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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

That’s the Cure All……..More Guns



Last night, Lawrence O'Donnell,had former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark) as his guest to explain the results of his NRA funded report on school safety. Lawrence was rather rude to his guest, but I think it was due to the frustration of this issue. I think a lot of us knew what the answers would be before the NRA commissioned the 12-person task force to find a reason ,other than guns,to stop the needless killing. They didn’t disappoint; their conclusion: arm teachers and loosen gun laws that restrict people from carrying a firearm on school property. They also recommended training interested school personnel (40-60 hours of gun training) and then the schools should be willing to arm them.

Earlier in the day, Asa Hutchinson told a CNN pundit that he would consider a universal background check that exempted sales between family members. That exception for family members is a gigantic loophole that the gang bangers will use in Chicago and New York.  The uncle in the drug cartel would like to pass off a lot of guns to his family members.Oh the inconvenience of a typical five-minute  background check. When my daughter gave me her used pick-up truck, we had to drive downtown, look for a parking place, stand in line and finally produce our proof of insurance before we were allowed to pay the transfer fee. That’s we do in a civilized society. We willingly comply to help the system work more efficiently.

When Mr. Hutchinson was told that Connecticut was likely to ban high-capacity  magazines and assault weapons; he said that it was totally inadequate because it doesn't protect children. Mr. Lawrence angrily corrected Mr. Hutcheson, telling him that children need to also be protected when they are at malls or in movie theaters. Lawrence also reminded Mr. Hutchinson that Columbine had armed school guards.  Mr. Hutcheson used response time as his selling point but every mass shooting I have read about, the first responders got to the scene in less than 10 minutes. Adam Lanza was able to fire off more than 150 rounds in 5 minutes, and you are telling me than an armed teacher would stand a chance?They might stand a chance if you are going to equip them with the same weapons and not worry about innocent bystanders.

It’s frustrating to see a popular background check measure being sabotaged by the extreme right wing of the Republican Party. “ Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee — all Tea Party favorites — say they will "oppose any legislation that would infringe on the American people's constitutional right to bear arms or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance." A filibuster is just a cowards way of avoiding of getting on the record as one who opposes the will of the people for their political expediency. The Second Amendment is settled law and not even the partisan NRA is using that argument. I’ll go on the record offering a cash reward to anyone who can find one word that evenly remotely suggests taking a law abiding citizen’s gun away. For the paranoid,that slippery slope will always be there.

John Boehner considers himself a shrewd politician because he took the easy way out. He won’t allow a gun bill to come up in the House until the Senate passes one allowing his members to go unscathed. Hopefully, the voters will be smarter than that in the mid-term elections because only 33% of American household's own guns.

By the end of the week, Connecticut will join New York and Colorado as states not bending to the wishes of the NRA and enacting some of the toughest gun laws in our country.

In the meantime the crazies will dominate the headline news and I’ll leave you with one. “Serbu Firearms used Thomas’s image in a t-shirt and Facebook campaign, using the phrase “No Serbu for you!” to mimic the Soup Nazi’s famous expression, “No soup for you!” from Seinfeld. In protest of the recently enacted Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act–which prohibits private citizens from owning certain assault weapons–Serbu has refused to sell semi-automatic sniper rifles to the New York City Police Department.

“I refused to sell my rifles to the NYPD, and when I talked about it online, it blew up like crazy,” company founder Mark Serbu told The New York Post Tuesday. “Everybody liked the idea of a gun law biting the government on the ass. There are only two manufacturers of semi-automatic 50-caliber rifles in the U.S., and neither will sell to the NYPD. This is like, ‘Screw you, New York.’ People are less safe without our rifles to protect you.”

I don’t know about you, but I want law enforcement to have better weapons than criminals. We have DAs and law enforcement dying for doing their job, and we are left without a clue as who committed these crimes but some are fighting tooth and nail to make background checks less disruptive and make law enforcement and government the enemy.

45 comments:

Edith Ann said...

Good topic, Mike. A small rise in chatter on FB regarding gun legislation. Lot of links being provided. Here is one that I thought was particularly good: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/04/03/1811311/study-states-with-loose-gun-laws-have-higher-rates-of-gun-violence/ .

