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The NRA Claims God is Also A Death Merchant

4 May

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Yes, this is a real picture. This is not a toy gun. A child is apparently responsible enough to hold the fate of a human life in his or her hands at the tender age of five. Americans have long ago decided one must wait until a person is eighteen to enlist in the army, but with the careful nurturing of a good Republican upbringing which includes a healthy dose of Jesus Christ, a child should be able to arm and defend themselves against a tyrannical government or maybe just someone who is annoying them, right?

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Children shooting children is becoming a regular news story. Unfortunately, we’ve not heard the first or last of this type of tragedy, not by a long shot. Recently, using a rifle specifically designed for children, a 2 year old girl was fatally shot by her 5 year old brother using one of these Crickett Rifles

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The culture, as I’ve previously noted is closely tied to conservative politics and an obsession with some form of Christianity, although some might debate whether that distinction includes the very pro-gun LDS faith. The Christian spokesmodel for the GOP homeschool, creationism, guns and god campaign, Rick Santorum, said, “… in America, rights come from God because you are a creation of that loving God and you have dignity because of that.” He also told the 70,000 attendees of the NRA deathfest that members are “warriors” and the Second Amendment comes “from God.”

The ex-failed GOP presidential candidate and dead fetus in a jar proponent sympathizes with all the Americans that dreadful Democrat in the White House offended during the 2008 campaign. Then candidate Obama couldn’t have been more spot on when he said, “And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Homo-Sapiens imposter and fundamentalist nutjob Texas GOP Senator, Ted Cruz, claims the defeat of requiring background checks for the acquisition of firearms is a victory for freedom-loving Americans everywhere. The only winners are the gun manufacturers, lobbyists and the religious lunatics who claim god loves guns and can’t wait to revolt against the government. The civilized world looks on in horror as the NRA wins another battle desecrating the sanctity of life for children and Americans.

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Is a Mormon Theocracy Replacing Law Enforcement in Boulder City, Nevada?

28 Apr

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Mormons believe that they are the “noble and great ones,” the spirits that god would “make his rulers” on earth. Just like with Abraham, the pronouncement that “thou was chosen before thou wast born” also applies to the pre-mortal status and eventual earthly destiny of each Mormon. This is precisely why they call themselves latter-day saints: they consider themselves an elect breed apart and above all others, holier-than-thou in every sense of the word. These are the End of Days, after all, and God’s chosen people must be in control.

This is a story of how this arrogant theology has perverted and corrupted government, more specifically Law Enforcement, in a city dominated by LDS theological doctrine. One brave man, now Former Police Chief Thomas Finn, has spoken out against this unacceptably insidious behavior and he unquestionably will be vindicated when his story is better understood. News 8 Reporter George Knapp bravely brought this matter to the public forum which inadvertently demonstrated another case of defamation by Mormons when they are hell bent on discrediting someone who is not “one of them.” Mr. Knapp intended only to bring Chief Finn’s plight to the public. Let me make this perfectly clear, Knapp’s objective was not to disparage Mormons in general. However, any time one exposes despotism in any form, it can be a risky endeavor.

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Police Chief Thomas Finn

Police Chief Thomas Finn has an impressive list of educational credentials

A Few Noteworthy Accomplishments:

•F.B.I. National Academy, 185th Session, Quantico, Virginia 1996
•Master’s Degree, Public Administration, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 1993 •Certified Public Manager, Rutgers University New Jersey Department of Personnel 1991 •Bachelor of Science, Criminal Justice (Cum Laude), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 1983

Not only is he extremely knowledgeable on all matters pertaining to law enforcement and criminal justice, he’s a passionate teacher who loves the history and application of law enforcement since our Colonial Days. Mr. Finn had quite a following and was a very beloved Professor at Rutgers University. His lectures were always filled with eager students who found themselves passionate about the subject Mr. Finn taught with such enthusiasm and competence. His history of service from a patrolman in 1980 all the way through his ascension to the Chief of Police in two parts of the country, were always conducted with exemplary service and performance.

Officer Finn was a distinguished chief of police who is another unfortunate casualty of this despotic cult which craves domination of the public domain. I’ve had the privilege of speaking with former Police Chief Thomas Finn about a subject with which I’ve become all too familiar: Mormon Nepotism. Prior to his dismissal on April 15th, this man has never once been fired from any job he’s ever held. Mormon City Attorney, Dave Olsen claimed Mr. Finn was a paranoid, frightened angry man inside. Funny how that sounds terribly familiar. Park Romney said, “… I am personally aware, on the basis of such experience, of the actual differences between what Mormons profess in public and practice in private when they think their agenda is being threatened.” Naturally they will praise the Chief to his face, but look out folks, Sunday LDS services actually discussed their contrived issue of having a non-chosen son of Abraham in charge of the Police Department.

In the past I’ve looked to those with experience to guide me about the workings of the LDS Church. Park Romney, Professor Mark Larsen and Kay Burningham, ESQ. have, with painstaking personal trials and irrefutable logic, elucidated the details of a grotesque fraud of cosmic proportions masquerading under a charitable façade of public spirited nobility. All of my expert reference providers were part of the cult of Mormonism at one time and have since come to the exact same conclusion: it is, without question, an insidious fraud. The aforementioned authors have systematically dismantled all fallacious tenets of the cult and effectively demonstrate how these rules of conduct (or “Doctrines and Covenants”) apply to how LDS adherents run every aspect of their personal and public lives. For example, Among other things, Joseph Smith is reported to have taught, “That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that that man is in the high road to apostasy.” Broken down more simply, anyone not complying with the Mormon Cult is labeled by the LDS faithful as being influenced by Satan.

