Experts Predict That Firearms Deaths Will Surpass Vehicle Deaths

Firearms deaths in Missouri in 2013, the most recent federal data available, surpassed vehicle deaths and significantly, 880 to 781. Unfortunately, this trend is also prevalent in 17 additional states. A Kansas City mom asks, “How did we as a community get to this point and everybody still be OK with it?” This was following the death of her 26-year-old son who was shot and killed in his K.C. apartment. But the scary part is that this is a trend and some experts "predict that for the first time in decades, firearms will kill more people nationwide this year than motor vehicles." Gun deaths are down about 15 percent from their 1990s peak, however there is a slow growth of firearm deaths nationwide over the last decade. Over the years from 1972 to 2013 vehicle deaths dropped to 35,612 from 54,589. This was due to consumer highway campaigns to make the driving experience safer. Sadly, today's gun culture refuses to take a lesson from this success.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article9311399.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article9311399.html#storylink=cpy

Tea Party Says Gay Marriage Goal to Eradicate Christianity

The Tea Party crazies are at it again. This time it's one of the top conservative fruitcakes, Phyllis Schlafly, saying that gay marriage advocates are targeting Christian businesses to "wipe out" the Christian religion. As reported in the Tea Party Newsletter, these Christian businesses are the objective of gays but not Muslims, Hindus and businesses of other faiths. Could it be that these other faiths don't have the big mouths that Christianity, backed by the blowhard Tea Party and various radicals on the religious right? People want their rights and the LGBT community is willing to go after them, and I feel sure most of the American public agrees, it isn't right to not to sell a wedding cake to a couple just because they are gay.

Can a Hacker Take Over Control of a Plane?

A cyber-security consultant by the name of Chris Roberts says he could have taken over the controls on a United Airlines flight from Denver to Chicago but didn't. Apparently "Roberts had posted tweets in the past about hacking into the plane he was traveling on and possibly activating the emergency passenger oxygen masks." It would appear that Roberts might have tampered with electronic control boxes under his seat and the seat in front of him connecting to in-flight entertainment systems to do his hacking. But Boeing quickly commented that these systems are isolated from flight and navigation systems.

Roberts claims to have done this 15 to 20 times between 2011 and 2014, and FBI experts think he both had the ability and equipment to get into the planes' flight control systems. He alleges that he "caused one of the airplane engines to climb resulting in a lateral or sideways movement of the plane during one of these flights." Roberts says he used a modified Ethernet cable to connect his laptop to the entertainment flight system electronic control boxes under his seat. The point here is that, if Roberts can do it, terrorists can do it, and it's a given they won't just wave the wings around for show and tell. The plane will end up smashing into a building, or the side of a mountain or at the bottom of the ocean.

Computer security experts have been warning of this possibility for years but, as usual, the business community refuses to act until an incident such as this forces them to, and on many occasions the delays have resulted in death. Unfortunately, it all continues to stem from the bottom line.

BRADY CENTER: GUNS IN HOMES INCREASE CHILDREN DEATHS

In a February report from the Brady Center, they found that suicide by firearm increased among American adolescents for the third consecutive year. Before you gun nuts question the figures, it comes from the latest fatal injury data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). You remember the CDC don't you, the organization that has been compiling information on gun violence for years that the National Rifle Assn. would not allow to be released. Well it's out there now and the numbers are appalling. In 2013, suicide by firearm claimed 876 lives among adolescents ages 10 to 19, the highest level since 2001. Most of these youth suicides occur with a gun belonging to a family member, usually a parent. And therein lays the problem: irresponsible parents leaving firearms unsecured so the kids can just fetch them up and blow theirs or their brother or sister's brains all over the couch.

Brady says that parents who think having a gun in the house is a safeguard are missing the point entirely because the CDC data says that having a gun in the home dramatically increases the danger that a child will be shot and killed. Further, the same holds true for preventable accidents and school shootings, including the tragedy at Sandy Hook. It’s usually a gun that belonged to a parent or a relative. This might give some credence to what the NRA is constantly flashing in the face of gun control advocates, that "Guns don't kill, people do."
In this case guns don't kill, feckless gun-owning parents do.

