TED CRUZ 2ND AMENDMENT FUNDAMENTALS STEEPED IN OBSOLETE IDEOLOGY

The 2nd Amendment is a divisive part of the U.S. Constitution that should either be modified drastically or repealed. The National Rifle Assn. is in the last day of its 2015 convention in Nashville, TN, and their 70,000 members are there for just the opposite reason; to preserve its sanctity. At least in their eyes. Ted Cruz is trying to help but, as usual, he put his foot in his mouth again. For years opponents of the ritualistic interpretation of the 2nd Amendment by gun nuts have argued, this is not what those guys meant on that day, December 15, 1791. That was then. This is now. Things have changed. Wake up and enjoy modern times. But Cruz elected to dredge up former Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story who did support the 2nd with the enthusiasm of someone proud of his country at a time when vigilance was needed. But that was sometime between 1811 and 1845, hardly a contemporary view of our needs of today. And therein lies the problem of the gun rights movement. Their view of the 2nd Amendment is antiquated and until that changes the shootings and killings will continue.

NRA RUNNING SCARED OF HILLARY CLINTON

An unnerved National Rifle Assn. opened its 2015 convention in Nashville, TN, yesterday and what was on the agenda? Hillary Clinton bashing by wacky Wayne LaPierre with a generous sprinkling of digs by the GOP Presidential candidates present. The 70,000 attendees, mostly conservative, white, and male, listened to the maniac of munitions rant on why these poor souls in the audience should buy more guns and convince their congressional representative that there should be absolutely no more gun laws that curb guns like assault weapons. Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas probably received a standing ovation based on his recent law that relinquishes guns to a warm body. I don't know if Hillary has it in her to fight for more reasonable gun laws but I know Elizabeth Warren does.

NRA BEGINS BELCHING THEIR BULLSHIT TODAY

INDIANAPOLIS 2014: It was this anti-gun demonstration that marred the spewing of gun propaganda by the National Rifle Assn. head, Wacky Wayne LaPierre in its last convention in Indianapolis in 2014. WW and his flock embark on the 2015 version today in Nashville, TN, and are connecting with country music. First of all, I don't like country music but most of all I detest the NRA. In an obvious pro-gun piece in the Nashville Business Journal, the writer makes an interesting comment that the mostly male attendees were primarily target shooters. If this is the case the attendees won't include the gun nuts I regularly hear from in this blog with comments like, " WHO YOU GOING TO CALL WHEN THE SCUMS COME FOR YOU AND YOUR LIFE IS ON THE LINE..." No, I imagine the folks in Nashville this weekend are more like the 75% level headed members of the NRA that believe there should be universal background checks. My double-digit gun nuts probably couldn't afford the trip anyway.

Unfortunately Wacky Wayne LaPierre will pay no attention to this huge majority of membership and continue to espouse unreasonable gun rights for more guns everywhere for people who aren't trained to use them.

AN INFORMED VOTER DOES NOT VOTE REPUBLICAN

Political researchers have said, “When uninformed citizens receive political information, they systematically shift their political preferences away from the Republican Party and toward the Democrats," according to Aljazeera America. That says mountains about Republican voters who depend on the negativity of the GOP, accompanied by Fox (faux) News, and the Tea Party to make their decisions. If putting down their opponents isn't enough, Republicans resort to hate for their message. It is what I call trickle down abomination and seems to be a formula that has worked for the GOP.

Because there is no opposition from Progressives, like...voting. 

ARIZONA-WHERE STUPID LAWS ARE BORN

APRIL 2014-PHOENIX, ARIZONA: A demented state legislature has just passed a new bill that would ban the passing of any future legislation banning plastic bags. Slate says it is in the bidding for worst state of the week, a place Arizona has enjoyed repeatedly in the past, especially when Jan Brewer was governor. State Sen. Nancy Barto proposed the bill that now waits for Gov. Ducey to sign. Barto is the fruitcake that recently pushed through another piece of mind-boggling legislation making it a law for Arizona doctors to tell women getting an abortion that it is reversible. The medical community says this is not only impossible but could be dangerous.

The meeting of the Arizona legislature reminds me of that movie from 1948, The Snake Pit, covering a woman's life during her stay in a mental institution.

AN ANGRY GUN NUT COULD LIVE NEXT DOOR TO YOU

There are around 300 million guns in the U.S. That's 90 per 100 residents, which comes out to 2.4 per household. You'd think we were preparing for a war. What is even more shocking is that 4.8 million of those households, approximately 5%, have someone living in them who is pissed off at the world and they have a gun or guns. They aren't all gun nuts and you can read the definition of this bonehead here. When you boil it down to figures like this it makes the statement, 'There are too many guns in America' believable. Even wacky Wayne LaPierre should be able to understand hard facts like this. But he doesn't. This weekend, WW will be in Nashville at the NRA convention telling all his gun nut minions that no matter what, they have to run out now and buy more guns.

STARTLING FACTS THAT SHOULD SHAME PROGRESSIVES

The Pew Research Center has found that 39% of Americans consider themselves Independent voters, having left the two major parties in frustration. I am one of them. But the balance is aligned as follows: Democrats 32%; Republicans 23%. But around 90% of Independents do lean either left or right. Of these leaners 48% are Democrats, 39% are Republicans. Among the registered voters of this group, 48% are Democratic, 43% Republican. So how have we lost so many elections to the GOP recently? Because you Progressives are sitting on your butts and not voting.