Sign of the Month - August 2014

Gainesville welcomes a new Hobby Lobby store. I had a hard time picking the sign out of the wealth of candidates.

Get the story of the protest and quotes from the protesters from the Gainesville Sun.

And get more photos of the protest HERE. 

Everybody was there. And the signs were clever and creative. Ultimately, the prochoice man with the simple information sign about how to resist the Hobby Lobby decision was my choice. The sexiest man in the world is a pro choice man. See the runners-up below. And see the Satanic Temple for another way to resist. 

Some 90 people join protest against Hobby Lobby

Hobby Lobby's new Gainesville store opened quietly Friday ahead of its official grand opening Monday morning, but it was noisy on the sidewalk outside. Passing cars honked in support of sign-waving protesters who oppose the company's stance on women's contraceptive health care.

When was the last time a Philosopher went viral?

Open Carry Texas Activists

Below is an excerpt of A Rational Response to Open Carry Activists written by Philosopher Jack Russell Weinstein that went viral.

You want to read this essay in full and the resulting comments at the source. 

"As most people know, there are activists in Texas who are making a point of going to public places with visible firearms. They have gotten a lot of attention because some chain restaurants and stores have prohibited them from openly carrying their weapons, mostly because it frightens other patrons.

This fear is legitimate. As many have pointed out, there is no way for bystanders to know whether the people with guns are “good guys” or “bad guys.” It is rational to be afraid of someone with a weapon, especially if you know nothing about them.

Furthermore, as Jon Stewart has pointed out better than anyone else, since people are often legally permitted to use guns to protect themselves when they are legitimately afraid for their lives, there is no predicting when someone is going to see the activists and shoot before they ask questions. This will happen. It is just a matter of time. And, in many cases, it will be a legal and rational act. None of us want to be victims of the crossfire.

My proposal is as follows: we should all leave. Immediately. Leave the food on the table in the restaurant. Leave the groceries in the cart, in the aisle. Stop talking or engaging in the exchange. Just leave, unceremoniously, and fast.

But here is the key part: don’t pay. Stopping to pay in the presence of a person with a gun means risking your and your loved ones’ lives; money shouldn’t trump this. It doesn’t matter if you ate the meal. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just received food from the deli counter that can’t be resold. It doesn’t matter if you just got a haircut. Leave. If the business loses money, so be it. They can make the activists pay."

Sign of the Month - July 2014

Grayson and Tina Haver Currin just doing their Saturday Chores. And then they got famous.

Smile when you say "Open Carry," Partner.

Open Carry Guitar Rally
July 4th in Texas

They came early. 
They brought their axes. 




Nobody got hurt. Nobody was scared. Even though there were some weapons of mass production and aural dissemination. 

When it was over, everybody went home tired, happy and humming. Barry Kooda and friends made it happen. And they swear they are going to do it again.