Anonymous....

Great message. You made me laugh at the end of you message on people knowing where you work, live, sleep, eat and shop and what your wife and children look like and where they go to school and what time they get home from school and where the bus lets them off.

In over 25 yrs. of Law Enforcement I have worried about these things 24 hours a day until I went from the Rookie phase, to the old senior patrolman phase to Sergeant phase. I got pictures around here somewhere of two of the apartment houses we lived in with bullet holes through the front windows in the living room facing the main street going by the house. It had been a bad night and we had been in a couple of shootings with some bad guys from Providence, Rhode Island and captured three out of five.

Well the ones we did not catch knew where Sgt. Mapes lived. I had just got home about 1:00AM and was sitting in the living room with a nice cold Michelobe watching the old Johnny Carson Show when I heard the roar of engines and then shots rang out and the glass came flying out of my picture window in onto the living room rug. I ran to the front door, threw it open and returned fire but was to late to hit any vital areas that made a difference. A e=few minutes later they came zooming back by yelling and cursing and about that time my back uop Troops we coming to my rescue as I called them right away.

Well...out of that run we caught the rest of them and they spent a few months in Prison. I always wondered who they would visit first when they got out. Not usually their friends but their "pay back target". The other shooting was similar only they decided to pick on my nice old Caddillac I had just bought and it had been all restored. The doors and rear fender looked similar to a vegetable strainer.

So....like you say you don't want anyone knowing where you live or anything else as some are pretty scarey and not to smart either but got a big mouth and make stupid choices and decisions. I have been carrying a weapon ever since I first went into police work here in Concord, NH back in 1962, I went from Concord to Franklin....then onto Rhode Island where all hell broke loose and I was in a different world with two military Naval Bases and in the height of Vietnam. We averaged at least two murders a night. Then several fatal alcohol involved accidents, suicides, robberies, prostitutes being beaten or raped, loads of domestics where I almost lost a buddy when the drunk wife grabbed my partners weapon right out of his holster. That was a bad mistake for her as she got to sleep in our beautiful cement hotel for the night. My glitch was I always seemed to end up in a high speed chase after some felon with lots of shooting going on at me and of course I got my licks in back to say the least.

But....in your case you are pretty safe....in my case my life was like being on a poster all over town......everyone that knew you, you wished you had never seen before. So....take it easy....I still carry a weapon at my age and never leave home without it.....its like putting on your shoes in the morning....its automatic to hitch it on or carry it hidden somewhere. I would feel naked without after all these years.

God Bless.............Ron Mapes

That's me! I appreciate your response. In fact I found it explained FAR more of your viewpoint than your original post. I still disagree with you. But not with the same level of personal outrage I felt reading your first post.

As to the increased gun sales I attribute it more to a 'perfect storm' of issues: The fears that Obama will enact new gun control legislation or try to take them away all together (as folks feared with Clinton). That would require unprecedented changes to the Bill of Rights and the Second Amendment. I don't see that happening. Certainly I'm no psychic but it's not something i see. Other contributing factors to this rush are the uncertain (and that's a understatement) economic times. Not least, when people see bad things in the news (crimes etc) like we've been reading there' s a rush to buy (the riots in LA in the early 90's, Hurricane Katrina, after Virginia Tech).

Lastly, one thing your response has also done (not intentionally on your part) was confirmed why I didn't take the time to create a log on and get registered on the Monitor (which I'm not). Certainly part of it was that I was eating lunch and just reading through the monitor. Not planning to post. And having to get back to work. The other part is after reading more posts on here including the people that posted in your thread there is NO WAY I want some of the folks whose hmmm, how should I call them 'very virulent' 'strong-minded' 'polarized' posts I have been reading on the board to know WHO I am or WHERE my family lives. It's called FEAR Mr. Mapes. And it goes both ways.

BTW, thanks for one of the few decent dialogues I have read on this board. Even if I do disagree with you.

