"...Remember When Reading This, Though, That I Defend, To The Death, Your Right To Warn People That The Rights They Still Enjoy Have Been Stripped Away..."

I have a request.

That's coming along shortly.

First, though, I have a question.

Have I suddenly, unknowingly, been teleported to some alternate universe?

Because, apparently, I'm no longer living on the same plane of existence as a number of folks who roam the highways and byways of the news site comments sections and/or social media such as, in particular, Facebook.

Folks who are lamenting, bemoaning and/or rebelliously protesting the "taking away of their rights" by the Federal Government.

And, in particular, of course, the current wheelhouse occupant of said government, Barack Obama.

Admittedly, there has been a lot of chatter, of late, on the subject of trying to get a handle on the out of control toboggan that is gun ownership, but, there is always a lot of chatter about that.

And assorted other things we assume/take for granted as citizens of the land of the free.

When last I checked (and I checked first thing this morning just to be totally up to speed), I can still drive a car, I can still go where I want, I can still look forward to being eligible for, and receiving, Social Security and Medicare in another four or five years.

And, if'n I want to, I can, in a number of places, some actually on the legal side of the line, purchase a weapon without fear of reprisal and/or concern that some modern day Mao or Adolf is going to have his/their goons show up at my front door in confrontation/confiscation mode.

Hell, I can even buy bullets for the damn thing at Walmart.

So, I have to confess to being confused, at best, about the increased volume of the alarm bells being sounded as "our rights are being stripped away."

Which brings me back to the original query.

In what world am I living?

Because, frankly, I can't speak for theirs.

Or for yours.

But, here in mine, everything I was able to do last week/month/year, I'm still able to do this week.

And I'm not seeing or hearing anything, beyond the usual falling sky warnings from that wacky Chicken Little club, that makes me genuinely concerned that I won't be able to do those things next month or year.

So, assuming that I have, in fact, not been surreptiously transported to the "all is well, chill out, dude" nebula and am still, in fact, an inhabitant of planet Earth and a citizen of the U.S of A, may I now make that request?

If you're one of those panic button pushers, would you, please, with all due respect, either show me some specific right, liberty and/or privilege that you have lost in the last, say, five years.....

or, and again I say with all due respect.....

...will you just shut the hell up?

All that chatter is making it hard for me to concentrate on mat framing my copy of the Bill of Rights.

While I clean my Bushmaster.

Thank you.