If the 'Greatest Generation' truly WAS the greatest, then we should make an effort to go back to those values, especially in education and TV licensing and censorship.

Strict dress codes at school. Strict discipline. No more mollycoddling young hooligans. Give the teacher back the authority and disciplinary powers they used to have over the youngsters that grew up to be the 'Greatest Generation'...

And no more emphasis on TV that glorifies gutter values and nothing but materialism. You want to point a finger at the ONE thing that has probably more influence on kids today, look at TV from today, and from the 50's and 60's. Kids are like sponges. They ape what they see. Show them ill mannered, unruly, hyper-sexed materialistic kids (and adults!) on TV, and that's what you'll get in real life. Show them violence, show them 'reality' TV where every gutter value is glorified, let them play violent video games (that the Armed Forces use to desensitize their troops to violence and elicit instant fighting reflexes) and up the content to ad ratio to something over three times as much as the sixties, cut back Public TV funding, and is it any wonder we are where we are today?

Deregulation... let the market find its' own level... Yeah right!

The market sure HAS found its' level, hasn't it..?

'We the People' OWN the airwaves in this country. It is time to take them back from the greedy corporations willing to sell this generation of kids into materialistic slavery.

Diki, I don't know if I've ever agreed with you more ...
t.

He's right once in awhile .

chas

I also agree completely. Nobody of my generation got hurt by one or two slaps from their teacher, everyone my age now laughs when remembering school slappings with "oh yes I got slapped a lot but I was a right bastard to boot", yet they shiver at the mere thought of a teacher bollocking their kid, let alone slapping.

Are you guys kidding me???
The criminals ALL have any gun they want...they don'e get them at the local gun store!

The constitution of the United States gives us the right to have guns for hunting and protection.

There are some here (polititions) that would like to put our constitution in the shredder! Obama and his gang! It gets in the way of there socialist agenda. The people of this country will not allow him and his thugs from Illinois (and elsewhere)to do that!

If I am home, a criminal breaks into my house, he poses a treat to me and my family...he gets one warning to get on the floor and wait for the police...if he does not he will be shot and killed by me. 12 year olds in this country can be hard criminals and kill people (not uncommon). So age does not matter...he better get on the floor immediately and drop any weapon he has. If he comes at me with any weapon or just personally, he will be shot dead.

Are you guys telling me if he (the one we are talking about here) in your country comes into your house you can do nothing legally?

By the way, any cop I have talked to says be sure and kill him, so they or me does not have to deal with him in court.

If any of you live in a country where there is not 'any' of those guys...great, if I moved there I would not need any guns in my house.

Lee S.

Lee, you forgot the "quotation" marks. I'm sure Rush, Glenn, and Sarah, would like credit for their rhetoric. And oh yeah, that Socialist Obama, the guy responsible for all the gun violence, the one who advocates showing up at presidential town hall meetings with an AK47, yeah, you're right, the man must be stopped, before he turns us into a lawless, gun-toting society.....oh wait, we already are. Ahhh, must've been ol' George W.



chas

BTW, you don't appoint yourself president. Apparently, a majority of the American people put him there. Guess they didn't realize he was a hard line Socialist when they were in the voting booth. Ehhh, mistakes happen.

When I was 5 years old, in preschool, my dad was on alert at Ladd AFB in Fairbanks, Alaska. I was home in our little isolated house in the country with my mom, who was 8 months pregnant and confined to the bed, and my little three year old brother.

I was trying to cook something for my brother, when I saw something at the window. It was a crazy looking Eskimo. I was scared to death, but determined to protect my family. I got out the little Savage 22/.410 over and under my dad gave me a year or so later (still have it). I loaded both barrels; top with a 22 cal. and the bottom with # 8 shot (was aware the I wanted to use bird shot, instead of #6 (rabbit) to minimize the injury).

The guy kept looking through the window and hiding from about 7:00 PM (it was winter-deep snow, probably below zero outside and already dark) until about 2:00 AM. He then broke the glass and started crawling in the window. There had been multiple break-ins in the area, with injuries over the last several months, including several rapes. We later found out this was the guy!

I shot him in the left kneecap with the shotgun. When he got up, I shot him in the right kneecap with the shotgun. If he had gotten up, I was going to shoot him with both barrels. I kept the gun on him until daylight, and then waved down a truck from the door, asking them to get Gus, our neighbor.

Fast forward to last year. I had a Taurus Judge (five .410 rounds of buckshot) in the drawer. A guy broke in, rushed me, and I chose a small wooden club instead of the gun. I hurt the guy, but also sustained what very well may be permanent damage to my left arm and hand.

Almost 60 years later: What I learned:

* I regret shooting the guy in Alaska, but think I had no choice. I was protecting my mom and brother.

* Don't regret not shooting the guy at my warehouse (there was no-one else in danger, I was the only one there), but got sued in the process.

* The good: the guy's in jail (repeat offender). Do regret hurting the guy with the club as badly as I did. Frankly, I was scared and on an adrenalin rush. If I hadn't defended myself, there may have been more damage from the cuts. Could have been killed. Or, more realistically, he would have gotten what he wanted and left me alone. I'll never know...

* Regret getting hurt....may be a career ender.

* If you choose to have a gun or other weapon, be prepared to use it.

Be careful, everybody!


Russ



[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 04-01-2010).]

Russ, you know how I felt about what happened to you and the resultant (possibly permanent) injury that you suffered. Heck, even I wanted to shoot the guy. You showed remarkable restraint given the options you had and I applaud your decision (though it would be hard to condemn you had you chosen the other option). In the end, given the type of person you are and your long history of helping those needing help, I think you would still choose to endure your injury rather than having this kid's death on your conscience. That's what seperates us from the animals that try to harm us. Those who advocate shooting first and asking questions later, obviously don't have the same regard for human life as you do. One more reason I feel proud to be your friend.

chas

1) Can you operate a weapon under extreme stress? (supposedly extreme stress happens when someone is heard in the house at night)

2) Yes, in most of Europe, if you manage to break the intruder's bones, you will be charged. There is one case that I know, here in Greece, where someone used a hunting rifle to shoot a burglar inside their home and got away free, after a lengthy trial. But this was in a rural area, where burglaries were very common, the guy was an old man, and all his villages' people were everyday outside the court, demonstrating. It doesn't happen. No "castle doctrine" here.

My TV is on in the other room and the newscaster just said "No robberies were commited today" in a triumphant voice.

Shooting to kill was not the only option you had if you chose to use the gun....

I am really sorry about your injury and the messed up legal system that allows crimminals in the act of committing their crime to be offered the right to sue you for reacting to their illegal activities.