Friday, March 16, 2012

Partisanship forces Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe out of Congress


Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe

Sen. Olympia Snowe is a Republican moderate who is gravely needed in a Senate that, although barely controlled by Democrats, still has problems with extreme conservatives like Tea Partyers and the religious right.  Susan Collins, another Republican moderate, is her fellow Senator in the state.  She has been serving since 1996, Snowe since 1994.  I am a progressive and wish Snowe would stay and hope Collins will.

What has happened in this country that extremists can literally run out of town the very kind of lawmaker the Congress needs?  Is the U.S. doomed to the kind of mediocrity and incompetence we have experienced from a GOP that has no ideas of its own on how to correct the nation’s problem, but would prefer anyway to just block anything President Obama or the Democrats propose.  It has been ‘say no to anything Obama presents’ from day one of his presidency.


Today's partisanship

Wikipedia says, “Partisanship can be affected by many factors including current events, figureheads (presidents), decisions, and even location.”  Further, “In the United States, the meaning of the term has changed dramatically over the last 50 years.”  In the past an “…individual's partisan tendencies were typically determined from their voting behavior. Since then, "partisan" has come to refer to an individual with a psychological identification with one or the other of the major parties.

Sen. Snowe said in a CNN article, “motivation and sense of responsibility remain.”  Continuing, "I do find it frustrating, however, that an atmosphere of polarization and 'my way or the highway' ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions."  Speaking no doubt about not only Republicans but also some Democrats.  Another key word, “polarization,” that, defined, is sharp division.

Susan Collins said she was devastated over Snowe’s decision.  Maine’s GOP Chairman Charlie Webster said he knew she was frustrated with “…the lack of civility in Washington,” and went on to describe her as a bridge builder.  Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said, "She's a good, good lady and an example of ... sometimes how the roughness of the political world can affect things. She's great, and she'll be missed by people on both sides of the aisle."

Obviously this puts her seat up for grabs by the Dems. and hopefully they can find someone who can fill Snowe’s shoes.  Snowe said, "I have no doubt I would have won re-election."  I agree, even against a Democrat.  And Texas Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said “…his party remains ‘well-positioned to win back a Senate majority in November.’” 

Yeah, sure.  With the GOP record, they’ll be lucky to avoid Armageddon in November.

And Sen. Snowe is not the only recent example of partisanship clogging the system.  At the Nat’l Governors Assn. meeting in Washington on March 4, President Obama offered, 'We're not going to agree on every single issue,” but, "I'm confident that we're going to be able to find more and more common ground going forward." 

As the Philadelphia Inquirer put it, “An hour after leaving the White House, Republican governors told Obama what he could do with his common ground.”

GOP answer to partisanship
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said, "President Obama is clearly the most liberal president we've had."  Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said, "The president said three years ago that if he couldn't turn this around in three years, then this would be a one-term proposition. Well, Republican governors are deciding it's time to collect. It's time for a new president." 

The Inquirer commented, “…the annual winter meeting of the governors association was a time of bipartisan camaraderie, a respite from politics to discuss ‘best practices’ in the various laboratories of democracy.  But now even this island of cooperation has been flooded by the partisan tsunami.”

Some governors didn’t even show up like Democrat Andrew Cuomo from New York, and Republican Jan Brewer from Arizona.  Other governors just complained or dismissed Obama’s accomplishments like the recent drop in unemployment which McDonnell explained, "it's a couple of months - that doesn't make a trend.” And Jindal, "He has failed when it comes to his tax policy, his spending policy, his borrowing policy, his energy policy, his health policy."

Not once did the GOP bozos mention the fact that the deadlock in Congress for the past three-plus years has been 99 percent the fault of the Republicans.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Lim-burger-baugh supplies latest stink to conservative talk radio


Limburger cheese

Limburger cheese originated in Europe and is known for its pungent odor often compared to body odor.  Rush Limbaugh is a (fill in the word) who originated in the United States, specifically Cape Girardeau, Missouri, who has developed an unmistakable smell doing his radio show over the years that just won’t seem to go away. 

Minnesota Senator Al Franken, then a liberal humorist, had it right when he said: “Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot.”  Although I wouldn’t want to put all of Limbaugh’s listeners in this category—some say they tune in to this bald pinhead for entertainment—but if you are one that takes him serious, you are in trouble.  Some say we should keep him around just to expose extreme-right politics that has brought this country down to a level never before seen.

