Camping out at the National Rifle Assn.

When I was growing up it was fun to camp out and experience the out-of-doors like it is supposed to be. You'd cook your own food and be responsible for the campsite and sleeping quarters, which included a tent or maybe a hammock out in the open. Times were simpler then. You didn't have to worry about being surprised by some gun nut, perhaps a domestic terrorist, hell-bent on killing as many people he or she can just because they have a gun in their hand and can. You were the target for only God knows why.

Well, there was a group camping out yesterday but it's not in the woods. The gathering is in front of the headquarters of the National Rifle Assn. in Fairfax, Virginia, in front of the building that shelters NRA head, Wayne LaPierre, and his bone headed minions. With the amount of blood on their hands, one can understand why they hide behind closed doors. The gun advocate group comes here every month on the 14th, in honor of the Sandy Hook gun massacre that killed 20 first graders and 6 adults.

CNN reports, "They've braved pouring rain, near-blizzard conditions and sweltering heat. They are Americans fed up with the NRA's agenda, sick of what they say is the group's devotion to gunmakers." There are a lot of those folks around today but a clueless and gutless Congress is only listening to the NRA and the money that jingles each election cycle. But I've heard, from more than one source, that many of these politicos could be sorry come November of 2016.

One can only hope.

Sanders TV network coverage 10 minutes compared to Trump 234 minutes

I did another blog post today, "New take on why Bernie Sanders will be President," and the facts there are supported by the Media Matters report that reflects a huge disparity for Bernie Sanders in the coverage given the Presidential candidates. Donald Trump received 234 minutes of air time from the first of January though the end of November, compared to 10 air time minutes for Bernie Sanders. I worked in television news and know that you always go with the stories that will provide the highest ratings. But the very fact that Trump beats Bernie Sanders in news coverage is worse than pathetic.

What even worse is that "Republican Jeb Bush received 56 minutes of coverage, followed by Ben Carson's 54 minutes and Marco Rubio's 22," and they aren't close to being the contender that Bernie Sanders is. And yet another shocker, ABC News has devoted only 261 minutes to campaign coverage with only one of those minutes going for Bernie Sanders. Media Matters says, "Sanders got virtually ignored by ABC because there was a conscious decision to do so."

With these kinds of odds against him, can you imagine the smile on Bernie's and Jane's faces after he is elected President and they walk into the White House?

Bernie Sanders Sayings

The inflation-adjusted median income for young families with children--headed by persons younger than thirty--plunged 32% between 1973 and 1990.

New take on why Bernie Sanders will be President

A new poll in November says that 60% of the American public thinks Hillary Clinton is untrustworthy and dishonest. That's one hell of a majority going into the first primaries in a couple of months. The Inquisitr says, "Historically, Americans have never once elected a president found in reliable polls to be considered 'not honest and trustworthy.'” The Huffington Post said, “Mainstream pundits and public relations executives work tirelessly to make you believe Clinton is inevitability.” CNN says, "The nation’s leading Democratic PR firm will soon be owned by a private equity group run by a longtime Clinton insider.”

Here's a shocker from the Washington Blog, "Clinton is deemed less trustworthy than Donald Trump, which is a remarkably (sp) achievement." Another quote from the WB, "The real interesting part of the latest Quinnipiac University National Poll, is not the fact that 60% of Americans think Hillary Clinton is dishonest, but that 40% of Americans don’t." This only a few of the detracting remarks about Hillary but you can read more on the Washington Blog site.

And none of this comes from the Bernie Sanders campaign, which has professed they want to keep the race as clean as possible from dirty politics. And in all fairness, Hillary Clinton has strived to do the same. I would have voted for Hillary but Bernie Sanders came along this man's political philosophy, his consistent positions and record in general are too good to pass up. Vote for Bernie.

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore is Trey Gowdy, (R) So. Carolina, who received $2,000 from the National Rifle Assn. in 2014.

Bernie Sanders sayings

The past 20 years have seen declining or stagnant income for 80% of all American families. In fact, adjusted for inflation, the average pay for four-fifths of American workers plummeted 16% in 20 years.

