Wednesday, April 1, 2015

IS HILLARY CLINTON PROGRESSIVE ENOUGH FOR 2016?



The Hill blog has uncovered several emails that find considerable unrest among Progressives over Hillary Clinton's 2016 bid. These are influential voices that represent left-leaning liberals that feel they are not being heard. Activists, strategists and journalists, The Hill says the group includes prominent Democrats, Sierra Club officials, journalists who work for The Huffington Post and The Nation magazine, senior union representatives, leaders at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and the president of NARAL. The frustration says she is, "too much of a hawk, too cozy with Wall Street, hasn’t spoken out enough on climate change, and will be subject to personal questions and criticisms, members of the group stated in the emails." The piece says she has ducked issues like the Keystone Pipeline and I would add to that gun control. When you look at Elizabeth Warren on all these issues, the Progressives find agreement.


PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TED CRUZ'S POLITICAL PLATFORM


Cruz's platform: "Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim," by George Santayana

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

TED CRUZ LIKE BARRY GOLDWATER...NOT

You can imagine my astonishment when an Arizona newspaper journalist compared Ted Cruz with Barry Goldwater. Now I am a strict left side Progressive but I have tons of respect for Goldwater's style of politics, as well as the man himself. I was even there for his book signing of "Conscience of a Conservative" in Phoenix. And then I read on, it has to do with Goldwater's "crash and burn" presidential bid in 1964. Don't think the writer was portending exactly the same for Cruz but the likeness fits for me. A huge exception with Ted Cruz is Goldwater's hostility toward the religious right. There's more but in the context of this article, the whole thing sounds farcical.

FANATICISM IS INHERENT IN REPUBLICAN GENES



In his blog Robert Reich said, "The Only Way Left to Beat Republican Fanatics: Call Their Bluff and Go Over the Cliff." That was in 2012 when John Boehner couldn't convince the very right House Republicans to raise taxes even on millionaires. He added, "...that fits the fanatic's strategy exactly." In 2013, when Sen. (now Presidential candidate) Ted Cruz was instrumental in literally shutting down the government, one of his fellow Republican Senators in a meeting among several more Senators, including Cruz, said, “It was very evident to everyone in the room that Cruz doesn’t have a strategy – he never had a strategy, and could never answer a question about what the end-game was.” Yet the man still wants to be president.

Monday, March 30, 2015

WHY ARE PROGRESSIVES NON-VOTERS?



A 2007 Study found that non-voters are more economically liberal, preferring Barack over Mitt Romney 59% to 24%. Marginal voters, those affected by weather or election timing, are liberal. Among the 34 million registered to vote in 2010 midterms, 63.1% were Democrats. Liberals do benefit from high voter turnout, which can also be volatile. So, from this should we assume that liberals are lazy couch potatoes afraid of the rain who vote only when they see a crowd collecting at the polls?

MURDER IS MURDER-ABORTION IS...?

a

In Exodus, the Bible does say that if you do harm to a woman's baby, “then you shall pay life for life." On the other hand, 70% of the U.S. favors abortions, with many feeling that women's rights today are threatened by ideological extremists in the U.S. Senate. Pro-choice reports that "42% of women who obtain an abortion live below the poverty line. Twenty-seven percent are more than 100% below the poverty line." What about cases of rape, incest or the mother's health? It's reported that the latter three account for just 5% of abortions. But if 95% are purely for birth control...???

Friday, March 27, 2015

NRA USES HIGHER LEARNING TO SELL DEATH




If the NRA and its wacky leader, Wayne LaPierre, have anything to do with it, your kids will be packing heat in the college of their choice. The NRA is currently shoving legislation through in 16 states for this purpose, allowing guns to be carried on campuses. All this while college presidents, students and police chiefs oppose such legislation.

GOV MIKE PENCE SIGNS LAW AGAINST LGBT


Actor George Takei, who is gay, warns Gov. Mike Pence after signing Indiana law that will allow merchants in that state to deny service to the LGBT community. At the same time the NCAA shows concern over the legislation it feels could affect the men's basketball Final Four being played next week. There is also worry it will have an effect on Indiana tourism. As did Arizona for its law on immigration, Indiana deserves whatever it gets.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

CAN ELIZABETH WARREN WIN?



It seems there are a lot of people clamoring for Elizabeth Warren to run, including the Boston Globe. But is she as electable as Hillary Clinton? You decide:

Warren supports Israel and sanctions for Iran.