We all know full well Councilman Cam Walker, City Attorney Dave Olsen, Mayor Tobler and Mongols Motorcycle Gang attorney, Stephen Stubbs (all Mormons) could never have Chief Finn (a Roman Catholic) removed on the basis of “Satan’s influence” as that would never hold up in court. In collusion, they attempted to label a man who lives and breathes ethical law enforcement, who conducts his personal and professional life “by the book,” as mentally unfit for the job.

To get a better handle on who exactly is Chief Finn, i asked him a few questions pertaining to current issues in the news. When I posed the question to Mr. Finn, ‘do you think the excessive police presence while trying to locate the second Tsarnaev brother was overkill,’ he put things in a perspective that I hadn’t considered. Paraphrasing, he said, if the police had flubbed the case one bit and one more casualty occurred due to lack of thoroughness on their part, they’d never be forgiven. He also believes automatic weapons have no place in the hands of civilians, contrary to what many of his colleagues believe. He’s a no-nonsense man who speaks his mind and believes in integrity in all he does. Literally, this cadre of cohorts have taken the LDS tenet of Lying For The Lord and justified the iniquitous firing of one of the most qualified and best Police Chiefs in Clark County. When Mr. Finn filed a claim with the EEOC in Boulder City, citing Mormonism as the paramount reason for his dismissal, he was most assuredly justified.

According to the log filed with the former city manager, Vicki Mayes, Mr. Stubbs, the Mongols lawyer, was on a quest to find an officer to speak out negatively against Chief Finn. He was unable to find anyone because there were no officers who had any problem with the chief. He even asked if “he could find an officer in Reno to testify against Finn,” would that suffice? For some unjustified reason, after being on a brief medical leave, the day Mr. Finn returned to his job, he was fired. Here’s the story in a nutshell in the words of Mr. Finn:

A two-month investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, followed by a review of the investigation report and interviews of the investigators by District Attorney Steve Wolfson cleared me,and D.A. Wolfson stated exactly what I was saying all along. What is particularly troubling is that the city NEVER asked me why I issued the “email deletion” (regarding the gathering of Mongol Gang Members in 2012) order to my officers. They took Stubbs’ rantings as gospel and moved ahead with the investigation into my “felonies.” Stubbs asked for the investigation in November, it was started by the A.G. in January, I was interviewed in February and cleared in April. Then, EIGHT days (April 15th) before I was cleared of all wrongdoing, they FIRED me!!!
I was appointed to a state commission by two NV governors, served on a national highway safety committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police for eleven years, was appointed by a NJ governor to serve as a commissioner on a labor-management relations commission, represented the Nevada Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association for two years, and then Boulder City decided to terminate me after seven years of service without giving me a reason.
In the words of one of my favorite humorists, ..if they’ve got nothing concrete on him that would convince the DA of wrongdoing… they are not only holier-than-thou arrogant, but also…. STUPID as hell. To fire someone, especially a chief of police, with no probable cause is as pig-ignorant as Romney telling his donors about the 47% “scum.”
Unfortunately, Mr. Finn and his wife have other plans, and they no longer include Southern Nevada. It is highly unfortunate for all of us he had to go through these trials unnecessarily. Perhaps with greater understanding of Mormon Nepotism, we can avoid situations such as this Boulder City fiasco in the future. No one should ever be persecuted in this country for their religious beliefs and when a group of a particular religious or ethnic majority control all aspects of government in our diverse nation, it will inevitably lead to a compromising of our democratic values and justice.

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Dangerous Fundamentalism: The Taliban and the American Tealiban

22 Apr

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Irony can be defined by the incongruity which occurs when actions of a group mirror the behavior of a people whom they fear and despise most. Following the 9-11 tragedy, our united front was focused mainly on eliminating the terror breeding grounds established by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The Taliban imposed a form of government that was unacceptable and offensive to most Americans. Absence of democratic process, equality, Islamic law and the utter subjugation of women in their culture were the antithesis of what we deemed a free society. Their total domination of media, organized rebellion against a government they considered tyrannical and Islamic ideological purity seemed so unpalatable to the Christian crusaders of the mighty USA and the George W. Bush military machine.

Yet, as the Republican Party slides down the slippery slope towards Old Testament principles, the Conservative movement mirrors the Taliban more than they realize. The Teaparty can often be referred to as the Tealiban

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The dangerous policies and religious doctrinal mandates are far more similar than either group would willfully acknowledge. In the areas of vaccination and vital medical care, religious denial of science and the subjugation of women and the proclivity towards a culture obsessed with guns, American Fundamentalists and Taliban Extremists are hardly discernible.

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The Koran and the Old Testament treat women as sinful creatures by nature. The image of Eve as temptress in the Bible has resulted in an extremely negative impact on women throughout the Judaeo-Christian tradition. All women were believed to have inherited from their mother, the Biblical Eve, both her guilt and her guile. The Koran has many quotes such as this Al-Tirmidhi 3272 – “When Allah’s Messenger was asked which woman was best he replied, ‘The one who pleases (her husband) when he looks at her, obeys him when he gives a command, and does not go against his wishes regarding her person or property by doing anything of which he disapproves’.”

