Tomorrow will be New Years Eve. 2008 has been a very good year in many ways and I hope that 2009 will continue in that trend. 2009 should be a very interesting year with a new President in Barack Obama. On the home front our Christmas was very good. Lots of presents for everyone. Dana got a new 32 inch HDTV which she immediately traded in for a larger plasma TV. Teresa got a day bed set and a new rotisserie. I got a new Panasonic Lumix camera and some new hiking boots. We had our traditional Christmas day brunch at my brother Chris and his wife Regina’s house. Lots of great food and it is always great to see my son Jason and the rest of the family. Before Christmas I broke down and bought a new Glock 23 pistol.
I had planned to wait until January to buy it but I couldn’t wait. I have already fired it at the range and it is a great pistol.
I have a gun class at Bob’s Gun Shop January 3rd after which I will apply for a concealed carry permit for my new Glock. I doubt if I will carry my pistol concealed much but there are times when I would feel safer with it. With the economy the way it is and the never-ending war on terror it is always wise to be prepared for anything. Everything else is much the same with us. Teresa has been having some fainting spells and is having tests done to find the cause. Church has kept me busy as usual and we finally have agreed to let another church share our facilities. This should be a good thing for both the churches as we need the extra income it will bring and the other church has been holding service at a bowling alley.
So I am looking forward to the new year as it will be the first full year that I have been retired. We still plan to move someday and we also plan on at least one trip this year. Now to go take Kirk to the doctor and Max for a walk.
What the Hell Is Going On 
sounds like you got high spirits for the year.
I have a question and a comment or two about your story about buying your gun. I am not a gun owner and never plan to own one but I am curious why you say that with the war on terror its good to be prepared for anything. I have no inherent problem with gun ownership, but what I do fear is that the incredible rise of gun ownership in the U.S. after 9/11 was due to a new found fear which has been exaggerated where we end up fearing each other to the point where people bought guns to protect themselves when it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
Just my two cents. I am ok with gun ownership for hunting. But I sincerely believe that we shouldn’t be owning guns to protect ourselves.
Benedict, I don’t fear anyone, but I do feel that you have to be able to protect yourself and your family. I don’t think the police are capable of protecting everyone. If someone was to break into my house at night with the intent of harming someone I don’t see how the police could do anything, it would be too late. Private ownership of guns has been proven to statistically lower crime rates across the board. The city with the most stringent gun laws in the country, Washington DC, also had one of the highest murder rates in the country. Gun ownership also insures that no government can easily turn from a democracy to a dictatorship. Admiral Yamamato, when once asked about the prospects of invading the United States during WWII said that there were so many citizens that owned firearms that it would be impossible to do. You can’t always depend on the police or your own government to protect you. The responsibility ultimately falls to you.
I understand and agree that we can’t on rely government and police to constantly protect us. But if everyone had a gun to protect themselves America would theoretically be the safest place on earth. But we still have such high violent crime with guns.
U.S. citizens wouldn’t let their country turn into a dictatorship, but they will still follow propaganda and false information so their leaders will do what they want to do. The ownership of guns doesnt make people less prone to propaganda or more independent or harder to control unless maybe the people were dying by the governement’s hands.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2428406420070924
I could only find information from 2006. Perhaps it is the same though for 2007 and 2008. But this article says that in 2006 violent crime went up.
But the increase in violent crime is a result of (as the Reuters article says) Criminal justice experts have blamed the crime increases on gangs, youth violence, more gun crimes and fewer police on the beat. The guns used by youths and gangs are almost all illegally obtained. The increase in violent crime is not due to ownership of guns by law-abiding residents. And there are no statistics to show that the violent crime increase would not have been higher if not for the deterrence provided by citizens with lawfully owned guns. Until all handguns have been destroyed and it is impossible for even a criminal to obtain one I feel that legal ownership of a firearm is a reasonable and responsible thing.