Considering Correctness

Considering correctness Originally published October 28, 2011 The Frederick News-Post By Steven R. Berryman (also, be sure to read the postscript at the end!)

Of course the words we choose define us, and reveal the messages we attempt to convey; isn't that what language is for? English has twice the number of available words to choose to enunciate our meaning as the next closest language, German. Although the context of usage is critical, we are being driven mad by the "political correctness" demands of a liberal education system. Should a pejorative word with a political charge be chosen, is it fair to the targeted recipient and to the casual reader, especially as some become inflamed? For instance, we don't say "stimulus" anymore. [We say "jobs bill."] In this week's Monday Advance section, FNP columnist Frankee Lyons passionately explored the word "illegals," treating readers of this paper to a fresh new discussion. The value of anonymous comments in response -- available to the online edition -- was clear as they peaked at 87 responses posted the next day. Tracking comments is a good indication of the public mood. These comments fell quite predictably along partisan lines, scribed by many with views already on record. Each response took one side or another quite distinctly; the long debate on what is undeniably the national dysfunction of uncontrolled borders still seethes. Before I forget, Lyons is the freshest in age of the FNP columnists, and so is to be especially commended for learning how to strike such a resonant chord with so many readers. Despite views to the contrary, writing an opinion column is not about being absolutely right on any given issue, it's about generating the conversation. "'Illegals'?" was brilliant in this respect. But that's just my opinion! Followers of this column and my blog already know well my position on what I shall now call "the ongoing phenomenon of noncitizens breaking into America without visa or legal status of entry." This will keep me from the impolitic shorthand of "illegals." Forming a position early on, my association with the group Help Save Maryland goes back a full year before this became such a hot topic. The enforced political correctness of those with a stake in the game -- immigration lawyers and CASA of Maryland, for instance, was instrumental in labeling my group both "nativist" and "extremist." This was formally pronounced by a group called the Southern Poverty Law Center. Racist accusations are the ultimate in words that carry baggage for many; talk about words that carry a political charge! To inflict the damage, the charge need not even be true. What gets lost in the semantic argument we choose is the argument itself. Is some false sense of "fairness" to those who made it over the fence more important than our national sovereignty as citizens with something to protect? Very clearly in our public education system, the value of being a U.S. citizen has become subjugated to some Walt Disney version of fairness; we have a diverse culture, a history, and a heritage worth protecting. Sticks and stones may break our bones ... -- Steven R. Berryman writes from Frederick. (srbmgr@comcast.net)

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[Postscript: the next day, a prime example of why we use the force of words presented itself!]

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=127696

Murder charges filed Suspect ID'd in March shooting death at Burger King Originally published October 29, 2011 Frederick News-Post By Brian Englar News-Post Staff

NEW! Click photo to view additional photos Courtesy Photo Mejia-Varela Advertisement "> Frederick police have obtained an arrest warrant for a Salvadoran national wanted in the shooting death of a Burger King manager in March, Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith said Friday. Jose Reyes Mejia-Varela, 21, is in Baltimore in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service awaiting sentencing on charges of illegally re-entering the U.S. after he was deported. Mejia-Varela is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jacinta "Patty" Ayala, 32, who was shot and killed in an apparent robbery as she was opening the Burger King on East Patrick Street in Frederick, where she was an assistant manager. He faces additional charges of armed robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and theft of between $1,000 and $10,000, according to Frederick police. Smith said during a news conference Friday the warrant would be served after Mejia-Varela is sentenced on the federal charges. His office hopes to begin trying the case within six months after he is brought to Frederick. Smith said that in the absence of eyewitnesses or a confession, cracking the case was a painstaking task requiring hundreds of hours of work by investigators. He described the case against Mejia-Varela as "very strong." "This was a case that really took a lot of diligence looking at each and every piece of evidence possible," Smith said. "One piece of evidence that would be presented would reveal a need to investigate three, four, five different avenues." Police would not release any details about the crime itself or say how Mejia-Varela -- a former employee at the Burger King -- was identified as a suspect. Frederick police spokesman Lt. Clark Pennington said detectives interviewed Mejia-Varela during the original investigation but did not consider him a suspect at the time. Pennington said they discovered he was in the country illegally and reported him to immigration authorities.......ctd on link above... ========================================================== Ref: Also, the column this refers to is here: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_columnist.htm?StoryID=127434

Eclipse II 45 auto

be sure to see: http://www.kimberamerica.com/1911/eclipse-ii

Rem 700 PSS .308 / Tactical Scope

View from the "Man Cave"

Remington 700 PSS "Police Special" 26" with Tactical Scope / Mil-Dot reticle, setup for rapid response:

Glass bedded FG with Harris bipod and good ammo by Black Hills aplenty.

My Trust in Guns

My trust in guns

Originally published January 28, 2011 in The Frederick News-Post

By Steven R. Berryman

All politics aside, it would also be useful to consider aspects of firearms ownership in America from a layman's perspective; this, despite Sarah Palin's cross hairs, and the Brady anti-gun group.

That we have politicized guns was inevitable, as our Founding Fathers deemed it necessary to write them into our Second Amendment to the Constitution, just after your freedom of speech!

Many Constitutionalists consider that this confers a "right to carry" as well as to own.
"Shall issue" indicates that formal state posture on ownership as an automatic right, barring reasonable disqualification due to criminal record or history of relevant mental health issues. Virginia trusts its citizens.

The obverse of this is that a granting institution must show a specific cause if they choose not to issue a permit of any sort.

