Dishonorable Actions Are Not Posstivie Traits For Special Forces

The president has shown us exactly what kinds of people he thinks should be forming our special forces in our military.  He believes that war criminals are the backbone of these forces and therefore he has pardoned three of them and interfered with administrative disciplinary actions against one of them.

Three members of our special forces, one Navy Seal and two Army Green Berets were indicted for murder and other war crimes.  The Navy Seal was acquitted of murder, but was convicted of “posing with the body” of the person he was accused of murdering.  The other two were indicted for murder.

One, a 1st Lt. was found guilty of ordering his men to open fire on two Afghan men riding motorcycles towards his troops.  He had served six years of a 19 year sentence.  The other, a Major, was being prosecuted for premeditated murder.  He twice acknowledged that during his deployment to Afghanistan in 2010 he killed an unarmed detainee suspected of being a Taliban bombmaker — first during a polygraph test for a job interview with the CIA in 2011, and then in a 2016 interview with Fox News.

Although the Seal was acquitted of murder, he was convicted of posing with the body of the person he was accused of killing for photos.  That is considered a “war crime”.  The jury recommended he be reduced one pay grade and that his Trident Pin be removed.  

Our dear leader didn’t like that.  So, he completely pardoned the man and gave him back his rank.  And, he ordered that the Navy did not hold an administrative review, to be conducted by the man’s peers, to determine if his actions were enough to remove his Trident Pin and remove him from the rank of a Seal.

Then, because the Navy Secretary did not agree with the president, he was fired from his post over the weekend.  That was no shock considering that the Navy Secretary said last week that the president’s actions of meddling in Navy administrative actions was wrong and he would resign if ordered to stop the inquiry.

Now, it has come out that trump actually thinks it would be a good idea if these three men accompanied him on his campaign stops while running for reelection.  He wants to parade them out in front of his armchair patriots and tell everyone he “supports and protects our troops”.  

Well he does not support or protect our troops.  As a veteran, I am deeply disturbed about his actions in these cases.  He has no business interfering with military justice.  He has no business pardoning war criminals.  And, I am certain that the vast majority of my fellow veterans believe the same.

What he has done is to intervene where he has no business.  Yes, he is the so-called Commander in Chief, but that does not give him the right to meddle in military justice proceedings just because Fox News says he should.  That is exactly where all of this started.  Fox News has been pitching this whole idea for years.  They believe that war crimes if committed by Americans are perfectly fine.  And, don’t forget, it was trump himself who claimed that the families of our enemies should “also be killed”.

The Special Forces of our military are made up of some of the finest and most honorable people our country has.  As these cases illustrate, some bad people do slip through the cracks.  When that happens, they MUST be punished.  The honor, discipline and good order of our military personnel is at stake.

You must also remember, these men were inititally reported to command by their peers.  It was other members of the special forces that brought their despicable behavior to the command’s attention.  Honorable members of the special forces did not want the behavior of these three men to tarnish everything they have worked for.  They turned them in, and these men deserved everything they got, or would have gotten in the case of the Major who hadn’t even gone to court yet.

My “atta boys” go to the men and women who turned these war criminals into their commands.  They were brave enough and honorable enough to do the right thing.  Those involved in turning in these men are the real heroes in this matter, not the war criminals.  The completely exemplify the true honor of the men and women in our special forces.

This president does not care about our Constitution.  He does not care our government is made up of three equal chambers.  He does not care about the average American.  He does not care about the military and the hard, honorable work they do for our country.

All this president cares about is headlines for himself and money for himself.  This action of pardoning war criminals is just another example of that.  He believes his ardent supporters really believe we can commit war crimes with impunity.  He believes his ardent supporters really believe that breaking treaties is just fine.

What none of then realize, or care about, is that these actions have placed every single member of our military, current and future, in jeopardy of becoming victims of war crimes.  He has told the world that war crimes are no big deal in his mind, so what can he possibly say if our enemies commit war crimes against our people?  Nothing.  But, then again, he doesn’t care about our people or our military personnel.

To be honest, this is the kind of behavior I would expect from the leader of the Waffen SS.  Not the commander in chief of our own military.  What our president has done is just another example of an amoral, un-ethical, dishonorable man.  It is not the actions of anyone with dignity, honor, ethics or morality.

If these three men dare to appear on stage with trump at any campaign rally, they will merely bring more discredit to our special forces.  That would be a crime against everything our military stands for and they should be shunned for their ignorance and arrogance.  Apparently, with our version of Himmler in charge, they will never be punished for their crimes.

And, the shirts keep marching along.

Mr. Healer Fails Again

We have seen this before.  Our president says he is going somewhere that suffered a tragedy.  He announced he was going to visit Dayton and El Paso to help heal the victims.

He first went to Dayton.  However, he didn’t go before making more attacks against he opponents.  He had a nightly rant about Beto O’Rouke and ended it with “be quiet”.  Then he made a few attacks against his opponents like Joe Biden and his favorite target the media.

He arrived in Dayton, Oh and was met by the Mayor of the City and Senator Sherrod Brown.  He was taken to the hospital were the victims were recovering.  Then he headed out of town.

Brown and the Mayor held a news conference to discuss what happened during the visit.  Both Brown and the Mayor said that trump had acted in a respective manner and that most of the patients, staff and first responders were happy to see him there.

Brown and the Mayor also said they had pushed trump to support reasonable gun control laws to help reduce and/or end these shootings.  Neither of the two Democrats said anything in any tone other than respect.

But, I guess trump doesn’t like it when someone tells the public that they pressed him on anything.  Or, maybe he didn’t like it when Brown said he wouldn’t promise to support the Background Check law that the House already passed.

Whatever the reason, and it is probably just because he can’t help himself, he went off on the two.  He claimed they had “totally misrepresented” his visit.  Of course in his cowardly lion manner, he wouldn’t say what part of the visit was “misrepresented”.

So far, I haven’t seen anything negative coming out of his visit to El Paso.  Except he visited a divided community where the majority told him to “stay away”.

But, it is easy to see why he might not say anything negative.  He was met by one of his lapdogs, Ted Cruz.  You remember when Cruz was mad at trump for insulting his wife and said “I am not a lapdog”.  Then, he gleefully supported the very man who insulted his wife and called his father a possible participant in the JFK assignation.  He proved that he really is a lapdog.

In any event, this type of behavior was expected.  Our dear leader cannot do anything without screwing things up either during the visit or right after he leaves town.  So, just normal behavior.

But, trump did talk to some of the press during his trip.  They pressed him on a universal background check bill and a ban on assault weapons.  First he said that background checks are something that could happen.

Hold your horses!  That made the NRA very unhappy.  They came right out and told trump that if he supported universal background checks or a ban on assault weapons he would lose votes.  Oh, boy, can’t piss off the NRA.

