Gun control…a nada in the second Presidential debate



Bloomberg announces Super PAC



Neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney provided satisfactory answers to what they would do about gun control, especially according to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is an avid proponent of taking illegal guns off the streets.  Bloomberg was so upset that he pledged millions through a new super PAC backing candidates and ballot initiatives in favor of gun control.  This could very well be the turning point to challenge NRA political contributions.

The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) has bought and maintains the U.S. Congress.  These wimps in Washington are scared to death of what wacky Wayne LaPierre and his gang of lackeys will do if they don’t toe the line and support their style of gun rights.  Innocent Americans’ lives be-damned.  As an example, over 9,000 people died from gun-related homicides in the U.S. in 2011.  VOXXI reports:

“This is an astounding total when one considers that the death of 2,000 people in an organized military conflict is considered to be a major war.”

Video of debate gun control questions:

VOXXI also tells us that if the gun show loophole had been closed, the Aurora, Colo. movie shooting wouldn’t have happened.  The shooter, James Holmes, “got his semi-automatic rifle from a friend who bought it for him from an unlicensed dealer at a gun show.”  These unlicensed dealers aren’t required to make background checks, and didn’t even after the woman buying the weapon told the dealer it was for someone too young to buy a gun.

It has been established that over 70% of the guns used in crimes in Mexico come from the U.S.  This, after the U.S. recently withdrew its support for the global Arms Trade Treaty.  And you guessed it, the NRA opposes this treaty making the organization not only responsible for innocent deaths in the United States, but all over the world.  Another case of illegal guns going out of the U.S., 3 men were recently arrested in Nashville for buying firearms and shipping them to Australia.

 In the second debate, Obama said he favored renewing the assault weapons ban, a statement he has made before with no follow through.  He also wants to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, and wants more “conversation” on the issue.  That’s when the ammunition hit the fan and Bloomberg said we’ve already talked enough.  The Mayor says it’s now time for action and put his money where his mouth.  Romney is against any new gun regulation.



Adam Winkler's latest book

Adam Winkler, a specialist in American Constitutional Law at UCLA, says in the Daily Beast that an assault weapons ban is not the answer since the gunman can come armed with multiple weapons, in case one jams.  Contrary to that belief, if semi-automatic weapons were banned, another thought is that, at least, the assailant would kill less people.  Winkler continues, mass shootings aren’t the real problem, it’s gun violence like Chicago’s where assault weapons aren’t used. 
Rebekah Metzler on NPR corrected the Romney comment that it is illegal in this country to have an automatic weapon.  Metzler said:

“It's not entirely correct. For those who had automatic weapons prior to the ban, which happened in 1986, they're still allowed to have those as long as they're registered with the federal government. Those same weapons prior to 1986 that were registered with the federal government are also allowed to be bought and sold if you jump through some hoops.”

VOXXI contends that undercutting the power of the NRA “will require a major public outcry that will make politicians realize that there is a political price to be paid for opposing gun control.”  That is what we gun control advocates have been trying to accomplish for years.  Maybe NY Mayor Bloomberg’s distress over the lack of attention to the issue in the debates and his subsequent super PAC to address gun control will finally provide the answer.

MAJOR ROMNEY EMBARASSMENT: Mormons won’t even endorse him

Today the Salt Lake Tribune endorsed the President saying that he deserved a second term but Mitt Romney didn’t deserve a first.  The paper is representative of a huge Mormon population in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as being in a GOP stronghold.  It applauds Romney for what he did for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics but says he has lost whatever talent he brought to the Games at that time.  He was even called a “favorite adopted son,” but no endorsement.

CNN quoted the paper:

“Of more importance, the paper said, was Romney's lack of clarity and specifics on his proposal to reduce the deficit, asserting that GOP nominee's plan doesn't add up. The paper also pointed to Romney's now-infamous ‘47%’ comments caught on a secretly-recorded video at a private fund-raiser in Florida suggesting that nearly half of Americans will vote for Obama because they are reliant on government services.

So far I have seen no reaction from the Romney campaign but no doubt the excuses will be forthcoming as soon as someone can come up with a credible answer, if there is an answer for the Mormon Presidential candidate losing the support of this leading Mormon constituency.  The paper also came out for Obamacare and the President’s efforts on improving the economy and creating jobs.  A sort of overall confirmation of a job well done by Barack Obama.    

Newspapers in Tampa and Denver have also endorsed Obama, which is equally important since both of these states are considered “toss-ups” in the election.  MSN described the endorsement as “massive” and commented that, “Well, this must be awkward.”  They quoted the Tribune as describing Obama’s leadership as “decisive.”  It seems that all the things we are hearing from this newspaper refute just about everything Romney and the GOP says the President isn’t.

