Aggie Muster Day

Today is Aggie Muster Day. Texas A&M Aggies will observe this day all around the world. Today is the day that we, as Aggies, remember those that have passed away this last year. It is the Roll Call for the absent. Lt. Col. David Harrigan, Aggie Class of 1968, wrote this poem about the most precious of Aggie traditions:

"We stood a little taller,

and a little prouder then

When we heard the call of Muster

and the Roll Call just begin.

We stood there all together

and wiped away the tears

When our names were called out softly

and answered with a “Here!”

... and so we’ve joined together

with our brothers of the past

To make our final resting place at

Aggieland our last.

We take a toast to our brotherhood

wherever they may roam,

For us the trek is over

Aggieland we’re coming home."


So for all my fellow Aggies that have gone, "Here."

America Must Continue to Stand For What is Right

Today Americans all over the country stood up against tyrannical big government policies. This will go down as a turning point in U.S. history. No longer will we be walked on while they play politics in Washington D.C. We stand up and say give us liberty or give us death. The last time those words were spoken by people in this land, the British said they would give us death. They were wrong. Life was breathed into a fledgling idea that is the United States of America. We will not let this great experiment of our founding fathers fail. The Preamble of our Constitution says "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to OURSELVES and OUR POSTERITY, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." We must not let Barack Obama and the liberal congress ruin the future for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. As an American at 20 years of age, it is projected that I will pay over $140,000 in EXTRA taxes under the current economic policies that have been put in place. Not to mention the proposed legislation and policies. We must not let this movement end today. We must carry on stronger than ever. Don't trust those in Washington. Become your own lobbyist. Stand for your rights, because they are yours and cannot be taken from you. I leave you with this thought: The United States will fail when ordinary men and women do not stand for what is right. This is our responsibilty. We are America. This is a country of the people, by the people, for the people.

God Bless these United States!

Concealed Carry on Campus

On Wednesday April 8, 2009, Texas House Bill 1893 made it passed committee by a vote of 5-3. This legislation is sponsored by State Representative Joe Driver (R-113), and would enable Concealed Handgun Licensees to protect themselves on college and university campuses. Voting FOR the bill were State Representatives Driver, Tommy Merritt (R-7), Stephen Frost (D-1), Phil King (R-61) and Tryon Lewis (R-81).
A majority of the committee members agreed that adult students, faculty and staff who are 21 or older, who have passed extensive background checks, have completed firearms training courses and have been issued a concealed handgun licenses by the Department of Public Safety, should be able to protect themselves in campus settings just like they are legally able to do almost anywhere else in Texas. They also felt that the right to personal protection should not be denied to a licensee just because he or she studies, works or lives on a college or university campus.

The committee substitute for HB 1893 contains language de-criminalizing the carrying of a handgun by a CHL on the campus of either a public or private institution of higher education. It also prevents public or private colleges and universities from adopting and enforcing administrative sanctions against faculty, employees and students who are CHLs that carry on campus -- except that the governing bodies of private institutions may adopt administrative rules and regulations affecting carrying by CHLs in buildings only (not parking lots or grounds) after consulting with faculty, staff and students.

HB 1893 now moves to the House Calendars Committee. This committee decides when, and IF, the bill will come to the floor for a vote by the full House of Representatives. I think this can get through this fairly quickly as seven of the twelve members on this committee are co-authors. I also believe that this bill can get through a house vote. Of the 121 members in the House, 77 of them are sponsors, authors, or co-authors of the bill.

This is a huge win for gun carriers. This is also a huge step in preventing horrible incidents like those at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois. Many people do not believe that this is a good idea. But when the State of Texas says that at the age of 21 I can obtain a concealed handgun license, then I should be able to carry it where I spend most of my day. I can throw out some arguments here like “people kill people, not guns,” but you have heard them all and it becomes pointless. The fact of the matter is, we have the Constitutional right as citizens of the United States of America to carry a gun and protect ourselves. I will leave you with one argument that gun owners are not as dangerous as they have been made out to be.

Doctors vs. Guns U.S. Statistics:
Number of physicians in the US = 700,000
Accidental deaths caused by physicians per year =120,000
Accidental deaths per physician = 0.171 (U.S. Dept. of Health &Human Services)
Number of gun owners in the US = 80,000,000
Number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age groups) =1,500Accidental deaths per gun owner = 0.0000188 (U.S. Bureau ofAlcohol, Tobacco & Firearms)
Therefore, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerousthan gun owners.

At the end of the day, the answer is not less guns. It is putting guns in the hands of responsible law abiding citizens.