Another new editorial panel appearing in the latest issue of the Ester Republic.
Note the District Seal (as opposed to the Official State Seal)
which is, after all, approximately the territorial time period and mentality many residents and legislators
want to return "the frontier" to.
(More returned fire rant below the fold)
But seriously, add this bill to the “official Alaskan firearm” one, and the one banning Sharia law, and the other one proclaiming Ted Stevens Day, plus trying to give oil companies billions of dollars in tax breaks, and
stopping the intrusive reach of the evil Feds through EPA regulations, etc. etc.: any day
now the Alaska Legislature will actually do something meaningful and
intelligent. Just kidding."A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
The Bill of Rights
probably wasn't numbered sequentially in terms of relative importance,
but I can't help wonder at which comes first: the freedom of speech or the freedom to cling to guns.
A favorite rebuttal to any gun-control sentiment is the oft-regurgitated “but an armed society is a polite
society.” So... if someone is called an idiot for believing
that, then what, is shooting them in retaliation or brandishing a firearm really the solution? Slapping a holster or drawing down on someone who points out
you are acting like an asshole would only validate your inherent assholishness. But maybe irony isn't a weapon licensed to most firearm fetishists.
Once when I had a handgun pointed at my face during a hold-up, I actually did unconsciously resort to pulling a funny. Leave a cartoonist to bring a joke to a gunfight, which is okay as long as one is simultaneously extending wads of cash. And many a time in high school the last thing I remember before getting punched out was getting off a good one. My guess is loud-mouth, smart-ass cartoonists will be the first ones to go in any new world order scenario. And this particular batch of patriots in the Alaska legislature would probably get off on enforcing respect at the point of a gun, since there isn't any other way for them to earn it. If you have to resort to using threats, fear and violence to enforce social norms like politeness and civility, you've already lost... just acoward bully empowered with a gun.
Once when I had a handgun pointed at my face during a hold-up, I actually did unconsciously resort to pulling a funny. Leave a cartoonist to bring a joke to a gunfight, which is okay as long as one is simultaneously extending wads of cash. And many a time in high school the last thing I remember before getting punched out was getting off a good one. My guess is loud-mouth, smart-ass cartoonists will be the first ones to go in any new world order scenario. And this particular batch of patriots in the Alaska legislature would probably get off on enforcing respect at the point of a gun, since there isn't any other way for them to earn it. If you have to resort to using threats, fear and violence to enforce social norms like politeness and civility, you've already lost... just a
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
On a related note: in the "Alaska Voices" section of Anchorage Daily News (April 13, 2011) op-ed writer Rudy Wittshirk in "Drooping Barrels" (great title) almost anonymously credits me with a comment on this very topic:
"What I don’t get…well, let this commentator* to the above article speak for me:
“Seems the Alaska Legislature has nothing better to do. While it's nice to have Wasilla regain the epicenter of stupid back from Fairbanks, one would think that there's gotta be something, anything else more serious in state business than codifying obsessive gun fetishism…”
"I will allow a commentator* on the subject of the official Alaska firearm to speak for me---and apply his remarks to both Batboy and Reuben.
From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: ”Never mind the health and welfare of constituents: Sen. Huggins keeps earning his ‘pro-life’ cred and ‘A+ rating‘ from the NRA… That said, Alaska still does not have an official state amphibian... I say nominate the political toady.”*Note the only place my "comments" appeared was right here in this posting. Even if lowly bloggers don't have much legit journalistic cred, a hat-tip is always nice - thanks for reading. And here I'm using spell-heck and everything, dam.
One more thing: you'd think especially after just getting so many Alaska Press Club awards the on-line newspaper The
Alaska Dispatch would maybe try and hang on to what talent they do have. You'd be wrong: recently they shitcanned Dunlap-Shohl and won't be running his editorial cartoons. Stupid move, underscoring my suspicion is the Alaska Dispatch is striving to become the PuffHo of the North.
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