I heard (for as long as it took me to find something else to listen to) some reptilidrone nattering on about changing this country from one of "entitlement" to one of "opportunity. What a load of bullshit.
I haven't had a real job since 2006. Part of that is because I've been doing things that conflict with a regular schedule, part of it is due to some medical/body issues (all good, at the moment), part of is due to my ageistic decrepitude. The bulk of it is due to hiring/labor practices and the LACK of jobs.
The GOPlutocratwannabes pontificate about not wanting a country filled with "entitled" people (I think that must be the new, 300#, chain smoking--crack--booze' guzzlin', oxy poppin', 80" LED screen addicted, Cadillac CTS drivin' welfare queen*) . I'm all for shitcanning entitlements. I think a great place to start would be with the home mortgage tax deduction. Moving on, we could make sure that none of the leeches currently borrowing money at lower than market rates or paying for their education with Pell Grants and the like are allowed to continue bleeding the state (that's us) white.
After that we can discontinue all of the tax incentives and actual handouts to big business and, well, I think you can see where I'm goin with this.
Bottom line is that:
A.) There are millions of credulous boobs who conflate the GOP's (or, more to the point, their deep pocketed underwriters') desire to erase most taxes NOT paid by the little people with actual, y'know, tax relief.
B.) One man's "incentive" is another's "welfare handout".
There, are, beyond any doubt, many thousands of people who scam the social safety network. There are, also beyond any doubt, thousands of capitalists and corporate entities (only "REAL PEOPLE" where political campaign donations are concerned, otherwise they're faceless and cannot be held to any genuine accountability for their actions) who scam the the gummint handout network.
It was revealed, a few days back, that Mittmoroni may have been in a "passive" mode at Bain--for campaign purposes--while being in an "active mode, for tax purposes. Considering the arcane and confusing nature of the U.S. tax code and corporate legal rules it may be impossible to determine if Romney is guilty of having broken any laws or violating any of the provisions of the tax code. It is not so difficult to look at what he says v what he does and conclude that he's a typical reptilicanlyin'fuckbag.
* Sorry, I forgot; she's BLACK, BLACK, BLACKITY, BLACKING BLACK, TOO, ALSO!!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
The NYC shootings
CBS has this:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57500574/all-9-empire-state-building-shooting-injuries-by-police/?tag=stack
which says that police officials in NYC conclude that all injured parties in the recent shootings outside the Empire State Building were wounded by police gunfire.
Predictably the comments section's first page has several comments by gunzloonz who decry the police' lack of firearms training and posit that they could do a better job of perpblastin' with less damage to the innocent bystanders. They question the professionalism of armed, uniformed officers doing a job that requires both split second decision making AND adhering to the rules governing the use of deadly force. The video that has been aired shows, fairly clearly, that there was very little time between the shooting of the original victim and the police/shooter confrontation. It would have been nice if the police had been able to clear out all of the pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area and maybe get a range officer to tell them when it was safe to discharge their firearms. In the event the officers who did not know what they were up against or what the gunman might do when confronted made a decision to use deadly force and, fortunately, only killed one person--the shooter.
The gunzloonz will, of course, say that the NYC shootings only underscore the TRUTH; that it's impossible to keep gunz outta NYC or anyplace else, because GUNZLAWZ don't work, one,11ty! Well, firearms laws that are not uniform from state to state and are anything but uniformly applied will NOT be effective--there is no doubt about that. There is also no doubt that the constant drumbeat of lies and distortions from the upper echelon of the NRA and their confederates with organizations such as ALEC do much to fan the fears of the average american.
After every mass shooting there is a spike in calls for more and better policing and a spike in gunz and ammunition sales. The average american is fed a steady diet of horrific tales about rape, murder, robbery and other crimes; crimes which are perpetrated--as far as they are aware--by a mysterious cabal of criminal, armed to the teeth and bent on the wholesale destruction of society. They are not offered reason, they are offered titillation and they seize on it, like a junkie seizes on a fix. The drug is fear and the only antidote, it seems, is hatred.
So, instead of having a calm, rational and civil discussion about some reasonable steps that might be taken to address the problem of there being millions of firearms in the hands of those who are unqualified emotionally, mentally or physically to use them--we have the NRA and its fringe members screeching about having their RIGHT, an unqualified and unlimited RIGHT, to own whatever firearms and ammunition they are able to amass.
If the gunzloonz were stamp hoarders, we could afford to laugh at them.
After every mass shooting there is a spike in calls for more and better policing and a spike in gunz and ammunition sales. The average american is fed a steady diet of horrific tales about rape, murder, robbery and other crimes; crimes which are perpetrated--as far as they are aware--by a mysterious cabal of criminal, armed to the teeth and bent on the wholesale destruction of society. They are not offered reason, they are offered titillation and they seize on it, like a junkie seizes on a fix. The drug is fear and the only antidote, it seems, is hatred.
So, instead of having a calm, rational and civil discussion about some reasonable steps that might be taken to address the problem of there being millions of firearms in the hands of those who are unqualified emotionally, mentally or physically to use them--we have the NRA and its fringe members screeching about having their RIGHT, an unqualified and unlimited RIGHT, to own whatever firearms and ammunition they are able to amass.
If the gunzloonz were stamp hoarders, we could afford to laugh at them.
Dog Gone, welcome to Polrant
Update: One of the things I love about my own blog is that I can correct mistakes with a few keystrokes, to wit:
As of now, Dog Gone has author status on this blog. This action was taken by me, for two reasons.
The primary reason is that Dog Gone is a smart, sassy and sardonic writer. The secondary reason is that it's a nuisance to have to moderate ALL comments, instead of just the ones from idiots. Any of my regular commenters--as few of you as there are--can let me know if you want permissions. It don't mean you gotta write posts; it does mean that your comments will not be moderated--unless of you bring up that embarassing incident involving a bullhorn, several rubber duckies and 100 pounds of Gravlax.
Welcome, Dog Gone!
As of now, Dog Gone has author status on this blog. This action was taken by me, for two reasons.
The primary reason is that Dog Gone is a smart, sassy and sardonic writer. The secondary reason is that it's a nuisance to have to moderate ALL comments, instead of just the ones from idiots. Any of my regular commenters--as few of you as there are--can let me know if you want permissions. It don't mean you gotta write posts; it does mean that your comments will not be moderated--unless of you bring up that embarassing incident involving a bullhorn, several rubber duckies and 100 pounds of Gravlax.
Welcome, Dog Gone!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Commie Western Music and the posthocturborenaissance
It's all about the music.
Someone on another blog suggested, after reading one of my comments re: Hank Waste-O-Semenwilliams, in which I said I might have to start a new musical genre, "Commie Western Music" that I should do so.
It occurs to me that Woody Guthrie has sorta beat me to the punch--by about 80 years--but I can stand on the shoulders of giants. Now, all I need's some talent at song wranglin' and I can git 'er done!
I did help pen a tune (most of the lyrics), "Nikita the K" back in the early--mid 70's.
Nikita the K
(Instrumental Intro)
(Verse the first)
Oh, they're playin' rock'n'roll in Moscow, now.
Don't understand the beat but dig it anyhow.
When they're not armin' the arabs, or cancellin' some czechs,
they're groovin' to the music of Bowie and Beck.
(First instrumental bridge)
(Chorus)
Oh, Nikita the K must be rollin' in his vault, Lenin would've put this shit to a halt
and Mao says that it's all THEIR fault!
(2nd Instrumental Break)
(Verse the second)
All the Volga boatman and the Cossacks on the Dan,
They're listenin' to hard rock, just as much as they can.
There may be purges in the Kremlin and tanks on your block,
just inform on your neighbors and listen to us rock!
(Chorus)
Oh, Nikita the K must be rollin' in his vault, Lenin would've put this shit to a halt
and Mao says that it's all THEIR fault!
(Third instrumental break)
Verse the first and chorus reprise:
Fade and out.
I actually have a recording of this that was done back in the 70's, the sound quality absolutely sucks.
I know a fuckton of musicians, I may have to see if I can get some of them to cover this.
Then, of course there's the tune I wrote by my ownself (lyrics and chords, with some help from Ed "Slowhand" Connare--okay he figured out the music, based on my chords), ca 1974.
V.F.W.
(Instrumental Intro)
(Verse the first)
Well, I'll only be gone till the fightin' is over,
I'll only be gone till the killin' is done.
I'll only be gone till destruction's complete.
and our side, the RIGHT side, has won
(Chorus the first)
They're not coming home this year
to swap war stories for free beer.
They died in battle gear.
Vanguished in Foreign Wars. Vanguished in Foreign Wars.
(Bridge)
(Verse the second)
Old soldiers fade while young men die in the rain,
Wall St. gets rich from the death and the pain.
Politicians keep voting to send more bullets and guns,
but you know they won't send their own sons.
(Chorus the second)
They're not getting G.I. Bill,
They're not working at the mill.
They served and died on unnamed hills.
Vanguished in Foreign Wars. Vanguished in Foreign Wars.
(Bridge)
(Instrumental Break--a little country, at that)
(Bridge)
(Verse the third)
This country's so quick to make soldiers of boys;
Take their girls and cars and give them deadly new toys.
Genrals, admirals and pols call all the plays,
When they're wrong it's the young men who pay.
(Chorus the third)
They won't march in the parades,
Wear their medals, hear our praise.
They lie dead so far away,
Victim of Foolish Wars, Victims of Foolish Wars.
(Instrumental out)
Both of these tunes are, btw, copyright protected by other myself and other parties and may not be used without permission.
It appears to me that despite the nearly forty years that have elapsed since I wrote V.F.W. that not a lot has changed re: U.S. foreign policy. That is a fucking shame.
Sometimes I wish I was Joe Strummer--when he was still alive, I mean.
All hail "The Clash"!
Someone on another blog suggested, after reading one of my comments re: Hank Waste-O-Semenwilliams, in which I said I might have to start a new musical genre, "Commie Western Music" that I should do so.
It occurs to me that Woody Guthrie has sorta beat me to the punch--by about 80 years--but I can stand on the shoulders of giants. Now, all I need's some talent at song wranglin' and I can git 'er done!
I did help pen a tune (most of the lyrics), "Nikita the K" back in the early--mid 70's.
Nikita the K
(Instrumental Intro)
(Verse the first)
Oh, they're playin' rock'n'roll in Moscow, now.
Don't understand the beat but dig it anyhow.
When they're not armin' the arabs, or cancellin' some czechs,
they're groovin' to the music of Bowie and Beck.
(First instrumental bridge)
(Chorus)
Oh, Nikita the K must be rollin' in his vault, Lenin would've put this shit to a halt
and Mao says that it's all THEIR fault!
(2nd Instrumental Break)
(Verse the second)
All the Volga boatman and the Cossacks on the Dan,
They're listenin' to hard rock, just as much as they can.
There may be purges in the Kremlin and tanks on your block,
just inform on your neighbors and listen to us rock!
(Chorus)
Oh, Nikita the K must be rollin' in his vault, Lenin would've put this shit to a halt
and Mao says that it's all THEIR fault!
(Third instrumental break)
Verse the first and chorus reprise:
Fade and out.
I actually have a recording of this that was done back in the 70's, the sound quality absolutely sucks.
I know a fuckton of musicians, I may have to see if I can get some of them to cover this.
Then, of course there's the tune I wrote by my ownself (lyrics and chords, with some help from Ed "Slowhand" Connare--okay he figured out the music, based on my chords), ca 1974.
V.F.W.
(Instrumental Intro)
(Verse the first)
Well, I'll only be gone till the fightin' is over,
I'll only be gone till the killin' is done.
I'll only be gone till destruction's complete.
and our side, the RIGHT side, has won
(Chorus the first)
They're not coming home this year
to swap war stories for free beer.
They died in battle gear.
Vanguished in Foreign Wars. Vanguished in Foreign Wars.
(Bridge)
(Verse the second)
Old soldiers fade while young men die in the rain,
Wall St. gets rich from the death and the pain.
Politicians keep voting to send more bullets and guns,
but you know they won't send their own sons.
(Chorus the second)
They're not getting G.I. Bill,
They're not working at the mill.
They served and died on unnamed hills.
Vanguished in Foreign Wars. Vanguished in Foreign Wars.
(Bridge)
(Instrumental Break--a little country, at that)
(Bridge)
(Verse the third)
This country's so quick to make soldiers of boys;
Take their girls and cars and give them deadly new toys.
Genrals, admirals and pols call all the plays,
When they're wrong it's the young men who pay.
(Chorus the third)
They won't march in the parades,
Wear their medals, hear our praise.
They lie dead so far away,
Victim of Foolish Wars, Victims of Foolish Wars.
(Instrumental out)
Both of these tunes are, btw, copyright protected by other myself and other parties and may not be used without permission.
It appears to me that despite the nearly forty years that have elapsed since I wrote V.F.W. that not a lot has changed re: U.S. foreign policy. That is a fucking shame.
Sometimes I wish I was Joe Strummer--when he was still alive, I mean.
All hail "The Clash"!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Hank Williams, Jr.; his own father would disown him
This:
"At the Iowa State Fair, Williams bashed Obama to a crowd saying, "We've got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. and we hate him!""
from here (http://news.yahoo.com/hank-williams-jr-tells-crowd-obama-muslim-hates-160236032.html)
lets us know that in the braindamaged mind of Hank Williams, Jr., the PotUS is unMerKKKin and NOT a christian.
