St. Paddy's Day - Sheepshead & Guinness

In the midst of a 3 to 6 inch evening snowfall, the boys and I sat down to the monthly card game - five-handed, call-ace, dealer sits out. The Irish Stout, shamrock-shaped cookies, jokes about hapless Irishmen, and the odd Bush-bashing, offset the lack of trump and the loss of a few chips. Guinness in bottles is smooth and flavorful. I may have to lay in a supply of my own :)

DeWalt - More Power - Hoo Hoo

I had thought about replacing my Black and Decker cordless driver for a couple of years now. It is underpowered, has a keyed chuck, and the battery doesn't hold a charge very well. So, I finally broke down and spent the money on a DeWalt for $130. When it comes to power tools, the old adage seems to apply, "You get what you pay for." This baby has plenty of power, a keyless chuck (of course), a battery charger, and 2 batteries - all neatly packaged in a durable carrying case. After only 1 hour to fully charge the battery, I was wielding my new "bad boy" - drilling a hole in the floor to re-route my computer cable and fastening clips to hold a drywall patch. Now, the challenge will be to find enough projects to allow me to open the case. For now, I'm satisfied in knowing that I have a tool that will perform as required - whenever that next project comes around. Hoo Hoo

Milwaukee Area - Recent Handgun "Twilight Zone"

The Incidents

Friday - A West Allis (Milwaukee suburb) policeman noticed a minivan, with Illinois license plates and a driver behind the wheel, parked in a school parking lot. When the policeman came around a second time, the minivan drove off. The officer noticed that his brakelights were not working and pulled him over. When the officer came near the minivan, a shot came through the window - the driver had shot himself. A suicide note in the minivan provided proof that this man had killed a Chicago judge's husband and mother earlier in the week. He was suspected of being in the Milwaukee area to find and harm two more judges or their families - all because he had been unsuccessful in numerous medical malpractice lawsuits.

Saturday - at about 12:50pm CST, a 44-year-old man from New Berlin (Milwaukee suburb) walked into a church service at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield (MIlwaukee suburb) and fired 22 rounds at members a Living Word of God congregation. He killed 7 people before taking his own life.



Too Close For Comfort

My friend and I had attended a Saturday morning meeting in New Berlin that ended at 2pm. We decided to head back home by going north on Mooreland Road, then west on I-94. About a mile from the Mooreland Road - I-94 intersection, we heard on the radio that someone had shot numerous people at the Sheraton Hotel - located at the very intersection we were headed towards! I thought we ought to turn around or head in another direction - as the radio report gave no information as to whether or not the gunman was at large. However, we kept moving, I guess, half assuming that the police would be re-routing traffic and half curious about what we might see. We turned on to the I-94 entrance ramp and looked down to see the hotel parking lot ringed with police tape and numerous squad cars in the vacinity. It was only later on our drive home, that we found out that the crime scene had been on the opposite side of the hotel and heard of the gunman's suicide.



Atlanta, Chicago, Milwaukee

So much handgun violence - in just the last few days. I think about the mantra that many of my "gun-owning" friends, co-workers, and NRA members recite: "Guns don't kill, people do." and "You can't stop every wacko...etc". Yet the friends and neighbors of these gunmen all tell us that they did not consider them to be "wacko" or capable of such acts. My immediate response is that: "Handguns are made to kill." (You cannot convince me that they are made for hunting or target shooting.) We must make it more difficult to obtain and use handguns. These victims and their families deserve nothing less.

Common Sense in our Courtrooms - Please

Today's courtroom shootings in Atlanta beg the obvious questions:

Why do security personnel continue to carry loaded weapons into our courtrooms? Loaded weapons invite tragedies. An accused criminal intent on escape from a courtroom might be able to punch or kick a few people, and possibly even escape. But to where, and for how long? Could he hijack a car or take someone hostage without a weapon? Chances are he would hole up in hiding somewhere, and be caught rather quickly - without bloodshed.

If security personnel think they "must" have loaded weapons in a courtroom - why are defendants not handcuffed? It is standard police practice to handcuff (and often shackle the the legs of) accused criminals when transporting them. Once the accused arrives in the courtroom, it is usually up to the presiding judge as to whether or not he/she will allow the removal of restraints. Removal of such restraining devices in the courtroom is considered humane and less degrading to the accused. This is all well and good if there are no loaded weapons in close proximity to the accused. Otherwise it's a "no-brainer".

It is naive in the extreme to shrug our shoulders and proclaim that we can't protect ourselves from individuals bent on criminal behavior. Metal detectors are found at entrances to nearly every courthouse in the land - to prevent just such a tragedy. Maybe it's time for "all" weapons to be checked at the door. Simple common sense would have saved three lives today.