Just weeks before the fatal shooting of eight people at the Omaha Mall on December 6th the National Rifle Association sent out this news release:
"Friday, August 24, 2007
"On Tuesday, August 28 the Omaha City Council will consider a proposed ordinance aimed at reducing crime in the city. Part of the proposal calls for the destruction of any firearm used in a crime. This proposal will destroy the property of law-abiding gun owners who have already been victimized by having their firearm stolen from them.
"Councilman Chuck Sigerson, Jr. is proposing an amendment that would allow a legally-owned firearm that has been stolen and used in a crime to be returned to the rightful owner, as long as it was reported stolen to police.
"Please attend the City Council meeting and protect our Second Amendment and private property rights. Tuesday, August 28, 2:00pm, 1819 Farnam St., Suite LC-1, Omaha, NE 68183.
"If you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact the members of the City Council and respectfully urge them to support Councilman Sigerson's amendment to protect firearms stolen from law-abiding citizens from being destroyed…"
Copyright 2007, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced.
If Councilman Sigerson and the NRA have their way, the very rifle that was used in the eight murders could be returned to its owner. What is even more amazing is that President Bush was in Omaha for a fund-raiser just an hour before the shootings. Hopefully the Secret Service will consider getting involved in the investigation to determine what, if anything could have been done to protect the President in this near threatening situation.
On February 7th the NRA posted a story about Utah State Senate Bill 251 which proposed to allow Utah colleges to ban guns in faculty offices and permits students living in the Residence Halls to decide if they want to live with concealed weapons permit holders. Days later an 18-year-old trench coat-clad gunman killed 5 people and wounded 4 at the Trolley Square shopping mall before being fatally shot by police. "He calmly fired a shotgun at his victims and had a handgun," authorities and witnesses said.
As a result of April 20, 1999, when two seniors at Columbine High School killed 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 23 others, Colorado inacted Project Exile. That program, advertised on billboards and bus benches, promises hard time for violating gun laws. On December 8, 2003, NRA's Institute for Legislative Action told its readers that 172 Colorado defendants were charged in fiscal 2003 with federal firearms violations. Some of the top sentences during that time period are listed below by last name, year, case number, offense and sentence:
HIGHTOWER 02 CR 040 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 26 yrs., 7 mths.; RAMBO 03 CR 014 Use of firearm during violent crime 25 yrs.; HERRON 03 CR 161 Armed career criminal 19 yrs. 7 mths.; TAYLOR 03 CR 288 Armed career criminal 19 yrs, 7 mths; MARTIN 03 CR 252 Armed career criminal 19 yrs., 7 mths.; LEDFORD 03 CR 429 Armed career criminal 16 yrs., 8 mths.; GREER 02 CR 184 Armed bank robbery 15 yrs., 8 mths.; DOOLEY 02 CR 324 Armed career criminal 15 yrs., 8 mths.; ELEAZER 02 CR 076 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 14 yrs., 7 mths.; PADILLA 03 CR 151 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 13 yrs., 3 mths.; NUNEZ 02 CR 518 Use of firearm during violent crime 12 yrs., 6 mths.; STEVENS 02 CR 148 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 11 yrs., 5 mths.; CHAVEZ 02 CR 571 Armed bank robbery 11 yrs.; GARCIA 02 CR 265 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs.; 10 mths.; RAMOS-SANCHEZ 02 CR 105 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs., SINGLEVICH 02 CR 477 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs.; and last, but not least, PARKS 03 CR 490 Felon in possession 10 yrs.
On January 20, 2004, the same NRA legislative arm urged its readers to call their Representatives to ensure that law-abiding gun owners and dealers could conduct business without inadvertently violating the law. HB 1012 clarified legal language contained in Amendment 22, the gun law passed by Colorado voters in 1999.
NRA get off your soapbox and don't mislead, dupe or lie to the public with your deceptions and half-truths. Stick with what you know best, gun safety, and instruction.
K.
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Friday, December 7, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
You know you’re desperate when....
I find I'm doing more for myself now, as I've grown older. Not that I feel that I'm an old man but just that it has become more expedient for me to do more for myself. You don't have to wait on others to do things for you. Sometimes it works out quite well, and sometimes you find that in the process you've screwed things up. Case in point, I find that I'm doing more of my own laundry. I don't wait for my wife of forty-two years to do it for me any more. For one thing she is slowing down, doesn't like steps (the washer and drier are in the basement) and I'd like to help her out. I don't sort the clothes by white and colors because most clothes are colorfast and don't need that precaution (I've been caught short on that statement too).
Another problem occurred when Mrs. K. told me not to put the heavy bedspread in the washer, that we could that it to the Laundromat where they had commercial heavy-duty washers. What did I pay all that money for in a washer? Didn't mine say "heavy-duty" as well? I have learned that commercial grade and heavy-duty residential grade are not the same. The bedspread made it through the first time but not the second washing. It tore up a gear in the direct drive coupling. I wondered what I was going to do. You can't get a washer repairmen on a Saturday and in most cases the cost of the repairs comes very close to the price of a brand new washer on sale, including the ones with all the bells and whistles.
