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Every so often I intrude TO/OT with a personal pick of a site that I find important that I feel needs to be shared and not lost in the shuffle of the constant flow of thoughts on The Planet.
And yet with globalization, we seem to have developed a strange apprehension about the efficacy of our ability to apply the innovation and hard work necessary to successfully compete in a complex security and economic environment. Further, we have misunderstood interdependence as a weakness rather than recognizing it as a strength. The key to sustaining our competitive edge, at home or on the world stage, is credibility — and credibility is a difficult capital to foster. It cannot be won through intimidation and threat, it cannot be sustained through protectionism or exclusion. Credibility requires engagement, strength, and reliability — imaginatively applied through the national tools of development, diplomacy, and defense.
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H/T AB
A Very Special “Happy Holiday Season”
to All our
Planteers and to our very many Visitors.
May this time of year be a special one, a time to reflect on the past and enjoy time with your friends and family. Enjoy the foods and drink, and the sharing of it with all including that “grumpy relative,” that one that has to control the conversation and insist at sitting a the head of the table even though he is a guest. Maybe especially him or her, their thoughts you don’t get to hear everyday so it maybe something to be thankful for that you will only have to hear during once during the holidays!
Please remember the ones that can’t be with us or can no longer be with you due to travel, job placement, death or illness they need to know that our thoughts are with them.
A wonderful season with a wonderful reason to share because they are in need and with so many in need this year, it’s easy to share even with the simplest of gifts. A simple five or ten dollar gift card may biggest gift they get this year. A day volunteering some time at your local charity or a small gift to them. Talking to friends this week who volunteer for the favorite and they are having difficulty with supplying used clothing and shoes. Over 200 pairs of used shoes were handed out in a few hours last Saturday, used shoes! Maybe it’s time to spring clean this “very special season” and see what you may be able to donate.
And a wonderful time to enjoy this “very special season,” by your giving and seeing precious smile on others, and there is no way easier or more precious than giving to the little ones. How priceless are the laughs giggles and screams from their little precious faces?
Or if you forget the last half, there’s always the : “Eat Drink and be Merry…” 😉
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American Civic Knowledge Survey
Both the ancient Greeks and Romans valued wise and public-spirited citizens. Let’s see just how wise you really are? Are you a Barbarian, Philosopher King, or something in-between?
Mapping the Measure of America
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- Why every government should keep an empty seat for a philosopher king | Mark Kingwell (guardian.co.uk)
Vital to the conservative crusade against reality has been Fox News. Sadly, Roger Ailes, a veteran GOP propagandist and current Fox News manager, will not be able to set up shop in Canada due to a pesky Canadian regulation that stipulates, “a licenser may not broadcast… any false or misleading news.” But back in the US, where false is true, faith is science, and fantasy is fact, Fox News is free to pioneer a brave new genre, unreality TV.
24 hours a day their considerable resources are devoted to manufacturing delusional problems and fictitious threats, for which the solutions are always elect more Republicans, cut taxes for the rich, and remove all constraints on corporate behavior. While making stuff up is their main tactic, generating fear is their chief strategy. And there is a good reason that this is so effective.
A recent study conducted by neuroscientists at the University College of London and published in Current Biology found significant brain differences between liberals and conservatives. Liberals are more likely to have a large anterior cingulate cortex, an area important for the management and tolerance of uncertainty, complexity, and conflict. Conservatives, on the other hand, tend to have a bigger amygdala, an area of the brain specialized for the processing of fear and disgust. Given the brain’s plasticity, politics and neuroanatomical differences are each likely to be a cause and an effect.
Whether informed by this research or simply guided by intuition and observation, the programmers at Fox have wrought great ratings and political benefit from constantly jerking on the tender, hypertrophied amygdlae of their anxious viewers. “Beware,” they warn. “There is a malevolent socialist/Muslim Kenyan-born terrorist-sympathizing president in the White House who wants to take away our guns, abolish Christmas, force our elderly citizens to appear before death panels, and mandate Koran reading in government-run reeducation camps.” Not waiting for Democrats to establish the new Caliphate, the ever-vigilant Oklahoma Republicans passed legislation banning the establishment of Sharia law within its borders. Thanks to the quick thinking of its conservative leaders, Al Qaeda’s plan for an Islamic Republic of Oklahoma has been foiled. Since then, 13 red states have introduced similar laws.
We are doomed by the undereducated underclass falling for the deception of the corporate elite and their fox mouthpiece.
Hey CL and Kes! Did you know?
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-dog-people-democrats-cats-2013-1#ixzz2ICGtOUVF
Well, I am in Oregon which is a blue cat state. Okay, I just learned I am an Independent because I am in Oregon and I have 2 Dogs and 2 Cats! 😉
I’m more of a dog person but I like cats and have an adopted, part-time one (our neighbor’s cat spends part of the day in our backyard).
