Some conservative talk radio features and caters to idiots

Almost everyone has heard of the Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannitys and Glenn Becks, but how many of you progressives out there take the time to listen to your local gaggle of conservative talk radio misfits?  I do.  As a matter of fact, I was actually disappointed when Glenn Beck was removed from one of our local stations.  Someone counseled me years ago; as long as you know what the opposition is doing you can plan your strategy to defeat them.  Good advice.

Rush Limbaugh on the air

We are often in the car on the way to and from errands and appointments mid-afternoons and I am hooked on the news.  Unfortunately, the best is available on the local Phoenix station of KTAR-Radio, which is very conservative; what else, this is Arizona?  It was following the ABC newscast one day that I heard the “comedy team” of Mac and Gaydos and since then, have listened off and on to see just how stupid this pair of dropouts can get.  It is truly pathetic.

These two political amateurs try their best to sound “Limbaugh” or “Beck” but the result is a combination of moronic bantering back and forth with trumped up issues that only a conservative simpleton would accept.  Like, arguing that V.P. Joe Biden’s comment that Romney would “”unchain Wall Street” is racist.  Only two baboons—I apologize to all apes—like this couple of bush leaguers, or other like simple minded conservatives, could come up with this kind of reasoning.

And then they compound their brainlessness by having lightweight Meghan McCain, daughter of our illustrious U.S. Senator, John McCain, come on their show and call Biden an “idiot.”  Of course, any thinking American would likely place these three (Mac, Gados and Meghan McCain) in the same category with other lost souls on the far right.  John McCain is a has-been who just doesn’t know when to quit. 

Now, I am fully aware of just how this conservative talk radio thing works.  You say harebrained things that are supposedly funny or entertaining because it is this kind of mindless audience that you are pandering to.  Rush Limbaugh has been doing it for years and the size of his captive audience is chilling if you think about it.  These people are always in the attack mode, but rarely have their facts right or make sense due to the lack of substance in their rants.

Glenn Beck

As in the case of this crackbrained Mac and Gaydos team on KTAR in Phoenix which tied Biden’s “unchained” comment into racism.  It was obviously a result of Republican remarks that Obama should “unshackle” small business and the economy, and they probably knew this but preferred to play the “race card.”  When you have a couple of greenhorn hosts like these two, you simply consider the source and go on.  But it’s different in the case of KTAR.

The station is well known for its conservative talk radio programs in the area, and if anyone in programming is listening to these two clowns, you’d think they would steer them back to something of substance and reality.  Unless the audience is so strong and it supports their daily afternoon gibbering, then I have another explanation.  It is the typical ultra conservative, double-digit IQs that seem to thrive in this state.  Probably led by the Surprise, Arizona Tea Party.

Why is the NRA so much like Al Qaeda?

Osama bin Laden and his gang

The answer: Because they both kill innocent Americans.  This idea came from a comment by Jim Waldo in the Duluth, Minnesota Tribune headlined, “Reader's View: NRA outpaces Osama bin Laden in the killing of Americans.”  Jim says: “Even with all the media attention on massacre shootings in Virginia, Arizona, Colorado and, now, Wisconsin, there hasn’t been enough mention of the National Rifle Association or of assault-weapons sales.”  The two are synonymous. 

Jim adds: “The silence from the association {NRA} has been deafening.

This reaction by the leading gun nuts is typical.  During the immediate period following gun bloodbaths, they use the time to fire up the NRA membership with threats that this will cause a wave of new gun control laws taking away their firearms.  That is designed to sell more guns, which is their basic goal since gun manufacturers are the major financial supporters of the NRA.  Not caring about innocent people killed, obvious by their silence other than they are sorry.

In doing the numbers, I came up with a figure of 5,000 Americans that Al Qaeda has killed directly.  Perhaps more have died indirectly, but the 5,000 figure seems to be an agreed upon amount.  Now, let’s look at the other side of the picture which involves the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) and its lobbying efforts to make guns available to anyone in the United States that wants them, including the Seung-Hui Chos, Jared Loughners, James Holmes, and Wade Michael Pages.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which is the best source of statistics on gun deaths, there are 31,347 firearm deaths a year which equals 10.2 deaths per 100,000 population.  And that’s every year.  There have been 432 deaths caused by guns in the U.S. just since March of this year when I started my Monthly Shooting Report.  My numbers reflect only what is reported by the media, missing several shootings, but are still astounding.



