Has 9/11 Changed America’s Intelligence?

In my opinion, with an election coming up in 2014 and Congress doing absolutely nothing but forming another committee to try to find unfounded tie-ins with the Obama Administration to scandal, without any proof what-so-ever even existing, we now have another leak being promoted as proof of Government becoming Big Brother in the minds of the paranoid, far-right, far-left with strong support from defense attorneys, and the GOP.

I offer my own opinion in today’s post along with others’ who have been here and done that, and after observing years of trial and error with both the media and politics in general. I remind everyone the Obama Administration is also being accused of spying on individual citizens and the media in an effort to stop the leaks, at the very time they are accused of promoting leaks for political gain, by the exact same politicians and media.

The more the attempts were made by many of the same type of groups during the Roosevelt Administration during the recovery from the Great Depression, and later on the Clinton Administration following the decline of the 1980′s, the more FDR’s and Clinton’s popularity increased with the American public. These Presidents simply did not have as much of the made-up speculation, due to the fact the number of the Conservative and Tea Party groups and Social media have increased greatly during the Obama Administration.

Isn’t it enough that Rep. Isis is calling Eric Holder and President Obama, along with anyone who speaks for the Obama Administration and disagrees with his witch hunts, “Liars?” At no time in history has our President or Attorney General ever been shown such dis-respect by the Congress who are elected to carry out the Agenda of the President or come up with a comparable agenda of their own in order to give aide to the American people in need. Are any of us still so blinded by lies that we believe that Congress is doing their job for the American people?

“Fast and Furious”, proved nothing other than it was the Bush Administration who provided the guns that got into the hands of the drug cartels in Mexico and the Obama Administration did not act soon enough to stop the program, but stop it Eric Holder and his team did, even though the GOP, themselves, initiated the program before President Obama took office. The committee was not even formed until after Eric Holder had already stopped it. This Isis led committee, did not prevent the funding of this witch hunt, by tax payers, over a three year period while a Republican controlled Congress did nothing toward job creation.

We currently have not one but 5 different GOP Congressional committees investigating the exact same unfortunate occurrence that happened in our Embassy, while they still do nothing about job creation, making the changes that they criticize in Obama care, education, or lowering the deficit.

Corporate America is still sitting on a mountain of cash and slow to hire, not only because of European markets, but also because of the uncertainty of Congress to do something in regards to the jobs market. Luckily because of the programs by the Obama Administration, that did not require Congressional over-sight, all areas are improving and 7 conservative Governors, in their own States, are accepting Obama care. They were amongst the most vocal of all conservatives against President Obama’s health care.

9/11 changed the landscape of America forever. We are forced to accept the fact that we will all be monitored in interest of public safety, as a result of the attacks. It is our new reality. Anyone who thought we could continue as a Nation under the same lack of intelligence gathering, as was in place prior to 9/11, just were not considering how wide of a change was needed for government to gather the necessary intelligence to keep us safe.

The press comparing President Obama to George W. Bush is ridiculous except for the fact that both men knew then, as they know now,we have the capabilities to shoot down any attempts to attack America from outside of our borders but the concern must be for gathering of intelligence inside our own borders.

Government then, just as it does now, needed to put together a list of the names and telephone numbers of all of the American people as well as those who are here on visa and green cards, to have a clearer view of the contacts outside of our borders as well as those inside our borders.

Regardless of the media coverage nothing exists that government is doing anything differently from doing exactly that, and in doing so Homeland security is doing their job. Their own Agency was began by the Republican majority, as a new agency to government, following 9/11. Any thing being spoken of as fact beyond this type of gathering is nothing other than pure speculation on the part of both social media as well as previously established media.

If any of us are surprised the intelligence gathering is necessary within our own borders then just where do we think it needs to be gathered? The terrorists attacks, just as the Boston marathon attack, was done by terrorists already inside our borders. They may be influenced or brain washed by outside factions, through the internet, or over-seas visits, but it is inside our Country we need to be the most concern about protecting. I repeat: No one has a better military or defense system than America has, if anyone would decide to attack us from the outside.

Terrorist attacks did not come from outside of United States, but instead by people already here. This means that intelligence gathering occurring in the United States needs to be gathered in the United States.

We have over 1000 hate and subversive groups within our borders who are home-grown. There are any number of groups outside our borders who would work towards gaining sympathizers within our borders and gladly finance terrorism within the borders of our Nation.

In my opinion, taken from already established fact and history, all the media Bru-ha-ha over government over-reaching and paranoia spreading, over being able to trust government, is just more of the same politics being played out on the platform of the media. When they have no proof of the same and the facts speak for improvement in the economy, then attack the current Administration in office. This is especially grievous when those attacks are originating from the exact same sources who are not doing the job for which they were elected. It has always been the behavior of opposing parties but it has never before been when Government is doing their job to protect us.

Are we, as Americans, truly so paranoid we would think Government cares if Johnny is potty trained or if Aunt Mary is going to the casino or if Ethel missed Church on Sunday, and government is listening in and gathering intelligence on the same? There are not enough hours in the day or Agency’s available to spy on the pretty boring and non-eventful not to mention shallow conversations a great deal of us have on both the internet and cell phone.

The media making a mountain out of a mole-hill on a leak of intelligence gathering that should never have happened in the first place is just more of the same, in my view. Are there any Americans left who do not already know that government is hated by the far-right Conservatives, the Tea Party. and Republicans in general, and they pay their own media to promote the same?

Much of the broadcasted attempts by media found to be scandal, are the same behavior and programs that have been used and are currently being used in Corporate at their own conventions in an effort to inspire workers who must sit hours behind a computer program, and to give them a chance to let down their hair. They are seen as a reward for record profits or as a program to motivate the workers. Corporate just as government will use exercise programs to promote the health of their workers. These programs cost Corporate no different from what they do government and are used in an effort to compensate their workers for and to increase productivity.

The deficit is going down, jobs are increasing even with 10,000 Americans per week turning 65, and while many are drawing unemployment benefits until they reach the age of 66 and retire. Other seniors decided to continue to work while drawing Social Security and have since been laid off and continue to draw unemployment along with their Social Security checks. In both cases it shows up on the unemployment records or as people no longer looking for work and helps paint a gloomier unemployment number. The GOP’s refusal to prevent our going over the cliff has hurt job growth just as the uncertainty of Congress acting in regards to unemployment, a poor European market, and a slower demand for product has left big business slow to hire.

Despite All of the GOP investigating committees, instead of doing the job they were elected to do, they cannot discount the economy is coming back with 37% of big business announcing that they will be hiring thus making the economy still stronger by 2014, despite the Senate filibusters and the “do nothing” Congress. When they can’t point a finger of failure at the party in office, or the Obama Administration to be precise, then they will attempt to create scandal based on nothing other than speculation.

Housing is up, interests rates remain low on both housing and student loans, the stock market hit record highs, health care costs are going down, Social Security solvency has risen another 6 years and increased through 2032, despite the rate of retiring Seniors, People who could not buy insurance before and students are now able to buy or stay on their parents’ policies,consumer confidence is up, and Americans are about to see a greater over-all improvement in the economy ahead. America still has an economy that other Nations wish they could come close to matching and which most economist grade a medium to strong B with the majority of all economists being very optimistic about the increased growth over the next 2 years.

If the Republicans do not attack the Obama Administration now, then they will not gain the seats they want in the Senate and Congress in 2014. They and the few members of the far left have plenty of media who will suggest Government is becoming Big Brother even though intellectually they all know or should, that 9/11 changed the nature of intelligence gathering in America forever.

I remind everyone the law of our land based on common sense is, ” The hand of one is the hand of all.” Basically it means that just because the hate propaganda began out of our borders and entered into United States or was already present and home grown, all parties who conspired with or planned or will conspire with or plan attacks in the future, are as guilty as the person who plants the bombs or pulls the triggers.

If Face book, Google, Micro-soft, or Verizon or anyone, for that matter, are knowingly or unknowingly helping Government to track down criminals or terrorists, in an effort to keep Americans safe, where were our minds when it came to the future of intelligence gathering after 9/11?

These same internet groups, along with search engines when we allow them to establish cookies, monitor us anyway, and have always monitored us for far less reason. They want to find out what we like and what we buy and to pass that information on to Corporate America. Haven’t you ever asked yourselves how it is that they have any criminal records, our phone numbers, our credit rating, where we are employed, for a price and made available to anyone who pays for the same, or how they can map us exactly to the houses or apartments we live in?

Chat lines, Twitter, internet dating services, and any social media that have chatting, along with Face book,when we try to increase our friends’ list in an attempt to appear popular, know what we say to any number of strangers we include on our friends’ list. Anyone else who is part of that same Star’s, politician’s or new agencies’ repertoire also have access to what you say.

What we don’t know many times is if the name they are using is real or made up because all they need is an email address. Anyone can get those through any number of outlets such as Hotmail, AOL, I-cloud, or G-mail without showing proof of identity. We don’t even know for sure if they aren’t related to News Agencies, terrorists, criminals, or Big business. They do not just have our information and conversations but also have the same of everyone else on our friends’ list and their friends’ list as well. There was a reason our parents told us not to speak to strangers.

Clearly all of us should have known, if not then but certainly by now, that this is going on. We all need to accept as fact; every time we allow a site or search engine to set cookies, we are being monitored as to what we like, buy, or our public record, and what sites we visit.

Our Social sites very well may be monitored by the criminal element, terrorists, or Big Business, if we are angry or disgruntled Americans who promote hate we can be a candidate to be drafted by subversive or hate groups who are often very charming in their agreement with us, if we have a close relative who dies and they need their ID to use as fake ID, if we sound like people who would make good mules to take drugs across the border or into the United States without suspicion of the same, if we announce plane reservations when we are leaving America and when we are returning and even on what flights, we are often telling the World, come get me.

If we promote hate or swear, or brand others with labels, have a felony record, brag about being wiped out, stoned, or getting drunk, or put nudity in Social venues or on-line and talk about deviant sexual behavior, it can be used as a reason to fire us for our views or behavior. It can also be used as a legal reason as to not hire us in the private sector, when we are qualified in every other way, by Big Business. Americans talk entirely too much about their personal lives and research facts way too little, in life, on cell phones, and on the internet, thinking they some how have anonymity or only their friends can see it.

Government cannot do the same nor can they listen to our conversations but instead they can investigate through phone numbers and internet contacts, any correlation we may have to or with acknowledged and registered hate groups, deviant sexual behavior that is considered criminal, those who have huge potential to turn terrorists through their associations, have legal reasons to be suspected of crime or been found guilty of known criminal activity, or are already known terrorists through gathering of our telephone numbers and internet contacts. This has been the law going back to my farthest memory and way before the establishment of Homeland Security or waaaayy before the establishment of Social media or before the Obama Administration.

Do any of us really mind if government is now doing their jobs more effectively, since too many of us have been too slack in our own behavior of allowing strangers into our lives or our own children on-line? Don’t we need government to monitor or look for that kind of activity in order to keep “We the People”, safe, against our own naivety?

If we want to, instead, become out-raged and believe the media hype and speculation against the Obama Administration and those who protect us; currently being played out by the media, is not for political gain by the conservatives of both parties with strong emphasis on the Tea Party and like members of the GOP in 2014, then what can I say more, than I have already said? Not much. Have a good weekend everyone, knowing no one has the time or hours to spend listening to the mundane subjects and conversations, the great majority of us talk about or are forced to listen to, now or at any time in our lives.

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Are Children REALLY Flexible?

This has been previously published by me but it does us all well to be reminded in the current environment that our children need to be made aware that we adults are always fighting for their need to feel secure and safe.

Sadly there are too many adults who claim to be representing the best interest of our children while neglecting the most innocent amongst us. I will continue to post reminders, every once in awhile, just as I did this post ,previously, until we all know that all of our children are safe:

I’ve heard it for years now that “children are flexible” and I have always wondered about the truth in the belief. It is true that children are more accepting than adults. At least in the beginning years of their lives.

Watch children playing at a playground side by side and one can readily see their acceptance of each other. They play together by playing around each other without really communicating. They reach the same place at the same time and one will instinctly go under while one goes over or one will squeeze to the side or stand back and let another pass without ever communicating the direction that each will take.

It is only later, say in about the 9th year of their life that they appear to start noticing the differences between themselves. Much of the cruelty we see in children comes from the environment of their own homes and is spread through out the school grounds or on school buses. I doubt that acceptance and flexibility are the same. I believe that children effected by trauma are no different from adults who are effected by trauma. We see so many obese children, with some being diet related, but isn’t there also the possibilty that children are stuffing their feelings down with comfort food no different from what adults do?

I know adults who have no memory of their childhood because they have learned to block it. Is it a learning that started in childhood where they began blocking trauma so have no memory of it as adults? Do quiet children who go off and play while saying little to nothing of their trauma as accepting as what we are made to believe. If so why do the symptoms of the same often wait to express themselves in suppressed memories through health problems decades later?

The medical field sees children younger and younger who are suffering from anxiety, stress related illness, psychosis, and other ailments considered adult related in the past. The arguments stand, “it is just a better ability to diagnose earlier.”

