
Now, I'm definitely not a liberal. But I'm not a 'crazy'
conservative either. I believe in our constitutional right
to bear arms. But I don't believe any normal citizen
NEEDS a machine gun for any reason. I have never
known any deer hunters who used one to hunt deer.
So, I guess I believe a little common sense could be
applied here. It doesn't have to be an all or none
proposition which both sides seem to insist upon.

A waiting period to purchase any firearm is not a bad
thing. It is not violating your right to own one. But for
many angry or suicidal people, this could mean the
difference in their life being irrevocably changed. Anger
will diminish--thus averting some crime; and depression
can pass--thus saving a life.

Stopping the sale of military style weapons to the average
citizen is not a bad thing either. These weapons are meant
for a trained army to utilize in a nations defense. I also
believe we should NOT be selling arms to foreign nations
who can and will use our own weapons against our men
and women in uniform.

Selling "cop killer" bullets should not be tolerated in any
free society. The police are not meant to be our enemies
but our first defense against lawlessness. Let's face the
truth here; the only ones who would need this type of
armament are the BAD guys. So let's not endanger
the lives of the men and women who have taken an
oath to serve and protect YOU for very little pay
and compensation.

If the gun industry decides to continue to sell these
unnecessary weapons and bullets, then they SHOULD
be held accountable. Because they have based their
decision on the mighty dollar. They continue to sell them
for MONEY because it is profitable; therefore, they
should pay with that profit to the victims of violent
crimes.

After all, our children deserve to be safe: in their homes,
in their schools, in the malls, in the parks, in their
neighborhoods.

We all do.

This too is a constitutional right.

C~B~N

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Jury Duty

"You think the average jurist is King Solomon?
No! He's a roofer with a mortgage. He wants to
go home and sit in his barcalounger and let cable
tv wash over him. This man doesn't give a single
solitary drop of sh-- about truth, justice, or your
American Way."

from Runaway Jury; Speech by Gene Hackman's
character Jury Consultant Fitch.

~~~~~~~~~~
And, sadly, this seems too true. When cable goes
down is about the ONLY time you hear public
outcry~~ their legalized, anesthetic has been
interupted.

It is time to view jury duty as something other
than a chore. It is in actuality, a privilege. One
that felons no longer have the right to. One that
many nations deny their citizens.

This came to me today and I thought it had a
wonderful perspective on jury duty. {My comments
are enclosed..}

~~~~~~~~~~

Last week I served on jury duty.

When I received the notice in the mail, I admit
like most people I sighed and said, "I don't have
time for this; I have too much to do."

I also thought about the mere $25 I would get
paid for the whole day. {Houston, Tx only paid $6
a day 10 years ago--barely paid for your parking in
downtown!}

I said, "Why don't they pay me what I make on
my job for a day's work?" But then, the
thought came to me, "What if I were the one
with the case and needed jurors to attend
my trial?"

From that moment on, I was honored to serve on
jury duty.

Besides, if everyone were paid what they made
on their jobs, taxes would go up and we would
pay it one way or another.

As I sat in the juror assembly room, I looked
around and noticed that these jurors made up
our society. {This is a good thing. A roofer is
just as capable of coming to the truth as a
Doctor or educator or whatever degree earned.
Being blue collar as opposed to white collar
doesn't negate intelligence! In fact, the more
overly educated a person, the less common
sense --I have found.}

Even though we were all different in many
ways, we were all connected and the same
in many ways.

A man sitting behind me looked as though
he had nothing at all in common with me.
He asked me what I did, and I told him. I
asked him the same, and he said he owned
a yoga center. I told him I had been to one
yoga center in the city and offered him the
name. His eyes lit up, "That's the one I own,"
he responded. He told me it was a small world.

Sometimes it is not the size of the world
that we overestimate as it is the link
between us all that we underestimate.

The other observance that became apparent
to me while waiting were the activities people
performed while waiting to be selected for a
courtroom. It reflected what they did with their
sparetime in life.

Some people were asleep; sleep was important
to them.

Some people were working on their laptops; work
had to be done.

Some people were reading the newspaper. They
wanted to stay abreast of what was going on in
the world.

Some people were reading books. They
understood the power of reading. {If I wasn't
grading papers, I would've been reading--John
Grisham has always been a favorite! :o) I never
leave the house without a book and water.}

Some people were talking to others. They enjoyed
good conversation.

Others were watching television. They just
wanted to be entertained.

Some looked at this time waiting as time wasted.

Others looked at it as a blessing to finally be
able to slow down for a minute and take a breather.

Jury duty was representative of life.The same
time, the same job, the same place, the same
pay, and the same responsibility represented
different things to different people.

Just like life, the jury duty selection process
will seem like they are picking on you at times.
I have been here four times in the past five years,
yet my mother is over twice my age and has never
been summoned. {I've been twice and twice was
hastily excused. I think being a Southern Baptist
educator had something to do with it......}

The next time you are summoned for
jury duty, imagine it was your case and be
thankful for the freedom realized in the
judicial system.

While waiting to be chosen to perform your duty,
take notice of how you spend your time.

By the way, I wrote three MountainWings
issues while waiting. I had intentions of writing
them for weeks and just now found the time.

~A MountainWings Original by James Bronner~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great perspective!

C~B~N

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Pet Peeve: DVD Technology

C~B~N did belong to one of those DVD clubs where for a
monthly fee they'd mail you DVD's. I quit it. Not because
they didn't have good choices. They did! I really enjoy
movies and this was the cheapest way to view them for me.

No, I quit because the DVD technology is just too fragile
for mailing them.

Heck, they are too fragile to play as they scratch sooooo
easily. What is up with that freezing frame that goes on.
I know you know what I mean: the actors look like they are
doing the jerky robot; or it completely freezes up and
won't move at all.

I have found that I LIKE VHS! It is JUST BETTER all
around. They are harder to break but can be fixed if
they do! They have better viewing quality; they don't
"freeze" up and refuse to play anymore; they can't be
scratched or cracked during mailing like DVDs.

But the "industry" is going to go with DVD. It is
"modern". But for my money, it is crappy technology.

Remember a few years ago "they" said CDs and DVDs
for movies or the computer were INDESTRUCTIBLE.
That they would last a hundred years.

WRONG. You will be lucky if they last 5.

If I'm going to build a library of movies; I already own
over 200 VHS tapes; then I want the technology to LAST.
Otherwise, I'm just wasting my money.

And that is too hard to come by!

Just for fun one day, when you get one of those free
advertising dvds in the mail; take a pair of scissors
to them and see how EASY it is to cut one up!!!!

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