Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Reminded of this today...
Church laws are fallible, because they are created by man! Think on that for a bit....
Friday, October 19, 2018
Need to step away from the political issues for a while
I've seriously can't keep up with them any more! There is just so much bullshit going on! Voter suppression, Kavanaugh, the fact the US will not denounce the murder of a US resident journalist because of money, etc. Seriously...all I can say at this point is that we all must get out and VOTE in the next couple of weeks! We need to VOTE to being back sanity and decorum to this country!
I'm going to start trying to take my blog back to things that interest me rather than discussing politics. There may be a post here and there...and I'm not going to delete anything, because it is all very much relevant and needs to be out there for someone to read. For my own sanity...I just need to move on to happier things!
I'm going to start trying to take my blog back to things that interest me rather than discussing politics. There may be a post here and there...and I'm not going to delete anything, because it is all very much relevant and needs to be out there for someone to read. For my own sanity...I just need to move on to happier things!
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
If Conservatives really boycotted all companies that went against their values...
If the Conservative right were as passionate about all of their beliefs as they try to make us believe they are about "not kneeling for the flag", wouldn't they be in a world of hurt!! Out of curiosity, I looked up companies that are in support of or who have given money to Planned Parenthood, and companies who urged the support for gay marriage before it was legalized in the US. Man...how these lists were extensive...so I will describe to you life of the Conservative who stands firmly on their beliefs...as they so claim!
First of all, I don't know why we are even seeing these folks commenting on our social media feeds, as both Facebook and Twitter were on the list for supporting gay marriage. Oh, and so were Apple and Microsoft...meaning that, unless these folks are using Linux or Unix, they shouldn't be on a computer at all. I guess that means Conservatives need to give up their iPhones, too. Oh, but they cannot use any devices that contain an Intel chip, either.
Next, it may be difficult for these folks to get their prescriptions, as CVS, Walgreens, Rite-aid, and Wal-Mart were on both lists. Of course, that is after they change their insurance to some low, cut-rate policy because also on these lists were insurance companies such as Aetna, Cigna, State Farm, GEICO, USAA, and Prudential. There may be others on there, but these are the ones who stuck out.
Clothing shopping is also about to get way more difficult! Wal-Mart and Target are out of the question, as well as Gap (which also is the parent company for Old Navy and Banana Republic), Victoria's Secret, Nordstrom, Abercombi, Calvin Klein, Marshalls, Ralph Lauren, T.J. Maxx, Levis, Bebe, Amazon, oh and the list goes on and on!
There are several banks they also cannot do business with...like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase...just to name of the few big ones on the list.
Hope Conservatives don't plan on traveling. It may be difficult with American Airlines, Delta, Jet Blue, and United on at least one of these lists, as well as several hotels under Marriott, Wyndham, and Hilton also showing up on one or both lists.
Of course, BOTH Pepsi Co and Walt Disney are on at least one of these two lists, and that opens a whole can of worms, seeing as those two companies alone own about half the world (or at least it seems). And so many food items...General Mills...can't even drown their sorrows in Ben and Jerry's!
I mean, everyone has the right to boycott who they wish. There are a couple of companies I boycott for my own reasons, and it is usually something very specific. However, you would never see me burning my stuff...I would donate it or consign it (at least try to get some money back to buy a replacement of a different brand or something else). Even I understand that if I boycotted every company that didn't align 100% with my ideals and beliefs, I might as well live alone on an island...growing my own food, building my own shelter, and walking around naked...as no company aligns 100% with what I believe.
First of all, I don't know why we are even seeing these folks commenting on our social media feeds, as both Facebook and Twitter were on the list for supporting gay marriage. Oh, and so were Apple and Microsoft...meaning that, unless these folks are using Linux or Unix, they shouldn't be on a computer at all. I guess that means Conservatives need to give up their iPhones, too. Oh, but they cannot use any devices that contain an Intel chip, either.
Next, it may be difficult for these folks to get their prescriptions, as CVS, Walgreens, Rite-aid, and Wal-Mart were on both lists. Of course, that is after they change their insurance to some low, cut-rate policy because also on these lists were insurance companies such as Aetna, Cigna, State Farm, GEICO, USAA, and Prudential. There may be others on there, but these are the ones who stuck out.
Clothing shopping is also about to get way more difficult! Wal-Mart and Target are out of the question, as well as Gap (which also is the parent company for Old Navy and Banana Republic), Victoria's Secret, Nordstrom, Abercombi, Calvin Klein, Marshalls, Ralph Lauren, T.J. Maxx, Levis, Bebe, Amazon, oh and the list goes on and on!
There are several banks they also cannot do business with...like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase...just to name of the few big ones on the list.
Hope Conservatives don't plan on traveling. It may be difficult with American Airlines, Delta, Jet Blue, and United on at least one of these lists, as well as several hotels under Marriott, Wyndham, and Hilton also showing up on one or both lists.
Of course, BOTH Pepsi Co and Walt Disney are on at least one of these two lists, and that opens a whole can of worms, seeing as those two companies alone own about half the world (or at least it seems). And so many food items...General Mills...can't even drown their sorrows in Ben and Jerry's!
I mean, everyone has the right to boycott who they wish. There are a couple of companies I boycott for my own reasons, and it is usually something very specific. However, you would never see me burning my stuff...I would donate it or consign it (at least try to get some money back to buy a replacement of a different brand or something else). Even I understand that if I boycotted every company that didn't align 100% with my ideals and beliefs, I might as well live alone on an island...growing my own food, building my own shelter, and walking around naked...as no company aligns 100% with what I believe.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
These SAME people will pay 10% blindly to a church!
In one of my many, many online arguments today, someone brought up an interesting fact. Most of the Right is made of church-going Christians...church-goers who have NO PROBLEM handing over 10%...or more...of their income every month to their church, without having any clue where the money is really going! This especially includes mega-churches such as Joel Osteen's in Houston, or Bethel Church in Redding, California, where chances are likely that these "tithes" are going to pay for the pastors' mansions or private planes!
However, when it comes to paying any portion of their "hard earned money" to help make sure people have access to their healthcare they need in this country...oh hell no!!! They don't want their tax dollars going to a national healthcare system. They don't what to pay just a little more on their insurance premiums to make sure EVERYONE who needs access to things such as maternity care has it. Oh, and many of these same people don't think they should have to pay school taxes when they pay tuition to send their kids to private schools, or have no children in school at all!
The very people who scream the loudest against "socialism" are the very people who freely hand money over to some church just so they can get a "feel good" message every Sunday morning! The very same people who claim to believe in a book that states they should help take care of the poor, needy, sick, elderly, orphaned, etc. Talk about some HYPOCRISY!
However, when it comes to paying any portion of their "hard earned money" to help make sure people have access to their healthcare they need in this country...oh hell no!!! They don't want their tax dollars going to a national healthcare system. They don't what to pay just a little more on their insurance premiums to make sure EVERYONE who needs access to things such as maternity care has it. Oh, and many of these same people don't think they should have to pay school taxes when they pay tuition to send their kids to private schools, or have no children in school at all!
The very people who scream the loudest against "socialism" are the very people who freely hand money over to some church just so they can get a "feel good" message every Sunday morning! The very same people who claim to believe in a book that states they should help take care of the poor, needy, sick, elderly, orphaned, etc. Talk about some HYPOCRISY!
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
An interesting observation...
Last autumn, wildfires ripped through Sonoma and Napa counties in Northern California. These fires destroyed homes, businesses, vinyards.
Not a peep from most Christians about prayer for this area.
Around the same time, wildfires ripped through parts of Southern California. These fires and the Northern California fires combined saw 43 fatalities.
Again, not a peep from most Christians about prayer.
Last week, wildfires in Greece claim 91 lives, and causes devastating destruction.
Most Christians...silence!
This week, wildfires rage in and around Redding, California...home to Bethel Church. This church is a megachurch that many non-denominational churches are following for doctrine, practices, etc. They pay license fees to play songs in their own churches that Bethel holds the copywrites to.
From Christians? "Pray for Redding!!! Pray for California!!!"
Why is it they only pray when it is for their own? Weren't those affected by the wine country fires worthy, or not, because they produce an alcoholic product. What about Southern California? Or is there just too much sin in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas to be concerned with. What about Greece? Surely, the Greeks deserve prayer, right?
No, when the megachurch they all idolize is in danger of wildfires, only then is prayer justified!
Not a peep from most Christians about prayer for this area.
Around the same time, wildfires ripped through parts of Southern California. These fires and the Northern California fires combined saw 43 fatalities.
Again, not a peep from most Christians about prayer.
Last week, wildfires in Greece claim 91 lives, and causes devastating destruction.
Most Christians...silence!
This week, wildfires rage in and around Redding, California...home to Bethel Church. This church is a megachurch that many non-denominational churches are following for doctrine, practices, etc. They pay license fees to play songs in their own churches that Bethel holds the copywrites to.
From Christians? "Pray for Redding!!! Pray for California!!!"
Why is it they only pray when it is for their own? Weren't those affected by the wine country fires worthy, or not, because they produce an alcoholic product. What about Southern California? Or is there just too much sin in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas to be concerned with. What about Greece? Surely, the Greeks deserve prayer, right?
No, when the megachurch they all idolize is in danger of wildfires, only then is prayer justified!
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
The President cannot pardon himself, but here is how he can be indicted!
The Constitution prevents the President of the United States from pardoning himself. He cannot use his power to prevent his impeachment or removal. Now, some will argue that the Judicial Branch cannot indict a sitting President. This is true, however...
The Judicial Branch and/or House Judiciary Committee can order a special council to investigate suspected hinky business committed by the sitting President. Once this special council is ready to submit their findings to the House Judiciary Committee, they will then do so. The Committee can then determine if the findings are enough to bring up Articles of Impeachment to the House floor for a vote.
If Articles are deemed warranted, they are then voted on by the House. If the House votes to impeach, the matter is then sent to the Senate.
The Senate then serves as judge and jury. They determine in the impeachment holds water (just like a normal court will hear charges and determine if an indictment holds water). If they find they do, they can then vote to remove the President from office.
At this point, the President is no longer the sitting President, and...depending on what they were removed for...could then potentially be indicted on any and all crimes he was found to have committed that caused his impeachment!! And thus...no longer having their pardon power...they cannot pardon themselves from any convictions after the fact, either!
Now, some may ask about these cases that courts have determined can be heard that are not related to the ongoing special council investigation. Well, these cases involve civil actions...and no one is immune from a civil action. Keep in mind that the President can only be in office for so long. Most statutes of limitations only affect how long a person has to make a filing on a wrong done to them. The court, however, can continue the case as long as needed. Civil cases do not fall under the same rules as criminal cases, where the court must hear and try a case in a certain amount of time as protection of the rights of the accused...mostly because many of these folks are held until trail. You cannot hold a person in jail indefinitely for an accused crime without making a conviction. Civil judgements are a completely different ball game!
The Judicial Branch and/or House Judiciary Committee can order a special council to investigate suspected hinky business committed by the sitting President. Once this special council is ready to submit their findings to the House Judiciary Committee, they will then do so. The Committee can then determine if the findings are enough to bring up Articles of Impeachment to the House floor for a vote.
If Articles are deemed warranted, they are then voted on by the House. If the House votes to impeach, the matter is then sent to the Senate.
The Senate then serves as judge and jury. They determine in the impeachment holds water (just like a normal court will hear charges and determine if an indictment holds water). If they find they do, they can then vote to remove the President from office.
At this point, the President is no longer the sitting President, and...depending on what they were removed for...could then potentially be indicted on any and all crimes he was found to have committed that caused his impeachment!! And thus...no longer having their pardon power...they cannot pardon themselves from any convictions after the fact, either!
Now, some may ask about these cases that courts have determined can be heard that are not related to the ongoing special council investigation. Well, these cases involve civil actions...and no one is immune from a civil action. Keep in mind that the President can only be in office for so long. Most statutes of limitations only affect how long a person has to make a filing on a wrong done to them. The court, however, can continue the case as long as needed. Civil cases do not fall under the same rules as criminal cases, where the court must hear and try a case in a certain amount of time as protection of the rights of the accused...mostly because many of these folks are held until trail. You cannot hold a person in jail indefinitely for an accused crime without making a conviction. Civil judgements are a completely different ball game!
Friday, May 25, 2018
What about bullying?
There has been yet another school shooting today, in Indiana this time, committed by a teenager. Since Santa Fe, Texas last week, there has been a lot of talk again about how bullying may have played into it...that one of the girls killed had turned the kid down twice, and then embarrassed him in class when he persisted. I'm about certain, in this Indiana case, bullying is going to come up again.
So, let's talk about this bullying aspect to the 4 shooters in 15 days that have been teenagers!
Bullying has been going on for decades! I'm 45, and I can still remember being bullied in school, as I'm sure most of us can remember being bullied at some point in school. If you weren't bullied, chances are you were the one doing the bullying. Stealing lunch money, giving wedgies...there are many forms of bullying that have happened over the years. Bullying has been the focus of so many storylines in movies and such...some serious, some funny. I remember watching Revenge of the Nerds, and routing for those "nerds" because I could relate to them!
At first, I was picked on to the point of going home crying for my acne. It started at a young age for me, and it was pretty bad. Can't recall how many times I heard the term "pizza face". I would go home and cry...begging my mom to help me by taking me to a doctor, or allowing me to at least wear some sort of foundation makeup to try to cover it up. She wouldn't take me to a dermatologist. Instead, I heard over and over that acne was just a part of growing up! Mom also stood firm to her "no makeup until you are 15" rule...so no relief for me their, either.
On top of that, I was always what I call...well...quirky. I was attracted to computers at an early age, and I was just good at them. I was always a "bit of a nerd" you could say...having made all A's in all my years of grade school. But I also found myself in a place where I was very different! I ended up going to school in small town Texas. Back then, that meant that this very small population was mostly "country"...Roper boots, jeans, etc. And then there was me...punk rock/new wave, granny boots instead of cowboy boots, skinny pants instead of Wrangler jeans, all black some days, crazy neon colors the next, earrings never matched...listening to Duran Duran, The Cure, Siouxsie Sioux, and a host of other MTV 120 Minute favorites, while the rest of the school listened to George Strait, Reba McIntyer, Randy Travis, and the likes. I was the odd-ball, and it was made known to me!
We had a group in school that to this day I affectionately call "The Misfits". We were the kids who really didn't fit in. We were the one-offs that in some larger school somewhere else, we may have found a group of kids just like us...but not here where a grade averaged 50 students or less. We had everyone. The girl who had a terrible scar on her chest that looked like you could just lace her up, because that is what they had to do when she was younger, they had to go in to work on her heart so many times. The guy that everyone was certain was gay, but no one knew for sure. They guy who was years older than us...because he had failed grades too many times (who did end up being the "diva" I know and love still to this day). While everyone was in their cliques in the morning gossiping about the world, you could find us on the floor in a hallway somewhere playing Uno! We were called names. We were pushed around. Sometimes one of us got beat up.
Now, I can't speak for the others, but NOT ONCE did I ever consider walking into the school and shooting it up! I watched horror movies with as much blood and gore as you could imagine! My punk rock music wasn't the "nicest" thing to listen to, for sure! Lots of screaming about anarchy and the likes. My favorite show was Miami Vice, which every week they were in to drugs, and shooting up stuff, and fights, etc. We didn't have the same video games...I was no stranger to Centipede. But even still, I never even considered shooting up a school. Spreading a rumor as revenge, maybe...but never shooting up the place!
So, what has changed from the 1980's until now? Okay...so video games may have gotten more realistic...possibly desensitizing kids to violence. But for decades, kids' behavior has been blamed on media of some sort, and we have not seen terror like we are seeing today. You can't blame it on abortions, either. Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. Before that, women were getting back alley abortions, using coat hangers, etc. to get rid of unwanted pregnancy. We had the "Free Love" era of the 60's along women burning their bras. I'm certain there were plenty of abortions back then. Still, you didn't see people, or kids, trying to shoot up a school every week. Even just a few decade or a few years ago...this wasn't as common an occurrence as it is NOW!