Justice Antonin Scalia should be Donald Trump's running mate

Senate minority leader Harry Reid said it best, "The only difference between the ideas endorsed by Trump and Scalia is that Scalia has a robe and a lifetime appointment. Ideas like this don't belong on the Internet, let alone the mouths of national figures." This is in reaction to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's comments re. admission practices at the U. of Texas:

"There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a less — a slower-track school where they do well. One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them."

NBC News quoted Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus who called the comments "disgusting, inaccurate, and insulting to African Americans."

If we ever wondered just how deep seated racism is in America, here is a prime example from the highest court in the land, coming from an individual that is supposedly well educated, though perhaps that is no cornerstone for common sense. Scalia should resign his seat on the Court and this demand should also be coming from fellow colleagues on the Court. 

American gun murder rate is obscene

Shannon Watts

"Americans are 20 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than people in other developed countries," this from Shannon Watts on MSNBC following the San Bernardino gun slaughter. She is the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety. Watts, like many of the rest of us have run out of adjectives to describe the gun carnage going on in the United States that has been fostered by the National Rifle Assn. and a group of greedy cowards in Congress. There is blood on their hands that will never be washed off.

"Everytown for Gun Safety research shows us that In states that require background checks, there are 52% fewer mass shootings, 46% fewer women shot to death by intimate partners, and 48% fewer law enforcement officers killed with handguns," is her proof that common sense gun laws do work. In the San Bernrdino case a straw purchaser bought the guns for the couple who killed fourteen, a law that Pres. Obama has been trying to pass.

Shannon Watts says the tide is turning and in her position I trust her judgment and urge all gun control advocates to let it be known how you feel.

Dems should stand ground on allowing CDC gun violence research

For the last 17 years the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has not been able to compile data on U.S. gun violence prompted by pressure from the National Rifle Assn. on its Congressional Gun Whores, mostly Republicans. Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, have said this week that the Omnibus budget must not pass any longer with this restriction, and although not an ultimatum, seems firm enough to create a fight the gun control folks can win.

There is only one reason the NRA, led by Wayne LaPierre, would stand in the way of this kind of research. It will prove what a disaster the open gun market has been for the United States, which has been sponsored by LaPierre and the NRA, and just how much blood is on the organization's hands.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

In 1982 there were 12 billionaires in the United States. Today there are 135.

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore

Trent Franks (R) House member from Arizona took $1,000 from the NRA in 2014.

South just cannot give up racism

The Citadel is known for its traditions in the South and the South is know for its tradition of racism. And, it hasn't been able to shake off this custom of demeaning African-Americans, in spite of a War plus the Civil Rights Act of  1968. I grew up in the South and experienced all this prejudice before leaving in the 1950s, only returning periodically to visit my family. Now it's fairly obvious that these Citadel cadets knew what the Ku Klux Klan garb meant before donning the dress and, if not, perhaps the level of learning at this institution is not as high as professed.

And don't these goons pay attention to the media? I Googled "Recent incidents of racism" and got 832,000 results. At the very least this school does not teach learning by example. The hierarchy immediately suspended those involved but it remains to be seen what and if there will be any real punishment. The time has come to start prosecuting these crimes for the seriousness they are and the grief and pain they cause the African American community.

Ban on CDC gun violence research ludicrous

NRA head, Wayne LaPierre

Only a lame-witted Republican Congress, commandeered, of course by the National rifle Assn., would ban research that reveals the statistics on gun violence. Even the former congressman who introduced the bill, Jay Dickey, says it's wrong. But the minute the NRA jumped on the band wagon, all of the GOP Congress, and some Democrats, cringed and simply accepted more money from these thugs and kept their mouths shut.

Reinstating the research is up for grabs again as Congress is currently debating the budget. Tell your representatives you want to see funds appropriated for the CDC to add gun violence to their research again so those out there who favor such an open market for these weapons will see just what they are supporting. Find your Senator and Representative now. You can also tell the White House to support this action.

Voter disenchantment sorely misdirected toward. Donald Trump

Everyone in this country, except for those people living under a rock, is disenchanted with the way the U.S. government is being run. Yes, I am even very unhappy with Pres. Obama, although I think he has been a great President on other issues, for his lack of aggression to pass gun control legislation. But to channel this disillusionment in the direction of a maniac like Donald Trump is akin to hiring a psychotic as a babysitter. You people want this kind of individual running your country? If you do, please get help...now.