Says terrorism is U.S. #1 responsibility.

On abortion she is pro-choice.

Warren supports passage of DREAM ACT and comprehensive immigration reform.

She supports ban on assault rifles and long magazines, as well as universal background checks, including gun show purchases.

Warren supports Obamacare and same sex marriage.

That should get you started with more information here.






GLENN BECK AND KARL ROVE BUMP DUMBHEADS



Karl Rove told The O'Reilly Factor that Glenn beck was leaving the Republican Party. He went on to say that the GOP is united on its philosophy. Yeah, sure! That makes you wonder just what planet this fruitcake has been living on.




According to the Tea Party newsletter, Glenn Beck retorted, "“You guys [apparently KR conservatives] have the spine of a worm, the ethics of whores, and the integrity of pirates. My apologies,” he added, “to worms, whores and pirates.” I don't think any Progressive could have said it better.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

A CASE FOR BANNING GUNS ALTOGETHER



Sorry, but the ghastly illustration is necessary to demonstrate that there are almost twice as many firearms suicides per year than homicides; 20,000 to 11,000. Here's my point, "The presence of a firearm in the home increases the likelihood of suicide by 300%, while the likelihood is even greater if the firearm is loaded and unlocked," according to Yale School of Medicine researcher, Kimberly Younkers.

If we persist in refusing to do anything about our mental health problem in this country, and we continue to lose 55 people per day to suicides because they can't get the help they need and turn to their gun as a last resort, maybe the only answer is to ban guns.

Think about it! 

WHERE ARE THE PROGRESSIVES?




Aljazeera America says, "The best way to create a progressive America is voting reform." We need "...
 to invest in unleashing the disgruntled progressive majority. A longer-term strategy for progressives should be to strengthen unions and boost turnout among politically marginalized populations."

Further, 
"If everybody in this country voted,” the economist John Kenneth Galbraith said, “the Democrats would be in for the next 100 years.” Pew Research found "Nonvoters preferred Barack Obama to Mitt Romney by 59 percent to 24 percent..."

Obviously you are there, you progressives I mean, so when election day comes you're just sitting there on your butt? Too damn lazy to go vote and bring this country back to a sane political state. Don't you see what you've done, just look at the Republican Congress. That should shame even the worst of couch potatoes.

Think about it!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

EARTH NEEDS HELP FROM THIS LUNATIC!




California Gov. Jerry Brown said, “The man [Sen. Ted Cruz] betokens such a level of ignorance and a direct falsification of the existing scientific data, It’s shocking and I think that this man has rendered himself absolutely unfit to be running for office.”


FACE UP - RACISM IS REAL


All Howard Schultz was trying to do was discuss the race problem. A divisive issue for anyone, especially a large corporation, but all he got was criticism. What should have happened was the other major businesses across the country should have joined Starbucks and started talking about a problem that is the cancer of America.


Monday, March 23, 2015

DEFINITION OF A GUN NUT


A gun nut is the kind of individual that loves his or her gun(s) over the life of an innocent gun violence victim. They have no room for negotiations, period, only a demand that their gun rights not be violated in any way. A gun nut has a ring in the nose, pulled regularly by the NRA asking for money to fund an organization that is completely self-absorbed.  This person believes the 2nd Amendment is sacrosanct and completely untouchable, that the Founding Fathers had Wayne LaPierre's and the NRA's interpretation of this law in mind when it was passed in 1791. A gun nut swaggers into a Target or Kroger store with arrogance just to show that it can be done, sometimes masking a limited masculinity or femininity. Any conversation on firearms immediately prompts the comment, "Sounds like you're trying to take away my gun." Most likely many gun nuts maintain an arsenal at home alleging for years now the government takeover that is "just around the corner." There is possibly a gun nut on every block and if we could just get rid of these radicals, the solution to gun violence would be so much easier.  

NEW YORK GUN SHOP VIDEO PROMOTES GUN CONTROL




People came in to buy a gun and left disgusted with gun violence.

Friday, November 21, 2014

GOP "PARTY OF STUPID" BY ONE OF ITS OWN

I knew Richard (never call him Dick) Viguerie years ago when I was in the junk mail business. He was a simple broker of mailing lists consisting of conservative donors to various causes over the years. One of his employees told me once that Viguerie had exclaimed early-on that he had found a political hotbed of data that would someday help sway history. He was right. Using his names to fight what he considered the mainstream media then, Republicans were able to reach individuals that supported conservative causes and win elections. In my early days of junk mail, fund raising, as it was called then, was looked on as a step child and Viguerie was just another philanthropic data broker trying to make a living.

