Marriott is pissing me off.

I'm just about done with these guys. I spend quite a bit of time on the road while working and in the past I have favored Marriott branded hotels. Usually either the Courtyard or the full service Marriott. But I'm pretty sure that's changing, the fact of the matter is that Marriott is just getting too damned expensive. The compnay I work for covers all my travel expenses while I am on the road so it's not coming out of my pocket personally but it just gauls me to pay anywhere from $150 too $250 a night for a room and on top of that, be nickel and dimed for everything else. Last week I stayted at a Courtyard in Chicago, these clowns have a little sign in the room informing me that I would be charged $4.00 for the little sachet of in-room coffee. Four bucks for enough coffee to make a four cup pot. I usually travel with a bag of Starbucks and a couple dozen filters so I don't have too drink the hotel swill, now there's yet another reason.
For $229.99 a night I expect free coffee, free internet, a wake up call when I specify and free parking. The only thing free was the internet service, and it was hit and miss, and the wakeup never came.
So here's a little word to the wise. Marriott, (this would be accompanied by a slap to the back of the head of the person who's running things if I could manage it) straighten up. You market the Courtyard to business travelers, guess what, business travelers care a damn sight more about coffee, reliable internet, reliable wake up's and in room climate controls that actually keep the room comfortable than we do about 6 or 7 pillows on the bed and down comforters. When you figure that out and act accordingly let me know, I'll be at the Hilton.

Well, I have successfully beat up politicians a bit, touched on travel, now it’s time for a subject that’s really close to my heart, guns, weapons, boomsticks, heaters, gats, roscoes, pieces, hip tumors, etc.

You see, I’m a card carrying lifetime member of the NRA, I have held an Indiana CCW since the day I became old enough to secure one and I go armed whenever and wherever I’m permitted to do so by law. People sometimes ask why I, or anyone who isn’t in law enforcement would bother to go armed, carrying a firearm and making sure it stays concealed can be kind of a hassle.

The reasons for my decision are manifold and complex, it’s a moral position, not a man thing, it’s not machismo, or umbrage, or even disgust with the system, it’s a deeply held belief that I have the God given right to protect myself, my family, and my home, from anyone who would seek to do me harm. It’s an absolute refusal to be a victim or a headline.

I carry for a number of reasons, not the least of which is experience based knowledge that the world is full of people who prefer to prey on others rather than provide for themselves. Maybe they’re too lazy to hold down a job, maybe they are hooked on booze or dope and need money for the next bottle or fix or maybe they are just evil and enjoy hurting others. Rationale for being a thug aside, I know there are a lot of thugs out there walking the streets because I spent 18 years in clinical healthcare; a significant portion of those 18 years was spent in one emergency room or another. I’ve seen, time and again the things people do to one another for no good reason at all. I’ve seen it all and I have heard all the lame excuses the dregs of humanity make for their actions, in the end it all comes down to three basic reasons, I want what you have, I don’t like you, or I’m just a sociopath and I don’t care about anyone or anything but what I want right now.

The other important bit about carrying a firearm is the willingness to use it. Using a firearm on another person is a serious proposition for a number of reasons. Many police officers who are forced to kill in the line of duty have psychological issues afterwards, a small percentage of them are unable to return to work, or at least patrol work. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume a significant percentage of armed citizens who are forced to defend themselves with lethal force are going to have the same issues. I believe this is because most, not all but most cops are cops because they wish to help people and really believe in the job they are doing. Cops are people too, most of them are good people, and good people generally have strong feelings about right and wrong, most good people believe it’s wrong to kill, period. When good people are forced into a situation where they are required to take some thug’s life, it’s natural for them to feel grief. Along with the psychological consequences there are a host of potential legal ramifications. They run the gamut from having your firearm confiscated and never returned to facing a wrongful death tort by the thug’s family to being tried for murder or manslaughter. The point is that if you aren’t willing to use a firearm to defend yourself. If you haven’t looked down deep and found the resolve and the moral justification to defend yourself from predators, you are better off leaving it at home.

There does seem to be a rash of common sense breaking out across the country. May states are passing so called “castle doctrine” legislation, which removes the necessity of retreat from a threat in your own dwelling, basically stating that you have the right to defend your home from invasion. Additionally some of the better pieces of legislation also protect the homeowner from civil action by surviving thugs or the families of deceased thugs.

This is a good thing in my opinion. It’s obvious to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that the criminal justice system in this country is a failure, and that the rate of failure is accelerating. The last time I checked 30% or 40% of the thugs in the federal penitentiary system are recidivists, that is to say that they’ve been in the pen before. There are a million problems with the criminal justice system and that’s a book to write another day. Suffice it to say that the criminal justice system completely fails when it comes to deterring thugs.

So the question remains, if a million cops and ten thousand courts can’t protect you from the scum of the earth, who can? The answer is simple, you. You are responsible for your own safety, your own preservation.

