Why? What's wrong with just trying to do something good?

The GILMORE Gun has been called "histories most publicized gun" and "rarest of all death penalty souvenirs," due to the historically legal events and consequences of the Gilmore case.

Extraordinary that I had multiple experiences and connections with the Gary Gilmore case then after twenty five years the murder weapon is offered to me. For over seven years I have spent countless hours of research, thought and soul searching concerning murder and capital punishment.

Seldom does a week go by without another experience being revealed to me dealing with the Gilmore case. After years of people asking about the gun and my story and suggesting that I write a book, I did. Since activley pursuing more of the facts surrounding this unique case I have always seen it as a possible vehicle to make something good from a one time historical tragedy.

After seeing both sides of life, good and evil, hopefully I can help children to avoid the mistakes I have seen. Everyone needs positive role models and places to spend time learning positive behavior, especially our youth. I truly hope to build a center for youth with an emphasis on physical fitness, golf, and music all being acitivites I have been involved with for many years.

The most powerful and wonderful feelings I have known are nurturing and teaching my son. While expanding on that knowledge I have felt useful and appreciated while helping others, without pay or praise. Whether it is a small or large effort, just helping others gives a wonderful feeling. Without people to help we lose the opportunity for that wonderful feeling. Try helping others when possible and allow others to help you.

I hope to make my experience a means of helping others, and a triumphant closing chapter in my story.

I appreciate people who can afford to give money to help others, it is necessary. But I admire those who give their time, I hope to do both. Be good, do good, feel good. When you help others your helping yourself. Try it.

 D.R. Stilson

Life is about balance, let's try to keep it.

Let's meet in the middle for the good of America!

Something to feel about.

A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked like. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby , and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today." After only a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. "Oh," she said, "on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came together."

Quotes from Ronald Reagan. "Here's my strategy on the Cold War. We win, they lose." "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."  "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so." Of the four wars in my lifetime none came about because the U. S. was too strong."  "I have wondered at times about what theTen Commandment's would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress." "The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination."  "Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."  "The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program."  "I've laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting."   "It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first."  "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it"   "Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."  "No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.  "If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

Sand and Stone  TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING  THROUGH THE DESERT. DURING SOME POINT OF THE JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE IN THE FACE.  THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING, WROTE IN THE SAND: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE. THEY KEPT ON WALKING, UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS, WHERE THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A BATH THE ONE WHO HAD BE EN SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE MIRE ! AND STARTED DROWNING, BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM. AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM THE NEAR DROWNING, HE WROTE ON A STONE: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE ". THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND ASKED HIM, "AFTER I HURT YOU, YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW, YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?" THE FRIEND REPLIED "WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY. BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING GOOD FOR US, WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE WHERE NO WIND CAN EVER ERASE IT." LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE. THEY SAY IT TAKES A MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL  PERSON, AN HOUR TO APPRECIATE THEM, A DAY TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN AN ENTIRE LIFE TO FORGET THEM.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

The framers of the Constitution were mostly young men, aggressive and energetic. Their average age was 44. The Founding Fathers were well educated. Of the 55, 31 had been to college, and these included all of the active participants. The Founding Fathers were men of affairs. They had learned from experience to be down to earth, practical men. The Convention delegates were natural leaders. A look at their individual careers shows that each of them had been elevated by his peers to a position of prominence. The Convention delegates had few illusions about human nature. They understood man's petty jealousies and competition for power. The Founding Fathers were men of vision and hope. George Washington expressed all of their attitudes when he wrote, "In the first place it is a point conceded, that America, under an efficient government, will be the most favorable Country of any in the world for persons of industry and frugality…" The framers were religious men - in their own way. But we must be careful about making them religious in ways they were not. The writing of the Constitution was a miracle. But the miracle was not that the Lord found 55 men who understood so well the principles of a representative government. It is unlikely that any one of those men could have written he Constitution as it was in its finished form. The miracle lies in how that great document was produced: The spirit of revelation is the spirit of peace, and there was a prevailing spirit of peace among them. It was a miracle that these men- who represented extremely diverse political philosophies and who, in some instances, almost hated each other - sat during that sweltering summer to talk and compromise until they had written a document which is an expression of what the Lord called "just and holy principles." They created a government so well balanced that it prevented any one of its social or geographical factions from getting dominance over the other, a government so strong that it could protect the individual rights of all its citizens and yet so weak that it could not invade their private lives or infringe upon the exercise of their free agency.

