Obama prepares Executive Orders to quell gun violence

President Obama met with one of the country's top gun control advocates, Michael Bloomberg, and promised more action on gun control. Bloomberg has taken to task Wayne LaPierre, head of the National Rifle Assn., and his minion gun nuts on several occasions and won, most notably in Bloomberg's support of gun control politicians. His major opposition organization is Everytown for Gun Safety, which is the anti NRA group. Time will tell if they can bring down the NRA.

White House communications director Jen Psaki says that Executive Orders are being prepared by the Dept. of Justice, but that because they expect litigation challenging any order given, extra care is being taken to insure the EOs will withstand any objections in court. The gun nuts are already salivating over all this and the NRA attorneys are behind closed doors planning their strategy. Obama's actions will be simple in nature, including things we have heard hundreds of times, all of which any sane person would agree are desperately needed:

• Universal background checks
• Close gun show loophole
• Ban straw purchases
• Ban assault weapons
• Reinstate CDC collection and analysis of U.S. gun violence

There may be more and any one of the above may not be included in Obama's final Executive Order, but these seem to me to be the priorities that could help bring the current gun violence spree under control. Let's face it all you gun rights activists, we tried it LaPierre's way and it hasn't worked. Now it's time to try it our way.

What the Founding Fathers really meant in the 2nd Amendment

It occurred to me recently that enough hasn't been said recently about the intentions of the Founding Fathers in the Constitution for the rights and restrictions of gun owners. With individual and mass killings by guns a regular daily occurrence, and the fact that even in light of the horrific number of deaths, including many children, the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) headed up by Wayne LaPierre, still maintain that the right to have a gun is more important than human life. LaPierre bases that right on the 2nd Amendment, given to us by the Founding Fathers. He claims it is inviolable.

Here's an incident of the typical thinking of a gun nut: In a tirade against CNN’s Piers Morgan, Alex Jones argued, “The Second Amendment isn’t there for duck hunting. It’s there to protect us from tyrannical government.” Like this government could ever come together long enough to start anything, much less tyranny. It's a laughable argument and there's much in history to disprove the gun nuts. Truth-Out.org also reports first-hand documents from 1789 detail the First Congress' debate on arms and militia detail a constant theme: "the 2nd Amendment was created to protect the American government."

It wasn't meant to give some doofus the right to carry around an assault rifle in public, or even have one in the home. This also applies to handguns when it comes to open or concealed carry permits for nothing more than playing cowboy.

Here'a another point from TO.org,  "As a member of a National Guard militia, the 2nd Amendment is more of a civic duty than a personal right. Again, it was all about defense of the state – not defense against the state."

In fact, during that first gun debate, the state of New Hampshire introduced an amendment that gave the government permission to confiscate guns when citizens “are or have been in Actual Rebellion.” To those early legislators in New Hampshire, the right to bear arms stops as soon as those arms are taken up against our "we the people" government.

Gun nuts like Alex Jones are what have turned the United states into the most gun violent country in all the industrialized nations. His thinking, along with the gun nuts at the NRA, especially Wayne laPierre, is what has caused the recent blood baths that are killing innocent people, especially children.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Americans at the lower end of the wage scale are now the lowest paid workers in the industrialized world. Eighteen-percent of American workers with full-time jobs are paid so little that their wages do not enable them to live above the poverty level.

Curious? First NGP VAN data breach and it was Bernie Sanders

Dec. 18, 2015 Democratic debate

I am still the cynic and I cannot fathom a company that professed a perfect record until this breach in a Politico article claiming this whole thing was just a glitch, an accident. As I reported yesterday, NGP VAN founder, Nathaniel Pearlman, also served as chief technology officer for Hillary Clinton's 2008 Presidential campaign.

There are just too many factors involved, one of which is DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz who had complete control over the whole fiasco. Now there is no doubt that these doofuses in the Sanders campaign should not have looked at Clinton's data; they should have simply reported the incident and this whole episode wouldn't have happened.

Based on my knowledge of campaign political data from 35 years in the junk mail business, my gut tells me Sanders had very similar info and didn't really need Hillary's.

But let's examine the timeline here. The data breach occurred sometime late Thursday or early Friday morning, December 18. The Sanders people noticed the breach but what is not true in the reporting is that the data was accessed over a period of time, that it was exported or retrieved. And much of it was probably already known by the Bernie folks, as I mentioned earlier. But they did what they did, which was wrong, and the shit hit the fan.