In the eyes of the Draconian religious zealots, women are simply vehicles for reproduction, and should only provide enjoyment and servitude for men. The unbelievably chauvinistic and restrictive fundamentalist laws of both the Taliban and the disregard for equal protection for American women by Judicial Magistrates are becoming hard to decipher.

The American Fundamentalists are very much against science and medical progress much like the Islamic government of Afghanistan. Recently, a Pennsylvanian couple who believe in the power of prayer over medical care lost their second child by eschewing medical attention. States like Washington and Oregon are seeing a resurgence in Pertussis due to a fundamentalist-driven hysteria against vaccines. The fallacy of autism being caused by vaccines plus the unwillingness to interfere with god’s plan are beyond dangerous and should never be acceptable in modern America.

Because women are simply unclean and sinful beings, they have far less protection than men in Taliban society. Laws regarding the healthcare and well-being of Afghan women are so restrictive, they suffer much higher mortality rates due to pregnancy and childbirth. In Afghanistan, perhaps the only thing more dangerous than being a woman is being a pregnant woman in need of medical care. A 2002 survey counted 1,600 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The cause of death was most often hemorrhaging or obstructed delivery, both preventable if skilled health care is available.

To make matters worse, foreign aid administrators, who provide vital vaccinations are treated with suspicion and unwarranted violence by the Taliban. Ten foreign medical workers were murdered because they were believed to be spies, while simply trying to administer polio vaccines to the very poor. Americans simply choosing to ignore the proven scientific benefits of vaccines and willfully putting their children and others at risk is certainly a step in the wrong direction as well. If vaccines and science are viewed as suspicious and interfering with “god’s will,” society is well on its way to massive medieval medical malpractice.

The American leaders of megachurches and fundamentalist sects often rally against their perceived threat of a tyrannical government by encouraging more gun ownership within their congregations. “Blessed are the Peacemakers? Absolutely. Make mine a .45 Colt with a 5 1/2 inch barrel.” This comment and many like it have been commonly overheard in sermons all over the Bible Belt where guns and god go hand and hand. The Taliban often sacrifices children by using their religion to justify violence.

I’ll just say it in plain English. Most of all the world’s plight of inequality, violence and atrocities committed against humanity are attributed to RELIGION. The societies who enjoy the highest standards of living and happiness are the LEAST RELIGIOUS. As a country founded upon the principles of separation of church and state, one of the most important steps to averting misery in this country is to stop kowtowing to the demands of fundamentalist insanity and stop the madness of Biblical thought that so greatly resembles those who we are fighting against halfway across the world.

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Separation of Church and State Is Not Supported by Justice Scalia

28 Mar
Opinions on Marriage Equality Rapidly Evolving

Opinions on Marriage Equality Rapidly Evolving

The American population does not equate homosexuality with sins as egregious as rape or murder, much to the dismay of the hard-line Fundamentalist Christians on the Right. This shift in attitude towards gays is based on recent polls which demonstrate increasing acceptance of the idea of marriage equality, especially among the millennial generation (those born after 1980), where eventually, discrimination against homosexuals marrying will be considered as unpalatable as overt racism is today (provided you are not at a Teaparty Express rally). Unfortunately, one of our very own Supreme Court Justices believes quite the contrary. “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?” Scalia said he is not equating sodomy with murder but drawing a parallel between the bans on both.” Equating the acceptance of gay marriage with tolerance of murder certainly perverts society to a point where logical conversation can no longer take place. It is worth noting that Antonin Scalia exerts massive influence over Justices like Alito and Thomas so it is unfortunate that at least one-third of our highest court in the land rules in favor of Biblical law over the Constitutional principles they were appointed to uphold.

Don’t actual human beings who simply want their marriages recognized in law at least deserve equal dignity with guns? Not as far as Scalia is concerned. Scalia himself, in his majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (establishing a heretofore unrecognized individual right to bear arms) looks to what weapons are “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens” to determine which classes of guns might, or might not be, deserving of Second Amendment protection. So evolving standards of gun ownership over the course of 200 years can be used to interpret the constitutionality of gun control laws. If Scalia were truly an “originalist,” he would have stopped at muskets and bayonets that were in common usage at the time the Bill of Rights was passed. The evolution of firearm technology receives far more consideration than the increasingly more tolerant mores of society and its attitudes towards equality for all.

Scalia was the headliner this year at the St Thomas More dinner in Las Vegas in September, 2012. He’s also appeared at an evening Catholic Red Mass liturgy at the Guardian Angel Cathedral just off the Strip. The church service seeks divine guidance for judges, lawyers and other legal professionals. The SCOTUS justice believes canon law and constitutional law are inextricably linked. His very own son is a Catholic Priest who firmly believes in reparative therapy for gay and lesbian “sinners.”

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Father Paul Scalia

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Justice Antonin Scalia

Antonin’s son Paul, a Roman Catholic, has served as chaplain for the Arlington, Virginia chapter of “Courage” an official Catholic apostolate that ministers to people with “same-sex attractions” or what the rest of society refers to as gay, lesbian and bisexual people. The ludicrous assumption that sexual identity is something left to choice and not inherent characteristics people are born with shows just how outdated his thinking is.

Scalia has a sordid history in rulings that entirely discount racial bias as inevitable, as if they are simply a natural byproduct of society. As a strict constructionist, Scalia would have supported the decision of Plessy Vs.Ferguson which allowed for state mandated segregation. Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954 fortunately reversed that awful mark on our society as a non-egalitarian nation. Scalia does, based on his history of religious dogma actually superseding the Constitution, support Biblical law over Democracy. We all know the Bible is laden with misogyny, slavery, prejudice and murder. Having members of our very own Supreme Court who think this way is an embarrassment and represents totally regressive thinking.