The Brady Center’s analysis of the latest CDC fatal injury data shows:

• States with the most gun deaths (Alaska, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Wyoming) had high rates of gun ownership. Conversely, states with the fewest gun deaths (Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) had low rates of gun ownership.
• In 2013, firearm-related injuries were the second most common cause of death for children and teens ages 1-19. Only motor vehicles were responsible for more deaths among this age group.
• Following a decrease in 2012, the unintentional gun death rate for children and teens rose 15% in 2013.

It's hard to argue with these cold facts but I am sure the gun nuts will.

MOST AGREE THE TIME FOR LEGALIZING MARIJUANA HAS COME

Back as early as 2013, 58% of the public approved of legalizing marijuana. In 2015, Pew Research says 53% favor with 44% against. The question now is what new Atty. General Loretta Lynch will do in response to the urging of the Supreme Court for the Justice Dept. to take a position. Eric Holder before her exclaimed that he wouldn't challenge the states with legal marijuana. But Lynch, in her confirmation hearings, expressed strong views in favor of upholding the federal ban on marijuana. However, she didn't agree with Obama that it was more dangerous than alcohol. In Slate's examination of the first year of legalization (medical and recreational) apparently state teens did not increase their use as predicted. Number of drug related crimes remained steady or dropped. And a significant increase in highway fatalities due to drug us never happened as opponents prophesied. "Retail and medical weed generated more than $60 million in tax and licensing revenue for the state in 2014," much of which went to schools and the regulatory system. So what's the problem and that is something Loretta Lynch will have help decide.

BERNIE SANDERS TAKES EARLY POSITION WITH HILLARY CLINTON

Bernie Sanders has made a strong point in his fight against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He calls her a newbie when it comes to the left's fight against income inequality. Is that true? Well about a year ago she did come down hard against it at the New American Foundation. She brought it up again this past April. In June of 2014, The Guardian reported that Clinton herself had an income problem and it started with her own income. Recently, the Clintons have reportedly made $30 million on their speeches since the beginning of 2014. It would appear that her populist approach is recent, at least in relation to income inequality, and Bernie Sanders is correct in his portrayal of her as a "newcomer." She, like her husband, Bill Clinton, has mostly chosen the middle of the road position before. In the past that path would most likely lead to getting one elected but this new Progressive awakening makes that need passé.

FINALLY LIBERAL RADIO HAS ITS PUNDIT

Watch out because Bernie Sanders, who for years has graced the airways of the liberal left, has now become a stronger voice due to throwing his hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination for President. It is time someone did battle with the conservative right blowhards, most of which are suffering significant declines in ratings. As an example, Rush Limbaugh has fallen to a dismal 22nd place in New York, 37th in Los Angeles. Sanders says his core audience is, of course, the Democratic Party and he is very consistent in making his point. According to Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of Talkers Magazine, there are some 20 million listeners to Progressive radio and experts say conditions are perfect for Bernie Sanders to get his message out since he is considered Mr. Progressive. Harrison says radio speaks to the grassroots audience and is now "trending back towards 'independent and populist talk.'" Boston-based radio host Jeff Santos said, “It has been 99% a love affair between Bernie Sanders and my audience.” With those numbers, how can you lose?

IS CLINTON'S BENGHAZI DILEMMA REAL OR IMAGINARY?

How do we interpret Hillary Clinton's comment on Benghazi, "What difference does it make?" It was in reference to whether the terrorists were just out on a casual walk and decided to attack the embassy, or was this an official protest. And does it make any difference either way or at all. Four Americans died including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The big question is, whose fault was it, and could it have been averted. David Brooks, conservative writer for the New York Times says it is not fair to blame Clinton since this all happened at an operational level that she can't be blamed for. Another report says that more protection was needed at the embassy and alleges that Stevens asked for it, but there is no indication of which level of the State Dept. was responsible. Right now Hillary Clinton's congressional testimony is up for grabs due to scheduling problems. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy has done his best to keep this in the news and it may be the reason for her recent drop in the polls.

