Why Stop At Arming Teachers?

As I start to write this I do want to say, this is not meant to make light of the terrible tragedy that occurred in Newtown, it is to point out the complete stupidity of the NRA and the gun toting members of our society. We are trying to protect our children from weapons by placing more weapons in their reach. There is a mad rush to arm teachers and have them take a course on gun safety, an oxymoron, and in the interim make us feel like we are doing something positive. Are we going to grade our schools and teachers by how they qualify on the rifle range?

Here is my take. Why stop at arming the teachers? Why not make sure everyone is armed. The ridiculous idea that the only thing that stops a, "bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun" should be taken to the extreme that the gun manufacturers want. Arm everyone.

Why not the janitors? We could empty the supply closest of all of the unnecessary items, such as mops and floor cleaner and stock it with the latest automatic assault rifles. the shelves could be filled with multiple clips of ammunition, so they would be prepared for any contingencies. Those closets are even large enough to house an RPG (rocket propelled grenade). Now we are talking some nice profits for gun and ammunition makers.

How about the lunch ladies. Instead of pots hanging down from the ceiling, they could have a supply of Bushmasters within arms reach. The mash potatoes would be a handy place to keep a fully loaded Glock. An armed intruder would never expect, Granny to reach into that mushy pile and draw down on them. It might even improve the taste of the lunches. Spaghetti with .30 caliber ammunition, anyone?

Let's not forget the school nurse and the office workers. They could get their concealed weapons permit and be packing through out the day. Better yet we could get them armed with M16A3's. This is the type of weapon used by the Navy Seals. Fully automatic and the good guys with a gun would be prepared.

Lastly what about the kids themselves? They already have amour plated backpacks. Now we can pack their lunches and the latest assault rifle, when we send them off to school each day. Then when that deranged, psychopath charges into the local school, they will be met with a hail of bullets. That is the ultimate, "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun."

The NRA is thinking way to small. We could go from 300 million guns in America to 500 million in a heartbeat. The weapons manufacturers would be swimming in money, and isn't that what this is really about. It is not about protecting our children it is about profits for the real killers in America, the weapons industry, who will then funnel more money into the pockets of the NRA's leadership. Is anyone concerned about collateral damage. One of the points that I never hear is, with everyone shooting a weapon, how do you know which one is really the bad guy. Just start shooting and when the smoke is cleared, we can start the body count. I can hear the defense lawyers at the trails, "My client though the principle was the bad guy, she(he) had a gun!"

Yeah, this is the way to solve the problem. Arm everyone and let the shooting begin. So what if innocent lives are lost. We get the bad guy, hopefully. I don't know, but it does strike me that the real lunatics  are the people that are preaching the theory of arming more people.

20 Dead 6 and 7 Year Old Children! No More!!!

First I am not dismissing the deaths of the brave teachers and administrators at Sandy Hook on Friday. I will speak of them in another post. I want everyone to remember the numbers 20, 6 and 7, just as they remember 9-11. This represents the twenty, six and seven year old babies, who were brutally killed. We must remember and fight to save other children in America.

There is no easy solutions to this problem of violence that has escalated in our country. It will take many different approaches to stop the senseless murders that occur in mass or individually everyday in America. We must start with common sense and easiest point. Eliminate assault type weapons and multiple load clips. The second amendment is not absolute. It gives citizens the right to bear arms. It does not give them the right to have weapons of mass destruction and that is what these are. People that say we are infringing on their rights to target practice or hunt, need to take a hard look at exactly what these weapons do. My Grandfather was a hunter. He never carried an assault weapon. The idea was to bring down a deer and have the meat, not destroy it beyond recognition. Assault weapons and multiple magazine bans would not violate the second amendment rights and would be a beginning step in the process to cutting back on violence in our society.

Education is always a starting point. Education in safety of guns and ammunition will help. Education so people can get better jobs and feel good about themselves will help. Education on the way we treat and react to each other in society will help. Education on appropriate video games for children and society as a whole will help. Education on the fact that needless and wanton killings and maiming in movies will help. Lastly education on how to help and treat people with mental illnesses will help. It is a process. One without easy and quick fixes, but one that will move us in the right direction.

Funding for programs to treat and help the people among us that need and seek help for mental illness is essential. We have reduced the money that is there to give treatments to those in need. We spend enormous sums of money on wars and violence, now it is time to spend that money on healing. Funding for education, not just weapon safety but general education to allow our intellect to grow to the point when we reject violence as a way of life.

We need to look at the movie and gaming industry. The proliferation of violence DOES have a effect by desensitizing us to violence, murder and mayhem. What does not effect me does effect others that are sensitive and  vulnerable to these images. I know theses industries make a lot of money off of the violence in this media, but we must be aware that it is affecting us as a country and look to tone it down.  I admit to watching many of these types of movies over the years, but can I live without them. Absolutely.

Lastly gun control laws and enforcement of the current laws. We have to close loop holes and strengthen our laws. We must make gun owners responsible, even if their weapons are stolen and used by someone else. We must make gun and ammunitions manufacturers responsible to destruction their products do on our nation's people. They have to share in the blame if they make products that destroy. Currently they are not. They would join in the effort to make guns less available and less destructive, if they had a stake in the process, beyond making money off of the deaths of human beings.

I heard a quote by Abraham Lincoln this morning on "Morning Joe". Joe Scarborough, gave a wonderful opinion on this issues and used a longer quote from Lincoln. I am just going to use the end of it. Said Lincoln, " If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher." If we do not take the mantle of responsibility onto ourselves and change the violent direction of America we all are to blame for her demise.

I Can't Look Away!!!!

 I have to admit I could not pull myself away from the coverage on the killing of our children. I know today they will announce the names and probably show pictures of the innocent children that have been ripped from the arms of their parents, way to early. I watched the emotions of our President, but the most touching picture I saw last night was the one of a group of children holding hands and trying to close their eyes as they were lead from Sandy Hook school. The look of fright on their small faces, made me realize that they are and will continue to be victims for years to come. How do they erase the images and sounds from their young minds? I can only imagine how those parents felt as they heard the news, that a madman was firing shots at the elementary school. The thoughts that screamed through their minds as they approached the school and had to wait, to hopefully be united with their children. Lastly the realization that must have presented itself to the parents that anxiously awaited as each child was brought out and united with their parents, but theirs was not brought to them. The despair as they were lead into a separate area to receive the devastating news that their child would not be going home with them yesterday afternoon. My prayers and thoughts are with those parents now and I must find a way to support them, not just today, but going forward, to ensure this does not continue to happen. The hurt they must be feeling today! The utter senselessness of what happened and what they will feel, we cannot know, but only embrace them as best we, as a nation, can. We must stand with them and grieve with them and give them strength. We must also and most importantly join them in the fight, to come, to stop the slaughter of our children. Close your eyes and picture a child. It can be your child, grandchild, niece, nephew or even a child you know in your community. Picture this child. Picture smiling faces. Picture the innocence, that only children can possess. Listen to their laughter and how it makes you smile. Picture them as they smile, many at this age, are missing their front teeth. Picture them running and playing freely, with screams of delight. Picture them as they enjoy the Christmas presents that will be coming in the next couple of weeks. Picture them as they grow up, each year accomplishing more in school and in life. Picture them graduating, first from high school, and then college. Picture them as they find someone, fall in love, get married and then have children of their own. Now picture all of that being snatched away from, you and  them, in a few moments of terror and death. That is what happened yesterday.

The scenario that occurred yesterday also happens each and every day on the streets and in homes throughout America. EACH DAY, THIRTY  PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY, ARE KILLED BY GUNS. THAT IS EACH DAY. OVER TEN THOUSAND A YEAR. This is a national disgrace and the time has come to stop the killing of our children and people. Name me one other thing, in which we have control, that takes that many lives each and every year. We do have the power to control this epidemic. We need to stand up for those beautiful little children that were taken from their families yesterday. We need to make our political leaders stand for them and start a real and meaningful control on weapons.  When the feeling of outrage starts to slip from your conscience, close your eyes again and picture the children that means so much to you.  Renew that anger. This is a fight we must win, to protect our children. I never want to be one of the parents, that has to rush to a school in fear and I don't want to be one of those parents that has to learn , their child is gone forever. I want the same for you and all parents everywhere. When we band together this can be accomplished. The fight from the gun industry and the NRA is coming. They have too much money involved.  Be ready for it and let's all stand together, united as one and fight for our children.

How Many More Children Have to Die For The NRA?

Yeah, I know that I am going to be accused of reacting too quickly to the latest shooting in America. So what! The idiots that run around shouting, "You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands, need to shut up and understand that gun proliferation has gone way beyond the breaking point. As I write this the death toll continues to rise, but even if it is one child, or one person the price is too high. We will hear the nonsensical phrase, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." I understand that the people pull the trigger, but the guns are placed into the hands of criminals and lunatics, by everyone that supports the NRA and weapons businesses in America.

We need controls on the number of guns in this country. We need controls on who gets these weapons in their hands. We need controls on people that display violent behavior. We need to quit pandering to the gun interest and start placing the welfare and safety of people ahead of profits and their idea of Constitutional rights. What about the rights of a small child to just attend school, safely? What about the rights of people to go to the movies or the mall without fearing for their lives. When do we start to look at the Preamble to the Constitution, where it states, "insure DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY, provide for the COMMON DEFENSE, promote the general WELFARE," and say this is the cornerstone of life for citizens in America.