Wacky Wayne LaPierre



Jim Waldo asks two questions of the NRA that I have been asking for several years.  First, why anyone in the American public, other than law enforcement and the military, needs assault weapons?  Second, Jim would like to know just what the NRA has done to prevent guns getting into the hands of the mentally disturbed.  Like the four individuals mentioned above.  He won’t find out since the NRA is too busy on their next campaign to sell even more guns.

My final comparison is to show similarities between the NRA’s head, Wayne LaPierre, and Osama bin Laden.  Bin Laden had a goal of killing as many Americans as possible, no matter what.  Although LaPierre’s intention is certainly not to kill Americans, his goal of selling as many guns as possible, no matter what, is indirectly responsible for killing thousands of Americans every year.  The intent is different but the results the same.  Americans die from too many guns.

Arizona Republican Senate candidate Jeff Flake: The Constitution isn’t sacred

It sounds like blasphemy coming from a Republican, especially one who is solidly entrenched in the Tea Party.  All we have heard from these far-right fruitcakes in the last couple of years is just how enshrined this document was and is meant to be.  Especially when it comes to gun rights and the 2^nd amendment.  Although he hasn’t even won his primary yet, and it’s doubtful he could beat his Democratic opponent if he does, Jeff Flake is already attempting to manage his reelection.

Senate candidate Flake says he favors ending the direct election of U.S. Senators, and wants to repeal the Constitution’s 17^th Amendment.



Jeff Flake...precisely



Flake now represents Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 6^th Congressional District and is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Jon Kyl, another “flake.”  There is talk of his opponent in the primary, businessman Wil Cardon, giving up his primary fight; at the end of July Flake led Cardon by 22 points in the polls.  Assuming Flake wins the primary, he appears to be looking ahead to solidify a second term with the Arizona legislature behind him.

As a resident of the great state of Arizona, I cannot imagine putting a decision like naming a U.S. Senator in the hands of these legislative kooks.  I wish I could take credit for coining the term but Laurie Roberts, columnist for the Arizona Republic, gets the kudos for her series started recently called “DeKook the Capitol,” of course, referring to the Arizona Legislature, especially Republicans.  Over the last 3 years, this bunch, along with a completely incompetent Gov. Jan Brewer, has made the state a complete laughingstock.

Agreed, the 17^th Amendment was not given to us by the Founding Fathers like the 2^nd Amendment was; but it was passed by the Congress and on May 13, 1912 was submitted to the states for ratification and was adopted on May 31, 1913.  Tell me.  Is there a difference in the sacred value of a document created in 1787 with one conceived in 1912?  I think not.  Now if you are talking a U.S. Congress of the last few years, then, I would strongly question its ability to devise anything sensible and worthwhile.

Here’s what Jeff Flake is all about, according to the Payson, Arizona Roundup:

Flake advocated additional deep cuts in taxes and spending and the wholesale repeal of federal regulations. He said he opposed any restrictions on guns, ammunition or magazines, despite a string of recent shootings. He also said he favored eliminating both the federal Department of Energy and the Department of Education.

As is Mitt Romney, Flake is solidly behind GOP V.P. contender, Paul Ryan’s radical budget plan, covered in my Monday, August 13, post.  Democratic strategist, Donna Brazile, says that by selecting Ryan as his running mate, Romney has thrown, “…seniors under the bus and undermined their health security by ending Medicare as we know it.  It would increase health care cost for seniors, including those on fixed income, by thousands of dollars a year.”

Now I don’t want to turn this into a referendum for the repeal of the 2^nd Amendment, but if the 17^th Amendment is fair game, then so is the 2^nd Amendment.  Therefore, when an ultra-conservative like Jeff Flake, a solid Tea Party patriot, comes right out and says we should repeal part of the U.S. Constitution, it gives us gun control advocates the right to stand up and say, by the way we have something else to propose that needs the public’s attention.

Like the number of deaths per year due to firearm homicides according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC): 11,493.  That’s 3.7 per 100,000 population.  Like the fact that since I have been publishing a Monthly Shooting Report starting this past March, 432 have died from firearm homicides in 1,077 shootings.  And this only represents what is reported by the media which is very conservative. 