The Young Turks on the Limbaugh/Fluke incident in the video below:

 

He’s done it again but this time it seems to be more enduring when he called Georgetown student, Sandra Fluke, a “slut” and a “Prostitute.”  She was testifying before Congress that she felt her school’s health insurance should cover contraception for female students.  He apologized, sort of, saying: "I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices."  What he didn’t add was the fact that he is a pathological moron with followers who don’t have a clue.

I did an article on Limbaugh for Phoenix Examiner back in June of 2009, “If Rush Limbaugh says Sotomayor is bad, she must be good,” about how he tried to block Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.  This was actually his second attempt to stop a Sotomayor appointment; he tried to block her from the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals several years ago.  Limbaugh even predicted then that she was on her way to the Supreme Court.

Rush Limbaugh "On the air"
He referred to her as a “reverse racist” and a “hack,” the former due to her statement, “wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.”  I asked a Latina friend how she interpreted this and she told me that, after she had thought about it, she agreed with Sotomayor.

But it was Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem that went for Limbaugh’s jugular in their CNN article, “FCC should clear Limbaugh from airwaves.”  They emphasized the severity of the situation by saying it “was not much worse than his regular broadcast of sexist, racist and homophobic hate speech” as follows:

  • “Female Cabinet members are sex-Retaries.”

  • “The NAACP should have riot rehearsal.  They should get a liquor store and practice robberies.”

  • “The National Organization for Women is a bunch of whores to liberalism”

  • “Said to an African-American female caller: ‘Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.’”

The Jane/Robin/Gloria trio says, “Limbaugh doesn't just call people names. He promotes language that deliberately dehumanizes his targets.”  Further, “This isn't political. While we disagree with Limbaugh's politics, what's at stake is the fallout of a society tolerating toxic, hate-inciting speech. For 20 years, Limbaugh has hidden behind the First Amendment, or else claimed he's really ‘doing humor’ or ‘entertainment.’"   

As an example, the talk show host has called women "femi-Nazi," for years.  Other illustrations of Limbaugh degradation are subjects like people of color, lesbians and gays, immigrants, the disabled, the elderly, Muslims, Jews, veterans, environmentalists and more.


Who's a "slut" now?

It could be catching up with the toxic-jock.  I believe the latest is 13 sponsors that have left the show, two radio stations dropping Limbaugh.  The determined trio has challenged his syndicator, Clear Channel Communications, on their plans to support this kind of hate speech which obviously will never change.  However, if the sponsors stand by their decision to drop Limbaugh and more stations do the same based on a loss of revenue, you can’t call it censorship. 

You can also make a complaint to the FCC.  Complaints can be registered under the broadcast category of the FCC website: http://www.fcc.gov/complaints. 

With any luck, the era of Karl Roves and Rush Limbaughs is coming to an end.  Maybe conservatives will finally get the message and start working on talking about issues instead of the ‘we’re against everything progressive” attitude.  But the liberals and moderates will have to do their part too by coming to the table with an open mind.

In the meantime, try some Limburger cheese.  My father loved it.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Michigan gun rights fanatic denigrates recent high school gun massacre

A day in the life of gun violent America
Seventeen year old
T.J. Lane
fired 10 rounds into a group of teenagers in the Chardon, Ohio high school cafeteria, eventually killing three.  Lane didn’t know the people he shot, didn’t even go to Chardon high school; he attended Lake Academy, a school for students with academic or behavioral problems.  Just the day before the shooting, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article on how legal concealed carry licenses in Ohio had doubled in the past three years.

Now this may have no direct relationship to the Chardon shootings but does point out once again just how many more guns are on the streets of America.  Where did Lane get the gun?  It has been reported that it was his grandfather’s, taken from his barn and
Thomas Lane
did go looking for it after he found it missing.  The next question is why didn’t grampa report it missing?

These are the kinds of questions about gun violence that go unanswered on a daily basis.  Meanwhile, the gun worshipping National Rifle Assn. and its gang of gun nuts go on their merry way, supporting laws to put even more concealed guns in the pockets of yet more gun bubbas.  The reasoning is bizarre. 


