June 14, 2021

“Grief Begets Ignorance”

By Jim Culp

 

To the lady that lost your child in the Sandy Hook shooting; I am very sorry for your loss. I can’t say that I know how you feel, or “yeah, I’ve been there,” or any other reply that would ease your pain. A bunch of folks died that day, including other children that were ages like 6 and 7. What a tragedy. It was nine years ago, but I am sure that doesn’t matter when it comes to your grief. But the area that I am deeply concerned about is this; you want the U.S. Government to pass a law that prohibits any citizen of the United States from owning a semi-automatic firearm. You want most to prohibit us from owning a semi-automatic series of rifles like the kid at Sandy Hook employed. These are semi-autos like the XM-15 Bushmaster carbines that look like military M-16’s. Yes Ma’am; I know them well. I’ve owned four of them over the last 30 years, and used them recreationally many times over. I taught my daughter how to load, shoot, and perform basic actions to clean, disassemble, perform function and malfunction actions, and what direction not to point the muzzle. I carried a government version of one of these in two wars, and employed them for my survival three times in the second one.

I said all of that to say this. I’ve never shot anyone that didn’t need some killin’, and I never wanted to ban weapon ownership from anyone that was sane, trained, and old enough to distinguish a fart from a chainsaw. The kid that shot your child (and many others) came from a broken home, and the events that led to the shooting were all in plain sight for plenty of people to see; they just didn’t do anything. Taking away law abiding citizen’s weapons (anything from steak knives to Bushmasters) does absolutely nothing to keep the public safe. Do you really think the cops could handle armies of thugs that would rule the streets if the public did not own firearms? If so, visit places where handguns are illegal. Let me know what you find. Again, sorry about the kid; it sucks. But try to take my guns? Ain’t going to work sugar.

-Jim

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June 5, 2021

“Literally”

By Jim Culp

I was fishing this morning, and a man in his sixties came down to the water, and sat down. He didn’t have any gear, so I wondered if he was a bird watcher or something. Pretty soon we were commenting on the crazy weather we have had, and I kept comparing it to what the weather today and yesterday were like {PERFECT}.

After a while, he confided in me that he was a non-denominational minister, and liked to go out and speak with people about his faith, and ask about theirs.

After a while, I told him that I was from a religious family, and that for all of my childhood (and up to age 37) I was a Baptist. In those days, we were called “Fundamental Baptists” so that we were recognized separate from other Baptists. I told him of the problems that I had with religion in my childhood, and how I struggled with it as an adult. He then asked me what religion I observed now.

I replied that I don’t practice one at all. I consider myself Pagan, but I barely practice that. He said he was sorry, and that he sometimes struggled with religion as well. We talk on and on, and finally I asked him if he would take my genealogy exam. He said “Sure…what not?”

I carry around three or four index cards with me everywhere I go, because I could debate religion with the Pope. So I showed him my card (please see photo). He said “Ohhhh, the old Genesis debate!”

I said “yeah. What happened after that? Before you answer, I know the bible. I know that it says there were men and women after that, but who did who to make more people?”

He said emphatically that he did not know the answer. I told him about one Baptist preachers who told me that “incest wasn’t wrong in those days.”

“Really?” the guy asked.

“Yeah, really.”

Then he said what all the others said for all of my life. “Well, you just can’t take the Bible literally all the time.”

-Jim  

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