DEMS WANT ONLINE VOTING BUT REPUBLICANS DON'T

At first there was an agreement that online voting was a good thing for both parties until...Republicans did their research. Now they're getting cold feet; Florida is backing out due to "outlandish claims opposing an online registration measure." Texas GOP lawmakers are afraid of fraud; this coming from the party of fraud. But Pew Research found "that 22 states plus the District of Columbia, representing more than half of all eligible voters, will offer the chance to register online for the 2016 election." The hard facts are that blacks and Hispanics, traditionally voting democrat, have more computers and smart phones than they have in the past. Today, 80% of blacks are internet users compared to 83% of Hispanics. It has become clear that Republicans will fight any form of voting that does not favor their party and that illustrates the desperation of the GOP for votes.

CONGRESS NEEDS TO FUND AMTRAK OR JUNK IT

AMTRAK's crash on a curve in the Philadelphia area last Tuesday evening killed 7 and injured more than 200. It hit a curve with a speed limit of 50 at 106 MPH. The day after the crash House Republicans voted to cut AMTRAK's budget. The engineer of that train, Brandon Bostian, 32, of Queens, New York, who wouldn't talk to Philadelphia police, is drawing a blank on what happened. He took his lead from a bunch of Republican congressional numb nuts that started drawing a blank on reality when President Obama entered office. How can you know that the entire infrastructure of the AMTRAK system is near collapse and then say we're going to keep it running but not support it financially, while certainly expecting more crashes like the above? This has become typical of the way the GOP think, or better, the way they don't think. I would be very surprised if 216 doesn't clean out at least some of these blockheads.

NRA ADMITS ILLICIT FUNDRAISING

The "Mouth," AKA Wayne LaPierre, head of the National Rifle Assn., was caught with his hand in the black powder. I first blogged on this the end of April. Josh Horwitz, Executive Director, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, reports that the NRA admits doing it but blames it on the fact that it was "Convenient, unexplained 'coding and clerical errors.'" Only Wacky Wayne would think he could get away with this and it's possible that he will unless a gutless Congress finds some balls. Now this is the man who weaseled out of going to the Vietnam War by getting his family physician to claim he had a nervous disorder. That could account for some of the incredibly imbecilic things he has done in the last few years.

Here are the charges:

• For a period of four months in 2014, online donations made to the NRA's Institute for Legislative Affairs (NRA-ILA) were deposited in violation of federal law into the account of the group's PAC, the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF). The NRA claims this was because of a “coding error.”
  
• The lobby failed to report its political expenditures (such as fundraising on behalf of the PVF) to the IRS for the years 2008 to 2013, as required by law. The NRA describes this omission as “a clerical error.

CSGV is pressing for a full investigation by the FEC and IRS and need your help with their efforts.

BERNIE SANDERS SMACKS KOCH BROS. ON SOCIAL SECURITY

Bernie Sanders has issued a three-prong assault on the Koch Bros., who he calls the poster boys for the 1% wealthy, re. their ongoing assault against Social security. First, they want to increase the retirement age to 70. Now, let's see, would their efforts be in behalf of the SS program to help it survive? Hell no, it's to save Koch Industries billions from the 60,000 people they employ in the U.S. Put it off as long as possible and maybe some of these nice employees will die before reaching age 70. Second and third, they scream that SS is going broke and that it needs to be privatized. Again, are they coming to the aid of one of America's institutional benefits? Hell no once more. The savings and potential revenue for something like this would be enormous for Koch Industries. What is interesting about the video with this article is that it exposes many of the secret lobbying groups supported by, who else, the Koch Bros. Watch it! 

COULD THIS POPE HELP SOLVE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS?