Richard began to put all those right-wing mailing lists together in a database that grew gradually in the beginning and then, once the GOP discovered the gold mine that Viguerie was creating, got on the band wagon while at the same time making the man very rich. Viguerie was one of the earliest in junk mail to discover just how valuable personal data could be in targeting the right household. Things like age, income, job description, where you lived as only a few. By using several of these selection factors, you could determine how much a person would give, when was the best time to reach them and how many times you could come back asking for more money.

But now he is taking on the mainstream Republican Party similar to how the Tea Party has reacted to House Speaker John Boehner and his gang of misfits. He claims their Presidential strategy is "insanity" and calls the GOP "the Party of Stupid." Rave on Richard and take the Grand Old Party down with you in 2016. Hey, 2014 was not a win for Republicans, rather a vote for change when no other choice was available. And Mr. Viguerie, who do you think Fox News supports, liberals? No matter that a majority of what they spew out is without fact, they are a huge voice in the media world. Did you forget them?

The conservative guru whines over Jim Lehrer's handling of the 2012 Presidential debates as if Mitt Romney would have been a debating challenger for Barack Obama under any circumstances. Viguerie has a new book out I will not help promote, thus, this new found publicity. It is noteworthy that a big promoter of the book is Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder and president of Tea Party Patriots. Now that does it for me and the millions of progressive thinking Americans who want this kind of political garbage placed in the landfill. With a brief spurt of fame Richard (not Dick) Viguerie will go back to fund raising obscurity.

 



GUN CONTROL BUILT INTO 2ND AMENDMENT

Adam Winkler is a Constitutional Law Professor at U.C.L.A. and author of the book "Gunfight." He is an expert on the legality of gun rights and I have corresponded with him regularly on this subject. I asked him two questions recently: 1) Is there any constitutional law validity in the premise that based on the many revisions of the 1st Amendment, that the same could apply to the 2nd Amendment? I refer you to Barry Lyga's "Second Amendment Loopholes." 2) Do you see any loopholes in the 2nd Amendment that people like the Brady Organization or CSGV, or the individual American could pursue legally? His answer was not a direct response to the questions but more pointed to the issue of gun control.

First, he says he "wouldn't call them loopholes, but the Second Amendment does include space for legitimate gun control." I used the term "loophole" for its obvious meaning, "a means of escape or evasion; a means or opportunity of evading a rule, law, etc." However, Adam's answers are much more directed at the need for gun control. He continues: "There's some reference to gun owners being 'well regulated' in the text itself. Well, it's government that does the regulating. And we know that the founders who wrote the Second Amendment supported gun regulation, including gun bans, gun registration, and safe storage laws." Two direct hits on gun rights so should we call it quits here? No way!

Adam Winkler confirms the legal possibility of gun control with, “More importantly, the scope of the right as it has been shaped over the course of American history permits government significant leeway to regulate the right so long as the right is not nullified or destroyed.”

Seems to me like prohibiting assault rifles, requiring universal background checks and limiting open and concealed carry to only those with a specific need does not nullify or destroy the right of an individual to have a weapon in his or her home for protection as the Supreme Court recently ruled.

With these hard facts and a Constitutional Law Professor like Adam Winkler to back them up, why haven't the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence gone to court?
 
 













 
 

 


 

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

DID YOU VOTE?





Did you vote? Because if you didn't and you are a Democrat, you sure helped cause one hell of a mess! But then, 2016 is just around the corner.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

VOTE TODAY





If you are of a mind, go to the polls and vote DEMOCRAT! if you aren't of a mind, at least go to the polls and vote!

Monday, November 3, 2014

DEMOCRATS CAN WIN TOMORROW AND HERE'S HOW

YOU HAVE TO VOTE. That's right, you have to get off your duffs and go to the polls tomorrow and vote. That is if you haven't already sent a mail-in ballot. I am a pessimist when it comes to Congress doing the right thing for the country, but whatever happens, the U.S. will be in much better hands with a Democratic Senate. Some surprises in the House would be nice to help put John Boehner in his place. It is beyond me how an American public can make its decisions on who to vote for with all the negative advertising backed by dark money. Of course the more sophisticated voters can see beyond this trash but most of us need some hard facts to decide and we're not getting them. Rome didn't fall in a day but I'll bet there are several similarities here in its decline.

