After President Obama unveiled his plans for gun control...
By louisehartmann
Including signing more than 20 executive orders – Republicans are reacting with calls for impeachment. Despite Presidents routinely signing executive orders – Republicans are accusing the President of high crimes. Republican Congressman Steve Stockman compared the President to Saddam Hussein, and previously threatened to impeach him. Also, Republicans Louie Gohmert and Trey Radel piled on – saying impeachment is one of a number of options that should be on the table to respond to the President’s gun reforms.
Of course, to the rational person, the President's executive orders are common sense reforms: including better record sharing between federal agencies – new studies on gun violence – and even providing incentives for schools to hire resource officers. But to the insane, these are tyranny, which is odd because these same Republicans didn’t seem to mind when Bush signed a number of far more radical executive orders during his term, including: a ban on stem cell research – authorization of torture – creating more powers for the Vice President’s office – and making it harder to get a hold of presidential records.
All of these actions were taken without any consideration of Congress. But none of them were taken against the deep-pocketed gun industry – so Republicans were just fine with them. Enough with the rhetoric, it’s time for Congress to do what the American people overwhelmingly support, which is take action to get weapons of war off our streets, and out of the hands of the mentally ill. And that also includes addressing the wealth inequality issue in America that is underlying all this violence in our society.
Pass an Assault Weapons Ban – and repeal the Reagan tax cuts, too.
Comments
#2
So when does "Swearing an Oath" make it so sanctified and unbreakable? Our damn Presidents swear oaths to defend the Constitution of the United States and all they do is act like war criminals and mass murderers all very much against the Constitution of the United States. Bush said that the Constitution was "just a piece of paper".
If you swear an oath to criminals you don't need to honor those oaths. The Nuremberg Trials established that soldiers are not to carry out orders that are not "lawful".
Nixon was a Criminal who abused the office of the United States and, although others may not have been impeached for their criminal deeds, they should have been. Especially Bush2!
If the SS swore oaths to Hitler about committing genocide...if any one of them decided to not honor the oath he took..would that have been breaking an oath to the high office in the German government, in which Hitler reigned, or would it not have been breaking the oath to Hitler himself? I say it in that way so that no one can counter ague that the oaths taken by soldiers are oaths taken to the "office of the President."..the Commander and Chief of the United States of America. If the President is a crook, a war criminal, and all of the chain of command are war criminals, then so what if some soldier "breaks an oath"?
#3
Calm down Buddy!
You fly off the handle too quickly. Personally you are way out of line. Calling Alice a bitch is unacceptable. You owe her an immediate apology. That kind of language is intolerable.
Secondly, I deeply apologize for the few people who showed up at the airport and spit on our returning troops from Vietnam. They spit on my father when they spit on any other soldier. I remember watching this spectacle in horror with my mother at the time and being at a complete loss of words to explain it. Take my word for it, this in no way expressed the general overall opinion of other "armchair observers" that I'm aware of. In fact, everyone I know on this side of the pond wanted nothing more than to save the soldiers sacrificing everything in Nam. I, and others like me, wanted to hug everyone who returned and welcome them home with honor.
You are also quite out of line when you call protesters cowards. Oh yes, its easy for someone with firearms to bully peaceful protesters; but, before you ridicule them let me see you face a wall of armed guards without a weapon and armed only with conviction, a sign, and a smile. Let me see you get your head spit in two for your beliefs and return for more immediately after your wounds heal. Let me see you do what Abbots master did and apologize profusely rather than engage an antagonist that you can surely defeat; and, then I will accept your opinion without question. The fact of the matter is that despite the sacrifice of you and the other military personnel in Vietnam it was the sacrifice of the protesters here that brought an end to that war. Here's a little news coverage from that period that featured not only protesters but veterans as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KuvjRTQo2U
If a man of the character of John Kerry, a Vietnam war hero, has the passion and conviction to publicly admit the war is a mistake and demand immediate withdrawal do you really think people are perceiving your antagonistic rants as respectable?
If you want to maintain my respect, please apologize for calling Alice a bitch. I consider you a friend and her as well. However, one minimal quality I expect from my friends are that they are at least a Gentlemen.
Thank You!
#4
Mr. Ware says "I hate to sound sexist but your reply is based primarily on you[r] feel good female hormones and bitch response mechanism".
Gee Ken, that's so eloquent. You sure have a way with words.