The high court will continue to inflict its brand of biblical justice on our nations’ gay and lesbian population if they don’t strike down the ban on same-sex marriage in ALL fifty states. DOMA was passed in 1996, according to Justice Kagan, in a climate with dislike of gay people. As the attitudes of our citizens evolve and shift on this equal rights issue, it is absolutely absurd our highest court in the land should continue to uphold draconian measures based on a work of fiction. By labeling gays as an abomination, Scalia, the strict constructionist who terrorizes Americans with his antediluvian brand of justice, hopes to nullify the equality espoused by our Founding Fathers. Around the world, so many are watching the United States, once a bastion of freedom and hope, with horror as the possibility of sanctioned discrimination may continue if Scalia has his way.

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Good Luck With Your Rebranding, Republicans

19 Mar

If you checked out some of the highlights (or lowlights as I see them) from CPAC 2013, you might catch a hint of a half-hearted admission that something has got to change in the Grand Old Party. A political party that sounds reminiscent of the antebellum plantation mentality (that still permeates much of rural America) has deduced, from election post-mortem analyses, the future looks anything but promising.  This was discussed, but honestly, there are no plans to modify thinking on a scale necessary to rebrand the party to fit the needs of the majority of voters.

The most telling evidence the GOP is not ready for prime time can be found when interviewing a few CPAC attendees about what they thought of Senator Rob Portman (R-Oh) coming out in favor of gay marriage. Because he learned two years ago his son is gay he felt understandably sympathetic to the rights of homosexuals marrying and this simply did not sit well with conservatives. Please pay close attention to the comment of the woman at the 02:15 mark of the video.

The Frederick Douglass Republicans are those who have hijacked the black leader’s name because he was a successful businessman who must have espoused all the Republican and Libertarian values of our great Capitalist society.  This largely unknown group thinks President Obama is nothing like this man because he is so anti-business, the Koch Brothers have only increased their wealth by 43% since 2010, so that Socialist in the White House is very anti-business.  Hypocrisy abounds as the group  does not emulate Mr. Douglass in most regards.  At one of the CPAC forums, an audience member asked a rather shocking question with regards to the treatment of slaves.

Stunningly, many Conservatives believe not only should homosexuals stay in the closet like they did in the 1950′s, but slaves should have been grateful for food and shelter which they received from their captors.  Unfortunately, this type of fringe thinking is no longer on the outskirts of the party.   It’s obvious the Teaparty and Fundamentalist wing of the GOP is calling the shots.  However, in a society that is evolving towards acceptance and tolerance of all and departing from Biblical Draconian law, the GOP has little hope for evolution (ironically, many deny the concept altogether).

Misogynist Libertarian Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)

Misogynist Libertarian Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)

Much ado has been made by both liberals and conservatives over Rand Paul and his espousal of the idealistic Libertarian values of freedom and liberty.   After his pointless and costly 13 hour filibuster, he was the winner of the CPAC 2013 straw poll for 2016 GOP presidential nominee.  The Kentucky Senator believes corporations should be free to dump as much toxic waste into our rivers as they wish, no taxes should be paid to help our fellow citizens in need (especially to receive healthcare) and education should not be paid for by the state.  In a nutshell, he wants the government to stay out of our affairs.

He has sponsored the Fetal Personhood Amendment to give a cluster of embryonic cells the same rights as a human being.  However, before we commend him on his “pro-life” stance, he also feels a person of color could or should be excluded from any private establishment, like a restaurant, simply because the owner should have the freedom to discriminate if he so chooses.  The free market should eliminate the need for all government regulations and if active discrimination is rampant in this country once again, so be it.  This is not a man who believes in the pursuit of happiness.  He believes in the pursuit of happiness for a select few.

Isn’t the goal of the GOP, convening with their best and brightest as they did this past weekend, to increase their membership and numbers?  Has anyone in this party considered that restricting or outlawing birth control while simultaneously cutting funding for poor and unwanted children will most likely  increase the number of Democratic voters?  Minorities are generally immigrants and one of the stars of the GOP, Donald Trump, even said (out loud) that naturalizing 11,000,000 immigrants will only add that many more “Democrat” voters.  I’m having a hard time following their logic, as logic seems to evade this party entirely.

As long as women are not in control of when they give birth, discrimination and overt racism are acceptable and religious dogma supersedes equality for humanity, the Republicans are content.  The rest of the country, however, is not of this mindset and any rebranding should include a tabula rasa for the entire GOP.  This antiquated way of thinking must change, and it looks like the odds are pretty slim the hard-liners of the party will have such an epiphany.

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The GOP’s “Concern” About Mental Health Is a Diversion From Their NRA-Inspired Gun Policies

18 Jan

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The invocation of Ronald Reagan’s legacy is a tactic utilized by the Right to more or less humanize their devastating Draconian cuts to basic health and human services, including mental healthcare. This is quite astonishing as Reagan was, perhaps, the most inhumane leader with regards to caring for the least among us and those with legitimate mental health issues. The party of Jesus, (GOP) as we all know, acts quite contrary to his teachings. Monies are always cut in mental healthcare (ESPECIALLY FOR WAR VETERANS) and redirected to fund more private, for-profit prisons instead of properly helping those in need. The unfortunate consequence of defunding such programs have a dire impact on the afflicted and their families. The lack of stable housing and work will certainly exacerbate and create depression and mental illness, substance abuse, family break-up, and crime.