IOWA ALERT - STOP JONI ERNST!!!

DON'T elect Joni Ernst
I lived in Iowa and know the majority of people who live there are not daft enough to vote for Joni Ernst. Yet, she is up 7% in the current polls and that is frightening to anyone that has both oars in the water. Some think the results could be based on assumed Republican votes that plan to vote for her opponent, Bruce Braley. I have done three blogs on this Tea Party lunatic you can see here, here and here. Ernst is a complete disgrace to Iowa talking about the ages-old Agenda 21 Conspiracy where the UN is planning to take away farms from Iowans and her idea to take up arms against the government. If there is any justice in the political system, and with the help of all the common-sense voters in Iowa, please send Joni Ernst packing and elect Bruce Braley to the senate.

Get out and VOTE tomorrow!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

JOE BIDEN COULD SAVE OBAMA'S LAST TWO YEARS

V.P. Joe Biden
Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight has forecast some great results in past elections predicting Obama would beat John McCain in march of 2008. His prognosis has been correct significantly more than wrong, making him someone you want to follow into next week. He recently talked of the possibility of November 4, ending in a senate tie between Democrats and Republicans. And if that happens, who comes to the forefront to break that tie? Vice President Joe Biden. Joe may be outspoken and have gotten off some zingers, but he's solidly Democrat and staunchly backs the President. The Dems don't want to and may not have to settle for a split but should it happen, this is their cushion.

VOTE NOVEMBER 4!

HOW DEMOCRATS WILL WIN BIG ON NOVEMBER 4

Michael Tomansky in the Daily Beast says, "How Can Dems Be Losing to These Idiots?" in an article that expresses amazement that, "They are running against a party that is as intellectually dishonest and bankrupt and just plain old willfully stupid as a political party can possibly be, and they have developed no language for communicating that to voters." I have said it repeatedly in this blog, citing the Tea Party as the leaders of this revolution of idiocy. Tomansky points out the fact of how few ideas the GOP has to make the country better like nothing on the economy, on immigration or healthcare. For months their only campaign was to get rid of Obamacare, until they realized it wasn't working. Even then, a brainless Tea Party didn't give up on the issue.

Why haven't the Democrats gotten this across to voters? My thoughts are that they have been reluctant to come out of the shadows of a party and its electorate that are bulldozed constantly by the Republican fear, hate and negativity onslaught against a President who is different. Play that any way you'd like. From Mitch McConnell's statement he wanted to make Obama a one-term president to John Boehner's support of a Tea Party that outwardly hates Obama. Look back in history and it's tough to find this kind of bitterness toward any other President. Now, the election is only two days away and it's too late to get the ball rolling.

EXCEPT, if the progressives admit just how lax they have been about the whole situation and come out on November 4, in a crush of voting power that not only retains the Senate but takes back, or at least cuts the majority of the House to manageable numbers.

VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

LGBT STRIKE GOLD WITH TIM COOK

Apple CEO Tim Cook
This is what Tim Cook told Bloomberg BusinessWeek, "Let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me." I do not know his professed party affiliation but there must be some liberal leanings there and hopefully this will send the LGBT community to the polls next week to support progressive candidates. There are 9 Democratic Senate seats up this year at risk: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina and West Virginia. Losing the senate wouldn't be a catastrophe for Democrats but would certainly put a current bungling Congress on the way to potential disaster.

Nate Silver in FiveThirtyEight says if the Dems win all the states they're supposed to, and lose four seats in Alaska, Louisiana, Montana and West Virginia, plus picking up Georgia, they would maintain a 51 to 49 seat majority. Should it end up 50/50, there is V.P. Biden for a tie-breaker. Some long shots perhaps but it all comes down to whether a sluggish group of progressives decides to buck past trends and out vote Republicans.


ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF TEA PARTY DECEIT

The Tea Party email headline said, "BREAKING NEWS! Obama May Have Been Elected With Illegal Votes…" Further, "Blockbuster study backs claim illegal ballots behind Obama’s 2008 victory." All typical TP bullshit! It concerns a study from Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) that evaluates non-citizens that vote, which, of course, is illegal. The inference from the Teapublicans is that Obama would not have won the 2008 election without the votes of this group. The study says nothing of the sort but does point out just how close some congressional elections might be with these illegals voting. The total in question based on 11 million illegal immigrants in U.S. is 700,000 (6.4%), and even if all had voted for John McCain would not have swung the election to his favor. 