There can be no argument today against the fact that something has to be done about this and now.  And the 2^nd Amendment may or may not be the answer.  But the Tucson, Aurora and Wisconsin massacres do rigidly point toward stronger firearms regulation.  Jeff Flake has opened a can of worms in the sanctity of a Constitution that many have claimed cannot and must not be tampered with.  The question is whether this is more important than American lives.                        

Son of Sam serial killer David Berkowitz on gun control

The “Son of Sam” serial killer that murdered six and wounded seven in New York City over a 13-month period between 1976 and 1977 said: “Society has to take the glory out of guns.”  It is the statement of a man that has seemingly turned his life around in prison; he claims to be a born-again Christian.  His comment appears to stem from the recent massacre at the Aurora, Colorado movie by James Holmes who killed 12 and wounded 58.



David Berkowitz today

Berkowitz is now 60-years old and says he has no interest in parole because, if granted, it would only cause more heartbreak for his victims.  If this is a sincere declaration, the man seems to be repentant.  In the eight shootings he committed, he claimed that he was commanded to do so by a neighbor’s dog.  Berkowitz also explains that his killing spree was caused by his “lost,” “tormented,” and “confused” condition.  So how do we take the glory out of guns?

My answer: close down the National Rifle Assn. (NRA).  It’s that simple.  This organization has glorified guns and the 2^nd Amendment for years since Wayne LaPierre took over the NRA in 1977.  What do you expect when he and his hired propagandists constantly spew out this garbage that everyone should be able to have a gun and take it anywhere he or she wants to.  Based on their loosening of the nation’s gun laws, we got Holmes, Jared Loughner and Wade Michael Page.

When you glorify the gun, you glorify its potential to kill.  This is completely in tune with the fact that guns do kill when they are in the wrong hands and they get there simply because the NRA makes it so easy for the bad guys to obtain them.  Guns are glorified so more people will buy them, which will result in larger profits for the gun industry, which means larger contributions to the National Rifle Association.  It’s a neat conspiracy that has worked for years, thanks to LaPierre.

In addition to an NRA membership, many of which listen to and respond to everything wacky Wayne says, there are the young kids that think that they are the master of their domain if they are armed with a gun.  It is obvious just how readily available weapons are when looking at the gang warfare going on in Chicago among blacks.  In the month of July, 28 were killed by guns and 181 wounded.  In June 23 died, 113 injured.  This is an American tragedy.

It is pretty pathetic when a serial killer has to point us in the right direction to do something about gun violence in the United States.  I can hear all the gun nuts right now muttering a conglomeration of their absurd and worn out clichés, like “Guns don’t kill, people do.”  The American public has listened to this for years and apparently some have swallowed it.  It’s time to change that and realize that guns, in the abundance they are available in the U.S., really do kill people.

Paul Ryan is the perfect vice president for President Obama

Think I’ve lost my mind?  A staunch liberal and progressive like me promoting a stalwart conservative, and Tea Party darling, like Rep. Paul Ryan from Wisconsin for vice president has to have an underlying motive.  Well, of course I do, and of course I don’t mean Ryan as a running mate for Barack Obama, but rather for Mitt Romney who has just chosen Ryan to share the campaign trail with him.  In my opinion it basically cinches a win for Obama in November.



Paul Ryan helps another Senior Citizen

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said Romney’s V.P. decision is bad news for the middle class, a large voting bloc.  She says by adopting Ryan’s budget plan, Romney has thrown, “…seniors under the bus and undermined their health security by ending Medicare as we know it. It would increase health care cost for seniors, including those on fixed income, by thousands of dollars a year.”  Refusing to raise taxes, they have put ideology ahead of the general public.

Brazile thinks Romney has turned into, “…the most extreme conservative candidate we have had in generations.”  Good for the kooks on the severe right, including the Tea Party, but it will lose the Independents for the Bobbsey Twins, especially those in the swing states.  While Obama scored with moves to save the economy from depression like rescuing the auto industry, the health care bill, eliminating Osama bin Laden, Ryan was working with House Speaker John Boehner pushing America to the edge of financial disaster.

John King reporting on CNN says that Ryan’s latest budget plan would: “…curb growing deficits by slashing domestic programs and lowering tax rates for individuals and businesses. The Medicare eligibility age would rise from 65 to 67 and spending would be capped. Seniors could stay in the current fee-for-service model or opt to receive government assistance to purchase private health insurance plans.”  Ryan also favors privatizing Social Security.