I do understand the psychological reasons behind this in general though, with their being more of a sense of independence and femininity in cats and more of a sense of obedience and masculinity in dogs.
But for many, including me, that’s not what’s going on at all.
You can see the guys with pit bulls in their pickups and you can see the whole story with what owning a dog is about for them but you can see a family with a golden retriever and see something completely different.
Same thing with cats, you can see people with very simplistic and superficial relationships with their cats and then you can see other people whose cats are part of their loving family.
And all kinds of variations as well. But boiling it down for many, it does come down to simple psychology.
Wow AdLib, you put way more thinking into this than I did. I simply figured it was a matter of geographic’s. Since more Democrats live in the metropolitan states (large metro cities) and Republicans in the southern urban ones, it is much simpler to maintain a cat than a dog for the Dems. Having a couple of cats in an apartment is easier than a couple of dogs. But, I have two great danes that are real couch potatoes along with the cats on the top of the piano. Of course as the article points out, Calif with lots of Metro cities has more dogs than cats. But, most of CA doesn’t have the harsh winters when you have to bring your pets inside.
As far as your description of a cat and independence, you obviously have never owned a Scottie. Bush and I had one thing in common, taste in dogs. But, I lean more to FDR. My granddaughter has the sweetest Pit Bull and we are thankful that she has her since our granddaughter lives alone in SF, CA. Although I have been around a few attack cats!
I think more along the lines that you can’t judge a book by its cover or dog or cat. It’s the story inside or maybe the shelf the book is maintained on.
Our family always had a cat. It wasn’t very long between the death of one cat, and us getting another one. I love cats. They are so graceful and mysterious, and they can be quite affectionate.
We always had male cats. They seem to be a little more independent. We also had a dog, she was a mutt, a strange mix of collie and hound. She was very lovable. When she got too old and had to be put to sleep, my dad had a really hard time dealing with it. I think that’s why we never got another dog.
KT, my hubby is very fond of the cats. They are more his than mine. The dogs are split, one his, one mine.
I know how your dad must have felt. Animals are members of the family. Two years ago, all our pets passed away right after the other from old age mostly. We found ourselves without a pet for the first time in our marriage. We couldn’t handle it and had to start a new with the boys/dogs. We say we weren’t replacing the old but we have room in our hearts for the new.
Sally! I always suspected this might be the case. Now you’ve provided us with the evidence!
EDIT: I do love dogs, though, even though this is a one cat household at the moment. In fact, I love all animals, while at the same time refusing to share home-space with anything that looks like a snake!
I thought you would get a kick out of this article.
I am with you on the snakes!
I have dogs and cats and always been a Democrat. But, I have also had pets that included a skunk and a coyote. So, I have gone the extreme on either side but maintained my same political views.
I don’t know where my horse would have fit in but that may explain why I have Great Danes now. 😉
Either that Sally or you just like big piles to pick up……sorry I could not resist. Seriously though that is why I would never own a big dog. Strange huh?
Well, it takes a hell of a big litter box! But, hubby does the mining. It is true, they eat a lot and they sh.. well, you get the picture. However, I love them so much and it is worth having a husband to clean up after them. Okay, I love the hubby, too, but he doesn’t wag his tail as much as he use too. Of course, he may have a few comments on my tail… 😉
LOL my husband bent over the other day and I told him his a.. was big. Can you imagine a wife telling the hubby that or better yet him saying that to me? I was only joking, the man is in better shape than me.
My mother always had Siamese cats and I think that was how I learned to not like cats. Her cats were so spoiled and they were mean. You never knew when you walked by if that cat was going to reach out and slap you with claws extended. But she loved her cats. One time when we moved she put the cat in a room, closed the door and told us to leave him alone so he could get used to the new house. Someone, I am not saying who, opened that door a crack and that cat went flying around the house like some crazed animal. She was so mad and gave the cat an extra treat of his gross food that night. LOL.
We also had a cat once(my daughter sneaked it into the house) and when i brought our beagle home, I put it on the kitchen floor. The beagle had been born on a farm so all the animals got along so when she saw our cat, she walked up to it to make friends. That cat slapped my little beagle across the kitchen floor. An 8 week old beagle fits in the palm of two hands. Another reason I do not like cats, they are like republicans they bite the hand that feeds them. Ok now everyone tell me how mean I am lol.
Oh Sue, I know about those Siamese cats! My sister had one many, many, many years ago. That cat hated me! I don’t know why but it did. One day I was home alone with it and he chased me biting and clawing. I jumped up on the ironing board and that cat keep circling it like a lion until my sister came home. She had a big laugh over it but I sure didn’t!