What has changed?! Try the climate of America! While bullying used to be something you mainly saw in the school yards, and grown folk mostly acted like grown folk, that isn't the case any longer! Sure, there were the shouts of racial slurs on the streets, or in the work place. There were environments that felt hostile. However, most people could go to their homes, and that was their safe place. It isn't that way any longer!!! We have elected officials bullying the media, various people groups, etc. on TV and social media every day!! Every day there is another list of hurtful statements said about a people. Then, have this media outlet spewing hate about one side, and the other media outlet spewing hate about he other.....hate hate hate hate hate! Everywhere...hate!
To add fire, the skin of society has gotten thinner, in general. There are many legit complaints out there, but when you have a political commentator on national TV complaining about getting water thrown on her, because of her past hateful comments on air. When you have a kid who can't simply walk away from a girl who won't go out with him, and has to pester her to the point of being embarrassed in front of a whole class, and later coming to school with a gun killing her and several others. You have a President getting butt hurt over something the New York Times or CNN said about him, or about some football players kneeling to protest police brutality and unequal treatment of people of color...turning to social media for days with rants, when we all know he has better things to do! This same President then turns around and calls impoverished countries shitholes, undocumented immigrants rapists, and a variety of other hateful comments.
Yes, bullying may be at play here, but it is because as a country, we are all bombarded by it every day! It is the new social norm!!! You can't even have an intellectual debate on social media any longer without the name calling starting. Say you support BLM or gun reform...out comes the "libtard" comments. You want to know where these kids are getting all this hate and violence from? It isn't the media. It isn't video games. It is the very people who are raising them!
So, let's talk about this bullying aspect to the 4 shooters in 15 days that have been teenagers!
Bullying has been going on for decades! I'm 45, and I can still remember being bullied in school, as I'm sure most of us can remember being bullied at some point in school. If you weren't bullied, chances are you were the one doing the bullying. Stealing lunch money, giving wedgies...there are many forms of bullying that have happened over the years. Bullying has been the focus of so many storylines in movies and such...some serious, some funny. I remember watching Revenge of the Nerds, and routing for those "nerds" because I could relate to them!
At first, I was picked on to the point of going home crying for my acne. It started at a young age for me, and it was pretty bad. Can't recall how many times I heard the term "pizza face". I would go home and cry...begging my mom to help me by taking me to a doctor, or allowing me to at least wear some sort of foundation makeup to try to cover it up. She wouldn't take me to a dermatologist. Instead, I heard over and over that acne was just a part of growing up! Mom also stood firm to her "no makeup until you are 15" rule...so no relief for me their, either.
On top of that, I was always what I call...well...quirky. I was attracted to computers at an early age, and I was just good at them. I was always a "bit of a nerd" you could say...having made all A's in all my years of grade school. But I also found myself in a place where I was very different! I ended up going to school in small town Texas. Back then, that meant that this very small population was mostly "country"...Roper boots, jeans, etc. And then there was me...punk rock/new wave, granny boots instead of cowboy boots, skinny pants instead of Wrangler jeans, all black some days, crazy neon colors the next, earrings never matched...listening to Duran Duran, The Cure, Siouxsie Sioux, and a host of other MTV 120 Minute favorites, while the rest of the school listened to George Strait, Reba McIntyer, Randy Travis, and the likes. I was the odd-ball, and it was made known to me!
We had a group in school that to this day I affectionately call "The Misfits". We were the kids who really didn't fit in. We were the one-offs that in some larger school somewhere else, we may have found a group of kids just like us...but not here where a grade averaged 50 students or less. We had everyone. The girl who had a terrible scar on her chest that looked like you could just lace her up, because that is what they had to do when she was younger, they had to go in to work on her heart so many times. The guy that everyone was certain was gay, but no one knew for sure. They guy who was years older than us...because he had failed grades too many times (who did end up being the "diva" I know and love still to this day). While everyone was in their cliques in the morning gossiping about the world, you could find us on the floor in a hallway somewhere playing Uno! We were called names. We were pushed around. Sometimes one of us got beat up.
Now, I can't speak for the others, but NOT ONCE did I ever consider walking into the school and shooting it up! I watched horror movies with as much blood and gore as you could imagine! My punk rock music wasn't the "nicest" thing to listen to, for sure! Lots of screaming about anarchy and the likes. My favorite show was Miami Vice, which every week they were in to drugs, and shooting up stuff, and fights, etc. We didn't have the same video games...I was no stranger to Centipede. But even still, I never even considered shooting up a school. Spreading a rumor as revenge, maybe...but never shooting up the place!
So, what has changed from the 1980's until now? Okay...so video games may have gotten more realistic...possibly desensitizing kids to violence. But for decades, kids' behavior has been blamed on media of some sort, and we have not seen terror like we are seeing today. You can't blame it on abortions, either. Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. Before that, women were getting back alley abortions, using coat hangers, etc. to get rid of unwanted pregnancy. We had the "Free Love" era of the 60's along women burning their bras. I'm certain there were plenty of abortions back then. Still, you didn't see people, or kids, trying to shoot up a school every week. Even just a few decade or a few years ago...this wasn't as common an occurrence as it is NOW!
What has changed?! Try the climate of America! While bullying used to be something you mainly saw in the school yards, and grown folk mostly acted like grown folk, that isn't the case any longer! Sure, there were the shouts of racial slurs on the streets, or in the work place. There were environments that felt hostile. However, most people could go to their homes, and that was their safe place. It isn't that way any longer!!! We have elected officials bullying the media, various people groups, etc. on TV and social media every day!! Every day there is another list of hurtful statements said about a people. Then, have this media outlet spewing hate about one side, and the other media outlet spewing hate about he other.....hate hate hate hate hate! Everywhere...hate!
To add fire, the skin of society has gotten thinner, in general. There are many legit complaints out there, but when you have a political commentator on national TV complaining about getting water thrown on her, because of her past hateful comments on air. When you have a kid who can't simply walk away from a girl who won't go out with him, and has to pester her to the point of being embarrassed in front of a whole class, and later coming to school with a gun killing her and several others. You have a President getting butt hurt over something the New York Times or CNN said about him, or about some football players kneeling to protest police brutality and unequal treatment of people of color...turning to social media for days with rants, when we all know he has better things to do! This same President then turns around and calls impoverished countries shitholes, undocumented immigrants rapists, and a variety of other hateful comments.
Yes, bullying may be at play here, but it is because as a country, we are all bombarded by it every day! It is the new social norm!!! You can't even have an intellectual debate on social media any longer without the name calling starting. Say you support BLM or gun reform...out comes the "libtard" comments. You want to know where these kids are getting all this hate and violence from? It isn't the media. It isn't video games. It is the very people who are raising them!
Monday, May 21, 2018
My response to GOP gun control talking points
Saw this article today, and it left me with some thoughts:
6 GOP talking points that show why the gun control debate isn't changing anytime soon
1. Violent Video Games
How many times have we heard media blamed for society's behavior. Rock and roll music, rap music, violent movies and television shows, violent video games, etc. Hell, they have even burned books they deemed damaging to accepted ideals of society! I've played and I play plenty violent video games. I listen to rock music...rap not so much. I love horror, thriller, and action movies. Yet, I have no desire to go shoot up a school or a concert! When someone pisses me off, I don't wish death upon them. If anything, I'll "door slam" the person if I deem them to toxic to my life (i.e., cutting them off...no communication or communicating with only when necessary).
At the same time, I raised two kids, who watch the same type of movies, listened to the same type of music, and played the same type of video games. Oh, and I also spanked them! Neither one of them grew up to be violent people!
2. Abortion
You know the Conservatives are going to throw abortion in there somehow!! Though, I can agree that fatherless homes are a contributing factor, but abortion? You know what will help us see decreases in both abortions and fatherless homes? A decrease in unwanted pregnancies. You know the best way to limit unwanted pregnancies? Nope, it's not preaching abstinance! It is providing free or low cost birth control to any woman who wants it! This has been proven in other countries, you know. It's not rocket science! The cost to provide birth control will be much cheaper than it costs now for SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, etc. for children born into poverty situations, which in many cases are women where the father split during pregnancy and they are trying to make ends meet with a kid on their own!
3. Irresponsible Gun Owners
Okay...on this point, I can agree. The last 3 shootings involved teens who somehow got their hands on their parents', or another family member's, guns. We need to start holding these parents and such accountable for not properly securing their guns. Trigger locks are not that expensive. Lock boxes, locking cabinets, gun safes...we need to start holding people accountable who's guns are used in crimes, because they did not have them properly secured!
4. Not Enough Armed Teachers
Are you kidding me with this? How about not enough campus police?! Why do we have to put more responsibility on teachers than they already have for their crappy pay? We need to quit cutting budgets when it comes to campus security! We protect money and valuables with more security than we protect our children. There are two guards to a small armored truck, but many school campuses in this country are LUCKY to have ONE armed resource officer! There are even more campuses who don't even have any dedicated resource officers!
5. Too Many School Entrances
On this one, I can somewhat agree. We do need to limit the number of entrances to schools. Campuses should be closed, meaning that even parents aren't allowed to wander around looking for their child. The problem isn't "number of doors", as codes require a certain number of exits for emergency purposes. However, said exits can be one-way...meaning no outside hardware, open from the inside only, and it would be smart to even have cameras in place at the exits so that a...wait for it...security officer possibly watching the cameras could identify someone trying to break into these doors. Will it cost money? Yes....but isn't the cost worth protecting our children? As I've already pointed out, we protect our money and valuables better than we do our children. Even a bank may have many emergency exits, but only one entrance!
6. Decline of Religion in Schools
Now, this one, I call total BULLSHIT! Look at the world. Religion seems to cause more violence than peace! These kids don't need Jesus! These kids need discipline...PERIOD! Parents aren't allowed to parent, and many don't even want to parent. What happened to the days when kids would get a good butt tanning for being disrespectful to their parents or lying? Oh, yeah...Dr. Spock and the whole crew of "anti-spanking" people! Let me tell you, I was no stranger to a butt tanning, and I'm not violent! If anything, it caused a condition called RESPECT FOR OTHERS. When my kids were younger (they are 23 and 27 now), I can recall picking them up from school. A few times, I recall seeing children (yes, children...not teens...this was elementary school) screaming and cussing at their parents...yelling things like, "What are you going to do about it? Nothing...that's right nothing, because I'll call CPS!" We are in a time where too many kids are running the show at home instead of the parents! I recall something I heard my mom say when I was growing up...and she was talking to others about parenting. She talked about how she could take me over to someone's house, and I wouldn't mess with anything. I would sit and play with my toys quietly, and people were amazed. My mom pointed out that she never put anything up. If I reached for something I shouldn't, I would get a little smack on my hand...that the way she saw it, I came into HER world, and she wasn't going to rearrange it for me...I had to learn how to live in it. I raised my kids in a similar fashion...I kept my eyes on them and paid attention to what they were doing, and if they were doing or touching something they shouldn't, they were corrected. My things were MY THINGS, and I didn't just hand my things over to shut them up or keep them occupied (can't tell you how many times I see kids scream for a parent's cell phone, and the parent hands it over to just shut them up). I wasn't raised with religion...we didn't go to church when I was growing up. One thing is for certain, though...I was raised! Even with my parents divorced, they stood united, and what rules existed in one house existed in the other. I was taught respect, manners, and things like it was not appropriate to hit or hurt another person just because I didn't agree with them or didn't like them! Decline of religion? How about decline of PARENTING?! When you are in the age of free-range parenting, buying kids whatever and not making them earn things, "talking" to kids when they do wrong instead of laying down some hard consequences, etc., it is no wonder we have the problems we have now!
It goes on to quote: "It's not about the guns," Patrick said on ABC on Sunday. "It's about us."
Yes, and no. See, in this country right now, we have a gun obsession! Less than 1/3 of Americans own guns, but there are more privately owned guns in our population than there are people! To be accurate, the number of privately owned guns works out to 1.5 guns per person, if everyone owned a gun! Yes, it may be a "people problem", but with guns so easily accessible, it is so easy for someone who wants to do evil things to get their hands on one. Hell, all the 3 teens in the last couple of weeks had to do was walk into their parents' bedroom and grab it out of the drawer or cabinet, it seems. We have everything from single shot, lower powered rifles to 30 round magazine, high powered rifles. It's a simple rule that even economics uses...the higher the supply, the easier to acquire! And, manufacturers crank more and more out every day! Add all the rhetoric the NRA pumps out, and you have a recipe for disaster!
Also, to note....if you pay attention to the loudest supporters of the 2nd Amendment, it appears most "responsible gun owners" are CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES! Kind of blows that "decline of religion" argument. Seems the most religious are the ones buying the most guns and screaming about their rights to own as many and of whatever kind they want...because, you know...that evil government may come out to get you one day. All those guns are going to be really effective against tanks, biological weapons, drones, missiles, etc.
6 GOP talking points that show why the gun control debate isn't changing anytime soon
1. Violent Video Games
How many times have we heard media blamed for society's behavior. Rock and roll music, rap music, violent movies and television shows, violent video games, etc. Hell, they have even burned books they deemed damaging to accepted ideals of society! I've played and I play plenty violent video games. I listen to rock music...rap not so much. I love horror, thriller, and action movies. Yet, I have no desire to go shoot up a school or a concert! When someone pisses me off, I don't wish death upon them. If anything, I'll "door slam" the person if I deem them to toxic to my life (i.e., cutting them off...no communication or communicating with only when necessary).
At the same time, I raised two kids, who watch the same type of movies, listened to the same type of music, and played the same type of video games. Oh, and I also spanked them! Neither one of them grew up to be violent people!
2. Abortion
You know the Conservatives are going to throw abortion in there somehow!! Though, I can agree that fatherless homes are a contributing factor, but abortion? You know what will help us see decreases in both abortions and fatherless homes? A decrease in unwanted pregnancies. You know the best way to limit unwanted pregnancies? Nope, it's not preaching abstinance! It is providing free or low cost birth control to any woman who wants it! This has been proven in other countries, you know. It's not rocket science! The cost to provide birth control will be much cheaper than it costs now for SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, etc. for children born into poverty situations, which in many cases are women where the father split during pregnancy and they are trying to make ends meet with a kid on their own!
3. Irresponsible Gun Owners
Okay...on this point, I can agree. The last 3 shootings involved teens who somehow got their hands on their parents', or another family member's, guns. We need to start holding these parents and such accountable for not properly securing their guns. Trigger locks are not that expensive. Lock boxes, locking cabinets, gun safes...we need to start holding people accountable who's guns are used in crimes, because they did not have them properly secured!
4. Not Enough Armed Teachers
Are you kidding me with this? How about not enough campus police?! Why do we have to put more responsibility on teachers than they already have for their crappy pay? We need to quit cutting budgets when it comes to campus security! We protect money and valuables with more security than we protect our children. There are two guards to a small armored truck, but many school campuses in this country are LUCKY to have ONE armed resource officer! There are even more campuses who don't even have any dedicated resource officers!
5. Too Many School Entrances
On this one, I can somewhat agree. We do need to limit the number of entrances to schools. Campuses should be closed, meaning that even parents aren't allowed to wander around looking for their child. The problem isn't "number of doors", as codes require a certain number of exits for emergency purposes. However, said exits can be one-way...meaning no outside hardware, open from the inside only, and it would be smart to even have cameras in place at the exits so that a...wait for it...security officer possibly watching the cameras could identify someone trying to break into these doors. Will it cost money? Yes....but isn't the cost worth protecting our children? As I've already pointed out, we protect our money and valuables better than we do our children. Even a bank may have many emergency exits, but only one entrance!