I’m just your average guy, the thing that differentiates me from the folks who choose not to go about armed is the simple fact that I choose to take personal responsibility for my safety and the safety of my family. One other thing contributes to my decision to carry a firearm, I know, from experience, that guns deter criminals. I have used a gun for self defense, there weren’t any shots fired, the sight of a gun in the hands of someone who appeared to be willing to use it was enough to put four thugs bent on trouble to flight. It worked for me and Gary Kleck estimates that it works for about 2.2 million other folks a year.

Q

Ahhh had a little hiatus there.

Spent a week in Chicago on business then came home too three sick kids and worked up a good affliction of my own. The last 10 days haven’t been kind.

The kids are on the mend, I am feeling like a human again as opposed to a walking cough syrup bottle (with hydrocodone thank you very much) and I’ve invented a new drink.

First things first, Chicago is in my humble opinion the absolute best place to eat junk food in the western world. World class restaurants if your feeling hoity toity, world class pizza, pasta, dogs and some pretty solid bar-b-que if your not. Chicago isn’t my favorite city, Detroit has that distinction, not because of the chow, because of the totally psychotic character of it’s drivers, it’s like a NASCAR race with half a million competitors, but Chicago is without a doubt my favorite place to eat. Detroit, now Detroit bears mention because of the aforementioned character of it’s drivers, Detroit Michigan has the distinction of being the only place I have ever been passed on an on ramp. An on ramp for cryin out loud, anywhere else in the world you’d be pissed if someone in a SRX blew past you doing 100 mph 3/4ths of the way down the ramp. Anywhere else in the world you’d lea on the horn, give ‘em the finger, and fling obscenities about their mother, their sister and whatever else you could think of, and maybe have a shootout if somebody’s feeling froggy, in Detroit you just kind of get in the spirit of the thing, pump your fist up and down and scream YOU GO!!!! I don’t understand it. It’s amusing though, because Detroit drivers go at it with kind of a reckless abandon, a fender bender during rush hour in lets say, Chicago or Cleveland consists of two cars, some bent sheet metal, some broken glass and plastic and two pissed off drivers each swearing that it’s the other guy’s fault. In motor city it’s a different ballgame. A fender bender during rush hour in Detroit consists of half a dozen cars all mangled beyond identification, half of which are flipped upside down in the median, on fire. But at least you get where you are going in a reasonable amount of time, if you get there at all. Let this serve as a warning to all non-Detroiters out there, drive in Detroit and you better be on your A-game.

Oh yeah, the new drink. I’m calling it the “Screw Collins” it’s pretty simple as mixed drinks go and it has the salubrious effect of getting you drunk quickly and economically. Take a clean 12 ounce tumbler; fill it 1/3 with vodka, 1/3 with orange juice and 1/3 with pink lemonade. It’s sweet but not too sweet like a screwdriver, the pink lemonade makes it tart, and gives it some character. I’m likin’ it, hell I’d have another if I didn’t have to get up early.

Q

Even though I said I would address the Ky. 3^rd district race for congress I’m tired of talking and thinking about it, I feel like I have done enough political maundering for the time being. When one stares long into the abyss and all that Nietzscheian business.

So without further ado I am going to mention what may very well be my new favorite place, at least in the US, Boise Idaho. Boise you say, the land of the spud you ask, yep, the very place.

If you look at a topo map you will immediately note that Boise is bordered on the north by what the Boiseians (???) call the foothills. These foothills are actually pretty sizable with peak elevations reaching over 10k feet, 7k+ feet over Boise’s base elevation of 2842 feet. As capitol cities go Boise is pretty small the city proper has a population of 193,000 per the ’05 census. It’s not big, and I like not big, I like the foothills, and the rivers, and the fact that you can get in your rented Jeep and go out 8th street and up into the foothills, the pavement gives way to dirt road, the dirt road gives way to dirt path which winds up into the tree line and you can peter around for hours in the hills, then turn around, drive back into town, park at the Courtyard, if that’s where you are staying and walk to the Ram which is one of a really solid chain of microbreweries and have a ButtFace Amber Ale. Which I like, a lot, too much, so much so that I drank three 24s of the stuff, which gave me a mild headache the next morning. I finished up my business the next day, and flew out on a 1400 Northwest to MSP I wish I had been able to spend a bit more time there, it’s on the list of “places I’ll go back too someday”.

There are two local races I have watched with some interest, the race for Indiana’s 9^th Congressional district and the race for Kentucky’s 3rd District. The 9^th District interests me because I live in the 9^th District and also because Baron Hill ran one of the dirtiest, and most effective smear campaigns I have ever seen, certainly the nastiest campaign this area has ever seen. I’ll concentrate on the 9^th District first and address the 3^rd District later.