LOL I am telling you they are evil creatures
Actually Sue, that’s not true about most Siamese, we have had six since we have lived here and they were all very loving, loyal and extremely intelligent and vocal. We still miss them a lot and one day plan to have more. It often depends on their owners if they become paranoid or aggressive, and the funny thing about all cats is that they sense when you either don’t like them or don’t understand them, then act accordingly.
I have five cats here now and spoiling one over the other would cause chaos and fights so I don’t do that, it’s not really fair to them. One thing with some cats is that they can become very jealous for their owner’s attention, so maybe that was the problem in your case.
Also sometimes just having only one cat can cause problems because they get all the attention, so getting two kittens instead of just one always works out better, then they have company and a play mate if we are busy or out of the house for any length of time. Bored cats are naughty cats.
My next door neighbour has a thing about small dogs, after their first year they become nervous and hysterical just like their owner, and small dogs make more noise than larger dogs. So again, it all depends on the actions and personality of their owners. I would give just about anything to have a Siamese and Abyssinian back in our family, they are a delight to share your home and your life with.
Well my mom did spoil him and he was mean to everyone else but overall there is just something about cats that makes me uncomfortable.
No problem Sue, you are not alone in that. We have always had both cats and dogs from when I was a toddler, but because of space and later living in a city both London and Tokyo, cats were so much easier because they can adapt to indoor life, don’t have to be taken for walks, and living so close to the next house here, don’t disturb neighbors with their barking.
As for me, I can’t ever imagine a life without them in it, and I just wanted to explain about Siamese cats in general.
Kalima some people love them, I know my mom was one so is my daughter. Perhaps my mom’s Siamese ruined it for me. Although my girlfriend has a part siamese and he does the same thing. Sitting on the back of the sofa, walk by and he swats you. He is kind of neurotic overall though
Sherlock, maybe you look mousy to the cat? Growl 😉
Dr. Watson
Sigh – they sound GREAT, Kalima! Your Japanese Siamese are probably also not overbred. I miss my three NON purebred cats from years back, love my current two, and I hope you can have them again.
I do agree that the wacked out behavior of some animals has ever so much to do with their owners! That’s why YOUR cats are so nice! Proof right there.
My first cat was a Siamese kitten named Bingo, born to Empress, who belonged to (but hated) my sister. Empy loved me and I loved her back. I had my most beautiful photo when 4, wearing my red sweater with *real* diamonds and pearls. And clutched in my little Davy Crockett hands was Bingo!
My favorite cat of all times was Alex, my Siamese. He was my very best friend for 8 years. When I married, he resented the Blov horribly and the morning after our first night as a *family*, got up, sat on the vanity while the Blov shaved, and proceeded to piss on his mirror image. I have never laughed so hard. Al would also believe that he turned invisible if he flattened out on the stairs; we would go along with the make believe and ask where he was.
Al travelled to see my parents and my sister; they missed him and would ask HIM to come visit (not me?). He had his own suitcase, full of combs (he was VERY vain) toys, Super Supper and his leash.
I’ve lost other beloved pets – both cats and dogs – but don’t believe I have ever loved another as much as that damned cat, Al. The Blov framed my fave photo of him for me this Christmas; it hangs over my desk. 30 years, and I still miss him. Others (hear that, Blov?) should be so lucky….
PS He was an Applehead (or traditional) Siamese, not the skinny face ones.
AB, I love that story! I have similar ones. Ain’t it great to have memories!
Sorry AB, I didn’t realize that this was addressed to me, and yes, they stay with you no matter how much time has passed and we still laugh here about their funny habits.
Our first one was Satchie, her name was Saturday and she was a Seal Point. When she came in heat early and peed on our double futon one night, we decided to get her a friend. Sunny came into our lives quite ill, and eventually the people who sold him to us paid the vet’s bill. He was a Blue Point and Satchie took over and nursed him back to health, covering him with her body to keep him warm. From that day he was her baby, and they became inseparable. Sunny died of an illness when he was 12, and Satchie lived to be 17 and a half.
Then we got a brother and sister act, Klaere and Tuechan, his name was Tuesday, they were adorable but had a bad habit of depositing their sausages in our plant pots. Klaere had a kidney problem and died in my arms at age 13, and her brother died from kidney failure just a week before his 18th birthday. In between we looked after another brother and sister act, again bot Seal Point and Blue point, but after a year, the owner wanted them back after her divorce became final, we were of course heartbroken to see them go.
We have searched high and low for a breeder here, and so far have had no luck. I also loved and treasured our four Abyssinians, Aby, Muffin, Coco and Leo, they were jokers from the time they woke up until they went to sleep, and you can never eat a meal without them sitting close. I have so many photos and might post them on MB one day, but with the new house plans, I’m beginning to be busy, so maybe after we are done and have moved in.
How very sweet of the Blov to frame a picture of him for you, when I look at all the pictures of the ones that have gone, I can’t help but smile when I remember them all. It was such a pleasure to spend their short lives with them.