CSGV's Josh Horwitz

But Josh Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), takes the dilemma one step further.  He points out the arrogance of the pro-gun movement in his article on Huff Post, “When Buying a Gun Becomes Easier than Voting.”  Along with daily shootings throughout the U.S. and now what seems fairly regular gun massacres like Virginia Tech, Loughner’s Tucson, the Chardon High incident, the gun freaks want to just rub our noses in it.  Here’s the story.

It was only one day after the Chardon High mass shooting, Feb. 28, when Nicholas Looman in Grand Rapids, Michigan, walked into his voting place, also a public elementary school, blatantly carrying a loaded handgun.  Horwitz says, along with placing his vote, “…he also ‘wanted to make a point that he should be allowed to carry’ a gun while voting.”  Looman was asked to leave after voting and that apparently hurt the poor baby’s feelings.  The idiot asked for an apology.

CSGV’s Exec. Dir. comments: “His rights? Let's be clear... The landmark Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment from 2008, District of Columbia v. Heller, found that the right to keep and bear arms is about individuals protecting ‘hearth and home.’ And that there certainly is no right to carry firearms wherever and whenever one wants -- much less at a school or voting site. The idea that there is a right to ‘vote and carry’ would be laughable if it did not expose a dangerous ideology that, if left unchecked, will fundamentally change our democratic system.”

Wow!  That is powerful stuff and helps confirm one of my most serious beliefs that these cowboys do not have the right to walk all over town with their concealed weapons, not even holstered guns that we can see.  I live in Arizona; yes, the loosest gun laws in the country, and our hair brained Governor and GOP legislature are trying to make them even looser. 

Looman would have a field day in this state; not only would they not ask him to leave, they would welcome him and his gun totin’ friends to hang around and discuss setting up a gun show once voting was over.  

Horwitz continues: “Our Founders drafted our Constitution explicitly to prevent force -- or the threat of force -- from influencing the political system. ‘Freedom’ was understood as the ability of the government to abide by the rule of law without interference from an unelected monarch or a frothing mob. In fact, the duty of the Militia, as defined in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, is to ‘suppress Insurrections,’ not to foment them. Carrying a gun into a polling place or a legislative body turns that history on its head by making the statement that The guys with the guns make the rules. Our country declared its independence under the banner of political equality. We must have the freedom to exercise our right to vote without being exposed to a show of force by someone who might disagree with us politically. And it's entirely possible that Looman's behavior alarmed and/or intimidated other voters on Tuesday.”

But voting is getting harder, according to Horwitz, with bills introduced in both Virginia state houses that make it harder for people to vote without government-issued identification.  It was called “Old South” and a return to the Jim Crow era by Benjamin Chavis, former director of the NAACP.  Horwitz says:

“And Virginia is not alone... Many GOP-controlled state legislatures across the nation are now moving to implement voter suppression laws before the 2012 elections. Of the eight states that require residents to show photo identification before voting -- Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kansas, Indiana and Wisconsin -- all allow residents to purchase firearms through private sales without undergoing any type of background check or showing any form of identification. These sales are cash and carry, and no paperwork is required. 23 other states require residents to produce some form of identification before voting (though not necessarily a photo ID). Of those 23, only Rhode Island prohibits all private sales of firearms (Connecticut requires background checks for private sales of handguns only). Finally, in a development that may or not be coincidental, some states are now allowing residents to use a concealed handgun permit as an acceptable document to verify identity when voting, but not a student ID card issued by a public university.”

Horwitz finishes: “Seriously, when you can buy a trunk-load of AK-47s without government-issued identification but you can't vote - something is seriously wrong with our democracy.”

Think about it.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

B-A-N-N-E-D by DAILY KOS for my views on gun rights fanatics – Part 3


Daily Kos gun rights fanatics

This is the third and last post in my series on being banned by Daily Kos for my views on gun rights fanatics.  You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.  So far the major reaction is the typical wacko comments from DK diarists, but one from a reader who agrees with my take on gun control.  I’m disappointed!  Had hoped for more of the imbecilic comments like I illustrated in yesterday’s post so you could witness more of the feeble-mindedness of this select breed of morons.

They are a pedigree unto themselves; more like a pack of mongrels.  But more important is the fact that this pro-gun gang is clearly on the march to silence anyone who disagrees with their gun-worshipping beliefs and will do anything to reach their goal.  That is scary!  And what is even scarier is the fact that Daily Kos lets these hybrid idiots run amok, to the extent that they can drive someone right off the DK blog because he disagrees with their views.