Damn right I'm an old hippie. Proud of it, I might add. At least us activist types, "armchair warriors" and "cowards" don't have blood on our hands (!); the blood of people who never harmed or threatened us, or had anything to do with us!
Our military has a long, sordid history of attacking people whose only "crime" was simply bad luck, being in the right place at the wrong time, winding up in the path of this Almighty Empire's thieving rampage by no fault of their own. The Cold War was a promotional device, invented by the Military Industrial Complex and its allies as a gimmick to justify the unjustifiable, thus brainwashing the "masses" into believing we must have perpetual war to be "safe" and "free" from the Evil Communists. You and your comrades were duped and used in the prime of youth by the war machine, serving an unholy agenda that had nothing remotely to do with democracy.
Since you claim to be so into facts Mr. Ware, perhaps you should consider that nuclear weapons are the U.S.'s gift to the world. It is our country who created this problem in the first place; not the "commies". Thanks to this noble innovation, we are so much safer and more civilized now; right? (Not.) And even though we possess more of these weapons of mass destruction than anyone else, our leaders arrogantly assume they have the right to dictate to other countries who can and can't have them. So much of what you say on this subject comes from the belief that it is our job to police the entire world. It is a premise I and like-minded souls reject without apology.
I have no intention of getting sucked into a tedious ongoing debate with you about the Cold War. I'll leave that to Thom Hartmann. Thom is a walking, breathing encyclopedia, probably with more knowledge of history than the rest of us stacked together. I've no doubt Thom's assessment of the Cold War, with his vast knowledge of history, would be more aligned with Palindromedary's, No Fraud's, DeAnneMarc's and my own.
Beyond all that, your condescending attitude towards women in general has been apparent to me almost from the start, when I first became engaged with this blog two months ago. You not only sound sexist; you ARE sexist. And hostile and angry, and a bully. Laugh all you want; I need only consider the source. - Aliceinwonderland
#5
PD says "I had problems with a grocery store today (and it is a frequent occurrence at these grocery stores) where they mark something down but when they ring up your bill they ring it up as the original value."
The last time you mentioned this it really tweaked me, because I've griped about it for years and years. On rare occasions there have been articles written about this dirty little trick of theirs, and reports about it broadcast on TV. And it's bloody infuriating. I completely agree with your assertion that it is a deliberate ploy to rip us off at the checkstand.
Like you PD, I never let 'em get away with it. I add up everything religiously as I collect items in my cart. The last time this occurred, I retrieved three bucks I'd been overcharged. Even if the discrepancy is less than a buck, I make sure they correct their "mistake". It was worst in the late 1990s when I ran into this problem virtually every week; now it's much less frequent, altho it still isn't that unusual. I've shopped at four or five grocery stores around here. As I recall, Walmart and Safeway were the worst. (I remember yelling at one of Safeway's managers because I was so fed up with this stupid game of theirs.) Grocery Outlet has always been most honest in these transactions; their discrepancies are so rare that I cut them more slack, shrugging it off as legitimate human error.
What blows my mind about your recent experience is the response you got. Never, in all such run-ins with grocery store personnel, have I been refused compensation once I've proven my case. Next time this happens to you PD, don't back down! Make 'em sell you those groceries at the sale price advertised. We not only stand up for ourselves in these situations, we are consumer activists, calling their bluff. It's a sleazy game and they've no right to steal from us, which is precisely what they are doing. Being the confrontational type that I am, I've no problem asserting myself, and in the process, blowing their cover. It beats shoplifting for revenge. - Aliceinwonderland
#6
Aliceinwonderland: I'm glad that you are not letting them get away with it as well. I noticed a Chinese lady picking out oranges at the same time I was and had a bag of them too. After I was leaving the store I noticed that Chinese lady almost out the door but looking very puzzled as she was holding the oranges in one hand and looking at her receipt in the other. I told her that they were charging 70 cents a pound for the oranges and I just didn't buy them. She went back and demanded she pay only 29 cent per pound and succeeded...different cashier. But I probably could have gotten them for 29 cents too but I reasoned....now, at least, they will have to go through extra work to put the oranges back. I'm glad other people are noticing that this is happening. Thanks for your story.
#7
David- you are MY kind of warrior, and a kindred spirit. Not all of us peons are pushovers and suckers. Let's keep giving 'em hell! - Aliceinwonderland
#8
I'm trying to figure out how to delete this duplicate post...