At the end of your blog you mention the deaths of the couple in East Texas, the DA and his wife. We have all heard how his ADA was assassinated barely 3 months ago on the steps of the Courthouse. We have also heard that because of that death, the DA and his wife sought additional protection in the form of body guards and being armed.

Now I would be the last person to want to be tacky about these deaths, but didn’t this DA do exactly what the NRA recommends? I think they did. And they were still tragically killed!

Okay—I’ll go therehow many ‘important’ folks have to be harmed or die by a bullet to get some of these big mouths to admit more guns is not the solution? How many Gabby Giffords? How many Chris Kyles? Oh, wait—she is a Democrat and he is a war hero.
Sadly, so very sadly, the irony of the argument…

And I love how North Carolina has just tossed out the Constitution. I have no problem with a state religion, as long as it is Presbyterian. Otherwise, oh, HELL NO! They might want to handle snakes or take multiple wives or smoke peyote or something weird like that.

Edith Ann said...

I guess the answer to my question is, 'A whole lot of folks!"

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/03/west-virginia-sheriff-fatally-gunned-down-outside-courthouse/

It is clear Wayne LaPierre is afraid of a mental health qualification for gunownership. He couldn't pass it with help.

Mike said...

Last night I decided I‘ve had enough of the lies because I wasn’t born yesterday, and I don’t like anyone to insinuate that I am by trying to feed me the BS…I know the politics of the issue. Let’s have a vote and if my side is defeated then we’ll evaluate the results and try again. If the GOP can vote 30 plus times to defeat Obamacare, then we have a lot more attempts to go before people can say, “let it go, already."

That’s a good point (armed guards and packing) is not a concrete solution. Our Secret Service admits that they probably can’t stop a determined assassin. That doesn’t mean they don’t take all the precautions. I’m sorry but my neighbor having an AR15 scares me. I remember the local Rambo's wanted the girl who was raped at the Trail & Ride to start packing heat. Yeah, I want to ride my bike on a trail knowing that a gun could slip out of a jogger's clothing and hurt someone. What’s next concrete bunkers and barbed wire, manned with machine guns?

The GOP often lays claim to the constitution, but they are always in the process of circumvented it with their interpretation of the Bible. If it’s not voter suppression laws, it’s unconstitutional abortion and 14th amendment violations. There are several states that will arrest federal agents for enforcing the law and one state will not prosecute anyone if it violates their religious beliefs.

Yes, the quality of education in the United States is slipping but perhaps the emphasis should be on some adults who have graduated.

Lawrence O'Donnell quoted LaPierre where he claimed that with Obama's reelection, "you and I lost more on the election battlefield than our nation has lost in any battle, anytime, anywhere. ..Really. I wonder those families of the veterans who died feel that way?

Mike said...

What's going on? A Mingo county sheriff was shot and killed outside the court house.

Edith Ann said...

That is the story I linked above! Everyone's gone bat shit crazy and folks think we need more guns!

For what it is worth, they are now thinking that the East Texas double shooting may have been retalliation from a fired LE officer. I think the story is developing.

But it is crazy!

Mike said...

What an idiot....Rand Paul said this "In fact, the only thing that would have changed the outcome, potentially changed the outcome, is something that so many people don't want to hear, and that's self-defense," Paul said on Fox. "That if someone there had had a concealed carry, if someone had been armed, they might have had a fighting chance. They might not have saved everybody, but they might have been able to save some of those."...That person could have also been the 27th victim.

Edith Ann said...

it makes my head hurt trying to figure out what these folks are thinking!

Mike said...

If only they were thinking because it seems to me that they are just saying nutty things that don't warrant a follow up discussion.

I can't believe United States senators are worried that U.N. Treaty that will regulate global arm sales to tyrannical regimes is the first step to gun confiscation here at home. ..Then again it wouldn't surprise me if at least three senators think the U. S. is a tyrannical regime.Mike Huckabee thinks Obama's views on guns is similar to Hitlers..yes,he went there.

Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Edith Ann said...

Just spent the last 30 minutes 'discussing' (and I use that term loosly) gun control with a trio of gun owners. They are using the tired, worn-out car analogy--high speed cars yada, yada, yada.

They don't answermy questions, except for the best reason one could come up with for owning a high capacity magazine was that it was fun! I think throwing sharp knives at folks could be fun, but I don't know for sure. I've never tried it.

Mike said...

Chris Matthews had a ridiculous interview with Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, where they were just talked past each other. Larry Pratt is to the right of Wayne LaPierre because he thinks that the current background checks should be abolished.

Larry Pratt is a libertarian extraordinaire because he puts gun ownership on a pedestal. To him, gun violations should be taken care of by responsible gun owners. He claims that if a gun dealership refuses to sell a gun to a person that doesn’t pass a background check; they will go down the road and purchase that weapon anyway. We will always have that because one law certainly won’t stop criminals from buying guns. Background checks are just the first line of defense…. That’s an all or nothing attitude; “allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good.”

Mr. Pratt is worse than LA Pierre because at least we know that the latter is the front man for the gun manufacturers. Larry seems to think that gun ownership is a God-given right and should never be regulated because that leads to government confiscation. Mr. Pratt's only fear in life is gun registration, but I'm not so sure that we don't already have a form of it right now. You can browse through Amazon online, and I guarantee that the next time you visit Amazon; they will try to steer you to buy products that are similar to the ones you looked at. The gun dealer accesses a Federal database every time a potential gun buyer’s information is entered. What makes us think that the information is not rerouted to another database? What would be the horror of that? I don't think it would deter gun and ammunition sales if the buyers were aware of the process. We willing hand a clerk the personal data on our checks, leave them a credit card number, show them our driver’s license and in some case our Social Security number every day.. The VIN tracks a vehicle from the day it was manufactured until the day it is destroyed; so what’s so special about a firearm? The black box in the new vehicles tracks your every movement and your personal computer and printer has a lot of personal information that can be retrieved. If you are involved in an accident or a crime; your cell phones calls will be dumped. Again,what's so special about a gun?

The bottom line is trust; we have people, who naturally don't trust the government, then you combine that with a black democratic president and that leaves us with an

Mike said...

I don’t know how the high-speed chase analogy was used, but a lot of cities won’t allow the police to do that because of the risk to innocent bystanders.

OK, if the high-capacity magazines are fun; would they mind that sport being restricted to firing ranges where the magazines will be stored? The goal is to make it harder for the nut cases to own one. I believe the new Connecticut law would grandfather the owners of high-capacity magazines but they gave them a deadline in which to register them. What's wrong with that?


Mike said...

That's all we need. More people like Rep.Stockman

"One day after Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) signed a comprehensive gun control package into law, Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) invited all gun owners and manufacturers who feel “unwanted” and “persecuted” by their states’ gun control policies to move to Texas.

In an open letter published Friday, the Texas Republican blasted state legislatures that have implemented tougher gun restrictions in recent months.

“Recent draconian gun legislation passed in Colorado, Connecticut and Maryland has made those states unfriendly to law abiding gun owners, weapons manufacturers, and weapons parts manufacturers,” Stockman wrote. “These states have proven they do not value those who obey the law and pump millions of dollars into local economies. This is not the way for government to treat people.”

“Come to Texas!!!” Stockman pitched. “Your rights will not be infringed upon here, unlike many local current regimes.”

Huffington Post

Edith Ann said...

Not a high speed chase--a high speed car: "Your car can go 140 mph, but you can't drive it that fast and cars kill people too..." That worn out one!

Mike said...

OK,I get the car analogy. I guess it’s just as well that I’m not on Facebook.

I never claimed to be the sharpest Crayola in the box…

Rachel Maddow started off her program last night with a gun analogy that took me a while to put two and two together.

She showed some highly skilled lock pickers; people who can get themselves out of handcuffs and quick -draw ammo clip changer; saying that those are skills that few people have, so they should not influence our gun laws.