Romney constantly harped on the President’s lack of business credentials until Obama turned Romney’s business affairs into question with his refusal to release more than two years of taxes, and the fact that Romney says he wasn’t in control of Bain Capital during the significant out-sourcing of jobs.  Senate leader Harry Reid announced a creditable source told him Romney didn’t pay any taxes for 10 years.  On top of all this, Thomas M. Holbrook said, “His {Paul Ryan} working-class credentials include driving an Oscar Mayer weiner truck.”

Obama campaign comments on Paul Ryan choice:

Kevin Bohn on CNN quotes a statement from the Obama campaign: “The Republican ticket favors tax cuts for the wealthy while putting a greater burden on the middle class, it would gut Medicare and shift costs to the elderly, and it would make deep cuts in education.”  Continuing, "As a member of Congress, Ryan rubber-stamped the reckless Bush economic policies that exploded our deficit and crashed our economy.”  Do we really want more of the same?

The Ryan budget plan, fully backed by Romney, would repeal President Obama’s health care bill, and Medicaid would be turned over to the states with a $750 billion cut over 10 years.  Medicare would be designed to be run by private insurers and would cost seniors more or offer them less, while traditional Medicare would still remain an option, according to Richard Wolf on USA Today.  It is reported that the block grants to states would be a 33% cut by 2021.



Yeah...sure!

There is a good rendering of Paul Ryan’s array of budget plans since 2008 and leading up to 2012 on Wikipedia.  The amazing thing is that none of his plans fully passed through Congress, with even some Republicans opposing him.  The 2012 version was passed by the House but economist Paul Krugman said the plan didn’t even count tax cuts as revenue-negative.  Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Budget added, we may never balance the budget again, nor do we need to.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman summed it up for the right: over the period of a year, “…Ryan committed fiscal conservative apostasy on three high-profile votes: The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP (whereby the government purchased assets and equity from financial institutions), the auto-bailout (which essentially implied he agrees car companies – especially the ones with an auto plant in his district–are too big to fail), and for a confiscatory tax on CEO bonuses (which essentially says the government has the right to take away private property–if it doesn’t like you).”

Enough said.  See you in November.

NRA extends its sleazy tradition of profiting off guns that kill people

Yes, gun control is the answer to all the violence we are experiencing lately with firearms deaths, particularly considering the massacres of Tucson, Arizona, Aurora, Colorado, and now the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin.  And this is why.  We’ve tried it Wayne LaPierre’s way—he’s the CEO of the National Rifle Assn. (NRA)—with the loosest gun laws in the developed world, and it has not worked.  It’s time now to do the right thing and pass reasonable laws to control guns.



How Congress can be held hostage
by well financed extremists

And if the recent bloodbaths weren’t enough to make up our minds, the head NRA scum-bag and his minions have decided that they need more money, and to get it will take advantage of the 12 killed and 58 injured by Wade Michael Page in the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre.  They sent out a solicitation letter to NRA supporters on July 23—the Aurora carnage was July 20—including even people in Colorado.  It ignores the gunfire during the movie completely. 

The NRA lowlife couldn’t have known that in two weeks another disaster concerning guns would occur at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, but they wouldn’t have cared, even if they were profits.  The only things this gang of gun nuts cares about is protecting their precious guns…innocent deaths be damned.  An American tragedy is unfolding in this country on a daily basis as LaPierre and his minions still fight to loosen any remaining gun regulation still in force.

Excellent view on NRA solicitation letter from The Young Turks:

The solicitation letter was from LaPierre and was four pages long—I used to write similar letters selling products and services in the junk mail industry and know how well they work.  Although I haven’t seen an actual copy of this unconscionable drivel, a Republican lawmaker did release the letter and Dan Gross, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said:

“The ‘extremist rhetoric’ LaPierre uses in the letter would offend the ‘mainstream public’ in the days after the Colorado shooting”

Also from my 35 years in junk mail, I know that with the targeting ability when sending out these letters that is available to the NRA, the response is usually large and donations should be significant.  However, in the Bloomberg News article (link above), it signals there may controversy in the rank and file due to the fact that membership dues are down to only 44% of income in 2010 from 58% in 2008.  That’s a drop of 31.8%.  Is the organization losing its member-edge?