#9
Palindomedary, I agree it's a scam that management runs on the public. It even happens at the little health food coop near my house. I asked one of the board members why they make so many mistakes at the register and why all of those mistakes seem to be in their favor. He said, "Well, we're trying to figure out who's responsible for entering in the correct prices."
I said, "For three years you have been trying- without success- to find out which of your twenty employees is responsible for entering the prices into the store's computer?"
We watch out for each other. That's what we do.
#10
Palindromedary, I would like to reply to some of your statements/questions.
As you say, the American military has basically unlimited funds to pour into weapons, so there's no way that any group of American civilians could ever outgun them in a head-on firefight. But also as you say, looking at history, it's clear that no military has ever succeeded in occupying any country against a determined resistance. It's simply impossible. Which is why the republicans- wait a minute, let's cut to the chase and call them what they are: the fascsists have been trying so hard for so long to completely take over our education system, so they can indoctrinate our children into not resisting them, as they do in North Korea, and as they did in Germany.
Problem is, (as psychiatrist Scott Peck pointed out) Korea and Germany were always heavily patriarchal societies: obey daddy, or he'll hurt you. America not so much. At least in the north. In the south they're kind of patriarchal, which is why the fascists want the south to quit America- the south would be far easier for the fascists to control.
As far as our own military being turned against us, here's how military governments have always done that sort of thing. They take a look at the culture and identify group one and group two, which hate each other. Then they use a military force of people from group one to occupy group two, and use a military force from group two to occupy group one. Which brings us to an issue that is of increasing importance, both for me personally and for our country and our world: don't hate. No matter what, don't hate. Sometimes someone pushes one or two of my buttons and I lash out. And then I regret it because I know I'm not supposed to behave that way. In some situations it's just so easy for me to hate, to want to fight, and it takes so much strength, so much courage, and so much character to just stop, take a deep breath, relax, and work on healing my attitude. This is a very difficult challenge for me. But it's the only game in town. I mean, wherever I go, there I am. I can't outrun my shadow. But I can make peace with my shadow. If I have the courage to do it and the support of people who care for me. Which means that I need to care about people who are facing difficult challenges. We are all in this together.
It may be that the tank in Tiananmen Square wouldn't run over the kid becauses of the backpack the kid held in his hands. I believe they thought it was a bomb. As far as I am aware, no protestors had any explosives. That kid had the courage to put his life right on the line, and in so doing he altered the time-space continuum in a good way; his action was like a doctoral thesis in spiritual physics. If everyone had that kind of courage, this would be a peaceful world.
There is a seriously problematical potential inherent in every armed revolution: Usually the country ends up with a worse government, not a better one. Mao was very concerned about China's bad government. And it's true, the Kuomintang was bad. So Mao took over and promptly became so much worse than the Kuomintang. Same thing happened with the Russian revolution. It's George Orwell's Animal Farm, and the only escape is for people in general to become better informed and better people.
I agree that armed citizens are a strong deterrent to fascist governments like ours, and for that reason I think that sane people who want guns should have them. But at their best, guns are a temporary and unpredictable solution that can literally or figuratively blow up in the face of the people who use them. The only permanent deterrent is a peaceful, informed, mentally integrated citizenry of strong character.
Many years ago a friend told me that her husband would regularly get drunk, load his gun, grab her by the neck, put the gun against her face, and say, "If you ever try to leave me I will hunt you down and kill you."
She asked me to help her get away from him. I had seen the guy, he was really and truly insane; there was nothing I could have said or done to him that would have made any difference. So I phoned every church in the entire Seattle area, asking them to pray for her. I talked with Christians, Jews, Muslims, whoever. Some of them, interestingly, said, "Oh, we don't do that sort of thing." But most of them said they would pray for my friend.
Two weeks later, she told me that her husband said to her, "I'm sorry for how I have treated you. I understand you wanting to leave me. Go. I'm moving to California."
I saw him at a gas station a few days before he left, and was amazed at the look he gave me. In that one look I saw that he was a changed man. I felt so much respect for him. What a healing. And I think it's so interesting that this healing was faciltated by a multi-cultural group of churches working together.
#11
I don't think any regulation controlling access to guns will prevent gun implemented violence until the return of mental health provisions plus healthy additions tp bith Medicaid ans Medicare for research on mental health are reinstated.
#12
Quote David Abbot: "...so there's no way that any group of American civilians could ever outgun them in a head-on firefight."
