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The “Gun Show Loophole” (February 6, 2012)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Guns, Iran, Law, Less Government Regulation Series, National Defense Authorization Act / FY 2012, USA PATRIOT Act on February 6, 2012 by e-ssay.org

. . .

GO1 “Since her shooting, the overtly violent language has abated, yet the underlying violence is still there. In politics and in life.”

GO2 “Here’s a partial solution. There is no centralized or computerized list of gun owners or gun ownership in America.”

GO1 “Except the list of gun owners maintained by the National Rifle Association.”

GO2 “I am talking about the government. Look at the actual process. Before selling a gun, a gun dealer conducts a background check of an individual. If the individual passes the background check, the dealer makes the sale and keeps a record. The record is not sent anywhere and is not accessible and just sits in a file cabinet in the back room of the store. Only if a gun is used in a crime is an effort made to trace the purchase by using the serial number and contacting the manufacturer and then the dealer and then the purchaser. That is the most decentralized and non-computerized tracking scheme in America. The system only allows for the tracking of the ownership of an offending gun not of the names of owners of guns.”

GO1 “And the current system does not require us to surrender any fundamental rights. Look at the rights that have been surrendered in America by Americans without any resistance since 9/11. The USA PATRIOT Act, the detention provisions in the NDAA of 2012, and so on.”

GO2 “The problem is that a troubled soul can go to a gun show and buy a gun. Why arm the goons? Simply require the same background check for any sale at a gun show.”

GO1 “The mayors and the police chiefs know what needs to be done and support the closure of the gun show loophole. Congress should simply implement their sound and experienced judgment.”

GO2 “Gun sales in a back alley are still a problem. The most balanced policy may be to require all gun sales to be conducted by a gun dealer. Gun dealers are all private sector businesses in an industry at the retail level that is among the least monopolized in America. The gun dealers could compete to facilitate the sales and perhaps offer to handle the sale for free with a fifty dollar purchase of gear. That should address some of the problem and satisfy the critics.”

GO1 “Except for the insane irrationality of the NRA.”

GO2 “They are coming around. Institutions change, albeit slowly. Someone at the NRA may realize that adoption of rational and focused legislation undermines the effort to impose irrational and sweeping confiscation. We need to keep guns out of the hands of psychos to allow guns to be kept in the hands of law-abiding citizens.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” titled “On Magazines (February 21, 2011),” “Incite, Sarah, Indict? (January 10, 2011),” “O’Bama Arming Industry (November 22, 2010)” and “Gun Control, NRA Style (January 9, 2006).” And “On The Vernal Equinox (March 21, 2011)”]

[February 4 – No War On Iran National Day of Action]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Citizens deserve guns; Psychos do not

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Iraq: AGFPT. Iran: AGFPT II? (January 2, 2012)

Posted in Bush, Foreign Policy, Iran, Iraq, Military Commissions Act, National Defense Authorization Act / FY 2012, O'Bama, USA PATRIOT Act on January 2, 2012 by e-ssay.org

. . .

S “Most members of the uniformed military are leaving Iraq, but America is never leaving Iraq.”

T “The troops may only be able to take a two week R & R before invading Iran.”

S “The American populace simply wanted and wants the Iraq quagmire to disappear. Everyone in positions of influence dutifully obliged and rarely brought it up. The invisible war. Out of sight; out of mind.”

T “Those in power in America seem inclined to maintain at least two wars. Where next? Iraq was and is America’s Greatest Foreign Policy Travesty, yet the failure can still be topped.”

S “Will anyone remember? Will anyone learn? History is being written not by historians but by publicists and spin doctors.”

T “Everything about the invasion was a lie. Who realizes that the surge was not a surge of troops but rather a splurge of bribes to buy a temporary cessation of violence? When the funds disappeared, the violence returned.”

S “To his credit, Bush seemed to learn something from the Iraq nightmare and didn’t invade Iran and trigger World War III. It looked close for a few years.”

T “That could have emerged as the new AGFPT. However, Iran sporting nuclear weapons is not a pretty sight. The sanctions sound tidy and elegant, yet they may be as provocative as a missile strike. The major nations have engaged in clear acts of war. And no one in power has adequately described America’s fundamental national interests in the region.”

S “There should be a serious national debate before embarking on World War III.”

. . .