One can never have too much ammo

On the other hand, the NRA’s fundraising has seen significant benefits from the 1996 law that did away with interstate sale of ammunition to consumers.  That means that gun nuts, as well as mass-killers, can now buy as much ammunition online as they want to.  And that’s just what Aurora, Colorado shooter Holmes did; he purchased 6,000 rounds.  Then he used it to kill and maim 70 people.  Naturally, the NRA praised the law as the “greatest legislative milestone.”

But in addition to a law aiding mass-killers like Loughner, Holmes and Page, the NRA has taken in $9.3 million since 1992 in connection with the MidwayUSA website that sells ammunition—like James Holmes purchased—and which kicks back a portion of the proceeds to the NRA.  Owner Larry Potterfield simply asks customers to “round up” their orders to the nearest dollar for the NRA.  It is this kind of despicable collaboration between gun nuts that keeps the killings going.

Has the 2012 Presidential Campaign hit bottom yet?

Probably not, since Senate Majority leader Harry Reid’s most recent thunder-bolt on Mitt Romney’s taxes is still in the forefront of the election fight.  Word is that the GOP is in a bind over trying to explain away Reid’s accusations, giving them too much credibility, or ignoring them and assuming the assumption of guilt.  It seems that Reid has a creditable source that claims that Romney did not pay any taxes for 10 years.  Romney denies this; Reid stands by his statement.



Nevada Senator Harry Reid

Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer claims the whole thing stems from a weekly meeting of Pres. Obama’s senior campaign adviser David Axelrod with Senate Democrats, including Harry Reid.  Spicer says it wasn’t a coincidence that later that day, Reid made his statement to the Huff Post.  But the Huff people countered saying it interviewed Reid days before Axelrod's visit, making any influence from the top Obama official's Capitol Hill visit impossible.

Reid’s chief of staff, David Krone insists that the Senator’s source is creditable.  He says he knows the person and would have stepped in and said something to Reid if not.  Mitt Romney tells Harry to put up or shut up on his source.  Reid says this whole thing can be solved by the candidate releasing 12 years of tax returns, like his father George did in 1967, setting a precedent that most presidential candidates have followed for years.  Obama says it’s between Reid and Romney.

Video on the battle between Reid and Romney:

But why is Romney refusing to release any additional years of taxes if he has nothing to hide.  That is, if there are any tax returns to release.  John McCain says Romney released over 20 years of tax returns to him when vetted for vice president; does that alone establish the fact that he did pay taxes?  McCain adds that he saw nothing that would have disqualified him as a running mate.  This also comes from the man who chose Sarah Palin over Romney for VP.

The elder, George Romney

Edward Kleinbard and Peter Canellos are well known, respected law scholars and tax experts and they comment: “Either Romney has an unresolved father figure issue, or he has some special reason not to follow a tradition established by his father.”  They claim by his actions, “…Mitt Romney appears to have exempted himself from the proud bipartisan tradition of presidential nominees displaying genuine financial candor with the electorate.”  We must admit, it does look suspicious, considering also Bain Capital and all his foreign investments.

Kleinbard and Canellos charge that it isn’t current tax returns that will reveal the information necessary to judge the man, it’s what he did on his taxes in the past before he decided to run for president that matters.  And they think that a man with his financial stature should certainly have avoided “tax skeletons in his closet.”  K & C take it further in stating that basing Romney’s finances on only one return leaves the American public with “troubling” results.

When talking about the 2010 return, K & C say that “…when combined with his FEC disclosure, reveals red flags that raise serious tax compliance questions with respect to his possible tax minimization strategies in earlier years.”  These include Romney’s Swiss bank accounts, a $100 million IRA that had “remarkable” growth, a question of gift tax on family trusts, the 2010 tax return itself, and Romney’s “extraordinarily low effective tax rate.  This limited loophole costs the U.S. billions of dollars annually.

And even if Harry Reid is wrong, and he has said he cannot confirm the charge that he has made, there is still something wrong with Mitt Romney’s tax picture.  On the surface he seems like an honest person; after all, he is Mormon.  Howard Hughes hired only Mormons to attend him in his later years because he said they were honest, you could trust them.  It would seem that the only way we will know if we can trust Romney is if he releases more tax returns.