While anything written from a person named "anonymous" is a little misleading. I find most who will not I.D. themselves are much more liberal about "smacking you around verbally or calling you out sputtering names, wearing a mask and making statements out of context". It sort of reminds me of 25 years of Law Enforcement where I had alot of "Jane & John Does". They usually got locked up until I found out who I was talking to or dealing with....then the proper reports and warrants always got prepared to deal with the true individual who I would be facing the Judge with in the morning Court Session and bring him up on the charges as a result of his bad choices and/or stupidity. From there on in "anonymous" would be forced to wear his real name and arrest number for the rest of his life. If it was in military combat then alot of anonymous sorts would end up in their fox holes until their enemy buddies found them. I am fortunate, I neve had to do much of that in teh military, I was busy saving lives....."YOU KNOW THE ONES THAT BELIEVE IN GOD JUST LIKE I DID". Anonymous I don't think my message to you was you directly and personally did not believe in God and love Him any more or less than anyone of the rest of us God fearing people. Especially if your life was anywhere near mine.....then you got to know God on a first name basis. If you took it that way....then I'll be more than glad to take it back and apologize to you for it. I am sure you and your entire family are very much God Loving and God fearing people.....God Bless You all !!!!

My point still being....and this is my personal choice as an American....I don't like Obama because of some of the intelligence I have seen on him which was for my personal comsumption only....between my military life and Law Enforcement life I have earned great priviledges being part of a 380,000 law enforcement officers organization and the some.......I have the priviledge of going on any military base in the USA or the World or making contact with any number of thousands of people.......you can translate that anyway you want.

What I tell you is what I believe. If you voted for Obama then you are happy with your vote and I wish you the best of luck as in any four year long contest of good, bad and terrible times. I own guns to and I can be very precise with eveyone of them which requires a great deal of practice to keep an "experts eye"....I got my "expert bar" in police work and the military rifle and Army 45 cal. "expert bar".....I was so proud to wear that on my uniforms I swore I would keep that sight picture for the rest of my life. The only problem is....ammunition is twice what it cost a few years ago and its up agai now. This is a true story.....no lie.....I was at a gun shop today where the "weapons buying" was at a "fever pace". Largest gun shop in the state. I am going to tell you exactly what the owner told me....word for word, not a single word added to this. The owner said that two months before the election of Obama people started pouring in by the dozens to buy all kinds of guns. The closer it got to Obama being elected they would have so many people in the store....that people actually had to wait in line outside to get in the door to keep it safe. From the time it looked like Obama was going to be elected and was....right up until today at 3:30PM when I was there to buy for myself.....the store was packed.

I asked the owner whom I have known for the last 20 years at least if he had any idea what brought it on? Straight out of his mouth was..."when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States.....people before and now immediately started arming heavily because of what they thought of Obama and what he may do. Especially with the enormous background questions about him that no one still knows the truth and he has been tied to Terrorist when he was young and older.

Now....Anonymous......how many Presidents have we elected over the last 40 years? Out of how many Presidents that been elected in the past 40 years have you seen a super large segment of American People arming themselves heavily like never before the way they are with Barack Obamas election to President??

NOW Anonymous....would you not suspect something "may be coming our way" with this kind of very stranger than life human behavior not seen in 40 years. Its all around you and you can't say well the gun dealers are making money or they are just buying extra....I can't except living the life I have lived preparing for the next shootout or attack by saying....oh' it will go away.....its just my imagination....and thats just what some people are doing......all I can say is....live with faith in your beliefs that we will never be attacked again.....even from within.

How many Militias are there in the USA just waiting for something to happen, In case you can't answer that, I can tell you, more than you will ever want to know....thats all I can tell you....my years of training has certainly been an eye opener. As for sterotyping you "anonymous"....I never intended to do it that way.....you are the one who put yourself in the God, Religion boat and the sterotype catagory group.

