Showing posts with label Wayne LaPierre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wayne LaPierre. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Gun Violence is here! Why are we still Debating About it?

 

The debate of whether to enact strict(er) gun laws should have ended years ago. It would have if not for National Rifle Assn. head, Wayne LaPierre, and his gun nut minions. ABC reports...
"There have been more than 500 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, according to a tracker from the Gun Violence Archive. Two of those shootings -- one at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York and the other at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas -- sparked nationwide outrage and debate about gun violence."

And we finally have a response from the state of Oregon where voters will consider a gun reform measure on the ballot this year. It's a start and, hopefully, other states will take notice after a year of unnecessary gun violence resulting in 37,018 deaths so far and 32,962 injuries. We've even had feedback from a "drugged" Congress in the passing of red flag laws, closing the "boyfriend loophole" and enhancing background checks for potential gun buyers under the age of 21.

Gun violence in America shows no sign of slowing after new spate of mass shootings...


Here's Rev. Mark Knutson, one Oregon's chief petitioners behind Measure 114 and chair of the group Lift Every Voice...
"It's been called the Oregon model," Knutson said, adding, "I think it'll give a lot of courage to state legislatures, if they can see a major victory come out of Oregon."

Gun control is not a priority issue today, which is unbelievable to me when you consider the above statistics. For the upcoming election the economy and abortion are on the top of the list. Issues we have to address but with minimum attention to gun violence, we can expect over 3,000 otherwise avoidable gun deaths each month. Think about it

Sunday, January 31, 2021

Has the NRA been laying the groundwork for the deadly Capitol riot for years?

 




The NRA, led by head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre, is capable of anything to further their cause of putting more guns on the street. In spite of the gun violence over the years, LaPierre regularly whips up his base of double-digit gun huggers to buy more and more guns. There are 390 million guns out on the streets of a country of 329 million people. Pathetic! Nick Suplina, managing director for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety says...

"The violence that we saw at the Capitol, the firepower that they brought with them, may not have been part of the NRA's call. But they're responsible for getting us to this moment."


The ideology that guns will solve the problems confronting this country and the fact that the 2nd Amendment is sacred is pure bullshit and should be exposed for what it is. Suplina continues...
"They should not be allowed to distance themselves from the Frankenstein monster that they've created. This is the NRA's handiwork. Years of conspiracy peddling, fear-mongering that the government is going to come take your guns and your freedom, and the call upon Americans to do something about it, to take action, that's what we saw on Jan. 6..."

And the worst is not over, according to those who know. These maniacs are still planning violence, and it could be worse than we saw at the Capitol. Read more...

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Are COVID-19 deaths more relevant than gun deaths


Will Donald Trump's handling of the COVID-19 crisis eventually jaundice this country to the depths of the people beginning to ignore deaths from the virus as they have the deaths caused by gun violence?

People walking through Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, in March.
A Brooklyn cemetery

That would mean then that coronavirus deaths share the same level of importance as when someone dies from being shot. Minimal. My reasoning is, right now people are shot every day but no one is doing a damn thing about it. Not the American public, not Congress, nor the dufus sitting in the White House. There have been 14,032 gun deaths since the start of 2020, 80,004 COVID-19 deaths since we first learned of the virus in early January.

Just recently on February 23, a black man, Ahmaud Arbery, was killed in Georgia and it took 74 days before the state stepped in and applied justice. Former police officer Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, have been arrested and charged with murder...
"Will Day, 25, of Brunswick, who had known Arbery since first grade, said the revelations about law enforcement agencies refusing to act on arrestable evidence continued to vex him, even after the murder charges.
“If I had done something like that, if I had shot somebody, I’m pretty sure I would have my justice served to me the same day,” said Day, who is black. Since Arbery’s death he said he’s “just been staying in the house. It used to be enough just to stay out of trouble and keep your nose clean.”
Video of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder...