The YouTube of the quick ammo clip changer was under a controlled situation. It’s like a football play drawn on the chalkboard; if everything goes right, the play will work. It doesn’t account for an adrenaline rush, fumble, or other unforeseen situations.

She also reminded everyone that because Adam Lanza had to change magazines, 11 children escaped the massacre. She also brought up the incident in Tucson where an elderly lady was able disrupt that shooter(because he had to change magazines) long enough for the others to jump him and take him down.

I’ve come to believe that actual facts trump hypothetical s.

Edith Ann said...

Absolutely! And the crowd that believes the 2nd amendment can never be limited wants to make the rest of us believe that they are all quick change artisits! Baloney!

And this same bunch typically has no problem with the 1st amendment being limited. Or the 5th amendment. I am back to thinking they view their gun as an extension of their manhood.

born2Bme said...

Funny you should mention the manhood thing. Has anyone seen Jim Carrey's skit, "Cold, Dead Hands"?
If you haven't, you should!! LOL

Mike said...

I did see the Jim Carey clip; it was funny, and it got the ire of the far right.

Last night 60 Minutes featured the families of the horrific slaughter at Sandy Hook. All they want is for the legislators to take a vote: that’s not a lot considering what they’ve been through.

Asa Hutchinson (on Fox News Sunday) made me laugh when he talked of the burden a couple of urban individuals would have to go through if who wanted to exchange a shotgun. They would have to drive 30 miles, look around for a gun dealer, and wait around for the background check before they could complete this innocent transaction. Let’s go back several months where these same individuals weren’t that compassionate about grandma having to get someone to drive her 30 miles to the DMA, so she could submit her papers for a new voter ID. What really got me angry was when Asa said the Federal government only has responsibility to ensure the safety of our children in the schools, not the school buses, movie theaters or malls.

This issue will not go away even if it’s filibustered in the senate or goes down in defeat on a party line vote. Here is the reason; only 33% of households own guns and that’s down from the 50% it was in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

Edith Ann said...

I thought the Jim Carey thing was funny.

Asa Hutchinson--I about busted a gut when he was pleading inconvenience for the gun owner! Is it inconvenient for that same gun owner to drive that 30 miles to the Walmart for ammo? Is it inconvenient for that guy to drive 30 miles to get his car registered? Get groceries? GO TO CHURCH??? Hell, people commute twice that distance daily for work!

If that is all they've got...

Mike said...

Yeah,I meant rural individuals instead of urban ones but isn't that the pleasure of living out in the country...You plan all your trips;I mean that doesn't mean you can't give your neighbor the shotgun on Saturday (of course you better be 100% sure he will pass a background check) and do the paper work on Tuesday.

That's just an excuse and they are finally being called out...I can't believe how much senators cater to those who don't want universal background checks....That's 90% of Americans who at least want a background check and who can't be for stricter penalties on straw purchasers?

Edith Ann said...

I see where the NRA folks are coming from when they say “What’s the use? No one will follow the rules anyway?”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/08/3-year-old-fatally-shoots-deputys-wife-with-his-gun-at-tennessee-cookout/

If the folks who should know best are irresponsible, why would we expect the average person to get it right. To me this is just further argument for making very hard to own a gun at all!
For the record, I have no reason to believe that this was not a perfectly legal and legally owned weapon.

Mike said...

That's a tragic story;you would think a law enforcer would not have an unsecured gun laying around.

I saw a new show on HBO called VICE. The reporter went to the Philippines where everyone who wants to own gun.. can. In fact they make their own guns in a garage....The politician running for president had to have a 50 car armed convoy including a tank and several army trucks following the candidate everywhere he went. I saw kids ages 10 years and up armed to the teeth...Some people in our country want to have as many guns as possible to protect themselves from a tyrannical government don't know how good they have it.

Mike said...

President Obama gave a very powerful and moving speech in Connecticut today about passing gun safety laws...If it didn't light a fire under the few Democrats who are still on the fence, I don't know what will. The families will fly back to Washington on Air Force One to try their hand in convincing the senators to give the issue an up or down vote.

BIGJ said...

