(Ft. Worth, TX, USA)

aubreyturner.org

Friday, July 24, 2009

Another Lesson

Aside from “don’t show your ass to the police in public,” there seems to me to be another lesson to be learned from the Cambridge Incident:  make sure your neighbors know you. 

Now you don’t have to go over and spend a lot of time with your neighbors, but it certainly helps if they at least know you by sight, if not by name.  It would have saved everyone a lot of grief if the neighbor who spotted Professor Gates breaking into his house knew that it was him, and not some random thief.  If I were to have to break into my house at some point, I know that at least the neighbors around me know that I belong here.  And if I saw one of my neighbors trying to get in through a window, I’d probably go over and see if I could help somehow.  But it sounds like in Professor Gates’ neighborhood no one knows anyone else, which is truly unfortunate. 

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Snares For The Unwary

One of the things that I absolutely hate about Texas law is the pansy-ass way we treat fireworks.  They can only be sold during certain dates around Christmas and Independence Day, and a large number of cities and towns not only ban their use in the city limits, they also ban simple possession.

I can understand the prohibition on using fireworks in town, given that urban environments are not the best places for them.  But the possession ban is bad because it creates a legal nightmare for people who are traveling and have to go through one or more cities to get from point A (where they are legal) to point B (where they are also legal).  If caught in one of these cities, someone simply transporting fireworks could end up having them confiscated and find themselves being issued a fairly expensive ticket (I seem to recall McKinney posting a sign touting a $250 fine).  Worse, some cities (*cough* Waco *cough*) have even gone so far as to sit outside fireworks stands and follow people (who were just passing through) into town to confiscate their fireworks and fine them.  It was so bad at one point that one Waco fireworks stand owner was sending out decoys so that his real customers could escape. 

If I had my way, Texas law would be changed to treat fireworks more like firearms.  Texas cities are forbidden by law from prohibiting possession of firearms, but they do have the ability to regulate the discharge of firearms in the city limits.  The current system just encourages contempt for the law, in that I have absolutely no compunction about violating one of these stupid ordinances when I’m traveling and I happen to have fireworks.  Of course some people might say that you shouldn’t travel with fireworks and that you should just buy them close to where you’re going to use them.  My response to that is that there are some serious fireworks stores out on I-20 that have a massive selection that is hard to match elsewhere (although I noticed this year that one has sprouted up in Big Sandy, so perhaps I could get them there in future).  Further, bans on simple possession of some item when it is not being used in a harmful manner (or not being used at all), are not compatible with a truly free society.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Pinnacle Security: FAIL

I am finding of late that despite my “NO SOLICITORS” sign a number of people are still ringing my bell during the day.  One of these days I will get another one for the religious people (as they all seem to think they aren’t solicitors, but are doing “God’s work” or something).  Anyhow, most of the remaining non-religious solicitors are ones who want to argue with you as to whether they are a solicitor or not.

Today’s award for “reading comprehension FAIL” goes to the representative for Pinnacle Security who rang the bell even though he clearly saw the sign.  I opened the door and he immediately launched into his spiel about how he was visiting with people in the neighborhood who had security systems.  I immediately stopped him and asked if he’d seen the sign and knew about Keller’s soliciting ordinance.  His answer was that he was not a solicitor and he didn’t need a permit because he didn’t take money; instead he was just doing “marketing.”  I told him that I a) I considered him a solicitor, and b) I had an alarm and didn’t need or want any “upgrades.”  He tried once again to launch into his spiel, but I stopped him and told him to leave.  He gave me a strange look like he was considering something, but instead said, “I’ll leave whenever you want.”  Which had me thinking, Why are you still here, then?, but I didn’t say it, as he finally got the message from my expression that he was quickly moving from annoyance to potential threat and decided to leave.

It only occurred to me afterwards that perhaps he got a glimpse of the Springfield XD 40 that I was carrying.  It was not intentional, but earlier I had been fiddling with the radio in my truck and my garage was hot so I took off my outer shirt.  When he arrived I was just wearing an undershirt and I had to scramble to get my shirt to cover the gun.  I left it unbuttoned, though, which is why in hindsight it’s possible that he saw it.  Of course, this being Texas, if you freak out when you discern that the resident of the house has a gun you’re probably not cut out for door-to-door solicitation jobs.