Motorcycle Trip in the Planning

I am going to a gathering of my motorcycle association in 2014.  The gather is from Wednesday, June 25th to Wednesday, July 2nd.  I plan to take off from June 20th to July 8th in order to ride my motorcycle from Brandon, Mississippi to the gathering location on the coast of Oregon.

Going the Google Maps way would take 43 hours of driving about 2,608 miles.

View Larger Map This is pretty big, since my longest trip before this has been only 1,060 miles of riding over the course of four days.  This trip will be well over twice that in the same time period.  YIKES!!

View Larger Map
Of course, the Google Map default route to Oregon seems fairly boring.  So, I'm thinking of taking a route that would take 43 hours and add 117 miles, but be a lot more interesting.  Then, I plan to take a more scenic route home, that will take 51 hours or so and add around 500 miles.

View The Oregon Trail in a larger map
So, the trip there will be "Total: 2,725 mi - about 1 day 19 hours"  or 43 hours of riding.  Lets think about 700 miles per day will take me four days to get there, but I will take five.  I think I'll spend some time in Denver.  The return trip will be "Total: 3,206 mi - about 2 days 3 hours", so thinking about 700 miles per day, that will take me four and half days - all five days to do.  I am going to try for one or more certificates from Long Distance Riders.

Lets go over the trip there.  I will leave the Flying J Truck Stop in Pearl, MS at around 5:30 PM.  I'll roll down I-20 West almost to Vicksburg, MS and take Hwy 61 - the Blues Trail - up to Leland, MS.  I'll head West on Hwy 82 and try to make it to Warfield Point Park in Greenville, MS, to camp right on the Mississippi River.  That will be 150 miles down.

From there, I will try to do 732 miles to the Amarillo KOA campground.  This should easily get the Easy Rider cert from LDR.  If the KOA is priced like I have heard - asking them via email revealed $26.67 per night - then I will not stay there.  I'll go on down to the Sun Down RV Resort and pay $14 for a campsite.

Leaving Amarillo early in the morning, Sunday will be a leisurely 435 miles to Denver, CO.  There, I hope to stay with friends or camp in their yard.  This will also be a nice break after the push of Saturday and help prepare for the mountain ride on Monday.

Monday, I will head over the mountains toward Salt Lake City, Utah.  I have two options for the night, Crystal Hot Springs campground or Lottie-Dell campground.  Lottie-Dell is 600 miles, Crystal Hot Springs is 560.  If the trip over the mountains really wears me out, there is Willard Bay State Park at a mere 543 miles.

Lets assume I make it to Lottie-Dell.  Either way, Tuesday is a tough ride through a small, twisty mountain road. (yah!)  At 520 miles, there is the Ochoco Divide campground, another campground 5 miles down the road, but I'd like to make it to Smith Rock State Park in Oregon.  That would be 568 miles from Lottie-Dell.

That would leave around 200 miles to make it to Waldport, OR and the gathering.  An easy ride on Wednesday morning.

Then there is the way back home....  It will start out Wednesday afternoon and take the Coast Highway southbound.  There is a KOA in Sacramento, CA - but not much else.  Lots of camping supply stores, no camping sites.  LOL!  I will probably just do 400 or so miles and hit up the Red Bluff Diversion Dam Recreation Area for camping.

From there, it is 700 miles to Las Vegas, baby!!  I'll just look at the city from a distance and camp at Boulder Beach Camp Ground.

Albuquerque has a KOA, but other than that, it is kind of hard to find campgrounds.  I may just wind up camping off the side of the road somewhere. However, I think I will try to eat at "The Frontier." Lets say 550 miles for Friday.

Saturday starts off early and the destination is 454 miles to Davis Mountain State Park in Texas.  Of course, the route will be through Roswell and Carlsbad, New Mexico.  Area 51 and Caves!!

Sunday will be a harsh ride - 684 miles to Oak Leaf Park in Orange, TX for camping.  The route will take me within arms reach of the Mexico Border and through Houston, TX.