If so is that a symptom of children suffering their traumas in silence in years past? Children go into denial and start fanatasizing a better life for themselves, where abuse is present, and isn’t that in truth the same behavior we see in adults when their life doesn’t work according to what their plans for themselves were in their youth? Did this behavior begin in childhood and then just got set aside temporarilly when things appeared to be working for the adults who then switched to denial to justify why their dreams did not come true, later?

If children are so flexible then why do children of alcoholics grow up to be alcoholics? Why do children of abusers grow up to abuse? Why do children of drug users grow up to use drugs? Why do children of batterers grow up to batter? Why do sexually abused boys sexually abuse as men while sexually abused girls become promiscuous?

Many times there are a great deal of withdrawal symptoms in form of social developement in all of these children. It is not unusual that parents instead determined their child to be shy, emotionally immature, or sadly too often, “they are just happy normal children” when that is so far from the truth. I understand that none of these patterns of behavior are set and true in all children of parents that behave badly. Sometimes the children will actually use their parent’s behavior as a pattern as to how not to behave. We refer to it as learned behavior or environmental but isn’t it also possible that it is as a result of trauma in infancy or childhood and in truth our children are not so flexible, after all?

I maintain that unless, we as a Society, get over the idea that children are flexible and start paying more attention to them, when they do speak, that we will ultimately be inviting government into every facet of our lives. If we want laws that protect us, we must first begin with our children in order to eliminate the need of government in lesser degrees, in our lives later.

The long and short of laws and government is that if “we the people” are doing our job and accepting our responsibility then there is never a need for government to intrude into our lives. My experience has always been that government is an asset to all of us who pay our taxes, bills, take care of what we can afford and follow the laws of our States. When we can’t we should never be ashamed for asking our government for a hand up because many others are just a pay check away, themselves, from having to ask government for help. I have never seen the person who complained about their taxes going to the hungry who did not have to learn that lesson as well.

As long as children continue to be used as pawns amongst divorcing parents. Ignored, neglected, or bought off by the self-centered. Severely abused by the irresponsible, spiteful, or mean spirited parents, adults, or care givers or left to go hungry by the narcissistic personalities amongst us; then we are opening up the flood gates of government to move into all of our living rooms.

If any of those words seem to be harsh then consider yourself what words you would use when it comes to abusing an innocent child, neglecting a child because a parent ignores the child’s emotional needs over their own, or an adult believes children with less opportunity should be left to die of starvation? We all must realize our own responsibility or take a position on how to deal more effectively with the most innocent amongst us, if we truly consider ourselves human. If Americans cannot be grateful and give back then WHO? Luckily, most Americans do understand and realize that their own success has been as a result of generosity and opportunity.

Too often over-worked and under paid Children Protective Services only return these children to dysfunctional homes so they are offended again. When I think of some of the foster care homes that I have known, personally, I shudder. I do understand that in many cases they are a God-send over the abusive homes many of these children come from, just as well. As a Nation we should not have to be dealing with children in adult Courts on charges of murder. We need to do better for our children.

I leave it up to all of us, Do we really think that children are flexible or should we as a community be doing more to help or do we need to continue with the “mind my own business” theory that has ran the way of thinking for generations? The other thought that I will leave everyone with is,”How can we acknowledge that neglect, abuse and battering is happening” as long as we deny that it happened to us?

Doesn’t the responsibile amongst us have an obligation to help those who won’t take responsibility, when it comes to child care or do we wait until government enters our living rooms and then gripe about government being there?

Doesn’t it ultimately, become the responsibility of all of us to have less rather than more government in our lives? It is amazing how many of us never do have to deal with government once we pay our fair share of taxes, live according to law, and only deal with government when we collect our earned pension, GI Benefits, or Social Security checks. It isn’t like government is breathing down the backs of those who give of their time and good fortune, show children our love and develop responsibility through example, while obeying the laws of our States and Nation.

Why are so many Conservatives and Tea Party members, today, so disgruntled over healthcare for those who most need it, housing and Agricultural food surpluses provided for the homeless and hungry, early childhood education that often does mean the difference between pass or fail in our children? Why do they profess family values while they attempt to eliminate the size of government that provides for these needs if they are living the same moral convictions that is common in all of the rest of us? Just something to ask ourselves.

Common sense should tell all of us: We do need to put the rules of common decency first for all of our children, if we are to eliminate me first and only as in selfishness, rudeness, crimes, and all other ills of Society before these same children grow up to become adults. Bringing more children into the World to be further mistreated is not the answer for anything other than for using birth-control, unless we are all willing to help those who are already here.

We see and hear every hour on the hour and every day of the week in conversations and on the news, where perhaps our children were not so forgiving and flexible after all, and it shows once they become adults.

When we can have so many great and positive results in children as we do,(Yes including in gay, loving, and single parent homes, where parents compromise). Isn’t it way past time we all maintain the same security for all of our children through better laws to safeguard them and those who fall through the holes?

Why don’t we demand that our elected officials take the fact that 1/3 of all children in America die from guns in the home, while one child dies of hunger or hunger related diseases every 5 minutes in America, and education is the way out of poverty through affordable cost, for the truth and facts that they represent?

Will we vote accordingly to protect our children? Will we ever accept total responsibility of all of us, as an obligation to the safety and well being of all children, if not in name then in concern; whoever they are and wherever they live? It begins with one person at a time until we hear the voices of justice rising from all of the adult population amongst us. Too many have relied too long on the belief, ” Children are Flexible.”

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Jodi Arias And Arizona Law

I’ll put my two cents into the fray as this case over many others, seems to me, to have captured the Nation’s attention and taken on a life of it’s own to a maniacal level. It also is the longest running trial in the history of Arizona.

I am always amazed by the hate that comes from people when a liar and a murderer is put on trial. Despite what the pundits may think about Jodi Arias’ defense team they gave her an iron clad case that will stand up against any appeals some other defense team may try to file, on appeal. We forget that this is the job of any Defense attorneys under the law. When the evidence was so clearly stacked against Jodi and her lies, it became even more important that a defense team put on an aggressive defense. To do anything less would only come back and hurt the Alexander family even greater.

When a criminal is given less than a stellar defense team, there are too many times when the family will be subjected to more heart-ache and suffering with a brand new trial, if the defense attorneys are found to be incompetent in defending their clients against crime and especially in death cases. Those of us who do care for the welfare of the victims’ families should hope to see a good defense put on just as we would hope for if we wanted to spare our own families against more heart-ache of a new trial on appeal.

One murder trial for any family is always one too many to have to endure. This was not a time to have a defense team who refused to only question the prosecutor’s findings or to have a lawyer who fell asleep at the trial. The better the evidence as was available at this trial, and put on by the prosecutor’s side,the more of a defense we should want to see offered even though it sometimes may make our skin crawl.

Since I do not hang out with people found guilty of murder you must excuse me if I sound cynical but don’t all murderers lie? I have never heard a murderer confess to the fact they have any memory of the crime, while they are stabbing someone, or a defense attorney who would advise their client to acknowledge the fact that they did, if they did have.

Aren’t all who murder and on trial, defending themselves, arrogant, narcissistic, and sociopaths? Don’t defense attorneys in their efforts to defend these offenders often put the victims on trial in an effort to lessen the punishment of the people they are defending? We all hate that they do but their job in a criminal case is to save the life of their client or to win acquittal. The only people who usually do understand the job of Defense attorneys are the people who are unfairly accused. Didn’t Jodie lie on the stand because of the arrogance that she could convince a jury of her innocence?

Unless a defendant has told so many public lies already, Defense lawyers will not put them on a stand. The more arrogant they are the more they do choose to go against the advice of their lawyers, who are hired to give them Justice under the law. Defense attorneys either buy into the lies and promote the same that was told to them, while adding their own personality and propensity to ignore the facts, or they truly believe their client to be innocent. In many cases they are.

The Defense attorney will also advise those clients who are innocent to take the stand or not to as well, and a jury should never buy into innocence or guilt if the defendant does or does not take the stand. Doesn’t all defense attorneys attempt to degrade the scientific evidence or accuse the police of sloppy handling of the evidence or produce their own opposing evidence, when the client can afford the same ? Don’t all who murder, leave behind loved ones to grieve, their own families included?

So what makes this case so much different from all the other cases of murder to the point that the Jury, who sacrificed greatly of their time away from loved ones who they could not speak to about what was going on in their lives for five months, that they are now receiving death threats from the angry or insane that should be in therapy themselves?

It is not uncommon that jurors do think they can convict someone of the death penalty until they actually are appointed judge and jury and have the life of another person in their hands. Until and when we all acknowledge that it is the insane Arizona Law itself that is responsible for the problem the jury was confronted with, then calmer heads will not prevail.

The facts of life in America are or should be the following:

1. Either we as a Nation accept the fact that our State is a Death Penalty State or we do not. When the majority vote accepts it as the same, then the Judges should Pronounce sentences according the Statutes of the Laws in that State, once the jury finds the offender guilty of first degree murder, even when it does include death penalties.

2. Why Arizona or any other States do decide to keep the Death Penalty and hold the jury responsible for the decision of death when they have already found Jodi Arias guilty of first degree murder with extenuating circumstance of extreme cruelty, is beyond me.

3.The Judges themselves are bound by the Statutes of law in their own States as to how much time the criminal needs to spend in jail with every other crime committed in the United States. Why shouldn’t it also be the judges decisions, once hearing oral arguments from the lawyers, to determine punishment? They are given that freedom when they disagree with the juries decisions on first degree murder anyway, in other States that have the death penalty.

4.Either the States accept the death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment or they establish life imprisonment. Once the voters of the States accept that they want to retain the death penalty and the Prosecutors prove first degree murder with extreme cruelty doesn’t common sense tell all of us that the Jury has served and performed their duties? The defendant becomes the criminal since they have been found guilty in a Court of law by their peers, at this point, and that should be all that is asked of any jury anywhere.

5. Who amongst us could actually send another person to death when our knowledge of the person’s intent and our own interpretation of the law is so overwhelmingly lacking? I don’t think we could find 12 jurors, who do not hate and based on the level of evidence, who could all handle in good faith, the responsibility of killing another human being.

6. We as a Nation who asks our jurors to do just that aren’t understanding the full realm of consciousness that plays a role in asking jurors to do the job that should be worked out between people of law, in my estimation.

Even though Democracy is made up of majority rule we should always understand that States that vote for the Death Penalty are not made up of the same view in 100% of its population. Many of those who never question their ability to find a person guilty and believe they can ask for the death penalty are the first to crumble when placed under the pressure of deciding the fate of another.

The only time we ask our citizens to be 100% in agreement is when they serve on a Jury. It is not very realistic for anyone to believe they are in 100% agreement, when many decisions are made by juries, despite the fact they agree to the same when they are polled. Even twins, married couples, best friends, and siblings are rarely in 100% agreement. It is not unusual for people who serve on juries to suffer nightmares, afterwards, when they were convinced by their own conscious or by others, at the time of the verdict, their decisions were the correct ones.

Jurors are told not to give in to pressure but to vote their own common sense and conscious. Seldom is that allowed to be applied by the time juries end their discussions.

The only way I can perceive that 12 people who are not related to the victims or friends of the same, do not have biases or bigotries with preconceived notions, are not tired of the case after 5 months and want to go home, do not have an axe to grind, or any other negative influences of anger and such, as all objective jurors must be, could all in good faith,100% of the time find the death penalty against another human being would be:

1. If they were bullied into the same as they often are
2. If they were tired of listening to another person on the jury
3. If they discounted guilt or innocence because the person on trial or the defense attorney did not present themselves well.
4. If they were made to feel their point of view was stupid or foolish
5. If they are a crowd pleaser
6. If they are too shy or intimidated to speak up for what they believe
7. If they vote out of empathy for the victim’s family over interpretation of the law
8. If they went into the discussions liking the prosecution team better and believing that Prosecutors are always more ethical and honest than are Defense Attorneys
9. If they felt that the defendant would not be on trial unless they are guilty
10.If the evidence against the extenuating circumstances and pleas of the families over-rides the interpretation of the law, which is always subjective, when left to self-interpretation by juries who are not trained in law
11,If they just plain do not like the defendants and want to find them guilty
12.If they made up their minds of guilt before the trial and ending arguments were heard
13.If they believe, “an eye for an eye”, when that has never applied to the law in any State and is not part of any jury instructions,EVER
14.If their own feelings for sparing life is not over-weighed by their feelings of death being justified under any and all circumstances in murder cases
15.They are sick of the case and blame the defense attorney or the prosecutors the most for prolonging it, regardless
16.If in very remote cases the Defendant ask their attorney not to present evidence but instead to ask for the death penalty during the penalty phase of the case.
17.On equally rare occasions, the jurors all are unanimous in the belief that there is absolutely no reason that the Court should show mercy due to a difficult childhood, mental illness, or up-bringing even when the judges inform them that this needs to be taken into consideration during their discussions in the penalty phase prior to reaching a unanimous verdict

People do murder in approximately one third of all murder cases after having a child hood of loving parents and pampered lives,and in these murder cases 100% verdicts of asking for death are made simpler for jurors who can do so in clear conscious, just as they can for those very rare times that the murderer asks for the death penalty. Approximately one third of all murders are committed by people who were never disciplined as children or told “No”, they could not have something when they were children.