So, when he next talked about those two issues his view had changed.  On the background checks he said there was “political appetite” for looking at background checks.  But, he never said he would support any such bill.  Then he said there was “no political appetite” to ban assault weapons.

Of course he is wrong.  According to recent polls, 93 percent of Americans are in favor of strong universal background checks.  That poll also shows that 84 percent of gun owners favor that measure.  And, 83 percent of Republicans are in favor of it.

Then that same poll showed that 73 percent of Americans favor banning assault style weapons.  A smaller majority of Republicans, about 51 percent favor a ban on assault style weapons.

The political appetite he is talking about is the political appetite to grow a pair and stand up to the NRA.  None of the Republicans want to stand up to the NRA because they will lose donations.

The American people have been calling for reasonable gun control laws for decades.  We aren’t talking about the police showing and taking our guns away as the NRA wants you to believe.  No, there are lots of things that can be done to prevent the wrong people from getting their hands on weapons.

Republicans keep saying that they only “do what the people want”.  So, why haven’t they passed a background check bill and an assault weapon ban.  That is what the “people want”.

Of course, when Republicans talk about “the people”, they are not talking about you and me.  They are talking about the 1 percent that keep giving them money.  Those are the only people Republicans listen to.

So, yesterday was just another day when trump tried to “look presidential” and failed.  He just couldn’t keep from hurling insults and attacks against his opponents.  And, then, as usual, spineless proved that he has no intention of listening to the people and stand up the NRA.

If yesterday was Wednesday, then trump must have made a fool of himself or lied several times to the people.  Our problem is he doesn’t just do it on Wednesdays.  He is a full 7-day a week fool.

And, the shirts keep marching along,

Dear Republicans: The Proof Is In The Pudding

Republicans are still running to Fox News’ microphones to claim that video games and especially mental illness are what causes mass shootings.  Well, if they are correct, they are abettors to the mass shootings.

They have a major problem expressing this thought as real.  They have a major problem saying they have done so much to help keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.  They are simply, as usual, lying out of their crooked mouths.

There is actual proof that Republicans don’t mean what they say.  And, if you want to go a step further, there is actual proof that trump is a racist and means all of his words like “invasion”.

First, the Republicans and their lie about worrying about mental health being such a big cause of mass shootings.  This proof is in the Congressional Record and is one of the very first things that the Republican controlled Congress and White House passed as law.

After the Sandy Hook shooting, there was a huge outcry about mental health.  It was discovered that the shooter suffered from some mental health issues.  Everyone was screaming to do something about that problem.

As a result, the Obama Administration tried to take steps to limit the access to weapons by people who have been diagnosed with mental health that could result in harm to themselves or others.

They changed the law to make everyone diagnosed with such mental illnesses to be placed in the data bases the prevent people from purchasing guns.  It was estimated at the time that about 75,000 more names would have been placed in the data bases.

That action was really about all that could be done because of Republicans love of guns.  The Republicans defeated a universal background check law.  They argued that the actions taken by the administration regarding mental health was illegal.

Then in 2016, things started to change when trump won the election.  Since taking office, trump has used regulations to make access to guns easier.  He has rolled back many of the safeguards that were in place to keep us safe.

But, in January 2017, the Republicans told America just what they believed about mental health and access to guns.  They introduced a law in Congress.  This law was touted to be the fixer of all of the “take your guns away” that Obama wanted to foist on us.

Under this law, the restrictions of mental health patients being able to obtain weapons was eliminated.  And, here is the best part.  The Republicans added a part that talked about someone who has been determined by a Judge to be incompetent to handle their own affairs.

There are a lot of reasons people are adjudicated as incompetent.  But one thing is certain.  They have reached a point where they can’t take care of themselves or their affairs.

BUT, according to Republicans, that should not prevent them from owning guns.  Being incompetent does not mean they will go around shooting everyone, so they should be able to get guns whenever they want.

That was a huge part of the legislation they proposed.  And, since they controlled both Houses of Congress, they got it passed really quick.  I wrote about it at the time.  I said it was a stupid idea, and it still is a stupid idea.

So, when Lindsey Graham or any other Republican tells us that they believe a major cause of these mass shootings is mental illness, remember they made it easy for those people to get a gun.  Why isn’t anyone asking them to explain that contradiction?

I find it impossible to believe that you really believe mental health is a major contributing factor in mass shootings, and yet you voted to allow more mentally ill people easy access to guns.

This whole thing about mental health and video games is nothing but a lie.  Republicans don’t believe mentally ill people are the cause.  Republicans want mentally ill people to have easy access to guns.  That way their donors will keep that money flowing into their campaign coffers.

Hate is the cause of these mass shootings.  Hate that is fed by language used by people in authority.  Words do have consequences.  The right is trying to claim that trump was not really serious about the word “invasion”.  Yet their talking heads, especially at Fox News use that word over and over.

And, our president uses at every rally he has had since just before the 2018 midterm elections.  His whole reelection campaign is based on hate and fear.  He wants America divided and he wants something to be done about those “others”.

There is proof for this as well.  It was discovered that the campaign for trump’s reelection spend over $2,000 for ads on Facebook warning us of the “invasion” at our southern border.

This president and the current crop of Republicans are very good at making up excuses or side shows when something goes bad.  If their leader continues to spew racist, divisive language at his rallies and encourages people to act on that, they say “well, he really doesn’t mean it.”

When another mass shooting happens, they claim that mental health is the major contributing factor, if that shooter is white that is.  Yet, they keep passing laws that make it easier for people with mental health issues to purchase a gun.

We keep hearing all of this bullshit for one simple reason.  The Republican Party has nothing else to offer the American people.  They have no policies to  help average Americans.  They have no plan to ensure health care for everyone is affordable.  They have no plan on how to fight against climate change.  They have no plan or policy on how to do anything.  They just like the idea that they get to go to Congress every morning and pretend they are representing the people.

The Republican party has lost its moral compass and its decency.  Instead of voting down legislation, their leaders simply won’t let it come up for a vote.  That is not democracy.  Democracy is when one chamber passes legislation, the other debates it and votes on it.

They can make their own changes to it if they want and sit down with the other chamber to get a compromise.  And then the hold a vote on the bill.  That is how our democracy is supposed to work.

But, don’t tell that to the democracy hating Majority Leader in the Senate.  He has determined that only he can decide what is good legislation and what is bad legislation.  If a piece of legislation, like the gun control bill he is sitting on from the House, isn’t up his alley, he just puts it in a drawer and forgets about it.  Mitch McConnell’s way of “governing” is said in simple words.  “Democracy be damned.”

If you desire to look past the end of your own nose, you will discover that the proof is truly in the pudding.  The truth is trump is a racist and is running a racist, hate-filled campaign.  The truth is that Republicans don’t give a shit about mental health problems or the mass shootings that are taking the lives of our citizens.  No, they don’t believe it is their responsibility to protect the citizens from harm.  That means they might have to actually work!