A literal carnival barker, he is currently carrying 36% of the Republican vote. I knew conservatives were less intelligent than progressives, but this kind of thinking puts your IQ in the double digits. This crackpot has brought the best out of his supporters, like reviving those morons that placed Barack Obama's head on the body of a chimpanzee. Now that's what I call class that dwells at the bottom of the barrel. And of course there was the recent barring of all Muslims to the U.S., even if they are citizens.

The GOP has panicked and has no idea what to do. I have an idea. They might call the CIA and see if they can make Donald Trump disappear, at least until the 2016 election is over.

Publics' feelings on two Presidential candidates

The public is downright scared of Donald Trump's nomination and also to a degree of Hillary Clinton. The former I can understand but Clinton certainly isn't in the same category as the deranged Donald. Hillary has had skeptics from the beginning, and somewhat of a problem with trust, but she still leads in the polls, over even her Republican opposition.

However, Bernie Sanders' campaign has strengthened by leaps and bounds and has cut Hillary's lead recently. There is nothing in Bernie's background that
would strike fear in voters and here is a candidate who has been consistent in his agenda for 40 years. His foreign policy chops were made in his last 8 years in the Senate. Bernie just happens to think the USA should take at least some priority but is ready to face terrorism full head on. Check him out and make up your mind.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

The CEO's of major American corporations now earn 170 times what their workers make, the largest gap between CEO and worker of any major nation.

Just another republican hypocrite

Yes, this would be Marco Rubio, who has repeatedly tried to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, yet is insured with his family under the program. He even "benefits from a taxpayer-funded subsidy offered only to members of Congress and their staff valued at $10,000, far greater than the subsidies offered to most Americans who purchase insurance on the exchanges." And he's not alone. Other phonies in the GOP who are covered by Obamacare include, Sen. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. It's bad enough to seek coverage under a program you have fought hard to repeal but taking a subsidy of $10,000 on the backs of tax paying Americans, including his own Florida constituents, is downright obscene. 

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore

Toda's NRA Congressional Gun Whore is former Speaker of the House John Boehner, who took at least $4,950 from the National Rifle Assn. in 2014.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Between 1983 and 1989, 62% of the increased wealth of this country went to the top one percent, and 99% of the increased wealth went to the top 20 percent.

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore is (R) Sen. Thom Tillis of Florida who received at least $9,900 from the NRA in 2014. Call him: (202) 224-6342.

Donald Trump reflects sad state of American public

USA Today said a poll shows that 68% of Donald Trump supporters would vote for him if he bolts the GOP. One Republican analyst calculates that his support in the GOP Primary would peak out at about 32%. Salon says Trump supporters are the same people who superimposed President Barack Obama's face onto the body of a chimpanzee or suicide bomber. Many of these same people still feel he's a Muslim.

Are you beginning to get the feel for the IQ level of Trump followers? Somewhere in the low double-digits, right? To be concise, Trump appeals to simple minds.

Come on America, we're better than this. I know you are desperate for your government to return to sanity but the place to start is not the Presidency. The place to start is Congress. And we certainly don't want a moron like Trump running this country as well. We already have enough of those in the U.S. Senate and House of representatives. And now the man has come out for banning all Muslims from the U.S., even if they are citizens, clearly contrary to what our Constitution stands for.

I certainly don't want to suggest how the public should vote, but I sure wouldn't want to be caught in the polling booth with my hand on the Trump handle. That is, of course, if there is one, the idea of which seems laughable.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

The top one percent [of Americans] own more than the bottom 90 percent.

The NRA's Congressional gun whores

Tom Cotton

Today's NRA Congressional gun whore is Tom Cotton, (R) Sen. from Arkansas. He received at least $9,900 from the NRA in 2014. Call him: 202(224-2353.

NRA's Congressional Gun Whores

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore is Sen. Joni Errnst from Iowa. She received at least $9,900 from the NRA in 2014. Call her: (202) 224-3254

Bernie Sanders sayings

The richest one percent of Americans now own 42% of the nation's wealth, compared with 19% in 1976.

Famous people who are Democratic Socialists

Did you know that Noam Chomsky is a Democratic Socialist?