Oops cl, I almost missed this. Kind of you to say and although I’m usually not paranoid or loud, I did have to use what my husband calls my “basement voice” with many of them, and it sounds like a growl so it stopped them in their tracks when they were naughty, but in turn gave me a sore throat for days. 🙁
Well Sue and Kalima, that explains a lot when it comes to my sister’s cat. She was evil and so was her cat!
LOL my mom was not evil but she spoiled her cats. They only liked her. That is prob why I got slapped all the time you know?
I’ve never been attacked by a cat, but twice by a dog. One was my own fault at age 3 when I tried to take a bone away from our neighbour’s dog and he bit my hand, and the other was when I was about 9 and a huge dog followed me home from school, then put it’s paws on my shoulders and, well, I really don’t want to explain the rest because i was so scared, but my mother had to throw my winter coat away so please use your imagination. I stayed away from large dogs for many years after that experience, now they don’t scare me anymore.
Well, that is understandable Kalima! I guarantee that all you will get from Mansion is wash rag sized kisses. He is 6’3 on his hind legs but he won’t jump up unless you ask him too.
Siamese were vastly overbred at one point. Made ’em nuts and disgusting critters. Same has happened to various purebred dog breeds – collies, cockers, St. Bernards, Belgians – all of which at some stage were too dangerous and sick to keep.
If you remember European royal history, happened to people, too. The “madness of King George III” was from too close intermarrying as the hemophilia was later in Germans and the Romanoffs.
Over-breeding is a really stupid thing to do, and Siamese were fave show cats so turned out in droves, nasty, violent, paranoid. They’re great when they’re interbred because they’re smart as all get out, but I’d not risk a purebred of ANY animal these days. Can’t trust ’em unless you know the breeders. Mutts, mongrels, and alley cats are my faves.
CL, I agree completely. I’ve only had one dog in my life, and she was a mutt. Sweetest animal I’ve ever seen. She looked like a mix between collie and hound. A collie’s fur and short legs like a hound.
When I was really young, I had a paper route, and when I delivered my papers one day, this tiny little kitten kept following me. I scooped him up and brought him home. He looked like a miniature black panther. Solid black with big yellow eyes and shiny fur.
He was good as a house cat, always gentle, but when he was outside, he was a badass!
KT, that was a lucky kitty to follow you! The cat had taste! If I was alone in this world, I would follow you, too.
And, I am not surprised that the cat was a badass when he was outside. I got a really good feeling that my buddy KT could be the same if the need called for it! 🙂
Aw Shucks Sally. 😳
I came out of more than a few scrapes and lived to tell about it. If there are such creatures as guardian angels, then I certainly have one. Though I wouldn’t want him/her to work overtime! 😉
I have pedigreed and registered dogs. Love them and they are gentle giants. I have had both, purebred and mixed. Loved them the same. I prefer certain breeds, like my Scottie (which I will have another someday). It is important to check out the breeder and the breeder before. Registration papers should be examined. Regardless, you don’t always know who you will get, pure or mixed. The owner will have the most impact. Of course, that goes for children. You don’t know who you created but you certainly as the parent will have the most impact. I love my girls and my dogs and my cats! I think I created pretty good, if I do say so myself. 😉
Yeah – Siamese may NOT have been the best intro to cats. Cats are just as varied as people, all have different “catonalities” just as dogs have different dipositions.
I had three back east that were all ‘found’ cats that bonded. Our neighbor’s cat made four – they all slept in our livingroom. We kept the window cracked open in the front, on a security lock, so they could come and go. One of them was the sweetest guy in the world so got beaten up a lot by bully cats down the block. Sometimes at 3 am I’d hear the cat fight, get on my robe and head out to find him. The remaining three cats would come out the window and walk down in a row behind me. If we found him, all four would follow me home. Always wondered if anyone ever witnessed my late night cat parade. And yes – these ARE the cats I’ve mentioned before that struck a deal with the rat living under the china cabinet. They paid him no attention at all. Never knew what the bribe was.
Depending on the “catonality” I love cats. There are quite a few I cannot abide. But overall they, like dogs, find favor when they’re compatible and good company. I like their individuality and refusal to take orders just as I value the loyalty of dogs. They’re all good, all creatures great and small.
Sally, I.m a cat guy, but I like all critters. We have seven deer right outside our dinning room window now. Dogs are great as well.
Nirek, that must be great to see in the morning, your deer out and about. I would enjoy that! My dad when he was young got all the hunting gear you could get and went with some friends deer hunting. He said he got in the brush and was all set and when he saw his first deer and how beautiful an animal it was, he couldn’t do it. Quit deer hunting right there and then. (This was a big cattle man, too, Nirek.) Now he tried bird hunting, too. Had two bird dogs that were brothers. He took them out hunting, got all his gear out of the trunk of the car, and off they went. When he fired his first shot the dogs went running back to the car and jumped into the trunk. That ending the bird hunting. Needless to say, dad got rid of all his hunting gear but not the dogs.