Here are the facts:

•In 1978, HUD’s budget was over $83 billion.

•In 1983, HUD’s budget was only $18 billion.

•In 1983, general public emergency shelters began opening in cities nationwide.

•In 1987, Congress passed the Stewart B. McKinney Act, providing $880 million in homeless assistance funding (2004 constant dollars).

•In short, Reagan deliberately created “homelessness” by cutting $65 billion of housing money and replacing it with $880 million in shelter funding.

The lost funding has never been replaced, and the percentage of low-cost/subsidized housing has been dropping ever since. 100,000 units of low-cost housing have been lost since 1996 alone. When Reagan defunded mental health care and threw the mentally ill onto the streets, he was saying it was not his problem and the American people went along as he de-railed what was an improving situation for those with mental health issues. Now, more than thirty years hence (and countless massacres by those possibly afflicted with mental illness), the GOP/NRA is suddenly saddled with immense concern for the mental well-being of Americans.

The NRA and most of the GOP is obsessed with trying to minimize all the devastation caused by military-style, high ammunition-capacity firearms. They pervertedly believe this problem will be alleviated by fewer restrictions on guns, and accessories which facilitate mass killings. Add this to their shameful history of defunding, defrauding and devastating mental healthcare and we can predict exactly what they’ll do for those needing psychological care and protecting the innocent: absolutely NOTHING.

Another issue the pharmacy-subsidizing GOP (and often Democrats too) won’t address is the over-medication of our children for behavior issues. The pharmaceutical industry has profited immensely from these psychostimulants readily prescribed for ADD and ADHD diagnoses. Without long-term study and the lack of reporting on the matter, we don’t know how adversely they will impact brain chemistry into adulthood.

Maybe it’s not video games or movies that cause these unfathomably egregious acts of violence. Maybe it’s because, according to the United Nations, the U.S. produces and consumes about 85 percent of the world’s methylphenidate (Ritalin). Also commonly prescribed, SSRIs (Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or serotonin-specific re-uptake inhibitor) are a class of medications which have been shown to be a commonality among those who commit violent acts in schools. People who have used these medications might not be the best candidates for ordering a personal arsenal of military-grade weapons and ammo. Perhaps the NRA’s definition of someone who should pass a background check needs some work. As proposed by our President, maybe no one should own weapons the military uses which are specifically designed not just to kill, but to obliterate other human beings en masse.

Studies with regards to mental health issues and guns must include the socioeconomic factors of poverty, the insanely unfair for-profit prison system and the highly subsidized pharmaceutical industry that receives an obscene amount of corporate welfare. Restrictions and regulations are the enemies of Republicans, as they firmly believe both impinge on capitalism and “job-creation.” Since this tenuous concern of the GOP is so very obvious both historically and currently in the areas of mental healthcare matters, shouldn’t they be omitted from the decision-making process? As one who firmly believes history repeats itself when the lessons are not learned from the past, I believe the GOP/NRA-ILA is the last group who should debate and legislate this matter. We all know how anti-education they’ve proven themselves to be as they have embarrassingly omitted unpleasant facts and re-written history in our children’s textbooks. They’ll do the same thing to our mentally impaired citizens as they did to the Iraqi people: attack and destroy them simply because they have the power to do so.

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Gun Appreciation Day Perpetuates Violence and Paranoid Dystopia

9 Jan

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In order to completely disrespect every family who is currently grieving over the loss of a family member, (a child in particular) to gun violence, the Council on Promoting Gun Violence and Exploiting the Dead (my embellishment) has decided, in their infinite paranoia, to declare Saturday, January 19th “Gun Appreciation Day.” to be ironic, these fine folks chose the very weekend we celebrate the birth of a champion of non-violence, MLK. These people, who clearly pervert the Second Amendment, must make certain if any crazed, violent loon has the inclination, he or she has access to as much ammunition and high-powered weaponry as they so desire.

The number of people in America killed by firearms is extraordinary compared to other nations. If we’re not a bloodthirsty culture, as wars seldom reach our shores, we need to look at everything we can do to safeguard our people. These gun rights rather than human rights advocates clearly have a violent, profit-driven agenda in mind.

General Stanley McChrystal, a member of our conservative armed forces said, “we need to take a look at why we’d even consider allowing these (military-style assault weapons) in our society… I personally don’t think there’s any need for that kind of weaponry on the streets, and particularly around the schools in America,” McChrystal continued. “I believe that we’ve got to take a serious look. I understand everybody’s desire to have whatever they want, but we’ve got to protect our children, we’ve got to protect our police and we’ve got to protect our population. And I think we’ve got to take a very mature look at that.”

Prominent leaders’ assassinations have been the catalyst for legislative action via public outrage in our past. The 1960′s were a volatile time where we lost some of America’s greatest leaders to senseless gun violence. Martin Luther King was fatally shot by sniper’s bullet on April 4, 1968. Death was the result of a horrific gunshot wound (to the chin and neck with a fatal transection of the lower cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord and other structures in the neck), a violent end to a life of noble purpose. Just two months later, RFK was also taken out by an assassin with a gun. The nation’s hopes and dreams for peace died right along with him.

