California ID card

So, I have FINALLY bit the bullet and gotten my California ID Number (card is on its way) so after signing a lease on my new place after the fire, I had an actual proof of residence, and spent a very reasonable hour and half in line to get my California ID. Please note that in all the states that I have lived in, California is the only one that requires you to have one of their ID's in order to do stuff in that state... like, say, get a business license, for example. I always figured that, though I am a supporter of state's rights, there was still the factor of National Supremacy (as established by the Supreme Court under John Marshall) and that as a Floridian, I am still a citizen of the United States of America, and therefore still guaranteed all the rights and liberties associated therein. This apparently does not apply to California. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the idea that the state has a need and a right to tax company's and individuals doing business within their state, but considering the application for a DL or a standard ID for California was geared very much toward foreign nationals as well as American citizens, I kinda assumed I would have priority. (there is even a space to sign acknowledging if you have no SSN, and are not a US Citizen... but you CAN be a Californian)

Some may argue, and accurately so, that my primary experience with living in other states came through the military, and that being an employee of the federal government, and in such places as Louisiana and New York, more or less not by choice, I would not have been subject to each individual states citizenship regulations. very true, but also remember that I grew up on the border between Alabama and Florida, and watched people live in one state, doing business in the other as a part of daily life (my father still does, and pays no income tax to Alabama, as he is a Floridian) and being in New York, just north of NYC, it was a similar scenario for denizens of New Jersey and Connecticut who worked in the City and lived in the suburbs to simply go about their daily lives as Americans and nothing less because their ID had a different state's flag on it.

oh well, that is just my personal opinion on the matter, and counts for very little. I have a California address, and a California ID, and pay taxes to Arnold Schwarzenegger (damn, I need to hurry up and get into the National Guard so i can swear allegiance to that guy... how cool would that be? He killed the predator!) But having the new ID opens up new doors for me, like applying for a California CCW (not holding my breath for this one) a California Business License, Issuing California State Handgun certifications (yeah, I can do that), and maybe most importantly, voting Red in a Blue state! with these new responsibilities come new freedoms and opportunities, and I have every intention of taking advantage of them!

Video of Afghanistan Ambush

Video clip that was forwarded to me from Lightfight.net - 101st Airborne in action. Good example of a Light Infantry firefight, and a great reaction from the whole team. Hazy point at 10 seconds in, where the TL nearly flags his own man right after the fight starts, but all in all, this guy is a stud, and that 40mm will swing a close fight any day of the week. Awesome video


101st Airborne Ambush - Afghanistan