So, the Obamas have been married to each other (and only each other) for almost 20 years. The Hankster's got Mr. Obama beat for total years married at well over 20 years. Otoh, it took AT LEAST 3 wives* and they've all left him. You gotta wonder what it takes to drive a woman away from a rootin', tootin', mouthshootin' patriotiKKKal cash machine like Hank, Jr.--well, maybe not (http://www.hecklerspray.com/hank-williams-jr-charged-with-waitress-assault/20062621.php).
And Mr. KKKountry Moosic is all hatin' on Obama hatin' on the farmers. I'm not sure, zackly, where he gets that, but I think it's safe to say that Hank's politics are a lot more likely to fuck the family farmers than those of the president.
So, to sum up. The PotUS is a "muslim" who acts a lot like a mainstream, non-fundamentally ill christian and Hank Sr.'s waste of genetic material is a "christian" who whores, drinks, drugs, curses a bit and acts, in every way, like the foul mouthed, clueless assholes that are his staunchest supporters--KKKristians, by an overwhelming %age.
Color me unsooprized.
"At the Iowa State Fair, Williams bashed Obama to a crowd saying, "We've got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. and we hate him!""
from here (http://news.yahoo.com/hank-williams-jr-tells-crowd-obama-muslim-hates-160236032.html)
lets us know that in the braindamaged mind of Hank Williams, Jr., the PotUS is unMerKKKin and NOT a christian.
So, the Obamas have been married to each other (and only each other) for almost 20 years. The Hankster's got Mr. Obama beat for total years married at well over 20 years. Otoh, it took AT LEAST 3 wives* and they've all left him. You gotta wonder what it takes to drive a woman away from a rootin', tootin', mouthshootin' patriotiKKKal cash machine like Hank, Jr.--well, maybe not (http://www.hecklerspray.com/hank-williams-jr-charged-with-waitress-assault/20062621.php).
And Mr. KKKountry Moosic is all hatin' on Obama hatin' on the farmers. I'm not sure, zackly, where he gets that, but I think it's safe to say that Hank's politics are a lot more likely to fuck the family farmers than those of the president.
So, to sum up. The PotUS is a "muslim" who acts a lot like a mainstream, non-fundamentally ill christian and Hank Sr.'s waste of genetic material is a "christian" who whores, drinks, drugs, curses a bit and acts, in every way, like the foul mouthed, clueless assholes that are his staunchest supporters--KKKristians, by an overwhelming %age.
Color me unsooprized.
Monday, August 20, 2012
She said, "hell" and now she doesn't get her HS Diploma, WTF?
This link:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/20/13377164-oklahoma-high-school-valedictorian-denied-diploma-for-using-hell-in-speech
is to a story about a HS valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA who graduated from a Prague, OK HS in June and has been denied her diploma because of her use of the word, "hell", in her commencement speech.
I'm going to guess that Prague will now see a tremendous surge in the level of attention given to them and their town. The level of attention given to the moron who came up with the idea of withholding Kaitlin Nootbar's diploma until she furnishes a written apology to, well, I'm not sure who she's supposed to apologize to. There's little information available, at this point, as to who decided on the HS's course of action. I'm sure that we will be getting that information in the next hours or day at the latest. Superintendent of schools in Prague, Rick Martin (not the "Livin' La Vida Loca", Martin, I'm sure) says it's a confidential matter--not no more, Ricky--and that he can't talk about it. Well, that's okay, I'm sure that the void of his silence will be filled with other comments.
It appears that Ms. Nootbar's already been given a full scholarship to Southern Oklahoma State University so the issue of whether her diploma's being withheld has any practical effect seems to be moot. It is more than a bit troubling that this is just now becoming public, at least a month or two after her HS graduation.
Prague, OK, for those unfamiliar with the town (which would be most everyone except people in Prague and surrounding communities and Kolache aficionados who go there for the annual Kolcache festival http://www.czechevents.net/events/details/3163-prague-kolache-festival-prague-oklahoma) can look it up on teh google. It's a town of about 2,500 people, a bit to the east of OK City. Up until recently it was pretty much known for the Kolache Festival. Henceforth, it may be known for it's officious KKKristianist asshole HS administrators.
WTF is wrong with these people?
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/20/13377164-oklahoma-high-school-valedictorian-denied-diploma-for-using-hell-in-speech
is to a story about a HS valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA who graduated from a Prague, OK HS in June and has been denied her diploma because of her use of the word, "hell", in her commencement speech.
I'm going to guess that Prague will now see a tremendous surge in the level of attention given to them and their town. The level of attention given to the moron who came up with the idea of withholding Kaitlin Nootbar's diploma until she furnishes a written apology to, well, I'm not sure who she's supposed to apologize to. There's little information available, at this point, as to who decided on the HS's course of action. I'm sure that we will be getting that information in the next hours or day at the latest. Superintendent of schools in Prague, Rick Martin (not the "Livin' La Vida Loca", Martin, I'm sure) says it's a confidential matter--not no more, Ricky--and that he can't talk about it. Well, that's okay, I'm sure that the void of his silence will be filled with other comments.
It appears that Ms. Nootbar's already been given a full scholarship to Southern Oklahoma State University so the issue of whether her diploma's being withheld has any practical effect seems to be moot. It is more than a bit troubling that this is just now becoming public, at least a month or two after her HS graduation.
Prague, OK, for those unfamiliar with the town (which would be most everyone except people in Prague and surrounding communities and Kolache aficionados who go there for the annual Kolcache festival http://www.czechevents.net/events/details/3163-prague-kolache-festival-prague-oklahoma) can look it up on teh google. It's a town of about 2,500 people, a bit to the east of OK City. Up until recently it was pretty much known for the Kolache Festival. Henceforth, it may be known for it's officious KKKristianist asshole HS administrators.
WTF is wrong with these people?
Sunday, August 19, 2012
I C&P'd this from mikeb302000's blog:
"As discussed here, in trying to find reasons or causes for the alarming upward trend in military suicides, TIME Magazine reporters Mark Thompson and Nancy Gibbs suggest that combat trauma alone can’t account for the trend and offer the following data:
Nearly a third of the suicides from 2005 to 2010 were among troops who had never deployed; 43% had deployed only once. Only 8.5% had deployed three or four times. Enlisted service members are more likely to kill themselves than officers, and 18-to-24-year-olds more likely than older troops. Two-thirds do it by gunshot; 1 in 5 hangs himself. And it’s almost always him: nearly 95% of cases are male. A majority are married.
“Two-thirds do it by gunshot.” Of course, you say. Our military are trained to use guns, they are “the tool of their trade,” troops have access to guns and many personally own firearms in their homes.
Naturally, Defense and military leaders are doing everything within their power to prevent or at least reduce this horrible, unnecessary loss life among the troops.
As part of what these leaders are doing to combat the suicide “epidemic,” they would like to talk to our servicemen and women who own a personal firearm and live off post.
There is one small catch, however. A relatively new law backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) seems to prevent them from talking to these servicemembers
followed by this comment:
"Greg CampAugust 19, 2012 11:05 AM
What, you mean that in an all-volunteer military, the commanding officers can't take away the personally owned weapons of soldiers and Marines? You mean the government has limits in how it can restrict choice?
Mikeb, you've served in the military. Remember how psychiatric care was seen? Imagine how hard it would be to get someone to seek help if that person knew his weapons would be taken away from him. You rant and rave about requiring psychological testing for civilians, but what you ignore is that the same thing would happen.
You live in this fantasy world in which everyone trusts your good intentions. You think that everyone trusts the good intentions of the government and of mental health professionals. If you learn nothing else from my side, understand that a large portion of the American people do not trust any of those. "
for two reasons.
The first reason for doing so is that the original article was, at least earlier today, unavailable at the linked website (http://themoderatevoice.com/156434/the-military-suicide-%E2%80%98epidemic%E2%80%99-and-an-nra-backed-law/).
The second reason is that I don't comment at his blog anymore, since he insists that lying sacks-of-shit's--both those who sign with a screen name and those who sign as anonymous trolls-whose comments consist of nonsensical assertions and outright fabrications have their lies and distortions published as if they were genuine arguments instead of the handwaving horseshittery that they are. That policy is his right, and I support that right; I just refuse to consider the exercise of dealing with gishgalloping gunzslingerz as equivalent to debate and will not do so.
The above comment is coming from a moron (Mr. Greg Camp) who has stated unequivocally (in a number of comments going back to earlier this year at mikeb302000's blog) that he does not trust and would not consider seeking help from a mental health professional. A guy who likes to play dress up and pretend he's a badass olden dayz gunzslinger. And Mr. Camp accuses mikeb302000 of living in a fantasy world? That's rich.
The sad fact is that it is likely that relaxed standards of recruitment (re: mental health and general intellect); the harsh realities of finance, maintaining interpersonal relationships with loved ones and living/working in a highly regulated environment where refusal/inability to adhere to standards and rules may result in something much more serious than simply being sacked are probably all contributory factors to the high incidence of military suicides among those troops on active duty.
I would like to see some data re: which service branches see the highest rates of suicide and what steps each branch takes to deal with mental health issues amongst its recruits and the professional soldiers.
I would also like to see some data about how many of those troops who suicide are "first termers" and how many have re-enlisted.
Those two data sets might help me and others to gain a clearer understanding of the situations and conditions that lead to the despair that drives young men (and the study published indicates that they are, overwhelmingly, young men) in uniform to commit suicide.
The issue of whether properly trained young men may or may not have private weapons while serving in the military is one that is neither new nor previously unaddressed. I don't know what the policy is on U.S. military bases, or those in foreign countries today. I DO know that while I served (1969-1972) in Germany with the USAF that NO non-issue weapons were held by ANY service personnel while they were assigned to my station. I know this because I worked in the building that housed the base armory, it was part of my duty section. If you wanted to go the range, or go hunting, you came to the armory and signed out your weapon. I cannot speak to what regulations covered those who lived in private quarters, off-base, but I'm guessing, considering the laws of Germany at that time that they were under similar restraints (German civilians had their own set of firearms laws to live and deal with).
The only Air Force personnel that I ever saw armed were those who were performing duties as Security Police. The only Army personnel, including the Airborne and AADCOM troops stationed on my base, I ever saw armed while on duty were MP's or, in two specific instances, troops who were in deployment mode for possible deployment to the mid-east during a period of international tension there.
No troops in any barracks I ever lived in had permission to hold personal firearms while in a barracks or duty station with the exception of those mentioned above. Somehow we all managed to survive the experience of living in close proximity to other highly testosterstoned young men--for FOUR FREAKIN' YEARS! without killing anyone or killing ourselves. Were there any suicides/homicides of or by servicemen? Certainly. Were there any suicides/homicides committed with firearms? Without a doubt. Did I hear about suicides and homicides on either AFN (Armed Forces Network) or read about it in the "Stars and Stripes" (DoD's "official" newspaper), the Wiesbaden AB newsletters or "The Overseas Weekly" ( a cross between "The National Enquirer" and a serious newspaper with predictable content) ? Occasionally. What I did not hear, or read about, at the height of the Vietnam War when over a half million U.S. troops were "in country" some for several consecutive tours of duty was anything approaching the barrage of news items about violent, self-inflicted death or homicide by service members on active duty. Nor, afaia, were there stories in U.S. papers or on broadcast outlets for years after the War ended about U.S. combat veterans going on shooting sprees or killing themselves. Did those things happen?
They most certainly did. Did they happen with the frequency with which we now see them happening? My admittedly limited research on the intertoobz suggests that, no, they did not.
Looking back on those years and the number of drunken parties along with the inherent differences and rivalries between service branches I am unaware of a better set of policies regulating the retention and use of private firearms by military personnel while on or off duty and whether on or off a military reservation.
I am fairly certain that Mr. Camp, considering his adamantine indignorance of mental health counseling protocols, has zero interest in looking beyond his childish infatuation with firearms and that his interests in the matter will be confined to his repeating the nonsensical assertions that he had made in his comment, above.
That the man is a college level instructor is, to me, somewhat troubling. I guess it's better than his being a cop or GOD forbid, a security guard or neighborhood watcher. He is a soulmate of George Zimmerman, iow, a gun-toting moron with very serious self-esteem issues who might, at any moment, decide that the world needs his 2nd Amendment correctives. He considers himself a patriot and citizen; I consider him a silly boy with dangerous toys.
"As discussed here, in trying to find reasons or causes for the alarming upward trend in military suicides, TIME Magazine reporters Mark Thompson and Nancy Gibbs suggest that combat trauma alone can’t account for the trend and offer the following data:
Nearly a third of the suicides from 2005 to 2010 were among troops who had never deployed; 43% had deployed only once. Only 8.5% had deployed three or four times. Enlisted service members are more likely to kill themselves than officers, and 18-to-24-year-olds more likely than older troops. Two-thirds do it by gunshot; 1 in 5 hangs himself. And it’s almost always him: nearly 95% of cases are male. A majority are married.
“Two-thirds do it by gunshot.” Of course, you say. Our military are trained to use guns, they are “the tool of their trade,” troops have access to guns and many personally own firearms in their homes.
Naturally, Defense and military leaders are doing everything within their power to prevent or at least reduce this horrible, unnecessary loss life among the troops.
As part of what these leaders are doing to combat the suicide “epidemic,” they would like to talk to our servicemen and women who own a personal firearm and live off post.
