It happened again!

 Another day another mass shooting in America. No words.

My thoughts go out to the family members and loved ones of those who lost their lives today.

I am not going to give my opinions about guns and gun violence. You all know where I have stood on this issue over the years, so there is no need for me to rant about this latest tragedy.

The president has had enough, and he said as much tonight when he spoke to the nation about this latest slaughter of innocents.

He tried, once again, to use the "bully pulpit" to change our opinions about the gun culture that exists in our country, but as we have seen time and time again this is just an exercise in futility.

Anyway, I would like to know what you (regardless of how you feel about guns) would do to help curb the senseless gun violence that is so widespread in our society.

*Pic from mediamatters.org

Home of the brave, land of the Glock.

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Ayn Rand
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gun.html#1v8Hry6fATrMtyEQ.99

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Ayn Rand
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gun.html#1v8Hry6fATrMtyEQ.99

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Ayn Rand
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gun.html#1v8Hry6fATrMtyEQ.99

Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Ayn Rand
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gun.html#1v8Hry6fATrMtyEQ.99

"Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins". ~Ayn Rand~


What's with all the mass shootings in America?


It seems like every day there is another one.


New Mexico; Utah; Indiana. Oh, and let's not forget Florida; there is always some craziness jumping off in Florida.


And we shoot each other everywhere: In the mall; in school; in church; the movie theater; the barber shop; the grocery store..... Heck if you are a beautiful little five year old girl , just minding your business in your own home, you can lose your life. Whatever happened to just shooting up the crack corner ?


I thought we were a "God fearing" nation.


Of course it all doesn't matter anymore. Hearing about all the latest killings is  like getting the scores from the NBA and NHL games the night before. A little interest but not much. I am safe and sound in my little part of the world, so it does not matter to me. This is until, of course, some random act of violence comes your way.


"Not me Field. I will be ready for em. I have something in my home stashed away and I can use it. If they know what's good for them they better not try to come my way."


I hear ya Dirty Harry, and I bet this poor woman felt the same way.


Anyway, I prepared a little list for you:

"12/1/13 Topeka Kan­. Shooting Family killing 4

11/23/13 Tulsa Okl­a. Shooting Other 4 ­

11/7/13 Jacksonvil­le Fla. Shooting Oth­er 4

10/29/13 Callison ­S.C. Shooting Family killing 5

10/28/13 Terrell T­exas Shooting Other ­5

10/26/13 Phoenix A­riz. Shooting Other ­4

10/26/13 New York N.Y. Stabbing F­amily killing 5

10/9/13 Paris Texa­s Shooting Other 4

9/20/13 Rice Texas­ Shooting Family killing 4

9/16/13 Washington­ D.C. Shooting Publi­c Killing 12

9/11/13 Crab Orchard Tenn. Shooti­ng Robbery/burglary ­4

8/14/13 Oklahoma City Okla. Shooting ­Family killing 4

8/7/13 Dallas Texa­s Shooting Family killing 4

7/26/13 Clarksburg­ W.Va. Shooting Othe­r 4

7/26/13 Hialeah Fl­a. Shooting Public Killing 6

6/7/13 Santa Monica Calif. Shooti­ng Public Killing 5

5/13/13 Fernley Ne­v. Shooting, Stabbing Robbery/bur­glary 5

5/11/13 Waynesvill­e Ind. Shooting Othe­r 4

4/28/13 Ottawa Kan­. Shooting Family killing 4

4/24/13 Manchester­ Ill. Shooting Famil­y killing 5

4/22/13 Federal Way Wash. Shooting F­amily killing 4

4/18/13 Akron Ohio­ Shooting Robbery/bu­rglary 4

4/15/13 Boston Mas­s. Blunt force Public Killing 4

3/13/13 Herkimer N­.Y. Shooting Public Killing 4

1/19/13 Albuquerqu­e N.M. Shooting Fami­ly killing 5

1/7/13 Tulsa Okla.­ Shooting Robbery/bu­rglary 4"

Finally, someone shot me an e-mail, and wanted to know how he can tell if he is a racist.

He seemed sincere, so I will give him six signs that should clue him in to his inner David Duke.

1. If you find yourself having to constantly explain why you are not a racist, well then you might be a racist.

2. If you always use the NBA analogy to argue against affirmative action, you might be a racist.

3. If you are in denial about slavery in our history and like to claim that your ancestors didn't own slaves, you might be a racist. 