Of course not...not in a head-on fight. But even our forefathers knew better than to fight the British totally head on...they'd have lost too. But our forefathers used hit and run tactics and fought as dirty (from the British perspective) as they had to against a well disciplined, well armed superior force. The same thing went down in Vietnam and now in the Middle East. The US has a superior force armed with all the latest kill machines so the "insurgents" used whatever they could to fight the only way they could...and they have worn the US forces out...helping to break us economically. ☮ ☯
#13
Quote David Abbot: "It may be that the tank in Tiananmen Square wouldn't run over the kid becauses of the backpack the kid held in his hands. I believe they thought it was a bomb."
And that may be true...the guy driving the tank may have thought the protester had a bomb (you really don't know..you are just assuming)...but then, by the same turn, you don't really know that your action of notifying all the churches had anything at all to do with that abusive guy having a change of mind, either. Perhaps, you are just assuming that's the way it was....unless that guy told you that he knew your did this and that it was the reason he had a change of mind.
I totally agree that non-violence is a much preferred way of settling disputes and differences. But sometimes you just cannot reason with a bully that is about to blow your head off. In such times, it's good to have a fighting chance of defending yourself. Some people may fantacize about being a saint..turn the other cheek stuff..bullies just love that...but most of us would rather just be alive and living a decent life. ☮ ☯
#14
Bob Cox: I agree!
#15
Alice: I am impressed with your aplomb under "fire," and your replies to same.
Ken: I notice that rather than replying to the points I raised, you decided to insult a woman. Cheap shot. I over-estimated your character.
I don't have any military training. In fact, I would not even make a good armchair warrior unless you count the fact that I helped take over the Michigan State University administration building to protest the Vietnam war, and once we took it over, I did in fact sit in an armchair. I dodged the draft because it was my duty as a patriotic American to do so.
And you know what, Ken? I have met guys who talked like you, who never saw one minute of combat. All talk, no game.
#16
Wow, David and Alice, your stories have touched me so deeply, I want to leave you with a couple of observations.
First! From the bottom of my heart, Thank YOU BOTH! I feel I personally owe my life to people like you.When I was seven years old and contemplating suicide locked in my family bathroom and trying to decide to swallow a bottle of pills that I didn't understand the label and wasn't sure was lethal, or try to figure out how to open my fathers razor and use the blade on my wrists, it was people like you demonstrating in the news that gave me the strength to resist the urge. I would also look at myself in the mirror and know that I wasn't the sort of person to abandon such righteous and brave people to the whims of a tyrant. I must fall by the hands of the tyrant or by the throws of the struggle and not by my own hand. If given to the prospect of survival in a world full of people like Ken, I probably wouldn't be writing this. Rather, I'd be resting in peace right now! I've had a pretty good life and a wonderful wife to share it with. From the bottom of my heart, Thank you both!!!
David Abbot. Your opinions and philosophy so identically match my own I almost feel I know you. I'd like to share with you some of my favorite excerpts from one of my favorite books, "ON KINGSHIP, TO THE KING OF CYPRUS," by, St. Thomas Aquinas. In my opinion, you'd love this work. It's short, well thought out, and completely accurate. The first excerpt describes Ken's disposition perfectly:
"(PG 18) For, according to Aristotle's sentence, brave men are found where brave men are honoured. And as Tullius says: "Those who are despised by everybody are disheartened and flourish but little." It is also natural that men, brought up on fear, should become mean of spirit and discouraged in the face of any strenuous and manly task.
As far as your opinion, David Abbot, concerning armed rebellion I might submit St. Aquinas's words:
(PG 27) Furthermore, it seems that to proceed against the cruelty of tyrants is an action to be undertaken not through the private presumption of a few, but rather by public authority.
He continues:
(PG 29) But to deserve to secure this benefit from God, the people must desist from sin, for it is by divine permission that wicked men receive power to rule as a punishment for sin, as the Lord says by the Prophet Osee: "I will give thee a King in my wrath" and it is said in Job that he "maketh a man that is a hypocite to reign for the sins of the people." Sin must therefore be done away with in order that the scourge of tyrants may cease.
On the origin and nature of Tyrants St. Aquinas further states:
(PG 48) No one, indeed, can be more truly called a hypocrite than the man who assumes the office of king and acts like a tyrant, for a hypocrite is one who mimics the person of another, as is done on the stage. Hence God permits tyrants to get into power to punish the sins of the subjects.