Gun control advocate on Daily Kos

To illustrate my point that these people will do anything to silence the opposition, there was a commenter who appeared to be educated, at least compared to those listed in yesterday’s post, who actually made a threat to disrupt my Nasty Jack blog.  The guy, online name Phoenix 182, among several other aliases, his real name, according to him, is Kristin Guttrormsen.  His comments were left on my NJ blog but later learned he was a Daily Kos diarist.

He made the following statement when he thought I had deleted one of his comments (I hadn’t): “Fortunately I save all posts I make, and can repost them an infinite number of times, from an infinite number of id's.”

When I told him I would report him for spamming, he said he didn’t care and that he had broken no laws.  It is one thing to be illegal but another to be blatantly unethical, and proud of it.  Pathetic!  It was basically because of this jerk that I had to start moderating comments.  This yahoo claims to have “…done so many interviews, lectures, written so many published pieces, etc.”  Thank God I wasn’t there or forced to read any of his pablum.

See video below as Ladd Everitt, Director of Communications at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, addresses the crowd at a Lie-In outside the U.S. Supreme Court on 4/16/08, the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.  The Jared Loughner Tucson massacre would occur less than three years later:

 


And finally there is a harebrained comment that came up repeatedly on DK by another “anonymous” dimwitted diarist, afraid to use his or her real name:

“If you began taking your meds again according to the prescription (read the bottle), your understanding of this matter would greatly improve.”

Throughout all this, Daily Kos diarists kept up the divisive comments as if they disagreed with everything I said, but continued to read every one of my diaries, as evidenced by my high daily readership on DK.  As an example kestrel9000, alias Eddie Garcia, the “sap” from Vermont, ranted that my diaries weren’t worth reading, yet, he continued to read them and leave comments. 

I came to the conclusion that, based on the substance and tenor of my Daily Kos comments on gun control, you would think the blog had been infiltrated by a secret cult of gun zealots, had almost become an extension of the National Rifle Assn.

Now with the repugnant stuff out of the way, there were some encouraging comments that lead me to believe that diarists do exist on Daily Kos that are intelligent, sophisticated and reasonable in their reaction to gun control issues, although at times outspoken.  See them below: 

·       POed Lib said: “NJ: Excellent post. I used to be on DK, but was driven off mostly by posses of gunsel gunwacks, who would show up on comments and TR me. The gunwacks on DK have the pretense of civility and reason, but they are just a bunch of lying snakes who are no more reasonable than is LaPierre that massive pile of shit. I asked once for a single gun restriction that they would agree to, and they have none. They do not agree that the gun show loophole and private sale loophole should be closed. They don't agree with restrictions on number of sales, on restrictions on high capacity magazines, none of that stuff. They are just shills for the NRA and are all liars.”

·       Frank Blau said: “You won't get any love from the rkba nuts at Daily Kos... but I made my way here to tell you that there are SOME people (like me) on your side. :)”

·       Anonymous said: “You are likely to get shelled and take heavy fire on DK. I used to be there, before the Gun Lunatic Posse TRed me off. I tried on several occasions to get responsible limits consider: limits on rapid change magazines, # gun purchased/month, etc. No limit was acceptable, yet the gunsels continued to proclaim their ‘reasonableness’. Lying morons.”

·       Brasilaaron said: “Why would any sane person pretend that allowing random people to carry guns on planes is a good idea?  While in one's home, the 2nd amendment is a perfectly valid Right to admire.  Public safety while in public trumps the 2nd amendment; life, liberty and pursuit of happiness not life, liberty and the pursuit of firearms (i know, one's the Dec. of Independence the other the Constitution).”

·       IceMilkCoffee said: “Guns are bad for the same reasons why an arms race is bad. If a bunch of loons are allowed to come into our state with their guns and play Nimrod, then I, a non-gun owner, will now have to escalate and get a gun for myself.  If you agree that the arms race is a bad idea, then so is this escalation of gun ownership. It's bad for everyone except the gun sellers.”

What more can I say?  Goodbye and good riddance Daily Kos!

