Friday, December 28, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The Case Against Public Education
If public education is allowed to survive, all efforts to resuscitate the inert husk of modern civilization will fail. It is time to unravel the most wasteful and destructive entitlement program of all. Cancer cells do not divide into healthy cells. A corrupted, power-intoxicated political class will not willingly raise a freedom-loving, self-reliant populace. Governments must no longer be allowed to pre-determine their nations' fates, by mass producing the populace that serves their interests.
For years, reasonable and serious people have known that the educational establishment is at the root of the undoing of modernity and its natural political fruit, individual liberty. And for years, excepting a tiny, brave minority of parents and educators, most citizens have assumed that the problems of the education system, however grave, are to be resolved through legislative reforms, bureaucratic changes, or school board activism.
Such methods, though often undertaken with the noblest of intentions, have always failed, in spite of the few heartening but minor victories that may have been won on the way to ultimate defeat. This general failure is inevitable, as treating the superficial symptoms of a fatal disease will always be, whatever temporary relief such treatment may bring to the sufferer.
Articles: The Case Against Public Education
For years, reasonable and serious people have known that the educational establishment is at the root of the undoing of modernity and its natural political fruit, individual liberty. And for years, excepting a tiny, brave minority of parents and educators, most citizens have assumed that the problems of the education system, however grave, are to be resolved through legislative reforms, bureaucratic changes, or school board activism.
Such methods, though often undertaken with the noblest of intentions, have always failed, in spite of the few heartening but minor victories that may have been won on the way to ultimate defeat. This general failure is inevitable, as treating the superficial symptoms of a fatal disease will always be, whatever temporary relief such treatment may bring to the sufferer.
Articles: The Case Against Public Education
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
FYI - The Church of Satan
There are various sects of Satanic culture and devil worship worldwide.
The main established organization promoting the practice in the U.S. is the Church of Satan, which uses LaVey’s “The Satanic Bible” as its guiding book.
The church has five degrees that members can achieve after being inducted through private ceremonies.
The church has a ruling body consisting of the High Priest, the High Priestess and the Council of Nine.
Church of Satan members have over the years made numerous media appearances to refute notions that their doctrine encourages or participates in violence.
The church espouses nine statements of beliefs:
The main established organization promoting the practice in the U.S. is the Church of Satan, which uses LaVey’s “The Satanic Bible” as its guiding book.
The church has five degrees that members can achieve after being inducted through private ceremonies.
The church has a ruling body consisting of the High Priest, the High Priestess and the Council of Nine.
Church of Satan members have over the years made numerous media appearances to refute notions that their doctrine encourages or participates in violence.
The church espouses nine statements of beliefs:
- Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence.
- Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams.
- Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit.
- Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates.
- Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.
- Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires.
- Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development”, has become the most vicious animal of all.
- Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.
- Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years.
Merry Cliff-mass
Christmas arrives this year at a time when our nation is on the brink
of the fiscal cliff. With time running out for President Obama and
Congress to reach an agreement, this Christmas Eve we bring to you 2012
twist on Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem, “A Visit from St.
Nicholas.” It was produced by Public Notice as part of its Bankrupting America project.
The poem was sent to members of Congress and President Obama “to lift their spirits during the final weeks of negotiations and hopefully inspire some responsibility.” We hope you enjoy it. Have a safe and festive Christmas Eve.
The poem was sent to members of Congress and President Obama “to lift their spirits during the final weeks of negotiations and hopefully inspire some responsibility.” We hope you enjoy it. Have a safe and festive Christmas Eve.
’Twas the night before Cliff-mas, and all through the House
Not a member was working, no ideal to espouse;
Their offices closed, the members all gone,
No solution for a budget plan had yet to be drawn.
Our Congress had spent a year feuding again,
While uncertainty and poor growth plagued businessmen;
The economy had slowed, unemployment was high,
Things weren’t looking up for a taxpayer, like I.
On December 31st tax rates were scheduled to rise,
Which many agreed was not in itself wise.
With this, another date caught the country’s fiscal fixation—
The second of January was set for across-the-board sequestration.
I’d heard all the talk, all the senators saying,
“If we’re spending this much, someone has to be paying!”