These murderers were never made to take responsibility for their own actions or behavior. In the case of neglect we can find a child who grows up feeling unloved and unworthy of the important values of life. A good defense attorney will evoke sympathy of the jurors for these clients even though it is a more difficult of a job to do so with many juries, when physical or sexual abuse or mental illness are absent.

It is the job of Defense Attorneys to attempt to evoke sympathy for their client during the penalty phase of a trial, usually through witnesses or family members. If the defense attorneys do not present an earnest effort during this phase of the trial,the clients can prove ineffective representation in some cases when on appeal.

Some clients are such loners or reprehensible the attorney alone will fight for the client since no one else will speak for them, the client wants to spare their own families and doesn’t want anyone else to speak for them, or the client does ask for the death penalty themselves. When a lack of defense is offered during the penalty phase, unless requested by the clients, and the case is repealed because of it, a new trial can be ordered making it necessary for the victims’ families to have to go through the same kind of agony that only a case of murder can bring with it.

Could those of us who have suffered abuse or have family members afflicted with mental illness totally disregard mercy for those who suffered from either or both 100%, realistically, even knowing their crime showed extreme cruelty? Jurors who agree to totally disregard mercy towards abusive upbringing or mental illness as a reason to find in favor of the death penalty a 100%, without understanding case study in law, are not by nature equipped to do so.

Sadly, the other previously acknowledged 15 factors on the list of 17 above scenarios, happen too often in juries. For that reason alone, it should be the biggest argument for why Judges should determine the penalty phase once the defendant has been found guilty by their peers in a court of law.

Lawyers always work out the penalty phase and agree on sentencing, and a Judge accepts the penalty, in first degree murder cases when a murderer pleads guilty. Why should it be any different once a defendant is found guilty by their peers in a Court of law? Judges have been given that discretion, even when Jurors are asked to decide death in the penalty phase in Capital Death States, elsewhere. There has already been plenty of precedence set for Judges to over-rule the decisions of jurors made during the penalty phase, for many years now. Shouldn’t we ask ourselves in a Capital murder case, when judges are all bound by preceding law,”Why” jurors are asked to decide death in Capital Murder? .

This jury acted exactly as it should have and should be congratulated for their efforts to seek justice. If more of us made an effort to understand what is expected of a Death Penalty Jury we would either change our own States to life in imprisonment without parole or acknowledge that this jury, unlike many others showed all of us that they do know more than most when it comes to finding Justice under the law according to their own conscious.

I am always amazed by those who call themselves Christian, and then turn around and support the worse that is seen in juries over the best that is seen, as this one has demonstrated the best of juries. It is nice to see that Arizona can still put together a jury of justice despite some of its’ other more inane or insane laws. I think the whole fascination with this entire case should leave us all shaking our heads, to be honest. My prayers are with the Alexander and Arias Families. God Bless you!

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400,000 Rape Kits Unprocessed

I wrote an earlier post on the rape of Steubenville, Ohio, being treated as an isolated incidence when in truth the fault lies amongst all of us who do not respond, as we should, against the crime of rape.

The news agencies are reporting the cases are old and obsolete and the technology we have today wasn’t available. I’m sure there is truth in that but it doesn’t explain the cases that happened much more recently and as recent as 4 months ago. I will report what I have read and been told many times by those who do serve in police Departments going back many years. What we will never hear reported is that a great deal of politics also lies behind the fact that the rape kits were not sent in to be processed.

To be honest, I did not watch the report done on CNN who brought it to the media attention that 400,000 rape kits were left unprocessed in our Nation. I did watch as one of the women anchors asked, “if the police could be prosecuted or sued for leaving the rape kits unprocessed?” In my own estimation this question, itself, is just more of the finger-pointing and simplifying that is done towards the crime of rape in America.

There are any number of reasons as to why police do not process rape kits, so lets be honest about it. Too many amongst us already take too much delight in finding fault or individuals to blame. I do not understand why police, who for the most part are people of honor, do put in the back breaking hours that too many times ruin their marriages, take them away from their family time and vacations, risks their lives, and often are the most under-paid amongst us, when those amongst us keep finding fault, except for the fact that the majority of the people who serve are people of character. When we point fingers and “pass the buck”, we can at the very least spread the fault out where it belongs.

There are other instances in America where the mayor gets called by the father or mother of the son, or by an alumnus who supports the sports program of their alma mater when the rapist is an athlete, friend, or family member and the Mayors pick up the phone and inform the Chief-of-Police that he will not allow his officers to investigate the crime or process the rape kits or suffer the consequences when it comes to him withdrawing his and his buddies’ monetary support during the upcoming elections.

The Chief of Police then passes the message down the line of command. Rarely is it in that terminology but the words used amount to the same definitions and do not go left unheeded when delivered by those of Status, Power or Wealth.

All these cases did not occur in Chicago, as many are trying to politicize, already. They are spread around the Nation. Just as the Mayors in some cases make the calls, so do Judges receive like calls as do prosecutors have a history of never prosecuting cases after the Police put hours into investigating the crimes and processing the kits; due to similar calls by the elitists in America with threats of withdrawal or support of monetary value at election time. The police are at the bottom of the chain of command, no matter how many would have us believe they are given a great deal of discretion, when it comes to processing rape kits. Intimidation lands the hardest on the backs of the police officers when they are threatened with dismissal if they proceed with the investigation.

If it is some one of importance that can directly influence the jobs of the police, lower their standing in the Department, or demote them to desk jobs then they do not have discretion to process rape kits and anyone who refuses to acknowledge this happens throughout police Depts. regardless of size through out our Nation then we are lieing to ourselves. The same organizations or media who are not reporting accurately, in regards to why rape kits are not processed, are also reporting less than the facts.

The bosses who will lose the political support of the benefactor if they do prosecute or don’t drop the cases are the ones who tie the hands of the police’ in directly much larger cases than it is right to do so. The police many times can only keep the kits until a better or different climate towards the understanding of the “horror” of rape is elected to office by “We the People.”

There are those who are called the “Good Old Boys”, in many but not all Police Departments, in the majority of States who know if its an appointed or elected position and a member of the Clergy or their sons then it is just the girl’s/Woman’s word against the boys/man’s word and they will and do bury rape kits. Without the investigation or rape kits the knowledge is the victims can prove nothing. The only reason many of those kits have been saved is because in many other crimes or cases the police or prosecutors are waiting for the right political climate to be able to prosecute the offenders.

In communities when it comes to the so called “right kind of People”, being charged with rape the Community itself becomes out-raged if the police or prosecutors do try to convict rapists.

As a Nation, too many amongst us still refuse to accept that wives and prostitutes as well as mistresses are indeed raped. Others in a community still refuse to accept the high number of boys who are raped and, often times, refuse to accept that incest and rape exists in the numbers of victims it does in their own families and neighborhoods or amongst their friends.

When the culture exists for adults to call friends “aunties” or “uncles” too many parents will accuse their own children of lying before they will accept that they are telling them the truth. The most protected criminals of all in a community still remains the star athletes, clergy, and “one of their own”. The unfounded belief, that is totally void of fact, is that the streets are the greatest producer of rapists and that rape does not happen in our own back yards by people we know when statistics show just the opposite to be true.(Please Read my Previous Post entitled ,”Steubenville Exposes The Ugly Truth On Rape” for a more comprehensive study as to why rape cases go unrecognized and prosecuted as the Serious Crime it is.)

Some States that are more inclined to be involved in the realities of, “the truth in reporting”, and the life-long seriousness of rape, have jettisoned into the twenty-first Century by taking away the statute of limitations when it comes to the crime of rape. Many others are still living in the dark ages as technology no longer leaves any shred of doubt as to who is telling the truth. Unless the majority of us get past the mentality of “Boys will Be Boys” and instead insist that regardless of the standing in the community; “rapist are not to be allowed special favors,” we all risk re-raping the victims in every State of the Union.

I applaud those who are at least exposing the Ugly truth of Rape but unless we as a Nation tell, “The whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth”, in a Court of Law and in reporting rape, we still bind the hands of the police or those who would prosecute rape.

I do not deny that there are crooked cops just as their are those in Universities and the military who have denied that rape exists in their ranks for generations. It is when we start pointing our fingers at the heroes of all who serve, while blaming them for the rotten apples, we become as guilty as the politicians when it comes to trying to sweep the full tragedy and facts of rape under the rug.

No matter what changes are made in the law, we still run the risk of tying the hands of the police hired to serve us when we refuse to elect those who will and do prosecute rape.

Certainly electing Conservative and Tea Party Members who try to call a child” borned of Rape”, the intent of God or those who pass bills in Congress to define rape as anything but; ” When A woman or child says “NO”, it is rape. When it is a child below the age of 14 to 16 it is always rape since they do not have the brain development to give consent regardless of the situation. When children or women have been drugged, abused, intimidated, forced into having sex it is rape”. When the largest majority of all rapes occur by neighbors, friends, family, or colleagues and we know incest is rape; then who is it that needs to be protected by defining rape? The victims as well as anyone above the age of six already knows the definition of rape

Rape isn’t anything too complicated to define when we get past those who would protect the rapists or the “Right Kind Of People.” Nothing a little common sense and decency couldn’t solve. The solution certainly isn’t to blame those whose hands we help to tie.

None of us like to admit that perhaps we, ourselves, made a mistake when we voted for a candidate and as a result we often leave them in office year after year feeling as though they are responsible for correcting the mistakes they promised to do when elected and then our responsibility is over with as our elected officials will speak for us.

In too many cases when judges are appointed or Sheriffs, and Prosecutors come up for re-election, especially, will they get left in offices before much investigation is done by us, unless they themselves are convicted of crimes or a petition is started up against their ineffectiveness. As a result some will remain in offices doing little to nothing for those of us who sent them there while paying homage to the elitists, year after year. We cannot complain if we deny or ignore the fact that the same happens and simply shrug our shoulders and simply accept the fact:” that is just the way it is.”

“We The people”, only need to be more pro-active about being honest with ourselves when it comes to rape as well as the people who we put into office to represent us,by treating every human being with an equal amount of truth and respect and demanding that all who serve, do the same when technology does not lie. Politics are almost always local and a healthy amount of skepticism, for those who we elect or leave to appoint to office, is almost always good to possess despite those who would advise us to the contrary.

We can also vote the bums out when they profess ignorance because rape hasn’t been defined clear enough. When we become pro-active enough to recognize fact over lies and when we go to the polls each election cycle, we empower the victims so they do not suffer rape again at the hands of the system.

I hope all of us have a nice evening at home tuning in on this terribly violent day of storms. May we all be protected against more devastation that is out of our control while we tune in more to positive actions towards helping those who continue to be wronged by acknowledging their pain. We can make a difference one person at a time, once we commit to the same. First of all we have to want to help.

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In Response to Douglas Wagaman of FB

In my post entitled “Ted Nugent is a Coward and An Idiot”, my opening paragraph made no bones about my stooping to the level of name calling but when the shoe fits, I stated “I am no different from the masses when it comes to doing so.”

When an American citizen of privilege such as Tea Partier Ted Nugent, stops just short of telling an organized body steeped in hatred towards our President,” that justice and assassination are the same”, after acknowledging he deliberately went to the bathroom in his pants for a month straight to get out of the draft, then that person in any book should be called an idiot and a coward regardless of the Party affiliation of our President and who the acting President is in The United States of America.  I do not believe that to be a long shot in opinion amongst any of us who are truly dedicated to American Decency and Democracy.

I normally do not answer my critics but anytime I get a chance to educate the American public I will take time to do so.  Douglas Wagaman on face book said in regard to my post of the above title and I quote it here:  “I had to laugh when I read this piece.  The author complains about hate, racism, and rhetoric while using the term “redneck” over and over to describe the people with different beliefs and values.  Nicely done. Lol “

When I read that quote by Douglas Wagaman on Face book, I smiled to myself and thought,” clearly Douglas and friends do not know any true Rednecks.” If I hadn’t of spent so many years, myself, living around bordering States and in the vicinity of and amongst true Rednecks and listening to their conversations while watching their behavior, I would have thought exactly as you did, Douglas. Every time I tried to get an individual who promoted the negative views I reported in my post to understand a different perspective all I ever heard back was, ” I am a Redneck and proud of it.” I would estimate over the years, I made that attempt close to a hundred times on at least as many different people or maybe even more.

I am not a shy violet who is afraid to take on controversy. Since I had the experience and heard their beliefs repeated endlessly I am able to clearly define them as Rednecks, since that is how they wish to define themselves.

In other parts of the Nation people who have had the experience of associating with extremists views may be just as justified in calling the same mentality, who profess racism or gay bashing, as Tea Party or Patriot militants, white extremists, or any number of names who would represent similar views. Terminology just like our diet and food favorites vary greatly in the different cultures across America. I should have known better and explained clearer the definition of a true redneck in my neck of the woods. 