Monday, March 12, 2012

B-A-N-N-E-D by DAILY KOS for my views on gun rights fanatics – Part 2

New Daily Kos diarist
In the first article in this series, I supplied some background on Daily Kos and how I was banned from that blog.  Unless DK wants to be more specific, the only explanation is that I was drummed out by a gang of guns rights fanatics.  But I doubt the blog can refute the fact that the reaction to my articles on gun control were the reason the Daily Kos “community” kicked me out, unless DK elects to censor me further by deleting all my posts and their comments. 

Right up front I will admit that many of my articles were reproachful against gun owners, but were based on my prior experience where gun extremists have reviled my writing using language fit only for a sailor (I was a swabbie).  They were very similar to some you will see here today.  And it is hard for anyone to ignore the daily blasts from the media by gun worshippers who love their guns more than life.  I live in Arizona, the seat of loose gun laws.

See MSNBC's Chris Matthews on gun control below:




Eddie Garcia at work in Vermont

I’ll start the Daily Kos comments with a guy from Vermont who must be sucking too much maple syrup from the trees in his yard.  He goes by the online name of kestrel9000 but his real name is Eddie Garcia and apparently his mother never washed his mouth out with soap.  That is, if he had one.  As an example he commented on my DK articles:

  • “What in the sequined fuck are you talking about?” in reply to another DK diarist who had made an asinine comment on one of my diaries.

  • “Some would say it's fucking weird to come armed to a coffee shop, and if you don't like it, go somewhere else.  it's fucking weird for a black guy to date a white woman.  Others would say it's fucking weid (SIC) for a black woman to date a white woman.  You would ban things on the basis of them being fucking weird?”

  • “you had the stones to answer comments on Daily Kos where you vomited out this piece of shit, minus the pictures and youtubes (wtf are you, lame?) you'd see you're getting your ass handed to you by both sides of the issue, but I bet you don't. Your tipjar now stands at +1/-8. This will be my first and last comment on this blog. You are being hiderated for spamming, hit and run diarying, and bigotry. I'm outta here.”

  • “Another lie: There is no gun show loophole.  The rules regarding private sales do not change regardless of where they take place.”  Now only a complete idiot would make this statement.

But what could you expect from someone whose most recommended diary is Rush Limbaugh.

Here’s one from someone with only the online name of labwitchy:

  • “Well kestrel9000, if people weren't so darn dark there'd be no need to control what they can or can't possess.  i know you get that as snark kes. you know where i stand.  when slaves own guns, masters are in major trouble.  Republicans ARE cooties!” An apparent reply to “gun mouth” re. my post on how racism had been connected to gun control.

Pavepusher’s comment, below, is further evidence of the fact that I was banned from Daily Kos for my views on radical gun rights:

  • “Pack of lies in that ‘video,’ of course.  ‘Concealed assault weapon’ my ass.  You really are a vile fuckwad.  Congrats on getting kicked out of DKos, took you long enough.  Bet you don’t have the intestinal fortitude to let this comment stay.”  I did.


Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas

Looking back on my Daily Kos article comments, you would think that all these people have to do is sit around all day making derogatory statements about anyone who they think wants to take away their precious guns.  It makes me wonder if this is the majority of DK’s traffic, which would indicate a very low-brow profile.  The site’s founder, Markos Moulitsas, might want to take the time to evaluate this…before his advertisers do.

NEXT: More on Daily Kos with additional comments, many from the pro-gun control group.

Friday, March 9, 2012

B-A-N-N-E-D by DAILY KOS for my views on gun rights fanatics

Daily Kos Web page

In case you aren’t aware, Daily Kos is a supposed liberal blog that encourages readers to join them by writing articles called “diaries.”  Now these folks are also participating in something called a “community,” which is made up of the diarists.  Apparently a diarist is required to take part in the community, a rule that is not made clear by DK, and, based on my experience, is enforced entirely by other diarists.  I started as a diarist on Daily Kos July 18, 2011, publishing daily.

I have averaged around 100 views per day doing progressive articles on a wide range of subjects from religion to guns.  On my first day I had nine comments on an article about controlling your personal data that was read by 50 people.  On the fourth day I did an article about challenging the 2nd Amendment; not repealing it mind you, just some adjustments like restricting gun carrying in public by inexperienced gun owners.  The proverbial bullets hit the fan.

