More Gun Crankiness to the Post Star

    If there was an epidemic killing 90 Americans a day, 33,000 a year, do you think we would be wise to spend money researching it? Yes, is the answer I'm hoping for. If so, you're not a congressman protecting his precious standing with the NRA. Mass shootings are less than the tip of the iceberg at 2% to 3% of the firearm deaths in this country. We need to have someone to look at the 97% that don't run on TV for days on end.

     
   The Dickey Amendment in 1996 cut off funding to the CDC because Congress (the NRA) was afraid that research into firearm deaths would hurt gun and ammo sales. A study prior to the amendment found that having a gun in your house does not make you and your family safer. Why are gun producers allowed to control research on their deadly product? And push misinformation on the public? We don't allow cigarette manufacturers to control tobacco research and education.

     Even Jay Dickey now says, "Doing nothing is no longer an acceptable solution." Continuing to allow the National Rifle Association to control gun policy in the US is also not an acceptable solution. We can start fixing that next November in this district. Anyone who's stamped Grade A Prime venal by their organization is not going to help solve the problem.    

Eulogy for the Last Gun Fetishist

First, they came for the guns of the terrorists. But, I was not a terrorist. I was just defending against a tyrannical government. So, I said nothing. Then they came for the guns of the mentally ill. But, the voices in my head told me I was not mentally ill. So, they and I said nothing. Then, when they came for my guns, there was no one to speak for me. So, I had to shoot it out with the cops alone. And die in a hail of bullets. But they had to pry the gun from my cold, dead fingers. Wolverines!

Remember Newtown. Those who truly deserve eulogies.

We have let a collection of kooks and armed sociopaths bully us into accepting that the watering the Tree of Liberty with blood of first graders is the price of freedom and vigilance.

I choose to believe it will get better. 

Happy Nihilist Holidays

Lazy Sunday Posting:Congrats Elise Edition

A belated congrats for my congresswoman on that A double plus good rating from the NRA.

Glens Falls—Today, Elise Stefanik earned the highest NRA rating possible for a first time candidate and announced the founding members of her Second Amendment Coalition Group.

Elise has earned an AQ rating from the NRA. This rating is the highest rating a first time candidate for Congress can receive. Elise has proved time and again that she will be a staunch defender of our Constitutionally protected Second Amendment rights in Congress and strongly opposes the SAFE Act. She is the only candidate in this Congressional race who attended anti-SAFE Act rallies in 2013.

As you may suspect, I'll be looking for the candidate with the failing grade come November.

The Least We Can Do

If we're not going to strengthen background checks or even keep guns out of the hands of people who are on the terror watch list, then can we do this?

Even before today's tragic shooting in San Bernardino, pressure was building in Washington to overturn an amendment, backed by the National Rifle Association, that has barred federal research on gun violence for nearly 20 years. More than 2,000 physicians, dozens of Democratic lawmakers, and even the author of the amendment have all called on Congress to once again allow gun violence to be investigated as a public health issue.

It's a rhetorical question. I know the answer.

 "We dedicate $240 million a year on traffic safety research, more than $233 million a year on food safety, and $331 million a year on the effects of tobacco, but almost nothing on firearms that kill 33,000 Americans annually,"

From my new go-to source of info on all things gun related:

Guns kill 32,000 Americans a year, but not one penny is given to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to find out why.

Victims of gun violence can thank the National Rifle Association for squeezing off that funding.

The NRA began lobbying Congress in the 1990s to limit the CDC’s funding after the agency gave financial backing to an independent study that found that keeping a gun in the home was strongly associated with an increased risk of homicide.

Update on the search for Jihadi Wayne: it's day 24.

 

Mark Rosenberg, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, didn’t mince words about the NRA’s bullying in a 2012 interview with an Atlanta paper.

“The scientific community has been terrorized by the NRA,” Rosenberg told the Journal-Constitution.

Give Me the Syrian Refugees

I know, I've probably used that title before. The 3 percenters are a new one on me, though. Not following SPLC as closely as I should.

They are known as "Three Percenters," followers of a movement that has rallied against gun control efforts nationwide, patrolled the U.S. border with Mexico and recently begun confronting Muslim Americans.

Followers describe themselves as armed "patriots." But some of their leaders have been blamed for threats and vandalism against lawmakers, police and Muslims. One prominent member from Phoenix prompted an FBI alert in November after posting an expletive-filled Facebook video saying he was headed to upstate New York with guns to challenge a Muslim group. A Three Percenter in suburban Dallas led a mosque protest by armed, masked men that same month.

Hopefully, Homeland Security has time to follow these guys as well as the potential Muslim bad guys.

"We will interfere with every move they (Muslims) make towards taking over our country," Dallas protest organizer David Wright said in response to questions the Associated Press sent to his personal Facebook page. "We are ready to fight back if they come at us violently."

What a hero he is.

Followers appear to consist mainly of white, male, conservative gun owners who believe the nation has been pushed to a tipping point by socialists in government aiming to disarm them, strip their constitutional rights and take their property, according to groups that track anti-government movements.

Glens Falls Liberal Media vs. The Donald

Who's your money on? Anyway the Post Star decided today was a good day to give Trump an extra 5 percentage points among local wingnuts.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if our warring political parties settled their differences and came to together to save the country from a billionaire businessman who made it clear this week his views are “un-American?”

The answer is no because the rest of the party is just as vile as he is, only in different ways. 

Former Vice President Dick Cheney said that Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigrants “goes against everything we stand for and believe in as a country.”

You know like torture and not granting the right of habeas corpus.

In news of other NY State media: credit where credit is due to the Daily News. I probably disagree with them on 90 plus per cent of what they write. But when you're right, you're right.

A New York City tabloid is continuing its battle with the National Rifle Association, calling NRA honcho Wayne LaPierre “Jihadi Wayne” on the cover of Monday morning’s edition for opposing sensible gun laws that could prevent terrorists from purchasing high-powered weapons.

The New York Daily News screaming headline “Nowhere To Hide, Jihadhi Wayne” on Monday morning comes on the heels of a similar headline last Wednesday reading: “NRA’s Sick Jihad.”

At issue is the NRA using their overwhelming influence with lawmakers to block a law that would ban anyone on the terrorist watch list from purchasing a gun.

Hometown Rifles

Glens Falls and the surrounding towns are pretty small, so we take our gun excitement where we can find it.

Police swarmed an area in front of Jackson Heights Elementary School on Thursday afternoon after someone spotted two guns in a car parked in front of the school. The driver of the car was later charged.

She was not charged with driving while stupid which would have been probably the most appropriate charge. A confession here: I was young and stupid at one time as well and did way stupider things.

She was identified as Gracie M. Guilder, 23, of Glens Falls, and was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, and having a loaded gun in a vehicle, a violation.

Glens Falls Police Detective Lt. Peter Casertino said the guns -- a .22-caliber rifle and muzzleloader -- were being moved from the back seat to the front to make room for a child who was being picked up from school, as two younger children sat in the back seat.

At least none of the kids shot her. I am offering to represent her in court. I believe she was just following the advice of local sheriffs and going armed everywhere. What good does it do to have a gun if it's not loaded? 

Thank you, Gracie Guilder for the excuse to play the most excellent genius of Paul Weller.