Paul's Comments

Recently, something happened to improve my "mental state" in which, all of a sudden, I've acquired an amazing state of clarity. Things seem so much clearer and easier.

There is one possibility, back around 2002 there was a "crunch" in my head and things became a lot clearer, just like now. So maybe I had one in my sleep. I know what it is, too, it's called a "catharsis through abreaction," and personally I refer to it as "mainlining happiness."

Now that I have a power wheelchair, it has restored my ability to go out and do things, so I've started to improve my life. I've gone back to borrowing (too many) books from the public library, and actually reading them. I go out almost every day, I've gone to movies - I still need to see the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 - and I've done a number of other things.

I have complaints and comments pending with the Board of Directors of the transit authority. I sent an unsolicited request to the Governor of Maryland to appoint me a director of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. I sent him a few extra suggestions about other things he's interested in so that hopefully he personally will read my letter. I also sent the County Executive of Montgomery County a note on how I can offer them a suggestion on how to solve the problem of the extra costs of insurance for letting police officers take squad cars out of the county. But he doesn't get the solution for free; he has to give me 10-15 minutes to present it in person.

I am in the final stages of actually implementing my plan to build 106 apartments and raise funding to do so, where I can pay investors 30% interest on their money, and do that in 9 months. More info on that at www.viridianva.com.

And what may be the biggest one of all, and will probably take several years to resolve, what with motions, counter-motions and appeals. I have filed suit in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County naming the State's Attorney and the State of Maryland as defendants to have the state's law prohibiting open carry (the possession of a handgun in public on one's person, such as in an exposed holster, without it being concealed) struck down as unconstitutional as violating the 2nd Amendment. I have a new argument which I don't think was raised before: since the U.S. Supreme Court has declared in Heller v. District of Columbia that the 2nd Amendment is definitely a right of individuals, then it is a fundamental right as identified in Gideon v. Wainright and that the 2nd Amendment has as a result of the 14th Amendment, become subject to the "incorporation doctrine" and thus applicable on the States as a fundamental right of the people, and thus the state cannot infringe upon the right of the people to keep and bear arms, and the law prohibiting open carry infringes upon that right.

So I've been busy lately! (This might be an understatement.)