Mick - it's a shame that hunters have Nugent as a 'spokesman'. I saw a piece of one of his videos on the news - he shot (while standing ground level and not camoflauged) a boar with a compound bow...it looked a 'little' staged - not to mention the fact that Ted's got dough - it seems an odd way to 'show off'...didn't know he was misogynistic - never paid that much attention to him, truth be told.

Kathryn - please accept my sincerest apology for my over familiarity - I was under the impression that your neck of the outback (what with the spiders and snakes) was more arid.

Guns don't scare me - anymore than cars do - but look at the hoops you have to jump through to get a license...what are you more scared of - cars or reckless drivers? Guns are licensed here for the most part. But it's also true that around here - eveyone's got keys - it's almost like an unwritten part of the Constitution - you have the inalienable right to drive a 3+ ton rig anyway you see fit.

You can carry a pistol (but you can't shoot it??!) in Burlington city limits as long as it's publicly displayed...sorta screams 'so what?!?' I've shot(never owned) pistols - they're 'glorified versions of a pellet gun' - deadly, light, cheap and sort of mostly pointless for what I want out of a gun IMHO. If I did own one, I would never keep one in my house, loaded or not, why take the chance?

Last I knew, in England, you can have guns and hunt/fish anytime you wish if you're a lord or some such and you can charge people to use your property for it while you're at it...not the wisest use of resources (hunters and trappers are the biggest contributors to land/wildlife preservation here) - but Lord knows my Dad wants that kind of english situation..in the depression - EVERYONE took game whether it was in season or not..Jacking deer nowadays has some serious consequences...and pretty cool decoys..

Brad/everyone - I don't have a thing against snakes either - I guess my regionality was showing - we don't have poisonous snakes here...I should've said black bears - I walked around the woods for the better part of 20 years and never saw a bear - I saw their prints on beech nut trees, I saw their crap, but in all that time - I only saw one when I was 17 (and it was waaay the hell off 400+yards at least) back then you got a deer permit buck or doe, and a bear permit for the low, low price of $30...I told my Dad I didn't shoot at it and he couldn't understand why. Aside from the fact I didn't think I could make the shot - I'd seen a bear skinned about a year before on my way out of a boy scout jamboree in New Hampshire - a bear's musculature looks a lot like people's in case you didn't know - but try and put one down with a shovel - hopefully there'll never be a need to - you just need to whistle...the kind where you put your index and pinky finger over your lower lip - it scares the hell out of bears and makes deer look right at you so you know whether or not they have antlers. I've seen it deployed at a few concerts as well sometimes folks use both pinkies..

Brad - yeah, the cow's out of the barn with regards to an armed populace - it was that mentality I was referring to - I like smart guns too, I'm a big, big fan of non-deadly force with regards to law enforcement. I'd like a huge tax on bullets (accuracy anyone?) even though my uncle reminded me that he's one of the thousands who have a reloader - but he's not reloading semi automatic rounds.

I do believe in America that there is a 'cult' of the gun - shit - Colt is right down the road from Vermont and the General Dynamics plant that makes the helicopter mounted Gatling guns are right here in Burlington.

Perhaps it's because I just read McCullough - but America was taken by force right from the get go near as I can figure...maybe that's what makes us 'the most fucked up' - I'm certainly in no position to argue an international viewpoint. You know my views regarding our ongoing international efforts...

Mick - IMO it's not necessarily acquiesence if it's clarification.

yrs,

Lee

p.s. not that anyone cares - I'm finally able to play 'Doorbell' by the White Stripes - can't/won't sing it - but I'm getting there...