The Vatican has recognized the Palestinian state and the Jewish community is up in arms. What has really happened is that it has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to the state of Palestine. The key here, according to the Israeli government..."is there a state of Palestine?" I have read the history of this conflict and for the life of me I cannot see how Israel can deny that Palestinians have some right to live in a land where their ancestors came from. Somewhere. The idea of who was there first has been described childish by some historians and the stories abound about the early settling tribes from both sides.

According to one story, the name Palestine was given to the region spreading from eastern Mediterranean coast to the Jordan Valley to the area covering Galilee Lake in the north and southern Negev Desert.  "Plesheth" is the origin of the word Palestine, appearing often in the Bible, and popularized as “Philistine” in English. The story goes on to say, "These people were mostly originates of Asia Minor and Greece and gradually became a part of the Arab world."

A major concern of the Pope is the plight of the Christians affected in the territories that are clashing. Along with this is his contention that those involved no longer place any value on human life. It would not surprise me if Pope Francis were able to bring these two countries together with a realization of what they are doing to each other and help them to decide that peace is the better way.

IS THE INTERNET REPLACING GOING TO CHURCH?

Although churches aren't empty, the congregations are dwindling and a new Pew Research study says "...the Christian percentage of the population [is] dropping precipitously." It's down to 70.6% from 78.4% in 2007. Millennials, or Generation Y, those with birth years from the 1980s to 2000s, are bailing out of Christianity with some one-third now claiming to be unaffiliated. And here's the kicker, some researchers blame it on the Internet, where the public can now get the facts on their faith and bond with those who think as they do. And in my view, if the person is knowledgeable enough, they can use the Internet to confirm or refute the dogmas of a religious group. My gut tells me the latter has a lot to do with the escape from Protestantism and religion in general. The only time I've been in a church in the last fifty years is for a wedding and when our granddaughter took my wife and me to a special service. Oh yes, a couple of Catholic Christmas Eve midnight masses. I am not proud but either am I apologetic. It's a matter of choice and apparently the current generation has chosen to veer away from all the pomp and circumstance.

ARIZONA LEADS NATION KILLING WOMEN WITH GUNS

All we hear from the gun nuts is, if you put more guns on the street, deaths will go down. Well Arizona has done that with their loose gun laws and the state's rate of intimate-partner gun murders was 45 percent higher than the national average from 2009 through 2013. Of course we do not know exactly how many guns are in Arizona, thanks to the National Rifle Assn., but apparently enough to kill 94 women in the above period. Once again the gun nuts scream we have enough laws but they didn't stop 12 of the shooters from obtaining a gun and killing his spouse or girlfriend. In addition, "41 percent of the shooters had a previous arrest or conviction or had been under an order of protection at one time." There's more, Arizona has 14.9 firearms deaths per 100,000 population, more than California, 7.97, New York, 5.1, the latter two with much more stringent gun laws. Some of this is due to protective orders that are not enforced.

"Part of the problem is that nearly 40 percent of the protection orders issued by Arizona judges in 2013 and 2014 were never entered into the National Crime Information Center," reported Andrew LeFevre, a spokesman for the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission. Police departments are remiss, not only in Arizona, but all over the country for not entering important data that could save lives. This is compounded by a patchwork system in sharing what data is available. But the primary problem here is guns in the wrong hands and the only way to solve that is more responsible gun laws...like background checks.

FEDS TAKE OHIO TO TASK ON NEW VOTING LAW

Ohio stopped in its tracks with a new federal lawsuit to stop their restrictive voter law designed to keep Democrats away from the polls. I reported on this today charging a shut out of some 930,000 Ohio voters, non-whites, college students and those with low incomes. Guess what party they usually vote for. This is all pretty blatant and typical of the dirty GOP politics first made popular in the Geo. W. Bush administration under the leadership of Karl Rove. The question is just how much the courts will let Republicans get away with.

