aubreyturner.org

I guess this lawsuit against Bushmaster has really gotten people curious.  Below are some of the search terms and the number of requests for each that came in to my site yesterday.

I think I may add some commentary and a link to the previous entry on my XM15 page.

A lot of people have covered this already, but those scummy suckweasels at the Brady Center (nee Hangun Control Inc.) and the VPC (*spit*) are suing Bushmaster over the DC-area sniper incident.  Not being brain-fried like the Brady Bunch, I seem to recall a little something about personal responsibility.  Maybe instead of stupidly blaming an inanimate object we might instead realize that evil people do evil things and concentrate on putting the evil people away (preferably 6 feet under).

I sent Bushmaster an email offering my support and I also posted comments on Acidman’s entry as well as that of Mrs. du Toit.  Acidman emailed me this morning to point out Kim du Toit’s suggestion of a buycott.  I’d been considering the same thing, although I already own a Bushmaster XM15-E2S.  Kim pointed out the M17S Bullpup Rifle, which immediately got my attention.  I was going to stop buying guns for a while, but I think I can make room in my safe for one of these. 

I don’t generally use much profanity on this site, but I think Kim’s thoughts on this mirror my own:

Note to the Brady Bunch: Congratulations, fuckwits. Thanks to you, yet another Bushmaster is going to end up in private hands, and moreover, in hands that were not ever likely to own one. So fuck you, and the horse you rode in on, you bastards.

I’ve been following this story with some interest since I first heard about it.  I think that what struck me was the senseless loss of life caused by these selfish little bastards and just how cold the suspect has been. 

For those who haven’t heard of this case, here’s what happened:  Early this month four people (Sarah Foust, Kortnie Henson, David W. Thornton, and Michael John Prewitt) went into a Bennigan’s restaurant in Irving with the intent to order food and drinks and then run out without paying.  Three of the four were underage and the fourth was 26 (Prewitt).  They had meals as well as 9 alcoholic drinks, running up a total bill of $131.  The three younger ones left the resturant and went to their car while the older one stayed behind.  As soon as he saw that everyone was at the car he dashed out a side exit.  The waitress saw this and ran outside to get the license plate number of the car.  The driver backed into the waitress, knocking her onto the car.  The driver then repeatedly accelerated and stopped the car in an attempt to knock the waitress off.  She eventually fell off and was killed when her head struck the pavement.  The three in the car were arrested and the driver has been charged with murder and drunk driving.  The other two have been charged with theft of service, which is a Class B misdemeanor.  The fourth one is still at large.  When he saw what happened he kept running, rather than getting into the car.  He’s wanted for theft of service and providing alcohol to a minor (of interest is that the fine upstanding citizen Prewitt already has a record for domestic violence).

Those are the basic facts of the case.  However, when I compare the people involved it really gets me steamed.

The victim, Jennifer Sanchez, was a 20-year old waitress who was working to support herself so that she could go to school (she was enrolled at Northlake College) and pay for her own apartment.  By all accounts she was well on her way to becoming a productive member of society.

This is in stark contrast to the four losers who are responsible for her death (three of whom are shown above).  Let’s consider some of this information about Sarah Foust, the 19-year old driver of the car, who has been charged with murder:

According to testimony, Ms. Foust yelled, “Bitch, get off the car!” as she tried to skip out on the $131 bill that included nine alcoholic drinks for the four diners, three of whom were underage.

-and-

With Ms. Sanchez still holding onto the trunk, Ms. Foust made a hard turn out of the parking lot, the detective said. Ms. Sanchez was thrown to the pavement and died later at the hospital of head injuries sustained in the fall.

-and-

Detective Johnson cited reports by patrol officers who pulled over the 1978 Chevrolet Nova less than two miles from the restaurant. Officers said Ms. Foust was “laughing with Kortnie Henson and very talkative,” not the emotional wreck described by defense attorney David Scoggins.

-and-

During an interview hours after her arrest, Ms. Henson told Detective Johnson that she asked Ms. Foust why she kept driving after hitting the waitress.

According to the detective, Ms. Foust answered, “What the … [expletive] was I supposed to do, stop the car?”

The sheer pettiness of their crime and the callous nature of the defendent really bother me.  These were four pathetic wastes of skin who wanted a free meal and it ended up costing this poor young woman her life.  Foust was trying to act broken-up and was really playing up the “poor me, I’ve had a rough life” bullcrap act in the courtroom.  I don’t give a rat’s ass what kind of life she’s had or how she feels.  All she had to do was stop the car to let Ms. Sanchez off and that would have been the end of it (or better yet, she could have decided to not order a meal that she couldn’t pay for).  I don’t want to hear any crap about how she was scared or about her feelings.  Sanchez’s death is her fault and she must take responsibility for her actions.  I hope her punishment is severe.  I’ll be very upset if she gets off by pleading to a reduced charge.