These many differences in how we view ourselves and the World becomes very prominent to all of us who do make a point of exposing ourselves to different cultures and beliefs while educating ourselves in the Diversity across America. None of us will ever get it 100% correct, myself included, as the differences of our experiences that teach us remain personal with too many amongst us, but at the very least, 100% of us can commit to the efforts of understanding the diversity that is America and the foundation of Democracy.

When others would define Democracy, with empathy for all, as Socialism and place billboards and handmade signs throughout areas in bordering States, in my neck of the woods, then the least any of us can do is to educate ourselves on the value system of Democracy while our troops continue to place themselves in harms way for the betterment of all of us to live free of the practice of such self serving discourse. Democracy committed to a better life for all is not now nor will it ever be, Socialism.

I, myself,am willing to bet the great majority of Americans would agree; America was never intended to be a Country with a ruling class of elitist served by the lower working class of workers minus an entire middle class. That idea was promoted and pushed during the 1800′s during the Industrial Revolution of the North.

The Rockefellar bosses hired Pennington Guards to shoot and kill any Union organizers and workers who tried to come in and help the workers’ circumstances and wages improve. They knew full-well without government to protect the people they could never be held responsible nor would such behavior be called a crime by the elitists who ruled America at the time. It would not be until after World War 2 that America would have a viable middle class thanks to the GI program and Democrats Roosevelt’s and Truman’s Administrations.

As the size of that middle class now dwindles and more people fall into poverty in America, due to those who would promote the idea or misconception of reality that a just health care system and wages are Socialism, while using propaganda and scare tactics, the majority of us do feel; it is a double disgrace to both the American people and those who served and continue to serve in the name of Democracy.

When we become complacent ourselves and start believing that paid for and earned rights are not our rights often paid for with dollars, blood, sweat, sacrifice, and tears but instead accept the politicians beliefs to use those rights,( in an effort to disgrace us) in the negative connotations of the word “entitlements”, then all Americans lose. Just as the John Birch Society who ran Barry Goldwater’s campaign in the 1960s believed Democracy was not the intent of our Founding Fathers so do many who call themselves Patriot groups along with many in the Tea Party, today, believe the same rhetoric.

Grover Norquist was an aide under Barry Goldwater and a big supporter of the John Birch Society. Today he has a think tank that he funnels money through to Conservative and Tea Party candidates. No Republican can get elected without first going through Grover Norquist. Every Republican must sign a pledge not to raise taxes on the elitists or lose their bid for office but Grover gave his o.k. to raise taxes on the middle class. Without our minds, hearts and eyes wide open the future of America does lie in the hands of those who would appoint themselves as elitists. How many of us think that anyone but the Conservative and Tea Party members and their paid for media were really upset when IRS decided to check out these groups tax free exemption?

We fought the biggest and most deadliest war, in our history, called the Civil War, for Democracy. We have throughout History lost many of our brave young men and women in defense of oppression against our allies around the World. Few Families, other than perhaps many of the elitists, have been spared from either serving in the name of Democracy or suffered deaths of War. The Civil War established that America would not tolerate oppression of the Constitution and of it’s people. As A Nation founded on the principle of equality for all under our Constitution we would be a Nation of Free people and that is what was the intent of our Founding Fathers all along.

It would not be until the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1971 that minorities and women would be given the full rights under the law and both are still having to fight the Tea Party and Conservatives for those equal rights yet in 2013. Do we really have to ask if it is truly wrong to suggest that other beliefs and value systems may still be unjust in a Country that prides itself on having the best Democracy in the World?

Although I do not agree with the politics of the Deep South either, it does not prevent me from looking forward to their gracious hospitality each time I travel there. I find the people who live in the region, in many incidences, to be the mirror of what the rest of us should look into once we remove the politics from the fray. I find much more prejudice exists in the North, East Coast, Mid West, Bread Basket and intermingled to too large of a degree in the South West and West Coast than what is apparent in the South each time I visit. I have always enjoyed the Diversity of Americans and view it as one of the greatest selling tools that makes up American Democracy.

Government and bureaucracy does some times move much to slow and becomes bogged down in it’s own muck and mire but for the greater part it is the greatest defender of Democracy. While we gripe about one department or the other of government, because as individuals, too many amongst us only approve of the laws that help us but hate those who protect others we too often forget about the greater services we all need through our government. Without its protection many of us would be left defenseless against hate, and the safety and welfare of our Nation’s needs, and Just protection under the law for All Americans.

As a group of people we need to remember that it is the actions of government that keeps us all safe against the greater destruction of oppression and those who promote isolation through hate. “We the People”,simply need to replace those elected officials who serve their own needs over the needs of the American people until they do understand how serious our needs are for all of us committed to the purpose of Decency and Democracy. If we don’t vote then we will always be the losers to those who would deny us our rights under the law.

I, personally, encourage everyone who have pre-conceived notions without the facts to educate themselves on the differences that make our Nation great. I certainly do not applaud nor will I ever support those who would subject their hatred and rhetoric on to other American citizens while using fear tactics in the process.

What I have found to be true once I let go of my own pre-conceived notions is that there are a great deal of commonalities that do exist amongst all of us when we make the effort to accept our differences and to rid ourselves of our own ignorance that is behind most hate. I have no doubt that all of us who look for unity will find that the goodness in the American people does out-weigh the hate that we hear. As is true, too many times, the good often gets buried under the manufactured or bad news that gets reported.

Unfortunately no one knows or understands better than the well financed and powerful political machines at work in America who often hide behind Social Ideology or Religious Freedom, when they are anything but political, that the actions of, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”, have proven itself to be true since the beginning of mankind. We find these political entities, backed by their own media, while they deliberately drive the wedge not just between the American people but also in the GOP that blames our President for the lack of their own Leadership or ability to compromise in their own Party, in Congress specifically, but also at work amongst us in our own environment.

Believe me ,Douglas, the term ”redneck”, is not one of my own.  The true redneck believes as I stated they do in my post entitled “Ted Nugent is an Idiot and a Coward,” in my neck of the woods. 

Just as the White Supremacists, Skin Heads, and members of any other hate groups who number in the 1000 plus range in America and who think of themselves as victims or superior to other races or sexual orientations are proud to be a member of their group so is a true Redneck proud to be a Redneck. 

They are equally as proud of their belief system, racial slurs and gay bashing.  I did not pigeon-hole the Redneck belief system nor their long held beliefs against change and diversity in my area of the Nation. I did not make up this belief system but instead the people involved did it long before I wrote my post and I only reported the same.

Like any other group that takes pride in defining themselves the true redneck does as well. They do make up part of the culture of America. They like all other groups pigeon-hole themselves into the narrow views that exist amongst them just as the radical members of both the NRA and or any other group who believe they are superior to others or victims of another instead of working towards the goal that is satisfactory to all of us.

Democracy embraces all of us who do try to correct the injustices amongst us through positive efforts of all of us working together for the common goal. To pretend this is the goal of those who practice hate or those who try to divide our commonality or respect for each other, is to lie to ourselves and to live in a world of fantasy or denial.

A true redneck sincerely does believe that the Democrat Party is made up of entirely Liberals who are intent on taking away their guns.  Their belief system is exactly what makes them easy prey to the NRA and subversive groups whose only job is to divide the American people.  Anyone insulted to be called a Redneck is truly not a Redneck. 

Some, amongst us may think the people who act like cave men or have not advanced to the twenty first century and feel that women rights are not suppose to be equal to the rights of the white male, are “rednecks” but in many of these examples we will find people who have religious convictions that drive their thinking and they are not in truth officially “Rednecks.”

Many included in this group may have similar beliefs when it comes to husband and wife roles but their beliefs stem instead from the verses of the Bible that says, “Wives should be obedient to and beholding to their husbands.” Not all but in a lot of instances, we will find that they are absent of hate or bigotries.

Those who are not or would divide the Faithful, are many times worse than those who make no pretentions of the fact that their hatred and bigotry are volatile. Those who hide themselves behind conservative or Tea Party values in the name of family values, yet with political endeavors in mind, are often more subtle but equally disruptive to the Democracy of America.

I have friends who, I agree to disagree with, who have joked about themselves as being “Rednecks” who have some of the same beliefs but they are totally against the NRA rhetoric and propaganda and would never support the NRA’s rant because even as members they are 100% of the belief, ” That the only people who have to be concerned about having to register a gun or go through checks are probably the people who should never own one.”

I do hope this educates everyone who had the misconception that I was placing blame where done existed, generalizing about a group of people who believe or behave differently from what I reported , or name calling anyone other than Ted Nugent and the NRA leadership in my post. 

I repeat the statements I made in the post are typical beliefs and behavior of the true “Rednecks”, who are only one of many groups who make up the cultural climate of America. Anyone who is insulted by being called a redneck is not in truth probably one but perhaps one who can relate to the same on some level. 

A true redneck is proud of being called a redneck as they see their views as the only acceptable views.

I have said many a time that hatred is bred in and out of ignorance so if this helps educate in regards to just one of the many groups’ beliefs and behaviors then I feel that I have done some good by exposing them. Sadly the same Republican majority who accept this mentality into Their CPAC conventions learned nothing when the American people sent them the clear message that we will not tolerate division or dismissal of the other 47% of Americans amongst us. I hope you join me in making the message loud and clear that Democracy and decency belongs to all of our people in America.

I appreciate that you took out your time, Douglas, to read my post and I do hope you learned something from it. Sadly, the beliefs of the true Rednecks are growing in numbers and shared beliefs and those of us who know the difference need to be the buffer of resistance against such stereo typing and hatred that continues to grow amongst too many of the groups with like beliefs and hatred against any group or individual Americans who do not wish us harm.

The truly honorable and brave amongst us have not dedicated their lives to the cause of elitism, hate, or class warfare but rather to the cause of Democracy. It does us all well to remember that when we celebrate Memorial Day with our loved ones and decorate the graves of those who died and risked their lives so that all of us could have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without regard to Race, Gender, Creed, Color, or Sexual Orientation.

During this time of great sorrow and travail in our Country, may we all gain a moment of strength and courage as well as be inspired by those Americans who come from all walks of life and diversity, who serve and have served all of us both well and unselfishly. The real heroes’ amongst them risk their most precious gift of life for the rights of All Americans to enjoy the true Blessings of complete and total Freedom from oppression. Thank you! God Bless us all. God Bless America.

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The Irrational NRA Leadership

When Wayne LaPierre, Vice President of the NRA held his press conference today, and got up to speak I got so sick to my stomach of his propaganda that I hate to write this post drawing attention to his speech.  If I don’t talk about it and point out just how severely insensitive the man was then, I like to many others will let that type of mentality pass off to those who do not know the heart of the American citizen, think his brand of callousness lies in the hearts of the majority of Americans.  As expected he blamed everyone but the NRA. Politicians politicizing it, demonic behavior, gun free school zones as an advertisement for the disturbed,video games, the lack of guards in our schools, the entertainment industry and the media.

If anyone read my post yesterday entitled,”Why Do We Lead The World In Suicide’ then you know I pointed out the cultural differences that we all must share in and the responsibility we all must take to keep our children safe.  We do not need guns in schools because they offer a false sense of security to those who carry a gun.  They also offer a challenge to those like Timothy McVeigh who went to a bomb where armed guards were, instead.

The facts are that the majority of us who own a gun will not and cannot shoot to kill another human being and we will either freeze up when called on to do so or we will shoot wildly into a crowd and kill more innocent people. Even policemen, who are trained to use a gun, know to shoot their guns is the last possible choice they have to make,since we have an established record of collateral damage and more lives lost as a result of having to use a gun in a crowd, throughout our History. Armed guards in banks and air ports know not to shoot where people are gathering.  The guards only end up being another victim when a person enters the space or establishment and far more guards are killed in businesses,Court Houses, or banks than are armed robbers, because they do not want to harm the innocent around them.

I don’t know what kind of sick home Wayne LaPierre grew up in or raised his children in but his statement that,” today’s children will see 16,000 murder scenes by the time they reach the ripe old age of 18,” is so totally inaccurate that if it wasn’t such a serious subject it would be laughable.  Movies of sexual or violent content are rated in America and children who do not have an ID of proof of age cannot get into a PG13 or R rated movie.  I know that to be a fact, even when they are accompanied by an adult.

I don’t doubt there are irresponsible parents who could care less about the movies their children watch at home but to declare them as the norm is totally adding salt to the wound of parents who do not allow their children to watch these movies or play these games.  Many homes have controls on their computers and televisions that will not allow the viewing of these shows and television warns adults when something is not appropriate or wrong for children to watch as well.  Even our news programs will place a warning prior to showing it.

Facts number two are that the very same movies named and the very same video games that Wayne LaPierre named play in Countries like Britain and Japan and are the very same video games played in both Countries. A ten-year study shows that they do not influence children to kill but violence in a home acted out by parents can and does. The Industrial or Civilized Nations have as much porn and as many people who prostitute.  They work to buy and over spend as well.  All the same things we have in our culture they have as well.