Their only objective and goal in life is to make their donors happy so they keep funneling money to the campaign coffers.  That way they can continue to PRETEND that they are public servants.  And, that is all they are.

The president is a “pretend president”, and the Republican in office are “pretend public servants.”  It is time they get thrown out of office.  2020 is our chance, don’t blow it.

What A Complete Crock Of Sh** We Witnessed Yesterday!

We are now witnessing the capitulation of too many people towards our dear leader.  I say that with utter contempt and total disbelief.  We are hearing and seeing just about every journalist, tv host, and other pundits telling us that trump said we should “denounce racism”.

That premise is not true.  Yes, the president did stand at a podium and utter words that said we should denounce racism, but I do not believe that he meant a single word of it.

We saw him standing there, with his boot-licking Sgt. Schultz standing behind him while he used his first grade reading skills to read what was on the teleprompter.  When trump is saying what he believes, he always veers away from the teleprompter to say something “off the cuff”.  When he doesn’t do that, it is a clear sign that he is reading someone else’s thoughts and he doesn’t believe a word of it himself.  In other words he is lying again.

So far, the president and his politburo, the Republican Party, has blamed everything under the sun except the easy access to guns and the presidents hateful rhetoric at every one of his rallies.

We even have that half-brained clown at Fox News, Sean Hannity, saying we should now have a paramilitary force of volunteer retired police and military to surround schools and shopping malls to “keep us safe”.

As usual, the conservative answer is more guns.  The answer is to have lax gun laws so everyone can get a gun.  They are even willing to use paramilitary groups to achieve their goal.  Even though only authoritarian governments use paramilitary units to “protect” anyone.

The conservatives and their puppet masters the NRA say “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good gut with a gun.”  Well, since we have more guns in the hands of “good guys” it stands that we should be safer not in more danger.

The truth is that our country leads the world in gun violence by something like 25 times the world average.  We already have more guns than anyone else, and are not safe.  What are we to do?  Add more guns to the streets?  That would make us less safe according to reality.

Conservatives like to say that it is mental health problems or a proliferation of violent video games or movies that are causing these mass killings.  At least when it caused by a white man.  If it is caused by a Muslim, then it is only terrorism and the person should hang in public.

Well, the people in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and Australia all watch the same movies and play the same video games as we do.  However, they don’t have the problem with gun violence we do.  And, the only key factor differing us from them is the fact that our laws make it way too easy to purchase weapons, including military style guns.

So, we can rule out video games and movies as the cause of mass killings.  Mental health can be a legitimate cause, but the number of people who have been diagnosed with mental illness that committed a mass killing is almost non-existent.

As a result, we can look at the data and come to the conclusion that mental health is not the major contributing factor in mass killings.  We do need to watch for and help people with mental illnesses, but we cannot blame them as the cause for mass killings.

No, mass killings are caused by different things that all come together.  First, they are caused by people with radical agendas.  These include terrorists of all kinds foreign and domestic.

Second they are caused by people who are easily swayed by people in positions of power who continually blame certain groups of people for the problems in the country.  They take those words to be true and are willing to act upon them even to the point of mass killings.

Third.  These people believe that they will become martyrs for the “cause”.  Many of them are even willing to die during their mass killings.  When mass killings take place and the government figures only offer their “thoughts and prayers” to the victims, that gives a quiet approval of the act.

Fourth.  Use the loopholes in the laws that make it so easy to get guns.  If your state has strict gun laws, simply go to the next state that has looser gun laws.  If you want to build up an arsenal, all you need do is go from state to state and purchase two or three guns at a time.  Then if you aren’t going to do the killing, you can re-sell your guns to someone willing to do so.

We have seen this play out for years.  And, everytime we say that nobody is doing anything.  No one is helping the cause.  But, it turns our we are wrong.  There is someone doing something.  It is conservatives and the NRA that are passing legislation to weaken current gun laws.

They pass legislation that says you can carry a concealed weapon to church, like that is what Jesus would want.  They pass laws that make it legal to carry guns on school property.  They pass laws that say you can carry your concealed weapon into a bar while you get drunk.

So, you see, something is being done.  And what is being done is placing us in more danger of being shot to death.  What is being done is allowing our children to become targets while they attend school.

What is being done is a president who reads like a first grader from a teleprompter without any emotion and saying words he really doesn’t believe in.  What is being done is the Senate Majority Leader posting a picture on twitter that shows tomb stones with names on them including his current opponent.  And, they do it just hours after the first shooting.

Justice Scalia said in his consent to the Heller case that “like all freedoms and rights, the right to bear arms in not absolute.  The state can regulate guns and conditions to own guns”.  Justice Scalia is the hero of conservatives and the NRA.  Yet, they don’t tell you that he wrote that in his opinion in the case.

There have been at least 100 gun safety and gun control laws introduced in Congress just since Sandy Hook.  None of them have received a vote in the Senate.  The House this year did pass gun legislation, but Mitch McConnell won’t allow a vote on it in the Senate.

These mass killings are the fault of many people.  They are the fault of people who use hate and division as policy.  They are the fault of supporters of those people who remain silent and do nothing to fix the problem.  They are the fault of radical idiots like radical Muslims and White Supremacists.  They are the fault of us.  When we ignore reason and keep electing people who don’t care about gun violence, we are to blame as well.

Yesterday, former Rep. David Jolly (R-FLA) probably summed it up perfectly.  He said when talking about his time in the House “I tried to move the needle within the party and I failed, and it’s important in this moment to acknowledge it.”

Then he said that the problem was ingrained in the Republican party, which had failed to act after some of the nation’s worse mass shootings:

“I find myself today offering the same insight I did the night of the Parkland shooting a few hours from our home in Florida, which is this: Republicans will never do anything on gun control. Nothing. Ever. They won’t.”

Then he summed up his comments with this:

“If this is the issue that informs your ideology as a voter, the strength to draw in this moment is to commit to beating Republicans, beat ’em. Beat every single one of them, even the safe ones in the House, beat ’em. Beat ’em in the Senate. Take back the Senate.”

I leave the last words to former Rep. Jolly.  What more needs to be said?

 

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Where Does The Blame Really Lie?

You may have noticed I have taken a break from writing.  There is just too much garbage going on for anyone to pick a topic.  But, what happened over the weekend has made me come back to the keyboard.

On Saturday night, a man opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle with extended ammunition in El Paso, TX.  He killed at least 29 people and wounded several others.  He was apprehended and is facing a host of charges, including possible domestic terrorism.

Then less than 12 hours later, another shooter opened fire in Dayton, OH.  He also had extended ammunition magazines.  This shooter was killed by Dayton Police who were patrolling the area.