Read Jim Geraghty in The Campaign Spot and you'll see how blatant the Tea Party can be with outright lies.

Friday, October 31, 2014

IS KACI HICKOX IN THIS FOR HER 15 MINUTES OF FAME?

I'm sick of hearing Kaci Hickox's incessant whining over the state of Maine trying to protect its citizens. Recently back in the U.S. from working with Ebola patients, she thinks she should be privileged in not having to serve a quarantine like others in the same position. Poor baby. On Thursday she and her boyfriend took an hour long bike ride and returned to a pack of journalists, which was no doubt her intention all along. There's too much at stake here to allow some publicity craving person to upset the apple cart. The woman is supposed to be a medical professional, although I wouldn't want her caring for me under any circumstances. Hopefully Maine will follow through on their promises and physically confine her.

IS AMERICAN PUBLIC ANGRY ENOUGH TO DELETE CONGRESS?

A CNN poll says 70% of the U.S. is angry at the direction of the country. The question is what percentage of that group is registered voters? Let's just hypothetically guess that all of the 70% are and they are mad enough to vote all the deadbeats in Washington out of office. I'm talking both parties, although the expunction would naturally apply mostly to the GOP. Yes, we have arrived at that point. But it probably won't happen because so many voters out there are simply unconscious and have no idea who or what they are voting for. The only thing they know for sure is what the negative advertising tells them and their decisions depend, for the most part, on which politician or political group spend the most money. Pathetic but true.

36% of Republican voters are extremely angry, compared to on 26% of Democrats. It makes sense that the GOP turnout would be higher because they have the Senate to gain. But what baffles me is why Dems don't understand that, while they do hold a majority in the Senate, they could lose it if they don't vote. Duh?

Thursday, October 30, 2014

1st AMENDMENT DISPROVES 2nd AMENDMENT ABSOLUTISM


Cliven Bundy Ranch militia lunatics
Back to Barry Lyga and the barefaced fact that the history of the revisionism of the 1st Amendment proves without a doubt that the 2nd Amendment is not absolutist in its words or meaning. Just reading it alone illustrates how out of date the concept is:

2nd: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Most of the militias around these days, or patriot movements as they are also called, are those like the wackos in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and Waco, Texas, plus the fringes like Cliven Bundy in Nevada. All of them a bunch of crackpots that feed on those who worship the 2nd Amendment. In other words, outdated legislation. So how does the 1st Amendment shed doubt on the 2nd?

1st: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

First of all, there is nothing out of date, which might speak to the fact that the 1st Amendment has seen so many abridgements. Lyga says: "We have freedom of speech, yes, but we have still decided — as a society — that certain kinds of speech are illegal. For example, libel/slander are actionable. Speech, right? But illegal and punishable." In addition there's perjury and you can't lie under oath or  try to download child pornography. If you can amend so many aspects of the 1st, how can the 2nd possibly be a sacred document that cannot be touched?

Are the conservatives on the Supreme Court completely devoid of common sense, or is this just their ploy to cater to the NRA and the rest of the gun lobby? And why hasn't one of the gun advocate groups like the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence taken this premise to court as a matter of precedent?

But then, maybe we should just repeal the 2nd Amendment.

Still more to come.

TEA PARTY EMAIL BLASTS FEAR MONGERING THEN ASKS FOR MONEY

Here's the text of an email I received from Tea Party radicals this morning:

Mad As Hell: Boldly, brazenly and in the cockiest manner possible Obama spits in our faces. He lies, creates then covers up scandals, protects those who violate the law and targets innocent conservatives and citizens for their beliefs. Our military has been decimated at a time when world tension is heating up. US sovereignty has been compromised. Terrorists have been put in White House positions. Americans are being forced to turn in their guns. Congress won't do anything so we MUST.
 
