From where I sit...

#thenewblue

No, folks, nobody is going to “de-fund” Police Departments across the Nation. That is just not going to happen. Someone thought it would be appropriate, given our collective turmoil, to use the word “de-fund” throwing more fuel on fire. That needs to be corrected.

Could we try the term “re-fund the Police”? That more closely describes what is being proposed. By using this new terminology, I am talking of bringing Law Enforcement back to what it was meant for. The jobs the Police are tasked with in too many cases are jobs that were never meant for them to handle. Police are not mental health professionals, social workers, family counselors, Doctors, EMTs, etc. Their only job is to enforce the laws of the land in an effort to keep communities safe from the bad guys.

Why has our society overburdened Police with tasks no one else seems to want to do? Let’s rearrange the deck chairs and give our Police a chance at doing the jobs they were originally tasked with. This would change the culture of Police Departments and erase the overburdening of a very valuable asset; our Police. There is way too much tension and mistrust in all quarters by all people. We can start by reforming the biggest hurdle first. The Police Unions are the driving force behind all this “militarizing” of the Police. These Union “leaders” have to learn their place and join the team effort in “re-forming” all Departments. This task is not rocket science.

Being from New York, I get too many chances to listen to Pat Lynch, the New York City PBA Union President. You only have to hear his oral diarrhea once to realize where the Police culture is right now. And, how Union heads all over the Country are constantly pushing toward that goal on militarization. It will not be an easy task to dismantle that culture; it has been with us for decades. I am not convinced that it takes 38,000 police to keep law and order in New York City. I am not convinced that any local police force needs to add combat vehicles to their motor pools.

           

There are many Veterans applying and being accepted by Law Enforcement. I know that police departments do not screen applicants thoroughly for substance abuse and mental health problems brought home from the battlefield. On the other side of that coin, the recent applicants who suffer from combat PTSD, TBI, substance abuse, and other unseen mental health problems tend not to seek treatment. If they did, they would never qualify for a police position, let alone carry a weapon. Therefore, they remain silent and fiercely deny any problems in those areas.

It is above my pay grade to dive deeper into the details of “re-funding” the Police. There are many people who know how to work out the details far better than I could even imagine. I do know that some people will raise the age-old excuse; “it’s too complicated”. No, it is not complicated. It does get complex. Complex we can do by solving issues one at a time. We, as a Nation, are good at doing that!

With our pride and love for this Nation,

we can all get behind this concept and make it reality.

Yes, we can give peace a chance; at home first!

‘From Where I Sit’

                                                            PRELUDE:

I am neither for nor against any organized religion. Everyone has the absolute right to seek his or her spirituality and faith from any quarter they choose. I am simply pointing to a possible scenario involving religions on a global scale.

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Ever since the days of the Vietnam War and Watergate, I have had a healthy mistrust in what the U.S. Government has been telling the public on almost every issue that affects us.

                                                                   

Since my teenage years, I have wondered about the “division of Church and State”. The constructors of our founding documents made a clear, unambiguous

statement to keep Church and State separated; mostly due to their past experiences with the English Monarchy/Church, from which they were seceding. My question is how has this provision in our Constitution been increasingly ignored over my lifetime and been allowed to meld into the body politic.   

While I am sure this is not a brand new phenomenon, the blurring of the lines between Church and State has been noticeably growing at a fast pace. I first noticed this in the late 1950’s when Dwight Eisenhower was President and our Nation’s Civil Rights movement started shifting into high gear. Back then, as it is now, it was perfectly understandable that our society was looking for spiritual guidance. Then, in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, The Vietnam Conflict led many young folks toward seeking alternative spiritual guidance. Some folks seemed to find that guidance in sex, drugs, and rock and roll. By the time the 1980’s and the 1990’s rolled in, it seemed like National and Global incidents were coming at us much faster. The 2000’s and 2010’ kept this ball rolling at an ever increasing rate. Now, it’s the 2020’s and World and National events have picked up momentum such that Church is covertly able to infiltrate the State.

   
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While the Nation has been in constant upheaval here and abroad, our citizenry seemed to be fast losing their trust in a major source of social guidance, the U.S. Government. With that trust center all but gone, folks have turned to forms of organized religion, forms of atheism, and other less traditional means of spirituality to find guidance. Amidst National mayhem and chaos, the erosion of separation of Church and State is in its final stages. This was, and is, going on very much behind the scenes.