Britain and Japan are as civilized and advanced as we are and have the same kind of Democracies as we do. Britain’s Military is as strong as our own. The prices and costs in Japan are extravagant along side of what we pay for the same. The raining London skies and the Cramped Tokyo Apts. lead to as much depression and thoughts of suicide in these Countries as much as they do in our own but they do not stigmatize mental illness the way we do. They have free treatment facilities where anyone who is suffering from mental illness or delusional thinking can get help free, at any hour.

What separates all other advanced or civilized Countries from the United States is they do not have a powerful lobbyist that has brain washed gun enthusiasts into believing that the right to own a gun is a higher right than the right for people to be able to live.  When murder happens they do not have a Wayne Lapierre blaming everyone and everything else but themselves for the murders in their Country because they have gun laws that lessen those deaths.  Britain averages 600 murders per year in total and Japan has practically none while the United States has 18,000 suicides or 32,000 murders per year.

The facts are that no other civilized Nation tolerates the mentality that the NRA has and the irrational thinking that they hold nor do they use the lies or the scare tactics and the despicable words the NRA uses to blame everyone but themselves. The National Rifle Association leadership, needs to convince gun enthusiasts that everyone else is wrong and they are right otherwise they may lose their own power through lost of membership dues.

They are amongst the most powerful lobbyists in the Nation and no conservative politician from either the Democrat or the Republican Party can get elected without the support of the NRA.  Other Countries refuse to fight murder and suicide by using guns to protect against guns because they are rational enough to understand that people cannot kill unless they have months of training or are disturbed enough to commit suicide/murder. These certified programs that Texas and Utah like to talk about are three-days of watching videos and training at a gun range while shooting at a target in order to get a certificate to carry a gun in school.

To give teachers and school workers,  in places like Utah and Texas a certificate of completion of  a gun training course does not qualify them for training that allows another human being to fire under threat of gun fire or to kill another human being while looking into the eyes of someone who is just a kid themselves. How much more desensitizing of our behavior towards the power of the gun over the value of life are we going to tolerate in teaching our children, as a Nation, before we yell enough! Do we really want our youngest and most innocent strapped with the knowledge or fear that their teacher or the nice man with a gun or themselves can be killed at any given moment?

Teachers are trained to keep our children safe and we want their thoughts to go first towards protecting our children, over running in fear or stopping to kill. Teachers who care are not trained to kill the next young man who walks into the building armed to shoot. Many times they are students or past students of theirs and they are not going to be able to shoot to kill.  It is irrational thinking on our part to think they can and equally as unfair as to think they should. We may think if it is our lives or the lives of a child we all can shoot to kill but it is pure and literal nonsense. Firing a gun is not like going out to the paint ball course and shooting paint balls at each other. The fear or the need to survive under pressure of assault in the untrained, takes over control of all rational thoughts that we have when our lives are not under threat of danger. We freeze,run, or if we shoot we shoot wildly injuring far more others than lives we save.  Firing at a target is not the same as looking a human being in the eyes and firing.

It takes a well trained or a disturbed mind to do so and even then that trauma follows those who are trained perfectly, the rest of their lives.  Ask any military personnel or policemen how devastating the effects are of taking another life in defense of the Country, is on their lives, even when it is done for a higher honor.  I have lived with the results of those who fought in wars and too many times they are haunted by it forever. Many come home and turn to alcohol just to live past the nightmares that enter their sleeping hours or become workaholics in an effort to forget.  Their marriages and their lives quite often fall apart.

The mistake the media made was to allow that kind of propaganda that is spread across America by the NRA and some of its followers to even be broadcasted. As soon as they knew they had been had by the National Rifle Association they should have shut them off just as they do when a politician says something that is not of their political persuasion.  When this propaganda is spread it only leads to desensitize the minds of those who are already desensitized to the point that it starts making perfectly good sense to them.

No person who hunts wild game, even after hours of target practice, will escape what is known as buck fever. It takes practice to be able to shoot game animals before becoming an accurate enough shot to make the bullet connect with the game animal being shot. Even seasoned bird hunters will experience buck fever when switching to larger game animals.  Buck fever is the name commonly given to the hunter who will both sub-consciously and automatically pull up on their gun when shooting rather than to kill the animal.

It is not an automatic reaction in clear thinking humans to kill with a gun on instinct and it requires months to train people to kill out of a necessity or a higher pursuit of justice. Both the Police Academies and Military training requires men and women shooting blanks or live rounds above the heads of those in the fields to acclimate them to the reality of being able to fire at a human being every bit as much as it takes hours to train humans to remain calm, in order to kill out of necessity in war or when under attack. These are not normal traits that we adapt to on a first reaction under attack.

The guns Mr. NRA said the media is lying about and the politicians are trying to find fame in and that are being politicized hold magazines that leads to massive deaths.  Does it really matter if they are military or assault weapons when they fire in rapid succession?  Don’t they kill just as quickly and destroy the lives of our innocent just as well. They certainly cannot be used for hunting anymore than the ammunition they protect can be used to hunt when its only purpose is to pierce the vests of policemen and police women who are killed in the act of duty by the same.

I have acknowledged that it is our culture and the love of the gun  that needs to share responsiblity with the NRA for gun deaths in America but it does not hold a candle to the deaths that are caused by people arming themselves with a false bravado of thinking they will be able to shoot to kill.   Nothing inspires the fantasy  or gives forth the power to kill more than those who are too meek to murder or encourages those who are disturbed enough to murder faster, than the thrust of a gun. The gun feeds those fantasies in the minds of the disturbed faster than anything else that they can do.

Those who will cause murder have no conscious and we cannot try to rationalize  our minds with theirs. I repeat, people who are armed are killed  far more often by the perpetrators than what the perpetrators are killed. They always have the element of surprise over us and a great many of them do not have the same fear of death because many of them are seeking out suicide by cop.

Guns in the hands of those who are not thinking realistically only offers us a false sense of security that is quickly over taken by the perpetrators. Those who are disturbed do not hear the noises and sounds we hear as many are disturbed or can only hear the voices in their own heads.  They do not even hear the screams around them that make us run out of fear but as soon as we think we can pull a gun and shoot we will be dead with or without our three-day certificate that gives us a license to carry a gun. It is a fact!

I am sick of the hate and the fear tactics of the NRA and if you viewed the same that I did and could not see that expressed yourselves, I can only respond that Americans are much more sicker than I thought.  The NRA fear and propaganda tactics are not only false but they are irrational and have no place in the power that runs America. It sickens me that such trash talk was allowed to be spoken on our media services at a time we are already sicken by the deaths of our innocent, by guns.

Instead of talking about banning ammunition and magazines that only serves to kill humans along with high powerful and assault weapons, Wayne Lapiere and the NRA paid for monkeys successfully changed the subject to arming personnel in our schools where our children would be subjected to even more violence.  Anyone who thinks the bullies or gangs who hang out in some of our schools across America would not find a gun a worthy challenge to be taken, are not being realistic about what really does go on when the disturbed are made to feel powerful behind a gun.

What can I say other than may the Season offer some design of light into the hearts and minds of all of us and may we be infused by the Holy Spirit and Guardian that guides us towards common sense and intelligence to know the difference.  May God help us all in letting the goodness in all of us shine through the insanity of it all. God Bless us and God Bless America.

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Why Do We Lead The World In Suicide?

Today I will offer my own opinion along with established fact that leads me personally to believe what the problem is behind the increase in murder/suicide in America.

We are second in the World in front of other advanced Nations after Montenegro in  percentage of suicides, where such records are kept.  When we think of ourselves as the Nation that people from other Countries want to immigrate to, we have to ask ourselves as to why our suicides are so high?

We  again begin with the N.R.A. interference into gun registration and add to that Americans’ love of the gun and its accessibility to people in America.  When the NRA not only fights against gun laws but also fights against people having to show proof of the lack of mental illness or treatment for depression when buying a gun, then guns end up in the hands of too many people who should never own guns.  They spend millions in litigation to fight privacy laws in favor of gun ownership. With the sponsorship of gun shows by the NRA across the Nation that require no waiting period what-so-ever and the illegal guns of street sales, America is flooded with guns.

Living in the land of guns and honey brings along with it the stress that often goes along with keeping up with the Jones. People do not miss that which they cannot hold,own, or goes unseen in their lives. American workers work longer hours in more extended days straight than any other Nation in the World.  We have fewer and less holiday and vacation days of any other Civilized Nation. We out work all other Nations in the World. Todays’s workers work longer hours than any generation has before them.

A person who struggles to feed their family or to provide basics are not nearly as likely to feel that they are missing out as those who are accustomed to getting what they want over what they need.  If we have paid attention to school shootings at all, we must have noticed that the majority of these children are white males who come from upper middle class or wealthy homes when murder/suicide does occur. It is much easier never to have had it than it is to have had it and to lose.   Americans many times marry their jobs since they spend many more hours on the job than they do at home, and when they find their jobs pulled out from underneath them it can and does trigger murder/suicide in the work place.

We are a Capitalist Society that invests in trade over the needs of the people. We are the only civilized Nation in the World that does not pay the entire healthcare costs of 100% of its people but yet we remain the richest Nation in the World. We  subsidize commerce to a far greater degree than do all other Nations just as our costs of the greatest military in the World cost 10 times more that what the rest of the World combined pays to maintain a defense system.

We live under stress every day of the week and often with wants that we either can’t provide for or feel we need. Many of us have not learned to make sacrifices now in order to enjoy life later. The exposure to goods in America,technology,clothing stores, and all other retail stores leave us wanting or feeling we are being denied.

With the breaking of the backs of our Unions across America by men like Sam Adelson who has vowed millions to eliminate them and the Tea Party Governors along with Republican legislatures  supporting the right to work laws without the same coming up for vote in our States, the middle class are dropping $5500.00 per year. Despite the facts, 47% of the American people who are primarily middle class voted to guard the gate of the 1% by voting Republican in our past elections. Stress in America is the number one killer because of the message driven home by too many for the need to own more, at the expense of the middle class.

When we started closing down mental Institutions because of the absolute abuse that was triggered by the lack of laws protecting our citizens, we went the other way and left our loved ones defenseless when it came to getting help for mental illness.

Previously to closing down the mental Institutions across America and the passage of the Equal rights amendment husbands could declare their wives unfit to raise the children and have her committed without even a record of instability. The husbands word alone was enough and many times he could get a Dr. to agree to the same without even seeing the woman. People who suffered from vision or hearing loss or were slow learners were committed into Institutions.  When the laws were lax towards those who could commit others, so much abuse reigned across America that it led to shutting them all down.

We are now in a cycle where those who are desperate for need of treatment for mental illness cannot get the help they need.  It is too easy to prescribe drugs without any follow-up or counseling.  Some general practitioners along with chiropractors, will prescribe both narcotics and antidepressants that lead to both aggression as well as further anxiety and depression.  In America if a person knows the right people or wants to find someone who will prescribe or supply drugs or guns all things are possible.  It only takes money to get whatever an American citizen wants both legally and illegally.

Even with good counseling and a drug plan that works parents cannot force adult children to remain on their treatment program.  The very symptom of some of the most grievous of diseases that lead to bouts of severe depression is that the patient will be made to feel better and believe that they can quit treatment which only aggravates the disease and makes it worse.

Drugs are readily available in America to both Street people and those who start out life as high achievers.  We are a Country that has a high tolerance for both guns and drugs while our Conservative politicians appear to be against the same with public messages over the years. They in reality will never face off against the lobbyists or the NRA who put millions into their pockets for re-election. Illicit drugs in America makes up 33% of our Gross National Product. Many killings in America are as a result of the flow of illegal drugs and the need to protect the distribution of the same.

We have 17 Republican controlled States that have passed the “Stand Your Ground Laws” with 6 more States discussing arming teachers. Too many amongst us have no concept of the danger of guns because it has been romanticized as part of our culture and of the old Wild West. When these same States are talking about arming teachers they are ignoring that any gun on school property is susceptible to causing collateral damage even in the hands of trained policemen.  They also are denying that even guns that are safe guarded in schools can be easily over taken by the gangs of bullies who often hang out in our school systems and intimidate teachers. When sliding steel pocket doors that close instantaneously and are impenetrable to those who threaten entry  from the outside are being used in facilities across the World the mentality of the American mind instead goes to more guns to protect against guns.

When people who suffer from mental illness are not confined for their own good or their own needs because Insurance Companies refuse to pay and  Obama care is ridiculed and fought against in sectors in fits of rage, then we leave ourselves and our loved ones vulnerable to the stresses and ills along with fits of depression that can and do lead to suicide. Instead of treating our mentally ill and  drug addicts we imprison them.

Any Nation of wealth encompasses people who make comparisons because too many times the politicians themselves will belittle or blame the have-nots while promoting those who have. The Republican Party appeared to accelerate that belief this past election with attacks against the poor in their own leadership and the need to adopt the Ryan Plan in order to deny the needs or in most cases the rights of the people. When those who are feeling rejected from loss of jobs and incomes, or are being bullied by others, are made to find their own uniqueness a fault rather than a plus, we leave open the potential to not only suicide but we harbor those who would take down our children with them.

