Stuff in the News

It's been awhile since I did one of these... my thoughts on current topics of interest (of mine, at least) and things in the news...I'm not looking to get into a debate or ruffle anyone else's feathers... I just gotta get it out.

First topic - Lance Armstrong. Yes, he did steroids during his amazing reign over the Tour de France. But guess what.. a lot of athletes were doping up in the late 80's and 90's. It was kind of the thing to do, then. His doing steroids is a blip on the radar. I would be willing to bet some of the people racing against his were, too, but since they didn't win, they have been long forgotten about. At the end of it all, he became famous for winning a race (multiple times). Lets not look at how he got there, but what he did with his fame. He started an amazing charity that helps cancer patients and their families. That should be his legacy, not that he took steroids to win a race. He didn't something good with his fame. He didn't go the route of other famous athletes... he didn't cheat on his wife or run a dog fighting ring. He didn't fade away into he rest of the world because he spent all of his money and, in general, became washed up. No... he took his fame and his very public cancer battle and started something to help many others.

Next, gun control. Or more specifically, a ban on automatic of semi-automatic guns. People are up in arms about this! It's not a ban on a hunting rifle or a basic handgun used for personal protection. It's on weapons that can shoot multiple rounds within seconds! Why does anyone, not in the military or law enforcement, need one of these? You can't tell me it's for hunting - where's the sport in that?? I think when our Forefathers spoke of the Right to Bear Arms, they never imagined a weapon that could discharge multiple rounds quickly. They still had to hand pack each round in their guns. I don't think they'd want these automatic weapons in households.

Oh, and the thought that strong/more consistent background checks will solve the issue we have. Um, no. The Colorado shooter had multiple checks run as he bought multiple guns. No issues for him because he had no questionable history. And the guy in Connecticut - he took his mom's guns! You look through most of the mass shootings, and one of those two things are usually the case... it's never someone you'd expect. It's someone that's never shown any signs of doing something like this.

Those are the two big ones, right now. I could ramble on about a few other topics, but I won't. This time. I could definitely complain about the weather for awhile... I hate the cold weather. But I'll spare you for now.