More info:
Student struck, killed by car of customers who skipped tab
Judge Denies Request For Teen’s Bond Reduction

My father was a big fan of old-time country music and especially of Bob Wills.  For those who have not been introduced to country music, Bob Wills was one of the most influential musicians of the western swing style.  Western swing is a combination of traditional country music and big band (imagine twin fiddles, steel guitars, and horns).  He was also influenced by blues and jazz.

When I was younger I used to shun the old country and Bob Wills.  I think that was a typical teenage reaction.  We all have to try to create our own identities and often the first thing we do is reject the things that we perceive as making up our parents’ identities.  However, I’ve long since gotten over that and gotten back into country.  I had bought some Bob Wills tribute CDs from Asleep At The Wheel, who remade a lot of the old songs with modern artists.  However, I recently saw this collection from Proper Records and decided to give it a chance.  I’m still working my way through it (on track 13 of disk 3 right now) and there’s some good stuff in the set.  It doesn’t cover everything (that would be hard to do since he was a prolific performer and writer), so it doesn’t have Across The Alley From The Alamo which is one of my favorite Wills songs.  But overall it’s a good collection of his stuff up to 1950.  My only complaint would have to do with the sound quality of some of the recordings.  My “modern” ears have become accustomed to full-fidelity stereo.  However, that’s not anyone’s fault.  The recorders used at the time simply didn’t have the capabilities of today’s modern equipment.

Of interest is that the set was published by a British company.  It seems almost sacrilegious to be buying a country music CD set from England .

I just saw a news item that had me yelling at the TV.  Dallas Mayor Laura Miller has decided that no one should smoke in resturants.  This came at the urging of the so-called “grassroots” campaign to stop “secondhand smoke”.  She got a lot of push-back when it was first announced and the last I had heard was that it was being tabled.  Well, it came back today with a vengeance.  They are now considering an ordinance that would not only ban smoking in restaurants but in bars and private clubs (*).  Miller had the nerve to say that she thought that people would spend more time in the bars and restaurants if they didn’t have to worry about people smoking.  This really chaps my ass.  Restaurants are already required to provide separate smoking areas and I can’t recall a time when I was bothered by smoke from the smoking section.  So that’s a non-starter.  As for bars, I seem to recall something about freedom of choice.  If people don’t like smoke, they can choose not to go into a smoky bar.  If enough people complain, then some entrepreneur will open a smoke-free bar.  However, I think that the fact that no one has done so yet (at least that I’m aware of) speaks volumes to how much demand there is for such a thing.

Of course we’ll be hit with the second-hand smoke shibboleth next.  Whether second-hand smoke actually causes harm (and the primary study that supposedly proves this is based more on bias than on science), I have a hard time justifying the use of the power of the state (ultimately enforced by people with guns) to tell business owners how they may or may not use their private property.

If this nonsense passes, I will make it a point to avoid Dallas bars and restaurants on general principle.  I like to enjoy a Macanudo from time to time so the nannys at Dallas city hall can kiss my ass.

(*) The private club is something that was created to work around the stupid Texas laws concerning alcohol.  By default all political entities (precincts, cities, counties, etc) are ‘dry’, which means that no alcoholic beverages may be sold there.  In order to get around this, a business may deem itself a private club.  To drink in the club you must become a member.  Of course, this has turned into a sham where you can obtain a “Unicard”, which makes you a “member” of all the participating businesses. 

A political district must hold an election to become “wet”.  A lot of Texas cities are “damp”, which means that only beer and wine are sold there (Denton is an example of this).  This often means that people have to travel out of their way to get alcoholic beverages, which I think contributes to drunk driving.  I grew up in Big Sandy, which is a small town in East Texas (population of approx. 1500).  What’s interesting is in that small town we had (and still have) 6 liquor stores.  This is because we were the only fully wet place in the county.  People were driving 25 or 30 miles to get there.  However, I seem to have gotten off on a tangent here (train of thought derailment).

“The best way to solve problems is to not have enemies.”—Sheryl Crow

I’m glad she didn’t say that in front of me.  My explosive laughter would have probably frightened the poor thing.  But then again, I’ve never expected her to be a deep thinker.  Nice tower, but no bell (if you know what I mean, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more, say no more).

Of course, I agree in a way.  If all your enemies are dead, then you won’t have any more problems (except maybe finding a place to hide the bodies).

Did Seinfeld see the future?

Or did he set the trend?

As a followup to this article about a Haltom City judge, WFAA-Channel 8 announced that he resigned this morning.  This was after the city had “cleared” him of any wrongdoing.  I think we all know how much that “clearance” was worth.