6. Decline of Religion in Schools
Now, this one, I call total BULLSHIT! Look at the world. Religion seems to cause more violence than peace! These kids don't need Jesus! These kids need discipline...PERIOD! Parents aren't allowed to parent, and many don't even want to parent. What happened to the days when kids would get a good butt tanning for being disrespectful to their parents or lying? Oh, yeah...Dr. Spock and the whole crew of "anti-spanking" people! Let me tell you, I was no stranger to a butt tanning, and I'm not violent! If anything, it caused a condition called RESPECT FOR OTHERS. When my kids were younger (they are 23 and 27 now), I can recall picking them up from school. A few times, I recall seeing children (yes, children...not teens...this was elementary school) screaming and cussing at their parents...yelling things like, "What are you going to do about it? Nothing...that's right nothing, because I'll call CPS!" We are in a time where too many kids are running the show at home instead of the parents! I recall something I heard my mom say when I was growing up...and she was talking to others about parenting. She talked about how she could take me over to someone's house, and I wouldn't mess with anything. I would sit and play with my toys quietly, and people were amazed. My mom pointed out that she never put anything up. If I reached for something I shouldn't, I would get a little smack on my hand...that the way she saw it, I came into HER world, and she wasn't going to rearrange it for me...I had to learn how to live in it. I raised my kids in a similar fashion...I kept my eyes on them and paid attention to what they were doing, and if they were doing or touching something they shouldn't, they were corrected. My things were MY THINGS, and I didn't just hand my things over to shut them up or keep them occupied (can't tell you how many times I see kids scream for a parent's cell phone, and the parent hands it over to just shut them up). I wasn't raised with religion...we didn't go to church when I was growing up. One thing is for certain, though...I was raised! Even with my parents divorced, they stood united, and what rules existed in one house existed in the other. I was taught respect, manners, and things like it was not appropriate to hit or hurt another person just because I didn't agree with them or didn't like them! Decline of religion? How about decline of PARENTING?! When you are in the age of free-range parenting, buying kids whatever and not making them earn things, "talking" to kids when they do wrong instead of laying down some hard consequences, etc., it is no wonder we have the problems we have now!
It goes on to quote: "It's not about the guns," Patrick said on ABC on Sunday. "It's about us."
Yes, and no. See, in this country right now, we have a gun obsession! Less than 1/3 of Americans own guns, but there are more privately owned guns in our population than there are people! To be accurate, the number of privately owned guns works out to 1.5 guns per person, if everyone owned a gun! Yes, it may be a "people problem", but with guns so easily accessible, it is so easy for someone who wants to do evil things to get their hands on one. Hell, all the 3 teens in the last couple of weeks had to do was walk into their parents' bedroom and grab it out of the drawer or cabinet, it seems. We have everything from single shot, lower powered rifles to 30 round magazine, high powered rifles. It's a simple rule that even economics uses...the higher the supply, the easier to acquire! And, manufacturers crank more and more out every day! Add all the rhetoric the NRA pumps out, and you have a recipe for disaster!
Also, to note....if you pay attention to the loudest supporters of the 2nd Amendment, it appears most "responsible gun owners" are CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES! Kind of blows that "decline of religion" argument. Seems the most religious are the ones buying the most guns and screaming about their rights to own as many and of whatever kind they want...because, you know...that evil government may come out to get you one day. All those guns are going to be really effective against tanks, biological weapons, drones, missiles, etc.
Friday, May 18, 2018
Just so much wrong...
Today's school shooting highlights so many issues in our country right now.
First of all...not going to rehash my positions on gun reform...but 3 school shooting incidents in 8 days is a problem, people!! Here we have at least another 9 children and a teacher dead...more to add to the toll. How many more of these before Congress wakes up and tells the NRA to stuff it, and pass some legislation with reasonable measures to help bring an end to these tragedies?!
Second...how are these kids getting these fucking guns?! I was just reading this morning that the gun the 19-year-old used in Dixon, Illinois (where thankfully no one but the shooter was injured) belonged to his mother. It was a 9mm semi-auto that she purchased in 2012. Now, when these "kids" get guns from their parents to do these terrible things, why are the parents not being held responsible, as well. Okay, sure...the Dixon shooter technically was not a kid, but the mother obviously did not have the gun properly secured if he got hold of it and used it in this shooting! Trigger locks start as low as $10, folks, and renders a gun unusable unless the lock can be broken. With all the talk about "not taking rights away from RESPONSIBLE gun owners", how is it being a responsible gun owner if you do not have your weapon properly secured when not in use?
And finally....and it is a matter of time before this one comes up again...at least two of the shooters in the last 8 days were white. The 3rd (Palmdale shooter) is unknown, as they are not releasing many details due to him being a minor. Important thing to note...all three shooters are in custody! This has been brought up before, especially with the Parkland shooter (who was white). So, you are white, and you just shoot up a school (or at least attempt to), but you are taken into custody alive. However, a black man holding a cell phone in his own yard after being suspected of breaking into cars is killed rather than taken into custody?! A black man pulled over for a traffic violation is killed, rather than taken into custody? A black man selling CDs in front of a store is killed, rather than being taken into custody? Am I the only one who sees the crazy in this?
First of all...not going to rehash my positions on gun reform...but 3 school shooting incidents in 8 days is a problem, people!! Here we have at least another 9 children and a teacher dead...more to add to the toll. How many more of these before Congress wakes up and tells the NRA to stuff it, and pass some legislation with reasonable measures to help bring an end to these tragedies?!
Second...how are these kids getting these fucking guns?! I was just reading this morning that the gun the 19-year-old used in Dixon, Illinois (where thankfully no one but the shooter was injured) belonged to his mother. It was a 9mm semi-auto that she purchased in 2012. Now, when these "kids" get guns from their parents to do these terrible things, why are the parents not being held responsible, as well. Okay, sure...the Dixon shooter technically was not a kid, but the mother obviously did not have the gun properly secured if he got hold of it and used it in this shooting! Trigger locks start as low as $10, folks, and renders a gun unusable unless the lock can be broken. With all the talk about "not taking rights away from RESPONSIBLE gun owners", how is it being a responsible gun owner if you do not have your weapon properly secured when not in use?
And finally....and it is a matter of time before this one comes up again...at least two of the shooters in the last 8 days were white. The 3rd (Palmdale shooter) is unknown, as they are not releasing many details due to him being a minor. Important thing to note...all three shooters are in custody! This has been brought up before, especially with the Parkland shooter (who was white). So, you are white, and you just shoot up a school (or at least attempt to), but you are taken into custody alive. However, a black man holding a cell phone in his own yard after being suspected of breaking into cars is killed rather than taken into custody?! A black man pulled over for a traffic violation is killed, rather than taken into custody? A black man selling CDs in front of a store is killed, rather than being taken into custody? Am I the only one who sees the crazy in this?
Monday, April 23, 2018
So, it's been at least a few weeks...
...since we have had a shooting to hit the headlines, so I guess we were due, right?
Here is the irony in this past weekend's shooting...it just blew the pro-gun folks' stance of "it takes someone with a gun to stop someone with a gun" right out of the water! To make the issue sting even more (though I hate bringing race into this), a white mentally deranged man was disarmed by an unarmed black man! But seriously...the shooter was stopped by someone without a gun! Imagine that!
Now, when you get to the background of this situation, one cannot help but shake their head and wonder what certain parties were thinking. This shooter back in May 2016 had a delusion that singer Taylor Swift was stalking him. At that time, family members were concerned about the fact that this guy owned several guns and appeared to be a bit unstable. Then, in August 2017, he is arrested for trespassing when he compromised a security barrier at the White House. The charges were dropped after he had completed his community service. However, after completing said service, authorities moved to seize his guns and owner's ID after an interview with him where they became concerned.
Here is where it gets sketchy! At some point after, said guns are turned over to this guy's dad. We don't know what happened after that...only that the gun found at the scene at the Waffle House was in fact one of those previously seized guns, indicating that dad apparently gave the weapons back to this mentally unstable person, who now didn't hold a valid gun license/ID!
What this situation has done is uncovered another major hole! In my opinion, when these guns were seized once the person was deemed a risk, they should have been sent to be destroyed...not returned into the population, and surely not turned over to anyone close to the shooter where they could have easily returned to his possession. I want to know how it was even cleared for the dad to have the guns...under what circumstances was THAT decision made!
I do have to really grab hold of this fact, though, that the shooter was disarmed by an unarmed man. I don't care what race he was...he proved that you don't need a gun to stop a person with a gun! That is big!
Here is the irony in this past weekend's shooting...it just blew the pro-gun folks' stance of "it takes someone with a gun to stop someone with a gun" right out of the water! To make the issue sting even more (though I hate bringing race into this), a white mentally deranged man was disarmed by an unarmed black man! But seriously...the shooter was stopped by someone without a gun! Imagine that!
Now, when you get to the background of this situation, one cannot help but shake their head and wonder what certain parties were thinking. This shooter back in May 2016 had a delusion that singer Taylor Swift was stalking him. At that time, family members were concerned about the fact that this guy owned several guns and appeared to be a bit unstable. Then, in August 2017, he is arrested for trespassing when he compromised a security barrier at the White House. The charges were dropped after he had completed his community service. However, after completing said service, authorities moved to seize his guns and owner's ID after an interview with him where they became concerned.
Here is where it gets sketchy! At some point after, said guns are turned over to this guy's dad. We don't know what happened after that...only that the gun found at the scene at the Waffle House was in fact one of those previously seized guns, indicating that dad apparently gave the weapons back to this mentally unstable person, who now didn't hold a valid gun license/ID!
What this situation has done is uncovered another major hole! In my opinion, when these guns were seized once the person was deemed a risk, they should have been sent to be destroyed...not returned into the population, and surely not turned over to anyone close to the shooter where they could have easily returned to his possession. I want to know how it was even cleared for the dad to have the guns...under what circumstances was THAT decision made!
I do have to really grab hold of this fact, though, that the shooter was disarmed by an unarmed man. I don't care what race he was...he proved that you don't need a gun to stop a person with a gun! That is big!
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
How did they NOT know?
As I read recent headlines about all the trouble in the Trump camp with the recent raiding of his attorney's offices, I continue to ask myself how did Evangelical Christians ever back this man in the first place?! I've seen article after article, and post after post, about how Trump is the home of Christians to turn this country around, and how his Presidency was prophesied. I see the very same people I used to attend church with who claimed Obama was really a Muslim, and only pretended to be Christian, now backing Trump with full support...talking about prayers for our leader! When his past discretions are reported on, it is dismissed by these same people as "fake news", the "victims" are "liars", or Trump is given a pass based on the fact that God is merciful and forgiving...claiming that Trump is no longer THAT man and has changed his ways!
There are some that are now starting to turn their back on Trump, as further things are revealed. However, none of what has been revealed is of no surprise to those of us who have actually paid attention over the last 2-3 decades! None of these things in the headlines today are of any surprise to me. I warned people during the primaries that this was exactly the kind of man Trump was! His womanizing was never a secret. The doorman saying that Trump has a "secret lovechild with a housekeeper" is of no surprise! His flip-flopping is exactly what I expect of him. And quite frankly, his poor judgments as a businessman that led to 7 Trump Corp bankruptcies is showing in a big way. What is happening is EXACTLY what I expected to happen if Trump were elected. I've paid attention over the years. I knew what kind of man he was!
That is why I have to ask how they didn't know. I mean, a lot of these people I see in support of Trump are at least 1-2 decades older than I am, so they have had even longer to hear of Trump's reputation. It was never a secret...but always out there for all to see! He has never been a very private person.
Of course, I then have to look at things and experiences in my personal life with a family who made themselves to be sold out to Christ. I was married for 14 years to a man who lead the world to believe he was some man of God...he was even in church leadership (we both were). His third affair while we were married was as plain as the nose on anyone's face, as he and the other woman carried on flirting in church every Sunday. If that wasn't clear enough, he married that very same woman within about 3 1/2 months of our separation! He was NEVER asked to step down from his position. As a matter of fact, I know for certain that he is still on the praise team and the head of sound for that very same church.
I left church completely shortly after the separation of my ex. The hypocrisy, among other things, was just too much, and I couldn't allow that to be in my life any longer. I guess it really should be of no surprise to me that these Evangelicals are backing a man like Trump! Most of the churches I know of these days like to preach that "prosperity gospel" and Trump is exactly the man that brings that gospel some extra fire. The only problem is that these people don't realize that they are too low on the totem pole for Trump's kind of prosperity! He won't help put more money in their pockets...he and the GOP are out to destroy them and the rest of the middle class! And they call us sheep!
There are some that are now starting to turn their back on Trump, as further things are revealed. However, none of what has been revealed is of no surprise to those of us who have actually paid attention over the last 2-3 decades! None of these things in the headlines today are of any surprise to me. I warned people during the primaries that this was exactly the kind of man Trump was! His womanizing was never a secret. The doorman saying that Trump has a "secret lovechild with a housekeeper" is of no surprise! His flip-flopping is exactly what I expect of him. And quite frankly, his poor judgments as a businessman that led to 7 Trump Corp bankruptcies is showing in a big way. What is happening is EXACTLY what I expected to happen if Trump were elected. I've paid attention over the years. I knew what kind of man he was!
That is why I have to ask how they didn't know. I mean, a lot of these people I see in support of Trump are at least 1-2 decades older than I am, so they have had even longer to hear of Trump's reputation. It was never a secret...but always out there for all to see! He has never been a very private person.
Of course, I then have to look at things and experiences in my personal life with a family who made themselves to be sold out to Christ. I was married for 14 years to a man who lead the world to believe he was some man of God...he was even in church leadership (we both were). His third affair while we were married was as plain as the nose on anyone's face, as he and the other woman carried on flirting in church every Sunday. If that wasn't clear enough, he married that very same woman within about 3 1/2 months of our separation! He was NEVER asked to step down from his position. As a matter of fact, I know for certain that he is still on the praise team and the head of sound for that very same church.
I left church completely shortly after the separation of my ex. The hypocrisy, among other things, was just too much, and I couldn't allow that to be in my life any longer. I guess it really should be of no surprise to me that these Evangelicals are backing a man like Trump! Most of the churches I know of these days like to preach that "prosperity gospel" and Trump is exactly the man that brings that gospel some extra fire. The only problem is that these people don't realize that they are too low on the totem pole for Trump's kind of prosperity! He won't help put more money in their pockets...he and the GOP are out to destroy them and the rest of the middle class! And they call us sheep!
Friday, April 6, 2018
What the YouTube shooting tells us.
I've waited to respond on the YouTube shooting until the facts could be sorted out. This is because in the days following the shooting, I've heard so many different accounts of the who the shooter was and why she did it, that I wanted to be sure of what was true before I started to discuss the issue.
Here are the actual facts:
1. Shooter used a handgun that she purchased legally (as it was registered to her). Now, what this tells me is that the common sense gun laws that California has did work...to an extent. No one was killed (other than the shooter killing herself), and only 3 people were injured. Had the shooter used an AR-15 (which is very hard to purchase in California due to state laws), this could have been a very different and darker story! I've already posted about the difference in damage between the caliber of bullet used in most handguns vs that of the AR-15, and how much more damage the bullet of an AR-15 does. This is due to the bullet moving faster than that of a handgun...and most of the damage is done from the kinetic energy of this round entering the body. I've also pointed out that due to the low recoil of an AR-15, it is much easier to rapid fire...spray and pray, if you will...which doesn't really require a great deal of aim if you shower a crowd with bullets! A handgun, on the other hand, has much more kick (aside from the bullet leaving the barrel at a slower speed than that of an AR-15), requiring the user to have to spend even a few seconds recovering themselves. Unless you are an expert shooter with lots and lots of practice, the chance of you rapid firing with a handgun are much lower than that of an AR-15. For this reason...the damage in this case was minimized.
