We CAN Come Together

Of all the things that could unite this country against an over zealous government I wish it were something other than guns.  I also wish it hadn't taken another life altering tragedy for it to happen.

That being said, there is something to be learned both by the people and those who govern us.  It's that given the right motivation the people will forget party affiliation, color, creed and gender to band together to protect what they perceive is a violation of their rights.

Rallies occurred across the country yesterday in support of our second amendment rights. We here at home had 1000 people turn out in one location alone.  I'm not surprised.  This is gun country. But why the passion?  Hunting?  Okay.  Sport shooting?  Okay.  But it's more than that.

I've come to the conclusion that it's because guns are tangible.  You can touch them, hold them, admire the craftsmanship that goes into them.  You can't do that with budgets and debt ceilings and fiscal cliffs and repressive regulations.  You hear of them, in passing, and don't pay much attention until they hit your pocket book and you feel that hit. How easy was it to buy that house you couldn't afford?  It didn't hurt until you could no longer pay the mortgage.  By then it was too late.  But the gun.  It's yours, in your home and you own it outright.  Gun rights are collective.  Budgetary and regulatory concerns are one off. A home foreclosure.  A family trying to build on what the government deems is suddenly a wet land.  There is no ground swell of support for the aggrieved.

I understand that guns are near and dear to our hearts because of that.  As for all the other stuff that hits the fan with too much regularity but we ignore anyway, we've elected representatives to go to Washington and tend to it for us.  The fact that they don't escapes us because we're just too busy dealing with our lives to pay attention. Until it's too late.

If the Republicans were smart they'd figure out a way to make all governmental abuses and over regulation tangible. Another example is Hurricane Sandy.  It too brought the people together.  It too was a life altering tragedy.  It too generated the wrath of the people for the government's refusal to address the financial needs in a timely manner.  It hit collectively, not piece meal.  The problem is it was a regional problem.  Guns are everywhere.

We get hung up on too much of little consequence.  If the President is really a U.S. citizen.  That Romney is a Mormon.  That a football player is so dysfunctional he had an online relationship with a non-existent girl.

I lay the blame for a lot of our problems on us.  We need to pay far more attention than we do. As a whole we have all the power we need to keep our government in check.  But we have to pay attention.

But we don't and won't until the next time something tangible is threatened.  What might that be?  Something that will affect us across the board?  It could be gas or food prices.  It could be jobs.  It could be, heaven forbid, another terrorist attack on the continental U.S.

Should that happen, we may well be glad we have an affinity for guns and the ability along with the right to protect ourselves.

When Good Cops Are The Bad Guys

When a good cop is considered the bad guy there is definitely something wrong with our society.

I'll preface this by admitting that ever since I was a little kid I've been intimidated by  police.  It's the image.  Uniforms, badges, guns and more leather accessories than a street girl in Amsterdam.  At the time they seemed huge and menacing.  I'm not sure where it came from but it still lingers.  I steer clear of them.  Sort of.  I really don't know any.

The image isn't helped by the number of 'bad cops' who have gotten lots of press in neighboring Spokane.  Everything from an off duty deputy flashing a barista to video of cops beating and restraining a mentally impaired man in such a way it led to his death.

It has been a great place to be a bad cop. The prosecutor wouldn't prosecute and the union wouldn't let them be fired. The city now has a new top cop and I wish him well.  He's going to need it.

The county, lucky for them, has a sheriff who is really one of the good guys.  I'll forgive him for looking just like the stereotype that scares me. He at least tries to fire the renegades but the arbitrators more often than not win the battle for them. Thank you police union!

So what to do?  Get some of our upstanding, for the good of the people pols to sponsor legislation to prevent arbitration from overturning a top cops decision on a bad cop. Having at one time been a union president he will admit to the desirability of them.  But now the shoe is one the other foot and he is getting the short end of the process. Welcome to our world.

Every sheriff in the state has signed on to the proposed legislation yet not one legislator has stepped up to the plate.  They are either intimidated by the union or need their endorsements and money for their own political ambitions.  Thanks a lot legislators.