WFAA also mentioned that Dallas Police are starting a traffic crackdown on speeders and dangerous drivers.  They will be using marked and unmarked units and they will be driving side-by-side at the posted speed limit to try to slow people down.  Having driven in Dallas on numerous occasions I can tell you that most of the problems don’t really have to do with “excessive” speed (although I’m not saying that this doesn’t happen).  During rush hour speed limits don’t matter, because no one is able to go anywhere near that fast.  Outside of rush hour the problem is that the speed limit has been set arbitrarily low (supposedly for the purpose of cleaner air, but I’m skeptical that it has any impact).  When the speed limits were reduced I did not see many people slow down.  From my observations I think that the near universal reaction has been contempt for the speed limit (this ties in with my long-held belief that laws must be reasonable or they risk corroding respect for all laws).  If you drive I635 outside of rush hour you will come to the conclusion that the real problem is slow drivers who don’t keep right and the occasional raging maniac.  I think these “rolling roadblocks” that the police are planning will do little other than inconvenience everyone.  Further, I have seen instances where police radar traps have nearly caused accidents because some drivers have the bad habit of slowing WAY under the posted limit when they see a cop.

If the police want to go after truly dangerous drivers (i.e. the ones driving 80 or 90 and weaving in and out of traffic or the raging manics), that’s fine.  In fact, some unmarked units seeded in the flow of traffic could help with that.  But what I think this will become is an excuse to stop anyone going five over the limit and give them tickets to generate revenue (it’s no secret that the City of Dallas is in financial trouble due to a budget shortfall).

I started this little endeavor one year ago today.  As Acidman notes, it’s surprising that so many people have kept blogs for so long.  I know that I’m a little surprised myself.  There was a lull in June and July where I didn’t post anything, and during that time I almost gave up.  I think this site has been helpful because it occasionally allows me to vent on the stuff that gets under my skin.  It also provides a place to share things that I think are interesting.

And I have to admit that it’s a great thing when you find that others notice what you have to say.  I’d like to say thanks to those who have taken time to read my weblog.  I appreciate it.

Finally, I think this blog has helped me to improve my writing skills.  Before this blog all of my writing was confined to creating technical documents for work.  Now that I’ve gotten back into the game I’m also considering getting back into fiction and poetry, which I used to write a long time ago.  Of course, it’ll be quite a while before I’m ready to share any of that here (sharing a new piece of writing can be an intensely uncomfortable experience, so I’ll practice on unsuspecting friends first ).  I know, everyone thinks that they’ve got a book in them.  I don’t hold any illusions that I’m any kind of great writer.  It’s just a demon that needs to be exorcised.

This post by Steven Den Beste has a well thought-out response to a misguided fool who thinks that it’s wrong to kill an armed robber.  It’s long, but well worth the time.

These are issues which have long been of interest to me, given my own decision to refuse to be a victim.  The commenter who emailed Den Beste appeared to be from Europe (big surprise!), and Den Beste naturally extended the self-reliance of American individuals to our response to terrorism:

Europe wants us to act as a passive and fearful citizen of the world, and to wait for the world’s policemen to save us. They want us to absorb our damage and not fight back, and we aren’t doing so. America is self-reliant. As individuals and as a group we won’t stand passively and let others attack us. We’ll defend ourselves; we won’t sit and hope someone else takes care of it.

Adams represents the finest strain of America in his act yesterday, and I’m deeply proud of him. For all I know he may well be vile in other ways, but at the deepest level he demonstrated a nobility I’m glad to see. I feel not the slightest twinge of shame in saying that.

Yesterday I said this:

Our overseas friends would do well to contemplate this example. What’s remarkable about Adams is that he isn’t remarkable. There are millions of Americans who would do exactly the same thing in the same circumstances. We don’t give up what’s ours just because someone else demands it, whether at gunpoint, or via crashed jetliners, or through diplomatic denunciations and accusations of unilateralism.

I want to emphasize this. If you don’t understand why Americans are willing to act like this, and why we’re proud to act like this, and why we are not going to stop acting like this, then you’ll never understand anything we do and your international rhetoric will continue to be ineffective. This taps into the deepest strain of our character.

You’re not going to get anywhere by treating this as cultural pathology. We think it’s healthy, and quite frankly we’ve got good reason to believe that. You had better learn about this, and accept it as an essential part of the American character, and deal with it in your diplomacy. The only thing you’re going to accomplish by trying to shame us about this is to alienate us, because we’re not going to change.

Which has been the actual result since September of 2001, as the politicians and chattering heads of Europe have indeed been attempting to make us ashamed of this attitude. Americans are not interested in hearing “Let the attackers beat you up and kill you; sit passively and let the police take care of it.” We’re also not interested in hearing “Let the terrorists kill you; sit passively and let the UN take care of it.” The only thing this has done is to increasingly convince us that Europe’s chatterers are effete cowards.

Everything which is truly important is worth fighting to defend.

That last line says it all for me.  Not only my own life, but more importantly, the lives of my friends and family are important and worth defending.  Others may disagree, but I will not allow them to make the decision for me.