I will expect that we will go forth in this world together as one Nation and fight and hope for the very best that we can get out of every grain of sand, every drop of rain, every breath of fresh air, every bit of Faith we can get from our Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (some may not have learned it that way, but I did), sorry if I offended anyone on that. In any event we will "go forward" and never look back "at eight years of the worst President this Nation has ever seen since the world begin".....far fetched maybe.....but damn close.

I hope that our out going President George Bush remembers every drop of blood he has got out of 4,200 Military Heroes that will never come home and you folks and myself have helped bury if they did make it home. I hope that everytime George Bush puts gas in his cars......that it will turn red with blood....the blood of our Heros and that he will hear "the screaming painful souls of those brave men that have died for his stupidity, great greed, bad choices and saved his weak backbone"!!!!!!!!!

God Bless America....Prayer for Our Troops....SFC Ronald D. Mapes, Sr..
United States Army - retired

Thanks, Ron, you are in my and prayers.

Concerning missile defense in Poland, Dmitry Medvedev said this past Saturday that Russia would not act unless the United States took the first step and expressed hope that the new U.S. administration will be open to negotiations. Medvedev said there is a lack of trust between Russia and the United States, but it is "in our power" to create a partnership.

"I hope that the new president, the new administration will have a desire to discuss this," Medvedev told members of the Council on Foreign Relations.

"...we are ready to abandon this decision to deploy the missiles in Kaliningrad if the new American administration, after analyzing the real usefulness of a system to respond to 'rogue states', decides to abandon its anti-missile system.

We are ready to negotiate a 'zero option'. We are ready to reflect on a system of global security with the United States, the countries of the European Union and the Russian Federation."

I appreciate Mr. Mapes honorable and important service. It is the reason we are able to exercise democratic and free thinking rights. But your words are contradictory to the wonderful service you've given. I don't appreciate your demeaning those who voted the way they thought was right. How dare you imply I don't believe in God or have faith. HOW DARE YOU! I have deep faith. I can't not with everything God has done for me. Our family voted for Obama. And our family owns guns too. Stop trying to polarize people, stereotype us, or categorize us. THAT IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY NOW. And you say something's coming? If something's coming it is because eight years of wrong thinking has brought us to this place. We don't need extremists, partisans, and polarized opinions. We need folks to pull together. The way a family does, the way a community does, the way this Country WILL!

"Obama is already backing down on missile defense due to pressure from Russia. "

Why do we need a missile defense in Poland anyway, other than to piss off Russia? Do we need another cold war or something? It has little to do with protecting America, considering the longest range ICBM's can travel about 6,000 miles, maybe Europe can start paying to defend themselves instead of us doing it for them.

...we'll need it to survive this idiot. Obama is already backing down on missile defense due to pressure from Russia. This with nuclear weapons and missile technology proliferating around the world. It's open season on America, folks. God help us.