Monday will be a nice ride up the Natchez Trace, 365 miles to Home.  Then a day off on Tuesday to rest up before work on Wednesday.

Of course, I may just hit Carlsbad, NM and get to I-20 and take a left instead of a right and shave off several hundred interesting, yet unnecessary, miles just to get home quicker.  Then again, I hate that stretch of I-20 as I have traveled it way too much.

The trip there will start the 20th of June around 5:00 PM.  I plan to ride as far as I can before stopping for the night and wake up early, early to get started again.  The trip back will start July 2nd in the early afternoon, same plan - ride as far as possible and waking up early.

So, anyone want to join up for a stretch of the ride, let me know!!

I'll be your CEO for $100k per year

I will be any company's CEO for $100,000 per year salary.

One of the first things I will do is adjust the compensation model.  The company will become at least 50% Employee Owned.

EO-Stocks will be divided by company position and stay with the company, so technically, it won't be 'employee owned' in the sense that an individual employee owns stock, but it will be employee owned in that each position, from new-hire secretary to long-time CFO will each have a certain percentage of stock assigned to their position.  The employee will get the Dividends from the stock each quarter and will have a vote in all shareholder meetings, etc. as long as they hold that position in the company.

New Hires may have only one issued share to their position.  For each quarter with the company, they add one share, up to the max allotted for that position.

This creates a vast incentive for the company to be run efficiently, productively and profitably - everyone working there has a financial stake in the success of the company.

Of course, the employee can not sell nor transfer the stock, but when they leave the company, "their" stock will be bought back from them.  So, everyone, from day one, has a 'severance package.'  This will make everyone work to reduce turnover.

So, any company looking to greatly improve productivity and profits, lets talk.

If Kior wants to hire me, I could get them profitable in less than two years.  But I'm not going to reveal THAT secret here.

Riding with Bad Drivers (Rant)

Yesterday on the ride home from work, a car pulled over into the lane to their right - colliding with the vehicle that was beside them.  Well, they collided with the trailer the truck was towing - and if they didn't collide (as both just kept on rolling down the interstate) then they came very, very, remarkably close.

Today, on the ride in to work, things have been much more annoying!

First, on a street in Brandon, this car stops in the road with his right turn signal on.  I'm fairly close behind him, but nobody is behind me.  As I come to a complete stop, I realize that they have stopped to 'courteously' allow the person sitting at the stop sign to pull out into non-existent traffic.  This jerk has delayed everyone in order to ignore traffic laws and make themselves feel 'nice.'  What an asshole.

Then, on the same street, a car pulls out in front of me, forcing me to apply my brakes firmly and downshift.  Still nobody behind me.  They proceed to slowly go up one block and turn left.

Both of those drivers got a 'you're number one' signal from me.  Although I'm sure neither one comprehended what they had done to deserve it.

On the interstate, this car pulls into my lane in front of me, going slower that I was.  I get into the left lane (of three lanes) and get up to where my front wheel is aligned with their front door - and they take off.  So, I move back over into the middle lane.  I "catch up" to this vehicle three more times before my exit.

Closer to my exit, I run into the worst event on the interstate - all three lanes at least three vehicles deep, all going almost the exact same speed.  Come on, people!!  If the car to your right is going almost the same speed as you are - SPEED UP!  If the car to your left is going almost the same speed as you are - SLOW DOWN!  When you are past them, if you want to go the speed you were going, get behind or in front of them and THEN match speeds, but DO NOT get beside someone on the interstate and match their speed.  If you are not past them in under 30 seconds, you are blocking traffic.  MOVE.