Something to seriously ponder:

                                       [Ctrl + click to open hyperlinks]

I invite you to look into The Fellowship Foundation. They are the folks who run the “National Prayer Breakfast” in Washington DC and in over 100 Countries globally (referred to generally as “The Family”). Take a look at the World’s movers and shakers who attend these events. Who, in our Country, invites them (invitation only to the events). I believe that everyone should get some education on this situation to see where this movement is headed.

 ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Prayer_Breakfast

The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide.^[1] The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue NW.

The National Prayer Breakfast, held in the Hilton's International Ballroom, is yearly attended by some 3,500 guests, including international invitees from over 100 countries. It is hosted by members of the United States Congress and is organized on their behalf by The Fellowship Foundation, a Christian organization. It is designed to be a forum for the political, social, and business elite to assemble and pray together. Since the inception of the National Prayer Breakfast, several U.S. states and cities and other countries have established their own annual prayer breakfast events.

[1]: Getter, Lisa (September 27, 2002), "Showing Faith in Discretion", Los Angeles Times.

History

The origin of the National Prayer Breakfast is traced back to prayer groups with business and civic leaders in Seattle, organized by Abraham Vereide in the 1930's. When he moved to Washington, DC, he established similar groups with members of Congress. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower attended a meeting by invitation of Congressmen, Vereide, and Billy Graham. Vereide's successor Douglas Coe and Rev. Richard C. Halverson have also carried leadership roles in organizing the event. A government leader was quoted as saying that the Breakfast and Coe's influence offers foreign leaders access to the President that "circumvents the State Department and usual vetting... that such a meeting would require," and other participants indicated that their purpose for attending was political.^[2] Initially called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, the name was changed in 1970 to the National Prayer Breakfast. Every American president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the annual event.^[3][4]

[2]:  Lindsay, D. Michael (2006). "Is the National Prayer Breakfast Surrounded by a "Christian Mafia"? Religious Publicity and Secrecy within the Corridors of Power". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 74 (2): 390–419. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfj060. ISSN 0002-7189. JSTOR 4094038.

Mission Statement -

The Fellowship Foundation's 501(c)(3) mission statement is: To develop and maintain an informal association of people banded together, to go out as "ambassadors of reconciliation," modeling the principles of Jesus, based on loving God and loving others.

ref: https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Fellowship+Foundation+Mission+Statement&oq=The+Fellowship+Foundation+Mission+Statement&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.2

You may have thought that Leah Remini’s

expose’ on the Church of Scientology was bizarre.

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Is Washington DC simply ignoring a major element of our founding documents? Why has religion become so entrenched in our Government even when our Constitution proclaims otherwise? It seems “The Family’s” mission creep has become a sprint. I am beginning to think that Christianity, in some form, is attempting to fortify its ranks for the possibility of another great religious war. Moreover, this is not being done in the Churches. This is being done very quietly in the halls and back rooms of government. After all, what has been behind wars of all kinds for thousands of years? Humankind’s history has been dominated with religious wars; some small, some large, some extremely large.

I have taken note of some current theories on what the next World War may look like. It would not surprise me in the least if World War III is fought exclusively on religious grounds; perhaps, Christianity vs. Islam. For this reason alone, it behooves our Citizenry keep a keen eye on our Federal Government. and what they do in this arena.

Do not let a handful of manipulators and

scoundrels lead us down a very dark hole.

The United States of Guns                                                      Tuesday, September 17, 2013

[One Nation under guns with thirty-round clips and ammunition for all.]

Our culture, as a Nation, was born two hundred and thirty seven years ago by way of armed revolution. The framers of our Constitution went out of their way to ensure the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms. Apparently this was important to them as they allotted the right to own guns in the 2^nd of twenty-seven Amendments to the Constitution. Following the American Revolution, the United States faced military conflict on the high seas as well as on the western frontier. The United States was a minor military power during this time, having only a modest Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. A traditional distrust of standing armies, combined with faith in the abilities of local militia, precluded the development of well-trained units and a large professional defense corps. Adherents to Jeffersonian theory preferred a small Army and Navy.  They were concerned that a large military would involve the United States in excessive foreign wars, and potentially allow a domestic tyrant to seize power. So, how’s that been working out? Well, quite honestly, it hasn’t been going so smoothly. We seem to be getting more “war-y” and more “tyrant-y” as time passes.

So, just how bellicose is the United States of Guns? Let’s have the short look at our no-so-peaceful past.

