I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a hand gun for a while. It isn’t so much that I feel like I need it for defense. At 6′3″/300lb people generally don’t pick me out as a target. Why risk a fight with someone so large when there are easier targets everywhere? Instead my desire arose from a combination of two distinct desires.

I’ve work towards my Ph.D. since 2001 when I started on my M.S. I took qualifying exams and completed my masters thesis. Along the way I lost most of my respect for academic institution. I sat through classes that should have been interesting and challenging. Of course there were one or two classes that were different and enjoyable, but most were boring and pointless. Faculty wasted my time and made me feel like I had simply thrown my money away.

Monday, the staff at my office thought I was crazy. Tuesday morning, they all still thought I was crazy. Tuesday afternoon, they were all playing catch up, planning ways to protect their homes, and to get out. I was either lucky or smart and got out early, but many tried to leave on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Most got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams. Certainly, the government could have made this easier by opening the contraflow lanes earlier, but what else could they have done?

Today, on the way to work with my roommate, I was subject to “Democracy Now Radio” which, like anything with such an over the top name is complete rubish.. The “Patriot Act”, the “No Spin Zone” and the “Moral Majority” are all clear examples.

But on to my point. Perhaps the single most frightening thing about America and the world today is how quickly everyone moves to extremes. It seems that every time a law is passed in the US it is an outrage. We must go to any length to stop it. Well, I’m outraged out and I wish everyone in this country would step back and get some perspective. Stop watching TV and listening to radio and think for yourself.