The final excerpt I wish to offer up from this brilliant work is this:
(PG 46) The government of tyrants, on the other hand, cannot last long because it is hateful to the multitude, and what is against the wishes of the multitude cannot be long preserved. For a man can hardly pass through this present life without suffering some adversities, and in the time of his adversity occasion cannot be lacking to rise against the tyrant;and when there is an opportunity there will not be lacking at least one of the multitude to use it. Then the people will fervently favour the insurgent, and what is attempted with the sympathy of the multitude will not easily fail of its effects. It can thus scarcely come to pass that the government of a tyrant will endure for a long time.
He then goes on to say that the government of a tyrant is not upheld in the best interests of prosperity and peace but by fear and sowing of discord among the masses. Sowing of discord is exactly what David Abbot describes as pitting one citizen against the other. My hat is off to you David Abbot. Could it be that you are a "born again Saint in disguise." At this point, I certainly wouldn't be surprised. Thank you for you contributions and for your actions when I was a child. I am eternally grateful. DAnneMarc
#17
Thank you, DAnneMarc. I think we all owe each other.
Were you in the military, if I might ask?
I contemplated suicide once. What happened next surprised me: I heard a voice coming from everywhere and from nowhere. Only one word: "WAIT."
It was not a suggestion or a request, but an order, given by someone who had authority to give it. And it never occurred to me to question that order. I obeyed it.
I told this to someone a few years ago and he said, "So, how long did you have to wait?"
I said, "Well actually, I'm still waiting."
He said, "How long has it been?"
I said, "Well, let's see now... I think it's been 38 years. Yes, it has."
He raised one eyebrow, and we both burst into laughter.
Interesting quotes you offer: "I will give thee a King in my wrath" and it is said in Job that he "maketh a man that is a hypocite to reign for the sins of the people." Sin must therefore be done away with in order that the scourge of tyrants may cease."
I think that it is in some instances true- as in Bush representing the lowest common denominator among coke-addled southern-fried Americans and Cheney representing the lowest common denominator of the rabid badger level of hell. But one of my favorite parts of the Bible is where God saves a city full of sinners for the sake of the very few truly good people in that city. It's clear that not all saints are shot out of canons at the Vatican.
I think that some kinds of mass suffering exist in part because God is using those suffering people to test the people who could be- and should be- helping them. I have spent time with people who are/were in large part saints. But I have frittered away too much of my life in petty indulgences thus far, to be called a saint. But on the other hand, from what I have seen most people are saints from time to time.
#18
Yeah, Palindomedary, the spiritual thing is interesting that way: experiences that constitute reasonable proof for one person, constitute reasonable doubt for another. Above my pay grade.
#19
No, David Abbot, I was never in the military.
In many ways I wish I could have brought myself to enlist in order to incorporate the strict discipline of the ranks into my life. However, the oath to blindly obey orders from a source I didn't trust, to be willing to take the life of strangers at the whim of that source, and the life style of living by the sword was more than I could compromise.
I wish I could say I heard a voice from 'above' command me once when I was a child. I definetely felt a voice. I too was compelled beyond my control to obey it.
When I was in 5th grade my school had a new student who for some reason made it his goal in life to bully me. He never missed an opportunity to taunt, ridicule, confront , insult, even push me in front of classmates. I wanted nothing more then to break his nose with my fists. My father instructed me every chance he got that a violent physical attack was the only way to gain the other boys respect and end the problem. Yet, no matter how hard I tried to swing my arms at him they refused to move. It was like they were being held at my side. I was frustrated to tears and infuriated with myself.
One day, when we went outside for lunch, for no reason I was aware of, all the other kids in my class started taunting my nemesis in unison. They formed a circle around him while I watched and began pushing him around between each other. One of them got down on his knees so another could push him back and topple him to the ground. He got back up and started to chase the kid that made him fall and was tripped by another kid making him fall again, this time really hard. His pants were torn and his knee was bleeding. The other kids formed a circle around him laughing at him and daring him to get back up.
As the entire class taunted him and he rolled around on the ground bleeding and crying, I remember walking away from the scene laughing my butt off. I was very happy that fate smiled on me. So far, this was the best day of the year. That's when I felt the voice. It said, "Go help him!"
I remember clearly spinning around and looking up at the sky and yelling, "No! I won't"
Again I felt the voice, "Help him now!"
Again I protested, "No! I don't want to!"
Again I was directed, "Now!"