There is one small catch, however. A relatively new law backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) seems to prevent them from talking to these servicemembers
followed by this comment:
"Greg CampAugust 19, 2012 11:05 AM
What, you mean that in an all-volunteer military, the commanding officers can't take away the personally owned weapons of soldiers and Marines? You mean the government has limits in how it can restrict choice?
Mikeb, you've served in the military. Remember how psychiatric care was seen? Imagine how hard it would be to get someone to seek help if that person knew his weapons would be taken away from him. You rant and rave about requiring psychological testing for civilians, but what you ignore is that the same thing would happen.
You live in this fantasy world in which everyone trusts your good intentions. You think that everyone trusts the good intentions of the government and of mental health professionals. If you learn nothing else from my side, understand that a large portion of the American people do not trust any of those. "
for two reasons.
The first reason for doing so is that the original article was, at least earlier today, unavailable at the linked website (http://themoderatevoice.com/156434/the-military-suicide-%E2%80%98epidemic%E2%80%99-and-an-nra-backed-law/).
The second reason is that I don't comment at his blog anymore, since he insists that lying sacks-of-shit's--both those who sign with a screen name and those who sign as anonymous trolls-whose comments consist of nonsensical assertions and outright fabrications have their lies and distortions published as if they were genuine arguments instead of the handwaving horseshittery that they are. That policy is his right, and I support that right; I just refuse to consider the exercise of dealing with gishgalloping gunzslingerz as equivalent to debate and will not do so.
The above comment is coming from a moron (Mr. Greg Camp) who has stated unequivocally (in a number of comments going back to earlier this year at mikeb302000's blog) that he does not trust and would not consider seeking help from a mental health professional. A guy who likes to play dress up and pretend he's a badass olden dayz gunzslinger. And Mr. Camp accuses mikeb302000 of living in a fantasy world? That's rich.
The sad fact is that it is likely that relaxed standards of recruitment (re: mental health and general intellect); the harsh realities of finance, maintaining interpersonal relationships with loved ones and living/working in a highly regulated environment where refusal/inability to adhere to standards and rules may result in something much more serious than simply being sacked are probably all contributory factors to the high incidence of military suicides among those troops on active duty.
I would like to see some data re: which service branches see the highest rates of suicide and what steps each branch takes to deal with mental health issues amongst its recruits and the professional soldiers.
I would also like to see some data about how many of those troops who suicide are "first termers" and how many have re-enlisted.
Those two data sets might help me and others to gain a clearer understanding of the situations and conditions that lead to the despair that drives young men (and the study published indicates that they are, overwhelmingly, young men) in uniform to commit suicide.
The issue of whether properly trained young men may or may not have private weapons while serving in the military is one that is neither new nor previously unaddressed. I don't know what the policy is on U.S. military bases, or those in foreign countries today. I DO know that while I served (1969-1972) in Germany with the USAF that NO non-issue weapons were held by ANY service personnel while they were assigned to my station. I know this because I worked in the building that housed the base armory, it was part of my duty section. If you wanted to go the range, or go hunting, you came to the armory and signed out your weapon. I cannot speak to what regulations covered those who lived in private quarters, off-base, but I'm guessing, considering the laws of Germany at that time that they were under similar restraints (German civilians had their own set of firearms laws to live and deal with).
The only Air Force personnel that I ever saw armed were those who were performing duties as Security Police. The only Army personnel, including the Airborne and AADCOM troops stationed on my base, I ever saw armed while on duty were MP's or, in two specific instances, troops who were in deployment mode for possible deployment to the mid-east during a period of international tension there.
No troops in any barracks I ever lived in had permission to hold personal firearms while in a barracks or duty station with the exception of those mentioned above. Somehow we all managed to survive the experience of living in close proximity to other highly testosterstoned young men--for FOUR FREAKIN' YEARS! without killing anyone or killing ourselves. Were there any suicides/homicides of or by servicemen? Certainly. Were there any suicides/homicides committed with firearms? Without a doubt. Did I hear about suicides and homicides on either AFN (Armed Forces Network) or read about it in the "Stars and Stripes" (DoD's "official" newspaper), the Wiesbaden AB newsletters or "The Overseas Weekly" ( a cross between "The National Enquirer" and a serious newspaper with predictable content) ? Occasionally. What I did not hear, or read about, at the height of the Vietnam War when over a half million U.S. troops were "in country" some for several consecutive tours of duty was anything approaching the barrage of news items about violent, self-inflicted death or homicide by service members on active duty. Nor, afaia, were there stories in U.S. papers or on broadcast outlets for years after the War ended about U.S. combat veterans going on shooting sprees or killing themselves. Did those things happen?
They most certainly did. Did they happen with the frequency with which we now see them happening? My admittedly limited research on the intertoobz suggests that, no, they did not.
Looking back on those years and the number of drunken parties along with the inherent differences and rivalries between service branches I am unaware of a better set of policies regulating the retention and use of private firearms by military personnel while on or off duty and whether on or off a military reservation.
I am fairly certain that Mr. Camp, considering his adamantine indignorance of mental health counseling protocols, has zero interest in looking beyond his childish infatuation with firearms and that his interests in the matter will be confined to his repeating the nonsensical assertions that he had made in his comment, above.
That the man is a college level instructor is, to me, somewhat troubling. I guess it's better than his being a cop or GOD forbid, a security guard or neighborhood watcher. He is a soulmate of George Zimmerman, iow, a gun-toting moron with very serious self-esteem issues who might, at any moment, decide that the world needs his 2nd Amendment correctives. He considers himself a patriot and citizen; I consider him a silly boy with dangerous toys.
Friday, August 17, 2012
As ye sow, so shall ye reap
I could do one of my routine routines of silliness, laced with suspect sagacity re: The FRC Massakree.
But I won’t be doing that.
Instead, I will be cut’n'n’pastin’ this:
“LGBT ORGANIZATIONS RELEASE JOINT STATEMENT REGARDING THE SHOOTING AT FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL (FRC)
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 – 3:30pm by GLAAD
Joint statement regarding shooting at Family Research Council (FRC) from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations
We were saddened to hear news of the shooting this morning at the offices of the Family Research Council. Our hearts go out to the shooting victim, his family, and his co-workers.
The motivation and circumstances behind today’s tragedy are still unknown, but regardless of what emerges as the reason for this shooting, we utterly reject and condemn such violence. We wish for a swift and complete recovery for the victim of this terrible incident.
list of signatories:
Michael Adams
Executive Director, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
Tico Almeida
President, Freedom to Work
Katie Belanger
Executive Director, Fair Wisconsin
Wayne Besen
Founding Executive Director, Truth Wins Out
A.J. Bockelman
Executive Director, PROMO
Sharon Brackett
Board Chair, Gender Rights Maryland
Carly Burton
Deputy Director, MassEquality
Dr. Eliza Byard
Executive Director, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
Jennifer Chrisler
Executive Director, Family Equality Council
Brad Clark
Executive Director, One Colorado
R. Clarke Cooper
Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans
Dwayne Crenshaw
Executive Director, San Diego LGBT Pride
Heather Cronk
Managing Director, GetEQUAL
Jerame Davis
Executive Director, National Stonewall Democrats
Emily Dievendorf
Director of Policy, Equality Michigan
James Esseks
Director, ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project
Lynn A. Faria
Interim Executive Director, Empire State Pride Agenda
Jenna Frazzini
Executive Director, Basic Rights Oregon
Joshua A. Friedes
Spokesperson, Equal Rights Washington
Herndon Graddick
President, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
Chad Griffin
President, Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
Jody M. Huckaby
Executive Director, PFLAG National (Parents, Families, Friends of Lesbians and Gays)
Mara Keisling
Executive Director, National Center of Transgender Equality
Kate Kendell
Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
Abbe Land
Executive Director & CEO, The Trevor Project
Gregory Lewis
Executive Director, True Colors Fund
Eileen Ma
Executive Director, API Equality-LA
David Mariner
Executive Director, The DC Center for the LGBT Community
Ineke Mushovic
Executive Director, Movement Advancement Project
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
Darlene Nipper
Deputy Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Donna Red Wing
Executive Director, One Iowa
Marisa Richmond, Ph.D.
President, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC)
Aubrey Sarvis
Executive Director, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
Josh Seefried
Co-Director, OutServe
Peggy Shorey
Executive Director, Pride at Work
Brian Silva
Executive Director, Marriage Equality USA
Lee Swislow
Executive Director, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
Rachel B. Tiven, Esq.
Executive Director, Immigration Equality
Shane Windmeyer
Executive Director, Campus Pride
Chuck Wolfe
President & CEO, Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute
Evan Wolfson
President, Freedom to Marry”
I note that it took these 40+ individuals something like 6 hours to agree on the need to make a statement, draft said statement and deliver it to the FRC.
I’m going way out on the twiggy, twiggy end of the same tree that “Woodstock” of the “Peanut’s” comic strip* had his nest in, to say that if one searches for a long, long time they will be hard put to find such a letter from the SBC, the RCC or any other large religious umbrella organization to the family of Dr. George Tiller within SIX hours of his being shot to death.
There were plenty of letters sent, per this:
none of them seem to have come from churches/groups of churches who identify with the FRC’s homophobia and anti-woman rhetoric.
Groups like the FRC (and there are a fair number of them, large and small) are filled smug, self-satisfied scolds, KKKristian dominionists, homophobes, gynophobes, Wholly Babble inerrantists--except when it suits them to NOT be--and hypocrites--in combination or in toto.
UPDATE:
Damn, I forgot to add that the 40+ signatories to the letter I inserted into my last comment will now be receiving some “KKKristian love letters” from the small %age (and pretty fucking huge actual number) of mouthbreathing social KKKonservatives who spend nearly as much time in church as I do (never/ever) but who self-identify as christians.
One of the major differences between the FRC and the orgs represented by those persons who signed the above letter is that they DON'T have some number of their group actively lying about those who hold opposing views OR sending them hatemail and death threats.
* So, okay, ONE instance of inadvertent snark; sue me
But I won’t be doing that.
Instead, I will be cut’n'n’pastin’ this:
“LGBT ORGANIZATIONS RELEASE JOINT STATEMENT REGARDING THE SHOOTING AT FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL (FRC)
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 – 3:30pm by GLAAD
Joint statement regarding shooting at Family Research Council (FRC) from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations
We were saddened to hear news of the shooting this morning at the offices of the Family Research Council. Our hearts go out to the shooting victim, his family, and his co-workers.
The motivation and circumstances behind today’s tragedy are still unknown, but regardless of what emerges as the reason for this shooting, we utterly reject and condemn such violence. We wish for a swift and complete recovery for the victim of this terrible incident.
list of signatories:
Michael Adams
Executive Director, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
Tico Almeida
President, Freedom to Work
Katie Belanger
Executive Director, Fair Wisconsin
Wayne Besen
Founding Executive Director, Truth Wins Out
A.J. Bockelman
Executive Director, PROMO
Sharon Brackett
Board Chair, Gender Rights Maryland
Carly Burton
Deputy Director, MassEquality
Dr. Eliza Byard
Executive Director, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
Jennifer Chrisler
Executive Director, Family Equality Council
Brad Clark
Executive Director, One Colorado
R. Clarke Cooper
Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans
Dwayne Crenshaw
Executive Director, San Diego LGBT Pride
Heather Cronk
Managing Director, GetEQUAL
Jerame Davis
Executive Director, National Stonewall Democrats
Emily Dievendorf
Director of Policy, Equality Michigan
James Esseks
Director, ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project
Lynn A. Faria
Interim Executive Director, Empire State Pride Agenda
Jenna Frazzini
Executive Director, Basic Rights Oregon
Joshua A. Friedes
Spokesperson, Equal Rights Washington
Herndon Graddick
President, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
Chad Griffin
President, Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
Jody M. Huckaby
Executive Director, PFLAG National (Parents, Families, Friends of Lesbians and Gays)
Mara Keisling
Executive Director, National Center of Transgender Equality
Kate Kendell
Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
Abbe Land
Executive Director & CEO, The Trevor Project
Gregory Lewis
Executive Director, True Colors Fund
Eileen Ma
Executive Director, API Equality-LA
David Mariner
Executive Director, The DC Center for the LGBT Community
Ineke Mushovic
Executive Director, Movement Advancement Project
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
Darlene Nipper
Deputy Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Donna Red Wing
Executive Director, One Iowa
Marisa Richmond, Ph.D.
President, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC)
Aubrey Sarvis
Executive Director, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
Josh Seefried
Co-Director, OutServe
Peggy Shorey
Executive Director, Pride at Work
Brian Silva
Executive Director, Marriage Equality USA
Lee Swislow
Executive Director, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
Rachel B. Tiven, Esq.
Executive Director, Immigration Equality
Shane Windmeyer
Executive Director, Campus Pride
Chuck Wolfe
President & CEO, Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute
Evan Wolfson
President, Freedom to Marry”
I note that it took these 40+ individuals something like 6 hours to agree on the need to make a statement, draft said statement and deliver it to the FRC.
I’m going way out on the twiggy, twiggy end of the same tree that “Woodstock” of the “Peanut’s” comic strip* had his nest in, to say that if one searches for a long, long time they will be hard put to find such a letter from the SBC, the RCC or any other large religious umbrella organization to the family of Dr. George Tiller within SIX hours of his being shot to death.