And then they beg for money
 
Half of the crap they are espousing doesn't make sense. Like decimating our military and terrorists in the White House. If there is anything this country could do to get completely back on tract it is to get rid of these double-digit IQ conservative extremists.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

WANT A BETTER ECONOMY? FORBES SAYS VOTE DEMOCRAT

In 2012 the very conservative magazine, Forbes, said "...laissez faire policies [strongly opposing government intervention] had far less benefits than expected, and in fact produced almost universal negative economic outcomes for the nation!" This 80-year analysis is significant for such a right wing publication. Thus, the horrid results George W. Bush left for Barack Obama which the current President has turned around into an increasingly improving economy. Forbes examines the compelling positive results of Democrats over the GOP in personal disposable income, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), corporate profits, stock market return, reduction of national debt and avoiding Great Depressions and Great Recessions. With these facts, anyone voting Republican on November 4 wants to return to the days of GWB.

MORE ON 2ND AMENDMENT LOOPHOLE

David Kopel of the Washington Post said "The Second Amendment guarantees the right of the individual to own and carry firearms, including handguns. The 2nd Amendment actually says, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." The District of Columbia v. Heller 2008 ruling, "...protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." A bit off the subject but the Justices said nothing about cowboys walking around on the streets with their guns. Something tells me that, until we find something more direct--that is to really gut the 2nd Amendment--we concentrate on passing universal background checks and getting rid of concealed carry, except for extenuating circumstances.

More to come.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

IS THERE A 2ND AMENDMENT LOOPHOLE?

Dictionary.com defines loophole as, "a means of escape or evasion; a means or opportunity of evading a rule, law, etc. The gun show loophole is a perfect example in the world of weapons rights. What we are dealing with for the 2nd Amendment is the fact that the National Rifle Assn., led by wacky Wayne LaPierre, holds it so absolute that there can be no change. Just some slight modification like making universal background checks mandatory. No, says wacky Wayne, it takes away the rights of gun owners, which kind of indicates to me some of his NRA members couldn't pass background checks.

In fact, 74% of NRA members support background checks so that would indicate that wacky Wayne LaPierre doesn't represent his membership, rather a gun industry vehemently against it. Yes, and 89% of the American public supports background checks so why can't we get it done? Because the NRA's gun lobby fills the pockets of Congress, thus, their complete hands off the issue. Okay, we can't get Washington to do anything, and many states like Arizona and Florida give guns to just a warm body, so we have to find the loophole in the 2nd Amendment. Someone with a good enough legal mind to bring this outdated legislation forward to the 21st Century.

Gun nuts will think I'm crazy and actually that's a compliment coming from them, but I am perfectly serious about this venture. Hopefully it will encourage others out there to take up the crusade, write about it, and with enough networking get a forum to revise or appeal the Constitutional Amendment that is being used by wacky Wayne LaPierre to allow the slaughter of school children and other innocent people. To start the ball rolling I am opening a debate that has been going on for several years comparing the 2nd Amendment to the 1st Amendment. The premise is that, if the 1st can be interpreted with certain parts being changed to fit the situation, why can't it also be done with the 2nd?

As an example, in the First, we have freedom of speech but can't commit libel or slander, same for perjury, or download child pornography. In other words there are corrective mechanisms, even to Amendments to the Constitution. I urge you to read an article by Barry Lyga that takes this very approach into consideration.

This my first post on this subject with more to come.

ARE SOME HEALTH WORKERS RETURNING FROM EBOLA COUNTRIES WHINERS?

Kaci Hickox
There is nothing more giving than to subject yourself to a virus in a foreign country with few medical facilities to care for it. Kaci Hickox, a nurse who worked with Doctors Without Borders to treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone did this very thing. Then she came home and was horrified by the fact that she would be quarantined for a few days to insure the safety of those around her in New Jersey. She keeps pushing it and, yes, whining over the issue and how she was done wrong. Apparently she tested negative to the virus twice but that was not sufficient for New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie to release her, until yesterday. If the two negatives meant she was okay, and does anyone really know this, she shouldn't have been detained.

But even so, this woman is a health care professional and should understand the fact that the country is going through a bizarre situation where health care officials are trying to prevent a life threatening epidemic, some of which ostensibly don't know what they are doing. Overkill like this could at least hold back public panic. I would hope this minor inconvenience would not discourage others from helping in the fight overseas and in the future these brave people will approach their return in a more mature way. 

