Ferguson, MO - Things Will Get Better

"Don't let one person's hate be your reason for giving up, or losing faith, or even having to do anything other than believe things will get better. I lived in a small Mississippi town as a child during the Civil Rights era. Things got better. I lived through the LA Riots as a person in my 20s post Rodney King. Things got better. I've seen the gruesome crime scene where Matthew Shephard was sacrificed for intolerance. Things got better. I couldn't get health care in my 40s because of a "pre-existing condition" for ten years. Things got better. I hear and read and see hatred and ignorance everywhere, but...? Things WILL get better. The more an ignorant person rants, the more the non-violent majority will consolidate into peace and progress.Things do get better.
" Friend Dave via Facebook

President Obama on Ferguson, MO Verdict

"We are a nation built on the rule of law, so we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury's to make." -President Obama on Ferguson, MO grand jury decision on officer Wilson

52nd Anniversh of President John Kennedy's Death

A great book to read are JFK's book Profiles In Courage and author and historian William Manchester's boom Death of a President November 1963.

Immigration Assumptions And Omissions

"1.I don’t believe Americans grasp how racist the origins of immigration law truly is. For nearly the first entire half of the nation’s history, there were not any relevant immigration restrictions — if you were of the “right” race (white) and “right” religion (Protestant Christian). There literally was no issue with Waspish folk coming and going. The first immigration restrictions were levied against Chinese migrants and those of Southern European (and Irish, who shared the “wrong” religion, Catholicism). It also coincided with pogroms and mob violence against such groups that were viewed as poisonous intruders. So when anti-immigration lobbyists trumpet this “rule of law”, they’re really resting on an ugly legacy.

2.Even today, while we’ve shed most of that ugliness, there still remains great injustice in immigration law. For certain countries of origin (Cuba), if you plant your feet on US soil, you’re automatically legal. Not so for all the other Latin American nations, most of which features governments of a far more oppressive nature. Or if you can throw a baseball, brandish a hockey stick, or shoot a basketball exceptionally well, you’re in. Or if you’re blessed with abundant wealth. I concede, that for many Americans, this framework of immigration law is a natural democratic consensus on who is worthy to enter, but to a Jesus follower, it is backwards to the truth of the Gospel.

3.An oft-repeated argument against more open immigration is one of economics — that the costs of adding people is staggering and would be a drain on the nation’s coffers, and especially detrimental to lower and middle class workers. But this is a vivid illustration of faulty zero sum economic thinking — that there’s a static economic pie, and more folks carving out slices means less for all. Truth is, the economics are much more dynamic — vibrant immigration means more economic activity (growing the pie), greater velocity of money (multiplying the pie), and a larger pool from which creativity and innovation can arise. In fact, it’s a large part on how America attained greatness. And today, in the US (as well as other western nations), we have a growing imbalance in the ratio of younger workers to older retirees. Wouldn’t more open immigration be a natural sensible treatment?

4.It is pointed out that America already has the most generous immigration policy in the world. This is true, but I am disturbed that this trope is brandished against meaningful reform. That because the US is better than most (or all) other countries, we need to do nothing (or focus on punitive measures). But that would be like nations in the 19C refusing to abolish slavery (or apply any other social justice remedy) because we’re more humane than those other countries already in how we treat slaves, the downtrodden, etc.

5.Capital, money, electronic bits can move freely across political borders in the 21C. Why should human beings be treated less than? The human right to migration should be as fundamental as the right to freedom of expression and freedom from discrimination on grounds of gender, race, religion, or sexuality."


Via azspot.net

Gun Control - Guns Need Licensure, Registration

"What can I assume from this text? One, that man is up to no good, since he is breaking the law. Two, that the law obiding citizens in that library are not packing, the librarian isn't either. If the man goes on a rampage, nothing short of a ninja can stop him. He can approach each person, and shoot their cranium at point blank range.


 This isn't learned helplessness. This is enforced helplessness.


 Carrying guns, with proper licensure and strict guidelines for such license (both shooting and legal aptitude) should be the norm. Gun control has NEVER stopped a criminal from obtaining a weapon and using it. Enforced helplessness is a violation of our right to protect ourselves. 911 emergency police are too far away, and we cannot rely on every public venue to have an armed guard.
 Strawman argument: More guns = more shootings. Reality: In every police station in the country, almost everyone is armed. Or with a gun in their desk. Heard about that police station where a mad shooter went from desk to desk shooting everyone? Me neither. And the US police aren't known to be nonviolent or with very good restraint, statistically.


 Open carry with proper and strict licensure with frequent renewal Requirements is the only solution." Mu friend Sam via Facebook on gun control


Guns need licensure, registration, more smartgun technology, limits on buying ammo and legal exams and universal background checks for all gun buyers, etc.

JFK Quote

"Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" President Kennedy

The Right Wing is the Anti-Christ

There, I finally said it.