At my exit - a two lane exit only that merges to one lane into a big curve - there is a sporty blue car with LED turn signals that do a progression in the direction of the turn... six or seven lights that go on one at at time to simulate motion... with the tag JON4FUN driving slow in the right lane.  Half of a car length behind him, but in the left lane, is an SUV from Louisiana driving the SAME SPEED as the blue car, but not moving over,  preventing me from passing either one.  Normally, I shift down to fifth gear to go into the curve and speed up to around fifty five or sixty in the curve.  These jerks are going much slower than the usual slow traffic.  I have to shift down to fourth gear and go around forty miles per hour through the curve.  If the car in the right lane in front of you is going the same speed you are, you are blocking traffic - MOVE OVER into that lane!

In good travel news, the city of Jackson had a crew paint a white line through an intersection with two turn lanes where people in the left hand lane were very often turning into the right hand lane.  I'm sure there were accidents and I know there were lots of close calls.  I've had at least four close calls there myself in the last couple years where people in the left lane just came over into my lane in the turn.  I'm not sure what they were thinking.  There are two lanes to turn, two green arrow turn signals, two lanes going into the tunnel, but somehow they just don't comprehend why they couldn't turn from the left lane and get into the right lane in the turn.  I even have a video where a guy cuts me off in that turn.

UPDATE:  This morning, I thought that I would set up my video camera to document the ride in to work - so I did.  It is not very good quality as I don't think it was ever meant to work on a motorcycle at 70mph.  Still, it takes video.  The ride in this morning was astonishingly easy and trouble free.  No bad drivers at all, just some average drivers and maybe a couple below average.  I even made all the traffic lights - all green or turned as soon as I stopped.  It was amazing!  Boring video, but great trip to work!

Conspiracy in our Government (or, The Promise of the USA)

#PromiseoftheUSA


The Government of the United States of America, The USA - because "America" is a group of two (2) continents and thirty six (36) different nations - is set up as a Constitutional Democratic Republic.  This means that a governing group of representatives (republic) is elected by the people in a democratic process.  Our government is set up to protect individual rights from the majority, from the powerful and from the elected representatives.

To do away with government, or reduce it in size so that it is small enough to drown in the kitchen sink, would be to invite a tyrannical rule of a few, powerful, entities.  This is also known as the Libertarian Utopia - rule by the strongest, usually most violent and oppressive.  Well, they don't see it like that - they imagine that the strongest will just let everyone else go about their business in peace or that individuals will be able to 'fight' for their rights against a more powerful, well armed group.

The Republicans want to eliminate the Democratic process and just appoint whomever they want to the congress and presidency.  They would rule by whatever their corporate masters tell them to do - consequences borne by The People be damned.

The Democrats want everyone to vote, everyone to have the same opportunities to start off with and everyone to be safe and cared for, whether they like it or not.

There is no doubt that Private Interests have bought into and corrupted our form of government to suit their needs.  The Federal Government has expanded beyond it's intended scope.  We have a standing military, which the Founders never intended.  The Federal Government sets State level policies - usually by withholding funds from States that don't comply by passing laws encouraged by the Federal Government - investigate Seat Belt laws to find out more.  Our police forces are becoming more like occupying armies.  Our government has been hijacked by Insurance Companies, Big Banking, Big Agriculture, Big Pharmaceutical and Military Supply Companies.  Each private interest exploiting and weakening We, The People, for their own benefit.

Insurance Companies get laws passed requiring citizens to buy their protection scams.  They get laws passed that reduce their exposure to liability for paying out on their promised protections.  They work huge loopholes that allow them to not pay out for most frequent damages.  They create complicated paperwork that will allow them to cancel your coverage or refuse payment based on flimsy grounds - but you can't get your money back because of it.

Big Banking - private entities - control the issue of our currency.  They gamble and risk our money and then suffer no consequences when they lose it - or more accurately, they profit from our losses they instigated.  They reward the rich with lower interest rates on borrowing, higher interest rates on savings and investments while punishing the poor with high interest rates on borrowing, lower interest rates on savings and investments.  This is by design to keep the 'worker' class from becoming financially independent, paying off their debts and living free.  This is the new version of a Sharecropper or Indentured Servant.  They create debt for us to be forced to pay off - then make sure we will never pay off that debt.