REPUBLICANS ATTEMPT TO SHUT OUT 930,000 PROBABLY DEMOCRATIC VOTERS

The question arises over and over, why do we have to keep fighting for voting rights since this was passed into law back in the 1950s? The answer is that the GOP is constantly looking for loopholes to bar non-whites, college students and those with low incomes from voting. The reason is that most of these folks are Democrats and if they are allowed to vote, the Republicans lose. The latest in Ohio, John Boehner's state, finds Rep. Andrew Brenner pushing for a voting ID bill using the same old rhetoric, "...the need to stop illegal voting by non-residents, non-citizens or others." It's pure crap and they know it because a report issued by the Republican Sec. of State Jon Husted said "...fewer than 0.003% of votes in that [2012] election could have been fraudulent." With facts like this, even coming from one of their own, we can only assume that Andrew Brenner must consider that the Ohio voters are completely stupid. Well, Ohio, are you?

WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR BERNIE SANDERS TO BEAT HILLARY?

In a recent piece on MSNBC, Bernie Sanders answered "YES" to the question of whether or not he could beat Hillary Clinton. He followed by implying that her closeness with the corporate world would push voters in his direction. When Clinton welcomed the support of a Super PAC, Sanders quickly backed away saying he won't have outside groups like this in his campaign. So far Mr. Progressive is right on but that also defines the needs of the Bernie Sanders campaign. Individual, Progressive grass-roots voters who can cough up some bucks to put this man in the White House. Corporate America will come through for Hillary because they need her support if she becomes President. And I don't have to tell you what these Super PACS can produce. In an earlier post I identified some 30 million Progressives out there, another 40 million Democrats that aren't necessarily Progressive but certainly don't want another Republican in the White House. Sen. Sanders won't be able to garner all 70 million but the question is what does Clinton's huge base think now since Bernie Sanders entered the race. If enough think he is the better candidate, and polls will be telling us that soon, the Vermont Senator could be on his way to the White House.

WHAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN POLICE AND BLACKS?

Blacks are naturally skeptical of Police and now the cops are even more scared of the black community. This has been going on for years in one form or another. So why all of a sudden do we have a rash of police beating and killing blacks and blacks killing police, leading to riots? The black community will tell us it is fed up with unjust treatment, and rightfully so. The police will tell us that blacks are prone to resisting arrest and in some cases completely uncooperative both individually and as a community. And there is credibility in this charge. This is a powder keg that has only seen the tip of its potential. Officers kicked a black man in the head in Dover, Delaware, with no obvious provocation. And now four blacks have shot and killed two Hattiesburg, Miss. police officers after being pulled over for a speeding violation. What is the sense in all this? The answer, of course, there is none. It will be tough to control the gangs, but most of the black people want this to end and now. And a large majority of the cops in this country have high standards dealing with the community, white or black; they really only want to protect and serve. I vote to put New York City's Police Commissioner Ray Kelly in charge of a task force to deal with this mess. He already has a great record running the policing of the largest U.S. city.

OBAMA MAKES ECONOMY MOVE FOR PROGRESSIVES IN 2016

Bernie Sanders is The Progressive and President Barack Obama is doing everything in his power to pave the way for a winning economy for the Progressives in 2016. By the way, what happened to all the nay-sayers who said Obama would bring the country to Armageddon? Notables like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell plus a lot more of their GOP numbnuts. The U.S. added 223,000 jobs in April, unemployment fell to 5.4%. It was 7% when Obama took office. There isn't the shadow of a doubt that Republicans had no hand in this improvement, if anything, they have fought tooth and nail everything this administration tried to do. And yet it has survived and prospered. The stock market is making gains and wages are finally on the upswing. Obama said: "If you are persistent you'll get it. If you are consistent you'll keep it." It's now time for Bernie Sanders to take up the mantle.

GOP FRUITCAKE REMAINS THE ENVY OF THE IDIOTS

California Republican Darrell Issa commented recently to MSNBC that the poor people of the U.S are the envy of the world. To be fair, they are no doubt better off than their counterparts in 3rd world countries. But that doesn't give this numbnuts the right to belittle the less-fortunate in America. Especially when the man has a net worth of $350 million. He was being questioned about income equality in the U.S., which, of course, he would know nothing about. Issa is one of those GOP radicals that attacks anything Democratic, whether it has merit or not. Like accusations the IRS purposely investigated the Tea Party. Congressional probe of former Atty. Gen. Eric Holder on "Operation Fast and Furious" to list a couple. Like Republican Mitch McConnell in the Senate, he is simply out to get Obama.