The rhetoric from the news droned on in my head,
As I turned off my light, and crawled into bed.
When out on the Mall there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
It was the President! His sudden arrival was thrilling,
He went after the Congress, he called them by building:
“Now, Senate! Now, Hart! Now, Russell and Dirksen!
On House! on Rayburn! on, Longworth and Cannon!
The fiscal cliff is approaching! We need to make cuts!
Bad policy and spending got us into this rut!”
Out came the lawmakers, their cheeks from sleep rosy,
I saw Boehner, Reid, McConnell and Pelosi;
They gathered together, their eyes straight ahead,
Some seemed optimistic, as the president said:
“We need to end this uncertainty, if we are to stay strong,
I know we can do it, if we all get along.
We won’t hurt the middle class, we’ll raise taxes on the wealthy!
It’s right for everyone to pay a fair share to keep our economy healthy!”
Reid stepped up as well, his voice rather hoarse,
“We know that we need to include a few cuts, of course.
This deficit spending hurts our economy in the long-run,
But for now, raising some taxes will help everyone!”
“Now hold on one minute,” Boehner said with a sigh,
“You know the tax increase you propose is too high!
The wealthy you speak of—they aren’t you and me;
They’re middle-class, and small business owners you see!”
“You won’t close the tax loopholes, you won’t lower our debt!
You’ll create a situation where new investors will sweat!
We need tax reform, to resolve all this clutter!”
He stepped back with a nod—the crowd started to mutter.
Was he right? Was it true? Could reform solve it all?
Or would a tax hike spur investment and keep us from a fall?
It was the same talk I’d heard, the same from before—
So I ran down the stairs, and I opened the door:
“You say you’ll manage the tax code, and cut wasteful spending,
But it’s these political struggles that keep our economy pending!
We need real reform, not this spending obsession;
‘Else this cliff should put us in another recession!”
The lawmakers started, they had not known I was there;
And they sputtered and scattered and ran without care;
I watched them go and yelled after them, as they took flight:
“Avoid the fiscal cliff for all, and to YOU a good-night!”
SAINT WHO??
I'm Pretty Nervous about this whole Christmas thing. I mean who IS this guy they talk about and why should we be excited about his visit?
1. He sees us when we are sleeping - he has hidden cameras in our bedrooms?
2. He knows when we're awake - he is stalking us during the daytime?
3. He knows when we've been bad or good, is that a result of bedroom peeping?
4. He likes little kids to sit on his lap, which makes him jolly.
5. He is a misogynist, he calls women double Ho's.
6. He breaks into our houses at nights (burglary?), at least forced entry.
7. What else is he doing in our houses late at night, anyone count the silverware.
8. He hates kids, he doesn't approve of crying.
9. What standard does he use for bad or good, would we agree.
This fellow has serious problems and if people find out what he's doing, they will have him arrested, get him counseling.... just saying ...YOU BETTER WATCH OUT and NO SHOUTING
1. He sees us when we are sleeping - he has hidden cameras in our bedrooms?
2. He knows when we're awake - he is stalking us during the daytime?
3. He knows when we've been bad or good, is that a result of bedroom peeping?
4. He likes little kids to sit on his lap, which makes him jolly.
5. He is a misogynist, he calls women double Ho's.
6. He breaks into our houses at nights (burglary?), at least forced entry.
7. What else is he doing in our houses late at night, anyone count the silverware.
8. He hates kids, he doesn't approve of crying.
9. What standard does he use for bad or good, would we agree.
This fellow has serious problems and if people find out what he's doing, they will have him arrested, get him counseling.... just saying ...YOU BETTER WATCH OUT and NO SHOUTING
Monday, December 24, 2012
Earl - a tribute given at his wake prayer service...
The generation Earl belongs to has been called the greatest generation. Greatness is a sliding scale. Not all who are or were his age were great. I knew many in his generation who were not…. Great. There were some however who were truly great. In every way. Earl is one of those who deserves that appellation.
His accomplishments are not what makes him great.... though there are many.
Government service. State Senator, Councilman, Board Member, State Commander of the American Legion in ND, as Mayor the man who saw Trinity Bible College become fact by his intervention, and in his later years as a Dickey county commissioner.