Obama’s reaction to Sikh Temple massacre entirely unacceptable

Sikh Temple - Site of massacre

I am picking on the President because I am confident he will win reelection in November, thus, making Mitt Romney’s response irrelevant.  Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a release Monday, “I have nothing new to announce,” following the latest carnage at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.  Seven were killed, including the gunman, three injured; a police officer is in critical condition.  This just over two weeks after the Aurora, Colorado gun slaughter.

If Obama does support renewing the assault weapons ban and new legislation to restrict the sales of high capacity gun magazines, as Carney says he does, why not come out for this forcefully.  Make a stand and challenge Congress, including his own Democrats, to support him in this fight before November.  Gallup does report a change in public opinion banning these firearms: 53% for banning, 43% against, in 1996; reversed in October of 2011, 42% for, 57% against.

These figures do reflect results after the Jared Loughner bloodbath in Tucson in January of 2011, which killed six and injured 13, including U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.  But not after the July 20, 2012 Aurora, Colo. movie shootings and the August 5 butchery at the Sikh Temple.  If this doesn’t change America’s outlook on these weapons, we have become a hopeless nation of gun worshippers.

In a recent Aug. Reuters article: “The semiautomatic handgun used in the deadly attack on a Wisconsin Sikh temple is the same type used in other recent U.S. mass shootings, including one at a theater in Colorado, and the attack on a congresswoman in Arizona, gun experts said.”  Three major gun massacres in the last 20 months should be enough to convince any rational person that something must be done, and soon to prevent more of the same.

See "Tucson Survivors Demand a Plan" video:

The timing is right and the President should begin now to lay the groundwork for major legislation after he is reelected to office.  I did two posts back in July to prove why the Democrats shouldn’t be concerned over National Rifle Assn. (NRA) influence in the 2012 elections.  “It’s all fiction: NRA has no effectual control over elections,” Part 1 and Part 2, illustrate how the NRA has little, if any control over elections.  Yes, there are solid facts to back up this assertion.

Shooter - Wade Michael Page

Reuters says the gun used on the Sikhs, a Springfield 9mm semiautomatic, is the “weapon of choice” for “mass murderers” like in Tucson, Aurora and the Sikh Temple.  And in the latter incident, it was reported that Wade Michael Page emptied several magazines in the shooting.  James Holmes used a .40-caliber Glock handgun in Aurora and Jared Loughner used a Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistol with a 30-round magazine in Tucson.  All bought easily right off the shelf.

And returning to the White House, Carney added that Obama believes there are broader issues with violence in the country that need to be addressed, one of which was rescuing children from gangs.  With Chicago as the primary example, my take is that if something isn’t done to limit the availability of certain types of guns, there won’t be any children left to rescue.  Mr. President, this is a critical issue and requires your immediate attention now and during your second term.

At best, Mississippi is an apologetic racist state

A minority in the congregation of the First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs, Mississippi forced the minister, Stan Weatherford, to deny the right to Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson to get married in their church.  Charles Wilson said, "Because of the fact that we were black, some of the members of the congregation had got upset and decided that no black couple would ever be married at that church.”  Weatherford performed the ceremony at another church.

Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson

On a following Sunday, some members of the Crystal Springs Baptist Church reacted with surprise, which is interesting because it means that Pastor Weatherford only communicated with the racist group before denying the Wilsons a wedding at the church.  One member, Bob Mack, commented, "We hope we can straighten them out, you know, get them to understand what Christianity is all about because they have some misconceptions about it."  Too late, Bob.

I have done articles about racism in the South and Mississippi in the past, one resulting in a radio interview a couple years ago with a network of stations from Jackson, Miss.  I was blind-sided by vitriol from the show’s host who was bent on protecting the reputation of his state.  He argued over and over, this sort of thing doesn’t happen in Mississippi anymore.  Not so, according to Ryan Ebersole who wrote about the 2011 killing of James Craig Anderson in Jackson, Mississippi.

Video of Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson:

This pathetic church that shunned the Wilsons decided to apologize, which was no doubt due to the majority of the congregation finally waking up to realize they had a gang of bigots in their midst.  Why Pastor Weatherford didn’t realize this in the beginning is hard to understand.  Nor have I ever been able to understand how any professed Christian can justify being racist, unless, of course, they are just “Backdoor Baptists.”

In the South where I grew up, there were stories about Baptists drinking in a bar until the local minister walked in to see if any of his flock was there.  When he looked around, all the Baptists had left through the back door.  Thus the name “Backdoor Baptists.”  Any way you interpret this, they are simply hypocrites.         