Everyday across America our people, young and old alike are gunned down in a hail of bullets. There are individual shootings like the recent one here in Florida where a man opened fire into a van with several teenagers in it, because they would not turn down their music. Drive by shootings happen on our streets daily. Hand guns and assault weapons are readily available and used. We all stand by and allow it to happen. As long as the killings happen in poorer neighborhoods, we look the other way. It is time to stop looking around and feeling safe where we live, because it is right next door. This is an Elementary School, today. They are talking about seventeen to twenty children, dead. These are innocent 5-11 year old children. Can you please, explain to me, why you have to have that weapon in your hand? To do what? Babies are dying and yet the gun industry, the NRA and our politicians stand around and claim, impotence. 

Everyone of us that supports gun rights. Everyone of us that works in the industry, making, selling or buying guns. Everyone of the millions of members of the NRA. Everyone of us that stands and spouts nonsense about the right to bear arms. Lastly everyone of us that remains silent. We all have the blood of our small children on our hands. Look at yours. The stain is there. Try to wash it away, but it will remain. Try to convince others of the importance of keeping guns in the hands of criminals and again look at the blood on your hands. IT IS THERE! IT WILL REMAIN THERE!
 We need to finally be able to wash the blood of our children from our hands, if they will come clean.

Welcome To The People Of Myanmar.

Over the last week I have seen a wonderful and fulfilling trend, the people of Myanmar have joined in to read America's Voice. To my other readers, that may not know, indulge me for a moment while I fill you in on the country of Myanmar. Some may know it as its former name of Burma, but many years ago it was officially changed to Myanmar. It is located in Southeast Asia, near India. A few weeks ago President Obama visited there and was very warmly welcomed by the citizens. Unfortunately they have a history of military rule and severe human rights violations. They are slowly working on reforms and in their most recent elections, that were monitored for the first time, Democracy groups made great inroads into elected office. Democracy advocate, Auug San Suu Kyi, an outstanding civil rights leader,  was released from house arrest and confinement a couple of years ago and she has been out front and instrumental in these gains. She was honored by the President on his visit and I hope that the reforms continue to take place as this country moves forward to civil rights and dignity for all of their citizens.

To my point of bringing this into play. It is humbling to know that people there, are taking the time to read my writings and learn more as they strife to become a free society. In America we take the freedoms that are given to us by the Constitution for granted. We need to stop and realize that something we wake up to everyday. freedom, is something that many people around the globe are fighting and dying for every day. Here we argue over paying a fair tax on our income. We have companies, through greed, denying people a fair and living wage. We have many benefits but have stopped fighting to improve life for the poor, elderly and children, because we want to protect what we have. In countries like Myanmar they are fighting and dying just to have basic human rights.

My next hope is that the people that have read my words will spread this to others around their country and more importantly share their thoughts and stories about their struggles with my readers. I know that I want to hear and know more about your country. Education leads to understanding. Understanding leads to solutions.  I sincerely invite you to write back and comment to all of us here. You have a long history that started, much like the United States,  and were a colony of Great Brittan. We have a common beginning, and most importantly a common goal. The goal of freedom and rights for all citizens of the world. Please, if you can share with all of us.   

John McCain Still Can't Believe He Lost!

    What is up with John McCain these days? I feel that he is still bitter that President Obama beat him and now he had to watch as the President got re-elected. It must have brought back the stinging feelings and it has become too much for McCain.
He has been drumming up a conspiracy theory over the past couple of weeks and yet all he is doing, is looking pathetic. On Wednesday he complained about us needing more information on Benghazi and then he turns around on Thursday and skips a meeting where information was given to members of Congress. When a reporter asked him about missing the meeting he snapped back, "That he was a Senator and did not have to answer questions."
    McCain has called the terrorist attack on the consulate in Benghazi the worst intelligence failure in America's history. Maybe he forgot about the 9-11 attacks and the failures by America's intelligence community then. What about the various attacks on U.S. consulates and embassies starting with Karachi, Pakistan in 2002, when 12 people where killed and 51 injured. More attacks happened in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Where was John McCain and his outrage. After 9-11 the Intel from various agencies around the world suggested there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. There were as many other agencies that said there was no evidence of WMD. Many people from the Bush administration were out convincing everyone that the weapons were there. So far none have been found. Ten years trillions of dollars and thousands of lives later still no weapons. Maybe John needs to rethink some of his rhetoric.
    John has called into question Susan Rice and her intelligence and ability to be Secretary of State. Where was he when Condi Rice and Colin Powell were using intelligence information to push us into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Silence is all he has on that subject. We need to find out what happened in Benghazi. Not to find a scape goat. Not to hang someone out to dry. Not to punish people. We need to find out what happened so we can prevent it from happening again. We need to find out so we can protect our people around the globe, as best we can.
    John McCain wants to find a way to attack our President. That is all this is. The bitter vitriol of an old man that failed to accomplish what he felt was his right, the Presidency of the United States. John, YOU LOST. Get over it. You served America proudly in uniform and as a Senator. It is time to move on. All you are destroying, is your legacy. I feel pity for you, but your time has come, to retire. Go sit on your porch in Arizona and dream what could have been and allow the rest of us to fix problems in America.

Freedom Is In The Eye Of The Beholder!

According to the dictionary, freedom is liberation from slavery or restraint from the power of another.

According to the far right, freedom is what they believe it should be. We each have certain freedoms that we hold more dear then others, but the Republicans are trampling on freedoms and we are just allowing it to happen.

Voting is being restricted in many states, by Republican controlled legislatures. They are using the ruse of voter fraud as the reason when the truth is they are trying to rig the election. They have restricted or put in place new ID laws that are for the purpose of electing more Republicans. The result is they are taking away the rights of millions of legal voters. Imagine if someone introduced a bill, at either state or federal level, that would restrict or take away the rights of millions of gun owners. The level of defiance would be astounding. The screams of, "Only from my cold, dead hands," would be deafening. Yet the right is sheepishly following the directive to take away Constitutional rights, for which there is no problem.

Women's freedom to control their own bodies has been under attack for years and is now reaching a crescendo of attacks. The Republicans, again, are looking to bypass the freedoms of the women and the advise of doctors to achieve their religious driven goals. They scream, religious freedom when the government states, that universities that have women working for them, should have insurance companies pay for birth control. However they conveniently are silent when a women is told that even though she does not want a procedure and her doctors states it is unnecessary, she has to give up her freedom and allow a medical devise to be inserted into her body. All of this is done because the fervent right wants their religious believe of, no abortions, to be implemented.

It has gone so far that we have an idiot, Congressman from Missouri,whos name I will not mention, that wants to have a fight about the degree of rape. The President stated it quite clearly and simple, yesterday, for all to understand. "Rape is Rape." Women's freedoms are really taking hits from Republicans and the far right. We all need to stand against the ideas put forth by the right and not allow women's rights go backwards.

This is just two examples of the freedoms that the right want to take from us. One is guaranteed by the Constitution and the other is guaranteed by the laws including the Supreme Court. The next time some moron from the right screams about gun rights, just ask them where they stand on voter's rights and women's rights. I am quite certain they will try to either change the subject or only talk about the rights they care about. The right to kill someone with a gun.

When Will We All Become Americans Again

One of the things that scares me is the total lack of togetherness displayed in our country now. It is all about me, has become our national phrase. The Republicans are doing nothing and then blaming the President for the economy's sluggish recovery. The last I looked it is the Congress that votes on spending money and taxes. The President tries to set the agenda, but when the opposing party decides it's top priority is to make the President a one term leader, you can be sure that nothing will be accomplished

I don't want to hear the rhetoric from the right about principles. They have thrown theirs out the window. They are allowing Americans to suffer because they what to win politically. When Obama took office he was slammed for trying too hard at giving to the right. His own party took him to task and wanted him to stand his ground. Each time the President gave to the right, the left screamed he was giving away too much and the right moved the line further away from compromise.

Do you honestly believe the country can afford to wait for the election to be over to start solving problems? Do you believe that if Mitt Romney is elected, Congress on the left side of the aisle will miraculously decide to forget the do nothing politics from the right, and start working with him? They will continue the same destructive politics that the Republicans have been practicing for the last three years.

The right keeps saying the left wants to keep blaming President Bush. We are not continuing to blame him we are trying to remind everyone of those eight years. The Romney presidency will look just like the Bush presidency. Cut taxes. Deepen the recession. Cut regulations so we can have more companies to bail out.

Look at the facts. Bill Clinton, left office and the country had the largest surplus in history. We could have looked at ways to fix Social Security, not privatize. We could have looked at reforms for Medicare and Medicaid. We could have built off of the successes, by Congress and Clinton, instead Bush decided to cut taxes. Got us involved in two wars, without paying for them. Then, he was in office for the start of one of the worst recessions in history.

