No right is limitless…including gun rights

Source: neorepublic.com

Whenever I upload a blog post with some sort of reference to gun control, even the tiniest bit, I catch some less than gentile digital flak. Today has been no exception following my post last night about assault rifles and body armor.  In the post, I questioned the need for any individual to own an assault rifle or body armor other than for less-than-wholesome purposes. Even though I posted it under liberal on reddit, and included a clearly stated allowance for legally owned hunting rifles, gun collections, and handguns for personal protection, I still received several biting rebukes.

What is the gun lobby so damn scared of? The assault weapons ban of the 1990s certainly didn’t leave out nation defenseless and overrun by the rampant armies of Satan. Sadly, I am beginning to believe that nothing short of the total gutting all gun laws will be enough for the most ardent of the gun lobby. Despite what’s depicted in Westerns, our nation was not founded on the quickest draw or largest arsenal, but on a set of laws and guiding principles. The second amendment clearly says, “a well-regulated militia,” not a “lawless militia” or “an anarchial militia.”

One respondent said something to the effect of gun ownership is a right, not a need. Based on the second amendment, that is essentially true, except when gun ownership starts infringing on my rights as a citizen to free speech, as well as enjoying my life and liberties without having to worry about who may or may not be packing. I think we have reached the stage where gun owners have taken away the rights of other citizens because they have become too powerful, too radical, and much too visible.

In a debate between those packing and those not, don’t tell me those guns are not intimidating. That fact in itself has eroded the rights of non-gun owners who are afraid to speak up.  What gun advocates seem to forget is that every right has its limits. Once you exceed those reasonable limits, as I believe the gun lobby has, you start trampling on the rights of others.

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An assault on our intelligence

Other than to kill, injure, and/or maim other living creatures, what could possibly be the purpose of owning an assault rifle?

• To join the French Foreign Legion?
• Start an army?
• Run an illegal cartel?
• Perform in the circus?
• Make Swiss cheese in a weird new way?

Given the unlikelihood of those thoughts listed above, then why sell assault rifles to anyone when there is a better than even chance the weapon will be used to do evil and harm?

Source: information2share.wordpress.com

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Before I go any further, let me make this perfectly clear – I have no problem with someone legally owning a rifle for legitimate hunting purposes, someone who legally collects handguns or hunting rifles as a hobby, or someone who legally owns a handgun for personal safety and who has taken the proper safety and instructional courses. What I do have a problem with are individuals owning what are essentially “military” guns and large arsenals of guns and related gear that have no credible purpose other than to do harm.

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Even more asinine is the idea of selling full body armor. Is that something that is necessary to defend oneself from a counter attack by deer, elk, or bear? Is it because they are planning to ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel? C’mon folks, let’s get realistic.

The only plausible reasons that someone would need full body armor are all bad and the merchants of death (gun lobby) know that – just like they know that the principal purpose of assault rifles is not for hunting.  The least they could do is to be honest about it.

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It is awful enough to know there are people running about this nation with arsenals larger than some small nations, but please do not assault our intelligence on top of that by saying there are genuine reasons for selling assault rifles and full body armor. It is not only disgusting and degrading, but unethical and immoral.

Finally, I would sure like to know how sellers of assault rifles and body armor (most recently those in Colorado) can possibly live with themselves and sleep at night?

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Hiding from the “D” word

Source: urpe.wordpress.com

When exactly does our “Great Recession” become a “depression?” While I know there are certain indicators to track and measure this economic stuff, I have been wondering for some time if we are just lying to ourselves to avoid using the “D” word. The sub-prime mortgage crisis began more than four years ago, followed by the bailouts on Wall Street, and more recently the deepening financial crisis across much of Europe has caused further economic dismay.

So…I ask again, when does our Great Recession become a depression? We may “officially” have 8.2% unemployment, but everyone knows that is a totally bogus number that does not factor in underemployment or those who have given up the job search. Recent data puts underemployment at over 20% in some areas of the country and in double-digits in many places. Globally, in 2011 under employment was pegged at 18%. Data from February, 2012 showed that more than 87 million Americans were no longer looking for work! That is an astonishing number.

Sure, there are pockets of relative prosperity, but that was true in the 1930s too. Economic downturns are not necessarily universal in their application of pain and suffering – just ask a few Okies from the 1930s or my fellow Michiganders during the 2000-2010 time period.  So…once again I ask this basic question – when do we start being honest with ourselves and call it a depression and not a recession?

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When did ending subsides for big oil start being called a tax increase?

Even dubya doesn’t get it.

A month or two ago I wrote my Congressman, Republican Mike Rogers about ending subsidies for oil and gas companies. Today, I received a response in the mail. His letter was very cordial and polite, but the logic of his argument is simply laughable.

“Like you, I am concerned with the high price of oil and gasoline, and I believe that the oil industry must be closely monitored for anti-trust violations. That said, I have serious concerns with raising taxes on any employers, especially now when Americans are struggling to pay for gasoline.” (underline emphasis added)

SOURCE: Letter from Mike Rogers dated July 10, 2012

Are you freakin’ kidding me? Eliminating subsidies is raising taxes? Who the hell came up with that logic? Since when did eliminating a subside become a tax increase? Sir, these idiotic subsides cost all of us from $10-52 billion per year. That’s money that could be put too much better use funding renewable energy, feeding the malnourished, carrying for the poor and unemployed, or at the very least helping homeless veterans.