And here we go again says Charlie Warzel in the New York Times...
"The coronavirus scenario I can’t stop thinking about is the one where we simply get used to all the dying."
Sound familiar. like what's going on today in gun violence?  Here's a headline from the Oberlin (Ohio) Review: "American Apathy Perpetuates Gun Violence." Could not have been said better; I call these people the apathetics. Warzel continues...
"I first saw it on Twitter. 'Someone poke holes in this scenario,' a tweet from Eric Nelson, the editorial director of Broadside Books, read. 'We keep losing 1,000 to 2,000 a day to coronavirus. People get used to it. We get less vigilant as it very slowly spreads. By December we’re close to normal, but still losing 1,500 a day, and as we tick past 300,000 dead, most people aren’t concerned.'”
Watch Trump's foolish, illogical and laughable timeline on COVID-19 reaction...


When it comes to COVID 19, we know what the source of the problem is. It is solely in Donald Trump's lap, and my opinion of how many virus cases and deaths we can expect by December is grossly underestimated, as long as the White House maniac is in control. The question, of course, is, if we dump Trump in November, can we recover?  Yes, coronavirus must stay on the front burner right now, but we mustn't ignore gun violence.

One immediate action that must be taken is to ban firearms from all COVID-19 demonstrations. Common sense would say to ban guns from any large gathering of individuals, except military and law enforcement. Folks, these gun nuts are carrying around assault rifles, regularly used to kill numerous people in mass murders. The slightest spark could set these double-digits off into a rage that would no doubt result in hundreds of deaths.

Michelle Norris of the Washington Post says...
"We’ve gotten far too accustomed to the image of white protesters carrying paramilitary-level firearms in public spaces. The presence of guns — often really large guns — at protests has become alarmingly normalized. It is time to take stock of what that means."

She adds...
Armed protesters rally outside the New Hampshire State House in Concord, N.H., on May 2."Accepting and even expecting to see firearms at protest rallies means that we somehow embrace the threat of chaos and violence. While those who carry say they have no intention of using their weapons, the firepower alone creates a wordless threat, and something far more calamitous if even just one person discharges a round."
It would appear there might be hope today in the gun violence dilemma; the National Rifle Assn. is on the ropes and it looks like head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre, is going down with it. Over the years the NRA has been the one lobbying group most responsible for gun violence as they fight to put more guns on the street. But what we do about the coronavirus pandemic, well, that is currently dependent on one individual.

But we must not put the disease in the same discounted and neglected category as we have relegated gun violence.

Thursday, February 6, 2020


It's official: New York will prosecute NRA for violating insurance laws, deceiving members

GP: Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association (NRA Inside The National Rifle Association Foundation Annual Meeting
Wayne LaPierre

New York state has been working on a case they have just filed against the National Rifle Assn. for "acting as an unlicensed insurance producer and deceiving its members with misleading marketing practices." NRA head, Wayne LaPierre and his gang of gun nuts have apparently screwed their membership by...
"having worked with insurance broker Lockton Companies to offer insurance products such as the NRA-branded “Carry Guard” to the group’s members without a license."
Lockton was fined $7 million by the New York regulator in May 2018 over its involvement with Carry Guard. The New York’s Department of Financial Services states...
"the NRA misrepresented to its members that the products were being sold at the lowest possible cost, when in
fact the group kept “substantial” royalties, sometimes exceeding 20% of premiums paid."
"The NRA sued the regulator and Governor Andrew Cuomo the same month, accusing them of illegally trying to pressure banks and insurers to stop doing business with it, in what it called 'blacklisting.'” And, a recent NRA lobbyist took a job at the US interior department in the Donald Trump administration in 2017, currying favor with LaPierre and the NRA. One can only hope this all puts Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Assn. where it belongs, out of business. 

Friday, September 6, 2019

Gun violence is Moscow Mitch's speciality


THURSDAY September 6, 2019: NASTY JACK BUZZ NEWS BYTES

Moscow Mitch McConnell behind U.S. gun violence...  