You make a good point and I respect that. Especially with Law Enforcement and Veterans in the family. I use to hunt when I was younger but people started getting foolish out there in the woods I did not want to lose my two boys. Yes, and by the way to all who read this....I DO NOT SUPPORT THE NRA........I SUPPORT THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE THE LARGEST POLICE ORGANIZATION IN THE USA WITH OVER 380,000 MEMBERS.....I am President of the Federal Police Lodge here in Concord, NH and have been since 1987....NOW, I know the cost of Freedom all to well as over the years in the military and as a Cop I have carried more than my share of caskets to the vault in the ground. It makes me weep and sick to my stomach every time and it never gets any easier. As a retired Veteran I still get involved in burying my fellow Patriots and Cops who have paid the ultimate sacrifice of Freedom and Peace to our Public who sometimes only like us when they need us, other wise stay out of their way because we are the bad guys out to write them a ticket or arrest them and lock them up. They even call us "PIGS"....we always enjoyed that as we knew sooner or later they were going to need us...life or death.....what goes around, comes around....we got payed to take the hit no matter what. The person that calls his/her letter "COMPARABLE" does not know that I have held more of his/her "dead brothers and sisters, black and white" in this world than he/she ever thought of. Some in one piece, others ripped and torn all to hell and some I had to pick up body parts in a shovel. Something he/she would never know about. So he/she must have missed something about "my love of God and Country". I also worked in Surgery as an O.R. Tech for five years in a very large hospital, everything from appendix to open heart surgery. How many lives do you think I sweat over with those Doctors, cases that lasted for hours, praying to God that we could keep the patient alive.
At this particular point I think the Democrats made a mistake on voting for Obama but then we did not have much of a choice. His life is filled with so much controversy I don't think even the people that voted "CHANGE" can stand there in all honesty and swear on the Holy Bible that they are absolutely sure this very young person thats been voted in as President of the United States with absolutely no experience in Govt. other than a young Senator, knows the vital things he needs to know about world affairs, is going to bring this country back to peace and tranquility of the days gone by. No one seems to want to hear about us getting attacked again with over whelming force by Terrorist, nobody seems to mention that, all they want to talk about is Obama and the economy. Hence, maybe the build up of guns because Obama is young and needs the savvy to pick the right people to keep us safe.We are still left with Congressmen that have arrest records, felony arrest, good ole boys attitude, all the things that will not "CHANGE". They say Politics and Religion do not mix? Why is it we have a Prayer said before the Senate or Congress at meetings? Seems to me we are mixing Politics and Religion right there. Autumn123.....thanks again and my faith in God is more deep than some of these folks will ever know because of where I been and things I have had to do in the Military, Law Enforcement and the Operating Room. I have spent my entire life around life and death every single day for over half of my life and have a serious case of PTSD and at 69 yrs. old I am still going to Counseling for it and probably will until the day I die. I liked your letter unlike the one from "COMPARABLE". This person missed the boat and my point of religion, politics and I doubt seriously that God is shaking his head at me right now as I have worked for God all my life by serving my country and the public which was at times extremely dangerous and very unforgiving as they would take your life in a heart beat.

I would like to know just for the heck of it how many people that write their opinions and letters have been to ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETARY and walked through there very slowly, you can almost hear those that have given the "ultimate sacrifice" saying thanks, come say hi to me over here". I have been there 10 times so far and will go again and again until I die because it gives me Faith in God and my Fellow Military Commrades......MAY THEY REST IN PEACE.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND "MAY OLD GLORY WAVE FOREVER".

Ron Mapes.........Concord, NH

Just out of curiousity, but since when does voting for Obama mean that you don't love God? I didn't choose one over the other, I chose BOTH. It's sad to me that you can't understand that being a democrat does not mean being a lawless anarchist- the God I know is shaking his head at you right now. Among all your hatred did you somehow forget to love thy neighbor?

Some advice, meant kindly . . . don't let commenters on a letter written into a newspaper be the sole thing informing your opinion. Obama is just the president-elect right now and has not been sworn in as President. He hasn't signed any legislation as President, because he isn't yet the President. Therefore, all of the talk going on here is conjecture and not fact.

And his position is not to take away guns or the right to own guns. No one would be able to push that kind of law through - it would be struck down as unconstitutional, like the ban in DC was struck down recently. Obama was against the DC ban on guns.

You should read many news sources so that you have an informed opinion.

Gee, I sure would like to see that evidence you say you have. You can't used the Gospels though, as they are just heresay stories and legends.

My uncle is an Army vet and was a cop in a large metropolitan area. He never got over having to kill a 13 year old who pulled a gun on him. He, and my aunt who was also a cop, have a completely different take on things then you do. They don't think that Obama is going to take away their rights (they are also hunters). They think the real reason for the surge in gun sales is fear induced hysteria promoted by the NRA and the people who sell weapons. They jokingly call it the "Chicken Little" syndrome... cop humor... they don't think it's really funny.