Big Agriculture takes our tax money as subsidies, poisons our food, exploits workers and turns our food supply into large scale genetic experiments.  Probably seeing if they can breed a more docile worker.

Big Pharmaceutical gets laws passed to make cures illegal, addictive substances legal and make profits off of treatments that make other problems worse.  They don't want cures - because that would end the profit stream. 

Military supply companies lobby for increased military spending, urge covert agencies to create more conflict and start more foreign wars - so they can supply the perpetual war machine with more equipment with a built in end of life.

All Private Interests have one goal in mind - keep the majority of people oppressed and happy with it.  They funnel profits from the most people into the hands of the few.

Our food is poisoned, our water is poisoned, the very air we breathe is poisoned - and we are forced to pay the very people who have poisoned us to treat the most obvious and adverse symptoms.  They will never provide a cure or stop the poison because that would decrease profits.

They keep us distracted with religion, movie stars, game shows, fake wars and false news and political controversies.

Our government is set up to protect us, the citizens, from the corrupting influence of all of those private interests.  It has been infiltrated and corrupted.  I believe the balance tipped in favor of the corruption in the 1950's, when congress destroyed part of the constitutional protections by putting "Under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance (1953) and making "In God We Trust" our official motto (1956).  It is impressive that it took the corrupting influences a full one hundred and seventy something years to tip the balance.

The Promise of America has always been individual freedom and liberty to pursue our own happiness.  Our government is still the best there is to ensure such freedom, but we need to clean the corruption out of it.  We need to get back to having a Federal Government of representatives, freely elected without undue influence from the rich and powerful, beholden only to the will of the people, whose powers are limited to securing individual liberty, providing for the common defense and promoting the general welfare of all Citizens.

Some first steps would be :

1. Dismantling of the entrenched two-party system to allow more fair elections.
2. Federal or State funding of election campaigns, barring or limiting any private or corporate contributions.
3. Get "God" out of Government.  Our laws should be based on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Liberties, not any religion.  If something legal is against your religion, you don't have to do it, but you can not actively prevent others from having the opportunity to do it if they so choose.
4. Do away with the legal fiction that corporations are people.  Corporations are limited legal constructs for the purposes of doing business - not influencing politics.
5. Tie Representative pay to the median income of the state they represent and require a 40 hour work week, each and every week.  No work, No Pay.

Eventually, we need to completely revamp the medical profession.  Profit should be eliminated as a motive for any medical professional, from the researcher and drug manufacturer to doctors and nurses (though they should be paid well for their efforts).  Cures and total recovery from injury or illness should be the only goals in medicine.  Our Drug and Alcohol policies need to be completely revamped to include more liberty and less monopolistic profit goals.  We need to make the safety and health of our environment a higher priority than short term profit.

In the end, we need to make sure that the Promise of the United States of America is secured for our posterity and the future of all.

#PromiseoftheUSA

The Founders, Guns, Rights and Me

Gun violence, mass shootings and other senseless tragedies are occurring on an increasing basis in the United States of America.  I do not agree with the 'do nothing' approach.

I worked through my thoughts and research in a previous post.  Here, I am going to solidify my (current) views on the subject - re-using some of the previous post.

The much talked about Second Amendment states :
"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 NRA and others kind of ignore the first part or try to dismiss it as not meaning what it says.  They focus only on the second part - the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.  But, lets agree that we don't need any new laws about who can own what kind of gun and where they can carry that gun.  We may need to take a few of the existing ones off the books, just to simplify things.

Now, lets go look at the first part of the Second Amendment - A Well Regulated militia.  So, what does "well regulated" mean?  I'm fairly sure it doesn't mean highly controlled by legislation and restrictions.  Some have suggested that it meant "well supplied or equipped," but that doesn't seem to hold up.

