It’s Hard To Be A Republican

February 18, 2013 //
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I used to have Republican leanings, but the Tea Party, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul, Grover Norquist, and the like drove me away. Then there’s the embarassment of Rush Limbaugh, Billow Reilly, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin and above all, Anne Coulter, that you have to accept as part of being a Republican. ANNE COULTER!!?? My God! And to think…this was the party of Abraham Lincoln!

I loved Mitch McConnell’s pronouncement that the number one job of the Republican party was to deny President Obama a second term. Not solve the nation’s problems, deny Obama a second term! How screwed up is that logic? Well, it didn’t turn out so well for old Mitch, did it? Proving once again that current Republican thinking that will cement their legacy as obstructionists in the most irresponsible Congress in the history of our country.

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Putting Assault Weapon Ownership In Perspective

January 19, 2013 //
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Advocating ownership of military style assault weapons and high capacity magazines as part of the right to bear arms is like advocating drunk driving as part of the right to have a driver’s license.

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The Myth About “Good Guys with Guns”

January 8, 2013 //
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From Yahoo News…

Gabrielle Giffords, 42, and her husband, Mark Kelly, 48, are both gun owners and supporters of the 2nd Amendment, but Kelly had strong words for the National Rifle Association after the group suggested the only way to stop gun violence is to have a “good guy with a gun.”

There was a good guy with a gun, Kelly said, the day Jared Loughner shot Giffords and 18 other people, six fatally, at her “Congress on Your Corner” event.

“A man came out] of the store next door and nearly shot the man who took down Jared Loughner,” Kelly said. “The one who eventually wrestled [Loughner] to the ground was almost killed himself by a good guy with a gun, so I don’t really buy that argument.”

Instead, Giffords and Kelly are proposing “common sense” changes through “Americans for Responsible Solutions.”

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Where Are the Monsters

December 30, 2012 //
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The Monsters Aren’t Under Your Bed. They’re In Congress.

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Who Really Creates Jobs?

December 28, 2012 //
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A modest increase in tax rates for the wealthy will have little, if any, negative impact on job creation and do nothing to hinder economic growth.  Rich people don’t create jobs.  Demand creates jobs.

One investment banker earning $7,000,000.00 a year will own perhaps 4-5 homes, including one or two that are probably outside the United States.  He’ll own or lease maybe ten cars.  He’ll pay for the cost of maintaining these major investments, providing employment for housekeepers, gardeners, and other services necessary to keep his empire running smoothly.  He’ll have 2-4 children, a couple of finely bred pets, and vacation in places like Zermatt, Tuscany, or Belize a couple of times a year.

Seven million dollars is also the amount that would be earned by one hundred (100) middle-class Americans at $70,000.00 per year.  They would own (or rent) at least 100 homes (maybe more) all of which would be within the U.S.  They’d own roughly 150-175 cars with a fair portion of them needing a new set of tires, a tune-up, or some brake work.  Most, if not all, of these middle-class Americans will own, or be in the market for a couple of TVs, a DVD player, computer, cell phone, refrigerator, stove, lawn mower, edger, leaf blower…an extensive list of essential goods for everyday living.  Based on the same statistics used for our investment banker, these middle-class Americans would have 200-400 children that need to be clothed, fed, schooled, and entertained.  Then there are the 200 family pets that will need care second only to the kids.  Vacations will be at places Like Disney World, the Grand Canyon, or camping at the beach or mountains.

The bottom line?  Clinton was right, it’s arithmetic.  Middle-class Americans create far more jobs than the super-wealthy ever will.

When Republicans refuse to support a truly balanced approach to responsible fiscal policy, which means increased tax revenue from high earners along with spending cuts, they not only dismiss the wishes of a majority of Americans, they cement their legacy as the primary obstructionists in the most irresponsible Congress in the history of our country.

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The Right to Bear Arms

December 28, 2012 //
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When our founding fathers assured every citizen the right to bear arms, the most common weapon of the day was a .75 caliber muzzle loading flintlock musket.

To load and fire this weapon, a soldier opened his cartridge box, grabbed a cartridge, bit off the end to expose the powder, and poured a small amount into the pan of the lock, closed the pan, dropped the cartridge (powder first) into the barrel, removed the ram, rammed the charge home, returned the ram, and then “made ready” to shoot by cocking the lock, then firing.  Soldiers were expected to be able to fire a shot every 15 seconds for at least 4 minutes before needing to slow down because of the fouling in the barrel.

Today, that same Second Amendment right to bear arms has been perverted to justify ownership of high velocity “semi-automatic” AR-15 type weapons…by just about anybody.

To load and fire this weapon a person only needs to place an extended capacity magazine into the gun and pull the trigger, firing at a rate of 800 rounds per minute using cartridges noted for their fragmentation upon impact.

These are combat weapons designed to kill efficiently and have the potential to turn small children into bloody pulp in seconds.

In their wildest dreams, our founding fathers never imagined or intended this to be the law of the land, and a society that allows this to happen is guilty of the worst possible kind of human rights abuse.

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