Soooo K took the washer apart, took out the damaged gear and decided to make a new one myself (remember it was a Saturday and the washer parts store was closed as well). It took about two hours and a lot of soul searching, cussing, and what have you but a came up with a reasonable facsimile. I put the washer back together flipped on the switch and it WORKED. It washed the clothes, wrung them out and made a soft, soon to become irritating noise for about two months (I must have made the gear parts slightly oversized). Lesson learned; wives do know what they are taking about. Had I paid attention to Mrs. K, I would have saved myself all that grief. Now the question is: do I take that bedspread up to the Laundromat or test out my new drive gear. Hmmm I wonder.
K.
Another problem occurred when Mrs. K. told me not to put the heavy bedspread in the washer, that we could that it to the Laundromat where they had commercial heavy-duty washers. What did I pay all that money for in a washer? Didn't mine say "heavy-duty" as well? I have learned that commercial grade and heavy-duty residential grade are not the same. The bedspread made it through the first time but not the second washing. It tore up a gear in the direct drive coupling. I wondered what I was going to do. You can't get a washer repairmen on a Saturday and in most cases the cost of the repairs comes very close to the price of a brand new washer on sale, including the ones with all the bells and whistles.
Soooo K took the washer apart, took out the damaged gear and decided to make a new one myself (remember it was a Saturday and the washer parts store was closed as well). It took about two hours and a lot of soul searching, cussing, and what have you but a came up with a reasonable facsimile. I put the washer back together flipped on the switch and it WORKED. It washed the clothes, wrung them out and made a soft, soon to become irritating noise for about two months (I must have made the gear parts slightly oversized). Lesson learned; wives do know what they are taking about. Had I paid attention to Mrs. K, I would have saved myself all that grief. Now the question is: do I take that bedspread up to the Laundromat or test out my new drive gear. Hmmm I wonder.
K.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
“Rivers know this, there is no hurry….” Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, by A. A. Milne
My wife and I went on the last cruse of the 2007 season for the Goodtime III, a great lakes excursion boat. From now until Memorial Day 2008 it will be laid up in a Detroit, Michigan rebuilder's yard, and gone over with a fine toothcomb. Tested here and overhauled there, the scrutiny part of a mandatory Coast Guard inspection process. She had been on Lake Erie for five years since the previous major inspection and I hadn't taken advantage of it. Now I look forward to the 2008 season cruises.
I look forward to this new season because my wife enjoyed the trip with me. We had hurriedly driven there from her place of employment hoping to get there it time; it was close and we made it. The river cruise was a trip back in time as we saw old riverfront developments that were still in existence. There were both lift and swing bridges, flourmills and marinas. Some had failed miserably, remaining only because of the prohibitive cost of their removal. Others were still in operation and in surprisingly good shape; they were a testimony to their engineering quality as well as their utilitarian need. We saw them from a totally different view, seen only by those traveling by water as they had been seen a century or more ago.
We both liked the time together, to share our exiting or difficult moments of the day as well as to talk to friends and share in good conversation. Stolen moments from both of our busy schedules making them all the more valuable. We both look forward to next year hoping that the secrets of the river will be revealed to us at that time as well. 'Til then….
K.
I look forward to this new season because my wife enjoyed the trip with me. We had hurriedly driven there from her place of employment hoping to get there it time; it was close and we made it. The river cruise was a trip back in time as we saw old riverfront developments that were still in existence. There were both lift and swing bridges, flourmills and marinas. Some had failed miserably, remaining only because of the prohibitive cost of their removal. Others were still in operation and in surprisingly good shape; they were a testimony to their engineering quality as well as their utilitarian need. We saw them from a totally different view, seen only by those traveling by water as they had been seen a century or more ago.
We both liked the time together, to share our exiting or difficult moments of the day as well as to talk to friends and share in good conversation. Stolen moments from both of our busy schedules making them all the more valuable. We both look forward to next year hoping that the secrets of the river will be revealed to us at that time as well. 'Til then….
K.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
What would you do...?
"What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" was the slogan of an ice cream bar, manufactured by Good Humor/Breyers. The advertising campaign generally showed people doing ridiculous things to get their hands on the ice cream. We ask ourselves, "What you do if you won a million dollars?" We think up all sorts of scenarios that would allegedly make us happy. We then smile with the realization that this dream may never happen. Meat Loaf, born Michael Lee Aday, sings, "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that." It is only until he gets near the end of the song, when the female vocalist accompanying him asks specific questions, that we realize what THAT is.
The question remains "What would you do…?" We can't really say until we've been thrust into that position. We can ponder, dream and conjecture, but we really don't know. We can prepare for emergencies, disasters, and misfortunes to forewarn or give us an idea as to what to expect but until we actually step into that situation it is all "up for grabs."
From the whimsical we get, "To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable," wrote Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900) in his book The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891.
On the pessimistic side we find Dr. Frank Crane (1861–1928) Presbyterian minister, speaker, and columnist: "Nobody has things just as he would like them. The thing to do is to make a success with what material I have. It is a sheer waste of time and soul power to imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different." Somewhere in the middle lies the true answer; my suggestion is keep thinking, planning and guessing for that is what places us above the rest of God's creation and gives us hope for a better future.
