Archaic Adventures as an Amberite, Avengerphile, & Ancestral Agent

Welcome... I am Cal Westray. A fan of various TV shows. A player of Role Playing Games. A computer programmer and web designer. A husband. A father. A grandfather. And perhaps a little more. I focus specifically on Amber Diceless Role Playing, The Avengers TV show, and Westray Genealogy. And a smattering of other things.

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Dr. Rice for 2008

Hello all,
I read an article in Yahoo that I don't expect to see on the nightly news. It floored me and increased my already high respect and regard for Dr. Rice. I hope she decides to run for President in 2008, against Hillary Clinton.

I can't fathom what it would have been like to live at that place and time as a black person. I can't comprehend what it was like, my life experiences didn't and couldn't prepare my mind to wrap itself around that. I can only guess that it would be terrifying to have lived through that experience. I can only feel sorrow for those who suffered through it or died during it. I have only admiration and respect for the spirit of those who survived through it all and can share their experiences.

We must never allow such events to happen again. Please...

I recall my father-in-law telling me of the time when the Klan marched through Greene County, Ohio and the Blacks and Catholics (and anyone else who was different from them) were in danger of what violence they would do. I recall as a child in the early 60's (I was born in 1953) when I delivered papers, I saw the Klan mentioned regularly on the front pages. And little was done to stop them. I never saw them, but I hear of their activities and I wondered how such people could be permitted to commit illegal acts against other citizens. And I felt bad for these people who were terrorized and killed. It shouldn't have happened. It should never happen again.

So, I look at the current political situation and try to put it in context. Because I can see the potential for similar events, where people need to band together for the protection of their family and neighbors.

And the government can't or won't raise a finger to help. Just like in the early 60's.

I can only interpret that the people who are fighting against our right to bear arms are arguing that these people, that Dr. Rice tells us of, 'shouldn't' have the right to defend themselves. Is this what they are saying? I would like to hear them argue their point.

It is the extreme left that wants to disarm us and make it impossible for law abiding citizens to defend themselves. It is a mystery to me, that it is the people who suffered the most during the civil rights movement, still support the very people who want to disarm all of us. I don't understand that and I suppose I never will.

We all want peace, but we also want to protect our family and friends from violence.

She said: "If local authorities had had lists of registered weapons, she did not think her father and other blacks would have been able to defend themselves."

Think about that.

Cal

Please read:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050512/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/rice_guns_1
Rice: Gun Rights Important As Free Speech

By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic WriterWed May 11, 9:13 PM ET

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recalling how her father took up arms to defend fellow blacks from racist whites in the segregated South, said Wednesday the constitutional right of Americans to own guns is as important as their rights to free speech and religion.

In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," Rice said she came to that view from personal experience. She said her father, a black minister, and his friends armed themselves to defended the black community in Birmingham, Ala., against the White Knight Riders in 1962 and 1963. She said if local authorities had had lists of registered weapons, she did not think her father and other blacks would have been able to defend themselves.

Birmingham, where Rice was born in 1954, was a focal point of racial tension. Four black girls were killed when a bomb exploded at a Birmingham church in 1963, a galvanizing moment in the fight for civil rights.

Rice said she favored background checks and controls at gun shows. However, she added, "we have to be very careful when we start abridging rights that the Founding Fathers thought very important."

Rice said the Founding Fathers understood "there might be circumstances that people like my father experienced in Birmingham, Ala., when, in fact, the police weren't going to protect you."
"I also don't think we get to pick and choose from the Constitution," she said in the interview, which was taped for airing Wednesday night. "The Second Amendment is as important as the First Amendment."

The First Amendment protects religious, press and speech freedoms as well as the rights to assemble and petition the government. The Second Amendment guarantees "a well-regulated militia" and "the right of the people to keep and bear arms." Gun-rights supporters and those who favor gun control disagree over whether the amendment guarantees individual gun ownership.

2 Comments:

  • At 1:37 AM, Blogger Brooke said…

    Quite a blog you've got here Cal. Full of references and links... nice! Makes my 360 look LAME! I'm amazed by all the clubs you are a member of, didn't see Kenny's Lounge though. heh heh Take care, Brooke Peelbacks

     
  • At 7:02 AM, Blogger Cal Westray said…

    Hi Brooke!
    I don't know why Kenny's Lounge doesn't appear on the 360. It is showing up in the "My Groups" section. Very strange!

    Thanks, I experimented with the blog (on Blogger) to see if it was something that would be useful and it just hung there. Not much going on. But I had that put together back in February and I still don't know what I want to do with it. Most topics I cover are pretty controvercial and refer back to other sites where the topic start.

    Your 360 has developed very quickly, not even a week old yet. Give it time, I'm sure that you will find that it grows on its own.

    Yahoo 360 made it possible to tie the blog to 360 using the "feeds" without having to start a new Yahoo blog. That was very good. I'd say these guys did their homework. If you look at your Yahoo 'profile', it even takes you to the 360 page. They made it possible to tie all the Yahoo stuff together. The only thing it doesn't do, is incorporate the stuff that you would have in the "My Yahoo" section. That's the stuff that you would want for yourself only anyway.

    Now, if they also had a "links" section in 360, then you could expand it as a home page and link to anything you wanted to. I'm guessing they are looking into other options as it goes from beta to live.

    You could try to set up a Yahoo Blog to attach to the 360 site and see if it is something that is useful for you. It will be apparent where you will enjoy spending your time as you work with all of it.

    I enjoyed the alliteration in the title, even though most modern alliteration uses constants. It wasn't my original intent. Most of the topics I was interested in started with "A"'s, and I just got carried away. It just became a challenge to see if I could incorporate it all, and I was pleased with the results.

    Thanks again!
    Cal LeDouche Westray

     

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