Howard Hughes, the billionaire recluse, said on many occasions that he hired Mormons to take care of him in his later years because they could be trusted more than anyone else he had ever met.  Maybe the Salt Lake Tribune is on to something.  

UPDATE  

  For some of you in the comments below who questioned the credibility of the Salt Lake Tribune, and my research for the article, I anticipated this kind of diatribe so here are the facts. 

The Salt lake Tribune is the largest-circulated daily newspaper in Salt Lake City and is operated in a joint operating agreement with the Deseret News.  The Deseret News is owned by the Mormon Church.

I didn't say the paper represented the Mormon Church or the Mormon people, only that it is representative of a huge Mormon population.

I must say that this post hit a nerve when it comes to Mormons and other conservatives around the country.  There are approximately some 5.4 million Mormons in the U.S. and based on a Gallup poll, 84% are for Romney, 13% for Obama.  After the SL Trib article, there is bound to be a new poll.

Is protecting your personal data a lost cause?

Scott McNealy, former CEO of Sun Microsystems, said in 1999, "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it."  Privacy advocates around the U.S. fought off the notion as an off-the-wall statement that couldn’t be backed up.  Well, I am here to tell you that McNealy was right and the situation has gotten only worse over the years.  I was a junk mail data broker that sold your name and personal information to companies who used it to target you in their mailings.

Not that I agreed that McNealy’s premise should be accepted, although he was right at the time, rather that the heisting of this private data was wrong and should be regulated in an out-of-control industry.  I got religion.  Sellers of lists have basically no concern over how much of your personal information they sell.  Why should they?  It is a $4 billion+ business that repeats itself every year adding any new secrets about you that you make freely available to them.

If you are wondering now if there is any way you can protect your privacy, the answer is yes, but it isn’t without some effort.  I’ll tell you all about this later.

What brought this all up was a recent report that citizens data is still being improperly collected about innocent Americans and shared throughout government agencies, a multi-billion dollar information sharing program that started after 9/11 to help fight terrorism.  The Associated Press report is more concerned with misspent dollars on the terror watch program than the public’s privacy, quoting as follows:

The Dept. of Homeland Security “set up so-called fusion centers in every state. Government estimates range from less than $300 million to $1.4 billion in federal money, plus much more invested by state and local governments.”  The authors say that much of this money was spent for “local crimefighting.”

Aside from the fact that taxpayer dollars are being wasted, it just means that tons more of your private data is being disbursed around the country, most likely around the world, that could easily fall in the wrong hands.  “A Senate Homeland Security subcommittee reviewed 600 unclassified reports over a one-year period and concluded that most had nothing to do with terrorism.”  No terrorist threats were uncovered by these local fusion centers.  Imagine that.

Well, you do have an option.  You can subscribe to Grant Hall’s privacy method that will make you literally invisible when it comes to your personal data.  I know Grant, and never have I seen a more sincere person in what he believes and writes about.  Right now, today, this man is John Doe, Citizen A, protected by layers of privacy that guarantee that his complete confidentiality is secure.  Whether or not you complete the course, his two books are fascinating reading.

Here’s a quote from one of Grant’s recent promotions:

“Advantages of anonymous living include freedom from unexpected visits and calls from aggressive salespeople, troublesome private investigators, dangerous stalkers, and others who may want to case your home, rob you of property, or make life miserable for you and your family. Keeping the debt on your home a secret is impossible when a traditional home mortgage is used as all who pay a nominal fee may be able to tap into your credit report, discover your home address and easily make their way to your door. “

His latest book is Privacy Crisis Banking and his flagship book is Privacy Crisis, each of which addresses different approaches to fully protecting your privacy using methods proven by the author himself.  By the way, I consider myself a friend of Grant Hall and I have no idea where he lives nor do I have a telephone number.  When we talk, he either emails or calls me and that’s fine with me.

In closing, Stephen Manes in his Full Disclosure column commented on Scott McNealy’s statement, “He's right on the facts, wrong on the attitude. ... Instead of 'getting over it', citizens need to demand clear rules on privacy, security, and confidentiality."  I agree and I am sure Grant Hall would also agree.

It’s the Electoral College Vote, stupid

Some of us are enamored by polls, but many either don’t get the real significance of them or simply don’t believe they are accurate.  Actually most are at least close to right, but only at the moment they are taken.  How they hold up is based almost entirely on the political events of the day, particularly those of the candidates.  Example: Romney’s surge can be attributed to his performance in the first presidential debate.  Obama had a small jump after the second debate.

But the real numbers are found in political analysts’ stance on where candidates stand on electoral votes by state, and predictions over where the “Leaning” and “Tossup” votes will land, again by states.  There are a total of 538 electoral votes and 270 are needed to win.  As an example, Ohio, the “must-win state,” has 18 electoral votes and serves as the “how Ohio goes, so goes the country” state.  Iowa with only 6 votes but a lot of attention shows just how close this race is.