It took Bush eight years to destroy the economy and yet the right expects Obama to solve the problem and right the ship in three years, all while giving him no support from Congress. Any economist will tell you that an economic downturn this severe will take more then three years to recover from and we all have to work together to do so. It will take a combination of increased revenue and spending cuts to get us moving forward. It will take the effort of American companies and the government working to get people back to work and grow the economy. It will take time as much as we wish it didn't. The right wants to have us believe that the same things they did to get us here in the first place will some how turn the American economy back around. If you believe this, then you must also believe Peter Pan was a real boy.

It is time to quit waiting for the next election. It is time to quit waiting for the ideal situation to come along for businesses. It is time to become an American and stand up for the country as a whole and not just for yourself. Decide now!

Reply To Doug.

I am not surprised by your response. Truthfully I could have predicted it. You want to ignore one glaring fact. There is almost NO voter fraud, but a great deal of voter suppression. I want my vote protected as much as you do and we could certainly look to put in place procedures to ensure voters rights without disenfranchising groups or individual voters. My return question is why now. Why were we not doing this ten, twenty or even one hundred years ago? There is less fraud now then ever and yet it has become such a rush to institute these laws. I would be willing to bet, that if new voter suppression laws were being enacted that affected white, middle to upper middle income men, you would be screaming your head off. Remember Doug we have a responsibility as Americans to ensure every ones rights. I would even fight and have fought for you to speak and vote and carry a weapon, even though I disagree with you. That is what makes America different. That is what makes America great. Protecting every ones rights, not just your own.

Voters Rights Versus Gun Owners Rights!

Yesterday Speaker of the House John Boehner announced that their will be no new bills introduced on gun controls. To the surprise of many who read and know me, I agree with Mr. Boehner. Now, is NOT the time to look at ways to reduce the number of deaths by firearms. The atmosphere is too emotional.

My question to the Speaker and all of the Republicans around the country, at both the state and federal level is why is it a good time to restrict voters rights? Why now? Why after the 2010 election and not before?

Let's look at some facts. To my Swedish friends, that demand facts here they are.

The following are from the firearms industry. There are approximately 235 million guns owned in the United States. That equates to almost one gun per person. From the Center for Disease Control, there are approximately 14 thousand murders by firearms in the United States each year.

So with facts, there are a great deal of firearms and deaths caused by firearms in the United States each year. Tragedy, yes, but to make it clear I do not support bans on firearms. I support ways to weed out the irresponsible people that kill needlessly with firearms each year.

What is my point. Exactly this, over the last couple of years we have seen 19 new laws in 14 states that target voter ID and fraud. This push is being lead by Republican and conservative lawmakers and is trying to impede and keep over 5 million ELIGIBLE voters from casting their votes. The right to bear arms is mentioned in one amendment, the second. Voters rights are so important that they had to be addressed in the 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th and 26th Amendments. Yes each one of these were changes to address the inequities that we failed to cover previously.

Some more facts for everyone to think about. Over the years 2002 to 2007, and this is according to the Justice Departments Records. there were 86 cases of voter fraud investigated and their were no, zero, nada people prosecuted for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti fraud laws are supposed to stop. Think about this over 300 million votes cast only 86 investigations and ZERO prosecutions, and the frauds that were investigated were due to the registering process not ID at the polls. During this same time there were over 33 thousand UFO sightings reported. There were 353 deaths in the country due to being struck by lightning. There were approximately 70 thousand deaths by firearms and yet what are we worried about. VOTER FRAUD.

Where are the same people that are concerned about gun ownership laws? If they believe in the Constitution so much why are they ignoring the restrictions on voting rights. Does not the same concerns apply here. If we loose our right to vote, a small, select group of people will gain more control. They will come after your gun rights. Make no mistake about it.

 We have a problem that kills and affects people everyday and we do nothing. We do not look at ways to retain the right to bear arms and yet reduce the number of deaths by firearms. On the other hand we have a problem that is not a problem. We spend money to investigate voter fraud and yet we get no prosecutions. We waste time, energy and resources to find a solution that has no problem and yet the conservatives are perfectly fine with that.

One last point. The voters fraud laws being passed were done to restrict early voting and absentee voting, No fraud here, lets just restrict it. They were done to limit voters registration. This is where the 86 cases occurred. Still not much to find here. No prosecutions. Bottom line is they are being enacted after President Obama was elected to affect minorities, poor, disabled and students. All people that tend to vote Democrat or liberal. That is the intent. To suppress voters rights. This pisses me off, sorry to my Swedish friends for having an emotion, and should do the same to you. If you really care about our country and believe what is written in the Constitution, then you should be involved and speaking out against anyone that is taking away our rights. Whether they are gun rights or voting rights.

There Are Ways To Help Curb Violence!

Here we go in the discussion, in the aftermath of the mass killings in Colorado. I am sure the extremists on both side will attack my ideas, but so far I have not heard anything that would help to, at least, reduce the killing sprees here and around the world.

In response to the left, that will scream severe gun controls, no way. I will always defend the right of law abiding and stable Americans to purchase and own guns.

In response to the extremes on the right, I say we need some common sense restrictions on types of weapons and the amount of ammunition that is available.

Will either of these end the gun violence? No, but could it help? Very likely!

I feel that limiting the amount of ammunition people can buy and track any extremely large purchases, can reduce the ability of mass killings. Limit the size of clips, so that the crazies have to stop and reload, giving an opening to someone to stop the massacres.

Stop the sale of assault weapons until a complete and comprehensive background check can be performed.

Stop the ability of people to buy multiple weapons without the same background check.

Does this make it harder for the regular gun owner to buy for their collection, hunting or pleasure shooting. It does, but we are at the moment making it harder for people to vote all across the country and I have not heard anyone from the right scream about the rights of people voting being violated.

To the "Dirty Harry" wannabes, the idea that arming so many people, will stop, nut jobs, from killing is extremely naive and actually incredibly stupid. Think of the scenario, that just happened. A dark theatre. Some mad man opens fire. Chaos ensues. Ten people, with concealed weapons jump up and start to return fire. Who do they shoot? Will they think that there is more then one person involved? Remember it is dark and smokey and panic has set in. Now everyone is firing in the direction of muzzle flashes. Other people are trying to get out of danger. There is crossfire and people are trapped by it. Bullets fly everywhere. They go through the side walls. More "heroes" with weapons start to run into the theatre, firing as they enter. The police start to arrive. Who do they fire at? Nobody knows who the actual killer is. The end result is the number of dead is multiplied. This is not the way to handle the situation. We need to stop the killer from getting the ammunition and weapons in the first place. That is the closest we can come. Will it stop the killings completely? Again I have already stated it will not, but if it keeps one idiot with a gun from killing innocent people, we need to look at it.

I stated in the beginning I am not now and have never supported the idea of taking gun ownership from Americans, who are responsible and law abiding. The right will argue they want no restrictions and the left will argue they want severe restrictions. The answer lies in the middle. I will address additional comments I have heard over the past few days in future post. Some of them just made me shake my head in disbelief at how uncaring and uneducated human beings can be. As for my readers, state your opinions. Let me hear some thoughtful and educated ways to help end the violence.

When Will Our Leaders Grow Up?

I don't know about you, but I am already sick of the political rhetoric flying about. This is not about one party or ideology it covers every so called leader. It reached a zenith yesterday when I listened to Republicans attack the President of the United States, relentlessly as being Un-American. They kept using the phrase, "This President". Hold on everybody, "This President" is our President. Whether you voted for him or not, he received the majority of votes and under, "our" Constitution he is our President. I did not vote for George Bush either time. I disagreed with his policies many times. The bottom line is that never, not once, ever, did I say he was Un-American. I never questioned his legitimacy to hold office. From the beginning of Barrack Obama's term, people on the right have questioned him being American. Enough!!!

Yesterday the President made a speech in which he stated, correctly, that every person who has reached a high level of success owes part of that achievement to other people. He spoke of teachers, parents, co-workers and many others that contribute to each one of us having a better life. He spoke of government creating, through research, avenues for others to come in and gain success. He used the example of government getting the Internet moving and thus opening a way for people to build companies, create jobs and become wealthy. Every factory, store, movie theatre, hospital and all other businesses, owe part of their growth to the government. The roads that lead to their business was built with other peoples money, through the government. The water, electrical and all other infrastructure is due to collective funds and work. This was his point. It is factual and valid. The right now distorts the words and states that Obama hates business. He hates it so much and has created such a hostile environment for companies, that their profits are the highest in history. I wish he hated me so much.

In fairness, the left, has done the same to Romney. When he stated, "He enjoyed firing people", it was in reference to the point, if he does not get the proper service for his money, he will fire that company and go to a competitor to get a fair return on his money. Simple, we all do this. I have changed cable companies, phone companies, insurance companies and others. This is a form of firing people. The dog carrier on the roof was as ridiculous of an attack as I have seen. This should be fodder for the late night comedy shows, but an issue in a national campaign. Hardly!!

There is fairness in debating issues, but lets do that and not attacks on a person. Let's stop taking statements out of context, to distort the facts. I would like to see the election about one thing and one thing only. Vision. Where do the leaders see America going and how would you help us get their. I have in the past and will continue to do so in the future, to push our leaders for solutions. I have pushed individuals for solutions. We have become great at bemoaning what is wrong. We all know what the problems are. What we lack is leaders who are willing and able to deal with the problems and offer solutions. It is time for Congress, the President and business leaders to come together and put solutions into actions. It is time to grow up and lead!!