Sally, this morning I had 18 wild turkeys outside my house here in Northfield Vermont. We are at the end of a dead end road still in the village. We had a four horse farm until my wife hurt her back. All kinds of wildlife come to visit because it is a safe haven for critters.
Wow, Nirek! How utterly cool. I love Northfield – got there in October and stayed at the Northfield Inn. Love that town, and it makes me want to move to VT!
My husband and I once hung out with a group of wild turkeys here in TX. He named his favorite one “Cranberry”, which I thought was rather cruel.
Say hello to my favorite state for me, will ya?
AB, next time you come lets get together for a cup of coffee.
I am an independent, I have a cat.
Dogs are too needy.
It would give me no greater pleasure than to see these murder enablers put in their place and knocked off their perches once and for all, except to maybe see Congress grow a pair for once. “fight of the century” how dramatic for these dumb arses since we only have 13 years in it so far, and all that foaming at the mouth can’t be good for the environment.
If the president doesn’t get his way on this, the next time there is a mass shooting, the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling that corporations are people should be tested by making the NRA responsible as co-defendant for opposing gun control laws that would save innocent lives.
“NRA planning ‘the fight of the century’ against Obama”
http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/01/16/nra-planning-the-fight-of-the-century-against-obama/
Kalima, they error in their thinking that it is a fight with Obama alone. Maybe Congress won’t act but a Million Mothers March will show that it is a fight with many that believe there needs to be gun control! Everyday there is another shooting. It won’t stop until it is stopped! There are more and more people speaking up daily for change and control. They have a big fight on their hands but not with just the President’s.
Hi Sally, yes the majority of Americans want tighter gun control laws. In case you missed it, I posted this on MB on the 15th. These nuts need to be held responsible and shown that they don’t own the government or the people of the U.S. The senseless killings have to stop, and assault rifles must be banned. How can the NRA be against thorough background checks and the banning of weapons that should only be used in a war or armed conflict sanctioned by that country’s government, it makes no sense to see so many guns in your country especially in light of the constant violence and coming from countries that ban private citizens from obtaining firearms unless they have a hunting licence and the weapon used is just made for hunting small prey. Or do you have big game over there that we don’t know about? Even then, who uses a semi-automatic?
I want Congress to get off their lazy behinds and do something for those who want to feel safer on their streets, and especially for those affected by all the tragedies over the decades who lost loved ones. It’s way past time and I hope the president forges ahead any way he can. This has to be the turning point.
Poll: Most Americans support new gun-control measures after Newtown massacre
http://m.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-says-hell-offer-plans-to-stem-gun-violence-this-week/2013/01/14/b7ad8ea8-5e6c-11e2-90a0-73c8343c6d61_story.html
Kalima, it really is up to the American people on this. The NRA has so much power over Congress that only the power of voters could steer Congress to do what’s best for them and not the gun manufacturers.
BTW, a side note I just thought of, all these RW nutjobs who are railing against Obama taking away guns have spurred huge gun sales…which puts more money in the economy and can only help “Obama’s economy”.
So, by stampeding people towards guns through paranoid fears of “evil” Obama”, they are actually helping some degree the man they despise.
And meanwhile, the NRA’s and the RW’s lunacy over this and attacks on Obama are also helping him by pushing normal Americans over to his side.
Maybe we should put a high tax on bullets.
Nirek, that is exactly where my mind is. We can regulate bullets with no Constitutional limits and what good are guns without bullets?
That is a quick, direct and powerful way to address this gun madness.
Adlib, there are over 300 million guns in America now. We can’t take them away from people who are law abiding and I don’t want to. But we can make it harder to get the bullets. This could have a great effect on the revenue problem as well. Place a tax on them that makes it very difficult for anyone to buy bullets. We could also tax the bullets that semi automatic guns use even higher.Also track who buys them.
The other thing is making gun owners buy liability insurance and register their guns every year. As well as making them take responsibility for the guns used in a crime. If another person uses the gun in a crime the owner is guilty as well.
Nirek, the logic of all you propose is inescapable.
Government requires that we register our cars and mandates that we buy a minimum level of insurance coverage if we’re going to drive a car, how is that “outrageous” to do with far more deadlier things such as guns?
As you say, we have to regularly update our car registration, why shouldn’t gun owners have to do the same with their guns?
On the revenue side, that would bring in more money to states for registration fees and higher taxes on bullets that could be put towards mental health programs and other safer-society programs.
Indeed, bullets are the perfect choke-point to limit the destruction of gun proliferation in this country. Seeing that NY has taken bold steps quickly, it sure seems that the first approach should be getting blue states to adopt these kinds of gun control laws first then continuing the push for national legislation to get red states on the same sensible page.