But, and this rankles some on either side of the political spectrum, you can win the popular vote and lose the election. Al Gore lost in 2000 running against George W. Bush.  The Electoral College is an indirect election meaning the people of each state elect a select group of people who pledge their vote to make that choice.  It was designed to preserve Federalism.  The popular vote is to instruct the electors from your state to cast their votes for the same candidate.

Sometimes it doesn’t always come out that way, as in 2000.  In some cases the elector changes his or her vote at the last minute.  If you are thinking that surge put Romney over the top to beat Obama in November, think again.  The challenger really has a long way to go.  Here’s the lineup of where the Electoral College Vote stands today:

270 To Win

Obama 201             Romney 191            Undecided 146

This site also has a probability rating of the candidates reaching 270

Obama 71%            Romney 28%           Tie 1%

New York Times

Obama 237             Romney 191            Undecided 110

This site has a lineup by state of particulars on voters.

Real Clear Politics

Obama 201             Romney 191            Undecided 146

There is also a rundown on this site by candidate in key states.

USA TODAY

Obama 196             Romney191             Undecided 153

CNN

Obama 237             Romney 191            Undecided 110

Race42012

Obama 236             Romney 236            Undecided 66

This site’s prediction:

Obama 280             Romney 258

Electoral-Vote.com

Obama 277             Romney 239            Undecided 22

Time

Obama 271             Romney 191            Undecided 76

Huffington Post

Obama 277             Romney 206            Undecided 55

If you want to draw comparisons between the 2008 and 2012 elections, go here.

I urge you to visit all the sites for a wealth of information that will tell you what the political pulse of the country is.  You can even do your own projections on some of the sites and set up specific scenarios.  This isn’t a “Who should you vote for?” but rather several measures of where the Presidential race stands today where it matters.  There will be changes, one likely based on the Romney remark in the second debate re. his “whole binders full of women” comment.

Presidential debate host Candy Crowley corrects Mitt Romney inaccuracy on the air

Candy Crowley

This time the he said, she said was between Mitt Romney and the debate host Candy Crowley.  Romney said Obama took two weeks to change the incident at the Benghazi, Libyan embassy from a demonstration to a terror attack.  Obama spoke up but Crowley spoke for him telling Romney he was wrong.  As Obama claimed, Crowley confirmed the President did it the next day in the Rose Garden.  Libyan Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three of his staff were killed.

There have been misstatements on both sides but Romney holds the record with some major distortions.  Dr. Billy Kidd, a senior researcher and writing on OpposingViews.com compiled the real facts:

Re. taxes and social programs, “The presidential race is a clear cut battle between whether the rich will get $1 trillion in free entitlements from the government or whether the middle class and the poor will keep their entitlements, like Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid, as well as jobless benefits.”

“The Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, promises to downsize Medicare, so that older folks will have to pay thousands of dollars more a year for their healthcare.”

“Mitt Romney, has only one major plan to promote new jobs, which is to lower taxes; yet taxes already are the lowest they have been in 60 years and the plan is simply a handout to wealthy Americans.”

“One billionaire gave the Republican campaign $40 million dollars with the specific request that the next president bomb Iran and force the revaluation of the Chinese dollar, the renminbi, upwards.”

“Ninety percent of Americans are not even aware that a vote for the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, means going to war against Iran, the ramifications of which could cause the price of gasoline to hit $10-a-gallon.”

There are more gems like this from Kidd and you can see them on the OpposingViews.com site here.

Kidd makes a frightening statement that should make any true American thinker wonder where this world is going.  He said: “Americans are mostly not interested in the facts concerning elections”

How I am even MORE SURE now that Barack Obama has the lead for November

I did a post about this premise on October 2, based on the switch in preference from Mitt Romney to Barack Obama by a family member and friend.  I realize this isn’t scientific but their conversion did represent two individuals who were and still are hard-core conservatives.  I figure if the President has convinced two hard-liners like these two, then the undecideds will certainly be at least up for grabs.  But my new hypothesis is stronger and more methodical based on facts.

Arizona has been controlled by Republicans at least as long as I have lived here which is over 22 years.  Even when Democrat Janet Napolitano was Governor, she had to fight constantly with a GOP legislature that has grown steadily more conservative thanks to a strong Arizona Tea Party.  Today the state is under the complete control of 2 factions: The Tea Party and the National Rifle Assn. (NRA). 

Somehow, since Napolitano left, the legislature has turned into a bunch of fanatical conservative lunatics, and the state is stuck with a governor who doesn’t have the slightest clue about what she is doing.  The evidence of this is the ridicule Arizona takes from the national media on a regular basis.

Well, guess what?  A new Rocky Mountain poll shows that the Presidential race in Arizona is close: Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 44% to 42%.  Now I am no political analyst but my gut tells me, based on the outlandish antics of the state’s Republican government, and a population that put them in office and up to this point seemed oblivious to what was going on in Arizona, the progressives have great momentum going in Arizona as well as nationwide.  There’s more.