"Hamilton indicates a well-regulated militia is a state of preparedness obtained after rigorous and persistent training."

It seems fair and accurate to me to state that "well regulated" in the 2nd Amendment means "Well Trained and Disciplined."

The Founders and others have left us some quotes on how they saw the matter:

"The right of the people to keep and bear...arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country..." (James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434 [June 8, 1789])

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike especially when young, how to use them." (Richard Henry Lee, 1788, Initiator of the Declaration of Independence, and member of the first Senate, which passed the Bill of Rights, Walter Bennett, ed., Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican, at 21,22,124 (Univ. of Alabama Press,1975)..)

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States" (Noah Webster in 'An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution', 1787

"...but if circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights..." (Alexander Hamilton speaking of standing armies in Federalist 29.)

It is clear, from reading many more quotes and letters than those I have linked to, that the Founders did, in fact, intend for all able bodied men to be armed and prepared to go to war.  Those last two quotes above, among others, make it very clear that the founders never considered the might and power of current military and military weapons. It is also clear that the Founders did not intend for the United States to have a standing, active military.  Citizens were to be trained and well armed and called into service in an army only in times of need.  So if your measure of what should be done is what is in the constitution and what the Founders intended, then we have to disband all branches of the military.

The times, technology and environment has changed drastically from what the Founders knew and envisioned.  Solutions must be allowed to consider the whole environment of the problem.

My current proposal to actually do something constructive to help prevent mass shootings and suicide by cop killing sprees is as follows:

1. The Federal and State governments should enact a high tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition. (Please breathe and continue reading)

2. The State governments should formulate and offer an extensive training course that covers all aspects of owning and using a firearm.  They should provide this course free of charge to anyone over the age of Twelve years.

3. Having passed the course, you receive a card (photo ID, valid for voting) or an endorsement on your drivers license that greatly reduces the Federal and State taxes on firearms.  This reduction may or may not be tied to the score achieved in the course.

4. The State governments should have several gun ranges set up so that people can test their marksmanship.  If people achieve a certain score indicating that they can hit a target more times than not, then they get a "Gun Control" card, which greatly reduces or eliminates the Federal and State taxes on ammunition.  Again, this reduction may or may not be tied to the score achieved in the test.

The taxes collected would be used to fund the courses and to provide for law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those who commit crimes with firearms.

I think the course should be done in segments.  Maybe a week for each segment?  Three days?  The details will have to be worked out, naturally.

I believe the first part of the course should be some kind of psychological preparedness class.  Something like :

• Gun Responsibility
• Guns are used to Kill
• Regional and Local laws regarding Firearm Possession, Open Carry, Concealed Carry and the use of deadly force
• When to use a gun and when not to
• Living with Taking a Life
• The Social responsibility of Owning and Carrying a Firearm
• Using a gun to commit a crime
• Your gun used by someone else to commit a crime

The next class would focus on the basics of gun ownership.  Like :

• Gun Ownership
• Storage and Security
• Cleaning and Maintenance
• Transporting
• Gun Handling ( At the Shooting Range training )
• Safe Carry
• Aiming - sights, scopes and accuracy
• Before you Squeeze the Trigger
• Shooting - Squeeze the Trigger
• After you Squeeze the Trigger
• Cleaning and Maintenance (yes, again)

The final class would focus on the physical aspects and combat readiness.  Like :

•  Keeping your head in a Stressful Situation
• Gun use in self defense
• Gun use in combat
• Avoiding gunfire
• Triage for Gunshot wounds
• You've been Shot!
• Paintball Field Exercises!!

Once all three segments of the course are completed to satisfaction, the Course Certificate is issued.  There should be some kind of continuing education to keep the certification up to date.  One class per year or the whole course every five years or some such timing to keep things fresh.

Also, owning a combat style rifle and passing the course would make you eligible to be called up to defend our nation in times of need.  A true Militia.

What do you think?