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Our democratic system of education, once the gateway to economic and political equality, often fails to provide children with even the rudimentary skills and may soon be dismantled.

Famous people who are Democratic Socialists

Did you know that Gloria Steinem is a Democratic Socialist?

The NRA's Congressional gun whores named

To begin with I am going to list those Congressional bimbos that have taken at least $9,900 from the National Rifle Assn. to block all reasonable gun control legislation. The first is Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. His phone number is (202) 224-2541. Call him today.

Get rid of the Congressional gun whores

When 82% of the guns purchased for mass shootings since 1982 are legal, you know you have a problem. The question is posed in an MSNBC article by Elizabeth Chuck, of just how preventable gun violence is under current gun laws? The gun rights advocates have been screaming for years, backed by the leading gun nut, the NRA's head Wayne LaPierre, that more guns means less violence. Well it ain't happened and it ain't going to. Until we pass new reasonable gun legislation. But that won't happen as long as the Congressional gun whores have their way.

It would be nice if we did not have to wait for 2016 or 2018 elections and start a recall process for those in Congress (House and Senate) that are in a strangulation hold of the National Rifle Assn. But unfortunately there is no way to do this for there is no means set forth to do so in the Constitution. But there are names available of who the Congressional gun whores are, some even rated by how much money they have taken from the NRA. I will be posting these names starting on Monday. If you spot your Congress person, write it down and put it away for next November and in the future.

New York Times berates Congress over inaction on gun laws

The New York Times front page editorial starts with, "All decent people feel sorrow and righteous fury about the latest slaughter of innocents, in California." Although, perhaps, not meant, but possibly implied, this would not apply to the members of Congress who are the cowards of the NRA's controlled minions of gun control opposition. They call these gun whores, "...elected leaders whose job is to keep us safe but who place a higher premium on the money and political power of an industry dedicated to profiting from the unfettered spread of ever more powerful firearms." WOW!

They talk about how civilians in the U.S.can go out and buy weapons of war, assault rifles like those used by the two terrorists in the San Bernardino killings. Sane thinking would tell any intelligent human being there is something very wrong with that except, of course, a gun nut. And the NYT attacks the nucleus of the problem which is the 2nd Amendment, saying, "No right is unlimited and immune from reasonable regulation." With this in mind, the right-minded people of this country should stand up and demand that the 2nd Amendment either be better defined or abolished altogether.

And it would help if someone ran the NRA's head, Wayne LaPierre, out of town...on a rail.

Bernie Sanders on gun control

This is what Bernie Sanders wants to do about gun control:

1. We can expand background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. This is an idea that over 80% of Americans agree with, even a majority of gun owners.2. & 3. We can renew the assault weapons ban and end the sale of high capacity magazines — military-style tools created for the purpose of killing people as efficiently as possible.4. Since 2004, over 2,000 people on the FBI’s terrorist watch list have legally purchased guns in the United States. Let’s close the “terror gap” and make sure known foreign and domestic terrorists are included on prohibited purchaser lists.5. We can close loopholes in our laws that allow perpetrators of stalking and dating violence to buy guns. In the United States, the intended targets of a majority of our mass shootings are intimate partners or family members, and over 60% of victims are women and children. Indeed, a woman is five times more likely to die in a domestic violence incident when a gun is present.6. We should close the loophole that allows prohibited purchasers to buy a gun without a completed background check after a three-day waiting period expires. Earlier this year, Dylann Roof shot and killed nine of our fellow Americans while they prayed in a historic church, simply because of the color of their skin. This act of terror was possible because of loopholes in our background check laws. Congress should act to ensure the standard for ALL gun purchases is a completed background check. No check — no sale.7. It’s time to pass federal gun trafficking laws. I support Kirsten Gillibrand’s Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act of 2015, which would “make gun trafficking a federal crime and provide tools to law enforcement to get illegal guns off the streets and away from criminal networks and street gangs.”8. It’s time to strengthen penalties for straw purchasers who buy guns from licensed dealers on behalf of a prohibited purchaser.9. We must authorize resources for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study and research the causes and effects of gun violence in the United States of America.10. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over 21,000 firearm suicides every year in the United States. It’s time we expand and improve our mental health capabilities in this country so that people who need care can get care when they need it, regardless of their level of income.

