You have the RIGHT to remain SILENT

I'm so glad to live in the currently Republican-controlled state of Wisconsin, USA. I love the fact that our state's Capitol police force have arrested well in excess of 20 people for carrying deadly, dangerous protest signs (those sticks can HURT, mind you) while at the same time, in the same monumental building, there are official noticess posted just outside the Wisconsin Supreme Court: "No firearms or other weapons permitted beyond this point." In light of this rather confusing manifestation of governmental priorities, tonight was a watershed. Here I am having a delightful Lemon Ice at Culvers, on Madison'c West Beltline Highway, right off Todd Drive. Two booths away, there is a young guy openly carrying a holstered pistol. He's clearly not a law-enforcement officer; his ongoing conversation with a young lady, evidently his girlfriend, which I am now overhearing, makes that much clear. I made sure to turn around to face his direction, in case he suddenly gets the urge to shoot my ass, or someone else's. In my case, I just want to "see the bullet coming" before it's all over, dude. Actually, I first noticed him with his strapped semi-automatic near the soft drink dispenser. I felt a bit uneasy at first, then relaxed, for three main reasons. 1. I prefer the fact he's carrying openly, rather than concealed. Just makes me feel a little better, on account of there being no dark, ugly secrets between us. 2. I am used, from my hunting and target shooting days, to being around people brandishing weapons openly - he's possibly even had the minimal training required by law. 3. This pistol-packing guy is probably a lot more afraid of anyone and everyone than I am; I just don't feel the need to carry a handgun around Madison, a city with one of the lowest violent crime rates of any town in the USA. I love America: we have so many rights - the right to go bankrupt from unpaid medical bills; the right to remain unemployed for years, especially since Autumn 2008; the right to live paycheck to paycheck; the right to sleep in the street if we get evicted; the right to consume genetically-modified and poisoned food served to us by corporate agribusiness; the right to be harassed and killed on the flimsiest pretext by maniac cops acting with impunity; the right to see the country go down the tubes, while the populace raves like a bunch of demented cheerleaders each time another unjustified war is begun; the right to get the hell back to the laundromat pretty soon, before it close for the night:) But most of all, I cherish our truly GOD-GIVEN right to blow one another to bloody HELL at the drop of a cowboy hat, literally!