Moscow Mitch-Gun violence perpetrator 
Moscow Mitch McConnell, the sub-slimeball heading up the U.S. Senate won't even allow the consideration of any new gun legislation. Could that result from the $1.26 million in NRA contributions he has received? Moscow Mitch has been a lowlife for years since he said, "my number one priority is making sure president Obama’s a one-term president." He didn't, and Barack Obama could have been a three-term president and beat Donald Trump if not limited to two terms.

Now, recognize these names? Rodolfo Julio Arco, 57; Kameron Karltess Brown, 30; Raul Garcia, 35; Mary Granados, 29; Joseph Griffith, 40; Leilah Hernandez, 15; Edwin Peregrino, 25. They were the seven massacred by a shooter in the West Texas cities of Midland and Odessa. This is beginning to happen too regularly, says the Editorial board of the Washington post. The Board asks...
"What if there was a mass shooting in the United States not once or twice or four or six times monthly, but every single day, a big one, the kind that electrifies social media and squats for days on Page 1 — would that be enough to move Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from his insistent inertia on gun safety? Would any volume of bloodshed convince the Kentucky Republican that Congress faces a moral imperative to act? Thirty-eight people were slain in three such shootings in August — in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, as well as West Texas — and still Senate Republicans and President Trump refuse to act."
Hundreds rally against Moscow Mitch stand on gun legislation...


It is sheer lunacy that one of the biggest newspapers in this country has to pose the above question. Moscow Mitch is complicit with other gun terrorists like Wayne LaPierre and his National Rifle Assn. (NRA), and must be dealt with quickly to save the lives of innocent Americans. In a surprise move recently, San Francisco's board of supervisors passed a resolution officially labeling the NRA a domestic terrorist organization. District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani said...
the NRA "spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence."
The Daily Beast says, "The NRA Can Be Beaten—and Here’s How It Will Happen"...
"I’ve come to think it’s possible to beat the NRA within maybe three or four election cycles. Doing so requires three elements. One, some anti-NRA Democrats beating some pro-gun Republicans in some high-profile races. Two, some Republicans turning against the NRA and living to tell the tale." [Synopsized] Three, NRA continued propaganda will alienate pro-gun rights Republicans, flipping them on the issue.
Michael Tomasky of The Daily beast Beast thinks this could take a few election cycles. Well, I disagree in that we can't wait that long for more mass shootings and hundreds more deaths. Somehow...we must make it happen soon. NOW!

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Hello Congress-Gun control-Remember?


August 28, 2019: PROGRESSIVE STREET NEWS BYTES...Where Liberals Walk

Republicans shirk gun control, thus, killing innocent people 

NRA/Gun worshippers
A vacuum is defined as a space in which there is no matter, and that is where the gun control movement stands today...in a vacuum. And we can thank Republicans for leading the battle against responsible gun laws. Innocent lives don't matter to these gun nuts, their weapons are sacrosanct over the killing of innocent Americans. Max Boot of The Washington Post asks, "What the hell is wrong with us?" He expounds...
"Less than a month after a white supremacist allegedly killed 51 people in Christchurch on March 15, New Zealand’s Parliament voted, 119 to 1, to make the possession of assault weapons illegal. Gun owners have until the end of September to turn in their weapons as part of a buyback program or face five years in prison. More than 10,000 firearms have already been turned in."
Let's do some math. New Zealand's population is 4,885,300, the U.S. 329 million, 66 times larger. If 10,000 guns were turned in in New Zealand, might we expect to get 660,000 guns off the streets of the U.S. And that's only a drop in the bucket of the 393 million guns spread out over this country. Not even sure if it would help and am very skeptical over America's gun huggers turning over their cherished weaponry. Max Boot continues...
"By contrast, at least 59 people have been killed in mass shootings this year (and more than 9,000 in other shootings, not counting suicides) and yet we are no closer to banning assault-style weapons. These were the weapons of choice of mass murderers in Newtown, Conn.; Aurora, Colo.; San Bernardino, Calif.; Sutherland Springs, Tex.; Las Vegas; Parkland, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Poway, Calif.; El Paso; and Dayton, Ohio."
Trump pulls the trigger in gun violence...