Response to Jacob Svoboda Reguarding Left!

For those that do not know Jacob is a friend on Face Book and he and I have had some very spirited debates. On Sunday Jacob sent me an article that stated, the left was not willing to face up to the prominent role, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac played in the housing market failure. This is my response to him and to people on the right that want to paint everyone with a broad stroke, without asking individuals how they view an issue.

First, the article used the view of one person and then extrapolated the idea was held by all so called liberals or the political left. It also down played the role, large financial businesses, the banks, played. There is plenty of blame to dole out here.

Jacob, I want you to understand why I feel qualified to discuss this point. I worked for Bank of America for 27 years. I was a mortgage officer for 15 of those years. I was only able to do 20% down, conventional loans. Large and small banks, when I started, did portfolio loans and retained the paper, thus the responsibility of the loan. If a bad loan was made they took the loss. Simple. Then Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike came up with an idea, that became the secondary market companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The banks could make more loans and much more money and do it quicker.

I do not deny the role that was created here and agree it was a disaster. The reason it became so toxic, was however driven by the banks and financial services companies that got into the home lending business. The original idea should have been, money sent back to the banks, to re lend, but on a smaller scale and the lender would have to follow strict under writing rules to do the loans. Last the institutions would be responsible for the loss. Then we would have had smart, efficient loans. I do not believe that everyone should or has to be a homeowner.

The right has to acknowledge the role played by lenders in this fiasco. To use one person's response and call all politically left people wrong and thinking the same is irresponsible. To try and make this an issue that only the left is ignoring is wrong. The right was content with this process, when they thought it was working. I believe that we need to go back to banks being banks. The Federal Reserve, needs to quit giving free money to banks. Then banks will have to attract money from savers and pay a fair interest rate. The banks should have to be responsible for their loans and keep it within its portfolio. We need to stop the money flowing to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. We need to have the housing market upright itself and assist homeowners to keep the foreclosed rate down.

There are many companies and people to blame here. Greed drove this and the people who played the right way, should not suffer, but yet they have seen their own homes go down in value, because of the actions of others. Lets all acknowledge what went wrong and then have a plan to address the issues and change the direction. I have in the past and will again in the future discuss my ideas and plans.

Lastly, I ask that the right or left or independents, stop thinking they know how the other side thinks. I look at each situation and decide from there. Look at my posts and you will get a better understanding of who I am. My largest issue with my political opponents is the fact they have in the past and continue to demagogue issues and distort facts. Is the left guilty of the same. Absolutely. So, why don't we start to work toward resolutions and not arguments.

You Might Be A Republican, If!

I am going to get everyone started and then see if you all can add to the list. This is meant to be fun, but as with most items that have humor, there is an element of truth. Read mine and then try to think of some of your own. I am sure that if any of my Republican, Conservative friends read this they may have the reverse for Liberals or Democrats. I'll  let that go into the comments also.

If , "No Taxes" is your religion and Grover Norquist is your high priest, you might be a Republican.

If you feel that giving someone a helping hand is giving hand outs. you might be a Republican.

If you feel that taking money from the rich to help the poor and middle class is class warfare, you just might be a Republican.

If you feel that taking money from the poor and middle class to give to the wealthy is good economic sense, you might be a Republican.

If you feel President Obama is a communist, socialist, Marxist, who was not even born in America, you might be a Republican.

If you compare anyone to Adolph Hitler, you might be a Republican.

If you feel Chief Justice Roberts is a traitor, you might be a Republican.

If you feel America should be involved in every war, you might be a Republican.

If you feel sorry for the top one percent, elite, you might be a Republican.

If you voted to repeal Obama care 33 times, in the last year,  you might be a Republican.

If you failed to vote one time for a jobs bill during the last year, you might be a Republican.

If you make minimum wage and yet vote to support the wealthy and corporations, you might be a Republican.

If you say, "Don't blame me, because I voted Republican", you are definitely a Republican and in need of serious help.

This is a beginning and if you have others to share, please do so.

I Don't Really Hate Conservatives!

I am sure that many people who read my blog, are sure that not only do I disagree with Conservatives and Republicans, but I must also hate them. Quite the contrary. We need to have civil discourse and discussions in America. My main issue arise when the right is unwilling to compromise. I have stated, on many occasions, that the majority of Americans are closer to the center in their beliefs than they are to the extremes on either side. The problem is that the people on either, the extreme left and the extreme right, are controlling the direction of America and are unwilling to find agreement on the issues we face.

There is not an all or nothing solution to any direction we need to go. Look at the Affordable Health Care Act. The far left wanted single payer, the far right wanted nothing done. We ended in the middle. However now that the AHC has been legally passed by both the House and Senate, then legally signed into law by the President, and lastly upheld, legally by the Supreme Court, the House now wants to waste our money and time by voting to repeal it. The extreme on the right are demanding this. Why do they not demand that we start implementing the law? Why do they not find ways to create jobs. Build and maintain our highways and create jobs. Rebuild our antiquated water systems. Rebuild our electrical grid. These would all create good paying jobs. Why are none of these being touted and voted on?

Simply put they are playing political games. Most people feel there will be no movement on anything until after the elections. Why? Are they still getting paid? Maybe we should fine them and reduce their paychecks until they actually do some work.

This is why I am pissed off at the right. They only want to win politically and are not worried about the American people. The extreme on the left are guilty of also playing politics, just not quite to the same extent. There is plenty of room for both sides to come together and start the forward movement for everyone. The extension of the so called Bush tax cuts is another example of stalemate. The Democrats are stating we should extend the cuts for all people that make less then two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year. The Republicans are arguing for all the tax cuts to be extended. Both sides agree that the breaks for the middle class should be extended, but instead of moving forward on that part the Republicans will not move on any of the cuts unless they get their way. How about this. We extend the cuts to everyone under one million dollars a year and move forward. That is called compromise. Each side moves a little in each direction and we now have something accomplished. That is how governing works. Meet in the middle. When I vote this coming fall, I will be looking for people that all willing to work together to make America better, If a politician is hell bent on everything being their way, I will work very hard to defeat them.

We have had enough obstructionism. It is time to have compromise and everyone working for the good of the people, not for the good of corporations, politicians, the wealthy elite or political parties.

We All Need To Help Our Children In Poverty!!!

When Conservatives start ideas, such as that floated by Newt Gingrich, in the Republican Primary, that children should go to work, I start to understand that people who believe that way are cruel and uncaring. I understand I am lumping them all together, but I have not heard any right wing group come forward to challenge Gingrich.

Let's look at some facts. I know how much the right hates talking facts and would be more comfortable using lies, but I will stick by the idea of facts, are better. Over sixteen million children, under the age of 18, live in poverty. That is 22% of that population segment living below the poverty level. Add on to that, seventeen million, one in four, or 25% of our children go to bed hungry each night, and do not get the proper nutrition. This is a national disgrace and one the right tries to ignore. It brings to mind the movie, "A Christmas Carol". You remember the part when the, Ghost of Christmas Present, lifts his robe to show two small children. They were want and ignorance. Scrooge asked the ghost to hide them from his eyes. That is the way many of the people in America want to handle our children. Don't make them look. Out of sight, out of mind.

Yet, this is not just a problem that we can or should ignore. Children that do not have enough of the proper food, will not be able to perform well in school. They will not get proper rest each night. They will drain the health system of funds. As they grow up, they will lack the education to get good paying jobs and maybe end up with no job. They will be more likely to end up committing crimes and thus costing us more with prison costs. the amount we would pay today to ensure they are properly fed, would be returned many times over in the future. This is just looking at the financial costs. Do we not also have a moral responsibility to ensure children are taken care of.

The right wants them to get a job. Support themselves, or decry the fact that their parents do not take responsibility for their children. Yes, I would like to see parents raise their children and support them. Make sure they have the proper food to eat and get medical care. In the real world though, many of those parents are struggling and not able to provide what they should. That is when a caring society steps in to make sure they do not fall through the cracks and end up becoming a further drain on all of us. We should make sure these children get the best education so they can break the cycle of poverty. A great society is one that helps the least within the group. In the end it will only make the group stronger and more plentiful for all. That is what the United States of America stands for. Together we are strong. Divided we all fail.

Conservatives Attack Veterans

Yes, you read it right. Conservatives, Republicans, the right, they all enjoy moving their mouths and say they support veterans, but the reality is that they will attack veterans if it serves their political agendas. Look at the facts. I know that many people on the right try to avoid facts, but liberals will continue to use them.

Max Cleland had his service in Vietnam and as a veteran's advocate used against him. Mr. Cleland, who was confined to a wheelchair, because of injuries while serving, was attacked by Saxby Chambliss in their battle for a Senate seat representing Georgia.

John Kerry was a victim of George Bush and Karl Rove, when they actually got veterans to question Mr. Kerry's service and heroism, in Vietnam, during the Presidential election. The "Swiftboat" lies were meant to call into question, Kerry's service.