MOTHER'S DAY SCARRED BY CHILDREN GUN DEATHS

Happy Mother's Day

We can thank the National Rifle Assn. for bloodying an otherwise joyous Mother's Day for some who have either lost or had their kids maimed by guns. Yes, the NRA refuses to allow simple methods to stop this violence like background checks and the banning of assault weapons that have been used in many of the massacres on children. Another primary reason is irresponsible parents who don't secure their guns so the children can't play with them and kill themselves. The problem of unsecured guns is significant and was highlighted recently when a child found a loaded gun in House Speaker John Boehner's office. Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America announced "there have been at least 80 unintentional shootings involving children, resulting in 57 injuries and 24 deaths since January 1, 2015. In many cases the parents are not charged and they very well should be. It's useless to say there are too many guns out there in the wrong hands because the American public continues to allow the NRA and Congress to proliferate more on the streets. Until you realize what you are doing, there will just be more bloody Mother's Days.

ANOTHER OBAMA HATER...THIS TIME FROM IOWA

U. S. Representative Steve King from Iowa has just blamed the Baltimore riots on President Obama. Another Bible thumper, his reasoning is that if we had had a different President, one that would have come out with fire and brimstone, telling the public that God would want them to be nice to each other and go home to their beds, they would have done just that. Iowa has enough problems with its other lunatic, Joni Ernst, now they have a new one. Here's what King said about Obama's middle name and a connection to Islam in 2008:

"I don't want to disparage anyone because of their race, their ethnicity, their name—whatever their religion their father might have been, I'll just say this: When you think about the optics of a Barack Obama potentially getting elected President of the United States – I mean, what does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam? I will tell you that, if he is elected president, then the radical Islamists, the al-qaida, the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11."

Well, none of what he predicted happened. But what kind of conservative religious right would condone comments like this? And I will say it again, President Barack Obama has lived through some of the most racist times of this country since the 1960s and has always stayed far above radicals like Steve King.

POLICE ON THE STREETS WITH ALMOST NO TRAINING

The only training Nancy Cummings received in the Alexander, Arkansas police dept. to become a cop was whether or not she could hit a target 25 yards away 80% of the time. Hell, in the rural areas of that state most anyone can do that. And it's all legal, state law, as a convenience for small police departments that desperately need officers. In Nancy Cummings case her lack of training resulted in her shooting a black man in the back, killing him, during an arrest for which she was later charged with manslaughter. But Arkansas isn't the only state; in Indiana the cop can be on the job a year before requiring any training, except for firearms. This is not only a case of stupid law but is also a slap in the face to well-trained police officers across the country. At a time when cops are under such close scrutiny in alleged racial situations, the good ones don't need this crap.

DOES BERNIE SANDERS NEED TO TAKE A STRONG STAND ON GUN CONTROL?

We need to know now, today, where Bernie sanders stands on basic gun control. He has taken positions for background checks and banning assault rifles but Slate reports that he, "supported the most odious NRA–backed law in recent memory—one that may block Sandy Hook families from winning a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the gun used to massacre their children." Further, it says that he is skeptical of gun control and "invested" in the interests of both gun owners and gun manufacturers. THIS IS NOT GOOD! Sen. Sanders needs to qualify this because Slate is calling him a gun nut, to which he replied on CNN that this wasn't possible since his rating with the National Rifle Assn. is a big "F." He added that he supports hunting and target shooting and that Vermont, his home state, is relatively free of gun violence, exclaiming though, that there is a big difference between Vermont and Baltimore and Los Angeles. But as an example, where does he stand on closing the gun show loophole and would he vote to require training before someone can buy a gun? In any Progressive administration, gun control must be a priority. PERIOD!