We are a Society who puts too much importance and stress on the things we own, on beauty,skin color,appearance,money, and popularity. We encourage sameness or like beliefs, over encouraging individual expression.  We too often fail to encourage value in the uniqueness of each individual to express that uniqueness but instead demand that we all share the same belief system. Those who fail to fit into a cli’que of like mentality are often shunned,ridiculed, and bullied.  We support violence in the games we play and the movies we watch.  The movie industry knows and understands that movies without sex or violence will too often fail at attendance and revenues.

Our educational system is not supported by the Conservative causes and ranks low in comparison to other civilized Nations as a result of it. Bright children are too often criticized for their superior intelligence and not supported by a system that inspires them up to their abilities to succeed, due to limited funds granted to the School districts in our States.To many amongst us push our children in all categories that will gain them popularity over education and in doing so, to often it leads to mediocrity while insisting they excel in sports.  When highschool coaches feel that winning is the only thing that will save their jobs they offer steroids and muscle enhancers to their young players and it starts a panacea of corruption in our sports’ programs. The stress to always have more and to do better leads us in advancement in many fields in the world,  but it also breeds the ravages of failure, in those who feel as though they cannot achieve or have been left behind.

We self medicate on drugs and alcohol to cover up feelings of inadequacy or pain, because we place a astigmatism against mental illness. We do not tolerate those who expose our own weaknesses. The people who cause such carnage as was done in NewTown Connecticut, are usually those who are coming down off of a bad drug trip, are feeling neglected, powerless,weak,or worthless. Behind a gun they feel omnipotent and powerful and ready to show others who they often feel have either ignored them or made them to feel less of the person than they are.

We as a Society ignore and deny the power of the gun in the hands of those who would not otherwise kill, because of the control of the N.R.A. in our Nation or the fear tactics used against us to protect ourselves. They are not the only ones who use fear tactics as home alarm companies call and exaggerate home invasions in areas where none exist along with those who promote gun sales and under ground bunkers. The home alarm companies calls are being made in homes illegally as I have received the same  even though I am on the government “Do not call list.” They get around the law by claiming to offer a free prize. People rush gun stores and buy military weapons that have no business in any of our homes each time they think they will be denied their guns by law.

Those who act out in total disregard of human life do so because they lack empathy for anyone but themselves or they feel disrespected. In neighborhoods where drugs are sold on street corners,others die over drug sales. Others feel that they have been so ridiculed that they can only seek justice behind a gun. They may suffer from irrational beliefs  but they know full well that they will leave behind pain and destruction. Many times they feel that they will be a person whose name will go down in history as having made a difference, while knowing full well the misery they cause.  We as a Nation have romanticized people like Jesse James,Billy the Kid, Bonney and Clyde, Annie Oakley and other outlaws of the old West as heroes over generations, and in doing so we have romanticized the use of the gun to settle disputes.

Those who cause a silent suicide or one that does not draw attention to the outside World often do so because they are suffering, or cannot face the future, or feel that they are a burden on their loved ones.  Others are fearful of the future because they become so steeped in Religious conviction of Armageddon, or that God wants them or their children saved  from a sinful World, or suffer severe mental illness to the point they hear voices from the devil to kill. Other suicide/murders are committed over child custody or domestic disputes when they have access to a gun. Often times those who are afraid that they are lacking because Societal norms do not accept them for the person they are, will feel that life is not worth living or are driven by the need to gain revenge and do not consider the pain they leave behind because the act of murder/suicide itself, is most often an act of “Me Only.”

People who are sensitive to those who criticize, and often times are made to feel they are inadequate or weak are made to feel powerful behind the gun. It is just as likely to be a meek personality as it is an aggressive personality that uses a gun to kill.  America has 18,000 suicides a year where other Civilized Nations, who keep records of suicide, do not reach higher than into the 200′s. In total of murders and suicides we have 32,000 people lost each year. All other advanced Nations who have a much lower suicide and murder rate offer free mental health services that give parents more control over the treatment of mental health and much stricter gun laws.  It does not take a rocket Scientist to understand why America excels in the numbers of suicides and murders over all other advanced Nations in the World

Along with the greatest Democracies in the World comes the freedom to misuse that freedom through both abuse of others and self-inflicted wounds. With freedom comes the need to protect its citizens through just laws.  Americans should have a much greater right to live over the right to own guns.  We need to do a better job in understanding that our people as well as our children should never have to feel that they are less than the need or greed of Capitalism in a free Society. If we keep electing a Republican majority in Congress and in our States, who refuses to act in the best interests of our people, then don’t we have some responsibility to bear for the same? We are coming out lacking as a Nation because of our own lack of demand and insistence on the fact that our politicians can do better.

It brings some comfort to me to see that at long last we have hope at least that those responsible will do something but the proof still remains in the pudding. I long for the days when we can again promote the many qualities of all of the American people who are supported by all of our elected politicians, instead of a few.  America is still the best Country in the World but we need to be honest about our faults in order to make much-needed changes. May all of our politicians be strong enough to stand up against the lobbyists and brave enough to bring forth all the good qualities that are representative of America.  Wishing all of us hope this Holiday Season!

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Grief And Grieving

According to the process of teaching, “All truth passes through three stages, First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed.Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”–Arthur Schopenhauer

Many of us feel a genuine sorrow each time that we hear of the deaths of children or mistreatment of pets, even when we have not known or spent time with them.  Not all people do, nor do they need to feel guilt if they don’t.  Not all people bond with children or pets and cultural differences in the way we accept death, also plays a role in why some people will grieve profoundly while others feel a compassion and act differently from those who grieve the lost of strangers. This was very prevalent in the attacks of 9/11, as well. Some people also remain more resilient while they prefer to spring into action first.

The NewTown tragedy, is one of many killings of our children by those who use guns but it leaves a profound lost on all of us as a Nation, because there are so many 6 and 7 year olds who have lost their lives.  Even those who do not have any particular fondness for children, can remember those hopeful years of their own lives, and feel that this tragedy leaves them with a genuine sense of regret for the lives lost.

We generally accept the Kubler-Ross model of grieving even though it has its share of critics as well.  The study was based on people who were terminally ill and how they coped with the lost of their health and the acceptance of death and they later applied the same emotions to all lost of that which we are bonded to.  I repeat the 5 steps here;

1.  Denial—”I feel fine”

2.  Anger—-”Why me?  It’s not fair.”

3.  Bargaining–”I’ll do anything for a few more years or one more moment”.

4. Depression—”I’m so sad, why bother with anything”.

5.  Acceptance–”Its going to be o.k.”

Others have added two other emotions and they are shock which most commonly accompanies denial and leaves us feeling numb and guilt.   Guilt is common with care givers who feel they should have been able to do more or with survivors who are involved in the same act of violence or car accident or in death of any kind. It is also common is spouses and siblings,especially when a twin is lost through death or separation.  It directly affects those who fight together in wars, sometimes for the rest of their lives.

Emotions can also be very varied without fitting a pattern of any kind.  They can run from solemn to trepidation to anxiety or to rage and disgust.  Many times feelings of jealousy or envy or even hate can follow when we see other children graduate with their classes or marry or we see other spouses with their mates, even after we feel that our sadness has dissipated. It is important that those who are experiencing many ranges of emotions are not alone but instead with friends and family members until the pain or shock that often triggers these erratic or difficult to deal with emotions calm down. When we are more clear of our own emotions then we can reflect on our own if we have the capacity to do so and know our own strengths and weaknesses. Any shooting of any nature often leads to temporary trauma in all of us.

In years past, the Medical Association did  not talk about post traumatic stress disorder in other situations outside of war.  As modern techniques expose more about the human brain, it is now more generally accepted that PTSD can and does exist on many levels of trauma and often times does accompany shock when death is totally unexpected.

The important thing with grieving is that we all know that there is not a clear-cut pattern for those who grieve.  Many emotions can be involved just as the more resilient or people with a history or exposure to death will feel fewer emotions.  Some may spend days crying while others who have been exposed to death can move on with few tears and gain acceptance earlier.  It is when grieving goes on for months into years with a total sense of helplessness that we should be certain to get professional help without any sense or feeling like we are weak or a failure.

We all have different ways of coping throughout life and a different time-frame in which we grieve.  Some find genuine laughter over memories of loved ones their healing tool.  Others will memorialize their loved one while still others who are use to solving their own problems in life will remain isolated amongst family members and choose to grieve alone.  Some will feel a responsibility and duty to do something first, and then grieve later when things become more quiet. Others will turn to Religion and the hope offered through its teachings while others will commit their lives to doing for others in an effort to feel good about themselves and to help lift the veil of sadness. Some delay going back to work and grieve immediately and find it only takes a few months to reach acceptance.  Others lose themselves in work and delay their grieving, because they feel a need to analyze the reasons why, first. When they finally accept the fact that there are no answers to the why they move on to the acceptance of death.

The main thing is that we acknowledge that not all things are great and that we do understand a necessity to grieve with the understanding that it should not be a lifetime condition that brings debilitating sadness. Some people will feel better talking about the death while others will want to choose who they discuss it with, if they wish to discuss it at all.  Many times those who grieve will blame the innocent bystander or take out their bad feelings on the closest people to them.

Grieving takes a high level of understanding sometimes. We cannot excuse poor behavior as being normal,and need  to understand that we may need to learn three simple words such as:”I am sorry.” Some people become over protective or obsessive out of fear of another loss during the period of grieving.  They will sometimes use poor behavior in order to deliberately drive away others who they love because they cannot bear the lost of another person in their lives. People who have a previous history of relieving bad feelings in themselves,on those closest to them, many times should ask for help during this time, while those who are close by understand this is not a time to judge, harshly.

Too many times we get stuck in one step of grieving and rather than feel the pain or get grief counseling will turn to alcohol or drugs and only compound our own grieving.  Grieving needs to take place, as the longer we delay it, the more problems will arise in the family as a result of our doing so. It is not uncommon for parents to delay their own grieving while making sure their children are o.k. first.  It is important that we understand that if we are not well then our children will not be  either.  Alcohol and drugs in moderation may help with sleep in the earlier days but should never replace or be used to deny the feelings of pain that we need to heal from, through grieving our loss.

We can grieve while also feeling genuine appreciation for having had our loved ones in our lives, and many recover as a result of the same. Some want to leave pictures up as a reminder of their loved ones, while others want to remove all reminders of them.  Some will continue to celebrate birthdays while others will feel a need to mourn. People are all different in their expressions of sorrow and we need to respect the same, but also remain cognizant of those who need professional help in order to cope. It is o.k to find moments of laughter and to look back after a few months or a couple of years and to acknowledge that we were not always rational during our grieving process.  Very many aren’t.

It is important that we understand that various levels of grieving in a marriage often leads to disputes that can lead to divorce if one of the members in the marriage are ready to move on and remember the good moments shared by the deceased while the other mate is still asking,”Why Me?” Grieving too many times will lead to intolerance in couples while it will bring others closer together since no one else can entirely understand their shared lost as clearly as they can.

We can often times treat those closest to us, during the grieving time pretty poorly, if we do not move ahead with the grieving process.  Children as young as 18 months can feel the loss of the bond of a sibling or parent and grieve. Children who lose their best friends can withdraw and be afraid of initiating new friends because to do so feels like betrayal to them. They can not always voice their feelings, or understand them, themselves. Children grieve differently from adults in that they often times do not cry but instead will act out.

Children may have episodes of unexplained rage or with draw into themselves.  When adults grieve it is especially important that when a child loses a sibling or a friend at an early age, that we understand that the children are losing the person in their lives that has always been part of their lives that they have confided in and made plans with for a future as well.  The most neglected lost of loved ones often does lie in the lack of understanding for the death of a friend or sibling, when they lose their friend or sibling too early.

The lost of a sibling is difficult for adults to deal with, but too few amongst us, understands the difficulty as the sympathy and understanding goes more often to  the parents,spouses, or their children. Siblings are often called on to be strong and to act as spokes people instead. The loss of a twin can compare to the lost of a spouse as many ideas,hopes,jokes,love,hate,upsets,plans for the future, and people in their lives are shared from birth and through out their lives. The identity or feeling of losing half of ourselves, when we lose a twin, is most like that of losing a spouse.  No relationship is more involved or longer lasting than that of  a twin relationship when their relationship begins in the womb they share.

What we as parents need to do is to make certain that our sadness does not spread over to our children or lose patience with our children if they are not shedding tears but are acting out. It helps  instead to discuss with them what they are feeling to make them behave the way they are.  Children should not hear everything about the shootings but sadly many will hear it from other sources and we need to be aware of the fact that details often become exaggerated and lead to nightmares in our children. When questioning them we need to be careful not to offer details but instead to find out what they know or are feeling and answer them honestly.

Just as some adults will cry for days while others don’t, the same is true with children. Children,depending on age, do not clearly understand the permanence of death.  They just know that their parent,friend, or sibling is not with them now and do not understand the long-term of death but feel a real unexplained sadness in themselves. Some will need our understanding on their level to cope without us forcing our own coping measures or the lack of the same on them. Grieving needs to be age appropriate just like everything else in life does.