As if I didn't really have a choice, I took a deep breath and walked over to the crowd that was still taunting and surrounding the kid. I shoved them out of my way while yelling, "Leave him alone. That's enough!" The crowd of kids parted in shock. I asked the bully, "How badly are you hurt?"
He too was in shock. He silently pointed to his knee. I put my arm around his shoulder and helped him up. Then I carried him to the bench where I sat with him till the pain subsided and he stopped crying. I was disgusted with myself but did what I was told to the best of my abilities; though, I had no idea why. I continued to sit with the boy, guarding and comforting him the best I could.
Strangely, the entire event ended my problem of being bullied. The other boy now considered me his ally and best friend. In retrospect, unlike the advise of my father who insisted that the only way to get the other boy to respect me was by punching him in the face; I managed to achieve much greater respect and resolve the problem through kindness--without resorting to violence of any kind.
I can't say that I heard a voice that day because the words just appeared in my mind; however, I can certainly say without question that this was in no way my idea. At the moment, I didn't even know what I was doing. I can also say without a doubt, that a very profound and valuable lesson was learned that day by myself and everyone else present. Even the Teacher, who witnessed the event latter pulled me aside and with a very serious face said, "That was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen."
Like you, I have no doubt that there is something benevolent and supernatural out there; and, it has a plan for us all.
#20
WOW DeAnneMarc, what an incredibly powerful story. The bully became your buddy. You might be a man of ordinary means, but an ordinary person you are not.
I got bullied a lot, growing up. At times it was relentless. I remember this one boy in elementary school; we were about nine or ten years old. Max was always taking swipes at me, verbally and physically, until one afternoon during our recess hour when I'd had enough. This time when he hit me, I hit him back. Next thing I knew, we were having at it full tilt boogie, fists flying, punching and kicking... As repugnant as this was for me, I just couldn't back down. I cried when it was over. But you know, he never bullied me again. Not only did Max stop bullying me, he was actually nice to me afterwards... friendly even! You figure.
- Aliceinwonderland
#21
DAnneMarc, that is a really good example of saintly behavior, very inspirational.
#22
Post #67 Addendum
I think it is important to define what is sin. The modern dictionary define sin as an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. This would include not only violations of the ten commandments but also failure to uphold the golden rule of Jesus, Love thy neighbor as thyself, love thy enemy, and love God with your whole mind, body and soul.
Of course, today, that meaning has been expanded to include pornography, drug use and homosexuality by the current religious establishment. Jesus said that to look on a woman and commit fornication with her in your heart is adultery. Was he talking about lustful thoughts or thoughts of love? And wouldn't that be limited to married men as well? Is masturbation sin or self maintenance? Doesn't that depend on the content of the heart involved? How can anyone but God and that person Judge the behavior?
What about drug use? Jesus said, nothing whatsoever that enter into the body can defile someone. Only that which proceeds out of the body from the heart through the mouth defiles someone.
Homosexuality is never mentioned in the commandments, by Moses or Jesus as being sin. Sure, this was a popular activity in Sodom, but was it the sex act itself between consenting adults or the fact that the general citizenry desired to violently gang rape a couple of Angels who were passing through town?
In my humble opinion, what we are fed as sinful acts by the powers that be are not sin at all. However, there certainly is a great deal of profit in ginning up the sin factor.
On the other hand we all know individuals who are driven by the motivation of committing acts that they believe piss-off God. They may indulge in violence, drug use, and all matter of sexual deviation for the sole pleasure of offending God; while others may engage in the same acts for innocent reasons. In the first cases I would agree that their actions are sinful for they break the first commandment with their intent. The second cases I would consider to be harmless expressions of innocent recreation and acts of love. There is nothing wrong with self gratification or indulgence as long as it is in moderation and without sinister intentions.
However, if there was a cultural wide practice in modern times that I were to cite as a reason that God would allow Tyrants to rule this country, it would be acts of sheer unkindness. The very act of showing up to ridicule and oppress people of various minority groups from African Americans to Homosexuals, and persecuting people for using chemicals to self medicate is what I would call sin.
No two people are alike. No one has any business declaring their lifestyle is just and anyone else's is not. That Judgement is God's alone and for anyone to presume to know something that is not already handed down from the Prophets is the greatest sin of all. Judge not, yest ye be judged, is perhaps the greatest teaching given us by Jesus himself. Yet we Americans are a nation who routinely Judge everyone. Just look at our most popular TV program, "American Idol." Here we flaunt our greatest iniquities and how popular they are.
