Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Plain Ol’ Discourtesy

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I wrote five years ago now about the ‘wrong way to protest‘, positing that while people are free to protest against the war in Iraq (or anything else, for that matter) they should be aware that there are limitations to that right, and that—even when protesting in a legal way—being rude or discourteous is unlikely to win anybody to your side. In 2003, I gave the example of protests in the D.C. area that block roads and turn our commutes into an even bigger nightmare than they already are. Those protests failed on both the legal and the courteous scales, simultaneously resulting in the arrest of the protesters and angering (i.e., not convincing) the very audience they were trying to send a message to. People, for the most part, simply tune-out rudeness.

An article in the Washington Post yesterday reminded me of just how rude and discourteous protesters can be when voicing opposition to the war in Iraq. This time, protesters interrupted the annual July 4 naturalization ceremony held at Monticello (Thomas Jefferson’s home) in Charlottesville, VA—which was presided over by President George W. Bush (R)—with anti-war catch phrases and a refrain of “impeach Bush”.

Personally, I find these kinds of protests a little meaningless to begin with. I still see no legal basis for an impeachment (once again, even if I were to accept that Bush lied in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, lying to the people might be immoral but it is not illegal and is, thus, not impeachable). Further, I continue to support both the war in Iraq and support many of the President’s initiatives to protect our national security. Having said that, I strongly support the freedom of speech and peoples’ right to protest these things if they disagree with them. I’d simply prefer that they show a modicum of courtesy and intelligence when doing so.

Interrupting a naturalization ceremony, where [legal] immigrants become U.S. citizens, is downright tacky no matter what you’re interrupting it with. Yeah, congrats, you got your zingers in against the president. You also interfered with a solemn ceremony welcoming new citizens from around the world and made yourselves look like whiny children. That may well be legal, but you didn’t accomplish anything—except possibly to discredit yourselves in the eyes of impartial viewers.

On-Target (Mostly)

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So I’ve already talked a little bit about our new Smith & Wesson model 620 revolver, which we got last weekend. Melissa and I each tried it out soon after buying it just to get familiar with it, but today I made my first ‘real’ trip to the range with the intent of gaining some skill with the weapon.

I’m actually not doing too bad. The first target is 21 rounds of .38 Special ammunition at a distance of seven yards. The second target is another 21 rounds at seven yards, but this time with the more-powerful .357 Magnum ammunition. I have more experience with the .38s, and they’re a bit easier to handle when compared to the .357s (which have quite a kick to them), but if the target had been a bad guy I think I would have gotten him pretty good either way.

Most people I’ve talked to recommend practicing with the .38 Special rounds, since they’re easier to shoot and a lot cheaper, but keeping more-expensive .357 Magnum rounds in the gun when you’re using it for personal/home protection since those rounds have a lot more stopping power.

Anyway, I had a good hobby-day today. I spent an hour at the shooting range, then did a 20-mile bike ride. Best of all, we didn’t have to visit the emergency room today ;-).

Fun Start to the 4th

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Most people wait until near the end of the 4th of July to end up in the emergency room—generally with the assistance of fireworks.  But Melissa—always the overachiever—wanted to get the E.R. visit out of the way early.

She is allergic to just about everything on God’s green earth, but the hives she came down with this time were way beyond the norm even by Melissa standards. After toughing it out for a day or two, she said it was time to go get it looked at by a professional.

They hooked her up an I.V. and loaded her up with lots of Benadryl, Prednisone, and Zantac and within literally 10 or 20 minutes the hives were fading away (as was Melissa overall . . . Benadryl makes you drowsy in its over-the-counter form, but high dosages in an I.V. knock you out harder and faster).

Anyway, Melissa is fine and went home with prescriptions to keep the hives at bay until they disappear on their own. No idea what set things off, but after an afternoon nap we went back to the normal schedule and even proceeded to participate in a 4th of July barbecue. I did miss my planned visit to the shooting range, but that’s okay—plenty of weekend ahead.

Fire Door: Do Not Block

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As seen in a local Target store, these three doors were clearly marked ‘Fire Door: Do Not Block’. Of course, the doors were blocked with two children’s bicycles. I have no idea if this was done intentionally by pranksters, out of malice by jerks, or out of stupidity by idiots . . . but it was done, and it was funny.

It’s not that big a deal though. In the event of a fire, I assume those bikes would be a faster mode of escape than walking.

IIHS Recommends Bumper Standards Apply to All Vehicles (Imagine That!)

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I’ve been saying it for years: truck and SUV bumpers should follow the same standards as car bumpers. I’ve been in only two accidents since I started driving nearly ten years ago now—one that wasn’t my fault (a Jeep Wrangler rear-ended my Mercury Sable) and one that was (my Chrysler Cirrus rear-ended a Ford Escape). Both times, my sedan was seriously damaged by the SUV on the other side of the accident that escaped essentially unscathed. Both accidents were low-speed and would have caused negligible damage had the bumpers of the two vehicles been aligned with one another, but instead caused ended up costing me and the insurance companies more than $3,000.

Curiously enough, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has long held passenger cars to a consistent bumper standard. Currently, bumpers must be 16-20 inches from the ground and withstand an impact of 5 miles-per-hour with only minimal/superficial damage. Trucks and SUVs, however, are exempt from this standard.

Well, that was all well-and-good when trucks and SUVs were a small percentage of the cars on the road and were used pretty-much exclusively for, well, the off-roading and heavy-duty work they were designed for. Today, these are the mommy-mobiles that minivans used to be, and their bumpers should follow the same standard as other passenger cars. The Insurance Instititute for Highway Safety (IIHS), representing insurance companies that may have finally tired of paying out over $3,000 for minor, low-speed crashes, is joining my bandwagon and petitioning the NHTSA to apply their bumper standards to all vehicles, including trucks and SUVs. It is about darn time!

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.