[O'Bama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012. His signing statements will not bind or limit future presidents. See the "e-ssays" titled "Vaclav Havel – Plato’s “Playwright President” (December 19, 2011)", "Republicans are Enemy Combatants? (May 10, 2010)" and "Gun Control, NRA Style (January 9, 2006)."]

Bumper sticker of the week:

The “Dirty Half Dozen.” Let’s never forget: George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith

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Vaclav Havel – Plato’s “Playwright President” (December 19, 2011)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Military Commissions Act, National Defense Authorization Act / FY 2012, Political Parties, Politics, USA PATRIOT Act on December 19, 2011 by e-ssay.org

. . .

C “The American republic elects showboats and con artists to political office. The Czech people elevated Plato’s ‘playwright president’ to office to aid in creating a democratic republic.”

D “Someone from the world of movies and television could succeed in American politics but not someone from the world of arts and letters. He straddled the worlds of poetry and politics.”

C “Our politicians should be in prison for the crimes they commit in our land every day. Havel went to prison for years to protest the crimes committed by the politicians in his homeland.”

D “And fostered the Velvet Revolution. America needs to foment a Velvet Revolution.”

C “Our revolution will not be as smooth.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Vaclav Havel – Nobel Peace Prize Recipient in ?

European is lost; Europe is lost

Run that by me once again. Why would Congress send to the President the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that makes possible the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens suspected of terrorist activities without due process in situations authorized by the President? The 13 senators who voted against the bill: Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).

[See the "e-ssays" titled "Republicans are Enemy Combatants? (May 10, 2010)" and "Gun Control, NRA Style (January 9, 2006)."]

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Tea Party Patriots? (Dec. 21, 2009)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Bush, Debt/Deficits, O'Bama, Race, Solstice, Tea Party, USA PATRIOT Act on December 21, 2009 by e-ssay.org

. . .

“Are the Tea Party Patriots really veiled members of the Klan (Ku Klux Klan) running around in their civvies? Is ‘Nazi’ the code word for the ‘n-word’?”

“They certainly ‘drank the Kool-Aid’ for eight years of reckless Republican (and Democratic) spending without a rally or a ruckus before they drank the tea.”

“They are a little late to the party. The Tea Party types never railed against the USA PATRIOT Act when it was parsed and passed. The Tea Party types never demonstrated against the TARP imposed by Bush and Paulson. Their anger, fright and frustration are legitimate, yet they seem at core really angry, frightened and frustrated that an African-Irish-American is in the White House.”

“There is a lot of undigested anger percolating out there. Our futures are not promising and those of the kids are even bleaker. The public senses that America in so many ways is in decline even if they can’t articulate why.”

“I don’t care if he, or she for that matter, is chartreuse, I want competence. Ronnie Reagan’s statement that ‘Deficits don’t matter’ is one of the ten greatest lies in the history of the American Republic.”

“And the line was repeated repeatedly by former President Cheney and former Vice-President Bush.”

“They made deficit spending the national sport. At least O’Bama recognizes that long-term deficits represent a threat to the financial integrity and security of the country. His spending does trouble those few of us left in America who believe in fiscal responsibility. O’Bama is making and taking a huge gamble.”

“O’Bama also represents a threat to some members of the public because of class differences and what passes for education in America.”

“The anti-intellectualism leaves me as an intellectual in the cold, although those who pass for the intellectuals in America are often charlatans and con artists. The Tea Types don’t even realize that they should be railing against their rousers. I would like to see just one of them carrying a sign that proclaims: ‘It all started under Reagan.’ When the Tea Types start carrying caricatures of McConnell and Boehner and their clan, I will pay them some heed. Until then, most of them seem to be little more than contemporary Klansmen in coveralls. However there may be some unaffiliated iconoclasts who march with them because they have no other drummer to inspire them.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” dated June 1, 2009 titled “The Humongous Gamble” discussing the great gamble pursued by O’Bama and the risk to the future of America, dated January 19, 2009 titled "The TARP Is A Trap," dated Oct. 6, 2008 titled "A Bleak Day: The Trillion Dollar Tragedy," dated Sept. 29, 2008 titled "Futile Efforts" and dated April 4, 2005 titled "USA PATRIOT Act."]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Fiscal responsibility: Good; Racism Veiled as Fiscal Responsibility: Bad

It’s evening in America.

It’s always darkest on the Winter Solstice.

Nonetheless, there is much to celebrate in this good country

As a political compromise, Alaska was admitted as a “Democratic” state (49th) and Hawaii as a “Republican” state (50th). Alaska gave us Sarah Plain/Palin; Hawaii gave us Barack O’Bama.