All this after his service to our country in the US Army in World War II. On the beaches of Italy. On the mountaintop overlooking Bologna Italy. As Mussolini fell. As victory came, he carried out his duty beside others of his greatest generation with the threat of instant death all around him. All this while his wife and child prayed for his return -- which he did.
It get's personal now. He and Ruth did the greatest think any family ever does... for another. Provided continuity that many see broken when the Death of our Mom and Dad, Ruby and Ralph left a question hanging in the air....WHO? When the dust settled, the question was answered with... “Here am I”. Just as his public and military life was answered with a yes, they said yes when it mattered to my brother, sister and ... to me. There is no way to say thank you. I did. A thousand times. Yet... once more. Thank you to Greatness in a Great decision.
So many memories. Farming. Hunting. The building of the Church building that I grew up in, the one that he will receive his final salute in, it all seems very appropriate.
Once I was interviewed by a reporter who asked me who the three most influential men in my life had been. Earl H. Redlin was the FIRST name from my lips. There was never any doubt. His strong and tall stature never left my mind’s eye.
As years passed, the far too few times we had alone or in small groups were so valuable. Sitting on the concrete patio at the house in those chairs I worried would still hold me, shaded by a well watered willow tree, extinguishing adult beverages and adult smoke producing items, we would solve the world's problems. His humor, wisdom and good nature always made him an anticipated joy to be with. Now that's heaven's gain. I kinda hope they have a concrete patio there too. I look forward to the next time...
After his first falling down, one time, we went for a ride in his pickup. He had become frail. I never told anyone, but when we got out in the country, I let him drive. I figured, what could possibly happen? He did real well. We drove around for an hour or so. Then he needed a pit stop. Painfully stepping out of that pickup truck, pulling himself up and then standing erect he was able to do what men do better than women... a wide smile blossomed. I knew the he was feeling. Once more with the cool Dakota wind caressing his face --- he was a MAN... in every way.
His role as a businessman, as a farmer, as a father, as a lover, as a friend, as a grandpa... all the many faces of Earl adds up to the one thing those of us who know him can say with confidence, we hold him as GREAT.
I speak of him not in a past tense, but in a present changed now. He is not gone.. Except from us. He still is. As will we all be. I have a vision of heaven. Something of which I know a bit about. People who have had a visit to heaven and reported back in popular books report one of the things common is being greeted upon entrance by those they knew and loved on this side of the veil. I have little doubt that the first face he saw was his Oldest, that boy who had hoped for his return from the war, that one HE had supported during many difficult and dark days of difficulty until his death... John.. Or as he called him here and now as he called him there… already.... JOHNNY. That reunion has erased any tear, any pain, and any remembrance of these days and years past.
He has now come face to face to HIM in a NOW that has fullness of all Joy.
Years ago I asked him how he deals with the loss of so many of his contemporaries, those he loved. Friends, neighbors, relatives. He said, “it's a matter of perspective. I simply say, if it's to a grieving widow, You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a dear Friend". It seemed right to him. I have followed his lead…as I have so often.
So, I now say to Ruth Redlin who partnered with him in so many adventures, and the one that means the world to me, "You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a father, a friend, a GREAT influence on my life. One I will be eternally thankful for". The GREATEST will be when Reunion comes for me. I have so many who I look forward to seeing again.
So, I won't say rest in Peace SIR, that much is certain. I will say, May your JOY be made FULL NOW..., until I see you again on the other side of the veil.
The prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon ... said of these times of life’s passages: "We wept when we were born though all around us smiled; so shall we smile when we die while all around us weep."
I can see his smile… even now… Can’t you?
His accomplishments are not what makes him great.... though there are many.
Government service. State Senator, Councilman, Board Member, State Commander of the American Legion in ND, as Mayor the man who saw Trinity Bible College become fact by his intervention, and in his later years as a Dickey county commissioner.
All this after his service to our country in the US Army in World War II. On the beaches of Italy. On the mountaintop overlooking Bologna Italy. As Mussolini fell. As victory came, he carried out his duty beside others of his greatest generation with the threat of instant death all around him. All this while his wife and child prayed for his return -- which he did.