There isn’t a whole lot that has come out about the shooter in Dayton.  But, there is a trove of information about the shooter in El Paso, TX.  And, that information isn’t pretty.

Turns out, the shooter is a white supremacist.  He apparently wrote a manifesto on 8chan, which is a place extremists like to go to spew out their hate.  In that manifesto, the shooter used words like, “invasion”, “invaders”, “race mixing” and “send them back.  He also wrote “I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.”

Where have you heard those words before?  Who publicly goes out and calls Latino immigrants “rapists, invaders, gang members and murders”?  If you are thinking trump, you are right.

We have had a gun problem in our country for a very long time.  We have had a white supremacy problem since this country was first settled.  They are both problems that can and should be stamped out.

White Supremacists were in the shadows until trump ran for president.  Since he won the office, white supremacy attacks against minorities have exploded.  The number of domestic terrorism crimes against minorities has exploded.

And, worse of all, we have a president who won’t confront this issue.  Rather he gives cover to those responsible for these acts of terrorism.  Like saying that “there were very fine people on both sides” when referring to a Nazi-like torch parade in Charlottesville, VA and after a woman was killed by a white supremacist who drove his car into a crowd of people protesting their march.

The other cover for these domestic terrorists is trump always saying that “these shooters have many many mental problems”.  These shooting are not being conducted by white supremacists who write manifestos online, no, they are committed by mentally insane people, who are also obviously “very fine people”

The other problem when such incidents happen is the conservative movement and the gun-rights advocates always look for something else to blame.  After these two shootings, Rep. McCarthy said that “video games were to blame for these mass shootings”.

Whenever a politician goes around spewing forth hate and bigotry towards any specific group of people, there is the real possibility that will incite violence.

We have had three years of such talk by our own president.  He has never backed down from his obvious hate towards people of color.  He has fanned the flames of hate towards anyone not white.

What has that gotten us?  Well, a “mass shooting” is usually defined as three or more people killed by one shooter.  In the last 215 days we have seen 256 mass shootings.  The FBI reports that hate crimes have risen dramatically over the last three years.

I realize that it is easy for people to lay the blame at the feet of one person.  I also realize that if you do try to lay blame at someone’s feet, you will probably be called someone trying to limit “free speech”.

However, there comes a time when the truth must be uttered no matter how ugly it is.  In this case, the truth is that our own president is actually inciting this violence.  And, he seems very happy about it.

Yesterday, he claimed that “Hate has no place in America”.  Then he went on another ramble about everything was the press’ fault.  He claimed their “fake news” was to blame.

He was asked exactly what he thinks should be done, after he said “we have to stop this sort of thing”.  His answer was his usual non-answer of words garbled together with no real meaning.

He said: “We are talking to a lot of peo0ple, and a lot of things are in the works, and a lot of good things.  And we have done so much more than most administrations… but perhaps more has to be done.  But this is also a mental illness problem if you look at both of these cases, this is mental illness. These are people that are very, very seriously mentally ill.  So a lot of things are happening.  A lot of things are happening right now”.

We still have not heard a reason given for the Dayton shooting.  And, it might just be a mental health problem.  But, the El Paso shooting is clearly a white supremacist trying to kill as many non-whites as he could.  He even said as much during his questioning with the police.

Now, it can easily be argued by most people that white supremacy is a case of mental illness.  But, if you want to argue that point, then trump must be removed from office for being mentally ill since he is clearly a white supremacist.

Every time we have something like this happen, there is an outcry for “something to be done”.  The story lingers in the press for a week or two, then it sinks to the back pages.  Then nothing is done.  There are simply too many members of both Chambers of Congress dependent on NRA money to get reelected.  And, they won’t bite the hand that feeds them.reason

Here is what I believe should happen, and it needs to happen right now.

• Ban Assault weapon sales to civilians.  These weapons have no reason to exist except to kill people.  They were banned once, and they need to be banned permenantly.
• Universal Background Checks must be implemented immediately.  No one should be able to purchase a weapon without a background check conducted wherever you purchase the weapon.  This simple act will prevent a lot of people who shouldn’t get weapons from getting them.
• We need to make Domestic Terrorism a Federal Crime.  We can take the conditions that make a crime a hate crime as the starting point.  If someone commits a mass shooting, they should be charged with Domestic Terrorism charges.
• We need to make sure that all jurisdictions are required to report crimes to the FBI data base.  Too many jurisdictions either don’t report all of their crimes, or cannot because they don’t have the money or equipment.  That allows some criminals to “legally purchase” weapons because they aren’t in the data base.
• Anyone who purchases a gun should be required to attend a mandatory “gun safety” course.  This course should be held by law enforcement and not the NRA.  This should reduce accidental deaths because a child got their hands on a weapon.
• We also need to include “domestic violence” as a reason for someone not to be able to purchase a gun.  Too many times someone who abuses their spouse goes out and buys a gun and shoots their spouse.  That is because no one requires this crime to be reported as a serious crime keeping the person from getting a gun.

I am sure there are a lot of things that could be added.  But, I believe these issues are a good starting point.  We need to limit who gets guns to real “law abiding” citizens.  We need to keep weapons out of the hands of anyone not mentally capable of using one properly.

We need to do something now.  But, I am sure that we won’t do a damn thing.  There are simply too politicians in Congress who Second Amendment right nuts.  They believe that “everyone should own a gun”.  Especially if it means more profits for gun makers who will then donate handsomely to their campaign funds.  And, we have seen Republicans stop reasonable gun legislation from even getting a vote, much less passed.

Hate crimes and domestic terrorism is on the rise.  Our children are in danger of being killed while attending school.  People cannot go to a bar at night looking for a good time and not possibly be a victim of a mass shooting.  We cannot go to the mall without fear of someone opening fire on us.

However, if you are a minority, the chances of being attacked by a white supremacist is higher than it has been in decades.  You are in danger simply because you are not white.

This could be stopped if our president would unleash the FBI and other agencies against these white supremacist groups.  But, if you are one of them, you certainly won’t do anything to stop it.  And, this administration has more white supremacists or at least white supremacist defenders.  And it starts at the top.

It is time to put the blame where it belongs.  In my opinion, our president has the blood of his own citizens on his hands.  His incendiary comments during his rallies and in his tweets is inciting his followers to take such actions.

And, the shirts keep marching along.

Trump Willing To Spit In The Face Of All Those Who Served Honorably

Day 974.  

In one week we will celebrate Memorial Day.  This is a day that was set aside to honor all those men and women who sacrificed everything for our country.  It is supposed to be a day of memoriam and reflection on the gifts we have in our nation thanks to those willing to serve honorably.

Only this Memorial Day could be the darkest of our history.  It could turn out to be a total slap in the face of those who gave their lives and every other veteran who served with dignity, honor and dedication to our nation.