The latest is Joe Walsh, the Tea Party Congressman, and his claims that Lt. Colonel Tammy Duckworth is only a veteran, and has done nothing else. He feels she just talks about her sacrifice and service to America and not about the issues. Ms. Duckworth lost both of her legs and use of her right arm in service for our country and Joe "Deadbeat Dad" Walsh has never served us in any way. In fairness to Walsh a judge dismissed the over one hundred thousand dollars in back child support this past April. Apparently his wife and Walsh settled the dispute in "private". Translation, she let the jerk off the hook, for his political career. Back to Walsh's attack on Duckworth. He wants to dismiss her as a political opponent, just to win re-election, and will do so by attacking her sacrifice for America. Walsh is the worst example of what is wrong in this country. He does not live up to his obligations and then he attacks those that have. He is a liar, but that is what politicians on the right have become.

Watch any campaign rally and there is always a group of veterans sitting behind the politicians, while they talk about supporting this group of people that have sacrificed so much for all of us. Once they are in office, they close the door on veterans and wait until the next campaign to bring them back out. It is time for the right to stop using veterans and start paying them back for what they have given to America. Most of all it is time for little worms like Joe Walsh, who has never served, to shut his mouth and only speak about Ms. Duckworth with respect. My only regret about not living in Illinois is the fact that I can not vote for Tammy Duckworth and vote against Joe Walsh.                                                                                    

These are the facts and they cannot be ignored. The right will do anything to move their political agenda ahead. They will lie, cheat, steal and even attack the people who have given the ultimate sacrifice to America, their service.

Fourth Of July!!!!!!

Just wanted to say, "thank you" to my readers and wish them a wonderful and safe Independence Day. Take a moment today and reflect on what it means to be an American and most importantly what you can do to make America better. Have fun and I will be back tomorrow. John.

Conservatives Part Three

As I continue my breakdown of conservatives and the far right, let's take a look at how they handle a difference of opinion. In many ways they revert to being bullies. You only have to look at conservative darling, Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey. Examples of how he handles people that think differently then him follow. Last year a resident of Jersey called into a show where people were able to ask this thug (governor) questions. She wanted to know why Christie is sending his children to a private school. I happen to feel that wealthy and privileged children should be able to go to any school their parents can afford to send them. However instead of Christie just saying he can send his children where he wants to and would support anyone doing the same, he blurts out, it is none of your business. On Saturday a reporter asked a question which was not in line with the direction that Governor Bully wanted to go. He ends up calling the reporter, stupid and an idiot. Again I understand that politicians are asked questions that they are uncomfortable with, or that are off the particular subject they are talking about at that time, but did Christie have to resort to the bullying tactic of name calling? What a role model he is to our young people. Instead of using intellect to direct the conversation back to the direction he wanted, he demonstrated to people that the method to handling conflict is to be a jerk.

Chritie is not unique in this tactic on the conservative side. This past week when I confronted two, members of the same family, conservatives about issues and untrue statements regarding the President, one of them tried the same bullying style with me. All I had stated was, that is was clear the two family members were in lockstep with their opinions. His response was that he would not sit back and allow me to lash out at his family. He then stated that I had released the "beast" and that I should not screw with him. He also told me he would not sit back and allow, "Liberals like me to destroy his country." See they think it is only their country. If you do not agree and follow them, then you are UN-AMERICAN.   Naturally I was terrified! NOT! I explained to him that I was not intimidated by him at all. Actually, I thought it was quite amusing and I passed this on to him. Again this is the way the conservatives like to debate. Shout down the opposition. Do not allow the debate to actually use facts. Try and intimidate or belittle the opposition. Make them feel UN-American and not allowed to have a voice. I have a news flash for them. I will not be silent! I will not go quietly into the night. I will confront their lies and continue to speak out for the truth. We all must speak out, to all politicians and make them accountable to all of us. The majority is what rules. We have a Democratic President and Senate. they have the House. We must get back to governing and doing what is in the best interest of all Americans, not just for the Republicans or the politicians, or the wealthy, or the corporations, but ALL Americans. Speak up now, don't let them keep you silent.

Conservatives Part Two

The Affordable Health Care Act has passed the Supreme Court test for constitutionality and the right goes beserk. I even heard one bright comment, "Just because the Supreme Court rules on it, it does not mean it is Constitutional." Yes it does! That is their job, but when they rule differently then the right wants them to, it is wrong. If the ruling had gone the other way, then it would have been proven unconstitutional. This reminds of a small child, wanting to quit playing because they did not get their way. The conservatives want to take their ball and go home.

I have listened to the Republicans try and persuade the American public that what Mitt Romney did in Massachusett, is totally different then what the Democrats and President did with health care. It is identical and any attempt by the right to position it any other way is just playing the semantics game. The Massachusett mandate is considered a penalty, where the AHCA is considered a tax. I do not care how they phrase it the intent in both cases, was to make free loaders have to share in their cost of health care. In the past the Republican party, the conservatives and the right have embraced the idea of personal responsibility, however since it became a Democratic agenda, they are running away from people being responsible.

The court and the opinion of Chief Justice Roberts, stated that the mandate would be acceptable if it is a tax. Fine. The tax or penalty would affect less then one percent of Americans and they can avoid that "tax or penalty" if they act like adults and purchase affordable health care insurance.

Romney and the Republicans are pushing to repeal the AHCA and then replace it with their own health care act. Lets look at the highlights of what they propose to replace the President's plan with. First they would extend health care to more people. That is already in the AHCA. They would permit children to stay on their parents insurance until age 26. Whoops, that is in the AHCA. They would prevent insurance companies, the ability, to decline coverage based upon pre-existing conditions. Humm, already covered under the AHCA. They would not allow health insurers to stop coverage due to limits. You guessed it, already there in the AHCA. Are you starting to see a trend here. What is it they are really looking to repeal, Democratic success? The Republicans are really upset because they didn't think of this first.

I heard house majority leader Eric Cantor say that the Republicans have had a health care plan for sometime, and will give details shortly. Really Mr. Cantor. You guys have a plan and did not share it with the public. Sorry I have to declare that, bullsh**. The problem is the only plans the Republicans, conservatives and the right have had in place or have worked on is to decieve the American public and to defeat Barrack Obama. Maybe it is time they start to look at what is in the best interest of the country and stop the devestating game of partisian politics.

Why So Called Conservatives Are So Wrong!

A couple of days ago I was engaged with a couple of men, on Face Book, who call themselves Conservatives. They happen to be in the same family and thus their views were completely in lockstep. Over the next couple of days I will be addressing the Conservative point of view and how on so many levels they have no clue. Will this piss them off ? I certainly hope so.

First off, what does the right support? That changes, based upon whether the current President proposes something that they support. They are solidly second Amendment supporters and would rather be killed, along with their entire family, then to restrict any gun laws. Assault weapons, mutiple clips, piercing bullets, mentally deranged buyers. It does not matter. No restrictions what so ever. We have murders everyday at rediculous rates and they will give the same response. People kill people, but guns do not. In a certain, twisted way they are right. People kill people, but cars do not. Knifes, fires started by arsonists, clubs, baseball bats, etc, do not kill people, people kill people. I am being saracastic, for those on the right that are not able to recognize it, but as with all sarcasm, there is an element of truth. Without the weapon there is not a murder.

What else do they believe in? ALL LIBERALS are socialists, communists and every other ists, they can think of. Medical care and more specifically the Affordable Care Act is a step toward Socialized medicine. I prefer to call it single payer, but if they insist on Socialzed medicine, fine. Call it what ever you want to demagogue it. It would be less expensive and better for the people of this country.

They believe that the former Soviet Union sent agents here in the sixties and seventies to infiltrate our country in order to change it. Remember the movie "Salt" with Angelina Jolie, that is where I think they got that idea.

They believe the President was not born in America and is not our legal President. This fits their conspiracy theory.

Maybe worst of all they do not believe that anyone who disagrees with them is not a true American. Listen to how they attack and are always telling people to, "love it or leave it." They feel there opinion is the only one worth listening to. Well, I hate to break it to them, but I happen to feel that disent is the backbone of America. Hell, our country was founded by a revolution. Did they forget that?

This is just the beginning of how wrong I feel the extreme on the right are. Over the next several days I will continue to try and make some sense of where they stand and point out the stark differences between the bullies on the right and the rest of America. I happen to believe that most Americans are in the middle, Sometimes we lean a little more conservative and sometimes a little more liberal. As I write this. please join in with your comments. Whether you agree or disagree, as always I will not edit or delete your remarks as long as it is not vulgar or completely offending.

Yes, You Are Entitiled to Your Opinion, However!

People are absolutely entitled to their opinions, but do not be surprised or offended if I express mine in return. I have a friend on Face Book that is constantly whinning that he is entitled to his opinion. Every time I disagree with his "wrong" thought process, he cries, "that he is entitled to his opinion". I have never said he couldn't have one, I just state mine in return. People like this man, is not worried about their opinion, they just do not want you to have one in return. Listen to them and just accept what they have to say. Yesterday I called this man out and he started to cry, like a little child, about leave him alone and he was only stating his opinion. Well Doug, I am stating mine. You are some type of psygology doctor, and my opinion is that you should place yourself on the couch to find where your deep seated problems lie. I am secure in who I am and do not have to cry about my opinion. I will give it to you even if you do not want it. Call me wrong. Call me an idiot. Call me stupid. I do not care, primarily because people that do not agree with me are the morons of the world. See, simple. He has called me narrow minded and I have stated that he is also.  He is right. I am. I look at the facts and then I narrowly interpret them into my thought process. I then state my opinion and whether you think I am right or wrong, does not matter. In my narrow mind I am right. So Doug grow up. According to your picture on Face Book you are at least twenty one, so act like it. Accept the fact that everyone is not going to like or agree with you, and if you can't accept those facts, I have a couch here for you to tell, me all about your latent problems.