The Johnson Administration passed new gun control measures, reasonable means to minimize tragic shootings, without denying Second Amendment “rights.” Johnson’s bill banned all mail-order and out-of-state sales of handguns, shotguns and rifles; prohibited the sale of guns to minors; and required national registration of all guns and licensing of all gun owners. No reasonable citizen could argue these measures were, and still are, very logical. Unfortunately reason, logic and mental health are sadly lacking from so many who pervert the second amendment to mean they should own as many military-style automatic weapons as they can fit in their closets next to their Confederate memorabilia and Hank Williams Jr. concert shirts.

Johnson’s words were as apropos then as they are today.

“The voices that blocked these safeguards were not the voices of an aroused nation. They were the voices of a powerful gun lobby, a gun lobby, that has prevailed for the moment in an election year. . . . We have been through a great deal of anguish these last few months and these last few years – too much anguish too forget so quickly. So now we must complete the task which this long needed legislation begins.”

Somehow reason prevailed and we were able to pass some common sense safety measures.

During Vietnam War protests, outrageous gun violence was an issue compromised mainly of police brutality. The incident at Kent State, May 4, 1970 focused our gun injustices on our police and authorities’ lack of restraint. The number of massacres at the hands of police, however, pales in comparison to the carnage of all the mass shootings we’ve experienced in the last twenty years. The gun lobbyists claim violent video games, lack of prayer and lack of universal gun ownership are more to blame than the easy acquisition of high-powered firearms which they proliferate at thousands of gun shows .

The NRA has immense political power, and associates themselves with unsavory, paranoid lunatics like Alex Jones and the Chairman of National Gun Appreciation Day, Larry Ward. Their type of manufactured dystopian hysteria creates a culture more concerned with contrived future scenarios than the problem of constant gun massacres. This is evidenced by comparisons of President Obama to Chairman Mao, Stalin and Hitler. Generally, once Hitler is used as a reference, proponents of such absurdity have lost their argument and their minds.

There is utter disbelief expressed by ALL wealthy, industrialized nations looking upon us in horror at this manageable problem. We wanted fewer deaths from drunk driving, and voila, in just thirty years we’ve lowered fatalities by 50% with movements such as M.A.D.D. We raised the legal drinking age and sure enough, death rates fell. Since so many of these crimes are perpetrated by people in their twenties, maybe closely scrutinizing gun ownership by this demographic would be a great way to start.

With the recent unfathomable carnage of Newtown and Aurora, I’m hopeful the level of outrage has reached a tipping point. A recent Newtown visit by Gabby Giffords and husband, Mark Kelly has, once again, exposed the fringe element in the NRA-owned GOP. The Facebook exchange below shows just how convoluted their thinking has become.

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You can’t engage a cross-section of your acquaintances without running into one or two quintessential “Obama is coming for our guns” morons. If we lessen the exposure and power of these paranoid miscreants, we may be able to make assault rifles and the proliferation of arsenals by the deranged as unfashionable as the Jim Crow South. The only way we’ve successfully conquered opposing forces clinging to outdated and inhumane policies is by collectively expressing our desire for change and forcing legislators to LEGISLATE SANITY!

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Preventing Shooting Massacres Down Under: A Lesson For America

29 Dec
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Port Arthur, Tasmania

This article is written by Derek Wood, my friend, who is a resident of Sydney Australia. His plea to our country is based on the following: In 1996, Australia experienced a horrible mass casualty shooting at Port Arthur, Tasmania. Afterwards, Prime Minister John Howard’s government moved quickly to tighten Australia’s gun laws and instituted a mandatory federal buy-back program designed to remove banned guns from private ownership. In the years prior to Port Arthur, Australia experienced several mass casualty shootings. There have been none since.
 (An awful coincidence, the killer, currently serving 35 life sentences, is from a suburb of a Hobart called New Town, Tasmania)

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon in Sydney way back on 28th April 1996. I was making my way to the local gym as, in those days, I was a regular gym junkie. Just before I left my home, I heard on the radio that a gunman had been on a killing spree in Tasmania. At that stage only a small number of people had lost their lives. When I got to the gym, the number of deaths had risen to 23. I mentioned this to my gym instructor. His response was that it was the gunman’s form “of self-expression”. The instructor was reading the Celestine Prophecy at the time, which probably explained his comments. I personally preferred the term “madman”.

The gunman was named Martin Bryant and the final death toll was 35. The whole of Australia was in shock. How could anyone kill 35 innocent people? There was an outpouring of disbelief and anger. How could we stop this from happening again?

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A grief-stricken community unites and takes action

Before, I go any further, I need to give some background information. Australia is very similar to the United States. Both are large countries, both were built from migrants, both have large agricultural areas and culturally we are very similar. Naturally, we speak the same language – well sort of! Guns in Australia are typically kept in the large rural areas. Farmers need to be on alert for scavengers of the animal kind, especially foxes. Although in parts of the country snakes and crocodiles can also be a problem.
John Howard had to act, and act fast. He introduced strict gun laws into Parliament. This had bi-partisan support of the opposition Labor Party led by Kim Beasley. The new gun controls had to also be made law via the State and Territory Parliaments. Initially Queensland and Tasmania were against tightened gun control. A number of citizens were outraged at the new laws. This outrage was fueled by the support of the Christian Coalition and the US National Rifle Association! Finally, the new gun controls were made law Australia wide after a lot of intense debate. In addition, the Federal Government implemented a 12 month amnesty/buyback scheme to allow people to hand in any illegal firearm without running the risk of prosecution. Amazingly, 643,000 firearms were handed in at a cost of $350M.