Although 70% of voters and 54 percent of Republicans support banning these weapons of war, T-rump claims there is no “political appetite” for such action. He wouldn't because the NRA's head gun nut wouldn't let him. But not all Republicans are for gun rights. "Suburban women in some swing House districts overwhelmingly want tighter gun laws," says Ella Nilsen of Vox. And the cry for background checks comes from 90% of U.S. citizens.

"Fox News host Steve Hilton is blasting National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre, calling him "an odious little grifter" who needs to be shown the door," reports The Hill. Three board members and three top attorneys have recently resigned from the National Rifle Assn. (NRA). Not too long ago, Dick's Sporting Goods removed guns from all their stores and reports now their sales are climbing. Guns do kill and as we slowly get rid of them, the U.S, will be a better place to live in.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Republicans have already abandoned gun control


August 21, 2019: PROGRESSIVE STREET NEWS BYTES...Where Liberals Walk

What will it take to get reasonable gun control? How many more deaths? 

What is this sick fascination?
The proof is in the congressional attitude and that currently seems to correlate with Donald Trump after his telephone conversation with the NRA's head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. We already have enough gun laws including those that are for background checks. Here's the scenario...
"Senate Homeland SecurityChairman Ron Johnson (R-Wi) is casting major doubt on the prospects of significant gun regulations passing this fall, the latest sign that the effort to pass new firearm laws is starting to falter."
No one thought this kind of mindset was possible after Sandy Hook, or Aurora, Colorado, or most recently the California Garlic Festival, El Paso or the Dayton gun massacres. It is only possible because a cowardly Congress supported by a cowardly American public refuse to do anything. That refusal is, of course, prompted by the fact that Washington is afraid of the NRA and the public either doesn't have the brains or just doesn't care about gun violence.

There's more...
"The Wisconsin Republican said that a background checks measure based on the bill written by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and a national "red flag" bill are both unlikely to pass. He was open to GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bill that would establish a red flag grant program, but said the Senate would need to 'attach to those grants very strict guidelines in terms of due process.'”
And that makes it absolutely clear that the GOP is more concerned with the NRA and gun manufacturers than they are with the innocent children and adults who die from gun violence.  

NRA problems reported by Rachel Maddow...


The New York Times says, "Following his talks with the NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre and gun-rights activists, President Donald Trump struck a different tone on gun regulations in the weeks after two mass shootings. And this was caused by...
"The NRA reportedly launched a campaign to contact lawmakers in the wake of the shootings on August 3 and 4 in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Both gunmen wielded assault-style rifles in the separate shootings, which killed 31 people."
Hey, these perpetrators of gun violence are supposed to be headed down the drain so who cares what the hell they say. Chuck Schumer said...
"We've seen this movie before: President Donald J. Trump, feeling public pressure in the immediate aftermath of a horrible shooting, talks about doing something meaningful to address gun violence, but inevitably, he backtracks in response to pressure from the NRA and the hard-right."
Donald Trump lies about action on background checks...


In other words, in order to get rid of gun violence we need to get rid of Donald Trump and Congress, something many Americans would agree with. Here's a headline: ‘I’m worried’: Allies fear NRA has lost its power in Washington." Anita Kumar and Gabby Orr of Politico report...
"The disarray at the NRA is alarming allies who say President Donald Trump and Congress appear to have a brief opening to pass legislation while the group is so politically feeble it isn’t able to aggressively lobby lawmakers against proposals or hold them accountable for their votes, according to a half-dozen Republicans familiar with the situation."
And finally an insider reports...
“There’s no coordinated effort. The staff feels like there is no plan. There’s not a lot of direction or a plan for how to proceed.”
If the wheels are coming off at the NRA, it can't happen soon enough.