ARMED CONFLICTS:

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783, vs. Great Britain       

Northwest Indian War, 1783–1812, vs.  Shawnee, Cherokee, Choctaw Native Americans

Wabash, 1791, vs.  Shawnee, Cherokee, Choctaw Native Americans

Battle of Fallen Timbers, 1794, vs.  Shawnee, Cherokee, Choctaw Native Americans

Quasi War, 1798-1800, vs. the French

First Barbary War, 1803, vs. the Berbers, Libya

Tecumseh's War, 1811 vs.  Shawnee, Cherokee, Choctaw

War of 1812, 1812-1814, vs. Great Britain, Canada

Creek War, 1813-1814, Creek, Cherokee, Red Sticks

Second Barbary War, 1815, vs. the Berbers, Libya

Texas Revolution, 1835–1836, vs. Mexico

Mexican-American War, 1846–1848, vs. Mexico

American Civil War, 1861–1865, vs. [ourselves]

Indian Wars, 1865–1891, vs. Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho

Spanish-American War, 1898, vs. Spain, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines

Banana Wars, 1898–1935, Cuba, Panama, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua

Moro Rebellion, 1899–1913, Muslim Filipino tribes

Mexican Revolution, 1910–1919, Pancho Villa

World War I, 1917–1918, Germany

Russian Revolution, 1918 -1919, Bolsheviks

World War II, 1941–1945, Japan, Germany

Korean War, 1950–1953, China

Lebanon, 1958, Russia, Muslims

Vietnam War, 1956–1975, North Vietnam, China

Dominican Republic, 1965

Grenada, 1983, coup d’état, Russia, Cuba

Beirut, 1982-1984, Hamas

Libya, 1986, Gadhafi

Panama, 1989-1990, Noriega

Persian Gulf War, 1990–1991, Iraq

Somalia, 1992-1993, Al Qaeda

Haiti, 1994-1995, coup d’état

Yugoslavia, 1999, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina

Afghanistan, 2001-present, Al Qaeda, Taliban, Afghanistan

Philippines, 2003, Al Qaeda

Iraq, 2003–11, Hussein, Al Qaeda, Shite, Sunni

Libyan Revolution, 2011, Gadhafi

This Nation seems to be in everybody else’s business, without any concern about the domestic side of things. Why, then, is it any wonder, that in the year 2013, we find ourselves mired in controversy over the proliferation of guns across the entire breadth and width of this Country? An interesting, and very disturbing, trend is emerging with each mass shooting spree we encounter. Back in the “good old” days, a mass shooting might yield six to eight people killed and, say, twenty to thirty people wounded. It seems that now the numbers are reversing themselves. Ever since the Columbine High School shooting, there have been many more people killed than injured/wounded. This statistic, alone, should make everyone sit up and take notice.

Are the bad guys becoming better shots? I don’t think so. I’ve witnessed professionals who can’t hit the broad side of a barn, with any type of firearm. It has to be that the bad guys simply have more fire-power today than they did in the past. The availability of semi-automatic assault style weapons with large capacity clips is a glaring example of what should not be allowed in the public sector. Thirty-round clips have been around for quite some time. Now, the bad guys have figured out that they can’t hit the broad side of a barn, either, so more bullets equal’s better outcomes. I have had the necessity of using this type of firearm, so I can speak from experience that the ultimate function of an AR-15, or an AK-47, is to kill as many people in the shortest period of time as possible. There is absolutely no other reason to use such a weapon. The same holds true for hand guns, like the Glock 9-mm, with similar ammunition capacity and firing frequency. It’s not just in the movies anymore; these deadly weapons are also showing up in public with laser guided sights. These are military firearms, and should remain the sole possession of our Armed Forces. You certainly have your pick of many other types of firearms more suited to individual ownership. If it’s personal protection that’s in question, then might not a simple shot-gun suffice? I can tell you, again from experience, that a basic shot-gun has a superior “kill radius” with a single pull of the trigger. It’s easier to handle, easier to aim, easier to keep clean, and a whole lot cheaper than the military style alternatives.