TV Show Roundup!

Oh, the agony of waiting for MY shows to come back on is awful.

Doctor Who isn't coming back until a November special, then the Christmas Special and no telling how long until the regular series.

Supernatural doesn't come back until October 8th.

Sherlock doesn't come back for it's brief season until --- WHEN?

Castle is coming back September 23rd.  But I'd still love to see Firefly come back!

Lost Girl is coming back, eventually, in 2014.  But it is a SyFy show, so no guarantees.  They murdered Sanctuary for no reason at all and that show was great!

Speaking of SyFy - Haven (returning September 13th) and Defiance (returning June 2014!!) are awesome.  I hope that me admitting that doesn't get them canceled.

I hate that Warehouse 13 is going to be a Final Season.

I still miss Eureka, but Primeval : New World has given me some solace - and it is pretty good too, but no word on when it is coming back for season two.  I loved the original Primeval from the BBC and happy that there has been some continuity.

I've got to catch up on Being Human and it's UK Inspiration too.


Bones is coming back September 16th.

NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles are both coming back September 24th.  So is Person of Interest.

Teen Wolf (guilty) is coming back in January.

Arrow is coming back October 9th.

The Glades, Covert Affairs and Suits are all currently running, so that is good.  So is Perception and Rizzoli and Isles.

No word on King and Maxwell yet, but I want more!

I try to keep up with Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and True Blood, but it is hard to get a chance to watch those.  The Wife, Willice, watches Major Crimes without me most of the time.

We are investigating watching Longmire and The Bridge, but no decisions as of yet.  We also keep trying to watch Falling Skies, but it is not a regular, kind of like Unforgettable.

We tried to get into The Following and Touch, but just can't stay with them.  Under the Dome was not that entertaining either.

Guns, Rights and the Balance between them

I've tried, on Facebook, to ask for some sensible solutions to help curb some of the senseless violence using guns.  Within moments the replies like "stop stomping on constitutional rights!" came pouring in.  Even though I started the post out with "banning military style guns and high capacity clips is not right."

So, new gun laws, banning any gun or magazine being off the table - NO NEW ANTI GUN LAWS.  Keeping the second half of the second amendment completely sacred, what are some workable solutions to the obvious problem of violence using guns?

It seems that people can't supply any real solutions beyond "second amendment!" or "personal responsibility!"  Well, there are those out there that have no sense of personal responsibility and suffer from an extreme lack of good judgement.  Some people do NOT need to have a gun.  The innocent victims' right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness FAR outweigh any shooter's right to own a gun.

I have proposed a Swiss style approach - everyone gets training.  Now, the Swiss require military service from every male for 12 years.  I don't think that is exactly a great idea, although I would like to see mandatory gun training for everyone starting at age eighteen and going on through until they are deemed unfit to possess a firearm.  Perhaps just everyone who wants to own a gun has to go through the training every 5 years or so.

Let me make my proposition clear.  I propose that at an early age - whenever we can agree kids might start using guns, maybe 12 - the government provide training in the use, care, cleaning and responsibility of owing and using firearms. (see new post with more info)

The content of the training is important too.  I went through National Hunter Safety Training before I could get my first hunting license.  I don't think that course covered enough for all-purpose gun safety.  The National Gun Training course that I've suggested would have to consist of a lot more than just hunting.  Perhaps something like :

1. Gun Ownership
1. Storage and Security
2. Cleaning and Maintenance
3. Transporting
2. Gun Handling ( At the Shooting Range training )
1.  Safe Carry
2. Aiming - sights, scopes and accuracy
3. Before you Squeeze the Trigger
1. Spent cartridge ejection
4. Shooting - Squeeze the Trigger
5. After you Squeeze the Trigger
6. Cleaning and Maintenance
3. Gun Responsibility
1. Guns Kill
1. Guns are not toys
2. Guns are used to kill for a reason
3. Living with Taking a Life
4. Regional and Local laws regarding use of deadly force
5. When to use a gun and when not to
2. Using a gun to commit a crime
3. Your gun used by someone else to commit a crime 
4. The Social responsibility of Owning and Carrying a Firearm
4. Keep your Head in a Stressful situation
1. Gun use in self defense
2. Gun use in combat
3. Avoiding gunfire
4. You've been Shot!
5. Triage for Gunshot wounds
6. Paintball Field Exercises!!

