Morons disregard the warnings.  A military surplus store burned overnight in Sandpoint.  The owner, Cornel Rasor, posted pictures on his Facebook account, explaining his business was a total loss.  Rasor is a Republican Party activist and somewhat of an institution in the panhandle.

Imagine celebrating a joyous Independence Day, and then some careless jerk wipes out your life’s work in hours.  The owner stated that investigators believe a bottle rocket was set off in an alley, ignited a pole, and then flames spread to his store.  As of this writing, we don’t know if there have been any arrests.

This is another example of self-centered people showing a reckless disregard for others and the property of others.  These people are always going to be with us.  It’s no different than the guy who gets a snoot full and then gets behind the wheel of a car or truck, careens across a dividing line, and kills a family of five.

In these types of cases, we need long prison sentences as a deterrence, and not just for others.  After a decade in jail and claiming you didn’t mean to hurt others, you will likely learn some respect for their livelihoods and lives.

If there’s no contrition, then tack on another 10 years.  I would be fine with paying for the three hots and a cot to ensure we keep these dangerous people off the streets.

The way I see it, stupidity is a choice.  Most of us know that playing with fire close to buildings, or in a hot dry forest is a bad thing.  There can’t be any excuses.