No one can or even should try to belittle the honorable things you've done. Your experiences and your background though, do not give you higher insight into what drives President-elect Obama or some of the "stuff" going on right now. You are human and prone to the same biases as anyone else. People who may have gone through some or even more than you, may have a different take on things than you do. That's their right, and you should respect that- just as much as they should respect yours. I don't agree with your opinion, but I believe you've earned the right to voice it. I know, I know... every American has that right, but you do know the true cost of that freedom.

You missed the point my friend. I tried to spare you the details but now you need to know the story. I am now 69 yrs. old and have a five inch titanium plate in my neck with eight screws and wire so that I can walk like you and do things I need to do for the rest of my life. When you get hit by a drunk driver in your cruiser door at 90 mph and blown out of your cruiser and they find you nearly dead in the snow it tends to nearly end your life here on earth which it almost did mine.
When you hit a telephone pole at hundred miles per hour in a high speed chase and shoot out with a fleeing felon it can tend to nearly take your life again. When you have a deranged drunk druggie blowing your cruiser apart with a 44 magnum rifle with bullets flying through your windshield which could have killed my partner and myself you again could be a dead Cop. I received the "Medal Of Valor" for saving my partners life in that situation and capturing the felon without killing him, but that is not something you would understand much about probably. I had cancer and of the large intestine and nearly bled to death after the operation and the nurses were not aware I was laying there bleeding inside and had lost a great deal of my blood inside me until the last minute when I started complaining....again I was knocking on the door of leaving this world, it would have been a matter of just a few more minutes probably. For me this was only the tip of the iceberg in a very dangerous life which I am not telling you anymore about. SO, you see near death is no stranger to me, thats why my faith in Jesus Christ is stronger than an iron chain, but I am still here to answer you stupid comment about getting a different job. I have been in the U.S. Army and retired, I served in the U.S. Air Force and served 25 years as Cop before becoming disabled and not being able to walk or control my body functions until I had three cervical spine operations. So, just what is it that you have done for your Public and your Country that you can feel great about and keep your passion for living. Let me tell you, coming near death is not as bad as people think, it can be very peaceful, but you got to have Faith in Jesus Christ or its going to be a rough ride for you. HOPE YOU NOW UNDERSTAND WHY I DID NOT GET ANOTHER JOB. As President John F. Kennedy said,"ask what you can do for your country, not what your country can do for you"!!!!!!

Ron Mapes......Concord, NH

Okay im a girl in middle school writing about this topic because i dont get it.
I dont agree with Barack about this topic because alot of people have guns even before he made this law. If i were him, which im not i would maybe say " You can have guns for protection and hunting, but not for shooting people or anything bad because than they will get taken away. No one is probably gonna read this, but i really had to get this out because i am so upset right now.
So yes i do like Obama but not his decision on the gun making rule.
So thanks for your time!

I did not vote for Obama but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until such time as he proves otherwise.Autumn awesome parable,I think I MIGHT HAVE TWO FAT WOLVES IN ME.MJE there is more historic evidence of Jesus Christ being alive than most historic figures including most Roman emperors,but you are entitled to your opinion,this is still a free country ............so far. pjm

I beleive in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. What does that have to do with the NRA or gun sales? I don't get how some folks, combine christian religious practices with weapons?? Or intolerance?

When Obama was a state senator he voted to triple the tax on all ammo
purchased. He voted against using a firearm like a double barrel shotgun and one that held more than one shot. He voted to raise the hunting fees by over 200 percent. Sound familiar here in NH fellow hunters? He voted to sentence a protector of his house and family to around 20 years in the lockup if they shot and wounded someone breaking into their house even if they were armed also.

Hmmm.

Sounds like a threat.

An elder Cherokee was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents hate, anger, arrogance, intolerance, and superiority. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, tolerance, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too."

The children thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Actually, some of the comments are nuttier than the letter. That's just great... suspicious paranoid neighbors with guns.

The question is who benefits from this unfounded fear? Well the gun dealers, manufacturers, and related businesses are laughing all the way to the bank. Perhaps the NRA is also profiting from increased membership.