There were plenty of letters sent, per this:
none of them seem to have come from churches/groups of churches who identify with the FRC’s homophobia and anti-woman rhetoric.
Groups like the FRC (and there are a fair number of them, large and small) are filled smug, self-satisfied scolds, KKKristian dominionists, homophobes, gynophobes, Wholly Babble inerrantists--except when it suits them to NOT be--and hypocrites--in combination or in toto.
UPDATE:
Damn, I forgot to add that the 40+ signatories to the letter I inserted into my last comment will now be receiving some “KKKristian love letters” from the small %age (and pretty fucking huge actual number) of mouthbreathing social KKKonservatives who spend nearly as much time in church as I do (never/ever) but who self-identify as christians.
One of the major differences between the FRC and the orgs represented by those persons who signed the above letter is that they DON'T have some number of their group actively lying about those who hold opposing views OR sending them hatemail and death threats.
* So, okay, ONE instance of inadvertent snark; sue me
Friday, August 10, 2012
Gunligion--Cannon Law
A poll ,conducted in the wake of the two mass shootings--one in Aurora, CO; the other in WI--was used in a post, here (http://mikeb302000.blogspot.com/2012/08/survey-questions-general-and-specific.html?), to illustrate a point that mikeb302000 has made many times. That point is that the gunzloonz assertion that murKKKa is SAFER place wit teh gunz and that MOST people agree with them is just that, an assertion. It is NOT backed up by the numbers.
Of course the first comment in the thread (and the only one, so far) is this:
Of course the first comment in the thread (and the only one, so far) is this:
by commenter FatWhiteMan.
And y'know what? his comment is TRUE, on its face. The devil, of course is in the details.
What FatWhiteMan and other red-blooded murKKKan marKKKsman fail to consider is that the reason that people, in general, don't think gunzlawz will prevent gunzviolence is that they have been misinformed or, in many cases, simply lied to by the shills for the gunzindustry and their PAID misinformation officers.
The primary reason that gunzlaws DON'T work is because there are few that are national in scope and those few are generally unenforced in many jurisdictions due to budgetary restraints or a lack of political will to enforce them. States like NY, where I now live, have serious penalties for violating their relatively strict firearms laws*. What they don't have is any way cost effective way/neans of policing their borders to insure that illegally obtained firearms stay out of the hands of criminals**.
For so long as the states which have "restrictive" firearms laws are surrounded by states with less strict laws, illegal or illegally obtained firearms will flow in to that state with the stricter laws. It's economics, stupid. And, for so long as that situation obtains, the NRA, the gunzmakerz and their useful idiots will conspire to ratchet up the fears of a burgeoning police state and simultaneous breakdown of law'n'order which situation requires that all merKKKins be armed, all of the time.
For so long as the states which have "restrictive" firearms laws are surrounded by states with less strict laws, illegal or illegally obtained firearms will flow in to that state with the stricter laws. It's economics, stupid. And, for so long as that situation obtains, the NRA, the gunzmakerz and their useful idiots will conspire to ratchet up the fears of a burgeoning police state and simultaneous breakdown of law'n'order which situation requires that all merKKKins be armed, all of the time.
* I say "relatively strict" because compared to a number of states they are draconian, to hear teh gunzloonz wail about them.
** And, yes, you ARE a criminal if you traffic in illegal weapons or traffic illegally in any weapons.
** And, yes, you ARE a criminal if you traffic in illegal weapons or traffic illegally in any weapons.
Monday, August 06, 2012
Does the BSA have a merit badge for paedophilia?
This:
http://bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2012/08/05/boy-scout-files-reveal-repeat-child-abuse/KCRNc7iZvKPw5V0mfjVvAN/story.html
is a link to an article about the Boy Scouts of America and their cover-up, connivance/indifference to paedophiliac acts committed by scoutmasters against innocent youths.
I'm sure that subsequent statements by the BSA will contain information that all of the guilty parties were teh GAY. Yep, that's always what's involved. Young boys being preyed on by older men, it's ALL about ONLY teh GAY doin' it.
I was in the scouts (until they recruited some neo-nazi drill instructor fuckwad) from about age 8 to 12. My scoutmaster, Mr. G., was not a predator, nor was the assistant scoutmaster (afaia). There was plenty of adolescent sadism going on (I outed a couple of the Hitlerjugend within our troop and was somewhat less popular with a number of people for that--fuck 'em).
I'm sure that most scoutmasters, just like most priests, ministers and teachers who have young persons in their charge are NOT paedophiles. I'm also sure that the overwhelming number of those who ARE paedophiles are good, GOD fearin' KKKristians. It's just the way these things go.
I will be watching this unroll.
http://bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2012/08/05/boy-scout-files-reveal-repeat-child-abuse/KCRNc7iZvKPw5V0mfjVvAN/story.html
is a link to an article about the Boy Scouts of America and their cover-up, connivance/indifference to paedophiliac acts committed by scoutmasters against innocent youths.
I'm sure that subsequent statements by the BSA will contain information that all of the guilty parties were teh GAY. Yep, that's always what's involved. Young boys being preyed on by older men, it's ALL about ONLY teh GAY doin' it.
I was in the scouts (until they recruited some neo-nazi drill instructor fuckwad) from about age 8 to 12. My scoutmaster, Mr. G., was not a predator, nor was the assistant scoutmaster (afaia). There was plenty of adolescent sadism going on (I outed a couple of the Hitlerjugend within our troop and was somewhat less popular with a number of people for that--fuck 'em).
I'm sure that most scoutmasters, just like most priests, ministers and teachers who have young persons in their charge are NOT paedophiles. I'm also sure that the overwhelming number of those who ARE paedophiles are good, GOD fearin' KKKristians. It's just the way these things go.
I will be watching this unroll.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The writing on the wall at the end of your nose
Exhibits 1 through R.
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/31256669/detail.html
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/44912987.html?m=y
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/safety/a/gun-accidents.htm
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/28645486/detail.html
http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=507842
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/01/15/2-year-old-shot-in-the-head-in-gary/
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/fwpd-officer-accidently-shot
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-09-12/news/30170570_1_reckless-homicide-brother-chief-deputy-prosecutor-bob
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/24/sheriff-4-year-old-shot-in-heillad-while-fishing-with-dad/
The above are the tip of a rather large iceberg and, like most icebergs it goes largely unnoticed or unremarked upon by the public at large.
What those links above show is that in Indiana it is apparently less of a problem for parents "accidentally" shooting their children* than it is for parents who leave their children in a child/infant car seat with the windows rolled up and the A/C turned off. I would not be surprised to read an account of a child being shot by an adult who was then arrested for DUI when they got pulled over for attempting to drunkenly drive their--not on purpose, unforseebly, accidentally shot--child or someone else's child to a facility for medical treatment and subsequently charged with the DUI and not the shooting itself. Of course when the gunzloonz can either scare the lege into doing their bidding or simply elect enough of their ilk to tip the balance they also will have the unassailable argument that nothing illegal happened. That slavery used to be legal, along with sweatshops, unsafe workspaces, child labor and the like is lost on them.
WTF, no, really WHAT THE FUCK? Some gunzloonz will, I'm sure, be able to explain why it is NOT a case of criminal neglect to leave a gun where it can be picked up and fired by a child/minor--where that firing results in the death or injury of someone else--while leaving a baby in a car or having a shitsmeared home or one patrolled by starving pitbulls wherein a child dies or is maimed IS a felony.
Now, I'll grant that part of the problem with the whole kid-left-in-the-saunaonwheels thing is the nosy bastards that just feel like they GOTTA call the PIGS, man! Well, GODbless the home, one that is his heavily and heavenly fortified KKKastle, of the idiots whose loved ones get whacked or blasted by their own fucking guns--they don't gotta let nobody come in and find out whether their house is SAFE for teh babeez.
Of course there is another problem that the gunzloonz share with the AGW deniers, biblical inerranists, KKKristian KKKonstitutionalists and other whackjob GOPers--they cannot read the truth. They view facts with the same horror as the old fashioned vampires viewed garlic, wolfbane and crucifixes**. I can say, with a fair degree of certainty that no true Son-O-Teh-Gunz will trouble his beautifully empty mind to read and reflect on any, never mind all, of the links I provided. Prove me wrong, bulletboyz, prove me wrong. I mean, I can believe that you will accept the challenge just as I can believe that the cast of "True Blood" ARE vampires.
* And, in some cases, other people's children.
** Today's vampires seem to be somewhat immune to those things. They now fear fashion ineptitude, lack of sardonic cool and being "out" with the "in the ground" crowd. Otoh; sunlight, the universal disinfectant, seems to be as scary now as it was then.
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/31256669/detail.html
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/44912987.html?m=y
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/safety/a/gun-accidents.htm
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/28645486/detail.html
http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=507842
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/01/15/2-year-old-shot-in-the-head-in-gary/
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/fwpd-officer-accidently-shot
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-09-12/news/30170570_1_reckless-homicide-brother-chief-deputy-prosecutor-bob
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/24/sheriff-4-year-old-shot-in-heillad-while-fishing-with-dad/
The above are the tip of a rather large iceberg and, like most icebergs it goes largely unnoticed or unremarked upon by the public at large.
What those links above show is that in Indiana it is apparently less of a problem for parents "accidentally" shooting their children* than it is for parents who leave their children in a child/infant car seat with the windows rolled up and the A/C turned off. I would not be surprised to read an account of a child being shot by an adult who was then arrested for DUI when they got pulled over for attempting to drunkenly drive their--not on purpose, unforseebly, accidentally shot--child or someone else's child to a facility for medical treatment and subsequently charged with the DUI and not the shooting itself. Of course when the gunzloonz can either scare the lege into doing their bidding or simply elect enough of their ilk to tip the balance they also will have the unassailable argument that nothing illegal happened. That slavery used to be legal, along with sweatshops, unsafe workspaces, child labor and the like is lost on them.
WTF, no, really WHAT THE FUCK? Some gunzloonz will, I'm sure, be able to explain why it is NOT a case of criminal neglect to leave a gun where it can be picked up and fired by a child/minor--where that firing results in the death or injury of someone else--while leaving a baby in a car or having a shitsmeared home or one patrolled by starving pitbulls wherein a child dies or is maimed IS a felony.
Now, I'll grant that part of the problem with the whole kid-left-in-the-saunaonwheels thing is the nosy bastards that just feel like they GOTTA call the PIGS, man! Well, GODbless the home, one that is his heavily and heavenly fortified KKKastle, of the idiots whose loved ones get whacked or blasted by their own fucking guns--they don't gotta let nobody come in and find out whether their house is SAFE for teh babeez.
Of course there is another problem that the gunzloonz share with the AGW deniers, biblical inerranists, KKKristian KKKonstitutionalists and other whackjob GOPers--they cannot read the truth. They view facts with the same horror as the old fashioned vampires viewed garlic, wolfbane and crucifixes**. I can say, with a fair degree of certainty that no true Son-O-Teh-Gunz will trouble his beautifully empty mind to read and reflect on any, never mind all, of the links I provided. Prove me wrong, bulletboyz, prove me wrong. I mean, I can believe that you will accept the challenge just as I can believe that the cast of "True Blood" ARE vampires.
* And, in some cases, other people's children.
** Today's vampires seem to be somewhat immune to those things. They now fear fashion ineptitude, lack of sardonic cool and being "out" with the "in the ground" crowd. Otoh; sunlight, the universal disinfectant, seems to be as scary now as it was then.
Sunday, July 01, 2012
It's the food, stupid!
It IS the food; well, that and the lack of exercise, totally sedentary workplaces, etc.,.
I just heard a commercial, for the umpteenth time, for a "natural" weight loss product. The product (names are unnecessary--they're all snakeoil) is touted as a "hormonal balancer". This product is only one of the dozens for which I've heard ads on the radio. All of them promise two things: rapid weight loss and a "no-risk trial".
Anytime someone tells me that I can get a "no-risk trial" I know that the money is easy to spend and VERY hard to retrieve. If they really believed in the crap they sell, they'd offer it for no cash upfront and let you pay for the first batch, if it works, when you order the second.
I've been on various "diets" in my life. The one that DOES work is Sugar Busters. Not because it's magic but because when I eat less sugar, I eat less of everything. I also cut out beer, wine, liquor and virtually every food/beverage that makes life worth living! I love roasted sweet potatoes AND sweet potato pie--so no diet that restricts my food choices to those I don't usually choose is gonna be a bigass FAIL.
What got me thinking about this is a post by Southern Beale. It was nothing to do with food. It was about the very hot, early summer weather in Nashville.
AGW deniers are much like the credulous boobs who see teh Blessed Virgin Mary's face in their Dunkin' Donuts cruller (or whatever atrocious crapola "pastry" you may obtain at one of the thousands of those or like blights on the landscape). I see no specific harm in the credulity of the idiots who imagine that their pizza contains a divine message, spelled out in pepperoni slices. But, when those same idiots (and the Venn diagram for the two groups probably only takes one circle) also believe that cutting taxes will increase "jobs creation"; JESUS is coming, as soon as Israel nukes the Ayrabs or that AGW is not real--well, yeah, that's fucking harmful.
Idiots are easily led by hucksters, grifters and demagogues. The GOP, if nothing else, has made a "science" of dupin'tehstupes. They have reduced the world around them to TWO tribes, "US" and "teh OTHER, 9-1-11ity!". The two sacraments of their tribe are "Patriotism" and "JESUS!, shut-up, that's why!".