The President Gave The Order and Bin Laden is Dead!!!

When will a Republican give President Obama the credit he deserves for his decision that lead to Osama bin Laden being killed. The last several days I have listened to the biggest bunch of cry babies I have ever heard. WAAAA! Obama is taking too much credit. WAAAA! The President did not pull the trigger. WAAAA! WAAAA! WAAAA!
Let me ask, one question. What would the Republicans be saying if the mission had failed and would they have made it into a political issue? ABSOLUTELY!
The right would have been attacking President Obama, just like they used the failed mission against President Carter. They would have used it just like they attacked Senator Kerry and tried to destroy his military service. They would have used it, just like John McCain tried to suggest that Barrack Obama would face and not be able to handle a foreign crisis. Republicans have perfected the attack politics that have become so fashionable and now are crying, foul when they no longer can claim to be able to protect our country.
I listened to the right complain that the President is being divisive. They claim that he has not thanked the proper people.
Did any of them listen to his speech on the night bin Laden was killed? If they missed that one, did they listen to his State of the Union Address? Between the two speeches, President Obama constantly , thanked and gave credit to everyone from the Seal Team 6 members to his staff, and included President Bush. It is definitely time for the Republican party and members to say thank you to the President. He made the tough decision and had to live with the results. The problem is that bin Laden is dead and the mission was a success. In true new Republican and right wing fashion they would rather have bin Laden alive and still killing innocent people then have to admit that a Democrat gave the orders to get him. Once again politics is more important then country.

To All Of The Obama Haters.

Let me start this one right. If you hate the President and just want him to fail, please line up in an orderly fashion and leave our country. Understand me when I say this. Disliking the President and disagreeing with him is one thing. Hoping for him to fail is another. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, stated, "My number one priority is to make Barrack Obama a one term president." He and a large group of Republican lawmakers then set out to do this. At what cost? They did not care if American people suffered, as long as their goal of winning the White House and control of the Senate, was accomplished. Now it comes out, and no surprise to me, that while the Inaugural balls were being conducted a group of Republicans were meeting and discussing tactics to defeat the President. House leader Eric Cantor and presidential candidate to be, Newt Gingrich along with various Republican Senate and House members were in attendance. They spoke of the way to defeat Obama was to block any legislature and nominees they could. If the president had a plan to move America forward they were going to work and defeat it.

It is one thing to have a different plan or strategy. It is completely different to find a way to just oppose everything for political gain. How many Americans have suffered because they wanted to defeat Obama this year?How many Americans lost jobs or health care? How many children were pushed into poverty, while this arrogant group of elitists sat around laughing and supporting this plan to destroy America, if needed, to win the White House.

So back to my original statement. If you support this fashion of government, then please join this group of, so called leaders and move someplace else. Find a place that will accept your monarchy and leave the rest of us to find solutions for our Democracy. This is how other countries operate. Not how America should operate. So when you decide who to vote for in the upcoming election, remember this one fact. Their number one priority is to win the White House, not to serve Americans. Their number one priority is to protect the wealth of the elite, not create jobs. Their number one priority is their own power, not the power of the people. Now go and make an intelligent decision. I happen to believe the choice is very clear and easy.

Respons to Danny Concerning Firearms.

First, good to hear from you, Danny. I always enjoy, even when I disagree, your comments. Do I really believe that NOT everyone should have the right to arm themselves. Yes. There are convicted felons. I do NOT believe they should be able to purchase weapons. There are the mentally unstable that have been evaluated as such, that should NOT have the right to weapons. There are people that even though not convicted of a crime with a firearm, that have shown a definite lean toward violence and have been convicted of lesser charges of violence or threats of violence, that should NOT be allowed to bear arms. We have more firearms and more firearms deaths each year then any country. There is a correlation between our open sale of firearms and the number of deaths they cause each year.

When I speak of intelligence to own weapons, part of it is general intelligence and the other part is the ability to show that you know the weapon that is being purchased and know how to safely handle and store that weapon. Intelligent people do not leave their firearms in an area that children have access to. How many times do we see where a child gets a weapon in their hands and kills or wounds another child. The adult that leaves the weapon available to the child may pay the price of prison, but the damage is already done. Many firearms are accidentally fired and people are killed because of stupidity. Is there a connection between general intelligence and the misuse of firearms. I believe there is. The ability to think and the ability to handle a firearm correctly do both come into play.

The question of our founders giving the right to firearms based only on the point of feeding there families, was somewhat tongue in cheek, Yes they wanted the ability to form a militia, which is stated in the second amendment, but you should remember that in those days we had no central army, they were militias formed, mostly by the wealthy, to fight. The British came to take the weapons because they wanted to stop the revolution, there intent was to disarm the citizens. That I am aware of. However I hate to deflate every one's bubble but comparing us fighting the British, during the revolution to us fighting our own Army today, just does not compare. Remember the British were fighting overseas, far from their supplies and in unfamiliar land.

Danny, I am not and have never advocated for good, law abiding citizens to not be able to have a weapon if they choose. I just happen to believe that we have so many unnecessary killings in our country every year because guns are readily available. There has to be a control to keep more guns out of the criminals hands. 195,000 stolen weapons each year. Honest citizens do not steal them, criminals steal them, but honest citizens make them available to the criminals because they lack the intelligence to secure them and register them.

Lastly the Travon Martin killing. You ask if I believe it was a racially motivated murder. I have to ask you. Do you believe that it was not? I feel George Zimmerman was a police want to be. He saw an opportunity, in his mind, to be a hero. It went terribly wrong. The racial part was the fact that he racial profiled Martin. It is only my opinion, and we may never know the whole truth, that if this were a white man walking down the street, he would not have followed. Zimmerman has racists qualities within him and I believe we all have certain racial qualities in all of us. We all fear anyone or anything that is different then us.

I hope that I have shed some additional light on the subjects. Again I am glad to hear from you and look forward to your, sure to come, rebuttal.

America's New Motto, Land Of Hatred!

We used to proudly proclaim we were the, "Land of the free." Today we are the land of hatred. Look at the posts on face book. Read the newspaper. Watch any news or political program. Watch a sporting event. Listen to your kids. Go to the store. Drive in traffic. What do all of these things and just about every other activity we do have in common? The dislike and pure hatred that flows out of Americans today.

I listen to people talk about how much they hate President Obama. Not just dislike and disagree with his policies, but actually hate him as a person. Why? Disagree, that is absolutely fine but why hate?  Democrats hate the Republicans and vice versa. Why? I disagree with the premise that Mitch McConnell started the new legislative session with. Their number one priority was to make Barrack Obama a one term President. They have gone on to block and do everything they could to make this a reality. Why not the needs of America being their first priority? I don't hate Republicans, I just disagree with them.

I have a young lady on my face book, that constantly states how much she hates the President. When pressed for why, she blames him for things that he either did not start or has no control over. I have watched Obama be blamed for everything from the great flood of Noah fame to the future demise of the planet earth, twenty million years from now. Have we arrived at the point, where we have set unobtainable expectations of our Presidents? We ask much from the leaders of our country and yet we do not look at the actual problem or source of the problems. We then automatically assign the blame to the President. Then we hate him when problems are not solved yesterday.

Let's get back to the hatred our whole country exhibits. We hate every aspect of our lives and then strike out at the people around us and blame our leaders. Where do we take responsibility for our actions? Why do we not get angry at ourselves for not changing our lives? Yes, some things in this country need to change. We have to get quality education for everyone. Infrastructure needs to be rebuilt. Everyone should have access to quality, affordable health care. People should be able to get secure, good paying jobs to support their families. However none of this is going to happen if we all just sit back and complain about everyone else. Nothing will improve if all we do is hate, the people that have success or anyone that has a different opinion. We have to return to doing what is in the best interest of America. We have to return to the ideal of hard work, good education and leading the world in innovation. We all need to take responsibility to be involved in our Democracy and take the time to help our leaders, to lead America back to greatness. Lastly we need to stop hating and start loving America.

Where Are The White And Hispanic Leaders With The Trayvon Martin Case?

I see Rev, Al Sharpton, I see Representative Corrine Brown. I see the commentators on MSNBC, such as Rachel Madow. I see celebrities of all races, I lastly see crowds of people and their faces reflect a variety of nationalities. The people that have been missing are the leaders of the Hispanic and White communities. The power brokers that lead Central Florida in these two areas are not out front, where I believe they should be.

Yesterday, after mounting pressure from black activists and hordes of regular people on the social networks, Governor Rick Scott asked for a special prosecutor to handle the investigation. Where has he been for the last month. I have yet to hear or see Marco Rubio or Bill Nelson, Senators from Florida. I see Corrine Brown, who's district Sanford is in, out front with Reverend Sharpton, but where are the other representatives from nearby Florida districts?