Keep in mind that this happened conveniently the day before the December 19, Democratic debate, scheduled (again conveniently?) by Wasserman Schultz on a Saturday when even the most loyal of the voting public is doing just about anything other than watching politicians. Call me a cynic, but the whole debacle is full of intrigue that is long from over and far from being explained.

Call me a cynic but the next question is did Clinton people view Bernie Sanders data?

Jeff Weaver, Sanders Campaign Mgr.

The shit has hit the fan over Bernie Sanders' staffers viewing of Clinton information in the now infamous data breach at NGP VAN. First of all, former Sanders' National data Director Josh Uretsky said, “We didn’t use [the data] for anything valuable and we didn’t take custodianship of it.” Tempting as that might have been, my second point is, just how revealing was the data they looked at? In other words, did they see something that could have brought down the Clinton campaign, or was it just general info like who voted, for whom etc.?

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a close friend and staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton, has been screaming bad boy, bad boy to the high heavens, when, in fact, she has neither confirmed nor denied whether Clinton's team were also bad guys and looked at Bernie's data. And the whole data breach incident is about as suspicious as it can get occurring just before tonight's debate.

In keeping with that thought, it is very interesting that one of the NGP VAN founders, Nathaniel Pearlman, also served as chief technology officer for Hillary Clinton's 2008 Presidential campaign.

I don't want to scream conspiracy--I just did didn't I?--but the Democratic Party has tried to ostracize Bernie Sanders from this race since the beginning, just because he is an Independent. That, when he has always caucused with the Dems. Independents are here to stay but right now the Democratic Party, namely Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her DNC are on trial. We have not heard the last of this.

Call me a cynic but the question is, why did NGP VAN Data Co. firewall drop?

Debbie Wasserman Schultz in driver's seat

The Observer News counts Debbie Wasserman Schultz's support of Hillary Clinton back to the 2008 election, which has mushroomed into the backing we have experienced recently where she personally cut off the life-blood of the Bernie Sanders campaign by shutting down access to their voter data. NGP VAN is the data co. holding the information in question. The publication called for her resignation immediately. The Observer also recounted other incidents of favorability and mismanagement.

• "Schultz’s decision to limit the debate schedule of the 2016 presidential primaries to six sanctioned debates favors Hillary Clinton." 26 debates were held in 2008, possibly important in Obama's win over Clinton.
• "Debbie Wasserman Schultz is depending on Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic nomination to further her own political career," after having fallen out of favor with Obama administration.
• Her leadership led to catastrophic losses for the Democrats during the 2014 midterm elections. She directly assisted in losses by refusing to support three Democrats, Miami-Dade Democratic Party chair Joe Garcia, former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez and businesswoman Annette Taddeo.

There are others but these are the most obvious. 

The Observer closes with:  

"Ms. Wasserman Schultz has often favored her own agenda and political considerations over what would be best for the Democratic Party. If Hillary loses, she will lose one of her last remaining allies in the Democratic Party and the career benefits that are normally inherent with serving as the Chair of the DNC.

Now you decide why she, as DNC head, is holding Bernie Sander's campaign data hostage. Sander's Campaign Mgr. Jeff Weaver, has threatened to sue the DNC in Federal Court.

(As a P.S. the two sides have now settled the matter)

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore

Today's NR Congressional Gun Whore is Paul Ryan, (R) Rep. from Wisconsin and current Speaker of the House, who received $2,500 from the NRA.

NRA strikes again...this time at newspaper editor's editorial

Bowling Green newspaper protests against NRA

Jan Larson McLaughlin was the Editor of the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune in Ohio. She was a Sentinel reporter for 29 years, including 23 years as county editor, then Mrs. McLaughlin was named editor in May, 2013. The Publisher, Karmen Concannon terminated her employment for insubordination, stemming from "an editorial about the NRA that she had written, as was her normal practice." The Publisher subsequently closed her door to further conversations with other employees as well as McLaughlin.

(Full text of editorial included at the end)

The former Editor acknowledges it is the right of the Publisher to kill the editorial, but is completely baffled why Conconnon, whose parents own the paper, refuses to discuss it with her with some reason for why it was rejected. As the Editor of the paper, you would hope she has the right to know why a perfectly normal piece of work, "which called on responsible gun owners to reclaim control of the NRA in the wake of recent mass shootings across the country," should receive this kind of action.

"Mrs. McLaughlin believes she was not fired for writing the editorial but for attempting to discuss the matter with the publisher," which might lead one to the conclusion that Conconnon doesn't really have a reason, except in consideration of the content of the editorial, the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune is closer to the National Rifle Assn. than it is to the truth and that is pathetic.

