News Roundup

• From the "Put Up or Shut Up" Department - Gun rights advocates in Tennessee are letting it be known that if the Republican controlled state government doesn't come across with some strong strides in gun rights after making noises about supporting the 2nd Amendment, there'll be hell to pay in the next election.  I support my brethren in the Volunteer State.  Every Republican candidate, and a good chunk of the Democrats, puts a "I support the 2nd Amendment" bullet on their nice shiny fliers.  It's high time they either crapped or got off the pot.  Local and state laws that impeded the peaceful, lawful exercise of civil rights, any civil rights, need to be done away with.  If those who have benefited from trumpeting their support for our rights won't do something, we need to elect someone who will.
• From the "Now He Tells Us" Department - Terry Nichols, the co-conspirator behind the Oklahoma City Bombing, told a penpal that he didn't think that Timothy McVeigh would set off the truckbomb during the daytime or in a place that would harm anyone.  Hey, dickhead, here's a hint:  If you want to do a bombing as a demonstration and make sure that no-one gets hurt, then take a lesson from the IRA and CALL SOMEONE.  Let them know where the bomb is and tell them why you set it.  Don't just park it anonymously and hope there isn't a daycare somewhere close, you dolt.  Nichols also says that he grieves daily about the bloodshed and damage that he helped cause.  Personally, I hope the spirits of the men, women, and children he helped murder haunt his every breath, and he lives a long time.  This jerk and his ilk gave us who think the government has lost its way and needs to be reformed a bad name for decades to come. 
• From the "Rule 4" Department - A woman in Sweden has been charged with manslaughter after the bullet she used to shoot an elk killed a nearby skier.  Remember, you are responsible for that bullet and everything it hits.  Once the gun goes bang, you can't take it back.
• From the "Stay Classy" Department - The place kicker for the San Diego Chargers apparently had to answer a call of nature during Sunday's game against Denver, and relieved himself next to his team's bench.  I'm not sure how often something like this happens, but something tells me he could have gone somewhere else to do it, maybe somewhere the cameras couldn't capture the moment for posterity.  Well at least he was hydrated.  I do have some issues with the TV station not cutting away once they realized what he was doing.  Apparently it was a great laugh for the commentators.  
• From the "Play Stupid Games" Department - A Pennsylvania man is recovering after being bitten by his pet rattlesnake.  The man apparently owned several poisonous snakes, along with other reptiles, including an alligator.  Personally, I prefer pets in my own taxonomic class, but to each his own.  If you want to cuddle with something cold and scaly with the ability, will, and desire to kill you, be my guest.  I divorced my companion that fit that description in 1997.