It has been reported and rumors are flying from deep within the administration that trump is about to conduct himself in THE most dishonorable manner possible.  He is going to tell us veterans that we are “not his type” of veteran.  He is about to let us know that honorable service is not good enough in his eyes.

This abhorrent behavior is his plan to “pardon” war criminals.  You read that correctly.  Our Coward-in-Chief is about to pardon war criminals.  War criminals are the lowest form of coward that has ever existed in our world.

The men and women who serve our nation are honorable, disciplined and dedicated men and women who share our common ideals of right and wrong and decency.  They are willing to place their lives on the line for their country in order to maintain our freedoms, liberties and way of life.

But, our Coward-in-Chief is telling us that he doesn’t want those honorable people serving.  He wants cowards willing to commit war crimes.  He thinks those cowards are his kind of “tough”.

The reports state that several people already convicted of war crimes are on the list to be pardoned.  It is also reported that several people waiting trial for war crimes are also on the list of pardons.

To show you what kind of people trump seems to think are honorable military personnel, here are a few examples of the types of behavior he is willing to pardon.

One member took a “prisoner” and drove him deep into the desert.  He then made the man strip naked and murdered him on the spot.  This man was convicted of his crimes and yet he is on trump’s list of pardons.

Another was a civilian contractor working for Prince, De Voss’ brother, in Iraq.  This man opened fire on unarmed Iraqi civilians killing some and injuring several others.  He was also convicted of war crimes and is now on trump’s pardon list.

Another is awaiting trial.  He was a Navy SEAL.  He bragged about how many civilians he killed and is also accused of stabbing to death a teenage wounded ISIS fighter.  His bragging did not end there either.  He reportedly threatened members of his SEAL team if they came forward with any information.  Several members of this SEAL team are on the list to testify against this monster.

I deliberately left out the names of these criminals because they do not deserve any publicity.  These people are all common criminals who used their power wearing the uniform of the U.S. Military to commit crimes.  They deserve no leniency only contempt.

The U.S. Military is huge.  There are five branches and all of them have thousands of people serving.  As with any large organization, it is possible for some “bad apples” to squeak through.  However, when those bad apples are caught, they deserve everything they get as punishment.  It is owed to the rest of the military who serve honorably.

These cowards always take the cowardly easy way out.  They let their hate and prejudice lead their actions instead of the intensive training we get to stop this kind of behavior.  The rest of us take the harder and correct way.  We do not torture, belittle or murder our enemy.

War is bad enough.  It is a harsh dangerous and violent reality that our military men and women must face.  However, that does not continue after the battle.  It does not excuse abuse of prisoners or the murder of prisoners.

The reports all say that trump plans to grant these pardons before Memorial Day.  The mere fact he is even considering a pardon for these evil people is bad enough, but to make sure they are granted before Memorial Day as a “tribute” to their “heroism” is an outrage that every veteran of honor is crying out against.

Granting pardons to people like this is like granting pardons to members of the Nazi SS who murdered millions of people or to the members of the Communist East German Stasi who also murdered and tortured millions of people.  Is that what we have become?

Are we to be a nation that honors war criminals and turns a blind eye to anyone willing to commit such atrocities?  Are we a nation that is becoming just as evil as the Nazi’s and Stasi?  Is that what America is to stand for in the future?

Anyone who sits quietly and allows such evil behavior to continue from our Coward-in-Chief is guilty of abetting evil.  You cannot call yourself “patriotic” and sit quietly while war criminals are allowed to go free.  That is not what our country stands for.  That is not what our veterans and active duty members of our military stand for.  We stand for the opposite.

Our fathers and grandfathers fought against Nazi Germany to make the world free from such evil.  They witnessed the horrors of the concentration camps and the results of the so-called “final solution”.  I cannot imagine any of them agreeing that any American guilty of war crimes should be allowed to go free.

War crimes are crimes against humanity.  Only non-human evil monsters can even consider doing such things.  And, only a non-human evil monster can even consider pardoning such people.  If these pardons go through, this Memorial Day will be the darkest Memorial Day in its history.  It will be trump spitting in the face of all honorable veterans who served correctly.  It is a disgrace that cannot be allowed to happen without an outcry.

And, the shirts keep marching along.

Another Case Of White Supremacist Terrorism Getting A Pass By This Administration

Day 950.  

There is a big problem in our country about this administration where they embolden white supremacists.  Only, the problem is bigger than that.  It is that even when white supremacists are arrested for “plotting terrorist” attacks, they get away with it.

The headlines today talk about how at least 11 members of our military are under investigation for white supremacist activity.  Something that is prohibited in our military.  And, just a couple of days ago, a Coast Guard officer, Lt. Christopher Hasson was granted bail after his arrest for plotting a terrorist attack.

Some people wonder why a white supremacist would even want to enter the military.  Well, the answer is simply so they receive training in weapons, explosives and military tactics.  All things necessary to actually conduct a terrorist attack against anyone they choose.

Once they receive their training, they return to their white supremacist group and conduct training for other members who cannot get into the military.  This problem has existed in our military for years.  Only, under this administration, it has gotten more open.

We need to look at the Hasson case for a better understanding of the problem we face and the willingness of this administration to turn a blind eye to it.

On Feb 15, federal agents arrested Hasson at his office in Washington, D.C.  He was initially charged with gun possession and drug charges.  However, federal investigators also found a “hit list” on his computer.  Now, remember, this “hit list” was found on his WORK computer.  He was compiling his list while working.

The list included several prominent Democratic politicians, news media personnel, Democratic presidential candidates and even two Supreme Court Justices.  There was also the “playbook” for the white supremacist Anders Breivik, a Norwegian terrorist who killed 77 people in attacks in Oslo.

He was gathering weapons for over two years, including silencers for his weapons.  Silencers are only used to kill quietly so you have a better chance of escaping.  Hasson was accused of plotting a white supremacist terror attack “on a scale rarely seen in this country”.  The prosecutor was granted additional time to pursue terrorist charges.

The other day, the prosecutor filed “additional charges” against Hasson, but those charges did not include terrorist charges.  I find all of this very coincidental.  At the time the federal prosecutors said they were not bringing terrorist charges, our dear leader was doubling-down on his “there were good people on both sides” of the Charlottesville incident.

In the last two years, white supremacist attacks have escalated.  We have had people arrested for plotting mass murder of Muslims in a city in New York State.  We have had mosques burned to the ground.  We have had arrests of white supremacists plotting to burn down a housing complex that housed Muslims.  And many, many others.

In none of these cases was the word “terrorism” used or charged against any of these white supremacists.  Now, a military member has a hit list of political opponents “on a scale rarely seen” in this country not being charged with a terrorist plot.