My friend Brandon, brought up the issue yesterday and posted on his face book page, the question of whether the powers to be are afraid of a racial war. I am not convinced this is the underlying issue, but where are the leaders? The police in Sanford are calling George Zimmerman, white and Zimmerman's family say he is Hispanic. Right now we have a white police department, with past racial abuses, investigating, if you want to call what they have done so far investigating, either a white or Hispanic man killing a young black man, and yet no arrest and a very glaring absence of outrage from white and Hispanic leaders.

The question begs to be asked. If this were a black man that had shot a white or Hispanic teenager, where would the leaders be today, and more importantly where would the accused killer be today. The answer is simple. The leaders would be screaming for justice and the killer would be behind bars. A month after this killing and yet Zimmerman remains free. This should outrage leaders of all races and classes. Zimmerman needs to be arrested and the investigation needs to be handled by competent police officers, not a group of Barney Fifes. The parents of Trayvon Martin want one thing. Justice. They deserve nothing less and each day that goes by with George Zimmerman walking around free, is one more day of injustice in America.

Before Purchasing Weapons There Should Be An Intelligence Test!

Get ready all of you second amendment rights people. Start screaming all of the NRA folks. Start your attack of me for my position. Guess what, I don't care. We have more killings by handguns and other guns in this country then any other place on the earth. The reason is simple. Idiots are allowed to purchase and carry handguns! They are protected and given this right by people who are blinded to reality.

The Trayvon Martin case is just one in a series of incidents that exacerbates the concept that we all have the right to have our guns. When the Constitution was written, people needed rifles to hunt and feed themselves. Now we carry our concealed weapons as we go to the grocery store. For what purpose? If the steak we are buying is already dead, are we armed to protect us from the cow coming back to life?

When I was a teenager and two guys got into an argument, someone, maybe, received a black eye. Today someone pulls out a gun and opens fire. Why? Because they were, now wait for it, DIS-RESPECTED. We kill to get respect? Someone dies and the killer goes to prison for life and all because someone looked at them the wrong way. People are plain, ridiculous.

We pass laws, that states, we can stand our ground. Write that on my tombstone. He stood his ground. Now people use it as a way to commit a racist murder. This is definitely the case with George Zimmerman. Then the Sanford police allow Zimmerman to just walk away. Would he be out of jail today if he were a black man that had just gunned down a white teenager. But back to guns. Where is the intelligence test of people that get to carry weapons? Where is the psychological test for mental stability? We have none and every time groups try to make it harder for criminals or idiots to get guns the pro-gun lobbyist crawl out from under their rocks to oppose any common sense approach to the problem.

They claim if we limit guns then only criminals will have them. Most criminals get their weapons by stealing them from law abiding citizens. or buying them from someone that stole them. They say if they have protection of a gun they will be able to stop criminals. Just because you can shot a target that is not firing back and the adrenalin is not flowing, does not mean you can do it when your life is in danger. They say we need it to protect us from the government. This one I really like. What good would that handgun do against a trained soldier with his M-16?

None of these arguments really hold water. There are too many handguns and unnecessary weapons in this country. We are killing each other and are becoming immune to the deaths. With each outrageous killing like the Trayven Martin murder, we become more apathetic.

 Yes, I will buy the theory that guns do not kill people, people kill people. The problem is the gun cannot decide whether the shooter is mentally stable or just another whack job, stalking one of our children.

We Should Have Left Afghanistan Years Ago.

Even better we should have never entered in the way we did. I support the President in many areas, but will not follow blindly. The war in Afghanistan is an example where I disagree. We should be out now.

The Afghan leaders are among the most corrupt in the world. Hamid Karzai, the president, leads a nation that is among the world's poorest. Most of the population there lives on less then a dollar a day. The literacy rate is 28%, meaning only 28% have the ability to read. It is even worse if you are a woman. That rate is a meager 10%. They live in rural villages with little or no modern convienences. They are simply, impoverished. Why? Decades of wars and the drug trade have influenced day to day living in Afghanistan, and their leaders are not looking to improve the lifes of the people anytime soon. Three million Afghans are involved in the drug trades and violent crime is rampant.

Look at the history of this country. Going back to Alexander the Great, who invaded them in 330 BC. Genghis Khan raided the Afghans in 1219 AD and it was not until 1709 that they overthrew Gurgin Khan. It wasn't long before the British arrived in the late 1870's, where the U.K. lost money and men in the attempt to defeat Afghanistan. Then in 1978 the Soviet Union got bogged down in the quagmire of the mountainous and isolated Afghan area. The United States, through Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, threw it's support behind the Mujaheddin, who's spiritual leader was none other then Osama bin Laden. The Soviets were beaten back and the amount of money and lives that was lost in Afghanistan, helped fuel the down fall of the once mighty Soviet Union Empire.

Finally in October of 2001, the United States, under the name of, Operation Enduring Freedom, entered Afghanistan and for over ten years we have poured trillions of dollars and tens of thousands of American soldiers, into the cause. The cause of what? Al-Qaeda has been forced into hiding. bin Laden was killed in Pakistan. The Taliban, which did not attack us on 9-11 has scattered, but will return whether we leave now or twenty years from now. What have we accomplished? What is our future prospects of victory? The Taliban wants to keep Afghanistan a second century country. Fine that is their decision and the decision of the Afghan people to make, not the decision of politicians and military people from America.

I want to place this war in historical perspective. We have been here for over ten years. Vietnam was nine and one half years and what results did we have from that disaster? The American Revolutionary War was over in a little more then eight years and we dictated our own countries direction with that war. World War I was five years and the second World War, the American participation was only six years. My point is this. We have invested money that should be used here at home, in this country and we see no return. More importantly we have invested lives in this and we can never be repaid for the sacrifices of so many great American men and women.

So why are we still here. In February our soldiers accidentally burned the Muslim holy book, the Koran. Last week a Staff Sergeant, Robert Bates, killed several Afghan civilians. These incidents will happen and the longer we keep our fighting people there the more it will happen. Sergeant Bales, has seen four tours of duty in Afghanistan and has seen more death and destruction then most people would ever see in a life time. He has witnessed his friends dismembered, blown up, shot and destroyed in so many ways. This is not an excuse for his actions only an explanation. More of this has and will occur. The time to end it is now.

The Afghan people have a right  and responsibility to decide their fate. They can choose to live their lives in centuries old style if they choose. They have the God given ability to change or remain the same. They do not have to forcibly be moved into the twenty first century. It is time for the American politicians and military leaders to end this. The politicians want to make this a political football. the President does not want to be seen as the man that lost Afghanistan. Afghanistan is not ours to loose. The Republicans want to stay there and win the victory. What victory. We have already lost and yet our leaders are too afraid to tell us. We can get out now and start to rebuild our own country or we can stay and suffer the same results that many others have. Afghanistan is the place that empires go to die. I want us to live.

Response to Marines, about Sacrifice!

Thank you for your comments. One thing I should have done is a better job at explaining who should make the largest amount of sacrifice. The wealthy elite and corporations. I read back over my post and wanted to add some more to it and you helped by voicing your opinion. My point is, if the corporations sacrifice some of their profits, then the elite, sacrifice some of their return on their investments, the average person would then be able to make a fair and living wage. As wages go up for the average worker, then they could pass along the sacrifice for others. Again the auto workers were a good example of everyone winning. Profits went up and then the corporations rewarded the workers, for their sacrifices. I also believe that we all need to sacrifice for the education of our citizens. Either with time when money is an issue, or with money when we can. The example of my interest deduction for our mortgage, is an example of middle class people that are doing a little better then others giving up something also. My biggest point would be the elite and corporations would have to start the movement. Average workers have given enough and it is really way overdue for the top 1% to give. Thanks again for your comments, I always appreciate when you send in your thoughts.

Republican Politicians are Cowards!

I am placing this initial stance on the political leaders first, however any man that does not take up this stand for their wives, daughters, mothers, granddaughters or any female friend is also a coward.

Mitt Romney said Limbaugh's words are not the words he would have used.

Rick Santorum was the closest to standing up but all he said was the words were despicable, but Limbaugh is just an entertainer.

Ron Paul, said something similar to Romney, about that would not have been his choice of words.

John Boehner and Eric Cantor, basically said the same. Not words they would use and then distanced themselves from additional responses.

Really, this is the best you guys can do. What if Limbaugh had called your wife a slut, or your daughter or mother or sister. Would you be willing to be so passive. If the answer is yes, then I wonder about your manhood. Yesterday on face book I stated that I want to punch him right in the mouth and would be more then willing to do so, even though I do not know the young lady. You are all cowards and yet you want to lead our country!

The other part of all of this is none of the above men or Rush himself have even listened to her testimony before Congress. She was not talking about sex, but the problems that some women, and in particular her friend, face, prohibited costs for contraception that are for medical purposes and have absolutely nothing to do with sex. They are not only cowards but they are fools.

Let's contrast these people, to our President. He called Ms. Fluke and even expressed the fact that her parents must be very proud of her. The right, in their infinite wisdom, have attacked the President, saying how can he or her parents be proud of her, because they still think this is about sex. I am very proud that Sandra Fluke is a product of our country. I am proud when a young person stands up for the rights and the betterment of others. My pride quickly diminishes, when I listen to jerks like Limbaugh and then see no guts on the Republican side to stand up and demand that Rush be thrown off the airways.

