My local Congressional representative Henry Waxman supposedly said the following:
"If someone is so fearful that they’re going to start using their weapons to protect their rights, makes me very nervous that these people have these weapons at all!”
I'm trying to find a reputable attribution for the quote. If it is in fact correct (and depending on context), I have to admit that I'm a bit dumbfounded and distressed by it. One could argue that this is exactly the type of attitude that the framers feared, leading to the 2nd amendment. As usual, context is everything and I'd like to understand that...
Then again, did the government have the right to put the country trillions of dollars in debt? It is no wonder that a lot of people are angry. But that frustration will likely just land them on the DHS "terrorist list." God forbid that we'd wonder why the hell we are spending to much money on that organization (along with TSA, another fine charlie-foxtrot). Having worked with DHS, I can say that they have issues. I actually said, "no" to attending a DHS conference in Hawaii (to have been paid for out of a DHS-funded project). I found it offensive that my tax dollars were going to pay for me to jet off to Hawaii for a "Pacific Rim" related conference. My conscience wouldn't allow me to do it. In my pure academic days we had a word for those conferences - boondoggles. Just say no.