2. The shooter was NOT Muslim. I've seen a lot of posts so far saying that the reason people are quiet is because the shooter being Muslim does not fit the left narrative. I've taken my time, and waited for the facts...and no, the shooter was NOT Muslim. Vegan? Yes. Does being vegan equal being violent? Unfortunately, this is what so many believe thanks to how crazy PETA supporters get. Seriously...PETA does not help the vegan cause. I know a whole lot of people who are vegan who are very peaceful people, and think that PETA is a bit crazy!
3. The shooter's motive was her dissatisfaction about how many views her videos were getting. This was not a domestic issue and some vendetta against an ex-boyfriend as I've seen reported. Why would someone be upset about YouTube views? Because that is how some people actually ear a living! Yes, there are professional YouTube folks out there that make a rather decent living off of their videos. That said, yes...there has been several complaints in the last 2-3 years about the algorithms that YouTube is using and such, and how many YouTubers have seen a decrease in revenue because of YouTube algorithms and policies. But seriously....has anyone actually watched the bits of video made available (as I believe her channels are down) that this woman produced? I really, really hope she was totally acting, because, yeah...something appears off with her. I'm going to go out on a limb and say content probably turned a lot of viewers away!
Now, there are still questions about whether or not the local police were warned at all. The shooter's father said he tried to warn the police. The police are saying the father did not warn them of a threat, and that he didn't seem too concerned that his daughter would do something bad. Would be interesting to know if there really was a ball-drop in this case.
Bottom line...the reason that there probably isn't a lot of chatter about this instance is because it wasn't as tragic as it could have been! In a way, common sense gun laws worked! I've never said that the things I've suggested would stop ALL shootings...I've only stated that they would make it more difficult for evil people to get guns, and by limiting the types of guns and size of mags, that there would be fewer casualties in the case that a shooting still occurred. The latter was definitely proven in this case...3 injuries, and only the shooter dead...as opposed to the carnage that there would have been with an AR-15!
Here are the actual facts:
1. Shooter used a handgun that she purchased legally (as it was registered to her). Now, what this tells me is that the common sense gun laws that California has did work...to an extent. No one was killed (other than the shooter killing herself), and only 3 people were injured. Had the shooter used an AR-15 (which is very hard to purchase in California due to state laws), this could have been a very different and darker story! I've already posted about the difference in damage between the caliber of bullet used in most handguns vs that of the AR-15, and how much more damage the bullet of an AR-15 does. This is due to the bullet moving faster than that of a handgun...and most of the damage is done from the kinetic energy of this round entering the body. I've also pointed out that due to the low recoil of an AR-15, it is much easier to rapid fire...spray and pray, if you will...which doesn't really require a great deal of aim if you shower a crowd with bullets! A handgun, on the other hand, has much more kick (aside from the bullet leaving the barrel at a slower speed than that of an AR-15), requiring the user to have to spend even a few seconds recovering themselves. Unless you are an expert shooter with lots and lots of practice, the chance of you rapid firing with a handgun are much lower than that of an AR-15. For this reason...the damage in this case was minimized.
2. The shooter was NOT Muslim. I've seen a lot of posts so far saying that the reason people are quiet is because the shooter being Muslim does not fit the left narrative. I've taken my time, and waited for the facts...and no, the shooter was NOT Muslim. Vegan? Yes. Does being vegan equal being violent? Unfortunately, this is what so many believe thanks to how crazy PETA supporters get. Seriously...PETA does not help the vegan cause. I know a whole lot of people who are vegan who are very peaceful people, and think that PETA is a bit crazy!
3. The shooter's motive was her dissatisfaction about how many views her videos were getting. This was not a domestic issue and some vendetta against an ex-boyfriend as I've seen reported. Why would someone be upset about YouTube views? Because that is how some people actually ear a living! Yes, there are professional YouTube folks out there that make a rather decent living off of their videos. That said, yes...there has been several complaints in the last 2-3 years about the algorithms that YouTube is using and such, and how many YouTubers have seen a decrease in revenue because of YouTube algorithms and policies. But seriously....has anyone actually watched the bits of video made available (as I believe her channels are down) that this woman produced? I really, really hope she was totally acting, because, yeah...something appears off with her. I'm going to go out on a limb and say content probably turned a lot of viewers away!
Now, there are still questions about whether or not the local police were warned at all. The shooter's father said he tried to warn the police. The police are saying the father did not warn them of a threat, and that he didn't seem too concerned that his daughter would do something bad. Would be interesting to know if there really was a ball-drop in this case.
Bottom line...the reason that there probably isn't a lot of chatter about this instance is because it wasn't as tragic as it could have been! In a way, common sense gun laws worked! I've never said that the things I've suggested would stop ALL shootings...I've only stated that they would make it more difficult for evil people to get guns, and by limiting the types of guns and size of mags, that there would be fewer casualties in the case that a shooting still occurred. The latter was definitely proven in this case...3 injuries, and only the shooter dead...as opposed to the carnage that there would have been with an AR-15!
Monday, March 26, 2018
The Definition of Hypocrisy
When the very people who defended their right to fly this flag, claiming that it represented their ancestors and their struggles, and not the ideals of slavery, etc.:
hate on this girl for wearing a patch of the Cuban flag she wears as acknowledgment of her father's Cuban roots, claiming that it means she supports the Communist government of that country:
Can they be more obvious in their beliefs that things only apply when it benefits them?
hate on this girl for wearing a patch of the Cuban flag she wears as acknowledgment of her father's Cuban roots, claiming that it means she supports the Communist government of that country:
Can they be more obvious in their beliefs that things only apply when it benefits them?
Sunday, March 18, 2018
The world could learn from my escape room experience!
A couple of days ago, a handful of us from the dance studio participated in an escape room as part of a birthday celebration of one from our dance family. As we are going through the orientation for the room, we find out that the completion rate for this particular room is only 17%. We look at each other, but we still have some hope we can do this...and if we don't beat it, at least we had fun, right?
Now, this group of folks is probably as different as any group can be. We are not a typical mix of people who would choose to be friends off the street or in the workplace. Our ages are all over the place, different religious beliefs, different backgrounds, very different fields of work and hobbies. The ONE thing that connects us is dance, and the fact that we have been dancing together for years. We are a family!
When it came to the escape room, we ended up beating it, with 2 minutes and 11 seconds left on our time! After the rush was over, and I got to thinking about our amazing feat, I thought about how all of us contributed something to solving this room. We had to find combinations and codes that helped us open things to gain access to other codes or clues. Some of these codes came from other clues that were basically puzzles to solve. Others were a bit sneaky, where you had to be in the exact spot of a room to see them painted on the wall. Even another was in some "graffiti" that didn't come right out and give you the number, but each thing written was a clue to a number (i.e., it referenced a part of a song or something). I don't think any of us would have been able to find all of the clues ourselves, because there were so many different ways they were hidden, and if we were in there with like-minded people, we probably would not have seen them all due to thinking too much the same way. However, because of our diversity and the fact we all saw the world just a bit different, we were able to get all the clues...everyone had something to contribute! No one's clue was more important than another clue, because they were ALL needed to solve the larger puzzle! That means that no one person's view of things in the room was more important...because we all needed to see the room a bit different to ultimately succeed...and probably none of us would have been able to get through it alone.
This got me thinking about problems in our country...and in the world. If only the rest of the world could see how we worked together in that room...without fighting or arguing. We just stayed focused on the prize...which was beating the room. In the end, we celebrated each person's contribution, because they were all important. How the world would be a better place if we operated like we did in that room!! What if everyone acknowledged that everyone's skills...from the janitor to the scientist finding a cure for a disease...served a purpose and was important to the end goal? I mean...we need our trash picked up and things to be cleaned just as much as we need cures for sickness. There are also about a billion things we need in-between...people who make clothing or cars, people who keep the back end workings of our cell phones and streaming services going, people who help protect our communities and our homes. No one is cut out for all of the jobs! We tend to take jobs and do things based on our beliefs...religious our otherwise. Our brains are wired differently with some people being more analytical with others being more creative. Even our physical build can dictate what we have to contribute, with some people being naturally stronger than others, or the fact that some jobs require smaller people while others require larger. The things we can contribute are no more important than the next person! We need ALL of the pieces for the world to run...just like we needed the differences between us in that room to beat it! If only the world could learn to have respect for each other and be able to work together like we did in that room, it would be a much better place!
Now, this group of folks is probably as different as any group can be. We are not a typical mix of people who would choose to be friends off the street or in the workplace. Our ages are all over the place, different religious beliefs, different backgrounds, very different fields of work and hobbies. The ONE thing that connects us is dance, and the fact that we have been dancing together for years. We are a family!
When it came to the escape room, we ended up beating it, with 2 minutes and 11 seconds left on our time! After the rush was over, and I got to thinking about our amazing feat, I thought about how all of us contributed something to solving this room. We had to find combinations and codes that helped us open things to gain access to other codes or clues. Some of these codes came from other clues that were basically puzzles to solve. Others were a bit sneaky, where you had to be in the exact spot of a room to see them painted on the wall. Even another was in some "graffiti" that didn't come right out and give you the number, but each thing written was a clue to a number (i.e., it referenced a part of a song or something). I don't think any of us would have been able to find all of the clues ourselves, because there were so many different ways they were hidden, and if we were in there with like-minded people, we probably would not have seen them all due to thinking too much the same way. However, because of our diversity and the fact we all saw the world just a bit different, we were able to get all the clues...everyone had something to contribute! No one's clue was more important than another clue, because they were ALL needed to solve the larger puzzle! That means that no one person's view of things in the room was more important...because we all needed to see the room a bit different to ultimately succeed...and probably none of us would have been able to get through it alone.
This got me thinking about problems in our country...and in the world. If only the rest of the world could see how we worked together in that room...without fighting or arguing. We just stayed focused on the prize...which was beating the room. In the end, we celebrated each person's contribution, because they were all important. How the world would be a better place if we operated like we did in that room!! What if everyone acknowledged that everyone's skills...from the janitor to the scientist finding a cure for a disease...served a purpose and was important to the end goal? I mean...we need our trash picked up and things to be cleaned just as much as we need cures for sickness. There are also about a billion things we need in-between...people who make clothing or cars, people who keep the back end workings of our cell phones and streaming services going, people who help protect our communities and our homes. No one is cut out for all of the jobs! We tend to take jobs and do things based on our beliefs...religious our otherwise. Our brains are wired differently with some people being more analytical with others being more creative. Even our physical build can dictate what we have to contribute, with some people being naturally stronger than others, or the fact that some jobs require smaller people while others require larger. The things we can contribute are no more important than the next person! We need ALL of the pieces for the world to run...just like we needed the differences between us in that room to beat it! If only the world could learn to have respect for each other and be able to work together like we did in that room, it would be a much better place!
Monday, March 12, 2018
The NRA Strikes Again!
Read news this weekend that just as soon as Florida passed a bill increasing the age to buy ANY firearm in the state to 21, the NRA has swooped in with a lawsuit claiming that such is unconstitutional! Really? If a person under the age of 21 is deemed not old enough to consume alcohol, how can you say they are old enough to purchase any kind of firearm, which is even more dangerous?
Okay, no I know the argument by heart already. "Oh, they aren't old enough to buy a gun at 18, but they are old enough to die for YOUR freedom?" The answer is...NO! I know what the laws say, but I don't think an 18 year old is old enough to be sent into war do die for this country! Enlist? Okay, sure...but don't deploy until they are at least 21. There are too many young men and women being sent into war zones with only a few weeks of training, and they simply don't have the emotional or mental maturity yet to deal with what they will see or have to do over there! What happens is that so many come back...mentally screwed up for life...to a home where the mental health system is failing them! I'm not saying that 3 years is going to prevent it, but it is amazing what a difference just 3 years makes when it comes to mental and emotional maturity!
And would it really hurt to keep these young men and women back a couple or few years to give them additional training? So that maybe they can do more than carry a rifle and be cannon fodder? Train them to operate tanks or drones. Train them to be mechanics on Navy ships. Hell, even put them in the classroom to get a head start on their higher education! Give them time to mature, to learn, and maybe give them some skills so that when they do come back home, it is easier for them to integrate back into civilian life should they decide to not re-enlist!
But I digress in order to ask the question I get a billion times when I say that no person under the age of 21 should be allowed to buy a firearm! I will stick to that, as well as my opinion about sending our young men and women to be killed! Alas, the NRA strikes again! This will be a case to watch, as I am afraid that money and special interest will again prevail, and cripple the security of this country...just like it did when they won the ruling that caused our background check system to forever be broken! The NRA do no represent people...not even their 5 million members! They represent gun manufacturers...PERIOD! They will fight anything that would potentially mean fewer gun sales. We MUST stop giving lobbyists and special interests control of this country!
Okay, no I know the argument by heart already. "Oh, they aren't old enough to buy a gun at 18, but they are old enough to die for YOUR freedom?" The answer is...NO! I know what the laws say, but I don't think an 18 year old is old enough to be sent into war do die for this country! Enlist? Okay, sure...but don't deploy until they are at least 21. There are too many young men and women being sent into war zones with only a few weeks of training, and they simply don't have the emotional or mental maturity yet to deal with what they will see or have to do over there! What happens is that so many come back...mentally screwed up for life...to a home where the mental health system is failing them! I'm not saying that 3 years is going to prevent it, but it is amazing what a difference just 3 years makes when it comes to mental and emotional maturity!
And would it really hurt to keep these young men and women back a couple or few years to give them additional training? So that maybe they can do more than carry a rifle and be cannon fodder? Train them to operate tanks or drones. Train them to be mechanics on Navy ships. Hell, even put them in the classroom to get a head start on their higher education! Give them time to mature, to learn, and maybe give them some skills so that when they do come back home, it is easier for them to integrate back into civilian life should they decide to not re-enlist!
But I digress in order to ask the question I get a billion times when I say that no person under the age of 21 should be allowed to buy a firearm! I will stick to that, as well as my opinion about sending our young men and women to be killed! Alas, the NRA strikes again! This will be a case to watch, as I am afraid that money and special interest will again prevail, and cripple the security of this country...just like it did when they won the ruling that caused our background check system to forever be broken! The NRA do no represent people...not even their 5 million members! They represent gun manufacturers...PERIOD! They will fight anything that would potentially mean fewer gun sales. We MUST stop giving lobbyists and special interests control of this country!
Friday, March 9, 2018
What about the kid with a bomb?!
There have been a lot of pro-gun activists this week pointing out that earlier in the week, a kid who was an ISIS sympathizer/supporter showed up to a Utah school with a bomb in his backpack. Now, because of a malfunction, his backpack started smoking, and he was caught before any damage was done.
Pro-gun activists are quick to jump on the fact that this has not gotten the kind of news coverage that the Parkland shootings did...claiming it is because it doesn't meet the narrative for gun control! What they fail to acknowledge is that incidents happen all the time that aren't reported on the national front. Why? Because no one is harmed! There have been many more than 12 cases of a someone with a gun on a school campus since January...but you only hear about the 12 where someone was actually injured or hurt. "But he had a bomb...proves that taking away guns won't solve the issue!" Again, MOST of us are not calling for the disarming of a nation...we are not out to take away your damn guns! What we want is for it to be harder for evil or unstable people to have access to guns! Guns are more common, because they are easier! There are many more cases of guns being used to hurt people than there are bombs, because bombs require more work! I've said this before. You have to gather the ingredients and parts. You have to find the instructions on the web. You have to construct the bomb without blowing yourself up! Most people are going to go to all that work.
Guns are used in far more intentional attacks on people than bombs or cars, but you can't tell the pro-gun activists that. They will point you to drunk drivers and general accidents due to reckless driving or what not, and point out that more people are killed by cars every year than guns. They will fail to also note that very, very few of those deaths are intentional. Hardly anyone says on a Friday night, "I'm going to go get drunk, and then I'm going to go kill someone with my car." No one says, "I'm going to leave the house today and go blasting through a red light and kill someone while playing on my cell phone." The difference is intent!
