Thursday, December 13, 2007

"Thoughts from My 1st Masonic Degree"


Nervous, quiet, it seemed so long did I sit
The Tyler and I spent it waiting
Looking at, in front of me, a cabinet
Showcasing the American Masons
The list, it seemed, was so long
It belonged in a Billy Joel song:

Buzz Aldrin
Gene Autry
Mel Blanc
William Jennings Bryan
Henry Clay
Sought out life’s Right way

Samuel Colt
Davy Crocket
Bob Dole
W.E.B. DuBois
Duke Ellington
Henry Ford
On their free will & accord

Ben Franklin
John Glenn
Barry Goldwater
John Hancock
Patrick Henry
Pursued their Degrees

Sam Houston
Edgar Hoover
Jesse Jackson
John Paul Jones
John LeJeune
Marquis de Lafayette
Followed the Grand Architect

Douglass MacArthur
John Marshall
Charles Mayo
Frederick Maytag
Andrew Mellon
John Molson
Were not off, but from

Brad Paisley
Arnold Palmer
John J. Pershing
Paul Revere
All of Masonic austere

Sugar Ray Robinson
Will Rogers
Dave Thomas
Mark Twain
Used the trowel to spread our name

Booker T. Washington
John Wayne
Earl Warren
Brigham Young
Cy Young
Look to the East for the Sun

And 38 Justices of our Supreme Court
Looked to square and compass for support
Including seven of those who did possess
The position of Chief Justice

And brothers, let us not forget
Fourteen presidents were Masons made met
Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, James Monroe
Helped our fertile nation to grow
While both Roosevelts and Truman followed the Plumb
Of our Founder, George Washington

But to me, the Mason I consider most great
Will never appear in a showcase
In fact, when the Tyler lets me into where the Masons confer
After the Light, I’ll see the smiling grin
Of my Father as the ceremonies begin.


Note: December, 2007 marks my 1st Masonic birthday.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Gun Control Should be a Local Issue


December 7th, 2007, KeystonePolitics.com

Growing up in middle-state PA, I have a different interpretation of gun rights than some one from Philadelphia.

Like many others in central PA, I remember the first time I ever shot a gun. I was 15 years old, barely able to pull the trigger without wincing my face in fear of the violent kickback. Still, I eyed the target and fired sixteen times to pierce as many holes in the paper target dangling from its hanger.

Contrast this with a friend of mine from Philadelphia, a young man who grew up in a street gang. He remembers the first time he pulled a trigger: It was not to hunt game, and it wasn’t to fire at a piece of paper. His target was real. His target was a person on a drive-by homicide attempt.

We began talking about gun use, and – surprise! – both my friend and I had very different views on the topic. My friend believed that guns were evil – maybe even demonic – components of plastic and metal intended to do harm. I, on the other hand, noted gun sportsmanship and the self-defense that it provides.

This is the line that divided us; it has become the one that divides our legislature.

On the same day that the PA General Assembly Black Caucus vacated the House deliberation on gun control, a shooting spree erupted in Omaha killing 8 and injuring five. The two events, though autonomous, represent the problems and concerns associated with gun violence.

Any person – gun owner or not – should note that the government needs to take steps to ensure public safety everywhere in our Commonwealth. It is imperative that our elected officials protect our people from dangerous threats wielding a gun.

On the other hand, a huge portion of gun owning Americans – me included – have had no problems owning, maintaining, and bearing their firearms. They have obeyed the law and acted sensibly with the most powerful weapon the average American can own. This, in tandem with the basic rights guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment, should continue to allow them the right to possess their fire arm, one that “should not be infringed.”

As the General Assembly debates state-wide gun control reform, ask your lawmaker to omit their vote. If and when a bill passes, it will be a diluted, powerless law that provides minimal protection to the public and becomes a hindrance to the common gun owner.

Gun control has not been a national issue, and it should not be a state-wide one. Gun control should be handled by the county and municipality one lives in. It shold be local, and local alone.

Only our local areas of residence, Philadelphia in my friend’s case and Carbon County for mine, understand how to best solve the problems associated with gun violence, if any. Giving the task to Harrisburg will not solve any problems. It will create more.