Science is not a guessing game. Science is not a lottery. Science is not subject to change, based on someone's desire to show that a carbon chain is, in reality, unicorn pooh. When someone's fabulous beliefs, beliefs which CANNOT be falsified; are not subject to critical examination and rational inquiry AND have no evidentiary support are deemed equivalent or superior to a vast, exhaustively researched and verified body of knowledge--a body of knowledge which is accepted by many thousands of scientists who have the training and experience to actually understand wtf they're reading and debating--well, I'm gonna have to say those who are going with JESUScience are fucking idiots.
My atheism aside, I never found the whole notion of Noah's Ark or many othere biblical "facts" being things that actually, y'know, HAPPENED, to be rational.
Years ago, I was in Al-anon--for a long time. Being a "member" of that group did me a lot of good. I learned that I WAS powerless to change the world--or even one person in the world--so that it comported with my ideal. I also learned that there are a lot of folks who "enjoy" being victims of alcoholics 'cuz they can vent, forever, and never take responsibility for any of the craziness that THEY contribute to the fucked-up relationships in which they are stuck. People who have been around the program for a while usually, in my experience, become less "GODOdidit and I can't undo it", and more, "I can't fix the world, but I can determine where I want to live.".
Maybe there should be an "AGWanon", a place where those who have been brainwashed (and it's the only word that actually applies) into thinking that shit that will eventually exterminate humanity--without, per George Carlin, harming the planet--is just HIS way of testing us. Someplace where they might depend on the experience, strength and hope (and maybe a soupcon of science) to see where they strayed from sanity.
I will be as one voice crying in the wilderness.
WAKE THE FUCK UP!
I just heard a commercial, for the umpteenth time, for a "natural" weight loss product. The product (names are unnecessary--they're all snakeoil) is touted as a "hormonal balancer". This product is only one of the dozens for which I've heard ads on the radio. All of them promise two things: rapid weight loss and a "no-risk trial".
Anytime someone tells me that I can get a "no-risk trial" I know that the money is easy to spend and VERY hard to retrieve. If they really believed in the crap they sell, they'd offer it for no cash upfront and let you pay for the first batch, if it works, when you order the second.
I've been on various "diets" in my life. The one that DOES work is Sugar Busters. Not because it's magic but because when I eat less sugar, I eat less of everything. I also cut out beer, wine, liquor and virtually every food/beverage that makes life worth living! I love roasted sweet potatoes AND sweet potato pie--so no diet that restricts my food choices to those I don't usually choose is gonna be a bigass FAIL.
What got me thinking about this is a post by Southern Beale. It was nothing to do with food. It was about the very hot, early summer weather in Nashville.
AGW deniers are much like the credulous boobs who see teh Blessed Virgin Mary's face in their Dunkin' Donuts cruller (or whatever atrocious crapola "pastry" you may obtain at one of the thousands of those or like blights on the landscape). I see no specific harm in the credulity of the idiots who imagine that their pizza contains a divine message, spelled out in pepperoni slices. But, when those same idiots (and the Venn diagram for the two groups probably only takes one circle) also believe that cutting taxes will increase "jobs creation"; JESUS is coming, as soon as Israel nukes the Ayrabs or that AGW is not real--well, yeah, that's fucking harmful.
Idiots are easily led by hucksters, grifters and demagogues. The GOP, if nothing else, has made a "science" of dupin'tehstupes. They have reduced the world around them to TWO tribes, "US" and "teh OTHER, 9-1-11ity!". The two sacraments of their tribe are "Patriotism" and "JESUS!, shut-up, that's why!".
Science is not a guessing game. Science is not a lottery. Science is not subject to change, based on someone's desire to show that a carbon chain is, in reality, unicorn pooh. When someone's fabulous beliefs, beliefs which CANNOT be falsified; are not subject to critical examination and rational inquiry AND have no evidentiary support are deemed equivalent or superior to a vast, exhaustively researched and verified body of knowledge--a body of knowledge which is accepted by many thousands of scientists who have the training and experience to actually understand wtf they're reading and debating--well, I'm gonna have to say those who are going with JESUScience are fucking idiots.
My atheism aside, I never found the whole notion of Noah's Ark or many othere biblical "facts" being things that actually, y'know, HAPPENED, to be rational.
Years ago, I was in Al-anon--for a long time. Being a "member" of that group did me a lot of good. I learned that I WAS powerless to change the world--or even one person in the world--so that it comported with my ideal. I also learned that there are a lot of folks who "enjoy" being victims of alcoholics 'cuz they can vent, forever, and never take responsibility for any of the craziness that THEY contribute to the fucked-up relationships in which they are stuck. People who have been around the program for a while usually, in my experience, become less "GODOdidit and I can't undo it", and more, "I can't fix the world, but I can determine where I want to live.".
Maybe there should be an "AGWanon", a place where those who have been brainwashed (and it's the only word that actually applies) into thinking that shit that will eventually exterminate humanity--without, per George Carlin, harming the planet--is just HIS way of testing us. Someplace where they might depend on the experience, strength and hope (and maybe a soupcon of science) to see where they strayed from sanity.
I will be as one voice crying in the wilderness.
WAKE THE FUCK UP!
Friday, June 01, 2012
Why I write the way I do--oh, look something shiny!
I have been aware of my ADD for about 18 years now. No, scratch that, I've been diagnosed as having ADD/ADHD for about 18 years now. I knew something was keeping me from doing a lot of shit for a much longer period of time.
Fighting ADD is not possible. Giving into its manisfest symptoms and letting my brain run riot 24/7 is not desirable. I struggle with the disorder. One of its more prominent symptoms for me is what I refer to as the "Magpie reflex". I can be cruising along doing some work that needs to be done--or having a conversation about anything and without warning something, anything, occurs that deflects my interest from the task at hand to a more "interesting" path of inquiry. This sort of thing is not viewed as a "charming" quirk or harmless eccentricity by many folks. Living alone and not working makes it less likely that I will be fired or told to pack up my shit and hit the road; it does make it exceedingly difficult to start and finish projects or even conversations.
I'm trying a new prescription (I'm into my third month of medication) and, at least so far, it seems not to be making all that much difference to the way I flounder about when not hyperfocused (which is about 3% of my day). Another two months to go at a new dosage level and we will see what we will see. The VA does not like writing the prescription for Adderall (which I KNOW works) and I can't afford the $1-2K/annum for meds and seeing a private mental health provider once every couple of months. I will do this trial for as long as I can and if it's still not working, or having adverse side affects I will either get the Adderall prescribed or simply stop taking any meds for the condition.
So, okay, I got that out of the way, as a preamble to telling my faithful readers that I've started a new editorial policy. Instead of trying to write separate posts I am simply going to start cutting and pasting my own comments from other blogs--and adding contextual content where I feel it's necessary. By doing this I will be able to post more stuff. To wit, three comments from another blog are going to be posted below. They will be labelled as 1 through 3. They may not make a lot of sense to you, but they do to me--that is part of my struggle with the ADD.
Cheers.
3.) This comment was made in reference to a discussion about christians and their lack of logic and critical thinking when they talk about being GAY as an abomination in the eyes of GOD.
3.) This comment was made in reference to idiot christians that want to have their bible and STILL burn those that they disagree with at the stake.
1. “If you actually look at what is in that kludgy mess of the bible and the history of xianity, it all looks like something made up by humans.”
This:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lutheran_denominations
Fighting ADD is not possible. Giving into its manisfest symptoms and letting my brain run riot 24/7 is not desirable. I struggle with the disorder. One of its more prominent symptoms for me is what I refer to as the "Magpie reflex". I can be cruising along doing some work that needs to be done--or having a conversation about anything and without warning something, anything, occurs that deflects my interest from the task at hand to a more "interesting" path of inquiry. This sort of thing is not viewed as a "charming" quirk or harmless eccentricity by many folks. Living alone and not working makes it less likely that I will be fired or told to pack up my shit and hit the road; it does make it exceedingly difficult to start and finish projects or even conversations.
I'm trying a new prescription (I'm into my third month of medication) and, at least so far, it seems not to be making all that much difference to the way I flounder about when not hyperfocused (which is about 3% of my day). Another two months to go at a new dosage level and we will see what we will see. The VA does not like writing the prescription for Adderall (which I KNOW works) and I can't afford the $1-2K/annum for meds and seeing a private mental health provider once every couple of months. I will do this trial for as long as I can and if it's still not working, or having adverse side affects I will either get the Adderall prescribed or simply stop taking any meds for the condition.
So, okay, I got that out of the way, as a preamble to telling my faithful readers that I've started a new editorial policy. Instead of trying to write separate posts I am simply going to start cutting and pasting my own comments from other blogs--and adding contextual content where I feel it's necessary. By doing this I will be able to post more stuff. To wit, three comments from another blog are going to be posted below. They will be labelled as 1 through 3. They may not make a lot of sense to you, but they do to me--that is part of my struggle with the ADD.
Cheers.
1.) "I think Fumento pointing out that the shrillness of the likes of Limbaugh, Coulter, and Malkin is being driven by money is an important statement coming from someone on the right."
The enemy of my enemy is not automatically my friend. Fumento is an asshole. That he dislikes other assholes is not surprising; nor is it surprising that he says that THEIR shrillness is being driven by money. He was a benefactor of plenty of the poisoned lucre that was being spread around by the ReiKKKwingers over the years. He just ain't gettin' so much these days.
David Brock is a former KKKonservative hatchetman who made his bones with the ReiKKKwing by attacking Anita Hill for telling the truth about Clarabelle Thomas during his SCotUS nomination hearings. Brock has since apologized to Anita Hill and written a book detailing his "mistakes".
This:
"July 2, 2001 -- Journalist David Brock, whose 1993 book attacked the credibility of law professor Anita Hill, now says he printed lies about Hill following her testimony against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. In an exclusive interview, NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg talks to Brock about the confession, detailed in a forthcoming book."
is almost 11 years old. The "apology" was made, oddly enough, when Brock had another book coming out--about his perfidy. In the intervening 11 years Brock's original crapola, piece of shit hatchet job on Anita Hill has remained in print--afaia, without a retraction of its contents inserted between its covers. He was a piece of shit, then; he's a piece of shit, now.
Being critical of lying, unprincipled assholes like Brooks and Fumento without calling them lying, unprincipled assholes is not only less fun, it's exactly what the ReiKKKwing likes for the rest of the world to do.
People like Brock, Brooks and Fumento can rehabilitate their images by writing complete retractions of their KNOWN lies (plus any that they haven't yet been caught in but do know about). A bonus would be if they reveal the sources of both the lies and the funding that they received to do their unprincipled lying.
Calling the three of them (and the rest of the ReiKKKwing dysilluminati) lying, unprincipled assholes has, btw, jack shit to do with "ideological purity".
2.) This comment was made in reply to other comments made about the RCC’s recent announcement that they were putting out “guidelines” so that the faithful might be more easily able to identify “genuine” apparitions—as opposed to News of the World nonsense.
"So you mean it’s not a vision, but it is really the caretaker of the shut down amusement park, old man Cranston, wearing a rubber Virgin Mary mask?"
That's a disturbing image; not as disturbing as Pope Panzerfaust in a full gimp suit, but close.
"wasting a great deal of verbiage with little actual meaning."
That could be their sub-header.
"with special regard to the fecundity of spiritual fruit generated from this new devotion."
I think that one of the monk/scribes was doing some "one handed illuminating" when he wrote that.
"habitual docility towards Ecclesiastical Authority."
It ain't just for altar boys anymore.
"What? No mention of the importance of the type of cheese in the grilled sandwich –"
I was at a McDonalds recently and had a McDouble. When I was putting an extra pint of Ketchcornsyrup on it I noticed that it had the likeness of the Immaculate Conceptionist in Velveetaish gooey goodness. I was gonna document it and put it on e-bay; then I realized that JESUS' mom--fine upstanding jewish girl of her times that she was--wouldn't be caught dead with or IN a cheeseburger.
3.) This comment was made in reference to a discussion about christians and their lack of logic and critical thinking when they talk about being GAY as an abomination in the eyes of GOD.
3.) This comment was made in reference to idiot christians that want to have their bible and STILL burn those that they disagree with at the stake.
1. “If you actually look at what is in that kludgy mess of the bible and the history of xianity, it all looks like something made up by humans.”
Something made up by humans before fact checking AND before modern psychiatry with its DSM and GargantuPharma with its nostrums and potions made it easier to identify and treat mental illness.
heddle:
The real problem lies not in OUR lack of understanding of an ancient, cobbled, revised and, often enough, flat out wrong text*; it lies in the duplicity, hypocrisy and indignorance manifested by those who claim to have a comprehensive understanding of that text–which does include the majority of christian ministers and priests (rabbis, too) and a shitton of their sheeple.
This:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lutheran_denominations
is from Wiki. It purports to be a list of Lutheran denominations. IIRC, you’re a Lutheran, yes? Also, I think that you have said in the past that you are a Calvinist and believe in the notion of pre-destination and the “Elect” being the true “Chosen” people of GOD? Are all of the other self-professed christians therefore “wrong”? Are they apostates, heretics, merely misinformed (but doomed nonetheless)?