Then there are folks under the impression that the one major problem here is Mental Health. You must keep the “crazies” off the streets. Well, we’ve had a remarkably large community of people suffering from various Mental Health problems for hundreds of years. They are not the reason for the spike in gun violence since 1999, and the shooting in Columbine High School. Perhaps another rock to look under is that of the drug culture in this Country; both legal and illegal. It’s our dirty little secret that Mommy and Daddy don’t like to talk about. The fact of matter is that very high quality opiates are on the market, and their proliferation has driven the price down dramatically. Whether in powder form, or pill form, prescription, or street bought, we are raising a generation of “junkies”. What could possibly go wrong when you mix guns and drugs? I hate to harp on my own experiences, but I’ve witnessed, “up close and personal”, what a good dose of opiates does to a normally functioning human being. It’s not a pretty sight.

It’s time to stop this gun phenomena, come to our senses, and come up with some answers. The start of any solution to this problem begins with setting national priorities. Perhaps one of the first priorities should include the cessation of hostilities beyond our borders, and the trillions of dollars we are flushing down the toilet. While our Nation’s Military is off bombing the rest of the planet, the home front is crumbling and dying with bullets in the brain and/or needles in the arm. With our ammunition stored safely in bunkers, maybe we will have the intestinal fortitude to seriously tackle the problems of guns and drugs in our culture. Until such time, there will be more mass-casualty shootings and bombings, and the body counts will rise accordingly on a more frequent basis.

Hutch Dubosque is a Vietnam Combat Veteran, a retired manufacturing Engineer, and, currently, Vice President of the PTSD Veterans Association of Northport, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) non-profit service organization). He has degrees in both Communications and Energy Technology, and has written on a number of his “blog” sites over the past six years; concentrating mostly on Foreign Affairs and the Military.

Brought to you by Fox Noise

Well, it’s Saturday afternoon, and I thought it might be nice to get horizontal on the big couch and watch some television. I was surfing through the channels when, low and behold, I caught a wave at Fox Cable Network News. The “show” that was airing at the time was a re-run of “The Five”. Those of you who watch Fox News already know who the five panelists are, and the rest of us really don’t give a damn. I could only watch about twenty minutes of this show, as I was doubled over in laughter and fell from my perch on the big couch more times than I care to remember.

Very loosely, the main topic of discussion was that of street violence and the efforts at small arms gun control. The panelists started out with three bad people who have been up front in the News lately. First up was a discussion about the South African paraplegic Olympian who allegedly shot his Super-Model girlfriend. It didn’t take the Fox Noise Makers more than thirty seconds before arguments centering around Apartheid took over the conversation. It was at this point that I figured I had better stay tuned to see where this path was going to lead. Well, sure enough, it lead to the college student in Georgia who went on a rampage killing anyone who even resembled a white person. Stating Anthropology as his college major, he obviously blamed his curriculum for creating the rage inside him to boil over. He claims he was trying to get even for the slave trade in this Country. Then came their “Piece d’Resistance”. Center stage shifted to the ex L.A. cop turned murderer. Immediately the claims of liberal bias were leveled at the 47% of this Country who have put this man up on a pedestal, and are using him to point out all the conservative short comings of our Society.

Appropriately sprinkled throughout this panel discussion was black-on-black crime, white-on-black crime, the ACLU’s unconditional love of criminals of any color, or gender, and President Obama’s attempt to quell his detractors by showing up in Chicago to speak about gun control. I won’t get into the statistics that were quoted, because I don’t want anyone falling off their perch in uncontrollable laughter. Of course, the rightwing mantra was repeated over and over again, “The Government wants to take your guns!” As I exited stage left, there was an equally humorous advertisement about how “Obama-Care” is about to deny everyone in this Nation medical care of any type, and how “Obama-Care is about to bankrupt every business, large and small.

I have one small request of Rupert Murdoch; “Please rename Fox News as The Comedy Channel II.” I think your ratings might actually go up.

Guns& us

I decided to take a look at the weapons manufacturing statistics for the U.S. A couple of stats jumped off the pages as I checked:
“Hoovers.com” (D&B), the “firingline.com”, “gunpolicy.org”, and “gunsinternational.com”. This seemed to give the most centrist and accurate report of our Nation’s production of firearms. With only a few exceptions, all the weapons made here are available to the General Public through distributors, or on-line. And, the last set of numbers I looked at were the prices of some of the more popular items (see below). Looks like just about anyone can afford ownership. These are just the numbers. Draw your own conclusions about their meaning and what might be the appropriate course of action.

Gun & Ammunition Manufacturing Industry Overview

Excerpt from Gun & Ammunition Manufacturing Report

The US gun and ammunition manufacturing industry includes about 300 companies with combined annual revenue of about $6 billion. Major gun and ammunition manufacturers include Browning Arms; Freedom Group (which includes Remington Arms, Marlin Firearms, and Bushmaster Firearms); Olin; Alliant Techsystems; Sturm, Ruger & Company; and Smith & Wesson. The industry is highly concentrated.