It get's personal now. He and Ruth did the greatest think any family ever does... for another. Provided continuity that many see broken when the Death of our Mom and Dad, Ruby and Ralph left a question hanging in the air....WHO? When the dust settled, the question was answered with... “Here am I”. Just as his public and military life was answered with a yes, they said yes when it mattered to my brother, sister and ... to me. There is no way to say thank you. I did. A thousand times. Yet... once more. Thank you to Greatness in a Great decision.
So many memories. Farming. Hunting. The building of the Church building that I grew up in, the one that he will receive his final salute in, it all seems very appropriate.
Once I was interviewed by a reporter who asked me who the three most influential men in my life had been. Earl H. Redlin was the FIRST name from my lips. There was never any doubt. His strong and tall stature never left my mind’s eye.
As years passed, the far too few times we had alone or in small groups were so valuable. Sitting on the concrete patio at the house in those chairs I worried would still hold me, shaded by a well watered willow tree, extinguishing adult beverages and adult smoke producing items, we would solve the world's problems. His humor, wisdom and good nature always made him an anticipated joy to be with. Now that's heaven's gain. I kinda hope they have a concrete patio there too. I look forward to the next time...
After his first falling down, one time, we went for a ride in his pickup. He had become frail. I never told anyone, but when we got out in the country, I let him drive. I figured, what could possibly happen? He did real well. We drove around for an hour or so. Then he needed a pit stop. Painfully stepping out of that pickup truck, pulling himself up and then standing erect he was able to do what men do better than women... a wide smile blossomed. I knew the he was feeling. Once more with the cool Dakota wind caressing his face --- he was a MAN... in every way.
His role as a businessman, as a farmer, as a father, as a lover, as a friend, as a grandpa... all the many faces of Earl adds up to the one thing those of us who know him can say with confidence, we hold him as GREAT.
I speak of him not in a past tense, but in a present changed now. He is not gone.. Except from us. He still is. As will we all be. I have a vision of heaven. Something of which I know a bit about. People who have had a visit to heaven and reported back in popular books report one of the things common is being greeted upon entrance by those they knew and loved on this side of the veil. I have little doubt that the first face he saw was his Oldest, that boy who had hoped for his return from the war, that one HE had supported during many difficult and dark days of difficulty until his death... John.. Or as he called him here and now as he called him there… already.... JOHNNY. That reunion has erased any tear, any pain, and any remembrance of these days and years past.
He has now come face to face to HIM in a NOW that has fullness of all Joy.
Years ago I asked him how he deals with the loss of so many of his contemporaries, those he loved. Friends, neighbors, relatives. He said, “it's a matter of perspective. I simply say, if it's to a grieving widow, You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a dear Friend". It seemed right to him. I have followed his lead…as I have so often.
So, I now say to Ruth Redlin who partnered with him in so many adventures, and the one that means the world to me, "You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a father, a friend, a GREAT influence on my life. One I will be eternally thankful for". The GREATEST will be when Reunion comes for me. I have so many who I look forward to seeing again.
So, I won't say rest in Peace SIR, that much is certain. I will say, May your JOY be made FULL NOW..., until I see you again on the other side of the veil.
The prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon ... said of these times of life’s passages: "We wept when we were born though all around us smiled; so shall we smile when we die while all around us weep."
I can see his smile… even now… Can’t you?
An excerpt from an email a friend received. This is happening all over. I know of a half dozen personally:
"During this time at the warehouse we had our people organizing to vote in the union, I was told by "the company" if they vote the union in we would be terminated within 30 days, which means everyone will lose their jobs…. Last night they voted and last night they voted themselves out of a job… They believed what the union said, not knowing ( or believing ) that the union can't force a company to pay higher wages and give benefits, in short they promised them higher wages than we are billing, can't stay in business very long doing that…."
Now as the year ends, this dear soul will be looking for work. Voting against your best interests seems to be the order of the day in this time
"During this time at the warehouse we had our people organizing to vote in the union, I was told by "the company" if they vote the union in we would be terminated within 30 days, which means everyone will lose their jobs…. Last night they voted and last night they voted themselves out of a job… They believed what the union said, not knowing ( or believing ) that the union can't force a company to pay higher wages and give benefits, in short they promised them higher wages than we are billing, can't stay in business very long doing that…."