Since that fateful day in 1996, Australia has not had any gun related massacres.Since the laws were established, it is now extremely hard to buy a rifle or indeed any gun. A number of valid reasons and references need to be supplied before a gun can be sold. Naturally, if there is a genuine reason to have a gun, and the person appears mentally stable, then they will be able to purchase one, subject to State and Territory requirements. It is safe to say that John Howard’s tough stance has paid dividends. Since that fateful day in 1996, Australia has not had any gun related massacres.

I mention the above purely to give any reader from the United States an idea of how gun control can be implemented. Naturally, all Australians were shocked at the Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown. I have two daughters aged 9 and 10 and I certainly felt shock and sadness, especially as it happened so close to Christmas, the time of family gatherings. I feel for the parents who lost their children and the families of all those that were killed in the shooting.

To outsiders, the United States has way too many shootings. For pro-gun lobbyists to claim the second amendment as a right to bear arms in today’s modern society, is a bad joke at best! The question, a very simple one, how many more people have to lose their lives before action is taken? Yes the GOP and NRA are bed partners, and yes there are lunatics high up in both organisations. But do ordinary citizens really require a semi-automatic weapon to protect their property? The answer has to be a resounding ‘No’. (the mental faculty of anyone who wants a military-style assault rifle should be considered dubious, at best)

The US has to tighten up its gun laws immediately. It is the only way to go, and also to restore faith with the public. Not only does Barack Obama need to act decisively, it also requires the GOP and others to support any proposed law changes. The good old days of “gun toting” are over. Let’s logically move on and ensure that our children and innocent bystanders are not used as “shooting practice” by a madman.

Finally, do not underestimate the rest of the world’s opinion towards the US and its lax gun laws. I can virtually guarantee you that the feeling of most people is that the US gun laws are a complete joke. It is now up to the United States to ensure that the joke comes to an end.

Sadly, requiring the GOP to acquiesce to reasonable gun legislation is a pipe dream. Nothing like these irrational Teaparty antics occur anywhere else in the civilized world. I hope this changes in 2014. Get everyone you know to vote them out in the midterms! (VegasJessie)

Follow Derek on Twitter @Main_Man

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Please No Loaded Guns At Gun Shows, Only In Our Schools

27 Dec

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The last weekend of 2012 my very own city, Las Vegas, will be the next stop on the national tour of death merchants, the Crossroads Gunshow. As a concerned citizen, I surmised I should know more about an event where one can purchase high capacity clips and other killing accoutrements. I suppose what I learned should really not surprise anyone.

I pulled this ironic tidbit from the Crossroads Gunshow Website frequently asked questions section: Q: Can I carry a loaded gun in the gun show? I have a Concealed Carry Permit.
A: We respectfully request that you do not bring any loaded firearm into the gun show. Safety is our Number One Priority, and a safe environment in the show can only be maintained if there are no loaded guns in the show. There is no need for any commentary on this statement. It is the very definition of Q.E.D.

In previous articles, I’ve discussed how the folks in Utah, namely those of the Latter Day Saints persuasion, are obsessed with arming themselves for the imminent apocalypse. I was not surprised to see “America’s largest producer of gun shows, Crossroads,” has its headquarters located in Kaysville, Utah. The family in charge: the Templetons, are shameless gun show promoters. They were the very folks who, just one week after the Gaby Giffords mass shooting at a Tucson supermarket, hosted a gun show just blocks away from the tragedy.

The Templeton family is not exactly what one might consider a paragon of virtue. In 2002, Crossroads Gunshow VP Jeffrey Templeton called the police after hearing a suspicious noise outside his house. The police found more than just a suspected prowler, as this report states. The indictment lists 57 firearms confiscated at the home by agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Kaysville police on Dec. 11. The discovery was made after someone at the Templetons’ home in Kaysville called police to report something suspicious, possibly a burglar or prowler. But when Kaysville police arrived, they spotted a slew of weapons with illegal drugs nearby, said Kaysville Police Chief Dave Helquist. He said the drugs appeared to be methamphetamine and are being tested. I suppose they are just the type of criminals 2nd Amendment enthusiasts want to arm themselves against.

The 2nd Amendment has been perverted by the Right. They redefine a well-regulated militia as every gun-crazed, paranoid lunatic should have all the weaponry and ammo of a Colombian drug cartel. So, the Second Amendment read: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Contrary to some current right-wing fantasies about the Framers wanting to encourage popular uprisings over grievances, the language of the amendment is clearly aimed at maintaining order within the country. The Founding Fathers wanted to maintain a civilized society where armed insurrections like Shay’s Rebellion could be easily quashed, not the other way around.

Folks blame President Obama for not being “tougher on guns”. President Bush let the assault weapons ban of 1994 expire in 2004, as it was common knowledge the NRA ran the show in the Bush 43 White House. In fact, The National Rifle Association’s second-ranking officer boasted at a closed meeting of NRA members in May of 2000 that if Republican nominee George W. Bush wins in November, “we’ll have . . . a president where we work out of their office.”

President Obama tried in March, 2009 to reinstate the ban, but with sixty-five House Democrats opposing the ban, he and Attorney General Eric Holder could not get this through Congress. Too many are beholden to Wayne Lapierre and his terrorist organization, the National Rifle Association.

LaPierre is a seemingly unstable leader who claims criminals hear voices and demons to encourage their heinous acts. On Meet the Press last week he proclaimed:

“The truth is that our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters — people so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons that no sane person can possibly ever comprehend them”

When one truly believes in demonic possession, it’s not wise for this person to hold so much influence over so many insane people, like those who read his NRA publication.