Of course, then they come at you with the medical stats, about how many people die every year by this and that...heart disease, stroke, whatever. Guess what, everyone dies at some point. When that is for each person, no one knows. If we don't die by the actions of another person, our bodies will eventually start breaking down...some sooner than others, based on genetics. A guy I dated back in my early 20's...his dad died in his 40's due to a severe heart attack. The guy I used to date? I found out a few years ago that he died just shy of age 50...due to a severe heart attack! Could it have been avoided? Maybe, but the point is, genetically, that is what he was already at risk for. There is no promise that anything he did in his life would have changed anything dramatically. There are plenty of people who have eaten healthy and exercised that still had heart attacks! While diet and exercise, yes, reduce your risk, depending on your exact genetic markers, there is no guarantee. Just like I've known people who smoked all their lives, and still lived well into their 90's without a trace of cancer...because of their genetics! So, don't start throwing "natural causes" numbers at me with relation to a gun argument!
Actually, I'm rather surprised that not more of the media picked up the backpack story, because of the ISIS tie, I would have fully expected certain folks to jump on the "see this is why we need immigration reform" narrative again!
Pro-gun activists are quick to jump on the fact that this has not gotten the kind of news coverage that the Parkland shootings did...claiming it is because it doesn't meet the narrative for gun control! What they fail to acknowledge is that incidents happen all the time that aren't reported on the national front. Why? Because no one is harmed! There have been many more than 12 cases of a someone with a gun on a school campus since January...but you only hear about the 12 where someone was actually injured or hurt. "But he had a bomb...proves that taking away guns won't solve the issue!" Again, MOST of us are not calling for the disarming of a nation...we are not out to take away your damn guns! What we want is for it to be harder for evil or unstable people to have access to guns! Guns are more common, because they are easier! There are many more cases of guns being used to hurt people than there are bombs, because bombs require more work! I've said this before. You have to gather the ingredients and parts. You have to find the instructions on the web. You have to construct the bomb without blowing yourself up! Most people are going to go to all that work.
Guns are used in far more intentional attacks on people than bombs or cars, but you can't tell the pro-gun activists that. They will point you to drunk drivers and general accidents due to reckless driving or what not, and point out that more people are killed by cars every year than guns. They will fail to also note that very, very few of those deaths are intentional. Hardly anyone says on a Friday night, "I'm going to go get drunk, and then I'm going to go kill someone with my car." No one says, "I'm going to leave the house today and go blasting through a red light and kill someone while playing on my cell phone." The difference is intent!
Of course, then they come at you with the medical stats, about how many people die every year by this and that...heart disease, stroke, whatever. Guess what, everyone dies at some point. When that is for each person, no one knows. If we don't die by the actions of another person, our bodies will eventually start breaking down...some sooner than others, based on genetics. A guy I dated back in my early 20's...his dad died in his 40's due to a severe heart attack. The guy I used to date? I found out a few years ago that he died just shy of age 50...due to a severe heart attack! Could it have been avoided? Maybe, but the point is, genetically, that is what he was already at risk for. There is no promise that anything he did in his life would have changed anything dramatically. There are plenty of people who have eaten healthy and exercised that still had heart attacks! While diet and exercise, yes, reduce your risk, depending on your exact genetic markers, there is no guarantee. Just like I've known people who smoked all their lives, and still lived well into their 90's without a trace of cancer...because of their genetics! So, don't start throwing "natural causes" numbers at me with relation to a gun argument!
Actually, I'm rather surprised that not more of the media picked up the backpack story, because of the ISIS tie, I would have fully expected certain folks to jump on the "see this is why we need immigration reform" narrative again!
Monday, March 5, 2018
Why is an AR-15 more deadly?
I'm going to put this link here, and then give a very, very brief summary.
What an AR-15 Can Do to the Human Body
I've seen so many arguments out there about how the AR-15 isn't all that more deadly than a handgun or other rifle. But, this article makes a couple of points that you will rarely see addressed.
1) The bullet shot by an AR-15 leaves the barrel at 3x the speed of a bullet shot from a handgun (even semi-auto). While the bullet of a handgun could potentially get stopped by a larger bone in the body, or just lodge itself and not come out the other side, this high speed can cause it to ricochet round inside the body or go tearing out through the other side and into another person. The doctor in this article points out that a person surviving a handgun shot will more than likely only need one surgery to treat, the survivor of an AR-15 shot would need 3-10 surgeries!! I mean, how is this for a description of what it can do:
"It has so much energy that it can disintegrate three inches of leg bone. 'It would just turn it to dust,' says Donald Jenkins, a trauma surgeon at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. If it hits the liver, 'the liver looks like a jello mold that’s been dropped on the floor.' And the exit wound can be a nasty, jagged hole the size of an orange."
"The bullet from an AR-15 might miss the femoral artery in the leg, but cavitation may burst the artery anyway, causing death by blood loss."
2) Unlike handguns and other rifles, the AR-15 doesn't have a whole lot of kick. The kick of the gun is what makes even a semi-auto handgun more difficult to rapid fire, because it takes the user a second to re-grip and what not. Because of the lack of kick in the AR-15, a shooter can just sit there and wail on that trigger as fast as they can. If they are really good, they can fire close to auto speeds, or if they install something called a "bump stock". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if you can get shots off quicker, you can do more damage.
Don't let the pro-gun folks lie to you! They will say, "But I have a semi-auto handgun...should that be banned, too?" Or they will say, "A .308 caliber will do more damage." They will never address the real reasons why the AR-15 is such a dangerous weapon that needs to be taken off of the streets!
What an AR-15 Can Do to the Human Body
I've seen so many arguments out there about how the AR-15 isn't all that more deadly than a handgun or other rifle. But, this article makes a couple of points that you will rarely see addressed.
1) The bullet shot by an AR-15 leaves the barrel at 3x the speed of a bullet shot from a handgun (even semi-auto). While the bullet of a handgun could potentially get stopped by a larger bone in the body, or just lodge itself and not come out the other side, this high speed can cause it to ricochet round inside the body or go tearing out through the other side and into another person. The doctor in this article points out that a person surviving a handgun shot will more than likely only need one surgery to treat, the survivor of an AR-15 shot would need 3-10 surgeries!! I mean, how is this for a description of what it can do:
"It has so much energy that it can disintegrate three inches of leg bone. 'It would just turn it to dust,' says Donald Jenkins, a trauma surgeon at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. If it hits the liver, 'the liver looks like a jello mold that’s been dropped on the floor.' And the exit wound can be a nasty, jagged hole the size of an orange."
"The bullet from an AR-15 might miss the femoral artery in the leg, but cavitation may burst the artery anyway, causing death by blood loss."
2) Unlike handguns and other rifles, the AR-15 doesn't have a whole lot of kick. The kick of the gun is what makes even a semi-auto handgun more difficult to rapid fire, because it takes the user a second to re-grip and what not. Because of the lack of kick in the AR-15, a shooter can just sit there and wail on that trigger as fast as they can. If they are really good, they can fire close to auto speeds, or if they install something called a "bump stock". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if you can get shots off quicker, you can do more damage.
Don't let the pro-gun folks lie to you! They will say, "But I have a semi-auto handgun...should that be banned, too?" Or they will say, "A .308 caliber will do more damage." They will never address the real reasons why the AR-15 is such a dangerous weapon that needs to be taken off of the streets!
Friday, March 2, 2018
Break it down!
Today, I will be breaking down this graphic:
This is a graphic that some gun supporters are throwing around to try to show that there is not a need for any gun reform in this country. What they fail to point out is deaths done to one's self versus deaths by the hand of another.
Abortion: First of all, this number is subjective...depending on when one considers "life" actually begins. Notice that they don't have a separate category for miscarriages or still-births. One has to wonder....are these being clumped in with abortions to make a point? Also, how many of these abortions were due to the pregnancy being a danger to the woman's life, or after finding out that the fetus was not viable or wouldn't survive long after birth even if they were carried to term? They like to throw out that abortion number without any other details behind it, to make it look that there are all these women just using abortion as a means of birth control!
Tobacco: This is a very slow death, and for most of the people in this number, something they did to themselves knowing the risk they were taking smoking. Smoking in general...unless you are pregnant...doesn't cause death to another person due to your actions.
Obesity: Much like tobacco, this is a very slow death, and doesn't cause death to another person due to your actions.
Medical Error: While this is the result of a doctor making a medical error, and thus is someone causing death to another...true. However, so much can be said about this that would be it's own blog! You have nurses and doctors that are often required to work back to back shifts, and mistakes can be made due to lack of sleep. And what about issues that are related to not having all of the facts about a patient, because either they didn't share, or they didn't have full medical records? So many factors here.
Alcohol: Considering drunk driving has it's own category, I'm going to assume that we are talking the slow death that happens as the result of drinking over time. Again, just drinking by itself only shortens you own life, and doesn't cause death to another person.
Suicide: 100% does not cause death to another person! It doesn't also list the reasons a person may take their own life. Were they diagnosed with a terminal illness, and wanted to die on their own terms? Did they suffer from mental illness? Also, fails to break down how many of these suicides were by gun! Shouldn't these count in gun deaths.
Drunk Driving: Yes, again this is a case where your actions cause the death of another person, though this number fails to break down the number of victims who died due to a drunk driver versus the number of drunk drivers who met their own demise due to driving under the influence.
Poisoning: Though this is something that you can do to another person, more breakdown on this is needed. Are we talking accidental poisoning (like a child getting hold of a cleaning product)? Are we talking environmental poisoning?
ANY drug related death: This goes right up there with tobacco and alcohol. Though, not always a slow death, this is something someone inflicts on themselves, for various reasons. The mere use of drugs does not cause death to another person due to your actions.
Murder by gun: 100% the result of a person's actions causing the death of another! Also, while many of the other causes do not have an evil intention involved, so many shootings do! You point a gun at a person, you plan or want to do harm to that person! It has intent, while none of the ones above actually have intent to do harm to ANOTHER person! And this only addresses murder. What about accidental gun deaths, like maybe a hunting accident? Doesn't include that number, I bet!
And let's talk about intent, for a minute. No one smokes, overeats, or drinks with the intent of killing themselves! Suicide and maybe some drug related deaths (as I'm sure there are many overdoses that don't get classified as a suicide when they should be) are people who are hurting...physically and emotionally. Some have untreated mental illness (because we all know mental health services in this country sucks). Some are just tired of their body hurting. Some want deaths on their own terms. And I've already spelled it out for abortions. Quit throwing around numbers simply to try to support your point, without including the details behind them! I notice, they aren't listing some of the other many ways the pro-gun folks try to claim people will kill another person if guns were illegal. How many knife deaths? How many were beat to death by someone's bare hands or with a bat? How many died due to bombings? How many were purposely run down by cars this year so far? All of these other evil things...I bet would make those gun death's look high!
This is a graphic that some gun supporters are throwing around to try to show that there is not a need for any gun reform in this country. What they fail to point out is deaths done to one's self versus deaths by the hand of another.
Abortion: First of all, this number is subjective...depending on when one considers "life" actually begins. Notice that they don't have a separate category for miscarriages or still-births. One has to wonder....are these being clumped in with abortions to make a point? Also, how many of these abortions were due to the pregnancy being a danger to the woman's life, or after finding out that the fetus was not viable or wouldn't survive long after birth even if they were carried to term? They like to throw out that abortion number without any other details behind it, to make it look that there are all these women just using abortion as a means of birth control!
Tobacco: This is a very slow death, and for most of the people in this number, something they did to themselves knowing the risk they were taking smoking. Smoking in general...unless you are pregnant...doesn't cause death to another person due to your actions.
Obesity: Much like tobacco, this is a very slow death, and doesn't cause death to another person due to your actions.
Medical Error: While this is the result of a doctor making a medical error, and thus is someone causing death to another...true. However, so much can be said about this that would be it's own blog! You have nurses and doctors that are often required to work back to back shifts, and mistakes can be made due to lack of sleep. And what about issues that are related to not having all of the facts about a patient, because either they didn't share, or they didn't have full medical records? So many factors here.
Alcohol: Considering drunk driving has it's own category, I'm going to assume that we are talking the slow death that happens as the result of drinking over time. Again, just drinking by itself only shortens you own life, and doesn't cause death to another person.
Suicide: 100% does not cause death to another person! It doesn't also list the reasons a person may take their own life. Were they diagnosed with a terminal illness, and wanted to die on their own terms? Did they suffer from mental illness? Also, fails to break down how many of these suicides were by gun! Shouldn't these count in gun deaths.
Drunk Driving: Yes, again this is a case where your actions cause the death of another person, though this number fails to break down the number of victims who died due to a drunk driver versus the number of drunk drivers who met their own demise due to driving under the influence.
Poisoning: Though this is something that you can do to another person, more breakdown on this is needed. Are we talking accidental poisoning (like a child getting hold of a cleaning product)? Are we talking environmental poisoning?
ANY drug related death: This goes right up there with tobacco and alcohol. Though, not always a slow death, this is something someone inflicts on themselves, for various reasons. The mere use of drugs does not cause death to another person due to your actions.
Murder by gun: 100% the result of a person's actions causing the death of another! Also, while many of the other causes do not have an evil intention involved, so many shootings do! You point a gun at a person, you plan or want to do harm to that person! It has intent, while none of the ones above actually have intent to do harm to ANOTHER person! And this only addresses murder. What about accidental gun deaths, like maybe a hunting accident? Doesn't include that number, I bet!
And let's talk about intent, for a minute. No one smokes, overeats, or drinks with the intent of killing themselves! Suicide and maybe some drug related deaths (as I'm sure there are many overdoses that don't get classified as a suicide when they should be) are people who are hurting...physically and emotionally. Some have untreated mental illness (because we all know mental health services in this country sucks). Some are just tired of their body hurting. Some want deaths on their own terms. And I've already spelled it out for abortions. Quit throwing around numbers simply to try to support your point, without including the details behind them! I notice, they aren't listing some of the other many ways the pro-gun folks try to claim people will kill another person if guns were illegal. How many knife deaths? How many were beat to death by someone's bare hands or with a bat? How many died due to bombings? How many were purposely run down by cars this year so far? All of these other evil things...I bet would make those gun death's look high!
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Check your facts!!!
Remember right after the Parkland school shooting, memes started showing up on social media outlets claiming that it was the 18th school shooting in 2018? Remember how the Conservative right quickly jumped on their pages and started sharing a video debunking the claim? Sure, they were correct in calling out incorrect facts, but since that time, Conservative right has been posting their own false "facts", and getting pretty testy when presented with the actual facts by ANYONE...doesn't matter the affiliation.
First, there was David Hobbs, and this post that was getting lots of shares:
This made it's rounds claiming that Hogg had claimed to be a survivor of a school shooting in California. Now, Hogg was in fact in California, and was on the news there. The incident was over a surfboard. Hogg was vacationing there, and was vlogging for his YouTube channel. He posted a video about the incident on his channel, the local news caught wind of it, and interviewed him. However, the mere fact that he had appeared on a news story prior to the Parkland shooting left many Conservative right continuing to claim Hogg as a hired "crisis actor" even after presented with the facts.
Today, I started seeing this post popping up all over my feed:
This particular one originally made it's rounds in 2015, as some may remember. However, the Arapahoe High School shooting occurred in 2013, which is definitely not "this past Friday"! The shooter was NOT the only one dead after this tragedy. Claire Davis was shot in the head by the shooter as she tried to flee the school library. She died in the hospital 8 days later. Now, there are several of the Conservative right who try to claim that still leaves the claim of "he ended up the only one dead" valid...grasping onto that straw. No, it does not! It really doesn't matter if she died immediately or a week later...in the school, in the ambulance, or in the hospital. If the shooter did not die, he would have been charged with murder the second that Claire Davis was pronounced dead!