Unfortunately this is not just a local problem.  Far too many officers have multiple infractions and still get reinstated.  Is this how police states get started?  The authorities scratch one anothers backs leaving the public unsure what sort of protection is available to them?  Is their police department corruption free or not?  Are they safe from their own police?

It's a worrisome situation.  Were there more images of good cops like the NYPD officer who bought the boots for a homeless man on a freezing cold night rather than the video of cops whaling away on a confused innocent.

We need to support the good guys.  With the way the government is manipulating our laws and Constitution for their own ends, enforcement agencies may be our last line of defense when they refuse to enforce laws or dictates that are not constitutional. I'd hate to see it come to that but there are rumblings with this gun safety fiasco.

An act of good faith might be for the Washington legislature, with spanking new members and a new governor, to take up the proposed legislation from the good guy.  He's not the villain. I don't like to think of any of us as being victims but we are just as is he.  Of politicians.  Again.

The Benefit Of Multiple Sources

When I write a post I usually always use more than one source.  Even if it's just setting forth an opinion, it will have been formed from several sources.

The point is ideas can be improved upon by considering multiple points of view rather than just one. Our government, including the President, might benefit by doing the same.

Today I read Dan Henniger's column suggesting it would be wise if the Republicans had a spokesperson for both the House and Senate a la Jay Carney for the President.  I've though this for some time.  Mainly because both Boehner and McConnell are every bit as boring as Pelosi and Reid and none of them use their own bully pulpit well.

Jay Carney too is as dull as most of my kitchen knives.  Most White House press secretaries are.  The best in recent memory was the late Tony Snow.  Never-the-less, Carney has a daily briefing and whatever the administration wants said gets said.  If the Republicans could conjure up a couple of charismatic types who know how to work a crowd and held regular press briefings maybe they too could get said what they want said.

Moving on to another column, the Financial Times Lucy Kellaway was addressing how a bank's supposedly child friendly Facebook page was anything but.  As I read her examples I realized the bank was talking much the same way politicians do.  Beyond understanding for the average reader let alone a child.

In other words, use words and phrases that are understandable and succinct.  That eliminates all elected officials.  It shouldn't be an elected official anyway.  Too much bias.  It needs to be someone articulate and obedient to leadership.  That assumes there is leadership.  In other words, such and such is the party line.   When any member of the House or Senate is questioned refer them to the spokesperson. Free lancing is not allowed.

The spokesperson will then lay out policy and position in terms a ten year old can understand. To me it would beat seeing the same tired old faces on every talk fest known to man droning on about how bad the opposition is and how wonderful their own concept is.

Just crisp facts, such as the party can muster.  Same song, same verse in daily briefings until the media has to pay attention.

What do you think?  A sensible solution by joining hands across the sea.  The colonies Dan Henniger and the Red Coats Lucy Kellaway. How Revolutionary is that?

Stop 'Gunning' For Political Advantage

From 'cops and robbers' to 'cowboys and Indians' to paintball games, guns have been a part of kid culture for what seems forever.  At least for as long as I've been around which seems like the same.  I wasn't allowed to have a toy gun when I was a kid but not because of what it represented.  My Mother was always trying to make a lady out of me and guns didn't fit into her scheme.  Dad really didn't care.  I guess he knew a tomboy when he saw one.

Times have changed. Since the Virgina Tech shootings it seems there have been an inordinate number of gun incidences or maybe they're just getting more press.  However, when two kids get suspended from school for playing cops and robbers and pointing their fingers as guns, we've really gone over the top. After all, they see it all the time on their televisions and computers and game gadgets so they aren't going to understand what the fuss is all about any more than those who stood on the stage with the President today. Unless they were well rehearsed by their teachers and/or parents.