Friday, August 9, 2019

Donald Trump still inspires hate/white supremacy


August 9, 2019: Today's Commentary

Donald Trump responsible for El Paso/Dayton 


The shooter, Patrick Wood Crusius, age 21, with a legally purchased version of the AK-47, travels from Allen, Texas to El Paso and shoots 46 innocent people, killing 22 of them. He was targeting Mexicans because he felt they were invading America, the same rhetoric Donald Trump has used repeatedly to rouse his lowlife gang of followers. As if taking a page from T-rump's white supremacist book, he published a white nationalist, anti-immigrant manifesto on social media immediately before the attack. That was August 3.

El Paso shooting video...

Then we move on to Dayton, Ohio, just one day later, where another gunman shot 24 innocent people, killing 10, including his sister and a friend. He used a pistol configuration with a shortened barrel, chambered in .223 caliber ammunition and equipped with a 100-round drum magazine, a semi-automatic AM-15, based on the AR-15. The shooter was Connor Stephen Betts, a 24-year-old from Bellbrook, Ohio, wearing body armor. Apparently no political agenda, just hate and he liked killing people.

Dayton shooting video...

The El Paso shooter's mother called police with information that she was worried about her son's obsession with the AK-47 style weapon; they said it was legal and nothing they could do. Neither pursued the situation so it stopped there when the police should have asked more questions and the mother should have pushed on. Likewise, although the Dayton killer wasn't that political, he had retweeted posts that supported the Antifa movement and opposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and police officers. He was obviously violent.

And then after all the violent gun carnage, Senate head, the bottom-feeding Mitch McConnell, refuses to reconvene Congress to consider gun control measures that would have prevented this mayhem. Donald Trump expresses some support for gun control legislation but then gets a call from his buddy, Wayne LaPierre, at the National Rifle Assn. (NRA). Nothing happens, as it has been all the way back to Columbine, then Sandy Hook, to El Paso/Dayton and the numerous gun homicides and mass shootings in between.

McConnell says he will take action in September, but now that the Oval Office lunatic has been warned by the NRA, it is unlikely that we will see any real action. Until the people of this country finally come to their senses and rebel against the gun lobby, specifically the NRA, innocent children and adults will continue to die on a daily basis on the streets and in mass murders like those recently. The blame clearly goes on the Republican Party and its partner, the NRA.


Thursday, April 4, 2019

NRA has always been problem getting gun control done


Here's a recent article headline from The Hill...
"Gun control advocate: 'Surprised' at how many gun owners agree gun ownership standards should be raised"
I'm not, and when I see a header like this there is no doubt in my mind that, if gun owners want reasonable gun control, it is definitely the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) that is standing in its way and has for many, many years. Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's head gun nut refuses to listen to any legislation that limits access to guns. Even reasonable background checks, the banning of assault rifles which is the weapon of choice in most all gun massacres.

There are three people in this country today the American public could do without: Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell and Wayne LaPierre. All three fly in the face of anything that is good for this country, and seem hell-bent on dragging the United States to the bottom of the barrel. Each has his own agenda, a combination of twisted ideas and philosophies, all of which point back to the pariah in question. What this nation needs is a clean sweep of this trash.

Sunday, March 31, 2019

U.S. could be so lucky if Democrats shut down NRA


Who else? Wayne LaPierre
Wayne LaPierre, National Rifle Assn.'s head gun nut is whining that the group may be"shut down forever" thanks to Democrats. Nothing could make millions of Americans happier than if this gang of gun violence perpetrators bit the dust, and all of their trash propaganda with them. But I don't really believe they are this close to tanking, rather, LaPierre is simply appealing to his double-digit gun nut minions who apparently believe anything he says and will give up their money.