Small gun...small mind
I had 332 readers and received 163 comments.  Up until the moment I started reading the comments, I had thought I could expect a somewhat left to left-center reaction to my views on sane gun control.  Not so.  Daily Kos is a hotbed of angry, narrow minded, often crude gun rights fanatics.  A few were in favor of my piece, most against, with none that were really vindictive.  There was also plenty of inane arguing among diarists.  But this was simply the quiet before the storm.

As I became more familiar with gun violence around the country, I suddenly realized that I was sitting in the middle of the state that was the nucleus of bad gun laws with state politicians that had no regard for public safety.  All they cared about was the appetite of Arizona’s gun worshippers who wanted more guns and wanted to carry them damn well anywhere they wanted to.  People like recalled state Sen. Russell Pearce, state Sen. Ron Gould, and spacey Gov. Jan Brewer.

Daily Kos founder, Markos Moulitsas, should know better after being banned himself from MSNBC in video below:



At Daily Kos I proceeded, cross-posting from this blog, which DK encouraged.  It took me a while to get going on gun advocacy but once I had done a fair amount of research, I was ready to plow ahead with data even I couldn’t believe.  I quickly realized that my residence in Arizona would supply me with a lifetime of material on the issue and I have never been disappointed.  It seems there are one or more shootings each day in this state, some that result in death.

Most recently, I was averaging at least one gun control article a week.  At the same time I was also writing similar pieces and cross-posting from Nasty Jack for the Phoenix Examiner.com.  It was on Examiner that I first experienced a volley of vitriolic comments on anything written against gun control.  But it was expected in the town and state that loves guns more than life itself.  The comments from Daily Kos had become equally nasty. 

And then it happened on February 27, of this year.

On that day I started as usual to post my article on Daily Kos and received a message, "Not authorized to create article."  DK had not contacted me by email, nor had they left me anything on the message board.  I sent an email to DK and asked why I received this message.  Elaine replied and said only, “It's because you've been banned.”  No explanation…zip, so I asked why I had been banned.  Elaine, again, said, “You were autobanned, meaning that the community voted that you were disruptive to discussion.”

The “community,” meaning the other diarists, had kicked me out of DK for being “disruptive?”  Poor babies!  And the community Elaine was talking about could only be the gun rights fanatics that regularly spewed venom in comments about my articles.  I couldn’t have been disruptive because I never answered one of their comments.  Unless they were trying to censor my articles on gun control advocacy, which is the only answer in this case. 

NEXT: Comments from the Daily Kos community turn vile but also inept

Thursday, March 8, 2012

New poll shows wide Hispanic support for more gun control

It was back in November of 2011 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) announced a new poll commissioned through Lake Research Partners that shows Latino voters want more gun control.  From the survey: 86 Percent Support Requiring a Background Check on All Gun Sales; 76 Percent Support Obama Administration Program Requiring Firearms Dealers in Border States to Report Bulk Sales of Assault Rifles.

Hispanics also want stronger laws to govern the sale of guns and believe that states, not the feds, should control who carries a concealed weapon.  This is in direct opposition to the Nat’l Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act currently going through the U.S. Congress.  They want their state of residence to control who can carry there, not the potential loose laws from a state like Arizona where almost anyone can buy a gun and carry it just about anywhere.

More findings:

  • 69 percent of Latino voters believe laws governing the sale of guns should be stronger
  • 
    Universality of concealed carry
    
  • A large majority of Latinos, including more than 70 percent of Latino Republicans, Latino gun owners and Latinos over 50, believe that people from other states should  not be allowed to carry a loaded and concealed gun in their state unless they meet their state's legal requirements
  • 86 percent of Hispanics support requiring all gun buyers to pass a criminal background check, no matter where they buy the gun and no matter who they buy it from
  • 76 percent of Latinos favor a new Obama Administration program requiring gun dealers in border states to report when someone attempts to buy more than one semi-automatic assault rifle within a five-day period

The beauty of this philosophy is that it comes from the fastest growing minority group in the U.S.; with over 16.3 percent of the population, Hispanics number over 50 million people.  According to the Pew Hispanic Center, a record 9.7 million Latinos (50% of Latino eligible voters) cast a vote in the 2008 presidential election.  In the 2010 midterm, 6.6 million Latinos voted—31% of Latino eligible voters. 