Crystal Springs First Baptist Church

When the Crystal Springs Baptists finally got religion and apologized to the Wilsons, they basically said…shove it.  They called the apology “an insult” and “misleading to the public.”  Charles Wilson commented, “The pastor has not spoken to us since a couple days after the incident.  We have not heard from the pastor or any church official since the incident.”  Actually, at a rally following the incident, Pastor Weatherford purposely avoided the couple.

To say that racism is no longer prevalent in the South is pure bunk.  But this problem isn’t confined to the Southeast region.  I now live in Arizona and can attest to the fact that this state is one the most racist I have ever been in.  The modern take on racism has moved into the 21^st Century to include Hispanics, and racial fanatics like former Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce who authored anti-immigration bill SB-1070, signed by his partner in prejudice, Gov. Jan Brewer.

Arizona was also home to acknowledged racist J.T. Ready, who was also a neo-Nazi.  That is until he went berserk and killed 5 in his family, including a toddler and himself.

Hate could eventually bring this country down if Americans don’t find some way to get along and live with each other.  Hate is now so ingrained in politics that nothing has been accomplished by Congress in the last two years.  We can thank the Tea Party for its influence on Washington and their ruthless philosophy of abhorrence to anything that doesn’t agree with their beliefs.  And yes, there have been several incidents of racism attributed to the Tea Party.

Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson are happily married now and probably attending another church.  But wherever they decide to worship, there will always be the stigma from the Crystal Springs First Baptist Church.  And progressives like myself will continue to wonder how the state of Mississippi, and all other states that condone similar incidents, continue to survive in the 21^st Century. 

Read more of my posts on racism here.

July 2012 Shooting Report: 121 dead, 387 wounded, in 508 shootings

July was another banner month for shootings with 508 compared to June’s 361, a 40.7% increase.  Those wounded also skyrocketed with 387 in July versus 233 in June, again a whopping increase of 66%.  The only bright spot was that gun deaths dropped by 7; July was 121, June 128.  And this, although a total of 12 were killed by James Holmes in the Aurora, Colorado massacre.  If the latter, along with this monthly report doesn’t encourage more gun control, what will?

There were 105 shooting incidents in July, the same as June.  Chicago leads the way with a total of 22 incidents, Arizona next with 10.  Other hot spots included Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, New York and St. Louis.  It is notable that there was only one shooting incident in Los Angeles, the second largest city in the U.S.  Phoenix, Arizona is the sixth largest city and it had 7 incidents.  If Congress and the American public can’t see a problem here, we are in terrible trouble.

Following is the July report but first, a reminder that these figures are based on news coverage of shootings across the country and do not reflect the grand totals which are more fully reported by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) which you can see here.  The Nasty Jack Monthly Shooting Report is meant to show the wide array of shootings nationwide that occur on almost a daily basis.

July Nasty Jack Monthly Shooting Report:

DATE	CITY/STATE	DEAD	WOUNDED	SHOOTINGS
7/1/2012	Chicago, IL	1	5	6
7/1/2012	Bremerton, WA	2	0	2
7/1/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	0	1
7/1/2012	Spartanburg County, SC	0	2	2
7/1/2012	Greeley, CO	1	0	1
7/2/2012	Spartanburg, SC	0	1	1
7/2/2012	Cleveland, OH	1	1	2
7/2/2012	Greeley, CO	0	1	1
7/2/2012	Chicago, IL	1	3	4
7/2/2012	Atlanta, GA	2	0	2
7/2/2012	Chicago, IL	4	2	6
7/3/2012	Chicago, IL	0	15	15
7/3/2012	Indianapolis, IN	1	2	3
7/4/2012	Chattanooga, TN	0	3	3
7/4/2012	Portland, OR	0	2	2
7/4/2012	Two Grey Hills, NM	1	1	2
7/4/2012	Chicago, IL	5	22	27
7/4/2012	Washington, DC	1	5	6
7/4/2012	Philadelphia, PA	0	2	2
7/4/2012	Boston, MA	0	3	3
7/4/2012	New York, NY	1	16	17
7/4/2012	Portland, OR	0	2	2
7/5/2012	Carlisle, PA	0	1	1
7/5/2012	McAllen, TX	0	1	1
7/5/2012	Tucson, AZ	0	1	1
7/5/2012	Chicago, IL	4	19	23
7/5/2012	Tucson, AZ	1	0	1
7/5/2012	Chicago, IL	3	7	10
7/5/2012	Las Vegas, NV	0	3	3
7/5/2012	St. Louis, MO	0	1	1
7/5-7/6/2012	Chicago, IL	3	7	10
7/6/2012	Pendleton, OH	0	3	3
7/6/2012	Oakland, CA	2	0	2
7/6/2012	Chicago, IL	0	11	11
7/6/2012	McKeesport, PA	1	1	2
7/6/2012	Newton Falls, OH	5	0	5
7/6/2012	Baltimore, MD	0	2	2
7/6/2012	Durham, NC	0	2	2
7/6/2012	Augusta, GA	0	6	6
7/7/2012	Chicago, IL	0	7	7
7/7/2012	Jersey City, NJ	0	2	2
7/7/2012	St. Louis, MO	1	7	8
7/7/2012	Los Angeles, CA	1	1	2
7/7/2012	Detroit, MI	1	3	4
7/7/2012	Queens, NY	3	0	3
7/8/2012	Patterson, NJ	0	2	2
7/8/2012	Dover, DE	3	2	5
7/8/2012	New York, NY	0	2	2
7/8/2012	Rochester, NY	0	2	2
7/9/2012	Wilkinsburg, PA	1	1	2
7/9/2012	Chicago, IL	0	8	8
7/9/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	0	1
7/9/2012	Omaha, NE	3	0	3
7/9/2012	Laveen, AZ	1	0	1
7/9/2012	Oxnard, CA	1	1	2
7/9/2012	St. Louis, MO	0	3	3
7/9/2012	Baltimore, MD	0	1	1
7/9-7/10/2012	Chicago, IL	1	10	11
7/10/2012	Chicago, IL	0	2	2
7/10/2012	New Orleans, LA	3	1	4
7/10/2012	Chicago, IL	0	1	1
7/11/2012	Chicago, IL	0	8	8
7/12/2012	Baltimore, MD	0	1	1
7/13/2012	St. Louis, MO	0	1	1
7/13/2012	Falls Church, VA	2	0	2
7/13/2012	Pitt County, NC	2	0	2
7/13/2012	Lenawee County, MI	2	1	3
7/13-7/14/2012	Chicago, IL	0	9	9
7/14/2012	Memphis, TN	2	2	4
7/14/2012	Tulsa, OK	2	0	2
7/14/2012	Ellicott City, MD	0	2	2
7/14/2012	Tampa, FL	1	1	2
7/14-7/15/2012	Chicago, IL	4	16	20
7/15/2012	Martinsville, IN	1	0	1
7/15/2012	Newark, NJ	2	0	2
7/15/2012	Detroit, MI	2	2	4
7/15/2012	Manatee County, FL	0	3	3
7/15/2012	New Orleans, LA	2	0	2
7/17/2012	Tuscaloosa, AL	0	17	17
7/17/2012	Peoria, AZ	0	1	1
7/17/2012	Phoenix, AZ	0	1	1
7/17/2012	Pensacola, FL	0	1	1
7/17/2012	Milwaukee, WI	1	3	4
7/17/2012	Flint, MI	2	1	3
7/17/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	0	1
7/18/2012	Chicago, IL	0	6	6
7/19/2012	Chicago, IL	2	4	6
7/20/2012	Aurora, CO	12	58	70
7/20/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	0	1
7/21/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	1	2
7/21/2012	Chicago, IL	0	6	6
7/22/2012	New York, NY	1	0	1
7/23/2012	Chicago, IL	0	6	6
7/23/2012	Little Rock, AR	1	0	1
7/23/2012	Haverhill. MA	2	2	4
7/24/2012	Phoenix, AZ	0	3	3
7/27/2012	Lawrence, IN	0	1	1
7/27/2012	Pendleton, IN	2	2	4
7/27/2012	Las Vegas, NV	1	1	2
7/27/2012	New Orleans, LA	4	0	4
7/28-7/29/2012	Chicago, IL	0	12	12
7/29/2012	Miami, FL	0	3	3
7/29/2012	Columbus, OH	2	2	4
7/30/2012	Oxford, MS	2	1	3
7/30/2012	Quincy, PA	3	0	3
		121	387	508

Prior reports: March, April, May, June.