4. If you find yourself feeling anxious when there is a large group of black people, even if it's a bunch of old church people, you might be a racist.

5. If you know where every black person in your neighborhood (town) lives, you might be a racist.

6. If you just can't find yourself being attracted to Nia Long and you don't know why, you just might be a racist.

There are more. But work on these six things and let me knows how it goes.

If you got six out of six you might want to lose my e-mail address.  

 

 

"Everybody got guns."

"You got a gun. I got a gun. He got a gun. Everybody got guns"

Those classic lines were from Gyp Rosetti in an episode of Boardwalk Empire after a good old fashion gangster standoff. Of course he could have been talking about the citizens of America in 2013. Everybody in America got guns; even kids in middle school.

"ATLANTA (AP) — A student opened fire at his middle school Thursday afternoon, wounding a 14-year-old in the neck before an armed officer working at the school was able to get the gun away, police said.

 

Multiple shots were fired in the courtyard of Price Middle School just south of downtown around 1:50 p.m. and the one boy was hit, Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said. In the aftermath, a teacher received minor cuts, he said.

The wounded boy was taken "alert, conscious and breathing" to Grady Memorial Hospital, said police spokesman Carlos Campos. He was expected to be released Thursday night.

Police swarmed the school of about 400 students after reports of the shooting while a crowd of anxious parents gathered in the streets, awaiting word on their children. Students were kept at the locked-down school for more than two hours before being dismissed.

Investigators believe the shooting was not random and that something occurred between the two students that may have led to it." [Source]

But then it's not only middle school students. Now seven year old kids are packing as well. Sadly, though, when everybody has a gun, tragic things happen. Like, for instance, you leave little Johnny in the car to go and pump some gas, and he shoots himself in the head with the gun you were keeping in the car for protection from those gang bangers.

A 3-year-old boy fatally shot himself with a gun he found in a car while his family stopped for gas early Wednesday in Tacoma, police said. It was western Washington's third recent shooting by a child.

"It is incredible in light of the other ones," said Tacoma police Officer Naveed Benjamin. "You would think people would take more care, not less."
 
The Tacoma-area family had stopped for gas about 12:30 a.m. The father put his pistol under the seat and got out to pump gas while the mother went inside the convenience store, Benjamin said. [Source]

Here in Philly it's pretty easy to get a gun. Most kids in the hood can get a gun easier than they can a nice bicycle. Guns are so plentiful here that young mothers going to school put them in their diaper bags right along with the formula and baby wipes.
 
"A young mother carried her baby, along with a loaded gun in a diaper bag, into a Philadelphia school where she had gone to sign up for classes, police said, one of two gun-in-school incidents reported in the city as the national debate on gun control raged in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., massacre.

In the second incident Thursday, a high school student hid a gun in his shoe, but it was found when he walked through a metal detector. His gun was not loaded.

But the weapon carried by 21-year-old Kelly Jones in the bottom of her pink-and-white diaper bag was fully loaded, police say, and Jones -- who was accompanied by her aunt and her baby when she was caught with it -- now faces criminal charges. [Source] 

Of course it was "fully loaded". What else did you expect? Cock it and pop it. That's how we get down here in the "city of brotherly love".

Finally, speaking of guns; as of me writing this post that survivalist nut job in Alabama still has that young boy held hostage in his bunker.

 "The superintendent's assistant said the young boy still being held by the gunman appeared to have been chosen at random.

"Emotions are high, and it's a struggle for us all to make sense of something so senseless, but let us keep this young student, his family and Mr. Poland's family in our thoughts and prayers," Bynum said in a statement.

The Southern Poverty Law Center reported on its Hatewatch blog that a chief investigator with the Dale County Sheriff's Office identified the gunman as 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, although Reuters could not independently verify the gunman's identity.

Investigator Tim Byrd said Dykes' friends and neighbors described him as a "survivalist" who did not trust the government, according to the law center blog.

"He was standoffish, didn't socialize or have any contact with anybody," Byrd told Hatewatch." [Source]

I bet he watches a lot of FOX NEWS. Or maybe he cut back after fellow survivalist Glenn Beck, left.

Let that little boy go Jimmy Lee! He is not a part of the government.

Staying on the plantation, and Joseph's guns go shopping.