You talk about polarizing issues!  If I weren't talking about politicians I'd suggest it's time to slow down and get our heads on straight.  This is going to make the spending debate look like child's play.  Both gun advocates and opponents have some good points. We don't need military style assault rifles to shoot Bambi or Thumper.  Limiting the magazine size won't do the job either. Those so determined will just get more small ones. Not to mention loading their own. Also, there are already many laws on the books which aren't being enforced and adding another bureaucracy in the neighborhood of $500 million, which we can't afford, won't solve the problem either because we're not addressing it as a whole.

What I fear is happening is the administration is using a tragedy to chip away at more of our rights and not just the second amendment.  Take the idea that would have doctors talk to their patients about guns.  I doubt mine would bring it up, but I'd tell him it's really none of his business whether or not I own guns.

Having the justice department determine who should and who should not own them is another assault on privacy.  While HIPPA goes a bit far in some instances, it would be undone here if the criteria was to be determined by the medications you take.  Anxiety?  Depression?  High Blood Pressure?  OMG you're a walking time bomb!

I predict a battle royal over this and doubt a lot will change.  They had their chance when the assault weapon ban expired but as usual they did nothing.

Meanwhile the government has a new facade to hide behind while the debt crisis builds behind the scenes.  Like the Democrats introducing a bill to repeal the debt ceiling altogether. Reminds me of a certain You Tube video and a terrorist attack in Benghazi.

If ever our government did it's business in a timely and well thought out manner I think I'd faint.  Not much would be made of it I don't suppose because I'm not Hillary. But if I hit my head and developed a clot I might too develop fuzzy logic that could lead to a plot!

Next thing you know there will be drones in the sky keeping an eye on me, my Facebook page will be watched as will this blog, my phones will be tapped and my flying days will truly be over.

Mr. Obama has claimed, showing his diplomatic finesse once again, that Netanyahu doesn't know what's in Israel's best interest.  Maybe he should pay more attention to what's in ours.  Over reaching one more time isn't it.

The Death Of Democracy?

As our government touts the desire to see every government in the world suffering unrest achieve democracy, I'm wondering if we're seeing the demise of our own.

We have laws yet both our Congress and our President break them.  Yes.  Break them.  It is law that the White House submit a budget by February 4th.  They have let it be known it will be late. Again.  It is law that the Senate produce a budget.  They haven't for the past four years.

I wonder why these laws are on the books?  Obviously there are no consequences for breaking them.  On top of that the President has developed a penchant for going around Congress by issuing executive orders.  I have no problem with that in itself.  All Presidents do it.  But somehow the possibility of 19 of them to enforce his gun control agenda seems to be a lot.

I guess what bothers me is his tone.  When a reporter actually asks a tough question he gets touchy.  His press secretary is always snarky.  When he suggests that the Republicans see a conspiracy in everything it reminds me of the Clinton years and their vast right wing conspiracy theories.  Now it seems the shoe is on the other foot according to the President. The trouble is he's manufacturing truth to fit what he wants.

I've seen nothing conciliatory since the election. It's nothing new.  It's how Obama does business, but it's unsettling.  He keeps pushing the envelope. From gun control to the debt ceiling, the President is trying to dictate the terms by a combination of political theater and intimidation.

What's worse the Republicans have forgotten how to fight back.  They seem to be so afraid of being 'blamed' for something, they cower like a beaten dog.  They're going to get blamed no matter.  I wish they'd forget about their political career paths and dig in.  The fact that Obama had a testy press conference indicates the press may finally be paying attention.

He may also have pushed the envelope close to the breaking point. Two different Congressmen are rumbling about impeachment if he takes both gun control and/or the debt ceiling into his own hands, by passing Congress.

That's ugly talk but desperate measures for desperate times.  I hope cooler heads on both sides prevail. Obama has an arrogance problem he needs to resolve.  As President he should be above using some of the rhetoric and tactics he seems to hold so dear. He's the one who should be looking for common ground but again he defines that as being only what he wants.

It would be a shame if he should cross the point of no return and someone actually takes action.  Even if he'd be found not guilty a la Clinton, the shame would be forever.  It would permanently tarnish what could have been a brilliant Presidency all because he either will not or does not know how to play nicely with others.