I have no doubt that you could win a debate with a number of commenters here, and I also have no doubt that a number of really bright and educated folks would simply refuse to engage due to your past history in this regard. Then, of course, there are folks like me, bright like Sirius and woefully undereducated who have no desire to debate anyone over a matter that we hold to be the result of serially fictive authorship.
To paraphrase Warren Zevon, I’ll BELIEVE when I’m dead–or I’ll simply be disassembled by the same rules of physics and chemistry that allow my existence.
OT: Is there something about NASCAR and wrecks that needs investigating? I mean, WOW, they be goin’ through some rides!
* This is not to say that there are NOT portions of the Bible, both OT and NT, that are morally correct.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Guitar heroes and footpedals of clay
A commenter on another blog, Ed Brayton's "Dispatches From The Culture Wars" (Free Thought Blogs) asked, on a thread about Teddy "Teabags" Nugent, whether I thought Jeff Beck or Eddie Van Halen was the better guitarist.
My reply to him, with some additional musings, appears below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Heath:
Since all I know about Eddie Van Halen is his rock ouvre, I'm gonna go with Jeff Beck. Van Halen is quite talented but I never heard him play jazz.
There's an aussie fella, Geoff Atchison, who played at the Oswego Harbor Fest a few years back that put on a show that was amazing. In an era of guitar players with so many foot pedals and effects boxes that they can't walk across the stage without tripping a switch, I watched him play two sets on consecutive nights with his guitar and a borrowed amp that were incredible.
Oz Noy,an Israeli who now spends most of his time in the states, is not the opposite of Geoff Achison but I saw him at the SUNY Oswego Guitar Symposium a while back and he had enough effects pedals to fill a music/electronics store--and used them all.
Loren Barrigar and Williman Yelverton are two great guitarists who I've only heard play acoustic. Barrigar has been playing all kinds of music for many years (he played at the Grand Ole Opry when he was six or seven); Mr. Yelverton, originally of Binghamton, NY now resides near Murfreesboro, TN teaching at Middle Tennessee State and performing. His classical technique is incredible.
Bobby Keyes/Bobby Keyes Trio* is on Thrillionaire Records. Bobby is someone I didn't see play for almost twenty five years (1976-2001) and hearing the first couple of tunes after that long hiatus I was thinking "Dick Dale meets Wes Montgomery.".
Those are just five guitarists of the hundreds that I've listened to in live venues over the past 40 years. I cannot play to save my ass nor do I really understand the process of doing so, but I can tell when I'm listening to someone who plays, at a consistently high level, across many styles of music.
I'm sure that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of guitarists who are favorites of other commenters. I don't generally rank players except in the sense that they're, to be be technical, FUCKING AWESOME!!
Give any of these five a listen or watch, "It Might Get Loud" with Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. Regardless your musical tastes I think you will agree that all of these people are fabulous musicians and that Teddy Teabag is not in their league.
OTOH, none of them, afaia, know how to "jack" deer or shoot them over bait or shoot a bear and then leave it, wounded, in the bush instead of tracking it down and killing it.
* I've seen the Bobby Keyes Trio about 10-12 times and rarely seen the same drummer or bassist more than a few times, although Marty Ballou, a great bassist, has played with him on probably 4-6 of those occasions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone else that has favorites, feel free to add them. All of the people I mentioned are easily found by googling. If you can't locate them, let me know and I'll provide linkyloos. Oh, yeah. Zappa! Neil Young, Django Reinhardt...
My reply to him, with some additional musings, appears below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Heath:
Since all I know about Eddie Van Halen is his rock ouvre, I'm gonna go with Jeff Beck. Van Halen is quite talented but I never heard him play jazz.
There's an aussie fella, Geoff Atchison, who played at the Oswego Harbor Fest a few years back that put on a show that was amazing. In an era of guitar players with so many foot pedals and effects boxes that they can't walk across the stage without tripping a switch, I watched him play two sets on consecutive nights with his guitar and a borrowed amp that were incredible.
Oz Noy,an Israeli who now spends most of his time in the states, is not the opposite of Geoff Achison but I saw him at the SUNY Oswego Guitar Symposium a while back and he had enough effects pedals to fill a music/electronics store--and used them all.
Loren Barrigar and Williman Yelverton are two great guitarists who I've only heard play acoustic. Barrigar has been playing all kinds of music for many years (he played at the Grand Ole Opry when he was six or seven); Mr. Yelverton, originally of Binghamton, NY now resides near Murfreesboro, TN teaching at Middle Tennessee State and performing. His classical technique is incredible.
Bobby Keyes/Bobby Keyes Trio* is on Thrillionaire Records. Bobby is someone I didn't see play for almost twenty five years (1976-2001) and hearing the first couple of tunes after that long hiatus I was thinking "Dick Dale meets Wes Montgomery.".
Those are just five guitarists of the hundreds that I've listened to in live venues over the past 40 years. I cannot play to save my ass nor do I really understand the process of doing so, but I can tell when I'm listening to someone who plays, at a consistently high level, across many styles of music.
I'm sure that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of guitarists who are favorites of other commenters. I don't generally rank players except in the sense that they're, to be be technical, FUCKING AWESOME!!
Give any of these five a listen or watch, "It Might Get Loud" with Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. Regardless your musical tastes I think you will agree that all of these people are fabulous musicians and that Teddy Teabag is not in their league.
OTOH, none of them, afaia, know how to "jack" deer or shoot them over bait or shoot a bear and then leave it, wounded, in the bush instead of tracking it down and killing it.
* I've seen the Bobby Keyes Trio about 10-12 times and rarely seen the same drummer or bassist more than a few times, although Marty Ballou, a great bassist, has played with him on probably 4-6 of those occasions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone else that has favorites, feel free to add them. All of the people I mentioned are easily found by googling. If you can't locate them, let me know and I'll provide linkyloos. Oh, yeah. Zappa! Neil Young, Django Reinhardt...
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Memorial Day
Memorial Day, also known as Decoration Day*, has a long history (http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html. It was--before the advent of the horseless carriage, mattress warehouses and other bigbox stores and the worship of beverage alcohol--a day of solemn reflection, windy speechifying and the decorating of veterans graves.
We should never forget our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who were killed and maimed in the wars fought by them on behalf of a not always so grateful public. The original Decoration Day was not observed in the former CSA (losers in the War of Southern Treachery*) and was only observed by them after WWI when the U.S. Congress legislated a national day of observance recognizing all U.S. soldiers killed in the numerous wars and "police actions" engaged in by the U.S.
The current situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and whatever other countries are currently being "helped" by S&DFP*** initiatives should not call for us to be hatin' on the U.S. military or its members. They go where they're posted and do what they're told--with notable exceptions--per their oath of service. That U.S. foreign policy is too often based on the proposition that we ARE the baddest asses on the block is, again, not their fault.
I honor our gallant and brave service members, while despising the old, mostly white, almost exclusively male, war mongers who see only an enemy when facing an adversary.
* Not to be confused with Declaration Day, also known as the 4th of July.
** I am afraid that I'm just not that P.C. where the war between the Union and the people who still wanted to own people is concerned. Sue me.
*** Stealth and Drone Foreign Policy
We should never forget our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who were killed and maimed in the wars fought by them on behalf of a not always so grateful public. The original Decoration Day was not observed in the former CSA (losers in the War of Southern Treachery*) and was only observed by them after WWI when the U.S. Congress legislated a national day of observance recognizing all U.S. soldiers killed in the numerous wars and "police actions" engaged in by the U.S.
The current situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and whatever other countries are currently being "helped" by S&DFP*** initiatives should not call for us to be hatin' on the U.S. military or its members. They go where they're posted and do what they're told--with notable exceptions--per their oath of service. That U.S. foreign policy is too often based on the proposition that we ARE the baddest asses on the block is, again, not their fault.
I honor our gallant and brave service members, while despising the old, mostly white, almost exclusively male, war mongers who see only an enemy when facing an adversary.
* Not to be confused with Declaration Day, also known as the 4th of July.
** I am afraid that I'm just not that P.C. where the war between the Union and the people who still wanted to own people is concerned. Sue me.
*** Stealth and Drone Foreign Policy
Saturday, May 26, 2012
And then there was Mittunswillard
Rancid Puke, er, I mean Ron Paul, announced recently that his campaign was dead (something most thinking people knew, well before the beginning of 2010). Paul and the other useful idiotz of the KKKonservative KKKlown KKKar Posse will now be able to spend more time checking their account balances and using other people's money to pay down their campaign debts.
Newt Gingrich's campaign and, according to at least one report (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/22/us-usa-campaign-gingrich-idUSBRE84L0G620120522), some non-campaign ponzi schemes*, are going bankrupt.
Palin? Out. Bachmann? Out. Santorum? Out. It's a longer, and sorry, list.
One thing that all of the aforementioned had in common, during their campaigns, was an unbridled passion for pointing at Romney--as if they were Podpeople in the "Invasion of the Body Politic Snatchers"--and shrieking about his nonKKKonservativenessosity. Now that Mittunswillard has all but assumed the mantle of heir-apparatchik of the Kochsuckersbrother's pending buyout of the U.S. gummint they have to make nice. It's entertaining, in the sense that watching the bad guyz get whacked in the final reel is entertaining, but it's not a sustainable buzz.
For my money, the best way to REALLY piss off the overlords is to VOTE, for anyone (preferrably someone who understands science, math, the Constitution and basic economic theory) that might actually have the interests of someone OTHER than the overlords in mind.
* Promising people that HE will right the wrongs of the DCinsiders--when he couldn't/wouldn't do it AS a DCinsider.
I
Newt Gingrich's campaign and, according to at least one report (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/22/us-usa-campaign-gingrich-idUSBRE84L0G620120522), some non-campaign ponzi schemes*, are going bankrupt.
Palin? Out. Bachmann? Out. Santorum? Out. It's a longer, and sorry, list.
One thing that all of the aforementioned had in common, during their campaigns, was an unbridled passion for pointing at Romney--as if they were Podpeople in the "Invasion of the Body Politic Snatchers"--and shrieking about his nonKKKonservativenessosity. Now that Mittunswillard has all but assumed the mantle of heir-apparatchik of the Kochsuckersbrother's pending buyout of the U.S. gummint they have to make nice. It's entertaining, in the sense that watching the bad guyz get whacked in the final reel is entertaining, but it's not a sustainable buzz.
For my money, the best way to REALLY piss off the overlords is to VOTE, for anyone (preferrably someone who understands science, math, the Constitution and basic economic theory) that might actually have the interests of someone OTHER than the overlords in mind.
* Promising people that HE will right the wrongs of the DCinsiders--when he couldn't/wouldn't do it AS a DCinsider.
I
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Music soothes the savage breast or makes the heart beat faster, faster. Take me home tonight....
And, no, I don't listen to that Eddie Money tune by choice, it just gets a lot of airplay on some local radio stations.
I was discussing something else entirely in an e-mail, yesterday, but the ADD thing...
I was discussing something else entirely in an e-mail, yesterday, but the ADD thing...
Spring is here, the grass is riz, I wonder where the flowers is. I'm trying, today, to turn my "master bedroom" (a sheetrocked but not taped, sanded or painted 320 sq.ft. space) into a workshop so's I can get some friggin' work done on the rest of the house. Of course my ADD kicked in about 20 minutes into the process and I spent an hour going through cassette tapes with great music op them, most of which I've never heard before as it's on albums I never listened to back in the day. Mary Chapin Carpenter is on the box, to be followed by Pat Metheny; Ray Charles; It's A Beautiful Day's "Choice Quality Stuff/Anytime (the one with the R.Crumb cover art); "Half-Nelson", a bunch of duets by the "Redheaded stranger" hisself and various friends; the soundtrack to "Peter's Friends"--great soundtrack--which features Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, fresh from their "Bertie Wooster" roles on BBC; the soundtrack from "Rainman", for one tune, "Beyond the Blue Horizon", a la, Lou Christie--of course, "Iko, Iko" and some other great tunes are on there and "Rhythm, Counrty & Blues" with duets like "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", featuring Vince Gill and Gladys Knight--"How Time Slips Away" with Al Green and Lyle Lovett and "Patches" done by George Jones and B.B. King.
See what I mean about the ADD thing.
I buy a lot of cassette tapes and CD's at the local thrift stores for anything from .25 to $3.00--I just found out that I have three copies of Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Come on, come on"--and have picked up some great stuff, everything from Sergei Rachmaninoff to Warren Zevon. Almost all of the media is in good shape and there are lots of songs I've never heard of on the ta[es and CD's.
There are some unintended consequences of building one's library via "The Salvation Army". One of them is that I've picked up several different cassettes by groups like the Rolling Stones and, later, discovered that they had pretty much the same 4-6 hits and another 6-8 throwaways. After listening to the "Re-Mastered" Stones collection (three or four cassettes) I realized two things. The first was that Jagger and company made a LOT of music; the second was that a LOT of it was BAD. Oh, well, it's nice to know that even St. Mick can fuck up!
I avoid "Original soundtracks", as they were not, imo, interesting in the case of about 100% of those that I've listened to. Soundtracks with other people's music? THAT, is a whole difurnt thang. I've got stuff from the "Commitments" (and another compilation of the same tunes done by the original artists), "Peter's Friends", "Naked in New York", "The Big Lebowski" and some others that kill. One tape I had and which I lost is the soundtrack from "The King Of Comedy"--there is a lot of great music on that one.