Now as the year ends, this dear soul will be looking for work. Voting against your best interests seems to be the order of the day in this time
I
found the Pareto Principle on a local level, anytime I had to do a
story about any of the high schools my newspapers covered. I noticed
that the students at the top of the class were involved in the most
activities, while those at the bot...See More
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Can You Name These Religious Christmas Carols?
1. Approach Everyone Who Is Steadfast
2. Ecstasy Toward The Orb
3. Hush, The Foretelling Spirits Harmonize
4. Hey, Minuscule Urban Area Southwest Of Jerusalem
5. Quiescent Nocturnal Period
6. The Autocratic Troika Originating Near the Accent of Apollo
7. The Primary Carol
8. During the Time Ovine Caretakers Supervised Their Charges Past Twilight
9. Celestial Messengers From Splendid Empires
10. The Thing Manifest Itself at the Onset of a Transparent Day
11. The Tatterdemalion Ebony Atmosphere
12. What Offspring Abides Thus?
13. Removed in a Bovine Feeding Trough
14. Creator Cool It Ya Kooky Cats
15. Seraphim We Aurally Detect in the Stratosphere
16. The Slight Percussionist Lad
17. The Event Occurred At One Minute After 11:59PM—Visibility Unlimited
18. During the Dark Hours When Herdsman Attended Their Charges
19. A Meteorological Melody Is Manifest
20. Are You Experiencing Parallel Auditory Input?
ANSWERS (scroll a little further down …)
1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. Joy To The World
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
5. O Holy Night
6. We Three Kings, of Orient are
7. The First Noel
8.While Shepherds Watched their Flocks By Night
9. Angels From The Realms of Glory
10. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
11. O Holy Night
12. What Child Is This
13. Away In A Manger
14. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
15. Angels We Have Heard On High
16. The Little Drummer Boy
17. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
18. While Shepherds Watched Their Flock By Night
19. There’s A Song In The Air
20. Do You Hear What I Hear?
An opinion on gun control
This is a very long piece, but if there is any doubt whatsoever on the fallacy of Gun Control, you MUST read this whole thing. The insanity of the Gun Ban lobby is revealed clearly. IF you want to give up your guns, go ahead. I won't.
An opinion on gun control « Monster Hunter Nation
An opinion on gun control « Monster Hunter Nation
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
This
to me is the last word, the best argument against the kind of magical
thinking going on in America right now when Gun Control as "Doing
Something" seems to be the cure all for everything wrong in our culture.
This is from a NEWSWEEK writer, no
uber conservative. It's a longer read, but it's well worth the effort.
It actually helped me put into words what I knew to be true. The
"Doing Something" parallel with the Gulf War struck me as wise.
TOP TEN THINGS TO SAY ABOUT A CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU DON'T LIKE
10. Hey! There's a gift!
9. Well, well, well ...
8. Boy, if I had not recently shot up 4 sizes that would've fit.
7. This is perfect for wearing around the basement.
6. Gosh. I hope this never catches fire! It is fire season though. There are lots of unexplained fires.
5. If the dog buries it, I'll be furious!
4. I love it -- but I fear the jealousy it will inspire.
3. Sadly, tomorrow I enter the Federal Witness Protection Program.
2. To think -- I got this the year I vowed to give all my gifts to charity.
1. "I really don't deserve this."
9. Well, well, well ...
8. Boy, if I had not recently shot up 4 sizes that would've fit.
7. This is perfect for wearing around the basement.
6. Gosh. I hope this never catches fire! It is fire season though. There are lots of unexplained fires.
5. If the dog buries it, I'll be furious!
4. I love it -- but I fear the jealousy it will inspire.
3. Sadly, tomorrow I enter the Federal Witness Protection Program.
2. To think -- I got this the year I vowed to give all my gifts to charity.
1. "I really don't deserve this."
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The dead soul of Adam Lanza Pat Buchanan:
“No set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.”
So said President Obama in words of comfort in Newtown. The president was right to speak of evil, but mistaken when he called the massacre “senseless.”