And let's move on to the death of the shooter. This meme goes on to claim that an ARMED school resource officer confronted the shooter. The claim leads our Conservative right friends to stand that the officer shot and killed the shooter, thus preventing more death. However, the real story is quite different! The officer was in another part of the school and in fact headed toward the library once he heard what was going on. By the time the officer reached the library, the shooter had already shot himself! Presenting this fact to my Conservative right "friends" today, I got the argument, "He shot himself because he heard the officer was headed his way. He would have taken more lives otherwise!" That is only speculation. The shooter was specifically looking for the librarian, angry that she had cut him from the debate team. There is no certainty that he would have even left the library, even if the officer was not already on hand at the school.
And finally, the claim that mainstream media did not cover this shooting...I mean, since we have heard nothing about it since "this past Friday". Truth is all major media outlets did cover this story back in 2013 when it actually happened. Of course, the media would not be covering this now 5 years later. But, all these actual facts presented, those Conservative right "friends" grasp at every straw to assert their claim that "guns save lives" when every point on the meme is disputed with actual facts.
I point this out, because these are the very people who went ape shit over false claims on social media and the likes that there have been 18 school shootings in 2018 in the US. Now, in the "18 school shooting" claim, the fact is that there have been 18 instances of guns being fired on school grounds. Not all of them were mass shootings...and some of them weren't even considered shootings, as no one was injured or killed. There was at least one case of someone committing suicide in a school parking lot, for example. But our Conservative right "friends" never pointed out those facts...they just screamed "WRONG" and ran away. Much like folks calling them on their bullshit claims...they just want to run away. They can dish out the claims of "false facts" or "fake news", but they really can't take it when they are found to be spreading falsehoods themselves!
First, there was David Hobbs, and this post that was getting lots of shares:
This made it's rounds claiming that Hogg had claimed to be a survivor of a school shooting in California. Now, Hogg was in fact in California, and was on the news there. The incident was over a surfboard. Hogg was vacationing there, and was vlogging for his YouTube channel. He posted a video about the incident on his channel, the local news caught wind of it, and interviewed him. However, the mere fact that he had appeared on a news story prior to the Parkland shooting left many Conservative right continuing to claim Hogg as a hired "crisis actor" even after presented with the facts.
Today, I started seeing this post popping up all over my feed:
This particular one originally made it's rounds in 2015, as some may remember. However, the Arapahoe High School shooting occurred in 2013, which is definitely not "this past Friday"! The shooter was NOT the only one dead after this tragedy. Claire Davis was shot in the head by the shooter as she tried to flee the school library. She died in the hospital 8 days later. Now, there are several of the Conservative right who try to claim that still leaves the claim of "he ended up the only one dead" valid...grasping onto that straw. No, it does not! It really doesn't matter if she died immediately or a week later...in the school, in the ambulance, or in the hospital. If the shooter did not die, he would have been charged with murder the second that Claire Davis was pronounced dead!
And let's move on to the death of the shooter. This meme goes on to claim that an ARMED school resource officer confronted the shooter. The claim leads our Conservative right friends to stand that the officer shot and killed the shooter, thus preventing more death. However, the real story is quite different! The officer was in another part of the school and in fact headed toward the library once he heard what was going on. By the time the officer reached the library, the shooter had already shot himself! Presenting this fact to my Conservative right "friends" today, I got the argument, "He shot himself because he heard the officer was headed his way. He would have taken more lives otherwise!" That is only speculation. The shooter was specifically looking for the librarian, angry that she had cut him from the debate team. There is no certainty that he would have even left the library, even if the officer was not already on hand at the school.
And finally, the claim that mainstream media did not cover this shooting...I mean, since we have heard nothing about it since "this past Friday". Truth is all major media outlets did cover this story back in 2013 when it actually happened. Of course, the media would not be covering this now 5 years later. But, all these actual facts presented, those Conservative right "friends" grasp at every straw to assert their claim that "guns save lives" when every point on the meme is disputed with actual facts.
I point this out, because these are the very people who went ape shit over false claims on social media and the likes that there have been 18 school shootings in 2018 in the US. Now, in the "18 school shooting" claim, the fact is that there have been 18 instances of guns being fired on school grounds. Not all of them were mass shootings...and some of them weren't even considered shootings, as no one was injured or killed. There was at least one case of someone committing suicide in a school parking lot, for example. But our Conservative right "friends" never pointed out those facts...they just screamed "WRONG" and ran away. Much like folks calling them on their bullshit claims...they just want to run away. They can dish out the claims of "false facts" or "fake news", but they really can't take it when they are found to be spreading falsehoods themselves!
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Who are the real sheep?
Sheep...these are described as people who just blindly follow. I find that the Conservatives love to label Liberals as sheep. But really...who are the real sheep?!
Over the last week, I've watched as gun-supporting Conservatives have towed the party line! "Guns don't kill people, people kill people!" They keep saying nothing needs to change, without even considering any of the vast and various arguments that Liberals and Progressives have laid out before them. They are happy with the current law, and are holding fast to a 200 year old Amendment that they believe says they are allowed to own any and all guns they want, without any restrictions...an Amendment, mind you, that never took into consideration where we would be today.
That got me thinking...who are the real sheep? I then saw today that long time evangelist Billy Grahm passed away. I started to think about this whole "sheep" mentality thing. Now, I do believe in God...a Creator and higher power...I just don't believe in the Bible as written. Why? Because I don't just blindly follow things!! I like to ask questions when things just don't seem right, or I find contradictions. I understand that the scrolls were written by a man's hand, and that these same scrolls were transcribed and translated by other men, who were under the orders of even more men who had agendas! I question whether the Bible is the EXACT Word of God, because man has had so much involvement...and we all know that man is vulnerable to mistakes and bias. But, we have "flocks"...as they even call themselves in church...of Conservatives who swear by this book as the "true word" of God. They follow it BLINDLY, and criticize others for asking questions, especially if the answer could contradict the Word!
Many of these very same Conservatives backed very different candidates in the Presidential Primaries, stating all the various reasons (many being reasons that Liberals/Progressives are against Trump) why Trump was a terrible choice for President!! When he somehow managed to win the nomination? These very same people lined up behind him and his policy...again, like a flock...because he was the Republican candidate, and how could they ever vote outside of party! Even if they HATED Clinton, there were other choices...much less evil choices. They could have even banded together to write in their preferred Republican candidate, had they wished. But now...they, as if Trump were their shepherd, followed him blindly into the night! Even now, when he has shown himself for all the things we said he was...all those anti-Christian things...they still follow in support for "their President"!
So, I ask again...who are the sheep?
Over the last week, I've watched as gun-supporting Conservatives have towed the party line! "Guns don't kill people, people kill people!" They keep saying nothing needs to change, without even considering any of the vast and various arguments that Liberals and Progressives have laid out before them. They are happy with the current law, and are holding fast to a 200 year old Amendment that they believe says they are allowed to own any and all guns they want, without any restrictions...an Amendment, mind you, that never took into consideration where we would be today.
That got me thinking...who are the real sheep? I then saw today that long time evangelist Billy Grahm passed away. I started to think about this whole "sheep" mentality thing. Now, I do believe in God...a Creator and higher power...I just don't believe in the Bible as written. Why? Because I don't just blindly follow things!! I like to ask questions when things just don't seem right, or I find contradictions. I understand that the scrolls were written by a man's hand, and that these same scrolls were transcribed and translated by other men, who were under the orders of even more men who had agendas! I question whether the Bible is the EXACT Word of God, because man has had so much involvement...and we all know that man is vulnerable to mistakes and bias. But, we have "flocks"...as they even call themselves in church...of Conservatives who swear by this book as the "true word" of God. They follow it BLINDLY, and criticize others for asking questions, especially if the answer could contradict the Word!
Many of these very same Conservatives backed very different candidates in the Presidential Primaries, stating all the various reasons (many being reasons that Liberals/Progressives are against Trump) why Trump was a terrible choice for President!! When he somehow managed to win the nomination? These very same people lined up behind him and his policy...again, like a flock...because he was the Republican candidate, and how could they ever vote outside of party! Even if they HATED Clinton, there were other choices...much less evil choices. They could have even banded together to write in their preferred Republican candidate, had they wished. But now...they, as if Trump were their shepherd, followed him blindly into the night! Even now, when he has shown himself for all the things we said he was...all those anti-Christian things...they still follow in support for "their President"!
So, I ask again...who are the sheep?
Monday, February 19, 2018
Breaking down the pro-gun arguments
Since I've seen a bunch of pro-gun folks spewing the same arguments the last several days, even going so far as spreading a 2013 video of a racist pig making such arguments, I'm going to give my rebuttle here to some of the talking points I've seen.
1. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
Yes, I'm going to jump straight out of the gate with this one, seeing as if I hear it one more time, I think I will scream! Most of us who want sensible gun reform are not stupid! We get that people kill people, and that a gun is not going to jump off of a table by itself and shoot someone. We understand that the gun is a tool. However, said tool has been created for one purpose, and one purpose only...to kill or seriously injure something or someone! The problem is, we have made it too easy for people who will more than likely use a gun in an evil way to have access to guns...legally! Current laws put a gun in the hands of a 19-year-old off-the-hinges BOY...yes I said boy! In a time where the average age to leave home is 25, we expect that someone as young as 18 has the maturity to purchase and own a rifle, including a semi-automatic rifle with a 30-round mag?! No, he isn't mature enough to go buy a beer, but he can buy an AR-15!
These same laws put a legal gun in the hands of a man discharged dishonorably from the military for violence against his then wife and stepchild...a man who also escaped from a military mental hospital at least once? Now, you may say, "But there are laws that state if someone is convicted of domestic violence, they cannot own a gun." Yes, this is true. But current policy with regards to background checks only require the checker to check the central background check database! It is ASSUMED that all agencies involved in law enforcement and the likes will report to this system in a timely manner. Well, guess what...they don't...especially when that agency is the US military! Ask anyone who is in the military who has needed something from them...a moving reimbursement check, etc. They will tell you that the military is terrible about doing things in a timely manner. So, it is no surprise that YEARS after this man's court martial and discharge, the information regarding this was never put into the central database; therefore, he was allowed to legally purchase a firearm at a nearby sporting goods store, and target the family of his estranged/ex wife and their entire church!
Our laws also allowed for a very strange (as many neighbors described him) son of a notorious bank robber to collect an arsenal of legal weapons...many of them semi-automatics...and tons of ammo in the course of under a year, and no one even batted an eye at it. Because most states, and especially at the federal level, do not have registration or licensing requirement unless one is carrying in public, there was no one keeping tally of exactly what this guy was buying to raise up a red flag! No one ever questioned his purchases over 11 months! As a result, we had the largest mass shooting in this country's history!
Add to that, in his first 100 days in office, Trump signed a reversal to an Obama-era policy that required the Social Security Administration to report quarterly on certain SSDI recipients who were getting benefits for certain mental disorders to the central background check database. This was in effort to keep guns out of the hands of people with certain mental disorders that would make them more likely to do something evil with said guns. President Trump reversed this policy, thereby allowing guns to be purchased by people with mental disorders!
Yes, people kill people, but why are we making it so fucking easy for them to do so?
2. What about all the people killed with knives, cars, etc? If a person wants to kill someone, they will find a way!
First of all, I'm not even hearing the car argument until guns are as regulated as cars!!! To operate a car:
- one must register said vehicle and renew said registration every year as a means to say they still own it.
- one must have the vehicle inspected once every year to make sure it is still legally fit for the road, and hasn't been modified in any illegal way that would make it dangerous.
- driver must be licensed to operate said vehicle after passing a written and practical skills test, and some states even require retaking of this test every so many years to make sure skills are still on point
- the vehicle must be insured, so that if anyone is injured or property damaged by operation of said vehicle, bills can be covered by the owner/operator
There are also many laws with regard to how a car can and cannot be operated...speed limitations, etc. If any of the above regulations are in violation, or the driver is found to be operating the vehicle in a dangerous way, police are allowed to put the person in jail and impound the vehicle. Even so much as an expired registration is enough to get pulled over, and your vehicle impounded, as it is deemed not legal to be on the road! You don't even have to be doing anything else wrong!
As for knives, materials to make bombs, baseball bats...whatever. It is not as easy to do as much damage with these things. Also, as pointed out before, these items are tools that were designed for use as something OTHER than a tool to injure or kill something. Knives are used to prepare and cut our food. They also come in handy for cutting rope or cable, opening boxes, etc. Before scissors were invented, they were also used to cut hair, and to cut hides in order to make clothing and carry pouches. The materials people say can be used in bomb recipes all have their own uses...from fortifying plants, killing weeds, killing insects, cleaning, etc. To make a bomb from said materials takes a little knowledge, as to not blow yourself up. It also takes time to gather all of the parts, and put them together...work, work, and work. And baseball bats really were never intended to hurt people, but rather knock a ball as far as you could as a sport or game. Hell, I could turn my computer flatscreen monitor into a weapon if I wanted, and women are often instructed on how to use their car or house keys as self defense if attacked in a parking lot alone at night!
The thing about guns is that they are easy, and they do the greatest amount of damage. I will admit, in China there was a knife attack that injured just as many as the shooting in Florida, but keep in mind...that was done by SEVERAL people wielding knives, not just one person. It takes a gang of people to do as much damage with knives as it takes one person with a gun in the same amount of time. Will people still find ways to kill people with gun reform? Yes...we get this. The goal is, however, to minimize the damage! If we take away the ability to kill or injure so many in such a short period of time, making it harder to do mass damage, we are saving lives! With a knife, this guy in Florida may have only killed or injured 2-3 people TOPS before say the coach or the athletic director took his ass down! It is a lot easier to disarm someone with a knife, than disarm someone with a semi-auto gun!
3. Owning guns is my 2nd Amendment right! What if our government turned against us? How would we defend ourselves?
I have to ask you, how ARE you going to defend yourselves, even with your guns?! Shortly before the Florida shooting, I just got through watching a special about the Branch Davidians in Waco. These folks had a stockpile of guns and ammo...they even had fully automatic rifles. On law enforcement's first approach, yes, the Davidians did shoot and kill some officers. What was the response? They brought in tanks, and gas, and helicopters!!! Now, the ATF could have taken them down right then and there, but there were children involved...so they were given some 50+ days of negotiations as the ATF tried to get the Davidians to release the children. Several children were released, not all. A few women...mothers of some of these children...also came out on their own. However, in the end, when the government decided it was time to move in, those guns the Davidians had were useless!! The tanks started punching holes in walls and gas was thrown into the building to disable the people inside. In final desperation, the Davidians set themselves on fire, because, in their belief, it was better to die and go to their maker than to be taken in by the ATF. They knew otherwise, they would be brought out of that compound and arrested, and their guns would be confiscated!
I bring all this up to point out that if we found ourselves defending against a tyrannical government, we can't! The US government could take out entire countries, if they really wanted to. Your stockpile of guns and ammo will NOT help you against tanks, fighter jets, bombers, biological weapons, dones, etc. They won't care if they kill you! They will take down communication systems, shut down power grids, gas you out of your home or bomb it. Hell, for all we know, they will slowly poison our water so that we are weakened before we ever realize what they are doing! Exaggerating? Possibly, but nothing I mentioned is an impossibility! The 2nd Amendment was written in a time where we fought wars with cannons and muskets...our Forefathers couldn't even imagine the world we live in today.
Sure, it is your right to protect yourself and your family...but the most your guns will protect against is other civilians or predatory animals. For that, you do not need a semi-automatic gun with a 30-round mag. It has actually been found that these are pretty useless for personal protection due to accuracy issues. A simple handgun, bolt action rifle, or pump action shotgun will do the job just fine. Hell, I know a lot of people who will shit themselves at the sound of that pump or bold action loading a round into the chamber, and take off right out that door without a shot even fired! A bolt action or pump action is all you even really need for hunting, too. People have been hunting with these for years...and with cross-bows.