Let’s be honest, if a Muslim was arrested under these exact circumstances, the howling and outrage coming from the fascist wing of the Republican Party led by their dear leader would have been deafening.  The case would have been held in the court of public opinion, and there would be no hesitation in charging him with “terrorism”.

Here we have a white supremacist being arrested, with very damning evidence and he is NOT charged with terrorism.  We all need to ask, WHY?

The other annoying coincidence in this case is that it comes right after William Barr took office as our Attorney General.  How is it that under the old Attorney General terrorist charges were contemplated, but now they are not?  What changed?  Only the Attorney General who has the final say-so on such charges.

I still believe that the Coast Guard should also charge Hasson with various crimes.  One obvious charge is his use of his government-owned computer to compile his hit list and to research the Norwegian terrorist to get ideas on how to best carry out the plot.  And, of course the old stand-by “conduct unbecoming a Coast Guard Officer”.

Hasson is a scum-bag who deserves to be drummed out of the Coast Guard and lose all veteran privileges.  He should face a court-martial and be granted a dishonorable discharge, at the very least.  The Coast Guard has the right to do so since Hasson falls under the Uniform Code of Military Justice which is different than civilian courts.

The Coast Guard has many missions.  It is a law enforcement agency.  It is also a life saving organization.  We never ask anyone in danger their political views or what color, race, nationality, religion, sex or sexual orientation they are before going out to rescue them.  Lt. Hasson is a total disgrace to our organization and he needs to be sent packing, preferably to prison for years to come.

The problem is that under this administration, whether you are part of the military or not, your white supremacy and your terrorist plots against trump’s “enemies” are acceptable.  You can carry out your crazy and murderous attacks and not worry about be charged as a terrorist.

When we talk about being in a fight for the very soul of our nation, that is one of the biggest things we are talking about.  The very idea that white supremacists can walk around and plot against minorities or political opponents seemingly with impunity is extremely dangerous to our democracy and our nation.

We don’t know exactly why the prosecutors decided not to file terrorist charges against Hasson.  We can only speculate.  But, the coincidences are too frequent not to question the real motives behind the action of these prosecutors.  And, that is the biggest problem.

White supremacy is a disease of the inferior moronic people who contribute nothing positive to society.  They sit in their dark caves and conspire to kill anyone who does not look like them just so they feel “superior”.  They are twisted animal-like individuals who do not deserve any pity or understanding.  They are simply a scourge on our society.

Under this administration, they have found their hero.  They have emerged from their caves because they believe trump and his administration will protect them from all those people of color.  They believe they have found their savior who will save the white race.  They are twisted, diseased scum who hero-worship one of their own.

As I have said over and over.  Terrorism is terrorism.  White terrorism is just as evil as any other kind of terrorism.  It is time for this country to treat white terrorism for what it is.  An evil scourge that needs to be wiped out from our society.

Until that happens, the shirts will keep marching along.

News Networks Are Defined By Their Personalities – That Explains A Lot At Fox News

Day 904.  

When I was growing up there was no cable television.  I grew up in Chicago and we had about five or six stations we could choose from.  The news we received came from newspapers and from the nightly news on the networks.

The anchors on the three major networks were all trusted spokespeople who only told the truth.  They reported on the news, they did not pervert it to swing one way or the other on the political spectrum.

People like Huntley, Brinkley, Cronkite and Smith were mainstays in reporting the news.  They did sometimes make “commentary” on what was happening, but they stuck to the truth and did not use “alternative facts” to boost their commentaries.

But, that kind of news doesn’t exist as much anymore.  The three major networks still have their nightly news segments, and they still try to keep in the tradition of those who led the way.  But, we also have cable news networks.  Those aren’t necessarily as upfront as the network news segments.

Let’s face facts.  The cable news networks do cover the news, but they really don’t provide news coverage.  They all work to present the news and then have panel discussions about what is going on.

This leads to the possibility of slanted discussions.  On left leaning networks, most of the discussion panels are left leaning people.  On conservative networks the panels are mostly conservative leaning people.  That is perfectly fine if that is what you want your news to be.  I really don’t have a problem with that.

However, the personalities on the networks do say something about what the network is all about.  The “commentary” provided by the hosts of the varying shows gives us a clear picture of just what ideology the network is trying to shove down our throats.

The three major cable news networks are CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.  Notice that the only one with “news” in its title is Fox News.  The problem is that Fox News does not cover the “news”.  They are merely a talking head for conservative ideas.  Or, at least that is what they say they are.  But, as with most things that call itself “conservative”, Fox News is anything but “conservative”.

Most people consider Fox News as trump TV.  They continuously tout the president like he is some kind of savior that was sent from the gods to save us from all of those “others” and make our country great.  You can hear such nonsense nightly on their prime time shows.

They continuously praise trump for his “magnificent achievements”.  Only, he doesn’t have any “magnificent achievements”.  As a result, they help the president sow fear and hate among their viewers by ridiculing immigrants, blacks, Asians, Mexicans, LGBTQ and women.

Their daily rants about the “invasion” of illegal immigrants, the “terrorist loving Muslims”, the “socialist Democrats”, the “women’s libbers” and a host of other obnoxious issues have become a cross to bear for everyone.

Their leading personalities are Hannity, Pirro, Tucker and Ingraham.  All four are disgusting personalities who need to be called out for their hate and bigotry.  They use their time on air simply to tell Americans that they need to fear anyone who is not white or Christian and hate with fervor.

The problem is that Fox News executives knew just who they were hiring to put on the air before they hired them.  These four have had a history of hate filled fear mongering for years, even before they came to Fox News.

We are seeing that with all of the hoopla over Carlson.  We are hearing tapes from the past about Carlson’s woman hating, Muslim hating rants on talk radio.  He is even heard saying that we should have a “bigot for our president” who will get rid of the Mexicans and kill as many Muslims as possible.

Those are fantastic ideas for anyone who wishes to be a nightly host on a prime news network, at least that is what Fox News thinks since they hired the buffoon.  And, since they don’t see any reason to fire the moron, they must think he is saying the correct things.

This is a network that has been riddled with sexual assault and sexual harassment claims from its female workers.  They tried to hush it all up with payouts, just like their savior president does.  No wonder they love our moron-in-chief so much.  Two birds of a feather as they say.

Last night, Hannity went on a rant about CNN.  He claimed that CNN gives a “perverted” view of America to the world.  That is very rich considering all of the conspiracy theories he has touted on his show.

He has run hours of show on the “birther issue”.  He spent hundreds of hours on the “Rich” conspiracy after he was murdered during a robbery, claiming he was actually murdered because he was the hacker of the DNC.  It was totally false and Hannity knew it.  But, it didn’t stop his nightly crusade to slander a murdered man and hurt his family.

He also spent lots of hours about to the “pizza-gate” conspiracy.  Where the big wigs of the Democratic party were all involved in child prostitution run out of the basement of a favorite pizza parlor.  It was all a lie and he knew it.  Even when one of his viewers decided to shoot up the place, he kept on with his stupid conspiracy theories.