For this was a premeditated and purposeful act of mass murder, and the devil that did it knew exactly what he was doing and why.
When he put four bullets into his mother’s head while she lay in bed, Adam Lanza wanted her life ended along with his. When he headed for Sandy Hook Elementary, with the Glocks and Bushmaster rifle, he knew he would encounter no armed resistance.
Before he went into that school to shoot 20, 30 or 40 children, barely more than babies, he knew his slaughter would be so stomach-turning and heart-wrenching that the TV crews would come running.
And by day’s end, the world would know who Adam Lanza was.
Lanza kept firing at the children until he heard the sirens. Then he pulled out one of the Glocks, put it to his head and ended it, knowing he was on his way to becoming world famous.
Just as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine are famous. Just as James Holmes, the “Joker” of the Aurora “Dark Knight Rising” massacre, is famous. Just as Jared Lee Loughner, the Tucson mass murderer who shot Gabby Giffords, is famous.
A desire to be famous coupled with a dead conscience is the common thread running through these recurring atrocities. These loners and losers want us to know who they are. And, to succeed now, each almost has to outdo in horror those who went before.
Since the news first came in Friday from Newtown, we have argued about guns in America and mental illness, but heard little about the moral sickness of our society.
Americans have always owned guns. But in Prohibition, when gangsters like John Dillinger, “Machine Gun” Kelly and “Baby Face” Nelson were notorious, the most remembered atrocity was the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Al Capone’s gang executed seven of Bugs Moran’s gang in a Chicago garage.
Yet, just two years ago, when one Washington, D.C., drive-by shooting ended with four dead on a sidewalk and five wounded, it was just local news.
Why are these atrocities growing more frequent and deadly?
We are told that it is because the guns used – especially assault rifles like Russian-made AK-47s and civilian copies of the M-16 used in Vietnam, like the Bushmaster – are all too available.
But the guns used in the Sandy Hook massacre were legally purchased by Lanza’s mother, and she and Adam lived in a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
And the Bushmaster is not a machine gun but a semi-automatic, as are the 100-year-old Colt .45 and M-1 rifle used by GIs in World War II. Fully automatic weapons like the Thompson submachine gun cannot be purchased without a federal license. No fully automatic weapon has been used in any of these massacres.
Will ending all sales and transfers of assault rifles and limiting the rounds in clips and magazines reduce these massacres in malls, movie theaters and schools? Did it succeed when the assault weapons ban was in force in the Clinton years?
If assault rifles are evil things that ought not be in the hands of decent Americans, why do “shoot-to-kill” video games feature these weapons?
Why does Hollywood glamorize assault rifles in action-packed films of slaughter starring Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Jason Statham?
Few of America’s young have seen an assault weapon fired outside the military. Scores of millions have seen them fired on TV. Many of our movies are advertisements for the efficiency of assault weapons in the hands of good guys doing heroic deeds.
Are the folks who think America would be a better place with a more restrictive Second Amendment willing to restrict the First Amendment to stop all distribution of movies and cable shows that depict famous actors blasting enemies with assault weapons?
Not long ago, there existed in our hearts “a fear of God.”
How, we would ask ourselves, if we commit an evil act like murder, will we answer at God’s judgment seat? For He will decide if we enter what the president called in Newtown, God’s “eternal house in heaven.”
But if God is dead, not to worry. Just put the gun to your head and pull the trigger, and it’s over. No trial. No disgrace. No prison. Nothing to worry about anymore.
No voice of conscience told Adam: Do not do this evil thing! Now he is no longer a nobody, a nerd, a recluse. He is famous. Everybody is talking about him, and ruminating on what might have motivated him.
Adam wanted to be somebody. And now he is.
And out there others like him are thinking: That could be me.
So said President Obama in words of comfort in Newtown. The president was right to speak of evil, but mistaken when he called the massacre “senseless.”
When he put four bullets into his mother’s head while she lay in bed, Adam Lanza wanted her life ended along with his. When he headed for Sandy Hook Elementary, with the Glocks and Bushmaster rifle, he knew he would encounter no armed resistance.
Before he went into that school to shoot 20, 30 or 40 children, barely more than babies, he knew his slaughter would be so stomach-turning and heart-wrenching that the TV crews would come running.
