That is exactly how long it has been since I posted last. Just thought you might wanna know.

Arlington National Cemetery:



The Tomb of the Unknowns and the Changing of the Guard:


(Yes, this is the Tomb of the Unknowns, this ampitheater is in the back.)


Jefferson Memorial:
(Front)

(Back)

(Me standing in front)

(Jefferson's statue)

Various Memorials and pictures:








And finally, my favorite memorial:

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history.

The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. The decision went further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact.

The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791. The amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual's right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.

Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said that an individual right to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted.

The Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home," Scalia said. The court also struck down Washington's requirement that firearms be equipped with trigger locks.

In a dissent he summarized from the bench, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons."

He said such evidence "is nowhere to be found."

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

Joining Scalia were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. The other dissenters were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter.

The capital's gun law was among the nation's strictest.

Dick Anthony Heller, 66, an armed security guard, sued the District after it rejected his application to keep a handgun at his home for protection in the same Capitol Hill neighborhood as the court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in Heller's favor and struck down Washington's handgun ban, saying the Constitution guarantees Americans the right to own guns and that a total prohibition on handguns is not compatible with that right.

The issue caused a split within the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney supported the appeals court ruling, but others in the administration feared it could lead to the undoing of other gun regulations, including a federal law restricting sales of machine guns. Other laws keep felons from buying guns and provide for an instant background check.

Scalia said nothing in Thursday's ruling should "cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings."

The law adopted by Washington's city council in 1976 bars residents from owning handguns unless they had one before the law took effect. Shotguns and rifles may be kept in homes, if they are registered, kept unloaded and either disassembled or equipped with trigger locks.

Opponents of the law have said it prevents residents from defending themselves. The Washington government says no one would be prosecuted for a gun law violation in cases of self-defense.

(Fox News, 2008)

Previously, I only had the above story by FoxNews because I was short on time, now let me go into detail a little bit.

While this ruling may seem no more or less important than all of the others made by the Supreme Court, this single ruling is a truly historic event where the Justices were called upon to interpret a part of the Constitution in a way they had never done so before. Also, the comments made by the Justices truly portray their thoughts on the Constitution.

I do not want to talk too much about the actual ruling itself, but more about some of the comments made by two of the Justices.

Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the following regarding the ruling today, "...would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons... Such evidence is nowhere to be found." I want you not to think of the ruling itself, but the attitude and intent that is portray in Justice Stevens' words. Did anyone else catch the obvious tone of the Justice's words??? Not even the TONE, for crying out loud!!! His own words show that he clearly believes the Founding Fathers felt it neccesary for the Government to be able to regulate the civilian population. I heartily disagree! The intent of the Fathers was to create a Government "By the People, For the People"! Not a government that should feel free to regulate the population in any way they felt neccesary!

I hate to say it, but it gets worse! The following was said by Justice Breyer, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas." I don't even need to put the whole sentence there, the first line says it all! "There is simply no untouchable Constitutional right..." And we have this man to do WHAT??? I didn't think we elected government officials for the purpose of taking AWAY our freedoms, but Justice Breyer sees no "untouchable Constitutional right"! I only pray that no more men like him are put into that position, otherwise we might end up seeing Amendments 1, and 3-9 done away with after they dispose of the 2nd Amendment.

In conclusion, I want to remind everyone of a simple saying regarding supposed gun control, that is shown true by the Justices' words.

"Gun control isn't about guns, it's about control."

You could have heard a pin drop
You don't say?
When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by
the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example
of empire building' by George Bush.
He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of
its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond
our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is
enough to bury those that did not return.'
You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers
were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the
French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest
dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to
help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three
hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear
powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they
have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a
day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea
water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in
transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.
We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'
You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals
from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a
cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of
Officers that included personnel from most of those countries.
Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a
French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many
languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we
always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking
French?'
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the
Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't
have to speak German.'
You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.
At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his
carry on.
'You have been to France before, monsieur?'
the customs officer asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously ..
'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.'
The American said,
'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.'
'Impossible. Americans always have to show your
passports on arrival in France !'
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly
explained.
'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in
'44 to help liberate
this country,
I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.'
You could have heard a pin drop.
* * *