He was all in favor of the countless “investigations” into Hillary Clinton which found nothing.  But, he calls the Mueller probe a “witch hunt”.  The same probe that has resulted in five guilty pleas, two convictions and 30 indictments.  Some witch hunt.

Ingraham continues to spout her hate nightly as well.  She is the one who started the insane idea that our changing demographics is bad for the country because we are “losing our white culture”.  She made her stupidity very clear when she backed it up by saying “no one voted for that”.

Pirro finds time every night to say something totally stupid and hateful.  Since she apparently is more educated than the rest, she veils her hate in code words so she can deny she meant what she said.

In its beginning, Fox News may have started with an honest intent to have a “conservative” view put forth.  They may have started with the idea that there was a need for conservatives to have their own network to put forth their ideas.  However, over the years, they have morphed into a white supremacist, white nationalist, fascist network hell-bent on keeping America white.

Forgive me for getting crude here.  According to Fox News, if you are not a white person with an appendage hanging between your legs, a phony Christian who hates everyone different or a heterosexual, you are dirt.

If you are a person who doesn’t believe that the rich should get richer while everyone else get poorer, you are a dirty socialist.  If you believe the climate is changing and we need to do something to help save our planet, you are an idiot who believes in science.

Like everything else that claims the title of “conservative”, Fox News has lost all credibility with its “news” shows.  They are not interested in discussing topics or presenting both sides of an issue.  They are only interested in presenting a white supremacist viewpoint they want all white people in the country to believe in.

The closest thing you can compare Fox News to is Joseph Goebbels propaganda arm of the Nazi Party.  I don’t like to use such comparisons, but this one fits too snuggly.  Just like Goebbels, we keep hearing fear mongering and hate-filled speech against anyone not considered to be part of the “superior race”.

There are a handful of personalities at Fox that are willing to go against the company line.  But their voices are too few and heard too infrequently.  We have to wonder why they even stay at the network.

Fox News may one day return to their beginning philosophy about talking conservative points.  However, they would first have to become conservative again and give up its fascist views of today.  And, they would have to clear house of all of the bigots and fear-mongers like Hannity, Pirro, Ingraham and Tucker.

The real problem is that too many people think these people are “tough”.  Well, they are not “tough”.  When all you have is fear and hate to put forth, you are a coward, not tough.  Tough people face realities and help find solutions, not spread fear and hate just to gain viewing points from a wacko fringe.

And, the shirts keep marching along.

 

Latest Arrest Proves Congress Must Pass A Domestic Terrorist Law Now!

Day 875.  

There is all kinds of stuff going on in our country.  We are hearing that Mueller will file his report soon.  We have Roger Stone going before a judge to explain why he shouldn’t be sent to prison for his attack on the judge.  We have Cohen supposedly finally going to testify before Congress.

And, behind the scenes, we have domestic terrorists running around planning attacks on civilians and political figures.  The problem is that there is no “domestic terrorist” law on the books.  We have nothing to protect us from domestic terrorism and if one is caught, the government cannot charge him or her with domestic terrorist charges.

This has become clear again.  On February 15 of this year, the FBI arrested a man for potential domestic terrorism.  The charges do not include that title.  To my horror and outrage, the man arrested is a Coast Guard Officer.  The man is Christopher Paul Hanson.  He is a Lieutenant stationed at the Coast Guard Headquarters.

When the FBI raided his home, they discovered 15 firearms and, conservatively, 1,000 rounds of mixed ammunition.  Hasson is a self-described white nationalist and “skin-head”.  He is also pathetic.

In the court filing, the prosecutors wrote: “The defendant is a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct.”  It is very rare for the government to write that a suspect is a “domestic terrorist” before any trial begins.  That is because there is no law against domestic terrorism.

Hasson apparently wrote about establishing an ethno-state in the Northwest and admitted it would require violence.  He wrote:  “Liberalist/globalist ideology is destroying traditional peoples esp white.  No way to counteract without violence.  Much blood will have to be spilled to get whitey off the couch.”

Hasson appears to have researched specific targets for his violent plans.  After viewing a headline claiming that MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough described President Donald Trump as the worst ever, he searched “where is morning joe filmed.”  He queried Google for “most liberal senators”; “where do most senators live in dc”; “do senators have ss (secret service) protection” and “are supreme court justices protected”.

He also researched prominent left-leaning media figures and politicians, including Chris Hayes, Ari Melber, Don Lemon, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (DS-Conn), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and a host of others.

According to prosecutors, he was a big fan of mass murderer Anders Breivik, the Norwegian white supremacist who massacred 77 people in 2011.

“From early 2017 through the date of his arrest, the defendant routinely perused portions of [Breivik’s manifesto] that instruct a prospective assailant to amass appropriate firearms, food, disguises, and survival supplies,” prosecutors wrote. “Consistent with the Breivik manifesto, the defendant performed thousands of visits to websites selling firearms and tactical gear.”

The sorry part of military life is that too many white supremacists use the military to gain combat training and training in weapons and explosives.  Most of these extremists enter the Marines or the Army.  And, Hasson did serve in the Marines and the Army National Guard before getting into the Coast Guard.

We have a case here where a pathetic, inferior person decided that the best way to protect his hero and make America white again, was to kill as many people he didn’t like as possible.  He was also charged with drug possession.  He had large amounts of Human Growth Hormones.  According to Breivik’s manifesto, a terrorist should use these drugs to “muster courage and stamina” for his attack.

This is a case that screams out that we need a law to make “domestic terrorism” a federal crime.  We need to call crimes what they are.  Using gun charges and drug charges against a man like Hasson does not carry the same weight.

The simple fact is that more Americans are killed by domestic terrorism than are killed by foreign terrorism.  If Hasson had been a Muslin, the headlines would be plastered with this case.  As it is, we haven’t heard anything about it for a week.  Why?

We also need to formulate some way to weed out applicants who are white nationalists or white supremacists.  We cannot allow our military to be used as “training grounds” for those who wish to harm our country.

Since there are no statutes against domestic terrorism, any communications about being a white supremacist is considered “free speech”.  Once one of these sick creatures gets into the military, it is very difficult to get them out.  The proof that they are doing more than just “free speech” is hard to come by until they commit some act or are caught planning an attack.

I would love to see Congress get off its ass and do something about our domestic terrorism problem.  Yes, there are some specific laws like attacking a train, but planning to kill dozens of people just because their politics is just as egregious, if not more.

And, if Congress does get off its ass and pass a law against domestic terrorism, I also believe that any active member of the military should face even more severe punishments under any such law.  They are sworn to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  They are not sworn to become a domestic enemy of the country.