And by day’s end, the world would know who Adam Lanza was.
Lanza kept firing at the children until he heard the sirens. Then he pulled out one of the Glocks, put it to his head and ended it, knowing he was on his way to becoming world famous.
Just as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine are famous. Just as James Holmes, the “Joker” of the Aurora “Dark Knight Rising” massacre, is famous. Just as Jared Lee Loughner, the Tucson mass murderer who shot Gabby Giffords, is famous.
A desire to be famous coupled with a dead conscience is the common thread running through these recurring atrocities. These loners and losers want us to know who they are. And, to succeed now, each almost has to outdo in horror those who went before.
Since the news first came in Friday from Newtown, we have argued about guns in America and mental illness, but heard little about the moral sickness of our society.
Americans have always owned guns. But in Prohibition, when gangsters like John Dillinger, “Machine Gun” Kelly and “Baby Face” Nelson were notorious, the most remembered atrocity was the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Al Capone’s gang executed seven of Bugs Moran’s gang in a Chicago garage.
Yet, just two years ago, when one Washington, D.C., drive-by shooting ended with four dead on a sidewalk and five wounded, it was just local news.
Why are these atrocities growing more frequent and deadly?
We are told that it is because the guns used – especially assault rifles like Russian-made AK-47s and civilian copies of the M-16 used in Vietnam, like the Bushmaster – are all too available.
But the guns used in the Sandy Hook massacre were legally purchased by Lanza’s mother, and she and Adam lived in a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
And the Bushmaster is not a machine gun but a semi-automatic, as are the 100-year-old Colt .45 and M-1 rifle used by GIs in World War II. Fully automatic weapons like the Thompson submachine gun cannot be purchased without a federal license. No fully automatic weapon has been used in any of these massacres.
Will ending all sales and transfers of assault rifles and limiting the rounds in clips and magazines reduce these massacres in malls, movie theaters and schools? Did it succeed when the assault weapons ban was in force in the Clinton years?
If assault rifles are evil things that ought not be in the hands of decent Americans, why do “shoot-to-kill” video games feature these weapons?
Why does Hollywood glamorize assault rifles in action-packed films of slaughter starring Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Jason Statham?
Few of America’s young have seen an assault weapon fired outside the military. Scores of millions have seen them fired on TV. Many of our movies are advertisements for the efficiency of assault weapons in the hands of good guys doing heroic deeds.
Are the folks who think America would be a better place with a more restrictive Second Amendment willing to restrict the First Amendment to stop all distribution of movies and cable shows that depict famous actors blasting enemies with assault weapons?
Not long ago, there existed in our hearts “a fear of God.”
How, we would ask ourselves, if we commit an evil act like murder, will we answer at God’s judgment seat? For He will decide if we enter what the president called in Newtown, God’s “eternal house in heaven.”
But if God is dead, not to worry. Just put the gun to your head and pull the trigger, and it’s over. No trial. No disgrace. No prison. Nothing to worry about anymore.
No voice of conscience told Adam: Do not do this evil thing! Now he is no longer a nobody, a nerd, a recluse. He is famous. Everybody is talking about him, and ruminating on what might have motivated him.
Adam wanted to be somebody. And now he is.
And out there others like him are thinking: That could be me.
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Facts about Mass Shootings
A few things you won’t hear about from the saturation coverage of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre:
Mass shootings are no more common than they have been in past decades, despite the impression given by the media.
In fact, the high point for mass killings in the U.S. was 1929, according to criminologist Grant Duwe of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Incidents of mass murder in the U.S. declined from 42 in the 1990s to 26 in the first decade of this century.
The chances of being killed in a mass shooting are about what they are for being struck by lightning.
Until the Newtown horror, the three worst K–12 school shootings ever had taken place in either Britain or Germany.
The Facts about Mass Shootings - John Fund - National Review Online
Sunday, December 16, 2012
I Am Adam Lanza's Mother
This is a must read.... read the whole thing at the link below:
I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.
A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7- and 9-year-old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.
That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn't have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.
We still don’t know what's wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.
At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he's in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He's in a good mood most of the time. But when he's not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.