You know the recent fight by the right to take away health care for the women in our country is both sad and deplorable. We need to fight for all women to have access to high quality health care. My last thought is this. Women can take the pill to prevent unwanted or unplanned pregnancies, however the men that are attacking the women of America have no pill to cure their ailments. Stupidity and Cowardliness.

Sacrifice Should Be Our Mantra!

When a political leader comes out and uses the sacrifice word, they are castigated and ridiculed. Remember, those of you that are old enough, when Jimmie Carter sat in front of the cameras, with his sweater on and asked the American people to turn their thermostats down, to save energy? This was used by the opposition to paint him as a President that cannot solve problems and expects the people to actually help with solutions. He went on to be defeated and the idea that he asked for sacrifices helped him lose.

Each day we lose more members of what Tom Brokaw, termed the, "Greatest Generation". This is the Americans that entered and helped win World War II. There are stories of men, that were rated 4-F and could not serve in the military, who committed suicide. They wanted to sacrifice for their country. During the war, people had bond drives and Americans saved pennies, so they could buy war bonds and contribute. They had rationing to preserve food, rubber, fuel and other materials for the war effort. American children went out with wagons to collect scrap metal to help our men and women at the front.  Corporations, overnight went from making automobiles and refrigerators to tanks and munitions. Everyone sacrificed and then we succeeded.

Where is that same mentality today? We ask billionaires to pay their fair share of taxes and we are labeled as Un-American. We are asking for Universal Health Care and we are now, Socialists. We ask for corporations to pay a fair and living wage and we are told we are destroying America. We ask for the poor to work and produce and then we give them no jobs, while we complain about having to pay to support them.

Look at the auto industry. A short while back, they were faced with the spectre of bankruptcy and yet a few weeks ago General Motors posted their largest profit ever. What happened? People sacrificed. The workers, that are being demonized by the right, gave concessions. They gave back pay. They gave back benefits. They reduced hours. Management then worked hard to organize better, They pushed for better products and then when the profits hit they gave large bonuses to the workers. They companies are paying back the American people. Everyone sacrificed and we succeeded.

I have an idea! If sacrifice leads to success, why don't we all sacrifice? The wealthy elite can stop paying 12% or less in taxes and start paying the same as the working folks do. Home owners could give up their tax deduction on mortgage interest, while corporations stop having special tax breaks that lead to them paying little to nothing in taxes. We could see that people are able to get fair and honest wages in return for helping companies make better products and profits. Then companies could reward workers with bonuses. Parents could sacrifice some leisure time to help teachers and schools to educate our children. The list can only grow from here. Everyone has to give to lead us back to prominence.

I gave the example of the Greatest Generation, but look back at the history of not only our country, but the history of mankind and you will see examples of sacrifice. In our American history, look at the Pilgrims and what they endured. Our Revolutionary War and the founding father, did they not sacrifice much?  How about the settlers that spread across our great country, did they have hardships? The Civil War, the great depression, industrial revolution, two world wars, the list of sacrifices continues, and I have to ask, what have you sacrificed? What have you done? What have you committed to? These questions all have answers and that answer is sacrifice for the betterment of our country.

President Kennedy phrased it best in his inaugural address, "And so my fellow Americans,  ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what can you do for your country." Is it to much to ask that we all give to save America?

Response to my readers.

I have several comments that my readers have posted and I want to respond to them here.

First to Anonymous. On Feb. 20th I wrote a post, entitled, "Santorum is attacking our first amendment rights." The response was from a Christian that I believe has the proper prospective. Religious views are personal, and we are taking them into the political arena. When we have people trying to force their views on religion, it become very dangerous. If you haven't read the comment, please do. It is very insightful and well written. I always enjoy these types of comments. Quick note to anonymous, if you want please sign as a follower and share your name. Your choice, but I do hope either way you will continue to read and give my readers more of your responses.

To Lawrence, thank you for your kind words on my Feb 10th post, titled, "Why do we vote against our own interests." You asked how to get my posting each time. Sign up as a follower and they will be sent to you e-mail. I promise you and all of my readers, I do not spam and do not use my blog for any other reason then to post my opinions. Also please take the opportunity to comment anytime. I always enjoy responses, even if they disagree with me. I like the debate.

To, three of my biggest supporters, Jon from SOC Oracle, Danny and Marines. I always enjoy and look forward to your insights and great comments. You three have followed me from the beginning and have always favored me with your responses.

Lastly to all of my readers. As a writer, all I do is place my views and information out, so all that care to see, can. My viewers grow every day and I invite all of you to respond. When I get comments back from readers, I am very gratified. It shows, what I am writing, is striking a note with readers. Again as a writer, my reward is people seeing and then responding. Thank you for your support and as always take advantage and put your own thoughts out and share with others. This is how we communicate today. Let your voice be heard. Every voice is important, not just the American Voice, but every voice around the world.

We Need To Start A New War! This Time With Iran!

Just to get this started right, understand that the title is pure sarcasm. I have listened to the Republican Presidential Candidates and the same old Republicans over the last few weeks and it is starting to sound very much like the lies and push to war we had over Iraq.

Dick Cheney, John McCain and Lindsay Graham are three of the old Republican guard that are rattling the sabers, to push us toward more military action in the Middle East. They are using the same words that confronted us during the lead up to invading Iraq. Weapons of mass destruction. Remember that one. We were lead to believe that we would fall into huge quantities of these terrible instruments of war. Over a decade later we are still looking for them. Saddam Husein is a mad man, bent on destroying Israel and delivering nuclear weapons into America. Today it is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, is the mad man, and he must be stopped.

The argument of invading Iraq, was they had developed a nuclear weapons program. They had not. The same words are used today to describe the program in Iraq and the intelligence is all over the board. They are close. They are months away. They are years away. They are doing nothing with weapons grade uranium. Where is the truth?

Lets say for discussion, they have a nuclear weapons program and is close to development of weapons. Why do we, the country that has used nuclear weapons against another country and has the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, get to decide who does and does not get these weapons. Do we have a right to invade a country to stop them?

Currently, we are pursuing the diplomatic approach. We are using economic sanctions. We are trying to find peaceful means to stop countries from having nuclear bombs. Yet the Republicans are calling the President weak and screaming about how dangerous he his. Newt actually said he is the most dangerous President in his lifetime. Really Newt. George Bush got us into two wars, based upon faulty intelligence and lies. We have spend trillions of dollars and lost thousands of American lives. Hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens have died. This was done in retaliation to 9-11? The people that attacked us were primarily from Saudi Arabia. The same Saudi Arabia, where President Bush can be seen kissing the Saudi prince on the cheek and dancing with them. So, Newt, just look back one Presidency and you will see someone that was so much more dangerous for our security and economic welfare.

This is not the time to run around, blowing the trumpets of war. What ever happened to the American ideal? What ever happened to us being the example for good? Why are we known around the world as the aggressors?  Now is the time for peaceful solutions. President Obama, has shown the ability to pursue the logical, not the emotional. So to McCain, Graham, Cheney(please retire your mouth), Romney, Santorum and Gingrich, the time has come to get behind our country. The time has come to change our thinking from war to peace. The time has come to follow the lead of our President. We DO NOT need another war. It is time for peace! 

First They Came, A Poem By Martin Niemoller

I remember reading this poem years ago and I think it is relevant now. When I look around our country and see groups trying to restrict voting rights for people, I shudder. When I listen to groups that try to use women's health issues as a platform to control women and restrict their freedoms, I grieve. As I listen to groups that try to force their religious beliefs on others, I scream. I am breaking one of my own rules. Never compare anything to Hitler and the Nazis. I am not going as far as to compare the above mentioned groups to Hitler. Hitler was responsible for millions of deaths, either directly, as in the Holocaust, or indirectly during the war that had to be fought to stop him. There is no person or group that compares to this genocide or horror. However there is the fact of how Hitler and his thugs were able to rise and grab power in Germany. This is history. I ask each of you to read the following poem and think about the tragedy of silence.

First They Came... by Martin Niemoller
In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.

I have always thought this to be a very poignant and human poem. It shows how we all want to go along and get along. We are willing to keep our mouths shut and accept, even atrocities against other humans to get along. It is this, the silence that leads to rights being destroyed. It is the individual rights and freedoms that are at risk when we choose silence. Remember I am addressing individual freedoms, not the freedoms of the churches. The religious community receives funds from the government. It receives money from individuals. Now it wants to suppress freedoms for women and claims it is being attacked by the current administration. It screams about it's First Amendment rights being violated, while it attempts to suppress the freedoms of the people that work for them. This is not a violation of religious freedom as the right pretends it to be. It is a political attack on women.

At the same time, if you look, hard through the smoke, there are, people trying to suppress the voting rights of millions of American citizens. They use the guise of voter fraud in convincing people that we need to protect your vote. This is their way of keeping certain blocks of people from exercising their Constitutional rights, of voting. Right now they are focused on minorities and college students. Next they attempt to suppress women from voting. Finally they will get to white males, and suppress their rights. If we remain silent on either of these issues we are giving away our rights and who will be left to speak for you. NO ONE!