One of these days I'll get all of this music converted to digital files on my Ion Tape to PC deck, for now, just gwine enjoy them.
Friday, May 04, 2012
What we have here is a failure to communicate
I've been spending a fair amount of time at another blog for the last six to eight months, mikeb302000. The blog's author mikeb, does a great job of spotlighting the irrational and obsessive behavior of gunzloonz. His blog has drawn a lot of flak from the gunzloonz dysintelliegentsia and continues to do so.
There is a lot of mudslinging going on over there and I have no problem with that. Dealing with lying sociopaths makes it difficult to concentrate on pointed arguments (which are not, in any case, what they want).
For the last couple of months, mikeb has turned off moderation on his blog and I have to say it has not been a successful gambit. There are a number of commenters whose only purpose in coming to the blog is to flame people, anonymously, and act like the gutless clownz that they are. Since their purpose is to NOT have any sort of genuine discussion but to merely push their NRA and various other gunzloonz talking points it is a waste of time to read them, or respond. It's not that reading their comments is hard or particularly painful, it is that they say nothing that they haven't said a thousand times before. And, every time they say it they offer nothing in the way of support for their assertions.
As I said, on a thread here, a while back, you can insult me and call me names, as long as you bring something to the table that ISN'T just your macho gunzloonz posturing. Considering that the majority of mikeb's commenter don't know how to do that I've decided to stop wasting my time there, unless he wants to turn moderation back on and, considering the number of "anonymi" that are commenting, a way of id'ing them. I don't genuinely expect that these things will happen.
For the immediate future, sign-ins and moderating will be the rule of the day, here. If you've got something to say, have at it. If you're commenting anonymously and puking up the same tired NRA talking points that I've been reading at mikeb's for the last year or two, don't bother, they'll not be seeing the light of day.
I need to attend to business for the next few days; after that I'll be trying to put some stuff up.
Cheers
There is a lot of mudslinging going on over there and I have no problem with that. Dealing with lying sociopaths makes it difficult to concentrate on pointed arguments (which are not, in any case, what they want).
For the last couple of months, mikeb has turned off moderation on his blog and I have to say it has not been a successful gambit. There are a number of commenters whose only purpose in coming to the blog is to flame people, anonymously, and act like the gutless clownz that they are. Since their purpose is to NOT have any sort of genuine discussion but to merely push their NRA and various other gunzloonz talking points it is a waste of time to read them, or respond. It's not that reading their comments is hard or particularly painful, it is that they say nothing that they haven't said a thousand times before. And, every time they say it they offer nothing in the way of support for their assertions.
As I said, on a thread here, a while back, you can insult me and call me names, as long as you bring something to the table that ISN'T just your macho gunzloonz posturing. Considering that the majority of mikeb's commenter don't know how to do that I've decided to stop wasting my time there, unless he wants to turn moderation back on and, considering the number of "anonymi" that are commenting, a way of id'ing them. I don't genuinely expect that these things will happen.
For the immediate future, sign-ins and moderating will be the rule of the day, here. If you've got something to say, have at it. If you're commenting anonymously and puking up the same tired NRA talking points that I've been reading at mikeb's for the last year or two, don't bother, they'll not be seeing the light of day.
I need to attend to business for the next few days; after that I'll be trying to put some stuff up.
Cheers
Monday, April 16, 2012
Armed while Old, Fat, White and Crabby? Part 1 of 3
This post and the two that follow are cross-posted from Penigma. They were written/built by "dog gone" who is far more savvy than I am with the googlefoo'n'stuff.
Give it a read. Comment here or ping her at her place.
Enjoy!
ALEC represents corporate and other special interests. It DOES NOT reflect the problems of a state, much less desirable solutions. It does not represent the citizens of that state and their wishes. It co-opts and corrupts the function of representative government, it erodes and overturns the fundamental concept of government of the people, by the people, for the people by replacing it with legislation by and for outside special interests, and corporate profits over people.
I found this hypothetical situation in the title particularly apt; I grew up with a swimming pool. We would occasionally find unauthorized people doing precisely this - taking a dip, and not always late night either. Our response tended to be to politely tell the intruders to please leave, and to call the local police if they did not comply (that happened precisely twice). And while waiting for the police to arrive, we turned the family dog loose in the pool enclosure -- to BARK, not bite -- which was quite sufficient to persuade the unwelcome swimmers to leave when a polite request was not. In each case, the trespassers were young and male, the age of Trayvon Martin or younger. The notion of involving a gun in those interactions is preposterous -- but it is what happens under Shoot First laws.
I was particularly struck by the last lines of the piece below, because the exclusively conservative legislators who introduced the legislation appear to have used the same ALEC model bill template that shows up in every other state with these laws, and are all alleged to have ALEC ties:
Because of the allegations that ALEC is inherently corrupt -- using public office for private gain -- and because of the attempts at secrecy, I do not believe that the legislators who introduced the Shoot First law in Wisconsin are being fully candid and honest. I'd love to see the press FOIA those legislators who proposed this bill, and who voted for it, requiring them to produce all information relating to ALEC.
If it is so innocent, put it out in the open for your constituents to SEE, for themselves.
I'd like to see the same thing happen in Minnesota.
From the New York Times by way of MSN:
NRA gathers amid growing storm over gun laws
The bill, known as the Castle Doctrine, made it harder to prosecute or sue people who used deadly force against intruders inside their houses.
But the Wisconsin legislators, urged on by the National Rifle Association in a series of meetings, wanted it to go further. They shaped an amendment that extended the bill’s protections to include lawns, sidewalks and swimming pools outside the residences, as well as vehicles and places of business.
That expanded bill, passed with little debate by the Legislature and signed in December by Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, is the newest of more than two dozen so-called Stand Your Ground statutes that have been enacted around the country in recent years.
Those laws are now coming under increased scrutiny after Mr. Martin was shot to death by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch coordinator, in late February. Similar legislation is pending in several other states, including Alaska, Massachusetts and New York.
Though the laws vary in their specifics and scope, they expand beyond the home the places where a person does not have a duty to retreat when threatened, and they increase protection from criminal prosecution and civil liability. All contain elements of the 2005 Florida statute that made it difficult to immediately arrest Mr. Zimmerman, who has said he shot Mr. Martin, who was unarmed, in self-defense.
Zimmerman expected to take stand in Martin murder case
Critics see the laws as part of a national campaign by the National Rifle Association, which began gathering on Thursday in St. Louis for its annual meeting, to push back against limits on gun ownership and use.
That effort, they say, has been assisted by conservative legislators in states like Wisconsin, and by the American Legislative Exchange Council, which has promoted model legislation based on Florida’s law; the council, known as ALEC, is a conservative networking organization made up of legislators, corporations like Walmart, a large retailer of long guns, and interest groups like the rifle association.
The success of the campaign is reflected in the rapid spread of expanded self-defense laws as well as laws that legalize the carrying of concealed weapons.
Only one state, Illinois, and the District of Columbia now ban that practice, compared with 19 states in 1981. Bills pending in several states that would allow concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses, in churches, in bars or at other sites would further weaken restrictions, as would either of two federal bills, now in the Senate, that would require that a permit for carrying a concealed weapon that was granted by any state be honored in all other states.
“Both directly and with cutouts like ALEC, the N.R.A. is slowly and surely and methodically working at the state level to expand the number and kind and category of places where people can carry concealed, loaded weapons and use them with deadly force,” said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 650 mayors that has not taken a position on the Stand Your Ground laws.
Repeated requests to speak with N.R.A. officials about Wisconsin’s law or Stand Your Ground laws more generally met with no response.
Political influenceIn Wisconsin, as in other states, the passage of an expanded self-defense law was helped by the 2010 elections, which vaulted conservative Republicans into office. In Pennsylvania, for example, a Stand Your Ground law passed the Legislature in 2010 but was vetoed by Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat. Introduced again last year, the bill was signed by his Republican successor, Tom Corbett.
In Wisconsin, a narrower version of the legislation had languished and died in previous sessions. But with a Republican governor and Republicans dominating both houses of the Legislature, several state lawmakers said that the success of the bill and the expansion amendment promoted by the N.R.A. seemed assured.
“I think it’s only normal they assumed this could be their year,” said Representative Dean Kaufert, a Republican who introduced the legislation, speaking of the rifle association.
Prosecutors: Zimmerman provoked confrontation with Martin
Darren LaSorte, a lobbyist for the rifle association, wanted the legislation, like Florida’s law, to extend protection to any place where a person had a legal right to be, said several Republican lawmakers who met with Mr. LaSorte. But having been successful in getting an earlier bill passed to allow the carrying of concealed weapons, Mr. LaSorte accepted a compromise.
“It was almost a ‘we’ll take what we can get’ kind of mode,” Mr. Kaufert said. In its final form, the law contained language that closely tracked some parts of the Florida bill.
In a legislative alert on its Web site, the N.R.A. asked members to “please express your support for this critically important self-defense legislation” and for “N.R.A.-recommended amendments to these bills in order to make the final product a stronger law.” The bill, the association said in the alert, “ensures that you don’t have to second-guess yourself when defending your home from intruders.”
Further, it said, “It also provides civil immunity for good citizens who are acting defensively against violence.”
Last year, the N.R.A. spent $97,701 and 627 hours lobbying or engaging in other activities in Wisconsin on behalf of the self-defense law and the concealed carry law, according to the State Legislature Web site.
But as in other states, the most powerful weapon the rifle association wielded in Wisconsin was political, not financial. In a state with more than 620,000 registered hunters, the ratings the association gives to legislators could have significant impact on their political fortunes, particularly in the northern part of the state.
“A lot of politicians are apprehensive to go against the initiatives of the National Rifle Association,” said Representative Nick Milroy, a Democrat from northern Wisconsin who voted for the concealed carry bill but against the Castle Doctrine. “For a lot of people who are very particular about their gun rights, anything less than an ‘A’ rating is an antigun stance.”
Senator Jon Erpenbach, a Democrat, called the bill a substantial victory for the N.R.A. in the Midwest, where guns have a less central place, say, than Texas. “The N.R.A. did very well for themselves in Wisconsin,” he said.
Representative Scott Suder, the Republican majority leader, participated in meetings to shape the amendment and said the bill’s expansion was not “driven by any group or organization” but came at the urging of other legislators and their constituents.
“We came up with a compromise that did include your car in addition to your home, and that was a fair compromise,” Mr. Suder said. “We didn’t go as far as some wanted to.”
But some legislators said they wondered who those constituents were, other than the N.R.A. The Castle Doctrine legislation, they said, was one of a series of bills that seemed to appear out of nowhere as part of some national agenda, rather than arising from concerns of Wisconsin residents.
Janet Bewley, a Democrat in northern Wisconsin who voted for the concealed carry bill but against the self-defense law, said, “I never heard anyone in this state crying out, ‘We must have the Castle Doctrine.’ ”
This story, "N.R.A.’s Influence Seen in Expansion of Self-Defense Laws", originally appeared in The New York Times.
Give it a read. Comment here or ping her at her place.
Enjoy!
ALEC represents corporate and other special interests. It DOES NOT reflect the problems of a state, much less desirable solutions. It does not represent the citizens of that state and their wishes. It co-opts and corrupts the function of representative government, it erodes and overturns the fundamental concept of government of the people, by the people, for the people by replacing it with legislation by and for outside special interests, and corporate profits over people.
I found this hypothetical situation in the title particularly apt; I grew up with a swimming pool. We would occasionally find unauthorized people doing precisely this - taking a dip, and not always late night either. Our response tended to be to politely tell the intruders to please leave, and to call the local police if they did not comply (that happened precisely twice). And while waiting for the police to arrive, we turned the family dog loose in the pool enclosure -- to BARK, not bite -- which was quite sufficient to persuade the unwelcome swimmers to leave when a polite request was not. In each case, the trespassers were young and male, the age of Trayvon Martin or younger. The notion of involving a gun in those interactions is preposterous -- but it is what happens under Shoot First laws.
I was particularly struck by the last lines of the piece below, because the exclusively conservative legislators who introduced the legislation appear to have used the same ALEC model bill template that shows up in every other state with these laws, and are all alleged to have ALEC ties:
But some legislators said they wondered who those constituents were, other than the N.R.A. The Castle Doctrine legislation, they said, was one of a series of bills that seemed to appear out of nowhere as part of some national agenda, rather than arising from concerns of Wisconsin residents. Janet Bewley, a Democrat in northern Wisconsin who voted for the concealed carry bill but against the self-defense law, said, “I never heard anyone in this state crying out, ‘We must have the Castle Doctrine.’ ”
Because of the allegations that ALEC is inherently corrupt -- using public office for private gain -- and because of the attempts at secrecy, I do not believe that the legislators who introduced the Shoot First law in Wisconsin are being fully candid and honest. I'd love to see the press FOIA those legislators who proposed this bill, and who voted for it, requiring them to produce all information relating to ALEC.
If it is so innocent, put it out in the open for your constituents to SEE, for themselves.
I'd like to see the same thing happen in Minnesota.