Monday, October 27, 2014

NRA HAS CREATED AN "UNCIVILIZED" USA

Three people have died in the Marysville, Washington gun massacre, four are injured, some critical. The gun has been traced to the father of the shooter, Jaylen Fryberg. It was a high capacity weapon. Just another normal day in the good old USA that places the rights of gun owners over the life of these kids being murdered. Eric Liu on CNN says this "should not be," and "cannot be" if we are to be a civilized nation. The un-civilizing of America by the National Rifle Assn. has brought this country to its knees backed by a cowardly U.S. Congress too greedy to stop it. Pretty soon the number of families of the dead school children will rise to an amount that will eventually march on Washington and hold those responsible accountable.

DARK MONEY SPENDING IS BULLYING?

You thought bullying was only for kids in school that took advantage of those who either couldn't or didn't defend themselves. Not, says Dan Merica, in the CNN article, "Clinton decries outside spending in pricey N.C. Senate race." The Presidential hopeful said, "Elections come down often to who has got more money, who is pedaling more fear and who turns out." Well, both sides do it, but Republicans are perfectionists at pedaling fear. And the GOP always seems to get their people out to vote. My wife and I are lifetime progressives and have never missed an election. Another comment, "We teach our kids not to bully and that is all they [dark ads] are doing." Some think the mid-terms could be a tossup.

EXPLAIN THE TEA PARTY? IMPOSSIBLE? BUT...

Americans Against the Tea Party is one of my most favorite sites due to its obvious purpose. They have come through again with an article by Rika Christensen, "The Best Explanation of the Tea Party EVER," with some classic findings and comments. Here's one: "Today’s Tea Party is so far right that they could be considered the lunatic fringe of the GOP." I thought that was a given. Christensen reminds us these freaks want to get rid of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. If they should ever succeed at this, hopefully, these conservative fanatics will be the first on the street looking for a warm place to sleep.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

DES MOINES' OWN JONI ERNST CHALLENGED

Another Tea Party loser
Des Moines' major newspaper, the Des Moines Register, endorsed Bruce Braley to fill Tom Harkin's Senate seat over Tea Party extremist, Joni Ernst. You remember this fruitcake, raving over the ages old Agenda 21 Conspiracy and most recently deciding to take up arms against the government. Having lived in Des Moines, I know this paper as excellent journalism, one you can depend on for the facts, unlike Fox News. Hopefully most of the population of Des Moines hasn't yet succumbed to this Tea Party trash and will elect Braley to the Senate.

MORE TEA PARTY STUPIDITY

Teapublican Texas State Senator, Charles Perry from Lubbock, Texas, drew a bizarre correlation that American Christians are treated the same as Jews in Nazi Germany. Where in the world do these people come up with these deviant ideas and who are the idiots that elect them? It almost seems today that the right to vote should be reserved only for those who can prove that they have all their marbles. It is obvious to me that this would eliminate a majority of the Tea Party.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

EBOLA AND ANIMALS

One animal was put to death in Spain because the dog was the pet of an Ebola patient. Completely unnecessary. This kind of desperation illustrates the level of unpreparedness in the world over how to deal with the virus. Fortunately in Dallas, infected nurse Nina Pham's dog, Bentley, was placed in quarantine. Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University, says we do not have to worry about most animals catching Ebola. I talked to our veterinarian this morning and she said maybe, just maybe, the monkey family might but not dogs and cats. However, if a person with the Ebola virus sneezed on the fur of a dog and he walked right over to another person who rubbed his fur, they could possibly pick up the virus on their hand.

Friday, October 24, 2014

IS IT TIME TO BAN CERTAIN KINDS OF GUNS?


Another shooting with two deaths and injuries and...at a school again. Sounds like it was a handgun but we still don't know how the kid got it. Makes no difference. He did get it and he used it to kill someone. I know some of you gun nuts out there love your weapons more than the life of the innocent kid that was shot in Seattle, but it's time to do something. Place a ban on civilians owning handguns unless there are extenuating circumstances and ban assault rifles, period.

MORE JONI ERNST TEA PARTY STUPIDITY


I feel sorry for my family who lives in Iowa and the Iowans I know who are straight forward, common sense people. JONI ERNST has already given Iowa a black eye with her insane rantings over the Agenda 21 non-conspiracy. Now she is espousing taking up arms against the federal government if they do something she doesn't like. Ernst is crazier than past TP loonies like Christine O'Donnell from Delaware and Sharron Angle from Nevada running for office. They lost!

