Gets even better on I-10 about 50 mi. west of Kerrville...Speed Limit 80! Yeehah! Yeah Ann, 183 between 71 and 290 can be murder during rush hour!

  Yipes!  On I-10!  I was being passed by 18-wheelers while going 85 MPH in West Texas!  I-35 is almost as bad in Ft. Worth. I-45 is a real mess from Houston to Conroe. 
  Back to defending yourself:  It is important for us to do so.  It doesn't matter which gender changes you are heading for.  Some people don't really like us to do this and react violently towards us if they do find out this surprise.  Weight training and defense training may help some, but to defend yourself, you'll have to have the mindset to do so.  There have been highly trained off-duty cis-women police officers that have been raped because they froze in that situation.  All of your physical excercises and martial arts training are worthless unless you break the freeze mindset. 
  Joelene

True, on guard, step back or jump forward. As an instructor I once had said.."you'll respond the way you have been trained"...be unconventional.

Another Texan?! Agreed, I-45 especially thru Conroe is bad, they are starting to finish up the expansion though.

Hey, does it strike anyone else as entertaining that we can have a really civilised discussion on here about firearms, but start discussing trans terminology, and...

Stand back or I'll pull out my Hitachi Magic Wand!

Quote from: SandraJane on August 02, 2011, 05:25:17 AM
Stand back or I'll pull out my Hitachi Magic Wand!

Come at me, sister!

OK I warn you now.
Vibrators are only to be drawn when six inches apart, first girl to orgasm wins.

Could be a new reality series.


Cindy

Reality series? hmmm..........
I'll wait for the Dutch version on SBS, they do that sort of thing much better in the Netherlands!
Karen.

There's a whole mess of pun based around getting arrested on battery charges, but I'm rising above it .

My operates off wall power, don't worry about no Battery Charges! Sista!

Mine runs on solar panels - I'm off the wall, sista!!

Quote from: SandraJane on August 02, 2011, 12:30:59 AM
Gets even better on I-10 about 50 mi. west of Kerrville...Speed Limit 80! Yeehah! Yeah Ann, 183 between 71 and 290 can be murder during rush hour!

Fortunately I never had to deal with THAT nonsense...my commute (such as it was) basically meant getting over to Redbud and then hitting Lake Austin into downtown- skipped all the major thoroughfares. 

And yeah, the daytime West Texas speed limits rock...just be careful though because the usual option of defensive driving for anything up to 25 over does not apply in that zone.  Once you hit 100, you are stuck with the ticket...DDC is NOT an option. 

I45 between Conroe and Houston is all time-dependent...and north of Conroe is admittedly getting better (as evidenced by DPS often running two units on the northbound side near Willis)/

That being said, I think Dallas probably has some of the worst interchanges in the State...I would HATE to have to deal with that during rush hour traffic.  It is bad enough during non-rush-hour drives...

Quote from: JessicaH on August 01, 2011, 11:43:55 PM
Ok, much better. On to Defensive Driving! I rive I -10 almost everyday and if you don't watch out the big trucks WILL run you over!

Is it THEIR fault you only want to run 85? 

Quote from: SandraJane on August 02, 2011, 01:19:36 AM
True, on guard, step back or jump forward. As an instructor I once had said.."you'll respond the way you have been trained"...be unconventional.

Another Texan?! Agreed, I-45 especially thru Conroe is bad, they are starting to finish up the expansion though.

No, from CO.  That is good info on I-45.  I plan to visit near Conroe or Austin with relatives over Turkey Day, depending on whose hosting.  Possibly, a West Texas event next year.
  Joelene

I hate fighting. I put more importance on avoiding bad situations.

Quote from: Beth Andrea on August 02, 2011, 10:49:10 PM
Actually, it did have to do with home defense. Not only were Indians a problem back then, there was the issue of "highwaymen" who would rob people on the road.

Hunting was such a fundamental survival thing back then, to legislate for it would have been like putting in an amendment to allow breathing...

If this was a gun board, I could derail this whole thread by asking...".45 or 9mm?" LOL...

J
JessicaH is correct! It comes from the English Bill of Rights, which forbade the King from disarming the Protestants. This excerpt comes from the Wikipedia page on the Second Amendment;

Although there is little doubt that the writers of the Second Amendment were heavily influenced by the English Bill of Rights, it is a matter of interpretation as to whether they were intent on preserving the right to regulate arms to the states over the federal government (as the English Parliament had reserved for itself against the monarch) or whether it was intent on creating a new right akin to the right of others written into the Constitution (as the Supreme Court recently decided). Some in the U.S. have preferred the "rights" argument arguing that the English Bill of Rights had granted a right. The need to have arms for self-defence was not really in question. Peoples all around the world since time immemorial had armed themselves for the protection of themselves and others, and as organized nations began to appear these arrangements had been extended to the protection of the state.[22] Without a regular army and police force (which in England was not established until 1829), it had been the duty of certain men to keep watch and ward at night and to confront and capture suspicious persons. Every subject had an obligation to protect the king's peace and assist in the suppression of riots.[23]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

As to the original thread question...The importance of being able to defend yourself physically...yes it is important no matter how one does it. What started as methods to defend, then moved to use of firearms and the American Culture of guns, defensive driving and the joys and dangers of driving on I-10, I-35 and I-45 in the Great State of Texas, and the use of the Hitachi Magic Wand in CQB (Close Quarters Battle), and now to the 2nd Amendment and its relation to the English Bill of Rights, which reinforces the Western believe of self defense as a Universal Right.

Free to resume thread...

Quote from: Ann Onymous on August 02, 2011, 09:19:28 AM
Fortunately I never had to deal with THAT nonsense...my commute (such as it was) basically meant getting over to Redbud and then hitting Lake Austin into downtown- skipped all the major thoroughfares. 

And yeah, the daytime West Texas speed limits rock...just be careful though because the usual option of defensive driving for anything up to 25 over does not apply in that zone.  Once you hit 100, you are stuck with the ticket...DDC is NOT an option. 

I45 between Conroe and Houston is all time-dependent...and north of Conroe is admittedly getting better (as evidenced by DPS often running two units on the northbound side near Willis)/

That being said, I think Dallas probably has some of the worst interchanges in the State...I would HATE to have to deal with that during rush hour traffic.  It is bad enough during non-rush-hour drives...

San Antonio has some pretty bad highway setups. And bad drivers.

What does it mean in the United States that you have a right to bare arms, but driving is only a privilege?

Means you better be a damn good driver.

I was reading about defending yourself against a gang member. In the case that you're successful, the gang could apparently put a bounty on you.