When people are angry, there is an underlying fear. Their reaction is way beyond rational if they are arming themselves. Guns are intended to kill. Who do they plan on killing? People who don't agree with them? Public officials? The President?

Why are these folks who are arming themselves afraid? What is threatening them in their view? This could prove to be dangerous for people who have not had any training in the safe use of firearms, so I hope they are all also buying gunlocks to prevent children from shooting themselves and others. I hope some responsible gun owners will assist all these new gun toting folks in how to safely use and store their weapons.

Exactly what are we supposed to be preparing for? Your letter to the editor is vague about this. You say that "Something must be coming." What is this supposed to mean? Should we all be on the lookout for deranged, armed people roaming our city?

Get a grip folks. There is no threat from President Obama to you. You are wasting your money, much to the pleasure of the gun dealers!

Pat Kraft

Are you comparing Obama to God?

What's going on here, you've got Republicans accusing Democrats of comparing Obama to Jesus, and now Christians comapring him to God.

The reason why people are running out and buying guns is because the NRA has them convinced Obama is going to outlaw any type of firearm made on day 1. I'll be surprised if he is able to do anything more than reinstate Clinton's assault weapon ban.

You just can't make this stuff up - nothing like some self-rightous paranoia to make you look really stupid.

Do NOT get why religious people are so gungho to support war and make their houses arsenals. It seems all so anti-Christian to me.

But then again, I don't get when religious people feel the need to inject their views into government.

The really funny thing is that Obama has not made any overtures about taking guns away.

I love it when you right-wingers feel the need to accept the garbage and fear being thrown at you by people like Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly.

People are buying them in a panic for the same reason they rush out to buy creamed corn when there is talk of a blizzard. Unreasoned panic.

BTW, the founding fathers may have had an appreciation for faith in one's daily life, but they didn't want it anywhere near their government. Try reading some of Jefferson's writings to learn about the idyllic age of enlightenment they were hoping to usher in, free from a government legislating through the lens of the bible.

You wrote:

"It's ok for you to bash my belief that you're nothing more than a deluded fool, but it's not ok for me to state my belief?"

No, no please state your belief as it reveals that you are "nothing more than a deluded fool".

My point is that you want people to 'tolerate' you but you do not want to offer tolerance of others who might, say, believe in GOD.

Your relative world view is evident in your posts.

watch out, the sky is falling too!!

It's ok for you to bash my belief that you're nothing more than a deluded fool, but it's not ok for me to state my belief? What hypocrisy.

You hope "Jesus" never existed?

Why faith scares you so much, I have no clue. Your posts consistently bashes faith. You are not tolerant of those with belief and are so certain about things. Yet you expect us to be tolerant of things like gay marriage, abortion, etc.

It is a two way street, M-J-E; give and take, balance, consensus are not in your vocabulary.

I must be nice to be that enlightened.

they'll just go the government and get in on the aid the government offers. These people have no conscience. BTW, Jesus never existed. He's a delusion for the deluded.

Before we get ourselves all in a lather, we might ask, Cui bono? Who benefits? This is coming from the NRA, and lo and behold, some gun dealers are getting very rich.
P T Barnum had it right, guys. You are really being taken for an expensive ride. I hope you can afford it, and this isn't your winter heating money you are spending.

Well, I can understand the need to buy guns now and have them in reserve. If you read the second amendment and take it to heart it, we need to defend ourselves from our neighbors who are ready to just accept total government control.

What progressives do not understand is that there are many of us among us who, in the eyes of Obama and his ilk, "cling to our guns and religion". To things, by the way , which our founding fathers understood the need to defend ourselves and they understood the importance of faith in our daily life.

Today's morally relative crowd is all to happy to sink into some state represented by principles "of the government, by the government and for the government'.

Yes, Ron, it is a sad day.

Amen Ron. "Stand up Stand up for Jesus". Not Obama.

If you've nearly died three times in your professional life...maybe you should get a different job!