There is some concern from the fact that...
"New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who last year directed state regulators to 'urge insurance companies, New York State-chartered banks, and other financial services companies licensed in New York to review any relationships they may have with the National Rifle Association.'"
And Cuomo isn't giving up, with more good news from LaPierre...
“Cuomo’s tactics are already working. One by one, more and more banks and insurance companies across the country are knuckling under to Cuomo’s threat — and telling NRA they won’t do business with us — because they don’t want to be targeted and crushed by Cuomo’s strong-arm tactics and the vast power of thousands of New York bureaucrats.”
Gun control advocates should be dancing in the streets, but, with caution. I wouldn't trust Wayne LaPierre under any circumstances, nowhere, not never. But cutting into the NRA's finances is an excellent start as LaPierre commented further...
“The attack on the NRA is unprecedented. This call to action is real. If left unchecked, the actions of Gov. Cuomo would damage the NRA’s ability to access certain financial and insurance services—hurting its financial position and impacting its ability to advocate for members..."
We can only hope. 

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

NRA teaches Aussies "How to sell a massacre"


NRA head Wayne LaPierre
According to an Al Jazeera investigation, the National Rifle Assn. has specific guidelines on how to steer the blame for mass gun massacres away from the real reason: too many guns on the street. This is how they coached  Australia's One Nation party... 
"First, 'Say nothing.' If media queries persist, go on the 'offence, offence, offence'. Smear gun-control groups. 'Shame them' with statements such as - 'How dare you stand on the graves of those children to put forward your political agenda?'
Aha, a blatant admittance that, in general, gun nuts are responsible for the gun violence we experience daily. Well, not so much daily "down under" but certainly here in the U.S. If the NRA didn't feel this tremendous guilt for killing children across the country, why would they assemble this "playbook" on mass shootings that was revealed during the course of a three-year undercover sting by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit.

Undercover reporter, Rodger Muller, infiltrated the gun lobbies in the US and Australia. With a hidden camera he recorded "a series of meetings between representatives of the NRA and One Nation in Washington, DC in September last year." Proof, he says of how the NRA "deliberates over mass shootings and seeks to manipulate media coverage to push its pro-gun agenda." And then NRA head Wayne LaPierre stands before the American public spouting his bullshit...
"In our thoughts and prayers," and "Guns don't kill, people do."
Pathetic! 

Monday, August 20, 2018

LATEST: Montreal also voting on gun ban



Montreal will vote today whether to adopt a resolution that would echo the Toronto City Council’s call for new federal gun controls. It is reported...
"Following the shooting deaths of two people in Toronto’s Greektown neighborhood by an attacker with an illegally obtained handgun in late July, the Toronto City Council adopted a resolution supporting several federal and local gun restrictions. The measure called for a nationwide ban on all handguns and semi-automatic firearms, a prohibition on the at-home possession of firearms, shuttering the remaining shooting ranges and gun clubs in Toronto, and a local ban on the sale of handguns and “handgun ammunition” within the city."
And a pathetic U.S. Congress still pees its pants because the National Rifle Assn. and Wayne LaPierre refuses to allow even any thoughts of gun legislation so they refuse to even consder a U.S. gun ban.

Guns across U.S. border spurring Canadian gun violence


Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control and a professor at Ryerson University in Toronto exclaimed, "historically in Toronto about two-thirds of handguns used in crimes came from the US." She added, "if you look at Chicago, which is the same size as Toronto, Chicago had 10 times as many gun murders last year as we did." But it's getting steadily worse in Canada and you might say there could also be a copycat effect; monkey see Americans getting away with rampant gun violence, monkey figure they can do the same in Canada. Gun nuts have no conscience nor control.