To be honest, I am very disturbed that the Coast Guard has not come out publicly, yet, and blasted this pathetic person.  They should also be throwing the book at this evil moron.  He violated his oath and he has also done what is called “conduct unbecoming of a Coast Guard Officer”.

Those charges are covered under the Uniform Code Of Military Justice.  They are separate from the federal charges and the Coast Guard has every right to court-martial this clown without violating the legal term “double jeopardy”.

Of course, we have not yet heard any condemnation from our tweeter-in-chief.  You can bet your last dollar that if this moron had Republicans on the list or people from Fox News, the twitter line would light up like a Christmas tree railing against him.  But, nothing, so far, from Mr. Stupid.

As a retired Non-Commissioned Officer of the Coast Guard, I fully hope they throw the book at this clown.  He deserves to be locked up for the rest of his miserable life.  There is no place in the Coast Guard nor any other branch of our military for these slimy creatures.  These slime-balls make the rest of the dedicated men and women of the military look bad.  They must be weeded out and gotten rid of.

Furthermore, Congress MUST act now to pass laws protecting us from domestic terrorists like Hasson.  You can have whatever beliefs you want.  But, the beliefs of people like Hasson have no place in the military.  The military depends on trust and teamwork.  You cannot be part of a team if you hate the other members of the team.

And, when you plan to kill dozens of people for hate reasons, you deserve to be locked up and never see the light of day again.  It is a simple fact.  You cannot “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic” if you are a domestic enemy.

And, the shirts keep marching along.

Finally – Maybe Something Is Going To Be Done About Gun Violence

Day 568.  

There is a lot of stuff happening in the country.  The Congress is finally about to pass a resolution that will keep the government open.  And, it does not include the Berlin Wall.  Yes, there is 1.4 Billion for about 55 miles of additional fencing, but that is a far cry from a Berlin Wall.

Then we have McCabe stating he started the Russia Probe in order to keep it on a strong footing.  He also said that DOJ had discussions about the 25th Amendment and getting rid of trump.  I really don’t like what he is saying about the 25th Amendment.  It is the Cabinet’s responsibility to consider that not DOJ.

Then, speaking about the Russia probe, yesterday Paul Manafort had his plea agreement blown up.  The judge in his case said that there was ample proof that he did lie to investigators after his cooperation deal.  As a result, he is facing much more prison time than he was before yesterday.

But, there is one thing that isn’t being reported on very much and it is very important to the safety of our country.  We are now at the anniversary of the Parkland mass killings at a high school.  And, for the first time in years, the House is about to vote on two bills that will have an impact on gun control.

The first measure is all about universal background checks.  The measure would require background checks on all gun sales and most gun transfers.  This measure passed the committee by a 21 to 14 vote.  5 Republicans sided with the Democrats.

The second measure would close a loophole in the background check laws that allows a gun sale to go forward if the background check is not completed in three days.  This measure passed the committee by a 25-14 vote.

Now the bills will go to the full House for votes on both.  This is the first time in years that anyone has tried to get these measures passed and do something about the proliferation of guns on our streets.  It was also one of the major campaign points for the Democrats who blew out the Republicans in the House during the midterm elections.

Let us be clear about this.  About 70 percent of the American people favor universal background checks when someone wants to purchase a gun.  They believe that criminals, mentally impaired and people who are accused of things like domestic violence should not be allowed to own guns.  But, naturally, the NRA doesn’t agree with that.  They want everyone to own a gun and return to the “old west” mentality.

Members of the House and Senate also introduced a different bill that would limit high-capacity magazines that are capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said:  “Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of Parkland.  It reminds us once again that high-capacity magazines are about high-capacity killing.  You don’t need 30, 60 or 90 rounds to go hunting or to defend yourself.”

Naturally, most in the Politburo are not happy about these measures.  They don’t like the idea that anyone can be refused the ability to own a gun, even if those people are criminals.  Remember, the first thing they passed in 2017 was a bill that allowed seniors who have been declared incapable of taking care of their own affairs the ability to purchase a gun anyway.

In a video posted on the National Rifle Association’s Twitter account, Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.), a member of the Judiciary Committee present at the hearing, called the bill a “fraud” that “simply wants to get at your constitutional rights.”

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) sat near a cup that said, “The Second Amendment is my gun permit.”

Of course both of these fine gentlemen are in the pockets of the NRA and are beholding to them for huge campaign contributions.  This is just another false argument about universal background checks.

The Politburo and gun advocates love to talk about our “constitutional right” to own guns.  And, they love to talk about past Justice Scalia and how he championed gun rights.  However, they fail to remember Scalia’s decision in the Washington D.C. case that affirmed gun rights.

In that decision, Justice Scalia wrote that “like all other rights, the right to bear arms is not unlimited.  The state has the right to put limits on the type of firearms and requirements for obtaining a firearm.”

What that decision means is that the state, meaning all forms of government, has the right to insist on universal background checks and that people with certain deficiencies can be blocked from purchasing a gun.  So, these measures are NOT an infringement on our Constitutional Rights.  That according to one of the most conservative Justices to sit on the court.

Since Democrats now control the House, there is a very good chance they will pass there.  However, the Senate is another matter.  With the Politburo in charge of that branch of Congress, the chances of them passing are slim.  I even doubt that McConnell would even want them to have a debate or vote in the Senate.

Rep. Ted Duetch (D-FL) who represents the Parkland district read a letter from Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed during the Parkland shooting.  Oliver asked how many people in the chamber offered thoughts and prayers after the shooting — and then asked if they would now do something.

“It is within your power to enact common-sense gun laws,” Oliver’s letter said. “I implore you to think about the kids. Think about how you would feel if it was your son, your daughter, your grandson, your granddaughter, because it could be.”

These measures are important first steps to pass “common-sense” gun laws.  No one is asking you to give up your guns.  No one is trying to take your guns away from you.  The right to own guns has been established.  However, it is also the right of the state to limit what types of guns and magazines you can have.   It also has the right to place restrictions on certain people so they cannot get a gun.

That is all these measures are trying to do.  We need universal background checks.  We need to close the “gun show” loopholes where people can purchase a gun without a background check.  That is how the majority of guns wind up in the hands of criminals.  Even in states that have strict gun laws.

Because of these loop holes, people go to states with lax gun laws, purchase a bunch of guns without any control at gun shows, and then bring them back to the big cities to sell to criminals and gangs.  Those are simple facts.  And, it is why these measures are so important.

No one is saying these measures will stop gun violence.  But, by trying to keep people with criminal records or other reasons from purchasing a gun, they will help reduce the number of wrong people having them.

As these bills move forward, the people need to call, write, text or email their House Members and their Senators to make sure they pass.  The Politburo says they “only do what the people want”.  These bills are exactly what the “people want”.  It is now up to them to get them passed.

Or, the shirts will keep marching along.