Adlib, it does seem like common sense (all too uncommon on the republican/NRA side).
Nirek
In Israel any citizen can obtain a gun and many walk around with guns strapped to their person. Yet they do not have a gun problem most likely because they are limited to the number of rounds of ammunition they can purchase “in a lifetime”. Makes you careful how you use that weapon.
Of course a criminal would not worry about that anyway.
Nirek, sounds like a good idea. I know a lot of people that quit smoking because they couldn’t afford the cigarettes and all the taxes that were added to them.
I found the following chart very interesting. The cost of guns in other countries compared with ours. We are too cheap!
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I know that the spokesman for the NRA, what’shisname, the one who looks like a wax figure from Madame Tussauds, is extremely dumb, but show me a world leader who doesn’t have special protection for himself and his whole family. Isn’t it a law btw, that a president and former presidents receive around the clock protection? Didn’t Romney demand SS protection even though he wasn’t ever really anybody?
He’s the president of the U.S. ffs. People this dumb should be charged a fee to speak. Idiots, do they even know the meaning of the word “hypocrisy”?
Oh, and those “armed guards” for his daughters are nothing new, and are part of the SS job description for any president and his family. It goes with the job. Their blatant disrespect for the man who is the president and for the office he holds, is truly sickening.
NRA hits Obama over ‘hypocrisy’ of armed guards for daughters
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/nra-hits-obama-over-hypocrisy-armed-guards-daughters-012508976–politics.html
I don’t think Romney demanded protection but that it is automatically provided for both parties candidates, once chosen by their party, running for president. (This includes the members of their immediate family) It will be provided for both in 2016 when neither will be a sitting President at the time of the election. That is why this advertisement by the NRA is so outlandish and totally out of line. They don’t even let the President of the United States drive a car while he is in office because of the danger of someone hitting him on purpose. (yes, there are other reasons but they all are for his protection) These little girls are the targets not only of our own nuts but those from other countries, as well. No parent including the President wants to have to have protection for their family and take away a free life and childhood from them because they are in fear of the dangers around them but that is how it has to be. Secret Service protections has been provided since the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901.
Hi Sally, that’s what I thought and said that it’s a part of his position to have 24 hour protection. About Romney, I read from several news sources that he wanted SS protection before he even became the GOP nominee. My point was that Republicans claim it as their right, but see the president and his family being afforded the same protection as hypocrisy. I’m sure it’s not only the NRA who feel that way about it and who refuse to accept that he is the president, so they continue to insult him this way.
You’re right, Kalima, if it was their children/family the Republicans would expect the protection. Of course the NRA think they have all the protection. But, you never know. Anyone can be caught by surprise.
That’s the real definition of their chosen word “hypocrisy” Sally, but they are too stupid to figure that out.
Kalima, the logic is so twisted. Of course, those under the imminent possibility of attack, assassination or kidnapping need to be guarded.
How does that have anything to do with keeping mentally ill people from getting guns or limiting the potential of any citizen to stage a mass killing?
Arming teachers and letting armed gangs of unemployed people be an unregulated militia is the same thing as protecting high value political targets?
Morons with bullets for brains.
Hi AdLib, that’s what I meant about insulting the office of the President, their disrespect is truly mind boggling, and the day that I witness any semblance of what would pass for logic from these fanatical people, including the GOP, I’ll eat my hat and then eat yours too.
Yep, call them “bulletheads”.
And I wear a big bowler hat (especially when I blog) so that would be quite a meal!
I like that, “bulletheads”!
Oh darn it, I was thinking about that delicious looking yellow/gold fluffy thing you always wear when you post here.
I am so NOT happy that Arpaio is placing unvetted “volunteers” armed and trained with very few hours into Maricopa Co. schools. That includes one where my granddaughter goes!!!! She is six. She is small. All we need is some nervous Rambo wannabe over-reacting and doing harm to her and her little classmates. All “by accident” of course…
I read that the very youngest of the 20 children murdered at Sandy Hook had 11 shots in his small body. There is not enough BODY in children that small for this to happen. I can’t get past that since that’s the age of my granddaughter so I have some points of physical reference, and it’s sickening to think this happened – it’s despicable anyone would do that kind of harm to a child.
And now untrained, unvetted “volunteers” could be the source of other children’s death or injury all so gun nuts can feel like John Wayne.
Protecting the targets is my political choice. Damned if I’m standing with those who are armed and dangerous no matter WHO they are.
CL – If I was a parent with a child at one of those schools, I would find like minded parents and whatever legal or other organizations might be sympathetic to go to court and sue to have these vigilantes removed from their schools.
It’s one thing to have a security guard and another thing to have a potential threat to children by having unprofessional, un-vetted vigilantes walking around with guns.
Meet the Sandyhook Truthers:
“Yes, there really are Newtown truthers.
