Wartooth Writer

 As many of you know, I celebrate Chinese New Year, not this one. Still, it's important enough to comment on.  I'm wondering about your resolutions and how successful those have been.  For me, this year, I'm doing the dry January thing and giving up smoking again. I restarted smoking when a friend, Justin, got me back into it after I survived a near-deadly hornet sting in June. Yes, I was almost killed by a bee sting. Didn't know I was allergic. EMTs took 45 minutes to get to me, took 2 epipens to save me. Docs at the ER said I was 5 minutes from death. Since then, I've had a ton of medical issues. A week after the sting my primary care follow-up sent me back to the er for more testing and monitoring, it was that bad.   Dr. Manning (UPMC) said an allergic reaction like that can kick-start latent medical issues. He thinks I have MS. He's seen it before with my symptom cluster.  Thankfully a few of my symptoms have lessened in severity, even as others have become

It's been a while since I wrote. I've been tied up a bit. There is this war, my kids, lawyers, and a ton of stuff that would bore you to death.  Right now, let's talk about my SOCOM pals who have had enough. 8 years ago, it was 5-800 of them in Jordan, and 2-300 in Iran, mostly on the Kurdish/Iraq border.  They all knew what they were getting into.  That's what they'd all say about me if our positions were reversed. Sole Survivor in some encounters.  Their wives and families might feel different but it's of no consequence. How many grieving widows did you see on the news or MTV during the big popular wars?  Not many. Definitely not our widows. Our wars, the small, silent, and angry ones were very personal. There were no fleets of fighter jets or any kind of cover.  Most of our missions required preparation for suicide. No US marked anything. No ID, no Hanes socks, no whatever might make you American.  But enough of that. How does this link to the title?  A great

 A modest proposal for the prevention of mass shootings, protection and expansion of responsible gun owner rights, strengthening local civil defense, and fostering good citizenship. How can we do all of these things at once? 1)       A simple licensing scheme, similar to that system used for fishing or hunting licenses, arguably also constitutionally protected rightful activities (fishing & hunting in the pursuit of life). 2)       Establishment of an all-volunteer militia at the community/county or other small municipal entity level. Membership is required to obtain a license to keep arms. 3)       Simple requirements to ensure those purchasing & keeping guns are responsible, safe, and proficient in their arms, with the ability to (verifiably) keep their weapons secure. The license would have a training period beginning at 18 years of age (though informal training can start earlier). The program will require academic training and testing covering safety topics, liabi