Well well well . The media sure isn't jumping on this.http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2013/04/mayor-against-illegal-guns-busted-for-demanding-gay-sex-at-gunpoint-2506168.html

Edith Ann said...

Another tragedy involving a 'responsible gun owner'...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/09/4-year-old-new-jersey-boy-shoots-6-year-old-playmate-in-the-head/

Mike said...

They hide behind a filibuster but don't have the guts to say why.

CBS News called out 14 Republican senators on Tuesday for declining requests to be interviewed about their proposed filibuster of an upcoming gun control bill.

The senators—including minority leader Mitch McConnell—are part of an effort, led by Kentucky's Rand Paul, to block any potential expansion of gun laws in the wake of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. On Tuesday's "CBS This Morning," congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes reported on the lobbying being done by families of some of the Newtown victims. She then said that none of the potential filibustering senators had agreed to an interview.

"We asked all 14 Republican senators for an interview about their filibuster threat, but none of them were available," Cordes said.

Edith Ann said...

Cluck, cluck.

I see where there is a group who will be filabustering Ted Cruz'z four district offices while he filibusters in D.C.

Mike said...

It looks like the senators will break the filibuster and settle for a bipartisan watered- down background check bill...One that will exempt the family transfer...Under that version someone could transfer a gun to a family member who's involved in a domestic abuse situation or has a mental problem..I guess we can visit that after the next mass shooting...It does take care of the gun show loophole.

I don't know what to blog about next;will it be the silly comments some local politicians are making? One said Victoria is becoming the next Detroit. That's preposterous;businesses and citizens left that city in a mass exodus. That's not happening in Victoria.

Then there are those trying to create an illusion that we are broke because of our current debt. There are different types of debts;We can look back to the Sam Houston & Laurent street projects and take pride in that debt. That's called manageable debt because jobs are available in Victoria. Anyone can quote percentages from a spreadsheet and preach gloom and doom but you have to look underneath those numbers to see what we got for our money;the ability to pay our debt and the low cost of interest and materials has to be factored in.

It's the same on the national level where those on the right want to make us think we are going to become the latest country in financial ruin.

Mike said...

Paul Polosek stated" I am sure city staff and city council would be very happy to hear about better, cheaper methods to fund such projects."

Jeff Williams and Pruitt could care less about Victoria ;it's their own back pocket that they are worried about. To them, every expenditure is a wasteful one and reducing taxes should be the only goal. In fact Jeff wanted to delay the street projects;which is another word for cancel.

I do agree agree let the wanna be bean counters present their ideas to the city council and if money could be saved,I'm sure the council would approve.

Edith Ann said...

You know I have to disagree with you somewhat. Polasek is interested in his political career. His voting record does not reflect his current rhetoric. He purposely put out false information about his fellow council members and took days to make a wimpy retraction. He is right when he says that the public has trust issues with the council, and he is a huge part of that issue. Don't laud Polasek too much on the solar deal--his very best reason for wanting it was because he is fascinated by it and wanted to learn more, not that it might be a viable alternative for the city. Self-interest here?

Jeff Williams is not all wrong at all. But he does expose the truth in places. he city does carry a lot of debt, and that is just part of doing business. What was put off for so many years is having to be dealt with now at today's costs. This is unfortunate for the citizens, but it is a fact of life. By the way, Airline from Sam Houston to Laurent is becoming the new old Sam Houston!

Anyway, we disagree on this a lot! 8^)

Edith Ann said...

Back to the original topic...

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/04/10/1844121/4-accidental-toddler-shootings/

Mike said...

It really wasn’t about Paul as much as it was about what he said…Jeff might expose the truth as you see it but I’m not impressed with his exaggerated stats.

I don’t have a personal vendetta with Paul, Jeff or Pruitt but I will criticize their rhetoric. I’ve read many of William’s posts; he’s an alarmist and Pruitt is a long time tax protester. I don’t know anything about Paul other than his now and then view on fiscal responsibility.

I don’t know how we measure public trust, when mistrust in government goes with the territory. Less than 18% vote in local off-year elections, so there must not be that much mistrust…Want to see mistrust read about Detroit on how their citizens are protesting.

