Weight savings and election concerns.

So as of last month I've been working to change my lifestyle.  I have been overweight for the better part of my life, and have tried several times (obviously many unsuccessfully) to change it.  So when I had minor back surgery a month ago, the drugs they gave me shunted my appetite for a week or so.  I just wasn't hungry, nor was I craving anything.  So I ate my healthy snacks and when on about my life.

I went in for my 2-week follow-up appointment, and lo and behold I had lost 10 pounds.  Crikey.  And I FELT better.  And after looking at myself again in the mirror, started to look better.  That was the catalyst for the change.  I have since lost another 7 pounds in 2 weeks.  17 pounds total.  And that's by changing my eating habits only.  I can't work out because my back isn't truly back to 100% yet.  But he says in two weeks I should be able to do anything I want to.  I told him I'd see him in a different set of pants by then.

Enough of the good stuff.

I have election woes.  At the beginning of the campaign season, I felt really good about the 2 candidates, Obama and McCain.  McCain was a maverick and Obama showed great promise.

A bit about my political leanings though, if I may.  I'm an independent.  I have both liberal and conservative tendencies.  I believe that pro-choice is a good thing (who am I, a man, to tell a woman what to do with her body?).  I also feel that we should be working to be less dependent on foreign oil.  I also agree with McCain in that there is a TON of wasteful spending going on within our government.  I think he mentioned that someone approved $6 million so we could track and research the DNA of black bears.  WAT?  Bears are the same, they forage for food, scare campers and defecate all over the woods.  THAT'S WHAT BEARS DO!  That money could go to education, or cancer research, or something that helps HUMANS!

Which brings me to the topic of today.

Gun rights and the 2nd Amendment.  Don't roll your eyes, hear me out.

I am a conceal license holder.  I carry a gun with me 99% of the time, concealed, of course.  There are millions of people out there just like me.  Responsible, level-headed adults who took the classes, filled out all the paperwork and practice conceal carry responsibly.

Why do I carry?  Because I want the ability to protect myself, my family, my friends, and my fellow innocent Americans from people who wish to do harm to me, or my loved ones.  All it took for it to sink home with me was when my sister, her hubby, my 2 year old niece and my cousin were targeted for a carjacking a month ago.  It was at an upscale italian restaurant in an upscale part of town, 2 miles from my folks' home.  My parents were IN the restaurant at the time, waiting the rest to arrive.

So a guy walks up and puts a revolver in my sister's face and demands the car...along with some colorful language.  My niece has leukemia, so my sister's first priority was to get her to safety.  She told her hubby the guy had a gun and to walk away.  

My parents could only watch in horror.

My cousin fought with the man after begging to get into the passenger side of the car to retrieve my niece's medicine.  The man ran away and was never caught.  (They would have tailed him, but he ran down the street to a car with three other people in it.)

And yes, if you've been reading right, my cousin fought with the gunman and prevailed, sort of.  We think the man got fed up with his lack of progress and left.  He was also 5'6" and looked to weigh 130 pounds while also appearing high.  That's why my cousin chose to fight back.  Plus she had a sneaking suspicion that the bright orange plastic on the hammer of the gun meant it was a toy.

"But SHE didn't need a gun." 

Correct.  This time.  If he had been a little more determined and sober, or armed with a real gun, she would have been hurt or killed.  

But where was I?  I was working that night.  Had I been there with my gun, would things have ended differently?  I can't say, I wasn't there so I can't comment on the feel of the night, or exactly what his body language was.  But if I was there, and he stuck a gun in my sisters face, I would intervene to defend her.  Don't read too much into that.  I didn't say I would shoot him.  No conceal carry person, in their right mind, has the gun because they want to shoot someone, they have it in case if they HAVE to.  If I could have talked the guy down, or got him to drop his weapon by brandishing mine, then no one gets shot, and he goes to jail.  But if I tell him to drop it, and he points it at me, then game over.  I won't know until it happens to me, which I hope it never does.  We still don't know if the gun was fake, but the psychological damage has already been done.

Anyhoo, back to politics.

Obama.  He is a smooth talker who gets people charged up about politics.  And I'm grateful for that.  For far too long, people have been apathetic about politics.  Don't blame the government because YOU elected them to office.  YOU have the power to change it.  And Obama says a lot of the right things.  Energy policies probably need to change, and less spending on this-that-and the other.  But has Obama come out and laid out his beliefs for all to see?  Are we getting the right info from him?  It seems that when most questions are posed to him he sort of dances around them hoping he won't have to show his cards.

Regarding the 2nd Amendment.  He has turned Chicago into a gun-free city.  Well, sorry, the citizens who wanted the ability to protect themselves no longer have them.  The criminals still have as many as they want.  And statistics show that violent crimes involving guns have gone up in recent years.  That's probably because no one can defend themselves.  Remember, criminals don't answer to gun laws and regulations, they will get the weapons they need, when they need it.  He also has a SLEW of anti-gun legislation he's imposed, tried to impose, or wants to impose.  I provided a link to some anti-gun facts about him.  It's pretty scary.  But, I has kweshun.  He tours around the country and abroad with armed security by his side.  And then tells us, the citizens, that we can't have the same luxury.  WAT?  Police are the police, they are not our private bodyguards.  There are times (i.e. MOST of the time) when WE must defend OURSELVES.  Nice to know he can afford his own defense.  And McCain has some anti-gun offenses too, but his are far fewer than Obama.

"But the NRA is just as extreme politically as the anti-gunners!"

True, there is a lot that I disagree with the NRA about.  But all-in-all, the NRA does speak for my beliefs with regards to the 2nd A.  And while McCain has been a little flip-floppy (according to the media, whom I was employed by) at times, I think as a whole, he would make a better president than Barack Obama.  No, he's not perfect.  But is there such thing as a perfect politician?  But I feel he has my interests at heart.  Should a gun be placed in my face, or the face of my beautiful niece, I will have the option to defend us with deadly force if needed.  He has the experience, he has the drive, and most importantly of all, he has my vote.