Pew estimates that more than 21.7 million Hispanics are eligible to participate in November or 22.6 percent of total U.S. voters.  Does that mean we can expect more activism on gun control in the future?



The Lake research poll also backs up a recent nationwide survey that shows Americans “overwhelmingly” oppose the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity act, H.R. 822.  Here’s an interesting comment from one of my blog posts on the carrying of concealed weapons:

“Guns are bad for the same reasons why an arms race is bad. If a bunch of loons are allowed to come into our state with their guns and play Nimrod, then I, a non-gun owner, will now have to escalate and get a gun for myself.  If you agree that the arms race is a bad idea, then so is this escalation of gun ownership. It's bad for everyone except the gun sellers.”

I have said this before but it bears repeating.  I have never been in a position myself—nor have I ever known anyone who was in a position—to need a weapon to protect myself.  And even if I was, I still would not want some “Nimrod” to come to my rescue.  I think I would be more afraid of their likely untrained actions than my attacker.  

Perhaps we should herd all the gun worshippers onto their own exclusive reservation, which would mean more protection for the rest of us by law enforcement.  Now that’s a law I could support.

Here’s an article you might want to take a look at: “Guns easily get in the hands of people who go on deadly shooting sprees.”

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Arizona’s hiatus on illegal immigration offers respite for Hispanic voters

In Arizona there is ongoing fear by undocumented immigrants to speak up or participate in the general population because of the racist attitudes of many of the state’s residents.  Not to mention bigots like former state Sen. Russell Pearce, author of anti-immigration bill SB-1070, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  This even spills over into the legal immigrant community that isn’t quite sure they are actually safe in a state known for its intolerances.

But the New York Times says that illegal immigration is on the “back burner” in Arizona and that is a good sign to help turn out the Latino vote in the November election.  Russell Pearce was thrown out of office in disgrace and now the feds are stepping up their investigation of practices in Arpaio’s office.  At the same time, Pinal County Sheriff, also a staunch foe of illegal immigration, has been outed as being gay and his lover has filed a million-dollar lawsuit against him.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer slapped a bigot’s label on Mitt Romney just by endorsing him recently since she ranks right up there with Pearce and Arpaio in Jim Crowism.  And it is pretty significant that all the GOP primary candidates have stayed away from the immigration issue, although it is quite clear that Republicans are anti-illegal immigrants.  Most of them just don’t have the guts to admit it since it will certainly cost them votes.

Political consultant Chip Scutari said: “Many of the voters who support 1070 also support an earned path to citizenship.  I think border issues are in the mix. But because there’s been such a quagmire, it’s lost some of its sex appeal.”  This bothers the anti-immigration group—the economy and jobs are in the forefront now—but they think this will change when illegals start crossing the border again looking for work.



Many pro-immigrationists are convinced the GOP has done irreparable damage in the Hispanic community, which will translate into record voter registration for Latinos in November, most of which will probably vote for Barack Obama.  And although Arizona hasn’t yet suffered the disastrous effects Alabama’s anti-immigration law had on that state—crops are rotting in the fields—the Sunshine State has made budget cuts that have significantly affected residents.

I did an article for Phoenix Examiner.com last December that looked at the issue from the standpoint of how Arizona could have a positive impact on the Hispanic vote in November.  With all the opposition, the Latino voting-age population has jumped from 455,000 nine years ago to 845,000 today, 19 percent of the state’s population eligible to vote.  One recent show of force was indicated by Latino firefighter Daniel Valenzuela beating a white businesswoman for a spot on the Phoenix City Council.
Democrats are hoping to register approximately 300,000 new Hispanics to vote prior to November 2012.  Add to that the 455,000 already registered and you have a potentially formidable force.  If they can be convinced to vote.  Colorado may be a forewarning of what is to come.  The state was able to sign up 225,000 new Hispanics who voted in the 2008 election turning the state from red to blue, thanks to the alienation of former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo.

Then closer to home, Within 6 months of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signing anti-immigration law SB-1070 in 2010, 43,000 new Latinos were registered to vote in Colorado.  As the sayings go, ‘the monkey is on your back’ or, ‘you’ve got the ball, now run with it.’  The question is which way will the Latinos run, whether many of them will run at all, and just how much Arizona’s results will jolt the rest of the country.

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