Like I said, a lot of debt is subjective…A plant worker making $100,000 a year buys a $150,000 house and he is carrying a lot of debt but it’s manageable.

Today’s cost (low interest rates) and low cost of materials is an ideal time for infrastructure repair locally, state and national level.

Again what Paul is saying is supported by leading economists: You don’t retain a good bond rating if your debt can’t be matched with the ability to pay.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has some choice words for anyone who thinks the only way to improve the economy is to tighten the country's belt.
Among them: You're wrong.

“There is no instance of a large economy getting to growth through austerity," Stiglitz said in an interview Tuesday on “Bloomberg Surveillance.”

Stiglitz, a left-leaning professor at Columbia University, said, "Austerity leads the economy to perform more poorly. It leads to more unemployment, lower wages, more inequality.”
Instead of austerity, the U.S. needs more fiscal stimulus to grow, Stiglitz said. Without President Barack Obama’s stimulus in 2009, the unemployment rate would have reached a high of at least 12 percent, rather than the 10 percent peak it hit in 2012, he added.

Stiglitz's austerity-doubting claims align with 80 percent of economists who in an IGM Economic Experts panel agreed last year that the 2009 stimulus lowered the unemployment rate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/joseph-stiglitz-austerity_n_3048330.html

I would be willing to bet in five years from now; we will be just fine because it’s an economic argument not about personalities.

Mike said...

And the sheep will follow..A lot of the more conservative web sites are mocking the situation where 14 college students were stabbed;saying we need to ban knifes. The locals have joined in but they all left out one very IMPORTANT FACT;all the victims survived.

The airlines did ban box cutters and sharp objects after 9/11 without a squawk.

What's next a fire where the right will say that we need to ban matches? People need to grow up.

Mike said...

I’m glad David Coffey did a little research and compared apples to apples and oranges to oranges.

On the surface how can you compare Missouri City with its close proximity to Sugar Land and Houston while ignoring our no growth neighbors?

All we supposed to consider the situation in North Korea before we make financial decisions?
For one, North Korea doesn’t have a delivery system that reaches mainland United States and number two, I don't think they want a death wish. Do you really make financial decisions based on the oil embargo of the 70s?

It's a good economic discussion and it all boils down to the level of risk you are willing to take because we have yet to find that perfect economic system or we would be using it.

Edith Ann said...

I really hate it when I go back and look at a comment and find that it needs tweaking.

I still think that Jeff Williams is correct a lot of the time. But, even so, I cannot see how any city could maintain any level of functionality without incurring debt. It is just part of the process.

Mike said...

My initial comments generally need tweaking but the more we discuss a subject we then get a general understanding of where we stand on a subject matter.

I'm just trying to make a point about taking raw numbers and always coming up with a gloomy picture. Like I said,your first mortgage or car payment will throw off your debt to income ratio if you don't consider other factors.

Annual budgets are supposed to correct overspending at the local or Stae level...Washington is a whole different ball game.

Mike said...

This is an example of why you can't make exceptions...one gun nut (who already thinks that the law doesn't apply to them) will sell guns to the mentally ill,criminals or terrorists,just as long as they have the cash.

"A Nebraska man says that he is not guilty of illegally selling firearms to people who told him they were felons because the items were out of his personal collection of 678 guns and 13 grenades.

According to documents unsealed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, 35-year-old Ashley Gerbig is charged with six counts of knowingly selling firearms and ammunition to a confidential informant working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The documents allege that the informant purchased “a Ruger .22 caliber rifle, Valtro 12 gauge tactical shotgun, Sig Sauer .40 caliber pistol, Century International Arms Inc. AK-74 assault-style rifle, Bushmaster AR-15 rifle and Nodak Spud LLC AK-47-type side-folding stock assault rifle” without being required to provide a permit, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. "

Edith Ann said...

Agreed.

Mike said...

In today’s Advocate, Goliad County sheriff Kirby Brumby said prosecuting gun transactions (without background checks) between family members would be impossible to enforce. That’s true on its face, but a lot of people are caught after-the-fact. If that gun was involved in a crime, and the family member had a history of mental illness or a domestic dispute, then the law could be enforced. The bill circulating around Washington exempts family transactions, which, in my opinion, creates a huge loophole.