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Close the Harvard Business School (February 23, 2009)

Posted in Crime/Punishment, Education, Law, PATRIOT Act, Schooling, USA PATRIOT Act on February 23, 2009 by e-ssay.org

The government is closing the prison at Guantanimo. Problematic yet necessary. Any change should be purposeful and careful.

The government should close the Harvard Business School, America’s madrossa for economic terrorists. The USA PATRIOT Act provides one legal vehicle. Convert the structure into a youth hostel for the young and old. Many if not most of today’s political and social problems originate or are exacerbated in the schools. If we do not close a school, it may be time to revisit the curriculum.

Bumper sticker of the week:

Crime should be punished

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A Bleak Day: The Trillion Dollar Tragedy (October 6, 2008)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Bush, Debt/Deficits, Economics, Federal Reserve, Greenspan, USA PATRIOT Act on October 6, 2008 by e-ssay.org

Congress failed. Again. The Bailout Bill will accelerate the Meltdown by misallocating funds and burning day light needed to address the underlying problems.

A three page travesty delivered by Bush became a 451 page travesty cum pork adopted by Congress. These votes may rank with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the Iraq war resolution, and the USA PATRIOT Act vote.

The public saw a 1.1 Trillion dollar drop in the value of their investments/401(k) IRAs last Monday and seemed to believe that a 700+ Billion bribe was worth the gamble. The Bailout Bill will cost at least 1 Trillion to administer directly and will cause Trillions more in losses and damage. Bribing the big players not to pull the plug until after the election is over is almost criminal if not treasonous.

Few note that the current crisis will be made worse by this bailout/bribe. Beyond concerns about “moral hazard” and “bailouts for billionaires,” the problem is that the bailout is creating an even great credit crunch for the country. There is way too much money in the economic system in the wrong hands. The new money is being funneled into the wrong vessel, into a bowl not a colander. The money will be hoarded. The money is being not made available to the public.

Raising the deposit amount insured by the FDIC from $100,000 to $250,000 appears to offer something to the public, yet it also discourages the individual investor from monitoring his or her financial institution. Individuals are deluded into believing that everything is ducky. Individuals not just the government must act as regulators. Banks that will soon be taken over by the FDIC are offering much higher interest rates to gobble up as much money as possible before the collapse.

Consumer confidence has never been higher. Consumers are confident that the entire economic and political system is broken.

Business confidence has never been higher. Businesspersons know that they are lying and, of greater import, that all other businesspersons are lying. Reading between the lines of the economic reports is a challenge. Reading between the lies is vexing.

So many fought to declare and establish independence for this country. Last Friday, Congress voted to establish and fund a czar/dictator/central planner. Two hundred thirty-two years later, we have a King of Finance. Emperor Paulson. One of the individuals who created the problem has been crowned to deepen it.

Fear once again triumphed over hope and reason.

Bumper stickers of the week:

Those who repeat history are doomed to repeat history.

If you think 401(k) is your mother-in-law’s bra size, then you might be a redneck.

—–Jeff Foxworthy

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The Arithmetic of Hope (April 3, 2006)

Posted in Economics, PATRIOT Act, Politics, USA PATRIOT Act on April 3, 2006 by e-ssay.org

1 Senator voted against the UnPatriot Act when it was initially passed.

36 Senators voted against the nomination of Alberto Gonzales.

44 senators voted against the nomination of Samuel Alito.

48 Senators voted against increasing the debt ceiling to nine (9) Trillion dollars.

(On August 7, 1964, 2 Senators voted against the “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,” Ernest Gruening of Alaska and Wayne Morse of Oregon.)

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Gun Control, NRA Style (January 9, 2006)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Guns, Law, Politics, USA PATRIOT Act on January 9, 2006 by e-ssay.org

Some agency could easily download the membership list of the NRA, legally or illegally, although there seems to be no difference today. The technology exists; the USA PATRIOT Act provides a pretext if one is needed. Then the agency could break into the homes of all NRA members and confiscate their weapons. There may not be a Fourth Amendment limitation because the Fourth Amendment may soon be deleted from the Constitution. Probable cause has been shown because the members of the NRA probably caused themselves to own guns. And probable cause may not even be required in the near future. The agency may be prying many cold, dead fingers off many guns. “I really wasn’t using my civil liberties anyway.”

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