Before I get into tonight's post, I would like to congratulate the GOP for making efforts to reach out to minorities and women at their retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia. (Nice choice.)Although I do have one little issue to quibble with them about: Fellows, the next time you want to hold a breakout session on diversity and minority outreach in your party, you might want to reconsider having it in a room called the "Plantation Room". I didn't make that up. "The Plantation Room"!

The following is from the New York Daily News:

"House Republicans gathering to discuss minority outreach picked an odd venue for the retreat — a former slave plantation.

Weary GOPers left Washington Wednesday for the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., where they’re recuperating and focusing on unity after last year’s rough-and-tumble fiscal cliff fight with Democrats.

Panels will take place in the resort’s “Burwell Plantation” room, named after the family that once owned the plantation. The luxury resort is now owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz, a conservative political donor." [Source]

Anywhoo, I want to talk about this "patriot" who found it necessary to do his shopping in J.C. Penny with his AR-15 strapped firmly to his back. Other shoppers were understandably a little unnerved. I guess in a "civilized" society we don't like to see our fellow citizens walking around like it was in the days before we became civilized. We are used to this kind of stuff in Third World countries , the Middle East, and in Texas, but not in America for crying out loud.

"A Utah man brought a rifle and a pistol with him to a J.C. Penney department store to demonstrate that guns can be safe in the hands of law-abiding citizens.

On Wednesday, Cindy Yorgason was shopping at the J.C. Penney in Riverdale when she saw a man with a rifle slung across his chest, extra ammunition and a sidearm in a holster on his right hip, according to KSL 5 TV. She took some photos and posted them to Facebook, where images quickly went viral.

"He was in the wrong place and shouldn't be doing this at this location," Yorgason told KSL, adding that she didn't feel threatened at the time.

The rifle-toting shopper was later identified as 22-year-old Joseph Kelley. He revealed that he was carrying an unloaded AR-15 and the handgun was a loaded Glock 19C, according to The Salt Lake Tribune, adding that he is a firm believer in the Second Amendment.

He said he brought the guns to J.C. Penney to show that firearms are not dangerous in the hands of law-abiding citizens.

"I felt no negative vibes from anyone," Kelley told the Tribune. "I think it went rather surprisingly well." [Source]

Of course it did Joseph, you live in Utah. Besides, you never know when that tyrannical government led by the Kenyan might come to get you. I mean one minute you are in J.C. Penny buying a cashmere sweater for the Mrs., and the next minute you are being handcuffed by Eric Holder's agents. It's enough to drive any law abiding citizen crazy.

George, didn't you ever hear of "e-Harmony"?

Most of you guys were lucky. You didn't suffer from the social inhibitions and low self esteem which can make it hard to get up the courage to interact with the fairer sex. [Or, the same sex, if you are so inclined.] Most of us did alright. Some better than others, but we can't all expect to bat a thousand.

Now consider the case of George Sodini: No dates since May of 2008. No sex for the past 19 years. (He must have some very soft hands...) And no girlfriend since 1984. George Sodini, by all accounts, was a loner. He hated women because he didn't think women liked him. And yesterday he took his hatred for women to a tragic climax. He killed three of them and then killed himself.

Relax, NRA folks, this post isn't about the culture of guns and the easy access to them in this country. Nothing will change your mind set, so I have given up on trying to convince you. I will just watch the carnage day after day like the rest of the folks here in A-murder-ca and shake my head.

This post is about human behavior and what pushes us to the breaking point to do something so unspeakable. It's always easy to peg the urban terrorist, for instance, and his motives for doing things. it's money and the power that it's supposed to bring. With guys like George Sodini the motives are usually unclear. The urban terrorist more often or not has ties to his victims, guys like Sodini rarely do. Actually, we were lucky with Sodini, because he told us. It was his obvious hatred for women. (As if it was their fault that he preferred his fists to the real thing, or whatever pastime he chose to engage in over real companionship) But how many George Sodinis are walking among us? How many George Sodinis hate women or poor people or blacks? That's what's scary about these kinds of random killings; you just never know when it's going to happen or why. You can always stay out of the urban war zones, because you know the chances of falling victim to a crime is greater there. But if you are in a WSZ [white safety zone] working out in a gym, or in a mall in the WSZ, the last thing you expect is some guy who hates women unloading on your aerobics class with his three guns. (I bet George didn't tell the gun shop he purchased the guns from how much he hated women)

"Women just don't like me. There are 30 million desirable women in the US (my estimate) and I cannot find one,..."

Yes George but you can always find a gun.

Link to Sodini's Blog