Here is the editorial:

Unpublished editorial by Jan Larson McLaughlin 

It is time for reasonable gun owners to take back control of the association that supposedly represents them. We as a nation are still mourning one mass shooting when the next occurs. Yet the NRA refuses to discuss any type of gun control, any form of background checks, any type of study that might lead to some answers. Instead, when legislators consider measures to reduce gun deaths, the NRA and its tentacle groups assign them failing grades and label them as anti­gun. National leaders, who talk tough about protecting our borders from threats, last week voted down legislation that would prevent people on our nation’s “no­fly lists” from legally buying guns. That seems like a no­brainer, but some of our elected officials are so scared of getting on the NRA’s naughty list that they won’t even take common sense steps on gun control.

 Recently, the Buckeye Firearms Association went a step further and blasted criticism at Bowling Green State University faculty members who had written to State Rep. Tim Brown, R­Bowling Green, asking him to not support legislation allowing concealed carry of firearms on Ohio college campuses. House Bill 48, which has since passed the House, allows hidden loaded weapons to be carried on college campuses, school safety zones, day care facilities, public areas of airport terminals, police stations, and certain government facilities. Brown, who voted for the bill, said it primarily “cleaned up the statute” of where concealed guns can legally be carried in Ohio. The gun association got the list of BGSU faculty who wrote to Brown by filing a Freedom of Information Act request. The group specifically targeted James Evans, a geology professor, for his email to Brown in which he called the NRA a “terrorist organization.”

 The Buckeye Firearms Association stated the definition of terrorism as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

 As far as Evans is concerned, the NRA meets that definition — except that in the U.S., it’s legal. The Buckeye Firearms Association went on to publish the names and email addresses of BGSU faculty who contacted Brown with their comments, plus a photograph of Evans, who had used his private email to send his comments. The result, at least for Evans, was a rush of emails to him from the association’s members, with wording that he characterized as threatening. Evans believed the intent was to frighten BGSU faculty from contacting State Sen. Randy Gardner, R­Bowling Green, since the legislation is now in hands of the Senate. “I’m not intimidated,” Evans said.Others weren’t either, apparently.

Gardner said late last week that his office had received emails from BGSU faculty concerned about the legislation. The Buckeye Firearms Association accused BGSU faculty of violating policy prohibiting their use of university email to contact their legislators.

However, there is no policy in place that prohibits such use. Dave Kielmeyer, university spokesman, said that faculty and staff are encouraged to avoid using BGSU email accounts to advocate their personal positions. But in response to the accusations by the gun group, the university issued a statement that “discussions by academics via university email or list serves on social issues, particularly those affecting the learning environment at BGSU, are absolutely appropriate.”

The criticism of faculty input seems to be one more effort by the gun lobby to take the focus off the issue of gun violence.

Recently, when the subject of firearm deaths comes up, the gun industry shifts the discussion to mental health issues as the true problem. Often it’s the two together (guns and mental illness) that create a deadly combination, so why not tackle both?

No freedom — even those granted in the Constitution — comes without limits. When enacted, the Second Amendment did not mean any American could openly carry assault weapons and not be stopped until they start shooting. When the forefathers penned “well regulated militia,” I doubt they meant any individual with a gun. It’s important to note that they included the word “regulated” — as in subject to controls. 

 When BGSU’s Evans heard last week about the latest mass shooting, this one in San Bernadino, California, his thoughts were again, “Here is another tragedy.” The answer is not more guns, he said. 

We’ve tried arming every citizen who is so inclined. It hasn’t solved the problem. So let’s look for other solutions, ones that reasonable gun owners can support. But that will mean responsible gun owners are first going to have to take back control of their national organization, which seems more concerned about the gun industry than the average gun owner. 

 The NRA has not always been the paranoid “pry the gun from my cold dead hands” organization that it is now. It was formerly an association aimed at serving its membership by providing safety classes, marksmanship training and even gun control support. But somewhere it got hijacked from its real purpose to its fanatical presence. It’s time for reasonable gun owners to say enough is enough. 

A brilliant editorial that laments the control the National Rifle Assn., headed up by Wayne LaPierre, has over a pathetic bunch of cowards in the U.S. Congress. 

Bernie Sanders Sayings

U.S. Workers put in about 200 more hours per year than West European workers, who typically obtain four to five week vacations, often legally mandated.

Hillary Clinton flip-flops on minimum wage-so why union endorsements?