I Am Adam Lanza's Mother | Slog
I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.
A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7- and 9-year-old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.
That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn't have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.
We still don’t know what's wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.
At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he's in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He's in a good mood most of the time. But when he's not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.
I Am Adam Lanza's Mother | Slog
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Gun-control laws failed Connecticut children
What gun-control measure could have prevented this crime?
The state of Connecticut already has certain gun-control laws in place, at least three of which the shooter broke, as he could have only obtained the weapons through illegal means.
According to news reports, Adam Lanza, 20, shot his mother Nancy Lanza dead at their family home before driving to the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, where he gunned down more than two dozen people, 20 of them children, and then killed himself.
The Associated Press reports Lanza brought three guns into the school: a Glock pistol, a Sig Sauer pistol and Bushmaster rifle, which the New York Post further reports was a semi-automatic “assault rifle” chambered for a .223 caliber round, matching casings found at the crime scene.
Lanza, therefore, if you count theft, murder and breaking and entering – since CBS New York now reports it likely Lanza broke into the school through a window to circumvent a locked-door and intercom security system – would have violated a half-dozen laws in his crime, including the following gun-control statutes:
First, Connecticut law requires a person be over 21 to possess a handgun. Lanza was 20.
Second, Connecticut requires a permit to carry a pistol on one’s person, a permit Lanza did not have.
Third, it is unlawful in Connecticut to possess a firearm on public or private elementary or secondary school property, a statute Lanza clearly ignored.
Fourth, with details on the Bushmaster rifle still sketchy, it’s possible Lanza may have violated a Connecticut law banning possession of “assault weapons.”
Of course, these laws were violated because Lanza did not own any of the firearms in question, but rather stole them, and he clearly had no regard for the law in committing his crime.
The Associated Press reports the weapons were registered to Lanza’s first victim, his own mother, according to a law enforcement official not authorized to discuss information with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Gun-control laws failed Connecticut children
The state of Connecticut already has certain gun-control laws in place, at least three of which the shooter broke, as he could have only obtained the weapons through illegal means.
According to news reports, Adam Lanza, 20, shot his mother Nancy Lanza dead at their family home before driving to the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, where he gunned down more than two dozen people, 20 of them children, and then killed himself.
The Associated Press reports Lanza brought three guns into the school: a Glock pistol, a Sig Sauer pistol and Bushmaster rifle, which the New York Post further reports was a semi-automatic “assault rifle” chambered for a .223 caliber round, matching casings found at the crime scene.
Graphic: New York Daily News
First, Connecticut law requires a person be over 21 to possess a handgun. Lanza was 20.
Second, Connecticut requires a permit to carry a pistol on one’s person, a permit Lanza did not have.
Third, it is unlawful in Connecticut to possess a firearm on public or private elementary or secondary school property, a statute Lanza clearly ignored.
Fourth, with details on the Bushmaster rifle still sketchy, it’s possible Lanza may have violated a Connecticut law banning possession of “assault weapons.”
Of course, these laws were violated because Lanza did not own any of the firearms in question, but rather stole them, and he clearly had no regard for the law in committing his crime.
The Associated Press reports the weapons were registered to Lanza’s first victim, his own mother, according to a law enforcement official not authorized to discuss information with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Gun-control laws failed Connecticut children
Implosion update: The demons of violence are on the loose in America. But why? And where do we go from here? « Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog
There is a point of no return — a point at which God removes His hand of grace and mercy and turns to the judgment of America. If we don’t repent for our sins, we are going to face that judgment…perhaps sooner than we think. As I note in Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges In Time?, “Alarm bells are going off all around us. Lights on the dashboard are flashing, Warning! Warning! Yet America is sleeping through the alarms, blind to the warning lights. And tragically, for the most part, the Church — God’s chosen instrument to bless individuals, families, communities, and nations — is asleep as well. I shudder to imagine where we are heading if we don’t wake up soon, plead for the Lord’s forgiveness, and ask Him to use us to love our neighbors and revitalize our country.
Implosion update: The demons of violence are on the loose in America. But why? And where do we go from here? « Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog
Implosion update: The demons of violence are on the loose in America. But why? And where do we go from here? « Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog
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