Thursday, October 23, 2014

MORE...TEA PARTY STUPIDITY

In recent confrontations with people on Facebook--I wouldn't call them friends, more like conservative extremist wonks--that, like most of these insecure Teapublicans, love to press progressives for exactly what we disagree with them about. What this dull bunch doesn't seem to understand is that we disagree with them about everything their ideology stands for. But if they didn't use this strategy, they would have to explain their beliefs to us and some are so bizarre they are too embarrassed to reveal them. Here's the latest Tea Party stupidity...

Joni Ernst, running for a Senate seat in Iowa says "...the federal government is partnering with the United Nations to force Iowans off their land and into urban cores as part of a conspiracy called Agenda 21. She also wants to shut down the U.S. Department of Education.

Need I say more TPers?

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL BE HACKED! NOW LISTEN

I am a former data broker that spent 35 years manipulating and selling your personal data to junk mail companies. When I finally realized that the companies storing your private information and those using it were not listening to pleas for more security, I decided to get out of the business and write about it. I started The Dunning Letter in April of 2005 and blogged on privacy until December of 2010. In The Dunning Letter you will find a collection of useful information that will help you in protecting your data. Just do a "search" on your particular topic.

Identity theft, even in 2010, although causing million$ of losses then, has progressed today into a full-fledged business run by extremely well organized groups that have the best possible technology available behind them. Thus, the warning that you will be hacked. The culprits no longer concentrate on the source of your personal data--the warehouses of names and private information--but rather the companies this data is out-sourced to like Target, Home Depot and your financial institutions. It is there where additional info is added that makes your personal records valuable and marketable.

Once hijacked, it is on the black market in less than 24 hours. Overnight your credit card or debit card could be compromised without you knowing it. Unless your bank or credit card issuer is on the ball and stops the transaction. Or you keep daily track of the activity. Of course your liability is limited here but the hassle of issuing new cards is a real pain and is very time consuming. It is no longer a question of if, only a question of when. And please don't be one of those, "It probably won't happen to me." It will.

Here's what I do regularly:

  • Check our bank accounts for any illegal debit charges or other strange activity
  • At least once weekly check credit card accounts for abnormal activity
  • Three times each year run a credit report with each credit bureau to insure there are no new accounts added in your name or other strange transactions
In the first two you can usually head off any serious credit repair by being vigilant. In the last, it will take some doing to get a malicious account off your records but either of the two organizations below will help you through the arduous process.

For the best information available on how to prevent identity theft and what to do if it happens, go to these two sites: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and Identity Theft Resource Center.

Good luck!

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

DECLARED INDEPENDENT VOTERS DROPS IN THREE WEEKS

The Gallup Poll reports that Independent voters dropped from 47% in early September to 42% three weeks later. There was a similar drop in July/August. The question is whether they have made up their minds which way they will cast their ballots or is the glut of negative advertising just causing a seesaw effect? In another finding Gallup says Democrats, including their "leaners" total 48% compared to Republicans 44% in the same September period. Progressives will need Independents in November, but, then so will the GOP.

Friday, October 17, 2014

The iPhone is a circus





Apple Computer CEO Tim Cook, as did Steve Jobs before him, has proven repeatedly that the phrase credited to P.T. Barnum, but most likely spoken by David Hannum, was right: "There's a sucker born every minute."

Billionaires impel Social Democracy

Let's take a look at two recent stories on CNN. One, "The richest person in all 50 states," which lists Bill Gates from Washington at the top of the list followed by Warren Buffett from Nebraska. Conservative dirty money king, David Koch, is fourth. Gates comes in at $81.5 billion with the lowest from the state of Wyoming at $340 million.

The second story, "Over 48 million Americans live in poverty," which is self-explanatory by the title, sort of makes you wonder about the first story. "The official poverty line was $23,283 last year for a family of four," according to the article, which is defined by a conservative as "discouraging." Just discouraging? It looks more like a tragedy to me, and that still takes into consideration the philanthropy of these billionaires and millionaires.

I am not a socialist but to those 48 million souls in poverty, a Social Democracy might be very appealing.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

DALLAS HOSPITAL EBOLA PROTOCOL

Is anyone checking into the charges of the Dallas Presbyterian Hospital nurses re. their claim that there was no Ebola protocol established? This is moving too fast to not get the facts into the open.

Donald Trump Says He Will Be Indicted On Tuesday

  THAT'S TODAY... Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has brought the case to this point, now looking at a possible indictment. Trum...