In June of this year Hillary Clinton told fast-food workers "she supported their push for $15 minimum wage." However, just recently she endorsed a $12 minimum wage. Bernie Sanders has backed the $15 figure from the beginning of his campaign so why have many unions endorsed Clinton? Bernie's latest union endorsement is from the Communications Worker of America, earlier National Nurses United and the U.S. Postal Union. The question is whether the Clinton backing came from union management or the membership.

In the case of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), at least 1,700 member disagreed with the Clinton endorsement. And here's a quote from Bianca Cunningham, former Verizon worker "who alleges she was fired in retaliation for her union organizing in Brooklyn storefronts:"

“There are dozens of people running for President of the United States, but there is only one that walks a picket line, there’s only one who is not afraid to take on the corporate elite that is destroying good jobs and there is only one that isn’t taking money from Wall Street or from corporate America. Working people have been hurt for far too long and we’ve been burned for far too long. It’s time for corporate America to ‘feel that Bern.”

One naysayer quipped that the reason for the Clinton endorsements is the belief with the higher ups that Bernie Sanders isn't electable. Several months ago the U.S public thought the Bern was just a flash in the pan but look what he has accomplished since then. In addition to picking up the Communications Workers of America and earning a nod from the liberal group Democracy for America, Bernie has also hit his goal of 2 million individual campaign contributions. It sounds like to me a man on his way to the White House.

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore is Kevin McCarthy (R) Rep. from California who received $5,000 from the National Rifle Assn. in 2014.

71% of Americans have given up on stopping gun violence

The shocker isn't that 71% of Americans have given up on Gun violence but that they think it is now a permanent part of American life. I trust this group has never had a case where a family member was shot and killed by some lunatic with a handgun or assault weapon. I call these people apathetics, those who don't seem to care about things until it affects them. And then they scream the loudest for help or justice or whatever.

Apathetics are pathetic, and one of the reasons politics in the U.S. is in the state it is in. The idiots in Congress know that a large majority of the country doesn't give a shit, so they do as they damn please. Many of them probably don't vote, and if they did, it would probably be in an uninformed way. Many of these people are successful in everything from the business world to the arts. So what the hell is going on?

The millennial "me" generation rubbed off on the rest of us and apparently lurks within at least 71% of this nation, whether it is recognized or not. Me, me, me,me,me means that I don't have to really care if kids are slaughtered by a gunman at some school, unless, of course, it is the school where my kid goes. Like I said before, you are pathetic, and this country will continue in the direction it is going unless you change this attitude.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

In 1973 the average American worker earned $445 a week; twenty years later, that same worker was making $373 a week. And they are working harder for less money.

Simple minded continue to anoint the king of lunacy

Yes, now Donald Trump has risen even higher in the polls, supported by the dull witted gang that astonishes most Americans and draws laughter from the rest of the world. These followers even amaze the few rational conservatives that are out there. There is nothing good to be said about Trump but one thing is sure, he is an arrogant bully that has captured some poor souls that probably shouldn't be voting anyway.

How many Republicans predicted the man would go down in flames before the end of the year? Well, these prognosticators did not count on an American voting public that has become more out of touch than ever before. They're desperate and it is because the GOP doesn't have one candidate that is even remotely qualified to be President of the United States. A new survey places Trump’s support at 38 percent among registered Republicans and GOP-leaning independents. That's downright obscene.

But there is a way out. VOTE FOR BERNIE SANDERS.

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore

Cong Steve King

Today's NRA Congressional Gun Whore is Steven King (R) Rep. Iowa who received $1,000 fro the National Rifle Assn.

554 kids under age 12 have died by gunshots since Sandy Hook

Moms at Sandy Hook shooting massacre

It has been only three years since the Sandy Hook bloodletting, killing 20 innocent children six years old and six adults. In those three years 554 kids under age 12 have been killed by guns. Yes, it was done with the same guns that NRA head, Wayne LaPierre, says make us safer. Only a double digit moron could make that kind of statement in light of the number of mass killings we have experienced recently. That number would be 317 in just 2015.

And only a bunch of idiots (lowest on IQ scale) like those who populate Congress, who are supposed to be protecting the American public, particularly their constituents, would allow this devastation to continue completely unabated. Of course the sane among us know why, but we just don't understand. Perhaps it will take, God forbid, the murder of a conservative Republic congressperson by an assault weapon or one of his or her family, another tragedy fostered by the NRA he or she loves.

Most Americans, excluding the gun nuts, have had it with gun violence, and it is time for Congress to do something. Before the unthinkable happens.