4. If there was a "good guy" with a gun, they could have taken out the shooter, and lives would have been saved!
Oh, this one came up a lot after the Texas church shooting, when it was reported that someone chased the shooter down and took him out with their own gun. Did that person actually save lives? NOPE! The shooter already did his damage and was on the run! He wasn't running because someone showed up with a gun...he was already on his way away from the scene when the other guy went in pursuit!
Also, it has been found that even most people who carry, in a situation such as Las Vegas, Texas, or Florida, would not have the appropriate fortitude to take out the shooter effectively. Most would probably do more damage, by hitting an innocent themselves! Would you really want someone with no police or specialized military training in the area of taking out shooters firing a weapon around 2000+ panicking children?! I know I sure wouldn't! We are not going to stop violence by putting more guns on the streets. Am I okay with armed police or guard presence at our schools? Yes...I personally think we need more campus police. I also think we need closed campuses. The only problem is, there are many, many parents who disagree with me...at least, until a tragedy like Florida happens. They will scream about police presence or not having easy access to their child to eat lunch with them or bring them their homework, until a shooter makes their way onto a campus...then it is "why wasn't the campus secured better"! Um, because YOU didn't want it that way! Teachers with guns? Yeah, no. Like I said...more campus police. I want people trained in these types of situations, who know how to use judgement when taking out a shooter as to best protect those panicking around them...people who have to go through annual training on such things...not some civilian who is just as nervous as the kids!
So there are my arguments. Take them or leave them! I know the die-hard gun right protectors will ignore any and all logic I have presented here. Maybe some on the fence will understand. We need sensible reform! I would like to see a ban on semi-automatic weapons, and a ban on any mag that holds more than 15 rounds. I would like to see mandatory registration and licensing, which would include regular mental evaluations to keep said license. I would like to see the age limits for purchasing guns raised to at least 21. I would like to see the background check changed to include multiple agencies, especially including the military systems for discharges and court maritals, instead of just assuming that agencies are doing their job in entering data into the central database. I would like to see the policy put back into place that required the SSA to report SSDI recipients getting benefits for certain mental disorders. I would like to see closed school campuses, and more campus security. These are sensible changes! I'm not coming after all of your guns! I would just like to see something done that would limit the damage one can do with a gun, and also make it harder for "evil people who do evil things" from getting said guns!
1. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
Yes, I'm going to jump straight out of the gate with this one, seeing as if I hear it one more time, I think I will scream! Most of us who want sensible gun reform are not stupid! We get that people kill people, and that a gun is not going to jump off of a table by itself and shoot someone. We understand that the gun is a tool. However, said tool has been created for one purpose, and one purpose only...to kill or seriously injure something or someone! The problem is, we have made it too easy for people who will more than likely use a gun in an evil way to have access to guns...legally! Current laws put a gun in the hands of a 19-year-old off-the-hinges BOY...yes I said boy! In a time where the average age to leave home is 25, we expect that someone as young as 18 has the maturity to purchase and own a rifle, including a semi-automatic rifle with a 30-round mag?! No, he isn't mature enough to go buy a beer, but he can buy an AR-15!
These same laws put a legal gun in the hands of a man discharged dishonorably from the military for violence against his then wife and stepchild...a man who also escaped from a military mental hospital at least once? Now, you may say, "But there are laws that state if someone is convicted of domestic violence, they cannot own a gun." Yes, this is true. But current policy with regards to background checks only require the checker to check the central background check database! It is ASSUMED that all agencies involved in law enforcement and the likes will report to this system in a timely manner. Well, guess what...they don't...especially when that agency is the US military! Ask anyone who is in the military who has needed something from them...a moving reimbursement check, etc. They will tell you that the military is terrible about doing things in a timely manner. So, it is no surprise that YEARS after this man's court martial and discharge, the information regarding this was never put into the central database; therefore, he was allowed to legally purchase a firearm at a nearby sporting goods store, and target the family of his estranged/ex wife and their entire church!
Our laws also allowed for a very strange (as many neighbors described him) son of a notorious bank robber to collect an arsenal of legal weapons...many of them semi-automatics...and tons of ammo in the course of under a year, and no one even batted an eye at it. Because most states, and especially at the federal level, do not have registration or licensing requirement unless one is carrying in public, there was no one keeping tally of exactly what this guy was buying to raise up a red flag! No one ever questioned his purchases over 11 months! As a result, we had the largest mass shooting in this country's history!
Add to that, in his first 100 days in office, Trump signed a reversal to an Obama-era policy that required the Social Security Administration to report quarterly on certain SSDI recipients who were getting benefits for certain mental disorders to the central background check database. This was in effort to keep guns out of the hands of people with certain mental disorders that would make them more likely to do something evil with said guns. President Trump reversed this policy, thereby allowing guns to be purchased by people with mental disorders!
Yes, people kill people, but why are we making it so fucking easy for them to do so?
2. What about all the people killed with knives, cars, etc? If a person wants to kill someone, they will find a way!
First of all, I'm not even hearing the car argument until guns are as regulated as cars!!! To operate a car:
- one must register said vehicle and renew said registration every year as a means to say they still own it.
- one must have the vehicle inspected once every year to make sure it is still legally fit for the road, and hasn't been modified in any illegal way that would make it dangerous.
- driver must be licensed to operate said vehicle after passing a written and practical skills test, and some states even require retaking of this test every so many years to make sure skills are still on point
- the vehicle must be insured, so that if anyone is injured or property damaged by operation of said vehicle, bills can be covered by the owner/operator
There are also many laws with regard to how a car can and cannot be operated...speed limitations, etc. If any of the above regulations are in violation, or the driver is found to be operating the vehicle in a dangerous way, police are allowed to put the person in jail and impound the vehicle. Even so much as an expired registration is enough to get pulled over, and your vehicle impounded, as it is deemed not legal to be on the road! You don't even have to be doing anything else wrong!
As for knives, materials to make bombs, baseball bats...whatever. It is not as easy to do as much damage with these things. Also, as pointed out before, these items are tools that were designed for use as something OTHER than a tool to injure or kill something. Knives are used to prepare and cut our food. They also come in handy for cutting rope or cable, opening boxes, etc. Before scissors were invented, they were also used to cut hair, and to cut hides in order to make clothing and carry pouches. The materials people say can be used in bomb recipes all have their own uses...from fortifying plants, killing weeds, killing insects, cleaning, etc. To make a bomb from said materials takes a little knowledge, as to not blow yourself up. It also takes time to gather all of the parts, and put them together...work, work, and work. And baseball bats really were never intended to hurt people, but rather knock a ball as far as you could as a sport or game. Hell, I could turn my computer flatscreen monitor into a weapon if I wanted, and women are often instructed on how to use their car or house keys as self defense if attacked in a parking lot alone at night!
The thing about guns is that they are easy, and they do the greatest amount of damage. I will admit, in China there was a knife attack that injured just as many as the shooting in Florida, but keep in mind...that was done by SEVERAL people wielding knives, not just one person. It takes a gang of people to do as much damage with knives as it takes one person with a gun in the same amount of time. Will people still find ways to kill people with gun reform? Yes...we get this. The goal is, however, to minimize the damage! If we take away the ability to kill or injure so many in such a short period of time, making it harder to do mass damage, we are saving lives! With a knife, this guy in Florida may have only killed or injured 2-3 people TOPS before say the coach or the athletic director took his ass down! It is a lot easier to disarm someone with a knife, than disarm someone with a semi-auto gun!
3. Owning guns is my 2nd Amendment right! What if our government turned against us? How would we defend ourselves?
I have to ask you, how ARE you going to defend yourselves, even with your guns?! Shortly before the Florida shooting, I just got through watching a special about the Branch Davidians in Waco. These folks had a stockpile of guns and ammo...they even had fully automatic rifles. On law enforcement's first approach, yes, the Davidians did shoot and kill some officers. What was the response? They brought in tanks, and gas, and helicopters!!! Now, the ATF could have taken them down right then and there, but there were children involved...so they were given some 50+ days of negotiations as the ATF tried to get the Davidians to release the children. Several children were released, not all. A few women...mothers of some of these children...also came out on their own. However, in the end, when the government decided it was time to move in, those guns the Davidians had were useless!! The tanks started punching holes in walls and gas was thrown into the building to disable the people inside. In final desperation, the Davidians set themselves on fire, because, in their belief, it was better to die and go to their maker than to be taken in by the ATF. They knew otherwise, they would be brought out of that compound and arrested, and their guns would be confiscated!
I bring all this up to point out that if we found ourselves defending against a tyrannical government, we can't! The US government could take out entire countries, if they really wanted to. Your stockpile of guns and ammo will NOT help you against tanks, fighter jets, bombers, biological weapons, dones, etc. They won't care if they kill you! They will take down communication systems, shut down power grids, gas you out of your home or bomb it. Hell, for all we know, they will slowly poison our water so that we are weakened before we ever realize what they are doing! Exaggerating? Possibly, but nothing I mentioned is an impossibility! The 2nd Amendment was written in a time where we fought wars with cannons and muskets...our Forefathers couldn't even imagine the world we live in today.
Sure, it is your right to protect yourself and your family...but the most your guns will protect against is other civilians or predatory animals. For that, you do not need a semi-automatic gun with a 30-round mag. It has actually been found that these are pretty useless for personal protection due to accuracy issues. A simple handgun, bolt action rifle, or pump action shotgun will do the job just fine. Hell, I know a lot of people who will shit themselves at the sound of that pump or bold action loading a round into the chamber, and take off right out that door without a shot even fired! A bolt action or pump action is all you even really need for hunting, too. People have been hunting with these for years...and with cross-bows.
4. If there was a "good guy" with a gun, they could have taken out the shooter, and lives would have been saved!
Oh, this one came up a lot after the Texas church shooting, when it was reported that someone chased the shooter down and took him out with their own gun. Did that person actually save lives? NOPE! The shooter already did his damage and was on the run! He wasn't running because someone showed up with a gun...he was already on his way away from the scene when the other guy went in pursuit!
Also, it has been found that even most people who carry, in a situation such as Las Vegas, Texas, or Florida, would not have the appropriate fortitude to take out the shooter effectively. Most would probably do more damage, by hitting an innocent themselves! Would you really want someone with no police or specialized military training in the area of taking out shooters firing a weapon around 2000+ panicking children?! I know I sure wouldn't! We are not going to stop violence by putting more guns on the streets. Am I okay with armed police or guard presence at our schools? Yes...I personally think we need more campus police. I also think we need closed campuses. The only problem is, there are many, many parents who disagree with me...at least, until a tragedy like Florida happens. They will scream about police presence or not having easy access to their child to eat lunch with them or bring them their homework, until a shooter makes their way onto a campus...then it is "why wasn't the campus secured better"! Um, because YOU didn't want it that way! Teachers with guns? Yeah, no. Like I said...more campus police. I want people trained in these types of situations, who know how to use judgement when taking out a shooter as to best protect those panicking around them...people who have to go through annual training on such things...not some civilian who is just as nervous as the kids!
So there are my arguments. Take them or leave them! I know the die-hard gun right protectors will ignore any and all logic I have presented here. Maybe some on the fence will understand. We need sensible reform! I would like to see a ban on semi-automatic weapons, and a ban on any mag that holds more than 15 rounds. I would like to see mandatory registration and licensing, which would include regular mental evaluations to keep said license. I would like to see the age limits for purchasing guns raised to at least 21. I would like to see the background check changed to include multiple agencies, especially including the military systems for discharges and court maritals, instead of just assuming that agencies are doing their job in entering data into the central database. I would like to see the policy put back into place that required the SSA to report SSDI recipients getting benefits for certain mental disorders. I would like to see closed school campuses, and more campus security. These are sensible changes! I'm not coming after all of your guns! I would just like to see something done that would limit the damage one can do with a gun, and also make it harder for "evil people who do evil things" from getting said guns!
Thursday, February 15, 2018
More Loss!!
You already know how I feel about our gun laws. If you need a refresher:
How I Would Change Gun Laws
Have to Stay on This Gun Issue For Now
Your Argument is Invalid
I'm not going to rehash that all here. However, today I learned another very disturbing fact! It is LEGAL for an 18 year old to purchase a semi-automatic rifle! How is that possible?! Oh, because it falls under the category of "long gun". You have to be 21 to purchase a hand gun, but you can buy an AR at 18!! You have to be 21 to purchase alcohol, but you can buy a weapon that can quickly spit out 30 rounds at 18, and the ammo to go with it!
When you think about this, consider that the average age in this day that people are finally moving out of their parents' house is around 25! Reasons for this range from inability to support one's self financially to not being mentally prepared to be out on their own!! At 18, a person hasn't even had a chance to prove themselves mentally stable enough to own such a weapon! If they had done stupid stuff in their teen years, most of these records exist only in the schools, and if the law was involved, in many, MANY cases the records are expunged upon the person turning 18...blown off a childish bullshit. At 18, there is not enough "history" to determine if the person should or should not pass a background check!
So, add this to my list of changes to the gun laws...if you are going to maintain that semi-automatics remain legally available to the population, the law should be changed to make the minimum age of purchase AND/OR ownership no less than 30 years of age for said weapons. This should allow time for maturing and for any "cracks" in the person's mental status to start showing themselves on an official stage! We obviously had another case of someone who had obvious issues (just read about his disturbing social media posts), yet, he was allowed to legally buy a semi-automatic rifle! BRILLIANT!
How I Would Change Gun Laws
Have to Stay on This Gun Issue For Now
Your Argument is Invalid
I'm not going to rehash that all here. However, today I learned another very disturbing fact! It is LEGAL for an 18 year old to purchase a semi-automatic rifle! How is that possible?! Oh, because it falls under the category of "long gun". You have to be 21 to purchase a hand gun, but you can buy an AR at 18!! You have to be 21 to purchase alcohol, but you can buy a weapon that can quickly spit out 30 rounds at 18, and the ammo to go with it!
When you think about this, consider that the average age in this day that people are finally moving out of their parents' house is around 25! Reasons for this range from inability to support one's self financially to not being mentally prepared to be out on their own!! At 18, a person hasn't even had a chance to prove themselves mentally stable enough to own such a weapon! If they had done stupid stuff in their teen years, most of these records exist only in the schools, and if the law was involved, in many, MANY cases the records are expunged upon the person turning 18...blown off a childish bullshit. At 18, there is not enough "history" to determine if the person should or should not pass a background check!
So, add this to my list of changes to the gun laws...if you are going to maintain that semi-automatics remain legally available to the population, the law should be changed to make the minimum age of purchase AND/OR ownership no less than 30 years of age for said weapons. This should allow time for maturing and for any "cracks" in the person's mental status to start showing themselves on an official stage! We obviously had another case of someone who had obvious issues (just read about his disturbing social media posts), yet, he was allowed to legally buy a semi-automatic rifle! BRILLIANT!
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Damn you, Apple!
Damn you, Apple!!! Damn you...damn you!!!
I'm not sure how many of you know, I'm into photography. My dad has always said I have this natural eye, and my ability to figure things out technical allow me to effortlessly manipulate my beautiful Canon! I don't think I ever shoot in anything but manual...always tinkering with the ISO, shutter speed, the f-stops, etc. as I find the right balance to get the picture I want, without having to go in and edit on the computer (I HATE editing). But, that big bad boy of a camera is not something I carry with me everywhere, all the time...and if something catches that eye that my dad loves, I will pull out my phone and capture it!
Well, I had an iPhone 7...not the Plus...just the regular old 7. I was pretty happy with it....UNTIL...this iPhone 7 Plus that work got me came in. Some of you may know...the 7 has a single camera, the Plus has a double. This allows more depth and such to be captured, and allows for the BEAUTIFUL portrait mode. I had myself convinced the camera couldn't possibly be THAT much better. I was up for an upgrade, but eh...didn't see the iPhone 8 or the iPhone X as worth getting the upgrade, and starting my NEXT payments over. Then, I took a picture of my cat in portrait mode!
