Blogito, Ergo Sum
by Gregg Calkins
6 May 2010, a Thursday
I had to laugh at Gail Collins, as usual:
Terror threats make politicians behave somewhat irrationally. But the subject of guns makes them act like a paranoid mother ferret protecting her litter.
For "politicians" real "op-ed columnists."
There seems to be a strong sentiment in Congress that the only constitutional right suspected terrorists have is the right to bear arms.
"I think you’re going too far here," said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday. He was speaking in opposition to a bill that would keep people on the F.B.I. terrorist watch list from buying guns and explosives.
Ms Collins, of course, would give terrorists ALL of American constitutional rights except for the right to bear arms, but she’d make that fair by denying ALL Americans the right to bear arms.
She doesn’t like terrorist watch-lists, or no-fly lists, or even wiretapping international phone calls from al-Qaeda, but she thinks every law-abiding American should register his guns...preferably just turn them in before it’s necessary for federal troops to come and get them.
Dumb me. I think a suspected terrorist should get to fly...straight home, in handcuffs, one-way. And I think they should be able to buy guns but if found with a gun should be shot on sight and a bounty paid for their ears, just like Americans used to do for wolves and coyotes who were unwanted.
I saw a photo in the paper the other day of one of the foreign jihadists with his head and face covered, except for his eyes, carrying a shoulder-fired anti-tank (or aircraft) missile. I think both offenses should call for being shot on sight. Nobody needs that kind of weapon for self-defense and masked men, except for the Long Ranger, are automatically considered to be criminals.
I really think my plan would kill fewer innocent civilians than Obama’s firing of drones into people’s residences trying to kill one or two guys who probably aren’t even there Why guess? Look at the masked man with the shoulder-held Stinger and kill him, simple as that. AK-47? If he’s masked and wearing dirty pajamas, certainly.
Silly me, I’m of the opinion that American laws and American civil rights are the property of American citizens. Other people have different laws...they allow multiple simultaneously marriages, they allow honor killings, they drive on the wrong side of the road...none of that is allowed here. Period. They have the laws and rights belonging to THEIR country, not ours. Do they have Miranda rights in their country? No? Well, they don’t have them in ours, either.
If your country says nobody BUT Muslims are allowed in, fine...it’s your country. If mine says that everybody BUT Muslims are allowed in, fine, it’s my country. I don’t think that every single person in the world deserves hard-fought American rights unless they are Americans, simple as that.
I think we ought to have the same laws for Mexicans coming into and living in California or Arizona as Californians and Arizonans have when moving into and living in Mexico. But we don’t.
Theirs are tougher; much tougher. Well, so are mine. Maybe we don’t need Judge Roy Bean back, but couldn’t we at least have Judge Judy?