"May issue" indicates that it is the arbitrary choice of a state to authorize your right to own or carry a firearm, specifically when requesting a concealed-carry permit, or CCW, as in the case of Maryland. This interpretation results in an automatic no almost every time, based upon data from the Maryland State Police, who are the gatekeepers of this regulation.

Only a handful of permits are assigned each year in Maryland out of thousands of requests.

One hurdle: Can you document two threats to your life?

Ask Frederick Police Chief Kim Dine about "shall vs. may issue" and he will certainly defer to his years policing in Washington and lean toward "may" based upon witnessing thousands of murders in that city.

I'm certainly willing to take population density into consideration, but then again it can be argued that there are more "bad guys" per square foot in cities, based on published crime statistics.

Here, the classic case can be made: If the potential perpetrator believes that a city law would make it unlikely for a mugger to run into an armed citizen, it then makes him feel safer and more likely to strike. Criminals are chicken by definition, if you have not figured that out already!

On the other hand, if a residence has a sign stating: "Don't worry about the dog; this house protected by Smith & Wesson," it's his neighbors that need to be most concerned as the next closest target.

Now ask the sheriff of Frederick County, Chuck Jenkins, about "shall vs. may issue" and first I will bet you that he would find agreement with Dine in that all police/sheriff forces are too limited to protect all the people all the time. Jenkins is a gun-possession advocate, siding with trust in citizens.

Trusting in people who trust guns is a basic National Rifle Association tenet, and you know that "gun folks" learn use and teach a fundamental respect for firearms, safety, marksmanship, and proper use and storage.

Here you can insert an argument that a certification process including actually shooting with proficiency, control, gun maintenance and storage should be included in our laws.

Despite my ribbing, Jenkins is seriously vying for his right to grant handgun carry permits instead of the state police. He says "the sheriff knows the people best, as he's the closest to them."

The problem is that not all sheriffs are of equal competency across Maryland, and not all have patrol divisions and run a detention center. It would be hard to craft a law for just one county sheriff at the state level.

But me, I trust our sheriff, and I trust "gun people."

Steven R. Berryman
writes from Frederick.

(srbmgr@comcast.net)

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Please send comments to webmaster or contact us at 301-662-1177.Copyright 1997-11 Randall Family, LLC. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.The Frederick News-Post Privacy Policy. Use of this site indicates your agreement to our Terms of Service.

Is America "coarsening?"

http://www.regularfolksunited.com/index.php?tab=article_view&article_id=5155

New column; first for "TheTentacle" in a year!

Is America "coarsening?"

By Steven R. Berryman

[from The Tentacle of January 17, 2011]

There are currently more dead via gun play than the total days elapsed in the year for Prince George’s County, MD. An Asian man in the Wellington Trace subdivision of Frederick County shot members of his family before killing himself.

These headlines occurred in the shadow of the Arizona shooter of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords; his Glock held a magazine of 17 rounds of 9mm ammo in a single clip, plus another single bullet in the chamber if he so chose. Just for the record, this is the same weapon favored by the Virginia Tech shooter.

Ironically, the manufacturer calls this special type of semi-automatic pistol a “safe action,” referring to the reduced possibility of accidental discharge.

With so much breaking – and tragic – news, who could blame local newspapers for looking like police blotter reprints? And they do.

But…Is America itself “coarsening,” and if so why? And coarsening compared to what?

Another’s column reminded me that unresolved conflict had – relatively recently – been routinely handled by pistol duel; just ask Aaron Burr about Alexander Hamilton! This, the gentlemen’s choice of the elite.... [ctd below]

.....for the rest, please click:

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4171

srbmgr@gmail.com

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Beretta 85 from long ago

This is my old Beretta 85 15 rounds of .380 in a very high quality package, with backup clips and American Walnut stock, teflon tac knife shown for relief.

For fun I tossed in some custom ammo.

Traded a .44 S&W 6" SS Magnum for this, and then traded it again for something else after that, but back in 1980 or so. Shot it with some other agents, but it was too wide in the grip for me, so I upgraded eventually to the CZ RAMI in .40 Cal that you can see in anoter post on this blog.

My "take" on GUNS

My take on guns

Originally published May 21, 2010

in The Frederick News-Post

By Steven R. Berryman

While you were distracted by the economy, they fixed your health care system. While you were distracted by your health care system, they worked on cap-and-trade plus immigration "reform."

Under the continued distraction of the last two items above, surely you will never see the pre-planning to remove guns from your home. Surely the man whose agenda has become a substitute for the United States Constitution will not think twice about a nation safer from firearms.

"It's for your own good" will be the rallying cry, but where have we heard that one before?

Notice the man in the Oval Office flinch noticeably when pressed on the Constitution, his specialty. Expect that he believes that our laws emanate from our government, and not from a higher power.

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America (can I still say that in print?) foresaw a time when our federal government would become so large that it would become unresponsive to the people and disconnected. A time when power of the individual citizen was diminished and discounted.

The Founding Fathers saw that the tyranny of top-down power by a government over a population was possible, so they designed a multiple-tier government with separation of powers. Checks and balances were made needfully cumbersome to retard a potential stranglehold over our people.

The Constitution of the land gave us freedom of speech as our First Amendment, even protecting the Westboro Baptist Church, desecraters of soldiers' funerals, as a necessary evil to protect a greater good for the nation.

The Constitution of the land provided for a Second Amendment in order to protect our First Amendment. As noted author Robert A. Heinlein has stated: "An armed society is a polite society."

The Second Amendment of the Constitution of these United States pronounces with crystal clarity that:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

... And spare me the argument about this intent only being for the "Militia." During the day of this writing, the Militia already had guns!... [ctd ]

...for the rest, please click: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_columnist.htm?StoryID=105185

srbmgr@comcast.net