In order to gin up fear and gun sales, he regularly and erroneously claims the Obama Administration is coming for your guns. Here is a recent excerpt from NRA Publications Inc.
Over the past three years, the Obama administration and its anti-gun allies have been engaged in a silent but sophisticated long-term conspiracy to:
1. Neutralize gun owners and NRA voters as a political force in national elections, and thereby:
2. Win re-election to a second term in the White House, where they then will be immune to the will of voters and free to continue consolidating and misusing their ever-increasing power to:
3. Prosecute a full-scale, sustained, all-out campaign to excise the Second Amendment from our Bill of Rights through legislation, litigation, regulation, executive orders, judicial fiat, international treaties—in short, all the levers of power of all three branches of government.
And the key to their success lies in keeping gun owners like you in the dark.

There are roughly 5,000 annual gun shows nationwide and 40% of gun-owners purchase their firearms either at a gun show or through classified ads and private exchanges, with little or no regulation. Perhaps just eliminating gun shows is a fine way to start cutting down on violence via assault weapons. It will certainly not eliminate all mass shootings, but taking the profitability out of human carnage might just be a great way to start.

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Guns Don’t Kill People, GOP Laws Kill People

5 Dec

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Guns don’t kill people, people kill people, has been the big selling point for the defense of the antiquated Second Amendment. Would there be cybercrime without the Internet? Do you ever hear drugs don’t kill people, people doing drugs kills people? Would there be homophobic bullying if it weren’t for religion preaching its alleged immorality through indoctrinated hate? Why is it the preponderance of guns is NEVER the reason for gun violence? With less than 5% of the world’s population, the United States is home to roughly 35–50 per cent of the world’s civilian-owned guns, heavily skewing the global geography of firearms and any relative comparison. Our culture of guns has armed our citizens with roughly 88 guns per 100 people.

The main reason is because the NRA, with the help of ALEC and the Heritage Foundation rule America through the Republican Party (and a few Democrats as well). Most of the nation’s most lax gun laws are passed by Governors with GOP administrations, such as Rick Scott in Florida. The GOP has an alleged “family values” message, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Republican Party is a criminal conspiracy to betray the well-being of the American people in favor of oligarchical and corporate interests, and insane fundamentalist religious groups. Gun rights, not human rights, are far more important. This is only befitting of a party who takes the wrong side of every single issue since the New Deal.

The attack on anyone who comments on the easy acquisition of firearms is generally brutal. Bob Costas and Jason Whitlock candidly voiced their opinion on our gun culture after the tragic murder suicide of Kansas City Chief Jovan Belcher. This was met with disbelief by those who, let’s face it, cling to their religion and their guns. I found it to be an absolutely honest and heartfelt observation where they admit handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it. If Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kassandra Perkins would both be alive today. Our current gun culture ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy. More convenience store confrontations over loud music will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead. The outrage was not directed at the actual murders or the easily accessible guns, but at those who criticize our gun laws!

The gun-rights zealots’ criticism can be aimed at politicians or any public figure who dares challenge their insane logic. So our culture, enhanced by strong-arm tactics by powerful lobbies and hate groups, is obsessed with guns. I can easily understand someone’s right to defend themselves or hunt, but why the need for large capacity ammo clips or assault rifles? When is it going to end? Can I get my own personal surface to air missile just in case I want to shoot down a potential enemy drone or if I’m paranoid about my “Socialist-Marxist government?” Why is it President Obama has done absolutely nothing to restrict gun owners’ rights yet the number of hate groups who advocate the most lenient gun laws is at an all time high? Largely because they have managed to appeal to the American psyche by invoking Jesus Christ, the most popular deity in America, to their cause.

These hate groups masquerade as religious organizations promoting their version of family values. MVP American Family Association Executive Director and radio host Bryan Fischer was discussing the NRA’s latest conspiracy theory, about how the United Nations is supposedly plotting to take away guns and destroy American’s Second Amendment rights though the Arms Trade Treaty. During the discussion, Fischer claimed that Jesus preached the right to self-defense and therefore his teaching is “virtually the foundation of the Second Amendment.”

This psychosis fostered by hard-right wingers creates a culture where any organization trying to promote peace and minimize destruction is looked upon suspiciously. The TeaPartiers in the Senate recently voted to reject a UN treaty essentially promoting the world’s adoption of OUR very own ADA which intends to treat the handicapped in other countries with greater dignity and equality. Led by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and SenatorJim DeMint (R-SC) (who recently announced his retirement to head the Heritage Foundation), they convinced enough of their sympathizers to humiliate the handicapped in their very own chamber, especially esteemed GOP Senator Bob Dole. The Teaparty is still trying to convince its NRA-obsessed sympathizers that we are truly turning into a Marxist-Socialist nation. It’s no coincidence the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the Family Research Council, a huge supporter of DeMint, as a hate group.

So what recourse do sane, thinking Americans who love this country and the Constitution have? Based on the most recent elections we have already begun by sending a few of these hard line crazies back home. Hopefully, the NRA and its Religious Right organizations will be emasculated to the point of impotence. Firearms must be more closely regulated than they currently are. If the TeaParty could lose its grip on our government, perhaps there will be more regulations placed on gun show sales and will discourage the emotionally volatile from arming themselves to the teeth. Our Constitution was designed to protect our citizens not just from tyrannical government, but from general anarchy and violence. Stand Your Ground and other such flawed laws must be amended to do what they should do: protect ALL Americans.

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