And there are more handguns in Canada today; 660,000 before 2013 to 840,000 in 2016, firearms which, by the way, require licensing.. But the reactions are exactly the opposite to gun violence in Canada from the U.S. Our cowardly morons in Congress say "Our thoughts and prayers are with you," and leave it at that. Immediately Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government proposed new legislation for stricter background checks and record controls. And Toronto City Hall is voting on a ban on handguns in city limits. Take that Wayne LaPierre and your stinkin' NRA.


Wednesday, August 15, 2018

GUN CONTROL: Political gamble Dems must take


Students like these started it all
A confused and uninformed public has welcomed gun rights political candidates for years, but after the recent wave of shootings, has apparently at least somewhat come to their senses. Let's see now, they muse, which is best, the right of a gun nut to carry his weapons anywhere he or she wishes, or the right of innocent individuals, especially children, to live? Even the lowest double-digit IQ should have chosen the latter, but National Rifle Assn. head Wayne LaPierre has drummed the rights of these ringed-nose followers and the sacredness of the 2nd Amendment into the public for years now.

The new trend becomes obvious with the rash of mass shootings, including the killing of 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida six months ago. Here's an example of one candidate's message, Philip Levine, in Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial primary...
“I’m running for governor because I’m a parent who will not stop at anything until we make our gun laws stronger and our children safe.”
To illustrate the difference in attitudes, the number of political candidate ads for gun control has risen from only 559 in 2014 to 18,416 in 2018, a phenomenal jump that would indicate that these contenders are no longer running scared of the NRA. In the races covered there were 57,500 anti-gun-control spots so far, mostly by Republicans. In the Senate, Democrats are picking the gun rights candidates to oppose, although that branch still leans toward gun control opposition. Two-thirds of the American public now wants stronger gun control, and with a Democratic Congress, who knows.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

NRA "mission" a blatant oxymoron


The mission of the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), whether they want to admit it or not, most likely not, is to put as many guns on the street as possible. They can deny this all they want, but over the years it has been clearly established that Wayne LaPierre's NRA works for gun manufacturer's not its 5 million or so membership. These poor slobs eat up LaPierre's rhetoric, passing it around like facts, which most aren't, while gun makers drool over profits. Their stated mission is to protect the 2nd Amendment and the rights of gun nuts. Simply analyzed, it is a glaring oxymoron.

They just filed a claim in New York against Governor Andrew Cuomo that his "blacklisting" is "jeopardizing" their mission. No doubt they did not define their mission as "to put as many guns on the street as possible," which would seem to me to invalidate the charges to begin with. If they chose that flowery crap about the 2nd Amendment, although this may be true, it is not the real meaning about their existence. It is to sell more and more guns and LaPierre and the NRA will never be satisfied until every house in America is armed from a handgun to an AR-15. God help us!

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Don't like country music and I detest the NRA



I grew up in the South, actually Tennessee, where the Grand Ole Opry originated in 1925, and still is. Am old enough to have been to the original Ryman Auditorium, and my wife and I recently attended the Opry at the new place, compliments of a cruise we were taking. Still don't like country music but do appreciate good talent, and there is still tons of it in Nashville. Along with a love for guns and the 2nd Amendment. My gut tells me that, because of the C&W emphasis on nostalgia, its religious aspects along with the appeal to blue collar rednecks, the gun thing becomes a natural.

My wife (she's not a redneck) loves C&W and we listen to it a lot. But recently singer Eric Church was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine after the Las Vegas gun massacre saying...
“I’m a Second Amendment guy. That’s in the Constitution, it’s people’s right, and I don’t believe it’s negotiable. But nobody should have that many guns and that much ammunition and we don’t know about it.”
I disagree completely about the 2nd Amendment, but the rest he says is right on. He added that he blamed the lobbyists like the National Rifle Assn. for placing a "roadblock" with way too much power over elected officials. He should put all this into a country song with the title, "Let me Count the Ways Guns Kill our Children." And offer to sing it for NRA head Wayne LaPierre at the next Nat'l Rifle Assn. convention. Eric Church is being boycotted for what he said because the NRA has become such a big part of this industry lately. Just another reason for my aversion to C&W.