K.
The question remains "What would you do…?" We can't really say until we've been thrust into that position. We can ponder, dream and conjecture, but we really don't know. We can prepare for emergencies, disasters, and misfortunes to forewarn or give us an idea as to what to expect but until we actually step into that situation it is all "up for grabs."
From the whimsical we get, "To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable," wrote Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900) in his book The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891.
On the pessimistic side we find Dr. Frank Crane (1861–1928) Presbyterian minister, speaker, and columnist: "Nobody has things just as he would like them. The thing to do is to make a success with what material I have. It is a sheer waste of time and soul power to imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different." Somewhere in the middle lies the true answer; my suggestion is keep thinking, planning and guessing for that is what places us above the rest of God's creation and gives us hope for a better future.
K.
Monday, September 17, 2007
The sanctity of life is very Precious
The sanctity of life is very precious, at least in most western cultures. If someone gets sick or injured there is some sort of medical attention available. At least to some degree. We speak of socialized medicine, Medicaid and Medicare as if they were our birthright, which isn't stretching the truth one bit. Medical attention should not only be available to the affluent, or to those fortunate enough to be paying into some sort of medical plan but to individuals.
Imagine switching jobs and being illegible for medical treatment until ninety days have passed, or six months or even a year. The whole employment picture would be thrown into ciaos. Switching jobs would be a crapshoot at best. One would have to think twice and perhaps a third time for a very good reason to make the change. To top this off we see medical payment plans for both employers and co-payments by employees skyrocket. Some companies have begun to evaluate their medical payment plans on a year basis.
Doctors and hospitals in the past have always had their respective expenses. Yet costs have increased beyond expectations. What is different today than there was in the past? Several things come to mind
.Exorbitant awards for medical malpractice being passed on to the patient.
.Doctors trying to recoup their college expenses in as short a time as possible and
.The inefficiency of hospital medical supply chain where there is a definite shelf life.
The patient, the ultimate consumer, should know which hospitals, as well as which doctors, have the highest death rate so as to be able to make an intelligent choice before they elect to have surgery. Hospitals should be rated as to which are the most efficient as to cost per patient. Ambulance chasing lawyers should have a cap places on any awards to reduce their voracious appetites in fee collections.
"Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob and kill you too." Anton Chekhov (1860 - 1904) Russian dramatist & short story author
K.
Imagine switching jobs and being illegible for medical treatment until ninety days have passed, or six months or even a year. The whole employment picture would be thrown into ciaos. Switching jobs would be a crapshoot at best. One would have to think twice and perhaps a third time for a very good reason to make the change. To top this off we see medical payment plans for both employers and co-payments by employees skyrocket. Some companies have begun to evaluate their medical payment plans on a year basis.
Doctors and hospitals in the past have always had their respective expenses. Yet costs have increased beyond expectations. What is different today than there was in the past? Several things come to mind
.Exorbitant awards for medical malpractice being passed on to the patient.
.Doctors trying to recoup their college expenses in as short a time as possible and
.The inefficiency of hospital medical supply chain where there is a definite shelf life.
The patient, the ultimate consumer, should know which hospitals, as well as which doctors, have the highest death rate so as to be able to make an intelligent choice before they elect to have surgery. Hospitals should be rated as to which are the most efficient as to cost per patient. Ambulance chasing lawyers should have a cap places on any awards to reduce their voracious appetites in fee collections.
"Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob and kill you too." Anton Chekhov (1860 - 1904) Russian dramatist & short story author
K.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
“…an eclectic collection of artists, writers, secretaries & aging soldiers ...."
The other day my youngest son called me eclectic. I said to myself "What the hell does that mean? Does it show? Am I that bad? Is it catching?" And then I looked it up and was pleased with the comment even if he didn't say it in a positive light. Eclectic means assorted, miscellaneous, and diverse.
"Not too bad," I thought. I've always prided myself in being able to do different things like this blog, or work on cars, do electrical wiring, build things out of wood etc. Its' very encouraging to me to work on different projects and not have to call out every tradesmen to fix some problem of mine. My only dilemma is I that tend to start things and take my time in finishing them. I would call that procrastination, which I think is one of the seven deadly sins (of omission).
Others who share this same feature were Benjamin Franklin, George Washington Carver and Thomas Edison. Not a bad group to fall in with—The Eclectic Gang. My only problem is that I'm not famous. Yet.
K.
"Not too bad," I thought. I've always prided myself in being able to do different things like this blog, or work on cars, do electrical wiring, build things out of wood etc. Its' very encouraging to me to work on different projects and not have to call out every tradesmen to fix some problem of mine. My only dilemma is I that tend to start things and take my time in finishing them. I would call that procrastination, which I think is one of the seven deadly sins (of omission).
Others who share this same feature were Benjamin Franklin, George Washington Carver and Thomas Edison. Not a bad group to fall in with—The Eclectic Gang. My only problem is that I'm not famous. Yet.
K.
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