Until we come to grip with the fact that there are a vast amount of people that are different from ourselves and learn to love and tolerate that diversity we as a people and nation will never have the conviction or maturity to overcome the Tyrants placed in our midst's.
I respectfully submit to everyone that the Revolution that we must fight as a people begins within ourselves. Once we successfully cast out our own Demons we will be able to remove the Demons that Govern US. May God help US all! I believe we will succeed as a people!
#23
DAnneMarc, it's obvious you have thought deeply about these subjects.
I am certain that the most important revolution I could participate in, is the one within my own heart.
#24
I understand the right of the people to protect themselves against unjust government control. But what about the fact that these guns are in the mean time turned against fellow citizens? What is your solution for that fact, in light of your recommending high ownership of military weapons to 'protect' citizens? The people's right to uphold their democratic principles thru battle level ballistic weapons should be contained within citizens' militia, and not within private ownership. No private gun owner should need or own the ballistic capacity to take out crowds of private citizens in a sweep of sprayed ammunition.
#25
Quote RabiaJ: The people's right to uphold their democratic principles thru battle level ballistic weapons should be contained within citizens' militia, and not within private ownership.
Maybe people's 'right' to transportation should be contained within mass transportation instead of the dangerous weapons (cars) that kill more people than guns ever did. I'm sure some people would go for this.
The problem with limiting guns to militias is that militias are small groups that can be more easily identified and watched and wiped out by smaller military or police forces than it would be if guns were owned by everyone. They are also politicized and usually have a rather dictatorial belief system, often of a religious bent. And unless you hold the same beliefs you are not welcome. And once one becomes a member of these organizations it would be hard to distance one from any radical decisions some 'leader' makes on behalf of the members. There is often a kind of herd mentality that can get you killed. Any time you 'join' an organization...say like Jim Jones People's Temple...you can expect to 'drink the cool-aid' one day. No, the People's Temple was not a militia but they did have many weapons, men who would use them, and suicide juice.
The uprisings in Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere..including the Occupy Wall Street groups that did not have 'leaders' that the authorities could identify, arrest, and/or control worked much better than a specific group that could be watched, actions anticipated, and controlled. But it is the very 'fear of a well armed people' (and they don't even have to conduct an armed rebellion...just the fear that it could happen if things got so bad) that would influence how our politicians conduct themselves.
Right now, they are using all the propaganda scare tactics...like a "billion rounds of hollow point bullets being distributed to government agencies"...and trying to build up their ability to spy on every citizen. As the wealthy 1%, and their capos, continue to squeeze every last bit of humanity out of everyone else they realize that one day the dam will break and well armed people could revolt against the tyrannous system.
We are starting to see the effects of the tyranny now...increased 'crime' rates...people going nuts...shootings....suicides. It'll get worse! And what will people do to protect themselves... huddle in a corner... under the bed... while the police finally show up and call in the coroner?
Sure, right now it is the military style weapons the authorities are going after but it won't stop there. Remember, guns don't kill people...people kill people. And if they don't have guns, they'll use knives or clubs or other methods to do mass murders. It has happened in China and other countries all by using clubs or knives...killing many school children and teachers. The genocide that killed almost a million people in Rwanda was mostly all done by clubs and knives.
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David Abbot: Well said!(especially, the last paragraph of #95). By the way, in referring to your earlier post #62, and your problems with Whole Foods....I had problems with a grocery store today (and it is a frequent occurrence at these grocery stores) where they mark something down but when they ring up your bill they ring it up as the original value. I tried to buy these Naval Oranges that was marked as 29 cents a pound..5 pound limit...so I got 4-3/4 pounds. After the guy rang it up...I looked at the display and it said 70 cents a pound. I told the guy that the sign under these oranges said 29 cents a pound...and he stared at me with a grin and said "I know!" Then I said but you rang it up as 70 cents a pound. He said "I know!" I told him that I didn't want the oranges at 70 cents a pound so he set the bag aside and I didn't get my oranges. I probably should have insisted that he sell them to me at 29 cents a pound. Anyway...the guy says..."It's not my fault!" And I said "yeah, I know...it's management!" He grinned like he agreed with me. This happens all the time at the grocery stores. I believe it is a systematic scam that management is perpetrating on the customers. And most people just don't bother to check what they are actually being charged. This has happened mostly at Safeways and today it was Luckys.