Top Republicans like Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have basically alienated every voting Hispanic in the state.  There are 400,000 Latinos registered to vote and another 405,000 eligible but unregistered.  Democrats are hoping to get 300,000 of this number registered before November.  The Rocky Mountain poll reveals that 77% of these Hispanics are for Obama, 10% for Romney. 

It is estimated that 21.5 million Latinos will be eligible to vote nationwide in November, and if the 77% figure hold up, the President can almost be assured of 16.5 million potential votes.  But the question is, will Hispanics come out to vote?

And there’s even more.  Democrat Richard Carmona is running against Republican Rep. Jeff Flake for the Senate seat vacated by Jon Kyl.  Flake has been in Congress for six terms and was considered a shoo-in coming into the race but the poll found Carmona leading Flake by 4 points, 44% to 40%.  Carmona is Latino and the former Surgeon General under George W. Bush who, with large support from the President, doesn’t agree 100% with Obamacare.

But if the left can swing Arizona, which has formerly fought off all progressive candidates and issues, what does that mean on the national level?  It is generally accepted that to win the Presidential election, you must win Ohio.  According to Public Policy Polling, as of today Obama leads Romney by 5 points in Ohio, 51% to 46%.  There’s a new presidential debate coming up and Obama has promised to come out aggressive.  Right now, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Arizona.

Gov. Jan Brewer, the mouth of Arizona conservative propaganda – From Fast and furious to Border Agent Nick Ivie

It’s all about guns in the state of Arizona, no matter which side you are on.  In the case of the blunderingly elected and sorely unqualified Gov. Jan Brewer, no matter what the particular issue is, if it has anything to do with President Barack Obama, she is against it.  It’s because Brewer could see in the finger wagging incident photograph that Obama was thinking to himself, ‘Why am I wasting time on this moron.’  My words but don’t you agree it’s possible?



AZ Border Agent Brian Terry

Now Fast and furious was a botched event with the death of Border Agent Brian Terry that is still getting some attention, especially since the recent killing of Border Agent Nicholas Ivie.  Re. Fast and Furious, the GOV said, "With today's release of the Inspector General's investigation, it is clear that ‘failure' is the word that best describes the ill-conceived gun-walking probe known as Operation Fast & Furious.” 

This is basically true but hardly credible coming from someone who runs a state with the loosest gun laws in the country and one that supplies most of the arms for the Mexican cartels, assault rifles with which they carry out their slaughterhouse south of the border.

AZ Border Agent Nick Ivie

And then there was the sometime mentally challenged Brewer’s outburst over the death of Nick Ivie, a false claim that the whole incident was Barack Obama’s fault for not securing our border with Mexico.  She did it in haste and with the same arrogant disdain she uses in any criticism of the President.  She was wrong, of course, even criticized by Arizona Sen. John McCain, because later it was determined that Ivie was killed by friendly fire.  Brewer had no comment.

You can see her whole statement on Fast and furious here.

In the Phoenix East Valley Tribune, Mike McClellan calls Arizona “Mexico’s firearm superstore” as well as “Mexico’s Walmart of guns.”  He also quotes Jan Brewer and mentions Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley’s claim that “maybe the Fast and Furious scandal had something to do with Agent Ivie’s death.”  The Iowa Senator has been a loose cannon on F&F, along with another unreliable Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa from California.  Brewer at least in good company.

McClellan reminds us of the New York Times article that pointed out the fact that Mexico has only one gun store, and residents are restricted to owning no more than a .38 caliber with gun permits taking months.  Then there was the Fortune piece estimating that according to the Mexican government there are 2,000 weapons a day that come into their country from the U.S.  I wrote about both of these issues earlier in this blog in pointing out Arizona’s loose firearms laws.



Mike McClellan



Everyone knows, and Mike McClellan confirms, that the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), makes the laws on gun ownership and use today in many states around the country.  Not inept governors like Arizona’s Jan Brewer and her incompetent Republican legislature.  The NRA has strong support from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization that has steadily lost members (41) since it was exposed by the Center for Media Democracy.

Let me leave you with an interesting comment to McClellan’s article:

As an X-NRA member, I agree with you 100%. All the NRA ever wanted from me was money. Unfortunately, our politicians are for sale to the highest bidders and that never includes the people who voted for them.  We can't even keep laws on the books that would limit concealed carry, because the whackos want to be able to pack heat, even on the capitol floor.  NObody would ever need to buy more than one gun at a time, unless they intended to re-sell them.
I'd be OK with a mandatory 5 day waiting period and a one-gun-per-transaction limit, too. Let's just keep dreaming together.

Well said, and maybe we aren't just dreaming anymore.