A Maine man and part-time Disney cast member, Devon Staples ended his life in a senseless and careless way this Fourth of July by trying to launch a firework off the top of his head at a party. The firework exploded and killed him.
The friends had been drinking at the party in Calais, Maine when Staples decided to try the stunt. Fireworks are legal in Maine. The firework was a mortar tube design.
Staples was working as a dog walker but previously worked as a Disney cast member playing Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and other characters. His brother Cody was standing just a few feet away when he died. His brother said that Staples was holding a lighter that caused the firework to explode prematurely but it is not clear how that would happen.
His friends reportedly tried to convince him not to do the stunt but he set off the firework, though his brother says it was accidental.
As many of you know, I am a big fan of fireworks on the Fourth of July and I have favored laws that allow adults to use fireworks on the holiday. Clearly there are dangers and the combination of holiday drinks and pyrotechnics are not a good mix as tragically shown by Staples.
Staples was just 22.
Hold my beer and watch this!
Nature has a way of weeding out the weak and infirm.
Great! More laws for us to have to live by geared to the dumbest dipstick out there…!!!
I wonder if Dusty would be willing to go for this trade-off…
Okay. Make fireworks legal. You live in the dry West, right? You don’t want to have your rights to all fireworks infringed – right? Okay. And you’ll be responsible for any wildfires that result from fireworks – even those that spread beyond your state borders -right? No more mooching off the feds or other state’s firefighters.
I wish I could go further and make your state also fully responsible for all uninsured medical bills – but lord knows that will invoke too much gnashing of teeth. I’ll just let your state assume all the risk of wildfires resulting from fireworks.
Here is the problem with the people who want to ban things “for our own good”. They mean well, and maybe some few times there is a positive result for a “FEW” people…like limiting the amount of addictive drugs……but…..it never stops there.
Where does it end? It doesn’t end. The creeping intrusion into our lives….the infringing on the rights of the majority of the population, because some minor few need to be controlled and because other control freaks just can’t stand it if they aren’t in control of every aspect of our lives.
You can’t control everyone everywhere all the time. The days of Prohibition only created worse problems. Allowing people to determine on a regional level what measures may or may not be needed instead of a gargantuan top down all overweening Federal Government deciding what is in our best interest, local control, regional and State would better serve the people. Let US decide what is in our best interest.
What is the solution now by the central planners: Ban things. Mandate things. Micro manage your life. Eliminate your choices. Lecture. Lecture. Nag. Nag. Until you want to go ballistic.
I’m sad that some people don’t have the control to avoid taking drugs, eating themselves into corpulence, refuse to exercise, won’t stop smoking. Too bad. Some people like to watch bad movies, look at porn, read books with bad words, have gay sex, think bad thoughts. Those are all personal choices. Make good ones….make bad ones. Personal choices. If their choices are illegal, then they should be charged with crimes. If their personal choices infringe on the rights of others, then we have the right to make some choices as well.
The above photos show a young model, before and after meth.
Some things just are too dangerous to allow unfettered distribution.
DBQ
Do you remember when some over-the-counter meds were moved behind the pharmacy counter, nationwide, as part of the fight to control illegal drug production? Pseudoephedrine, used to relieve nasal or sinus congestion, also happens to be a key ingredient in producing methamphetamine, which is a highly-addictive stimulant produced by meth cooks in their home labs. Was I inconvenienced? Sure, to some degree. The action, however, was taken to target a much larger issue than my seasonal allergies, and, yes, that is all a part of living in a society which must balance priorities. Combating the scourge of meth outweighs my somewhat limited access to an item.
The same argument can be made for limiting access to explosive devices. It’s a balancing act.
http://starcasm.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/jaelamericannexttopmodel-490×275.jpg
Darwin win!