The tragedy effecting our Nation in NewTown,Connecticut can affect our children around the globe and it is especially important that we communicate with our children about their concerns without expressing our own concerns.  It is alright to say Mommy and Daddy are feeling sad because they know that already but they should not be made to feel as a replacement for the children lost, or be compared to them.

We are each uniquely our own person and that applies to grieving as well.  We will not always be on the same page together nor do we have a time clock running.  If we need grief counseling we most definitely need to seek it out before we are left to deal with an unnecessary guilt or a prolonged sense of hopelessness.  It is important that we also rest during this time, when we can.  Grieving is exhausting and requires that we do get sleep.

Good luck and my condolences are with all of you.  I, like the rest of the Nations around the World, are wishing you the strength to recover on your own time and in your own space knowing our prayers and thoughts are with all of you.  May the goodness of the Season offer all of us the hope that we as a Nation will do something about such needless tragedies, in the New Year. God Bless all of us!  (See my previous post,”Guns And Mental Illness”)

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Guns And Mental Illness

Too often as a Nation, we over look the risks and dangers of in-action.  We too many times talk about needing to help draw attention to both guns and mental illness but then the reminders of the tragedy passes and the powerful lobbyists again, win.

The facts are: we do nothing about the out of control gun ownership in our Nation because of the lies that lead to fear tactics, told and spread by the National Rifle Associations and many of their colleagues. People who run for office know and understand that the NRA is only second in power to the American Medical Ass. or the A.M.A.  With men like the Koch brothers backing the NRA, Republicans and Conservative Democrats know they will lose their jobs or never get elected if they even whisper, “gun control”, so as a Nation we keep talking about doing something and then we forget about it until the next tragedy.

When those who claim that,”we need to  grieve first,” I am in agreement with you if that is what it will take to give you the strength later to claim your responsibility to protect the children.  I am equally supportive of those of us who express our views now, as it is when we put a time clock on our expression of anguish, that we too often fail to do anything that will be heard by those who are responsible for such a needless tragedy. In America we need to accord the grieving of all people on their own time frame, because as a Nation we all share in the grief.  When we start judging each other in how or when they grieve or express that grief, then we fail to understand our own need to stop the in-action in us.

What always amazes me is the public outrage or disbelief that these tragedies often happen in small or rural communities.  Mental illness and gun ownership is as prevalent in one area of America as the other. If we recognize that abuse happens in one out of every three homes in America regardless of the social economic situation, and a person needs to be mentally unstable on some level or suffering from depression on another, in order to commit murder/suicide, then we can and should accept that our children are not safe anywhere as long as gun enthusiasts rights are protected by the lobbyists who control our Nation and politicians.

Depression that is sometimes brought on by circumstances in our lives, holds no favorites nor does it care what the size of the community is or the type of community we reside in.  The sad thing is that mental illness is easily recognized by those who refuse to spend their lives in denial, and as equally and as readily treatable.  When Politicians, the law or the courts, or insurance companies refuse to help parents by passing laws that aid in the treatment of mental illness and carrying them long-term on insurance policies, then the public will too often suffer the consequences. We as a society should never condemn the parents for the real frustrations and sometimes fear that they are left to deal with in the interim. We instead need to point the finger at those who are more committed to profit over the safety of our children and ourselves.

We know mental illness results as much from genetics as it does from environment and just as compassionate people should not fault people for the unfortunate circumstances of many physical diseases, we should not condemn those who suffer from mental illness.  When we do not demand the coverage of Insurance Companies to cover mental illness, but too many times complain because our premium costs go up instead, then we also play into the neglect of the needs of our own or are responsible for our own in-action. When we refuse to believe that as a Nation we all must protect the needs of our children, then we fail more than just our children but we fail ourselves, as well.

As a Nation we are hearing the underpinnings of the refusal to cover the cost of the health care for our elderly,disabled, and poor even though Nations less advanced than our own cover 100% of the costs of all of its citizens, without stating as fact, that as a Nation they can no longer afford to do so. When we refuse to invest in the needs of our people, we refuse to keep our children safe as well.  In order for our children to be totally safe in America we must demand that the 17 Republican State Legislatures who passed into law the, “Stand Your Ground Laws”,over-ride the law effective, immediately.

We already have a history of knowing when lay people are not effectively trained, do pull a gun on another or fire back, too many times we will fire into a crowd wildly which leads to more death, or we will freeze up and not fire at all. Shooting at a target or a gun club does not offer us the same reality as actually shooting at another human being does. Guns in the hands of those of us who are not trained or of the mindset, only causes more death and destruction, when called on to defend ourselves or others. Even trained policemen are slow to use their guns due to the collateral damage that is often present. Using guns to protect against guns is simply another fallacy offered by The N.R.A. and those who protect the use of guns. The Stand Your Ground Laws,  have already shown that they are just another death, waiting to happen in our children.

We can no longer let the lies that the hunter will lose his guns or it is against the Constitution to interfere with the right to bear arms over ride our own common sense, while we let the power of those who run our Nation through preying on the ignorance of others to continue. It amazes me and should all of us, that the argument that if they don’t have a gun they will use a knife has led people to believe that as many people would die in as rapid succession with a knife as an assault rifle or a hand gun, has appeased the minds of those who pay membership into the NRA or those who are supposed Represent us in government.

The guns that are meant for self-defense or offense serve absolutely no needs and only adds to the destruction of the meat of the game animals and leads to the lost of human life. Military type weapons and ammunition do not belong in a home where our most innocent of people live or visit.  When the investigation is finished in New Town, Connecticut, we will do doubt hear as we always do, the guns that killed came from the home of the mother,  who was killed and who made the same mistake that too many others make and felt that a gun was safe in the home or would protect her.

Statistically, we kill many more people with guns of self-protection than lives we save as a result of owning the same. When 34 people per day or 32,000 people per year, die in America each year as a result of guns, then shouldn’t we start talking honestly about a person’s right to live over the rights of a person to own a gun?  When we compare our death rates with the use of a gun to those of 600 per year to Britain,who have much stricter gun laws, then something is terribly wrong when we don’t have meaningful dialog on the right of Americans to live over the right of a person to use a gun at will.

If we as a Nation place weapons into categories and then ban those categories we do not deny the hunter but instead deny those who would and do kill. If laws are enforced and placed on us to make us responsible for the handling of the weapon used for protection, then the unstable will not be able to own guns. When the Republican Party refused to reinstate the Brady bill in 2004 or the Violence Against Women Bill in 2011, they made it clear that it is not the people they are safe guarding and investing in, but the lobbyists instead.

When the NRA refuses to take action to ban bullets and ammunition when the only purpose they have, is to penetrate the vests of law enforcement, but instead lobbies millions into campaigns to guarantee the use of the same, then we the American public need to have our voices heard. When we demand that the responsible thing is done to keep all of us safe, then we will no longer need to ask “Why?” When irrational acts are done by those through irrational behavior, then we must as a Nation quit denying, “that guns do not kill but people do.” Without guns, irrational people cannot slaughter our young people or those who would protect them, in mass.

When guns are not kept safe in our homes or those who would use a gun to end life, knows where grandpa keeps the key, we must be held responsible for keeping guns and ammunition unprotected in our homes by the understanding that life is more precious than the need for recreational sport, with a fire arm.  Just as we wouldn’t turn rattle snakes loose in our homes or watch our children do drugs, and then deny that they would not kill, we must quit denying that guns do not kill.

There needs to be laws established to protect the gun as well as the people. If laws were made that would ban the use of a recreational gun, to those who it is not registered to and enforced by a stiff penalty of law, perhaps the most recent tragedy, just as in Columbine,would never have happened. If they refuse to pass the laws then we as responsible parents must understand that guns do kill.  Just as we do not offer our prescription drugs to children without penalty of law why would we offer a gun to anyone who it is not registered to use? Recreational guns could just as easily be stored at gun clubs or shooting ranges or stored in gun safes by responsible adults in the home. If we can put on a seat belt then surely we can safeguard the use of a gun.

We, the American People, can no longer let the memories of our children lost ,be in vain.  It does not matter if they died in Milwaukee, NewTown, Aurora, or on the streets of Detroit, Chicago or Philadelphia, their deaths just as their lives did, need to bring forward meaning to all of us. Their short-lived lives must stand for the end to the destruction done in our Nation by guns that only serve the purpose to kill our innocent people. We can no longer deny that the gun in the hands of the unstable kills.

These adults and children’s lives need to stand for the good in all of us that seeks out and demands the end to such tragedy in our Nation.  We cannot forget the trauma also experienced by the survivors in these terribly destructive killings of our loving adults and innocent children. We cannot allow such destructive behavior to continue to make our children to feel that adults do not stand for their need to feel safe. We cannot continue with the mentality that just because some one is a member of our family that their outbursts,with draw from Society, or fantasy of killing is normal.

When we as a Nation put politics, denial of reality, or sacristy of gun use in the hands of the unstable, over the sacristy of life, then we need to ask ourselves,” just how misconstrued is the American love of the gun over the value of life?”  We all need to take responsibility for common sense guiding us over a misconstrued value system.

Sadly the N.R.A. fights against any and all laws to use common sense in the handling of a gun and the storage of the same. Every lawyer knows and understands that any attempt to control the storage or use of a gun will lead to years of litigation by the N.R.A., just as every Conservative Democrats or Republican candidate understands it will lead to lost of their election run if they refuse to support the stand of the N.R.A.

Do not let the media fool you into believing it is as much Democrats as Republicans in Washington as less than 30 Democrats in Washington are Conservative out of  approximately 289 with only 47 Democrats,both liberal and Conservative in the Congress, as verses 196 Conservative Republicans including the Tea Party in the Republican Party married to the NRA.  When photo opts of our Republican leadership are taken in the presence of the NRA leadership representatives, each election year are seen as a proud moment of the Republican Party, then we need to ask, “Would our voices be louder than the lobbyists if we refused to vote for any candidate who protected or promoted the NRA and their colleagues’ memberships?”

Isn’t it going, “to take a village,” just as much as a city of people who are willing to stop the insanity of killings in our Nation and those who believe that we have a moral obligation to protect our children, to join together, to make the changes?  We have more than ample enough evidence to know that the politicians have no plan in doing anything but talking about it, because they are afraid to take a stand against the lobbyists.

Those politicians, who are committed to do otherwise, need our help and commitment to them at the election polls and need to hear our voices just as much as the law makers and politicians need to keep us safe. Do any of us even know who the Federal Judges in our States are, that we keep electing each election? I repeat:”When the voices and the votes of we the American people”, are counted and become more powerful than the lobbyists in Washington and our States, then we will have a Nation that protects its children.

If  we had spoken up as much for the rights of our children to be safe, as others did for the fetus, do any of us doubt that the politicians would act differently in the hours they put in, on the floor of the House or the Senate to protect our children against violence? When it comes to making and establishing gun laws, don’t we believe that if our voices are heard and our votes counted, that the politicians would develop more of a dialog in doing something to keep our children safe?

All the money paid the politicians by the lobbyists and men like Sam Adelson or the Koch Brothers cannot win an election for the politicians who refuse to act in the best interests of the American people if we simply refuse to vote for them or re-elect them.  The real power still lies in the hands of the common sense approach of the people, when we choose to invoke the same at the election polls.

When our voices and actions are as empty as the politicians, then the more powerful the Insurance lobbyists,NRA,and the American Insurance under writers will remain.  It is time that we make the changes in ourselves now, by moving forward instead of shaking our heads and passing the buck. I have enough faith in the power of the people to believe that we can make a difference in the safety of the lives of our children, so no other family has to ever suffer the tragedy taking place in our Nation today.

I am wishing everyone the Blessings of the Holiday Season and compassion for the grieving of those who have lost the most, along with those of us who have lost as a Nation. God Help us all.

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Being Genuine

Webster dictionary describes genuine as actually having the reputed or apparent qualities or character.  To many times we have people using words to describe others when they do not own or practice the qualities needed to possess or own character, themselves.  It was a repeated error made by candidates for election throughout the Nation this past election year.

When Governor Chris Christy of New Jersey showed his own Party what real character was or expressed genuine feelings in his praise of President Barack Obama’s quick response to the disaster in his State, due to the hurricane, men who like to refer to  themselves, as men who protect the standards of family values in America,criticized Christy for being genuine in his complement to our President.

When we as a Nation have leaders who criticize others who are genuine or fail to compliment others and treat it as a heresy when they compliment  or speak to a member of the opposite side of the aisle, can we really expect them to do what is genuinely in the best interests of those of us who are in need of their leadership?  Will men like Paul Ryan,Scott Walker, or Rubio, meeting and discussing the need of the Republican Party to become inclusive of the Hispanics, lead us to believe that they are genuine if they continue to vote against the equal rights of women to make decisions on their own procreation or to their own health, or when their Republican members in Washington filibusters immigration reform?