Now that would help create the Well Regulated Militia the second amendment talks about first.

So, what does "well regulated" mean?  I'm fairly sure it doesn't mean highly controlled by legislation and restrictions.  Does it mean "well supplied"?  Probably not.

"Hamilton indicates a well-regulated militia is a state of preparedness obtained after rigorous and persistent training."

It seems fair and accurate to me to state that "well regulated" in the 2nd Amendment means "Well Trained and Disciplined."  The claim that the 2nd Amendment requires more gun regulations may not be completely full of holes.

"no person’s sport is worth another person's man’s life. There is no logical reason that anyone should have to fire dozens of shots without reloading – unless intending to deprive that many people of life and limb. The US government must make the distinction between a weapon of war, and one that could be legitimately used for sport or self-defense."

Now for some quotes from the founders on what THEY thought they had set up :

"The right of the people to keep and bear...arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country..." (James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434 [June 8, 1789])

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike especially when young, how to use them." (Richard Henry Lee, 1788, Initiator of the Declaration of Independence, and member of the first Senate, which passed the Bill of Rights, Walter Bennett, ed., Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican, at 21,22,124 (Univ. of Alabama Press,1975)..)

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States" (Noah Webster in 'An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution', 1787

"...but if circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights..." (Alexander Hamilton speaking of standing armies in Federalist 29.)

Those last two quotes make it very clear that the founders never considered the might and power of current military and military weapons.  There is no way that any citizen militia could stand up to the U.S. Army.  Even with all other branches standing on the sidelines.

The link also has many quotes which make it clear that we were never meant to have a standing army in a time of peace.  The Founders intended no standing Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines.  Citizens were to be trained and well armed and called into service in an army only in times of need.  So, do we disband the military?  ... If we ever end the state of constant warfare that our government has created that is.  What do you think that would do to the unemployment numbers?

Of course, there is also the argument that the only thing the second amendment does is limit the Federal Government from disarming citizens, allowing the states final control.

The times, technology and environment has changed drastically from what the Founders knew and envisioned.  Solutions must be allowed to consider the whole environment of the problem.

What I have proposed is no limitation on gun ownership.  In fact, I have proposed that the government provide substantial training to those who want to own guns.  I think the training required for owning guns which I propose would also help reduce the use of guns in violent crimes.

Maybe requiring the free training for owning a gun might irritate some people, so perhaps it should not be required to own a gun.  Perhaps it should supply a higher legal standing to those who go to the training regularly.  A deep discount on the price of each firearm? Lower cost hunting licenses?  Put a higher tax on firearm sales and eliminate or greatly reduce the tax for those who have gone through the course?

The course would go a long way to helping prove legal use of a firearm in court - "Mr. Defendant has high marks in all aspects of the National Gun Training courses and has attended the course regularly over the last twenty years.  He is a responsible, well trained and conscientious gun owner."

Maybe the NRA could do an ad campaign.  "Guns are not the Answer"

Woman Shoots at Family vehicle turning around

Another option would be to have a high tax on guns and ammunition and offer a "Gun Control" card for those who come in and demonstrate shooting skill.  Gun Control is hitting what you aim at, so the majority of the skills demonstration would be hitting targets.  If you score high enough, you get the Gun Control card, with your score printed on it.  Presenting this card reduces your tax rate on guns and ammunition.  That way, the people who refuse the training - or can't pass it - contribute to cleaning up their messes and prosecuting them if necessary.

(see new post with more info)