Bernie Sanders sayings

Millions of Americans are uninsured, while the quality of health care delivery has declined dramatically just in the past few years.

New York Daily News blasts NRA

The gutsy NY Daily news, a conservative newspaper, has taken up the charge against the NRA and its irresponsible blocking of any kind of gun legislation. If we had more newspapers like this throughout the U.S. we might have prevented some of the 309 mass shootings so far in just 2015. One of the reactions from the NYDN earlier front page, “God Isn’t Fixing This,” was from the Fox News anchor idiot Elizabeth Hasselbeck who said,  "if you think prayer is less effective than gun control laws 'you’re lining up with the terrorists.'” It is this kind of garbage spewed from the Faux News Network that helps urge these fanatical terrorists on.

Here's another example of the New York News support of gun control with their past front page spreads:

Famous people who are Democratic Socialists

Did you know that Ed Asner is a Democratic Socialist?

NRA makes U.S. World leader in mass shootings

The United States represents only 5% of the global population but accounts for 31% of all mass shootings. With more mass shootings than days in the calendar to date, we will end 2015 admitting to the rest of the world that its supposedly most civilized country is actually run by a bunch of thugs who are gun nuts.

NRA condones terrorists buying guns

Republicans, commandeered by the NRA, are blocking a bill (The Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2015) that would prevent "known and suspected" terrorists from buying weapons. Can you believe that? Think about the fact that were the GOP/NRA not against responsible gun legislation, the San Bernardino killing might not have happened. Get this:

"The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office recently released a report showing that from 2004 to 2014, people on terrorism watch lists successfully purchased guns no fewer than 2,043 times."

Even more: "There are 700,000 people on the terrorist watch list, and when these people tried to legally purchase guns, they had a success rate of 91%."

The NRA's creed remains...the right to guns is more important than human life.

NY Daily News hits the target

Pathetic Republican Presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul, plus new House Speaker Paul Ryan, rush to God for help when they should be shutting down the NRA for shootings like San Bernardino, CA and Savannah, GA.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

The media, which informs and shapes our perceptions of social problems, is owned by a very small number of powerful corporations with deeply vested special interests.

Famous people who were Democratic Socialists

Did you know that Helen Keller was a Democratic Socialist?

Another mass shooting on Wednesday

Wayne LaPierre 

Well, the NRA was certainly busy yesterday as the patron to another mass shooting, this time in Savannah, Georgia. The gunman shot four people, killing one. The first one was in San Bernardino, California where at least 14 were killed and 17 injured.

ISIS changes American strategy

ISIS no longer plans attacks on the United States. The NRA gun crazies are doing their job for them. The latest from San Bernardino.

Obamacare and mental health

"Obamacare has been a huge help for mental health care," according to Alan B. Miller, CEO and Chairman of Universal Health Services. "This year, an estimated 3.7 million Americans with significant mental illnesses now have coverage and access to care through the insurance exchanges or extended Medicaid — they have moved from the shadows and into needed treatment." A sign that something is being done about this problem as has been demanded by the NRA and other gun rights organizations and supporters.

It's now time for these same people to come to grips with and support responsible gun legislation like background checks, banning assault weapons, closing the gun show loophole and halting gun straw purchases. Time to put your common sense to where your mouth is.

George W. Bush was not a legitimately elected President in 2000

Florida laws under the supervision of Sec. of State Katherine Harris, and supported by then Governor Jeb Bush, wrongly disenfranchised thousands of otherwise eligible voters that eventually swayed the election in favor of George W. Bush. The 2000 election led the way for other states controlled by Republicans to pick up on the illegal tactics used in Florida and prevent valid Democratic voters from going to the polls all over the country. An excellent article here from The Nation.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Our democratic institutions are so endangered that a clear-eyed observer might well conclude that we live not in a democracy but an oligarchy.

Famous people who were Democratic Socialists

Did you know Albert Einstein was a Democratic Socialist?

Bernie Sanders sayings

The middle class is shrinking, the working class is scraping by, and the poor are even more deeply mired in poverty. Think about it.

Famous people who were Democratic Socialists

Did you know Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Democratic Socialist?