Are these, the often spoken about, the young new hopefuls of the Republican Party, any better than what has destroyed the “Grand Old Party?”When they speak about the Americans who fall on hard times as being the “takers”, while they vote against the needs of the people or refer to those of us who paid into government as, “people with their hands out who feel entitled”,or try to pass laws against victims of rape in defining legitimate rape, will we see any genuine change in the Republican Party when these young men are chosen to lead our Nation?

Doesn’t the Republican Party need men in it instead like Bob Dole who was genuine in his actions towards the disabled, the poor, and the need of the Republican Party to know and understand the needs of the people?  Aren’t these new young Tea Party members only an extension of what is wrong in the Republican Party?  Aren’t we the American People totally tired of words that are opposite of the actions they practice when it comes to voting against our rights and needs?

Too many times in our own personal lives we make allowances for those who practice disingenuous behavior because they are the beautiful people,the most charming of our children or friends, or because we want to be more like them or a part of their group. The new generation just wants to be respected by their parents instead. When we ourselves are less than genuine it shows all over our bodies and faces to those of us who recognize phony or shallow values.

When these politicians do the same, too many people, who are less than honest themselves, will be taken in by those who are not genuine. I once had a person tell me that my biggest problem was that I was too moral for the group as they did not place a high value on morality.  Isn’t that also at the root of why we keep electing people who are less than genuine in their leadership? I applaud the American people who did not accept or support the practice of lies , that won these men the elections in our States and Washington in 2010.

Have we forgotten already the way they won or their legislation that brought in the right to work laws that eliminated our protection from the Unions against unfair labor laws?  Will we forget the bills that they tried to pass against a woman’s right to choose or the involvement of the Tea Party militia in hate groups?  Will the Corporate Press be able to convince us of all the wonders done by these men of the future who stormed our States in 2010 and began laying off teachers,firemen and police while decreasing the wages of the workers?

When Republicans are promoted to run in the highest office of the land in 2014 and 2016 by the GOP, will we forget that they have been less than genuine in their practice towards the needs of the middle class when it came to an economic recovery and of giving us real jobs with fair hours and wages? Will we forget the passage of the right to work laws that denied the American workers and their Unions the right to vote because 27 States had Republican governors who were financed by the Koch Brothers? Didn’t many of the Republican governors lie to the people while they denied the workers their right to Democracy? Isn’t this currently  happening with Republican Governor Rick Snyder in Michigan?   Don’t these Governors represent the future of the Republican Party and the mentality of the Tea Party while the wages of the middle class continue to decline but the wealth of the rich increases two-fold?

Despite their argument that without the right to work laws corporations fail to move to their States and that these laws release people from having to join the Unions; they fail to say that Federal law already states people who do not want to join a Union need not do so.  These Republicans offer absolutely no proof of the truth in their Statements.  There is a simple explanation for the same and that is because there is no proof in what they state.  The proof that does exist is that the average worker’s income drops by $5500.00 per year along with benefits while their working conditions worsen.

The Corporations continue to win while the workers continue to lose is the fact with the right to work laws and there is no proof when 22 States have adopted these laws that corporations do move in. Why should they change from the States they already do set up residence in, when the majority if not all of the Red States where these laws have passed previously, have always offered corporate welfare to Corporations previously to these laws being passed in swing States? Are we the middle class foolish enough to believe that these Corporations will give up all their bread and honey, along with their facilities, equipment and trained staffs in the Red States in order to take less in the swing States?

If they should happen to move to the swing States, which is unrealistic, how much more concessions and job lost do we think it will cost the middle class workers? Would the workers in the Red States continue to believe that they lost their jobs,health care,and pensions because they were taken over by vulture Capitalists in the claim their Company was losing money? Don’t we already know the truth is that the greed of the Republican Party along with the greed of Wall Street is responsible for job lost over job gain?  What will it take for all Americans to understand this concept?

Michigan Republican Governor,Rick Snyder, like so many other Republican Governors in 21 other States,totally ignored the right of the workers to vote when the polls showed that only 6% of the people in the State of Michigan favored this move. Many in the Red States do not even know if they are a right to work State because they have such a heavily backed Republican legislature along with a conservative media, who does not keep them informed.

Do we feel that the current Republican Party is genuine in their representation of the truth when it comes to balancing the budget and avoiding the fiscal cliff in Washington?The truth is that the Tea Party members have dug in their heals again, just as they did the last time, and refuse to accept President Obama’s proposal of at least lowering the taxes on those who make less than $250,000. and John Boehner, is blaming President Obama instead of himself when it is his job to lead his own Party as Speaker of the House in Congress. They all appear on camera instead for their photo opts and profess in unison that the problem is that President Obama has sent them nothing while they reject his offer of cutting 4 trillion dollars and raising the taxes on the wealthy.  The only thing they seem to be able to agree on is to lie in unison to the American people. They began as “the Do Nothing Congress and they will finish out the four years” as the same.

Are they any different from the Republican Governors in our States? Have we already forgotten their 100 plus filibuster attempts against the middle class that would have protected the needs of the people and gave jobs to the same over their protection of Corporate? Don’t we realize their main goal was to make certain that President Barack Obama was a one term President?  Do we really believe that these same men will now compromise in order to keep the economy improving when they have fought against President Barack Obama’s attempts to do the same in the past?

With all their excuses as to why they lost just how genuine are they in understanding their need to be all-inclusive of the American people?  Is it just another example of empty words on their part? Does our own belief system fail us when we are asked  to remember the behavior directed against us by them? Do we learn to hate others who do us no harm, because we have a genuine belief system that tells us that hate is acceptable? Does our own belief system excuse us from making excuses for ourselves instead of taking action?

Is our problem that we long- ago lost touch with practicing any kind of value system based on genuine values, ourselves? Do we have a clue what we believe when we are called on to fight for the same?  Do we believe instead what we have been told to believe so we go into denial when we see or hear a real lack of sincerity in the same?Are those who promote family values, actually those who talk about values but find morality too difficult to maintain themselves?  We need to be interested in politics and the history of our politicians if we are to hold them and ourselves to a higher standard.

When we fail to hold those who would lead us to higher standards, it is we who lose.  This is true when it comes to raising our children and in teaching them right from wrong because we practice what we preach.  When we fail to make morality a priority in our own life the first to understand that our words do not match our actions, are our children.

Many a straying spouse does not just prove to their spouse that they are not trustworthy but they also teach their children that adults cannot be trusted or the person they most admire lacks morality when it comes to being an adult. Many children will turn a deaf ear to what they feel is nothing more than gibberish when they recognize that the behavior of the adult in their lives does not match the words they speak. Sadly, others will emulate the same behavior when they become adults but they will many times prove to their parents that they can do a better job of failing  than what their parent or parents did when it comes to being less than genuine.

When we talk about how busy we are but our children never see us get off the couch they believe the ”busy talk” in us is less than genuine.   When  our children’s  needs to be disciplined go unprovided for, but are replaced by wants instead, we raise children who grow up feeling entitled without them making any efforts towards justifying the same in themselves; too often some will adopt a grandiose image of themselves while being totally void of human empathy for others while they often lack the understanding of what it takes to be ambitious.  If we never teach our children to take genuine responsibility for their own behavior or to care for their own needs in the home, but instead we make excuses for them or wait on them, we deny them the right to find genuine satisfaction in their own accomplishments.

When children are left untrained and untaught they often grow up fearful of being independent from us or to immature to leave home and to form their own belief system.  If we always treat work as something to be dreaded, we teach our children to be lazy instead. Too often we adults will go into denial before we accept the truth of the fact that our child’s behavior is out of control. The lives our children live while they watch us, when it fails to match the genuineness of the words we speak, often leads to denial in us and confusion in our children.

This is true about any behavior or words that leave our lips.  When we are less than genuine the first to accept it as being normal behavior in adults, are our children.  The fact that the youth vote went over whelmingly for President Barack Obama should show all of us who fear the “Me first and now” traits in the youth vote, that we are dead wrong in our judgements. Just as sometimes  the callous of heart appear to belong to the Tea Party or National Rifle Ass., we totally over look the value in the young who would put many of our generations to shame. President Ronald Regan means nothing to them and invoking his name did nothing towards winning their votes.

We forget that this generation of young people learned from us not to trust.When one out of every three homes on the block experience some form of  abuse in it, they have learned that they cannot trust adults to protect them.  We cannot turn around and place the blame on them without taking our share of the blame and pretend to begin to solve the problems that we face as a Nation, while talking about family values,if we do not understand that as adults our generations were far from perfect,as well.

The 1950′s were anything but what they have been romanticized to be but instead were hidden under the lies of injustice and under the veil of secrecy. The same environment allowed for the inhumane and violence of the Jim Crow laws to continue unchecked along with the violence and inequality of not just the tragedies of those laws but also the lack of laws that protect women and children against extreme abuse.

Those who would advocate the return to the 1950′s are not being fully cognizant or honest of the hardships and lack of humanity of the era.  When we fail to act out of genuine concern for all of our people, ourselves, we are certain to elect officials who would ignore the tragedies of the era,and instead repeat a history of genuine injustice. We as a Nation cannot return to a time of ignorance and injustice but we need to move forward by electing legislatures who  protect all Americans by making certain that the laws protect our children regardless of race,creed,gender or gender orientation, who are the most vulnerable amongst us. The spread of half truths and ignorance only makes hate breed.

Just as those who are aware of past injustices, and fight against the return to the same, we need to acknowledge in more recent times our children were victims of their babysitters, Ministers,coaches, and Priests,others their uncles,neighbors or Boy Scouts leaders,still others their step fathers, dads or mothers, others grew up with drugged,beaten,or alcoholic parents, and still others were prostituted by their own parents. They were warned about pedophiles and terrible behavior in adults that many of our generations were not aware of even existing.

Much of this same behavior happened throughout previous generations as well, but when it is kept as a secret in the closet to take to the grave we grew up being told it was our sin to bear and an isolated happening or worse yet, normal behavior, to practice as adults ourselves.  In keeping the secrets of those we were led to believe we should emulate, we lived our lives in turmoil being convinced we were the demon seed, where as todays generation understands that it is not their fault but the fault of the adult, once they are of voting age. This behavior is not limited to poor neighborhoods but happens on every block regardless the socio-economic conditions.

Many of our young people grew up to find their Sports heroes, steroid addicts or shot or killed in drunken accidents. Others were given drugs by their coaches and told to take it or else.  We adults left them devoid of the heroes we took for granted.  They did not have Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, or Martin Luther King to offer them hope in their lives.  They have no reason to trust the adults in their lives because if they were not victimized they have a friend who was.  They certainly are not going to take a politician’s word for something when their actions are less than genuine and they watched their mom’s work two or sometimes three jobs because they were not paid the wage that their Dad’s were.

They were not bought off as Mitt Romney said with “free birth control” but they have seen too much disingenuous behavior in adults in their lives to be bamboozled by less than genuine politicians. Many of them have no reason to any longer fall for the charismatic who will lie to them.  When abuse was not a part of their life they grew up with the ability to express themselves.

The fortunate ones had parents who encouraged them because they had parents who did or are doing a better job of instilling morality in the next generations than our parents or we did, so the young amongst us who are our future, do recognize the lack of words matching the actions in those who would lead us. It is way past time that we, just as the youth vote does, demand proof of the genuine actions of our politicians to hear us the American Public, and to act as our leaders over lying to us. If the Republican Party continues to fail to understand that their behavior and performance has been exposed and has come out failing,  they will continue to lose elections.

When the Republican Party learns to run legitimate candidates who are genuine in their words matching their actions, then the Grand Old Party will return fully vindicated of its past history and will again be representative of the needs of the people. Talking about it will prove nothing when the conversations are about play acting warm and fuzzy feelings or concerns for the middle class,women, and minorities but their actions taken, prove otherwise.   They cannot deny the voters the truth when their own votes, platform,voter suppression, and actions betray them as less than genuine, nor will it win them votes of the American people.

When the Republicans refuse to accept genuine actions speak to the heart of the youth vote and those votes that they are accustomed of getting, are the votes of the dying generations, then they must change their own actions or become distinct along with the dinosaurs. Unlike those of our generation and before, young people do not buy into the belief that a candidate is a “Nice Young Man”, nor do they vote the way they are told to vote.

Todays’ young people grew up on the internet and are much more likely to check  out the voting records of the candidates  against  their campaign speeches. Bullshippers in politics are on their way out with tomorrow’s voters. The Republicans need much more than empty words or the Hispanic vote in their corner and in most cases, they are assuming that the Hispanics have a short memory and are not computer savvy as well.  No one takes the privilege of voting more seriously than an immigrant, denied.

I wish all of us the appreciation of having genuine people in our lives who surround us this Holiday Season.  May we all be so Blessed as to attract the same with our own honesty while understanding the need of it in all of our own lives. The Holiday Season is not about making comparisons with our neighbors, but about taking pride in the generosity of the American spirit that we helped inspire, while embracing those of us who express the truth of that same spirit.  Celebrate the genuine goodness in all of us by giving of ourselves to what ever Religious or Spiritual belief we hold dear, or as a sign of our genuine love expressed, and give what we can spare to the less fortunate, as a reminder of the real purpose of this Holiday Season.  God bless us all!

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