Competitive Landscape

Demand is driven partly by hunters, gun enthusiasts, and weapon upgrades by police departments. The profitability of individual companies is closely linked to marketing. Small companies can compete effectively by producing premium-priced high-quality or decorative guns. Although automation has increased, the industry is still labor-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is about $140,000.

Products, Operations & Technology

Major product categories include firearms and ammunition, each of which accounts for about half of industry revenues. The industry produces more than 4 million guns per year: about 30 percent are pistols and revolvers; about 40 percent are rifles, and about 30 percent are shotguns and other firearms. Within a category, a company may make guns of different caliber and style. The most popular pistol calibers are 9 millimeter, .45, and .22. The most popular revolver calibers are .357, .45, and .38.

http://www.hoovers.com/industry-facts.gun-ammunitionmanufacturing.1200.html

Major Manufacturers and distributors

General Online Sales:                                                             8 companies

Firearms manufacturers and sole U.S. distributors:       111 manufacturers

Firearms Distributors/Sellers:                                                6 companies

Barrels:                                                                                     2 manufacturers

Silencers:                                                                                  1 manufacturer

Ammunition Suppliers:                                                            3 manufacturers

Firearms Training:                                                                  17 companies

Body Armor:                                                                           14 manufacturers  

http://thefiringline.com/library/companies.html#firearmsm

United States — Gun Facts, Figures and the Law: Federal firearm legislation is limited US states and municipalities regulate firearm use with their own gun laws Stockpiles/Gun Numbers Number of Privately Owned Firearms: The estimated total number of guns held by civilians in the United States is 270,000,0001 Rate of Civilian Firearm Possession per 100 Population: The rate of private gun ownership in the United States is 88.82 firearms per 100 people Number of Privately Owned Firearms – World Ranking: In a comparison of the number of privately owned guns in 178 countries, the United States ranked at No. 11 Rate of Privately Owned Firearms per 100 Population – World Ranking: In a comparison of the rate of private gun ownership in 179 countries, the United States ranked at No. 12 Government Guns: Number of Military Firearms: The defense forces of the United States are reported to have 3,054,5533 firearms Number of Law Enforcement Firearms Police in the United States are reported to have 897,4004 firearms Defence & law Enforcement =     3,951,953                                  Civilians = 270,000,000   Production/Gun Industry Firearm Manufacture In the United States, the manufacture of small arms, ammunition and/or their components is permitted only if the maker holds a valid licence22 Small Arms Manufacture - World Ranking In a classification of the world's small, medium and major firearm manufacturers, the United States is ranked \'major\'23 24

Last Updated on 23 July 2012

Short References

1.Karp, Aaron.2007.‘Completing the Count: Civilian firearms.’ Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,27 August. (Q4)

2.Karp, Aaron.2007.‘Completing the Count: Civilian firearms.’ Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,27 August. (Q5)

23.Small Arms Survey.2001.‘Ranking of World's Small Arms Producers (By Sales).’ Small Arms Survey 2001: Profiling the Problem.Oxford:Oxford University Press,1 July. (Q103)Full Citation

24.Cook, Philip J, Wendy Cukier and Keith Krause.2009.‘Firearms and Firearm Regulation in North America: United States.’ The Illicit Firearms Trade in North America.London:Criminology & Criminal Justice,1 August. (Q1980)

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states

And, these were the middle of the road in price:

BUSHMASTER, 223 / 5.56 NATO BUSHMASTER FIREARMS 90140 A1 XM-15 E2S Series SA 223 30 ROUND MAG. FACTORY NEW IN BOX (( NOT USED )) INTER XM-15. GI#: 100303681

Seller: AA GUNS & AMMO—BKLYNBOY  Area Code: 770                       $ 979.99

AK- 47 ASSAULT RIFLE, IZHMASH SAGIA, RUSSIA MADE FACTORY NEW IN BOX (( NOT USED ))  AK- 47 ASSAULT RIFLE IZHMASH SAGIA RUSSIA MADE CAL. 7.6  GI#: 100303228

Seller: AA GUNS & AMMO—BKLYNBOY Area Code: 770                        $ 789.99

http://www.gunsinternational.com/Assault-Rifles.cfm?cat_id=256