The two candidates for the 9^th District seat were Democratic challenger Baron Hill and Republican incumbent Mike Sodrel. Hill won the seat, I believe mostly due too overall anti-republican sentiment, I would love to see some sort of unbiased poll of voters to determine just how much Hill’s campaign tactics contributed to his victory. Among the most notable negative ads I saw, (I don’t watch a lot of TV) were two mailers sent out by Hill, both used candid photos of Sodrel, in both photos Sodrel was smoking and the cigarette in his hand had been enhanced or added with a photo editing program. Additionally several TV commercials were aired which accused Sodrel of everything from corruption, to accepting bribes to being associated with the most recent congressional pervert to get outed, Mark Foley. I doubt I’ll ever be able to use the phrase “The Honorable Baron Hill” with a straight face.

I know politics, particularly local politics isn’t generally conducted by Marquis of Queensbury Rules, I am pragmatic enough to know that it never will be. I only saw a couple of Sodrel’s TV ads and they were pretty straight if I remember correctly, at least nothing over the top. Hill’s campaign on the other hand was run with all the class, aplomb and dignity of a shit fight in the monkey house at the Zoo.

The use of doctored photos does bring up some really interesting possibilities though. I mean hells bells, the gloves could really come off now! Want a picture of a romantic interlude between Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi with Janet Reno in the background in a dominatrix costume while Al Gore and John Kerry split a fifth of Johnny Walker and pass a giant doobie back and forth, google images and some mad photoshop skillz are all that’s required. If I didn’t think someone would track me down and sue me I swear I’d call game on and invite any readers I might have to post their blackmail pictures here, open season, everyone is a target, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, smear ‘em all, completely destroy the validity of photography as an honest medium, a picture is no longer worth a thousand words, it’s not worth a wooden nickel.

Q

Well well well well, the suspense is not really getting too me, could it be apathy? I don't know. I am vaguely curious in a disassociated sort of way with regards to the elections. I hope the Republicans manage to hang onto at least one house, that way we're pretty safe for the next 2 years because Congress won't be able to accomplish much, meaningful or otherwise. I have too wonder if that’s not really the best of all possible scenarios, a Congress hamstrung by partisan squabbling is limited in the amount of damage it can actually do. We shall see.
Q

First ever.
Let's talk about the elections.
Ok,
It’s the eve of our national elections. Tomorrow is the day that we’re going to play spin the bottle with the future of the Nation and to a lesser extent the future of the world. Frankly this disgusts me. Here’s why.
1: The Republicans haven’t been doing THAT bad a job, with the lamentable exception of the travesty of the patriot act and other assaults on individual freedoms, in case folks haven’t noticed unemployment is down, interest rates are rising, but very slowly, DESPITE media rumors of impending hikes for the last three years, overall the economy isn’t bad.
2: The Democrats didn’t really do that bad a job before the Republicans, with the lamentable exception of THEIR many assaults on individual personal freedoms. Overall I don’t think they did quite as not badly as the Republicans but that’s a matter of personal preference.
3: Did ya ever notice (with apologies to Andy Rooney) that the media seems to hate whoever is in office?
4: MSN wants to know if the Saddam verdict will affect the vote, OMG what is this SHIT? Could someone please explain how the fact that the Ole Nasty Bastard is gonna get a short drop and a quick stop could possibly affect the outcome of the elections. And a BIG STFU to you stupid liberal conspiracy theorists who are gonna regale me with tales of George Dub fixing the verdict in order to accomplish whatever nefarious ends you think he wants accomplished. There is only one way to affect policy in the land of sand, and thats with a bullet.
5: Politicians are scum, pure and simple, I am so sick of the mud slinging, over simplification of the issues ( this one really gets me), and general bullshit that I need two years to recover after this one, and every year it gets worse. I saw the world beater last night, this sphincter John Yarmuth, let me rephrase that, this Giant Gaping Sphincter John Yarmuth, runs a typically nasty campaign ad aimed at his equally viciously mud slinging opponent Ann Northrup. The ad is your typical political propaganda with the exception that at one point there is a voice over in which the announcer is telling the audience that aforementioned Asshole Yarmuth wants to protect seniors, and obviously Northrup wants to turn them all into Soylent Green, the visual is some definitively demented old bat bawling her eyes out. It’s just sick, and I am sick of it.
6: The major media outlets think people want drama, if there isn’t sufficient drama in the world the media will fabricate it, last year the local news was chocked full of three and only three things, gay marriage, do the Titty Bars have too close at 0200 or 0400, and the other “issue” was so inconsequential I can’t even remember it now, perhaps some other cynic from the Louisville area will be so good as to remind me. My primary thought was, “don’t we have more important things to worry about”?
7: Vote your conscience folks, It’s worth it, you might make a difference, and if you don’t vote you have no right to bitch, and that’s really what it’s all about. The goofs in the media think that most people are so weak minded that they will change their vote to back whomever they are told is going to win, so as not to back a looser, or won’t bother to vote if they are told that it’s a lost cause. Prove the thought police wrong.
Q