From the New York Times by way of MSN:
NRA gathers amid growing storm over gun laws
'If someone takes a late-night dip in your swimming pool, does that mean you should shoot them?' Wis. state senator says
By ERICA GOODEThe bill, known as the Castle Doctrine, made it harder to prosecute or sue people who used deadly force against intruders inside their houses.
 |
| New York Times caption: Jeff Nass is the president of WI-Force, a gun rights group in Wisconsin that works with the National Rifle Association. My observation - these groups are always formed by fat old crabby white guys with guns trying to look stern and important. Mostly, they just look constipated and impotent. |
That expanded bill, passed with little debate by the Legislature and signed in December by Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, is the newest of more than two dozen so-called Stand Your Ground statutes that have been enacted around the country in recent years.
Those laws are now coming under increased scrutiny after Mr. Martin was shot to death by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch coordinator, in late February. Similar legislation is pending in several other states, including Alaska, Massachusetts and New York.
Though the laws vary in their specifics and scope, they expand beyond the home the places where a person does not have a duty to retreat when threatened, and they increase protection from criminal prosecution and civil liability. All contain elements of the 2005 Florida statute that made it difficult to immediately arrest Mr. Zimmerman, who has said he shot Mr. Martin, who was unarmed, in self-defense.
Zimmerman expected to take stand in Martin murder case
Critics see the laws as part of a national campaign by the National Rifle Association, which began gathering on Thursday in St. Louis for its annual meeting, to push back against limits on gun ownership and use.
That effort, they say, has been assisted by conservative legislators in states like Wisconsin, and by the American Legislative Exchange Council, which has promoted model legislation based on Florida’s law; the council, known as ALEC, is a conservative networking organization made up of legislators, corporations like Walmart, a large retailer of long guns, and interest groups like the rifle association.
The success of the campaign is reflected in the rapid spread of expanded self-defense laws as well as laws that legalize the carrying of concealed weapons.
Only one state, Illinois, and the District of Columbia now ban that practice, compared with 19 states in 1981. Bills pending in several states that would allow concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses, in churches, in bars or at other sites would further weaken restrictions, as would either of two federal bills, now in the Senate, that would require that a permit for carrying a concealed weapon that was granted by any state be honored in all other states.
“Both directly and with cutouts like ALEC, the N.R.A. is slowly and surely and methodically working at the state level to expand the number and kind and category of places where people can carry concealed, loaded weapons and use them with deadly force,” said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 650 mayors that has not taken a position on the Stand Your Ground laws.
Repeated requests to speak with N.R.A. officials about Wisconsin’s law or Stand Your Ground laws more generally met with no response.
Political influenceIn Wisconsin, as in other states, the passage of an expanded self-defense law was helped by the 2010 elections, which vaulted conservative Republicans into office. In Pennsylvania, for example, a Stand Your Ground law passed the Legislature in 2010 but was vetoed by Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat. Introduced again last year, the bill was signed by his Republican successor, Tom Corbett.
In Wisconsin, a narrower version of the legislation had languished and died in previous sessions. But with a Republican governor and Republicans dominating both houses of the Legislature, several state lawmakers said that the success of the bill and the expansion amendment promoted by the N.R.A. seemed assured.
“I think it’s only normal they assumed this could be their year,” said Representative Dean Kaufert, a Republican who introduced the legislation, speaking of the rifle association.
Prosecutors: Zimmerman provoked confrontation with Martin
Darren LaSorte, a lobbyist for the rifle association, wanted the legislation, like Florida’s law, to extend protection to any place where a person had a legal right to be, said several Republican lawmakers who met with Mr. LaSorte. But having been successful in getting an earlier bill passed to allow the carrying of concealed weapons, Mr. LaSorte accepted a compromise.
“It was almost a ‘we’ll take what we can get’ kind of mode,” Mr. Kaufert said. In its final form, the law contained language that closely tracked some parts of the Florida bill.
In a legislative alert on its Web site, the N.R.A. asked members to “please express your support for this critically important self-defense legislation” and for “N.R.A.-recommended amendments to these bills in order to make the final product a stronger law.” The bill, the association said in the alert, “ensures that you don’t have to second-guess yourself when defending your home from intruders.”
Further, it said, “It also provides civil immunity for good citizens who are acting defensively against violence.”
Last year, the N.R.A. spent $97,701 and 627 hours lobbying or engaging in other activities in Wisconsin on behalf of the self-defense law and the concealed carry law, according to the State Legislature Web site.
But as in other states, the most powerful weapon the rifle association wielded in Wisconsin was political, not financial. In a state with more than 620,000 registered hunters, the ratings the association gives to legislators could have significant impact on their political fortunes, particularly in the northern part of the state.
“A lot of politicians are apprehensive to go against the initiatives of the National Rifle Association,” said Representative Nick Milroy, a Democrat from northern Wisconsin who voted for the concealed carry bill but against the Castle Doctrine. “For a lot of people who are very particular about their gun rights, anything less than an ‘A’ rating is an antigun stance.”
Senator Jon Erpenbach, a Democrat, called the bill a substantial victory for the N.R.A. in the Midwest, where guns have a less central place, say, than Texas. “The N.R.A. did very well for themselves in Wisconsin,” he said.
Legislators: Who wanted the doctrine?Mr. Erpenbach said he would have voted for the original self-defense bill, which placed a heavier burden on prosecutors in self-defense cases but limited the protection to inside a residence. But he drew the line at the amendment expanding the legislation, he said.
“Who in their right mind could be asking for something like this?” he said he remembers thinking when the measure hit the Senate floor, amendment attached. “If someone takes a late-night dip in your swimming pool, does that mean you should shoot them?”
The fact that the amendment was added by the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and Ethics after the public hearing on the bill, he and others said, prevented it from getting much public attention. And with challenges to collective bargaining, requirements for voter identification and other controversial proposals before them, legislators had a lot on their minds.
“There wasn’t a tremendous amount of debate,” Mr. Erpenbach said.
In fact, at the public hearing, some groups expressed strong opposition even to the far more restricted language of the original legislation. Gregory O’Meara, speaking for the Wisconsin Bar Association’s criminal division, said that the division’s judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers unanimously opposed the bill as unnecessary and potentially problematic. Wisconsin’s existing law, he said, was already stronger than most states, placing the burden of proof on the prosecution to show that a person was not acting in self-defense.
Video: Zimmerman enters not guilty plea (on this page)Jeff Nass, president of WI-Force, a Wisconsin gun rights group that works with the N.R.A., and who carries a Glock 20 semiautomatic handgun at all times — “It’s a large pistol, but I’m a large person,” he said — testified in favor of the bill.
Prosecutors and law professors, Mr. Nass said in a phone interview, “can sit back and analyze in the safety of their chambers what you did and if you did the right thing, but if I kick down your door in the middle of the night, are you going to be worried about it?”“Who in their right mind could be asking for something like this?” he said he remembers thinking when the measure hit the Senate floor, amendment attached. “If someone takes a late-night dip in your swimming pool, does that mean you should shoot them?”
The fact that the amendment was added by the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and Ethics after the public hearing on the bill, he and others said, prevented it from getting much public attention. And with challenges to collective bargaining, requirements for voter identification and other controversial proposals before them, legislators had a lot on their minds.
“There wasn’t a tremendous amount of debate,” Mr. Erpenbach said.
In fact, at the public hearing, some groups expressed strong opposition even to the far more restricted language of the original legislation. Gregory O’Meara, speaking for the Wisconsin Bar Association’s criminal division, said that the division’s judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers unanimously opposed the bill as unnecessary and potentially problematic. Wisconsin’s existing law, he said, was already stronger than most states, placing the burden of proof on the prosecution to show that a person was not acting in self-defense.
Video: Zimmerman enters not guilty plea (on this page)Jeff Nass, president of WI-Force, a Wisconsin gun rights group that works with the N.R.A., and who carries a Glock 20 semiautomatic handgun at all times — “It’s a large pistol, but I’m a large person,” he said — testified in favor of the bill.
Representative Scott Suder, the Republican majority leader, participated in meetings to shape the amendment and said the bill’s expansion was not “driven by any group or organization” but came at the urging of other legislators and their constituents.
“We came up with a compromise that did include your car in addition to your home, and that was a fair compromise,” Mr. Suder said. “We didn’t go as far as some wanted to.”
But some legislators said they wondered who those constituents were, other than the N.R.A. The Castle Doctrine legislation, they said, was one of a series of bills that seemed to appear out of nowhere as part of some national agenda, rather than arising from concerns of Wisconsin residents.
Janet Bewley, a Democrat in northern Wisconsin who voted for the concealed carry bill but against the self-defense law, said, “I never heard anyone in this state crying out, ‘We must have the Castle Doctrine.’ ”
This story, "N.R.A.’s Influence Seen in Expansion of Self-Defense Laws", originally appeared in The New York Times.
Armed while Old, Fat, White and Crabby? Part 2 of 3
A half-naked old, fat, white grumpy guy was caught on video having a shooting incident over a moped.
No one appears to have been hurt; the honor of owning a moped was upheld!
On the other hand........why do none of the people who are calling this old fool with a gun a hero question the risk to others of shooting six shots down what is presumably an inhabited residential city street?
This shooting appears to endanger others, while apparently not harming the would-be criminal. No one in their right mind should call this guy a hero; he was dangerously stupid.
1. No one should be carrying a gun in their pants pocket.
It is dangerous.
The old geezer is lucky he didn't shoot himself in the leg when he fell on his ass. Clearly, you can't use it if you need it - but the odds are you can't get it out of a holster quickly enough to be practically useful EITHER. But it makes it less likely you will accidentally shoot yourself or someone else if you use one.
2. No one acting intelligently while armed with a deadly weapon tries to pull their gun on someone when that person is already pointing a gun at them. You have already lost any possible advantage of shooting first; you will however dramatically increase the probability of getting shot yourself before you can fire. Even if you both fire your guns, you are going to be endangering others besides the bad guy. It does not appear any of the shots fired by this fat old white crabby guy hit the person he aimed at --- where did they go?
This guy was a dumbass to keep arguing with someone who pulled a gun on them.
3. Clearly, having a gun you can't get out of your pocket and that the would-be criminal doesn't know is there is NO DETERRENT to a crime. There is nothing heroic about shooting someone in the back, there is nothing heroic in shooting at someone after they have left. This guy is stupid and inept, not heroic.
Under normal laws applying to law enforcement, they are not allowed to shoot a suspect in the back, a suspect who is fleeing, if it endangers others. They are not allowed to shoot a suspect who is NOT a danger to others - and when this bad guy, a black guy in a hoodie!, left the scene, I would argue that he no longer presented an imminent danger to the mo-ped owner or anyone else.
He should have been reported to the police, but the fat old white grumpy guy shouldn't be shooting someone fleeing a failed crime scene. This is one more instance of a grump with a gun going vigilante on someone; no moped is worth shooting someone over. It's just a dumb MOPED for Pete's sake! No crook is going to outrun the cops on a silly old moped! (He probably couldn't outrun cops on ten speeds.)
Stop shooting and put on a shirt, PLEASE. You're not only endangering your neighborhood, you're uglifying it. Use better judgement, and please - better taste. You call the cops; we won't call the fashion police on you.
No one appears to have been hurt; the honor of owning a moped was upheld!
On the other hand........why do none of the people who are calling this old fool with a gun a hero question the risk to others of shooting six shots down what is presumably an inhabited residential city street?
This shooting appears to endanger others, while apparently not harming the would-be criminal. No one in their right mind should call this guy a hero; he was dangerously stupid.
1. No one should be carrying a gun in their pants pocket.
It is dangerous.
The old geezer is lucky he didn't shoot himself in the leg when he fell on his ass. Clearly, you can't use it if you need it - but the odds are you can't get it out of a holster quickly enough to be practically useful EITHER. But it makes it less likely you will accidentally shoot yourself or someone else if you use one.
2. No one acting intelligently while armed with a deadly weapon tries to pull their gun on someone when that person is already pointing a gun at them. You have already lost any possible advantage of shooting first; you will however dramatically increase the probability of getting shot yourself before you can fire. Even if you both fire your guns, you are going to be endangering others besides the bad guy. It does not appear any of the shots fired by this fat old white crabby guy hit the person he aimed at --- where did they go?
This guy was a dumbass to keep arguing with someone who pulled a gun on them.
3. Clearly, having a gun you can't get out of your pocket and that the would-be criminal doesn't know is there is NO DETERRENT to a crime. There is nothing heroic about shooting someone in the back, there is nothing heroic in shooting at someone after they have left. This guy is stupid and inept, not heroic.
Under normal laws applying to law enforcement, they are not allowed to shoot a suspect in the back, a suspect who is fleeing, if it endangers others. They are not allowed to shoot a suspect who is NOT a danger to others - and when this bad guy, a black guy in a hoodie!, left the scene, I would argue that he no longer presented an imminent danger to the mo-ped owner or anyone else.
He should have been reported to the police, but the fat old white grumpy guy shouldn't be shooting someone fleeing a failed crime scene. This is one more instance of a grump with a gun going vigilante on someone; no moped is worth shooting someone over. It's just a dumb MOPED for Pete's sake! No crook is going to outrun the cops on a silly old moped! (He probably couldn't outrun cops on ten speeds.)
Stop shooting and put on a shirt, PLEASE. You're not only endangering your neighborhood, you're uglifying it. Use better judgement, and please - better taste. You call the cops; we won't call the fashion police on you.
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"Regardless of changes in the law, voters in the three states don’t think future mass shootings can be stopped by laws. Two-thirds of likely voters in Colorado, 60 percent in the Old Dominion and 57 percent in Wisconsin don’t think stricter laws can stop future attacks.""