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Landscape, by Frederick Arthur Verner

Landscape by Frederick Arthur Verner

Frederick Arthur Verner (Upper Canada, 26 Feb 1836; d at London, Eng 16 May 1928).
“His mellow vision conveyed an image of the Canadian West as a secret garden, an oasis of calm and quiet, rather than the tragic battlefield portrayed by many American painters.” (“Frederick A Verner,” The Canadian Encyclopedia)
 
Photo credit: unknown source
 

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What a week!  It took me two days to write “More on the Second Amendment,” and I could have used a third day.  But, while digging, it occurred to me that members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) were acting in violation of the Second amendment.  The Second amendment is obsolete because the US has long had law-enforcement mechanisms, ie. “a well regulated militia.”[i]  But not only is it obsolete, it is also flawed.

To be clear it should read “a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, [in the absence of a well regulated militia],[ii] the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”  But it does state, unequivocally, that a well-regulated militia is “necessary to the security of a free state.”  Neither the settlers nor the NRA can be considered a well-regulated militia and by advocating a civilian’s right to own and bear firearms, the NRA now jeopardizes “the security of a free state.”

And there is good old-fashioned common sense.  How can anyone shoot someone else without a firearm?  It is the sine qua non of gun shooting.

In interview(s) General Stanley Allen McChrystal stated that the most offensive weapons were the military weapons.  He is absolutely right.  But a rifle or a handgun can also kill.  There have been many gun-deaths since Newtown.  See gun-death tally.

 
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[i]  The U.S. Cavalry was active from 17 November 1775 until 1951.  See US Cavalry in Wikipedia
[ii] Or something to that effect.
 

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composer: Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 23 November 1585 [by the Julian calendar; 3 December 1585, by the Gregorian calendar])
title: “If Ye Love Me” (anthem)
performers: the Cambridge Singers
director: John Rutter (b. 1945)
 
  
Thomas Tallis

Thomas Tallis

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