“In the United States, credible estimates of annual fossil fuel subsidies range from $10 billion to $52 billion annually, while even efforts to remove small portions of those subsidies have been defeated in Congress, as shown in the graphic below.  Download your own pdf copy here.” SOURCE: priceofoil.org

Meanwhile, Congressman, big oil reaps larger and larger profits at our expense. According to priceofoil.org,

“ the top five oil companies alone have made almost a trillion dollars in profit in the last decade.“ 

So, I have no idea where Congressman Rogers gets the idea that ending subsides amounts to a tax increase. My guess is some anal-retentive GOP think tank funded by big oil came up with that bilge of an argument. All I know is it is one of the most illogical things I have ever heard, let alone read.

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“Billion dollar babies” – will they ever learn?

Large financial institutions who were either shut down or recipients of at least one billion dollars in bailouts in 2008-2009 (a.k.a billion dollar babies):

Source: originalalbumcoverart.com

• Lehman Brothers
• Merrill Lynch
• AIG
• Goldman Sachs
• Citibank
• RBS
• Bank of America
• Wells Fargo
• Morgan Stanley
• Bank of New York/Mellon
• Regions Financial
• SunTrust Banks
• Northern Trust
• U.S. Bancorp
• BB&T
• Valley National (NJ)
• State Street Bank
• Huntington Bancshares
• Comerica
• Zions
• Capital One
• Marshall & Isley
• Webster Financial
• CIT Group
• Fifth Third
• PNC
• American Express
• The Hartford

Eurozone financial problems follow in 2009 to the present at the following:

• Irish banks
• Icelandic banks
• Portuguese banks
• Greek banks
• Spanish banks
• Italian banks

and now, the moneychangers in New York and London have start playing dangerous games yet again, in 2012:

• JP Morgan Chase
• Barclays

Exactly, when will the billion dollar babies ever learn? And when will we stop letting them get away with it? Apparently, as George Santayana said:

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Sure seems like a wasteful and painful way to learn lessons.

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Post climate change Summer Olympic events

• Sauna cycling
• Climate change denier decathlon (make them run till they drop)
• Heat wave high-jumping
• Swimming in sweat
• Bad ass butt-blistering badminton
• Empty pool concrete crawl
• Track and burnt to a crisp fields
• Diving into melted marshmallows
• Hop, skip, and puddle jump
• Arid aerobics
• Hot as hell hammer throw
• Molten lava shot put (can you say hot potato?)
• Blistering baseball
• Torrid tennis
• Fiery flame fencing
• Hot foot gymnastics
• Desert doom marathon
• Asphalt egg-frying
• Perspiration polo
• Dead tree trunk lifting
• Bermuda short boxing
• Water bottle relay
• Mirage javelin  and discus throw
• Greenhouse gym-gastics
• Wrestling with guilt (everyone qualifies)

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A few more predictions

The U.S. single family housing market will remain stagnant, not only because of the 2008 crisis, but as the baby boom generation ages there will be less demand for single family homes for the next 20 years.

Exurbs and distant suburbs will wither due to increased fuel costs and desire for shorter commutes.

Demand for scooters will soar in the USA for at least five more years.

Educational attainment will fall drastically in the USA by 2020 largely due to cuts in public school funding.

At least one of the big three hamburger chains will fail by 2020.

Independently owned department stores will gradually return to the retail landscape as consumers grow weary of “retail sameness.”

Despite attempts to derail funding, both AMTRAK and high speed rail will flourish.

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A few predictions

Making predictions on future events and trends can be risky, as more often than not you are likely to be wrong. But, there are a few items I think are worth noting. So here goes:

• Brazil, not India will be the next superpower after China and the first in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Sadly, I think parts of Europe may be headed for possible open warfare – not over political ideologies, but between the haves and the have-nots. If the USA is not careful, it may be going down that same path.
• The Basque and Catalonia regions of Spain will successfully separate into independent nations as a result of the economic upheaval.
• Canadian banks will become among the world’s largest and most influential as they avoided the pitfalls of the housing bubble.
• The Republican Party will split in two within five years.
• Poland will become an economic powerhouse as the link between Germany and Russia.
• America’s first woman President will be elected in 2016.

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The pungent odor of GOP brain farts

Oh, isn’t it quaint how republicans and fiscal conservatives so conveniently forget which party is principally responsible for the national debt. Being an election year, the pungent odor of hot air being expelled by them reeks across he airwaves on a daily basis.

Guess what? The national debt skyrocketed during Ronald Reagan’s presidency and ballooned again under ‘ol Dubya’s eight year reign. If the GOP is/was so concerned about budget deficits, then where the hell was their song and dance at those times? Check out this truth-revealing weblink to a chat showing how much each president has contributed to the national debt during their term. A brief summary is provided below.

• Carter: +41%
• Reagan: +189%
• Bush I: +55.6%
• Clinton: +36%
• Bush II: +89%
• Obama: +41%

The clearest and easiest way to reduce the budget deficit is to address the biggest piece of the pie – THE $1.3 TRILLION DEFENSE BUDGET, duh!  But, oh no, we can’t touch that sacred cow, despite the fact that the Defense Secretary does not what some of the programs being proposed by the right-wing.

Political brain farts are nothing new. They just tend to be stinkier and fouler these days due to the blatant flip-flopping and bold-faced lies being told, particularly by the right. Hopefully, the majority of the American public can smell rats when their catch a whiff of their aromatic b.s.

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The preamble of the Constitution as it is applied in 2012

A small dose of reality is provided below as the plutocracy continue to shape this nation in their twisted and self-serving image.

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The preamble to the Constitution as originally adopted:

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The preamble of the Constitution as it is being applied today:

“We the rich people of the United States, in order to form a more profitable union, establish injustice, insure economic disparity, provide for our own self-defense, promote corporate welfare, and secure the blessings of privilege to ourselves and our own posteriors, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of Scamerica.”

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