But in the crazy world of Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, this one may be the worst yet. (Maybe you’ve already heard some of the others, like the one about fantasy ties between the gunman’s family and the LIBOR banking scandal and a related theory about the Aurora shooting and the “Dark Knight Rises.”) Most of the theories are really pieces of a larger meta-theory: that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, perhaps by the Obama administration, designed to stir demand for gun control.”
(Check out the comments section on Salon. Unreal)
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/09/the_worst_sandy_hook_conspiracy_theory_yet/
Funk, I said the day after this tragedy that I bet the conspiracy theorist where going to say the government did it in-order to take peoples guns away. Dah dah, here they are! It always confounds me that these people that think the government could and would go to all this trouble to stage something and could pull if off, well, couldn’t the government just say, “We are taking your guns” and save the time? But, these are the same people that think their home weapons will hold off the government and military weapons. I have never understood why these same people believe that the government took down the World Trade Center to get us into war. When in fact all Bush had to say was that there was weapons of mass destruction in the making in Iraq and we were off!
Sally: Cue Rick Santinelli just in time for mid-terms! The Tea Party shall rise again!!
Man Who Helped Sandy Hook Kids is Harassed by Conspiracy Theorists
“A man who found six children in his driveway in Newtown, Conn., after their teacher had been shot and killed in last month’s school massacre has become the target of conspiracy theorists who believe the shootings were staged.
“I don’t know what to do,” Gene Rosen told Salon.com. “I’m getting hang-up calls, I’m getting some calls, I’m getting emails with, not direct threats, but accusations that I’m lying, that I’m a crisis actor, ‘How much am I being paid?’”
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/gene-rosen-sandy-hook-conspiracy-155033813.html
Thoroughly disgusting funk. These people are, like I’ve been saying for some time now, are insane. They are truly mentally ill. This also proves they don’t give a crap about some of our laws, like harassment, stalking and probably a few others.
KT, even better: He’s Jewish. All sorts of creeps crawling out of the woodwork to harass this guy.
KT, I read this too, earlier. The guys doing this harassment should be arrested and serve some time in jail without their guns but guns all around them and pointed at them.
Funk, if only we could convince the conspiracy loons to follow the lead of their fellow turkeys and stare up at the sky when it rains with their mouths open so they drown themselves.
I loved Amy and Tina’s response to the President being there.
The video of President Clinton is at the following link.
http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/bill-clinton-makes-surprise-appearance
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/debt-ceiling-what-happens-if-congress-doesnt-raise-it-obama-painting-2013-1#ixzz2I0rLqtgy
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Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/people-are-really-starting-to-get-it-about-the-deficit-2013-1#ixzz2I0oVcr00
Glenn Beck Announces Plans for Independence, USA
“Right-wing rabble-rouser Glenn Beck recently announced that he wanted to “go Galt” and create a self-sustaining community, inspired by the philosophy of Ayn Rand’s character John Galt from “Atlas Shrugged.”
The community will be known as Independence, USA. If and when it is completed, Independence will produce its own food and TV and film content. There will be homes, baseball fields and a theme park. Think: Small Town, USA, but with a Beckish vibe.”
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/glenn-beck-announces-plan-independence-usa-233854956.html
Jonestown anyone?
KT, hasn’t he been to Farmington, UT? They have all he listed including a big amusement park called Lagoon. Don’t think Independence, Missouri, home of Harry S. Truman, will like him taking their name. Although, the LDS Church is the largest land holder just outside of town.
I don’t care if he has such a place as long as it has a great big wall around it to keep them IN.
Jonestown does come to mind, doesn’t it, KT? Kool-aid anyone?
Oh – oh – this is GREAT! If he seals himself off from the rest of us, think of how nice it will BE! I LOVE this – I’ve urged these goobers and wingnuts to be self sustaining for YEARS. It means we don’t have to put up with them at all. EVER AGAIN!!!
I seriously do not care if it’s like Jonestown. Seriously. Leave them alone, and the kids won’t get hurt. They have every right to circle the wagons. So long as they aren’t plotting against us (making them radically different from retired Gen. Jerry Boykin, Xe, etc.) they can do what they bloody well want to, and then WE ARE FREE of them.
Go for it Becky. Please.
7AM Monday Jan.14, 2013
I just saw Senator John McCain say that the assault weapon ban should not be passed. My first thought was “he is bought and paid for by the NRA and gun manufacturers” Second thought “we need to have some people in our government who are above taking bribes.”
Nirek, someday someone will write a biography of McCain — his decline and fall.
“From Great to Grotesque”?
I don’t know what has happened to that guy, but I can hardly think of a thing that he has done lately that I could admire — or even understand!
