Both Sides of The Gun Debate Are Coming From The Same Place
It strikes me that both sides of the gun debate are coming from the same place. They both fear the violence and crime that is present in society, especially when it involves guns. One side believes the solution is to arm as many people as possible. Then we would have a “cold war” of Mutually Assured Destruction, i.e. everyone not using their weapon as someone else might have a weapon. If they did encounter crime, they believe they could stop it. The other side seeks to remove guns from the equation believing that fewer guns led to fewer gun fatalities. Crime is less violent when the tools of crime are less violent.
Somehow the two sides need to sit down together, and rationally discuss the situation using objective evidence. They then need to arrive at mutual agreeable solutions. Operating from a place of fear, relying on urban myths, feelings, emotions and beliefs is not solving the issue.
That there is an issue with gun violence in this country is the one thing both sides can agree on. We should not have to live our lives from a place of fear. We are smart enough to solve this problem if we peel away down to fact based data and are brave enough to use what we find.
Time for Up To Date Gun Laws
Senator Elizabeth Warren: I stand with Planned Parenthood… Me too
Sadly this woman has more sense than to run for President in the sick electoral process of this country.
Flags, Deflection, Guns, Rationalization
In order to 
get through life we all have certain psychological defense mechanisms that we use more or less depending on the person and the situation. A very common one is rationalization which is defined as:
‘Rationalization is the cognitive distortion of “the facts” to make an event or an impulse less threatening. We do it often enough on a fairly conscious level when we provide ourselves with excuses. But for many people, with sensitive egos, making excuses comes so easy that they never are truly aware of it. In other words, many of us are quite prepared to believe our lies.’ 1
When psychologists talk of defense mechanisms, they are typically speaking of the individual. However, humans practice defense mechanisms as a group. While there are many areas that we practice rationalization, a frequent one in the United States is gun violence. Whether the killing is en masse or an individual, we continually hear comments Continue reading “Flags, Deflection, Guns, Rationalization”
Senator Elizabeth Warren on big money in Washington
Lawsuit Claims Obama Discriminated Against American Workers.
The CF continues. Apparently the Obama administration is in bed with InfoSys. To quote from the article from Computerworld in this link Court case offers a peek at how H-1B-fueled discrimination works :
“The passage of the Affordable Care Act brought with it a burst of IT spending and hiring. The District of Columbia, for instance, hired offshore outsourcing firm Infosys for $49.5 million to build its Healthcare Exchange.
The India-based Infosys brought in H-1B visa holders to work on the government project. And of the approximately 100 Infosys employees working on the healthcare project, only three were American, according to a civil lawsuit filed in federal court.”
Just to be clear the discrimination they are referring is against citizens of the United States in the IT field.
To quote from another article Lawsuit: Tech Company Hired to Build D.C. Obamacare Website Discriminated Against Americans Continue reading “Lawsuit Claims Obama Discriminated Against American Workers.”
Paul Krugman on Climate Change Deniers
A famous Carl Sagan quote definitely applies to Paul Krugman’s editorial in today’s New York Times.
“In science it often happens that scientists say, ‘You know that’s a really good argument; my position is mistaken,’ and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn’t happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.”
Mr. Krugman’s editorial, Points of No Return, describes how if you are not a climate change denier it will get you excommunicated from the Republican Party.
From the editorial:
“Think of it this way: Once upon a time it was possible to take climate change seriously while remaining a Republican in good standing. Today, listening to climate scientists gets you excommunicated — Continue reading “Paul Krugman on Climate Change Deniers”
Bad for business… Good for business…
Bad for business… Good for business… Two terms that one hears quite often. We apparently need business to some extent to meet our daily needs. The unfortunate aspect of business is that to a large extent it is based on the profit motive which often translates into unbridled greed. The way businesses and corporations are structured in this country it tends to shield individuals from most responsibility for less than desirable actions. A familiar buzz phrase is “corporate citizen” which in my mind is the paradigm for explaining what an oxymoron is.
When I hear something is bad for business it generally grates on my nerves. It frequently is a case of the tail wagging the dog. In this country, businesses and corporations have garnered more than their fair share of wealth. This wealth has bought politicians and who knows whom else. This wealth has managed to change the laws to shield and benefit these legal fictions. It has reached the point that if Lincoln was giving the Gettysburg Address today, his closing would read “and that government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations, shall not perish from the Congress.”
What started me down this well trodden path again was a news story this morning on NPR. It was reported that “Louisiana’s coast is disappearing at the rate of about a football field an hour. Since the 1930s, the Gulf of Mexico has swallowed up an area the size of Delaware.”
Many folks allege that this erosion of the wetlands that provide a buffer between hurricanes and New Orleans is the responsibility of the various oil companies operating in the area. For mysterious reason some of these folks feel that the entities that caused the erosion due to their business activities should pay to restore the land. It is costing Continue reading “Bad for business… Good for business…”