Thursday, August 9, 2018

We need more than Cuomo to sink NRA



New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has made the best first efforts to threaten the National Rifle Assn. in a long time by his legal challenges in NY over their questionable insurance programs and general PR that working with the organization is bad business. But, donations flowed in after the Florida shooting which makes one wonder if these donors are in favor of killing our children in their schools. Otherwise, why would they rush to give money to a group that refuses to ban the very weapon responsible for killing these children, assault weapons?

Meaning, what is required is at least a two-fold approach involving first, electing a liberal house and Senate in November populated by gun control candidates. Second, the gun control movement must initiate an enhanced educational program for the public to convince these die-hards that NRA head, Wayne LaPierre's crusade for more guns on the street is pure bullshit. This philosophy is killing thousands of Americans, not saving lives. The other option is to continue encouraging corporations and banks that it is bad business working with the NRA, for the above reasons.

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

NRA staggers after hit from friends on gun violence


Dana Loesch promoting gun violence
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSN. LONGTIME INSURANCE ASSOCIATE PLACES ALL BLAME ON THE ORGANIZATION FOR ITS "INFLAMMATORY MARKETING": The NRA has numerous enemies, the most recent of whom is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has attacked the group with a vehemence. He has hit them where it really hurts, their pocketbook. A recent claim by the NRA's head, Wayne LaPierre, said they could go down the tube if this "blacklisting" continues in New York. Cuomo promptly stepped up his campaign.

And now Lockton, the insurance broker behind the NRA’s Carry Guard program, a product that the NY Gov. says is illegal in his state, says it is all because of their "inflammatory marketing," in a lawsuit to sever ties with the organization. They are selling Carry Guard, a policy protecting the NRA's gun nut membership, "through which gun owners could seek reimbursement for legal costs arising from self-defense shootings. It's also just another way to milk this some 5 million disciples of "more guns for everyone," and their gullibility eats it up.

There is no doubt about the arrogance of Wayne LaPierre and his group, but in Andrew Cuomo, they might just have met their match 

Monday, August 6, 2018

Chicago gun killing epitome of NRA's 'Get more guns on street


70 PEOPLE SHOT, 11 FATALLY, OVER THE WEEKEND IN CHICAGO: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel always has someone to blame for the city's gun violence, this time it was repeat offenders, but it all boils down to one major problem: The National Rifle Assn.'s continuous plea, led by its head Wayne LaPierre, that if we had more guns on the street for protection, gun violence would go down. We do and it hasn't. Emanuel and his police department are apparently doing the best they can but obviously not enough.

Police Supt. Eddie Johnson appears to be holding the community partially responsible, saying "the shooters need to be held accountable," indicating the need for someone to give up the shooters. Instead, he bemoans, everyone points fingers at the police. As the third largest city in the country, it is far ahead in gun violence of the two largest, New York and Los Angeles combined. But all things considered, it is only a matter of, need a gun? stand on a street corner long enough and you'll make a deal. Or just simply go to the next gun show where they will sell a gun to anyone, no questions asked.

Saturday, August 4, 2018

NRA's arrogance backfires


Typical NRA lavish exhibition
OTHER THAN MARK ZUCKERBERG, WAYNE LAPIERRE, THE NRA'S HEAD, IS THE MOST ARROGANT BASTARD IN THE WORLD. Donald Trump, of course, is in a class of his own. But LaPierre has refused for years to negotiate with gun control advocates over even the simplest of issues like background checks and uncontrolled purchases of firearms at gun shows. What is startling is that 84% of the public supports background checks, as does 70 to 80% of NRA membership. Finally, the momentum is for gun control and more important, to get rid of the National Rifle Assn. and its staff of child killing terrorists. We know what the real problem is, the cowards in Congress; maybe we can change all of this in November. See NPR's latest.

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