The new scare tactic is that background checks will lead to more taxes on guns and ammunition. When at first you don’t succeed make something else up.

Then there is that weird letter- to- the- editor from Michael K. Simmons…. He starts out by saying that he’s not swayed by the arguments against the death penalty. He cites the cherry picked Biblical passages and the costs of incarceration as being weak arguments.

His ending expressed his true feelings and what he really wanted to write about. Although I can’t remember of a Victoria home invasion where the homeowner killed the burglar, Mr. Simmons is prepared for such an occasion. He said with absolute certainty that he would blow the burglars had off with his .45 caliber colt automatic.Mr. Simmons is probably against a Federal gun registry, but he just gave several thousand Advocate subscribers his name, his city and a description of his weapon…..I think Mr. Simmons just wanted to beat- his- chest and let everyone know how macho he is.

This issue is about the gun manufactures getting to sell an unlimited amount of guns without any restrictions whatsoever. The NRA has won because they managed to water down the Senate bill and then the house will be able to drown what’s left…Four states have stepped up to the plate and more will follow.

Mike said...

Texas congressman Steve Stockman has a bumper sticker that reads " If babies had guns they wouldn't be aborted"...The Texas heat is not yet upon us,so these wackos can't use that for an excuse.

Another shooting inside New River Community College in Dublin,Virginia.

Edith Ann said...

The meme going around Facebook is the quote about babies having guns and underneath it is a listing of four or five recent incidents whare a small, one was 2, child shot another child.

Some people just cannot possible understand how very stupid they sound! If they did, they would never open their mouths!

Edith Ann said...

Off topic.

Caught the last 5 minutes of the U S Farm Report. The host was answering questions fromthe mail bag. One viewer wanted to know why the US subsidizes farmer. The viewer said basically, if they can't afford to farm, then they shouldn't be farming.

I was truly shocked at the host's response. He said that the farm subsidies are simply leftover socialist programs designed to assist a class of citizen that no longer exists. They have outlived their usefulness. He said it cannot go away because the farmers would raise such a stink!

I would have expected him to be a bit more farmer sympathetic.

Mike said...

I finally got to read the watered down gun bill where the exception extends to family,friends,neighbors and co-workers...That pretty much covers every one;what a joke.

The GOP may filibuster the next phase (passage) or insert a poison pill amendment like allowing concealed carry permits to be honored by all the states. That amendment will gain more Republicans but would lose at least 50 Democrats.

I'm thinking that people making those stupid comments enjoy the attention and extra campaign contributions.

I believe Obama's budget calls for eliminating farm subsities during and diverting those funds to the needy since the small farmer per say no longer exists.

Mike said...

Don't have a lot of time today but a quick look at Dale's letter it seems like he's blaming Armstrong and Polasek for debt since 2005;as if we didn't get the Sam Houston & Laurent street project....The quick raw numbers math he wrote about makes it look like debt went up overnight without anything to show for it.There are different kinds of debt.

Study the 10 year debt analysis and make up your own mind.

http://www.victoriatx.org/finance/documents/10YearOfDebtHistoryAnalysis.pdf

It doesn't look that bad to me because I looked at the notes below the chart.

"Tax & Spend" is an old sound bite conservatives use to describe liberals and Democrats...Think about it,the city is going to TAX and then they must SPEND in order to keep the city going and some of those funds will be used to spur growth.

Every city in American will spend funds for parks and recreation. I think there are times when the city can take part in entrainment venues;after all the river,land and our people are our greatest assets and resources.

I don't have a dog in the hunt for the race for mayor but I'm getting tired of exaggerated stats being taken for fact when contradictory data is available for argument.

Mike said...

What a myth Republican=fiscal conservative...nobody believes trickle down economics is being fiscal conservative and the last five of six elections proved that.

8 years of President George W. Bush put two wars,two tax cuts, and a gigantic Medicare Part D all on the credit card...