I realized, sadly, that I had been wrong! The camera was THAT much better on the Plus! I ended up going down the the store, and getting that new phone...and iPhone 8 Plus! Why not the X? I mean, it is the latest and greatest, right?! I could not justify the extra $200 for 1) facial recognition that I don't quite trust yet, because the technology is too new; 2) portrait mode on the front "selfie" camera, as I prefer to be behind the camera; and 3) an edge to edge screen that is basically not a big deal to me, since I usually get cases that have a "lip" that allows me to put my phone face down and not scratch. Sure, the X is smaller...more like the 7 I'm used to...but the 8 was definitely the better deal. So yeah...I did a thing! First test will be the They Might Be Giants concert I'm going to tomorrow, since my previous phones have only been okay in concert settings.
I'm not sure how many of you know, I'm into photography. My dad has always said I have this natural eye, and my ability to figure things out technical allow me to effortlessly manipulate my beautiful Canon! I don't think I ever shoot in anything but manual...always tinkering with the ISO, shutter speed, the f-stops, etc. as I find the right balance to get the picture I want, without having to go in and edit on the computer (I HATE editing). But, that big bad boy of a camera is not something I carry with me everywhere, all the time...and if something catches that eye that my dad loves, I will pull out my phone and capture it!
Well, I had an iPhone 7...not the Plus...just the regular old 7. I was pretty happy with it....UNTIL...this iPhone 7 Plus that work got me came in. Some of you may know...the 7 has a single camera, the Plus has a double. This allows more depth and such to be captured, and allows for the BEAUTIFUL portrait mode. I had myself convinced the camera couldn't possibly be THAT much better. I was up for an upgrade, but eh...didn't see the iPhone 8 or the iPhone X as worth getting the upgrade, and starting my NEXT payments over. Then, I took a picture of my cat in portrait mode!
I realized, sadly, that I had been wrong! The camera was THAT much better on the Plus! I ended up going down the the store, and getting that new phone...and iPhone 8 Plus! Why not the X? I mean, it is the latest and greatest, right?! I could not justify the extra $200 for 1) facial recognition that I don't quite trust yet, because the technology is too new; 2) portrait mode on the front "selfie" camera, as I prefer to be behind the camera; and 3) an edge to edge screen that is basically not a big deal to me, since I usually get cases that have a "lip" that allows me to put my phone face down and not scratch. Sure, the X is smaller...more like the 7 I'm used to...but the 8 was definitely the better deal. So yeah...I did a thing! First test will be the They Might Be Giants concert I'm going to tomorrow, since my previous phones have only been okay in concert settings.
Monday, January 29, 2018
I always hate those first days!
I've had this extra 10 lbs (I know...shut up) that I can't seem to shake! I want to stop this uptrend in it's tracks. I'm pretty sure it is pre-meno related, but I'm not standing for it!
Started to cut back on calories today, and hitting up the gym Saturday. These first days always kill me!! It's like, when I'm cutting back my food, all I want is food! Can't wait until the work day is over, and I can go distract myself with some weights!
Started to cut back on calories today, and hitting up the gym Saturday. These first days always kill me!! It's like, when I'm cutting back my food, all I want is food! Can't wait until the work day is over, and I can go distract myself with some weights!
Your argument is invalid
After last week, the gun debate has come up again. I just got finished reading AGAIN an argument that pointed how many motor vehicle deaths occur each year, and if we use the argument the anti-gun folks use, we should ban all motor vehicles.
Now, I’m not anti-gun...I’m pro-better-regulation. All you need to do is read previous blogs to see what my proposals are.
That said...
Motor vehicles are REQUIRED to be registered by all owners with their respective states, and if you move, you must re-register. In addition, all motor vehicles are REQUIRED to be inspected once a year to determine if they are safe and legal for the road...no illegal mods. Some states have even taken the extra step to require a passing inspection before annual renewal of registration can be completed. Drivers of said motor vehicles are REQUIRED to obtain a license (requiring education and testing) and insurance to operate said motor vehicle. In other words, the state knows who all the licensed drivers are, all the motor vehicles on the road, and who the owners and licensed operators of those motor vehicles are!!
Can the same be said about guns?! The answer is NO, and until guns are as regulated as motor vehicles, your argument is invalid. We all know that gun owners would never agree to such regulations. If such regulations ever are put in place, then we can discuss comparing them to motor vehicles as deadly weapons!
Monday, January 22, 2018
All are to blame!
I do however find it hilarious all the far right folks posting videos and calling out certain Democrats as being hypocrites, because of their stance now on DACA. Here is the thing...on one issue...Democrats have not changed their stance on illegal immigration in general, but they do understand the special circumstances for those previously protected under DACA! They understand that these are not the immigrants we need to be concerned with. Those under DACA protections have come forward, provided all of their information, have been issued social security numbers, pay taxes, work, go to school, know the English language fluently, are not criminals (because this will invalidate their protections...this we know), and some even serve in our military. They get that this group of people contribute AND are deserving of a path to citizenship, which current DACA protections do not offer. Realizing that a sub-set of a group of people is not being hypocritical, but being understanding of special circumstances that arise. Not everything in this world is black and white, cut and dry!
BUT, they do fail to point out the real hypocrite...the "master of the deal" himself. When the government shut down in 2013, Trump was quick to go into interviews and be super critical of Obama...the President at that time. Trump said that in ANY shutdown, ultimately the fault rests in the President. This is because the President is the leader and should be able to get people in a room talking things out. But....where has Trump been this entire weekend? Doesn't seem he has been getting people together, as there is no reports of him calling Republican and Democratic leaders to the White House...in a room...to hash out a deal. Nope...no one has heard from Trump all weekend. Well, we haven't heard from him since he blasted the Democrats for being at fault...deflecting from himself....Saturday morning!! Now, THAT is not a simple change in policy or being enlightened to a special set of circumstances. No...this is someone who is quick to say something to rile up a group of potential supporters, but then when it applies to him, he deflects and blames someone else. In other words, typical narcissistic behavior!
BUT, they do fail to point out the real hypocrite...the "master of the deal" himself. When the government shut down in 2013, Trump was quick to go into interviews and be super critical of Obama...the President at that time. Trump said that in ANY shutdown, ultimately the fault rests in the President. This is because the President is the leader and should be able to get people in a room talking things out. But....where has Trump been this entire weekend? Doesn't seem he has been getting people together, as there is no reports of him calling Republican and Democratic leaders to the White House...in a room...to hash out a deal. Nope...no one has heard from Trump all weekend. Well, we haven't heard from him since he blasted the Democrats for being at fault...deflecting from himself....Saturday morning!! Now, THAT is not a simple change in policy or being enlightened to a special set of circumstances. No...this is someone who is quick to say something to rile up a group of potential supporters, but then when it applies to him, he deflects and blames someone else. In other words, typical narcissistic behavior!
Friday, January 19, 2018
You have to wonder
I find myself wondering, as I read about the POTUS' speech for the anti-abortion rally today...of all the people who are "pro-life" in Washington, how many of them have had their lives and careers saved by at least one woman having an abortion...whether they knew about it or not?! I mean...just sayin'!
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Who will fill those jobs?
I have to ask this question...all of these people who scream that these undocumented immigrants drain the economy and steal jobs, need to answer honestly...if by some chance, ALL undocumented immigrants were round up and deported tomorrow, how many of the currently 6.6 million estimated unemployed Americans will immediately step into these jobs?! Keep in mind, there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, with an estimated 8.2 million of those in the work force. Before you scream that this leave some nearly 3 million that are contributing nothing and collecting welfare (which I have had to say over and over and over....without a valid SSN, you cannot get welfare), keep in mind that there are many workers who bring their families. In many of these families are multiple children, and often a wife that doesn't work. Also, like even American families, there may be an elderly parent that was brought over, because it wasn't believed they could care for themselves back in their country of origin...so they live with their son or daughter here, while said son or daughter works.
Now, back to the original question...if 8.2 million jobs were vacated tomorrow in mass deportations, how many of the 6.6 million unemployed Americans would jump to fill those positions? Keep in mind we are talking crap jobs!! We are talking people who work in fields manually picking crops that are too delicate to use machines to harvest (such as tomatoes, grapes, etc.) and such. We are talking janitorial and maid jobs that are required to keep businesses clean, or to provide those important maid services in the many, many, many hotels and resorts we have in this country. We are talking ditch diggers who dig miles and miles of total ditch each day to accommodate things such as sewer lines from new home and business construction, or who work with plumbers on existing lines that are having issue (these are the worse, because they have to dig up blocked lines, and thus literally find themselves knee deep in shit). How many of the 6.6. million unemployed would jump at these jobs, even for minimum wage? I mean, minimum wage is better than no wage, right? Or, wait, is it not better than the total of their welfare benefits which would be lowered or dropped if they worked, so they hold out for higher paying jobs? How many of those 6.6 million unemployed Americans view these crap jobs that undocumented immigrants are currently doing as beneath them? Personally, I only estimate that 20% would actually jump to these jobs should all undocumented workers be deported tomorrow! That is only about 1.3 million people. That would leave us a shortage of 6.9 million workers needed to fill all the positions vacated by deported undocumented immigrants! Even IF all 6.6 million unemployed Americans jumped to fill these jobs, that is still a shortage of 1.6 million workers.
Given the numbers above, how do you think this would effect the US economy? If an estimated 1.3 million Americans jump into 8.2 million jobs vacated by undocumented immigrants, what will the shortage of labor do to our economy? These are jobs that most people don't even think about, but depend upon! These crap jobs are things that people don't recognize as being contributions to this country, but they are! "But we need doctors, and scientists, and engineers!" Okay, who maintains the facilities these people work at? I mean, we all demand clean bathrooms and such. We expect someone to empty our desk trash daily, and to clean the break room microwave! We expect the grounds of our work places to be nice and tidy...perfectly landscaped entry and common areas! What about our homes? Do we not expect that water come to our faucets and waste move away from our homes? Chances are it was an immigrant of legal or illegal status who dug the ditches for those lines! Do we not expect our trash to be picked up and carried away? When we go on vacation, isn't one of our measures for where we go how clean the place is? Do we not rate hotels and resorts based on their level of service? Do you not realize that there is a high chance that it was an immigrant who made sure your room was ready for your arrival, and who picked up your towels and cleaned your beard hairs off of the sink while you stayed? An immigrant who comes to unclog your room toilet when all that food you eat on vacation causes you to clog up the toilet?
But people really think that Americans who were raised to believe that they are better than everyone else will stoop as low as to do these crap jobs! Just think about how the people who do those jobs are looked at by most people in this country!!! But yet, they are still jobs that must be done...jobs that we REQUIRE. These are jobs that help make this country the place it is...a place people want to visit...or at least used to before our POTUS started spewing things out of his mouth and on his Twitter! These are the jobs that keep our country from being the "shithole" that our POTUS claims other countries are! But no...the people who do these jobs aren't seen as real contributors! They are often treated like crap!! I know this, because my daughter, A NATURAL BORN AMERICAN, was one of the few who saw this work as work....as being something better than no work at all! She worked two jobs as a maid for years until she could get into a place where she could go to school...not collecting a penny of welfare along the way! This is a person who has a disability...she is hearing impaired...and thus has to work 20x harder than most people to make it in this world. The things she used to tell me when she worked as a maid...it sickened me! I hated seeing my daughter work that kind of job, but at the same time was proud of her, because she didn't see herself so high and mighty to not be willing to do whatever work she could find...even if it wasn't glamorous! And from the stories she has told...rich people are some nasty people...some of the dirtiest people in this country!! My guess is that they have gotten spoiled always having someone to clean up after them!
But people really think that Americans who were raised to believe that they are better than everyone else will stoop as low as to do these crap jobs! Just think about how the people who do those jobs are looked at by most people in this country!!! But yet, they are still jobs that must be done...jobs that we REQUIRE. These are jobs that help make this country the place it is...a place people want to visit...or at least used to before our POTUS started spewing things out of his mouth and on his Twitter! These are the jobs that keep our country from being the "shithole" that our POTUS claims other countries are! But no...the people who do these jobs aren't seen as real contributors! They are often treated like crap!! I know this, because my daughter, A NATURAL BORN AMERICAN, was one of the few who saw this work as work....as being something better than no work at all! She worked two jobs as a maid for years until she could get into a place where she could go to school...not collecting a penny of welfare along the way! This is a person who has a disability...she is hearing impaired...and thus has to work 20x harder than most people to make it in this world. The things she used to tell me when she worked as a maid...it sickened me! I hated seeing my daughter work that kind of job, but at the same time was proud of her, because she didn't see herself so high and mighty to not be willing to do whatever work she could find...even if it wasn't glamorous! And from the stories she has told...rich people are some nasty people...some of the dirtiest people in this country!! My guess is that they have gotten spoiled always having someone to clean up after them!
Do I believe we have a problem with illegal immigration? Yes. Do I believe this was Obama's fault? Oh hell no! And I'm not saying that as an Obama supporter...I'm saying that as someone who has common sense. When you have undocumented immigrants that have been in this country for 10, 20, 30 years...that shows that this has been a problem across presidencies for some time, because at some point this country stopped enforcing their own immigration laws, and now things are out of control! 40% of undocumented immigrants came here legally on visas, and overstayed said visas? How does that happen? Do we not keep track of people who we let in our country? Do we not require employers to report on people who they bring in on work visas, and force those people to leave when at the point said employers let them go? That also brings to question...why do we have to bring in so many on work visas, when we supposedly have all these Americans needing jobs? Oh wait, that is right...these are jobs that they either don't want to do, or lack the education and skills to do (but again, these jobs were stolen from them)!
Like it or not, immigrants are a big reason that the economy in this country has been on the upswing...be it legal or illegal! If we shipped out the undocumented immigrants tomorrow, I can promise you that we would see a spike in inflation. Americans are quick to complain about how these employers hire "illegals" because they can pay them crap wages, but it is the payment of those crap wages that keep prices where they are. The moment these same employers have to pay harvesters, janitorial and maid, ditch diggers, and other people doing crap jobs the minimum wage PLUS payroll taxes and workers comp, prices will spike! What will that do to the economy? Add to that the fact that not as much product can get to market in a timely manner due to shortage of people and the fact that these employers would no longer be able to work Americans as slave labor, that will also drive up prices. Am I saying it is right that these undocumented workers are treated as modern-day slaves? NO!! I'm merely pointing out that this is what many of them are...willing modern-day slaves...and I say willing, because they come here of their own accord to do this work, because it is a way to send money...ANY MONEY...home to their hungry families who are being crapped on by their own governments! Yes, it is wrong that these people work for crap wages in terrible conditions! I find it completely ironic that the very people who want these undocumented immigrants gone, are the same people who defend "the South's" use of slaves back in the day!
Like it or not, immigrants are a big reason that the economy in this country has been on the upswing...be it legal or illegal! If we shipped out the undocumented immigrants tomorrow, I can promise you that we would see a spike in inflation. Americans are quick to complain about how these employers hire "illegals" because they can pay them crap wages, but it is the payment of those crap wages that keep prices where they are. The moment these same employers have to pay harvesters, janitorial and maid, ditch diggers, and other people doing crap jobs the minimum wage PLUS payroll taxes and workers comp, prices will spike! What will that do to the economy? Add to that the fact that not as much product can get to market in a timely manner due to shortage of people and the fact that these employers would no longer be able to work Americans as slave labor, that will also drive up prices. Am I saying it is right that these undocumented workers are treated as modern-day slaves? NO!! I'm merely pointing out that this is what many of them are...willing modern-day slaves...and I say willing, because they come here of their own accord to do this work, because it is a way to send money...ANY MONEY...home to their hungry families who are being crapped on by their own governments! Yes, it is wrong that these people work for crap wages in terrible conditions! I find it completely ironic that the very people who want these undocumented immigrants gone, are the same people who defend "the South's" use of slaves back in the day!
I feel like I'm just rambling on now, so I'm going to close this out. You want these "illegal" immigrants gone, but I can promise you that you will not like the results if you get your wish!
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