Gun and Tax Insanity

Two very disturbing issues crossed my path this morning. Texas's attempt to replicate Florida's "Shoot First" laws and the Republican House's tax legislation which says, 'screw deficits, they don't matter to us'.

"Shoot First": Let me say right up front, I own a shotgun, a .30 caliber rifle, a .22 pistol and a .357 magnum. I live in a rural area of Texas on five acres with no neighbors in shouting distance. Here, a 9/11 call could result in our County Sheriff responding to an emergency at our house in as long as 20 to 30 minutes later. I believe in peace, I believe killing is wrong even in self-defense. Self-defense killing is not, and should not, be legally wrong. I say it is wrong because the person who kills another human being is altered by the experience, there is an innocence lost, and that can never be recaptured. It is wrong from the standpoint of preserving one's integrity as a peaceful person in fact as well as belief. However, having served in the military, and trained as a combat medic to kill as well as heal, if given the choice between a person's greed willfully taking action to harm or kill myself, wife, or daughter, I would not hesitate to shoot in self-defense. I will struggle with the lack of integrity as a Buddhist afterward.

The Shoot FIrst legislation passed in Florida and now before Gov. Perry to veto in Texas, is horrible legislation. I never supported the Brady Bill, it is unconstitutional. However, their organization is on the right side of the Shoot First legislation. They report:

On October 1, the Shoot First Law went into effect in Florida, giving the people of Florida permission to use deadly force as a FIRST resort, even in a public place. The law grants sweeping criminal and civil immunity to anyone who pulls the trigger when they feel 'threatened' -- and specifically denies legal recourse to innocent bystanders killed or wounded in the crossfire, even if the shooter acted negligently.

As a Texan I wrote Gov. Perry to ask him to veto such legislation that comes before him. I urge all Texans to do the same, lest they become an innocent bystander in a free for all on a public street in Texas reminiscent of the Old West where law enforcement was typically counties away by horseback.

House Tax Legislation: Republicans in the House have bared their allegiance to wealthy campaign donors and said to hell with the United States and its people. As Jonathan Weisman of the the Washington Post reports:

The House passed three separate tax cuts yesterday and plans to approve a fourth today, trimming the federal revenue by $94.5 billion over five years -- nearly double the budget savings that Republicans muscled through the House last month. ...

...Last month's budget-cutting bill would save $50 billion over five years by imposing new fees on Medicaid recipients, trimming the food stamp rolls, squeezing student lenders and cutting federal child support enforcement.

"I don't think it makes any sense to go through all the difficulty they just went through with the budget-cutting bill, then give it all back in tax cuts," said Robert L. Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan budget watchdog group. "If they want to cut taxes, fine, but they are going to have to cut spending by at least that much to help the deficit, and clearly they are not willing to do that.

For all intents and purposes, House Republicans are saying to hell with your tax dollars and those of your children's in their working lives. They are saying this by adding to the deficits in order to compensate their campaign donors, which they will rely upon more in 2006 than ever before, due to tanking Republican poll numbers and only 11 months till their incumbents seek reelection. Our politicians spend more than 1 billion dollars a day on interest for our national debt and that number grows monthly. That is more than 1/3 trillion dollars a year for which the taxpayer receives nothing in return: not one bridge repair, not one extra teacher, nor one bulletproof vest for an American soldier.

If there was ever an election for voters to vote out incumbents, it will be the November elections just 11 months from now. Tax cuts make no sense when deficits are setting records and the economy is strong. There is no justification for this quid pro quo bribery of politicians in exchange for campaign contributions. None! At best, there is only rationalization. Do yourself, your children, our nation, and our nation's future the biggest favor you could possibly grant, and vote out Congressional incumbents in Nov. 2006.