Don't tase me bro!

Today I was tased by UPD (University of Florida Police). I decided to experience the taser during my initial in-service training for the department. It wasn't mandatory, but I knew that I needed to experience it. I don't want to carry a weapon that I haven't been exposed to myself.

I remember being anxious but not scared before getting shot. I had no frame of reference, I just knew that it was going to hurt. Two of my buddies stood next to me and secured my upper body before the tase, so I wouldn't fall on my face (thanks Kenny and Bradley). The training Sergeant took aim at my back with the X26 (pictured above) and let me have it. The blast doors of the taser cartridge opened and two prongs stuck into my back. GRRAAAHHHHHHHHHH! I felt a strong shock which immediately overloaded my mind. It felt like my brain was screaming "PAIN! STOP THE PAIN!" Unfortunately my entire body was seized and I knew I had to take the full 5 second ride. Trust me when I tell you, 5 seconds of being tased is the longest 5 seconds of your life. The initial deployment of the taser is exactly five seconds, the shock will not stop early so I got every freaking bit of that 5 seconds. The feeling is very hard to explain. I would not recommend it unless you're in the law enforcement profession or you're just stupid.

After the exposure my body relaxed and I melted into the floor. Within one or two seconds I was at 95% I tried to jump up to my feet in excitement that it was over. My spotters reminded me to stay on the ground because I still had two prongs stuck into my back. The instructor plucked them out and I was done (yes, that also hurt).

As a human being I love to accrue "life experiences". This one was very memorable and I would prefer to not to experience it again. I just think it's awesome that I got tased by UPD. If you ever piss off a cop I would recommend saying, "Please Please Please Please Don't Tase Me SIR!"

Deserving of more magazine covers than Michael Jackson

Here are the names of US forces killed in the War on Terror this month. The sacrifice of these Americans weighs heavy on my heart. I'm older than the majority of these soldiers (12 of them). I can't believe that there are so many life experiences that were taken from them. I can only pray that those left behind understand that God is always in control, no matter how hard it is to believe. Life and death hold a strange dichotomy. The concepts are easily learned but never fully understood. As humans it is our nature to figure out why things happen and how things work. However, there will always be things that occur which will defy all logic and understanding. It is through my own mortal inferiority and feebleness that I surrender all things known and unknown to me. I surrender all to my Lord and Savior. He accepts me as I am and strengthens my faith through all of life's experiences that fly well above my head. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank God for blessing me, and pray that those affected by these war casualties will be blessed beyond their understanding.

I expect you all to read every name on this list out of respect.

1290	07/11/09	NAME NOT RELEASED YET	Not reported yet		U.S. Marine	Not reported yet	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	southern Afghanistan	Not reported yet	Not reported yet
1289	07/11/09	NAME NOT RELEASED YET	Not reported yet		U.S. Marine	Not reported yet	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	southern Afghanistan	Not reported yet	Not reported yet
1293	07/10/09	NAME NOT RELEASED YET	Not reported yet		U.S. Army		Hostile - hostile fire	southern Afghanistan	Not reported yet	Not reported yet
1288	07/09/09	Farris, Joshua R.	Specialist	22	U.S. Army	2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Wardak Province	La Grange	Texas
1287	07/08/09	Hayes, John E.	Master Sergeant	36	U.S. Marine	2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force	Hostile - hostile fire	Helmand Province	Middleburg	Florida
1286	07/08/09	Hager, Roger G.	Lance Corporal	20	U.S. Marine	2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force	Hostile - hostile fire	Helmand Province	Gibsonville	North Carolina
1277	07/08/09	Tate, Darren Ethan	Aviation Ordnanceman Airman	21	U.S. Navy	Individual Augmentee to Combined Security Transition Command	Non-hostile - illness - pneumonia	Bagram Air Base	Canyon	Texas
1276	07/08/09	Missman , Gregory James	Specialist	36	U.S. Army	Not reported yet	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Bagram Air Base	Batavia	Ohio
1275	07/08/09	Roy, Michael C.	Sergeant	25	U.S. Marine	3d Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Advisor Group, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Nimroz province	North Fort Myers	Florida
1272	07/07/09	Talbert, Christopher	Specialist	24	U.S. Army National Guard	2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Shindand (Herat province)	Galesburg	Illinois
1274	07/06/09	Garner, Mark A.	Captain	30	U.S. Army	1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Joint Multinational Readiness Center,	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Arghandab District	Elkin	North Carolina
1266	07/06/09	Williams, Derwin	2nd Lieutenant	41	U.S. Army National Guard	2nd Battalion, 106th Cavalry Regiment	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Kandu	Glenwood	Illinois
1265	07/06/09	Hosford, Chester W.	Specialist	35	U.S. Army National Guard	2nd Battalion, 106th Cavalry Regiment	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Kandu	Hastings	Minnesota
1264	07/06/09	Chavers, Brock H.	Sergeant	25	U.S. Army National Guard	2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Kunduz	Bulloch	Georgia
1263	07/06/09	Johnson, Issac L.	Specialist	24	U.S. Army National Guard	1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Kunduz	Columbus	Georgia
1262	07/06/09	Gideon, Nicolas H. J.	Private 1st Class	20	U.S. Army	1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Paktya (Died at FOB Salerno)	Murrieta	California
1261	07/06/09	Randolph, Tony Michael	Petty Officer 2nd Class	22	U.S. Navy	Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eight (Combined Security Transition Command)	Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack	Kunduz	Henryetta	Okalahoma
1257	07/04/09	Fairbairn, Aaron E.	Private 1st Class	20	U.S. Army	3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division	Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire, indirect fire	Combat Outpost Zerok (eastern Paktika province)	Aberdeen	Washington
1256	07/04/09	Casillas, Justin A.	Private 1st Class	19	U.S. Army	3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division	Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire, indirect fire	Combat Outpost Zerok (eastern Paktika province)	Dunnigan	California
1254	07/02/09	Sharp, Charles S.	Lance Corporal	20	U.S. Marine	2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force

Still Enjoying the 1st Amendment

There is no Independence or freedom in "Cap and Trade" and "Government Healthcare" programs. We are becoming less and less free by the day. The federal government has become a powerful pervasive force that is making you less free by taking CONTROL of your life. It is no longer a government that is "for the people and by the people", it is a government that is "for more government and by more taxes".

There will be hordes of idiots that wave the American flag this weekend that have no idea that their freedoms are under attack. They have no idea that the government has spent trillions of dollars that it doesn't have and that the government is using that money to cripple capitalism and and create more bureaucracy and regulation. True freedom for an American family is one that exists in less government intervention, regulation, and taxes.

Don't forget that Obama only won about 53% of the vote. There are tens of millions of Americans that don't worship at his alter. Don't be fooled by the mainstream media that is goo goo over him.

Wave your flag for those who have died for your freedoms and not those who wish to regulate them this 4th of July.