One of his finest moments was during that town hall meeting he had when that Tea Party woman stood up and started ranting about “Obama is a Muslim…” and he interrupted with: “No madam, you’re wrong. He is a decent man…” (Not that being Muslim would make anyone less than “decent.”)
After that it’s been all downhill.
Kes, I think it has already been written: Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses
And all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again!
That eggy head of his is certainly cracked, Sally!
Former NRA President Equates Gun Laws With Racism
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Wow, another nut job from Crazy Town.
KT, these people are nut jobs! I can’t believe they care more about the right to have and use guns with high capacity magazines capable of shooting fast and inaccurately (spraying and hitting any target or non target).
We need to make the gun owner buy liability insurance and register their guns every year like we do our cars. Also gun owners should be charged with the crime their gun was used in whether they did it or someone else used it in the crime. That will insure that they keep them under lock and key.
Our good friend SueinCA posted a blast from the past reminding us that when the Black Panthers – who’d been murdered in their beds in Chicago by the police – wanted to arm in self defense, THE NRA BACKED LAWS PREVENTING IT.
So who’s the racist, hmmmmm?
Presidential Inauguration 2013
A Guide to Inauguration Day Events in Washington, DC
http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/Presidential-Inauguration-2013-Washington-Dc.htm
NOTE: President Obama will be sworn into office on a bible that was once used by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jan. 21 “is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It will be the second time that this federal holiday has coincided with a presidential inauguration. The first was President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, 1997.”
A little history, listed the other next-day inaugural ceremonies:
James Monroe, 1821 Zachary Taylor, 1849 Rutherford B. Hayes, 1877
Woodrow Wilson, 1917 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957
Ronald Reagan, 1985
(The law designating the third Monday in January as a federal holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was signed into law by President Reagan in 1983. President Reagan’s 1985 inauguration fell on the third Monday of January, but the new federal holiday did not become official until 1986.)
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/high-school-shooting-taft-california-183012601.html
Sally, it’s interesting that what put an end to the violence was not an armed guard, but…words.
NRA, are you listening?
Kes, no the NRA would tell you that everyone in the room should have had a gun. Now wouldn’t that have been a mess. If you read the whole article, one was taken to the hospital with hearing loss and another injured while hiding, let alone the poor individual actually shot. If everyone had a gun, spray of bullets every where, people falling over one another with guns in hands, and talk about noise factor. Instead, the teachers talk the kid down and no one else was hurt.
Kes, as you said, “NRA are you listening?” Or have you lost your hearing being around all those guns?
kes and Sally – I never stop thinking about that over the top scene in Steve Martin’s 1991 film, “L.A. Story” where he and his girlfriend driving to brunch, realizing it’s a certain date that starts the “Los Angeles road rage gunfire” season, load the gun and get ready for 65 mph shootouts with other angry drivers. It’s SO outrageous – but that’s not far off the NRA mark!
Yah – I sure want to live like that…
Someone wrote after Newtown that while we’re debating Second Amendment rights, where are the rights for the targets? I have no desire to have to be packing just to get groceries. I think most people feel the same – and have the RIGHT to feel that way!
Here I go again, on a rant.
Who needs an assault rifle and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds?
The answer is nobody. Those weapons are used to kill as many people as you can in as short a time as possible. The only use is in WAR which we are trying to get away from.
No sportsman needs one and no one needs one to protect himself. A 22 caliber rifle or pistol is enough to protect ones self. Any sportsman hunting should be able to bring down its prey with 1-10 rounds. One should be enough if you are truly a sportsman.
It seems to me that the NRA would better serve their constituents by embracing the banning of semi automatic weapons and high capacity magazines.
The NRA blames TV and Movies and video games along with mentally ill people. I agree they share some of the blame. But the proliferation of guns and the ease of a criminal attaining them is also a part of the problem. The NRA says no. We have to have more not less guns. That is pure nonsense.
I feel that if someone commits a crime with one of these guns they should throw away the key. Also those who own them should have to license them every year like we do our cars. If a crime is committed with their gun they should share the blame. They should be responsible for keeping the guns under lock and key.
I could rant on , but will stop now.
Nirek, you probably saw that right during VP Biden’s press conference, there was another school shooting. What will it take to get through to these people?
Had the school system where this shooting occurred hired an armed guard? Yes, they had. But he wasn’t there today.
I saw another article today in which it recounted how a prominent pro-gun activist was shot in the head and killed. (I think his name was Keith Ratliff.) He had lots of guns in his house, but was apparently ambushed. He left behind a wife and young son. 🙁
Kes’, yes I saw that story on the news. There are shootings every day somewhere in America but they don’t all get national press coverage.
As to when people will say enough is enough and do something about guns? Never. Guns are here and we will not get rid of them. We can do some things though. We can make gun owners register their guns every year. Make them responsible for crimes committed with their gun. No matter who did it. Make them have liability insurance for their guns. There are many things that can reduce the shootings.