Obituary for Common Sense  My parents told me about Mr. Common Sense early in my life and told me I would do well to call on him when making decisions. It seems he was always around in my early years but less and less as time passed by. Today I read his obituary. Please join me for a moment of silence in remembrance. For Common Sense had served us all so well for so many generations. Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't legally defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing. Author unknown

*_From the L.A. Times_*_ _ 1. 40% of all workers in L.A. County ( L.A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes. This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card. 2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens. 3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens. 4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers. 5. Nearly 25% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally. 6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages. 7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border. 8. Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal. 9. 21 radio stations in L.A. are Spanish speaking. 10. **In LA. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish. (There are 10.2 million people in L.A. County ). *(All of the above are from the Los Angeles Times)* Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare. Over 70% of the United States ' annual population growth (and over 90% of California , Florida , and New York ) results from immigration. 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens. We are a bunch of fools for letting this continue.

IMPORT HER TO AMERICA..  The Rambo Granny of Melbourne, Australia Gun-toting granny Ava Estelle, 81, was so ticked-off when two thugs raped her 18-year-old granddaughter that she tracked the unsuspecting ex-cons down - - and shot off their testicles. The old lady spent a week hunting those men down -- and when she found them, she took revenge on them in her own special way, said Melbourne police investigator Evan Delp. Then she took a taxi to the nearest police station, laid the gun on the sergeant's desk and told him as calm as could be: 'Those bastards will never rape anybody again, by God.' Cops say convicted rapist and robber Davis Furth, 33, lost both his penis and his testicles when outraged Ava opened fire with a 9-mm pistol in the hotel room where he and former prison cell mate Stanley Thomas, 29, were holed up. The wrinkled avenger also blew Thomas' testicles to kingdom come, but doctors managed to save his mangled penis, police said. The one guy, Thomas, didn't lose his manhood, but the doctor I talked to said he won't be using it the way he used to, Detective Delp told reporters. Both men are still in pretty bad shape, but I think they're just happy to be alive after what they've been through. The Rambo Granny swung into action August 21 after her granddaughter Debbie was carjacked and raped in broad daylight by two knife-wielding creeps in a section of town bordering on skid row. "When I saw the look on my Debbie's face that night in the hospital, I decided I was going to go out and get those bastards myself 'cause I figured the Law would go easy on them," recalled the retired library worker. "And I wasn't scared of them, either-- because I've got me a gun and I've been shooting' all my life. And I wasn't dumb enough to turn it in when the law changed about owning one" So, using a police artist's sketch of the suspects and Debbie's description of the sickos', tough-as-nails Ava spent seven days prowling the wino-infested neighborhood where the crime took place till she spotted the ill fated rapists entering their flophouse hotel. I knew it was them the minute I saw 'em, but I shot a picture of 'em anyway and took it back to Debbie and she said sure as hell, it was them, the oldster recalled. ? ? So I went back to that hotel and found their room and knocked on the door and the minute the big one, , opened the door, I shot 'em right square between the legs, right where it would really hurt 'em most, you know. Then I went in and shot the other one as he backed up pleading to me to spare him. Then I went down to the police station and turned myself in. Now, baffled lawmen are trying to figure out exactly how to deal with the vigilante granny. What she did was wrong, and she broke the law, but it is difficult to throw an 81-year-old woman in prison, Det. Delp said, especially when 3 million people in the city want to nominate her for Mayor.   DEPORT HER TO AMERICA--- WE NEED HER !!