Why the NRA & Extreme Republicans Are Propegating Violence in the USA

Out of respect for the victims, I chose not to put up a pic of their greiving, 

opting instead for this picture of a father comforting his son

While I am sure I will get quite a few angry replies to my general thoughts on this subject, unlike some people who just react, please make sure you read the whole thing before you judge where I am going with this Blog post. The tragedy we saw yesterday is yet another symptom of a system in the US that hasn't changed much since the wild, wild west. Cowboy mentality and the need to stock pile weapons was the right way to think of things back in the 19th century. Last time I checked we are in the 21st century and the time has come for the US and many of it's backward citizens to catch up with the rest of the world in regards to this particular issue.

The violence we saw yesterday in Newtown, Connecticut (and again today in Alabama as a lone gunman killed 3 people in a hospital today) can be directly correlated to the way that the NRA (the National Rifle Association) has been fighting against any and all measures any US government over the last 50 plus years has even considered when it comes to imposing stricter gun controls across the country. Shockingly, for an organization as brazen as the NRA, they have remained quiet in the hours after these senseless and insane killings. Maybe the will of the people and the realization that people have had enough of their antics has finally put a muzzle on this idiotic group of people.

This single-minded and reckless organization has fought for decades to, as they see it, protect their "God given right" to bear arms that is enshrined in the 2nd amendment of the US constitution. The line that always gets me about this organization was issued by former NRA President Charlton Heston (yes, THAT Charlton Heston), who was issuing a speech in Colorado maybe 2 weeks after the Columbine shooting and basically stated that the only way the Government would take his rights away from him in this area was to rip his guns out of his "COLD, DEAD HANDS!!!"

These people don't seem to realize that we are not living in the 1800's anymore....

This kind of fundamentalist mentality is the biggest problem facing America and Americans when it comes to this and many other issues. It has permeated many areas of American society and has even started to destroy their democratic institutions in that over the last 5 years, more and more political extremists are being not only supported by the Republican party, but are in fact at the forefront and LEADING the party by being elected into the senate and house and as Governors of States. It has gotten so bad that some of these people are literally coming into their new found offices with pledges to ensure that there is political gridlock in Washington unless they get things done the way they and their supporters want. They are so extreme that you could make the case that they are no longer governing in the best interest of the country but rather their specific extreme minded supporters.

I know it may sound like I am just bashing the Republicans and the NRA but lets look at this more directly. It's ironic that on this day in 1791, the founding father of the US created the 2nd amendment for which the NRA and Republicans continue to throw back at anyone who even breathes the words "gun control" towards them. But what these people seem to be oblivious to in regards to this "sacred" amendment they keep repeating ad nauseum is that the environment of America in 1791 was vastly different then the current climate and stage of evolution of American society as a whole. These people may not realize but that was 221 years ago. Its time to evolve.

That seems to be the biggest issue with the "Right" side o American politics in the last 5-10 years; They can't seem to evolve their positions to the new reality of what American society is becoming. In Canada we have Liberals and Conservatives as well but their positions are not NEARLY as diametrically opposed as the Democrats and Republicans are currently in the US. We have been a nation for about 100 years less then they have and yet we HAVE tight gun control laws. We have a MUCH safer society then they do. We have (statistically speaking) lower gun violence per capita then they do and we live, the majority of us for the most part, roughly 50-100 km north of the US border. Guns seem to be part of the American DNA so to speak but that can change if Americans wake up to the reality of their world today.

 This kind of nonsensical drivel is common among the most extreme members of the Republican base

How he hasn't snapped and called them all racist I will never know

Some will argue that they will never accept changes like that to their nation. Well, lets see what else people use to say they could never accept as part of their nation over the last 160 plus years. President Lincoln fought and fought until he ended Slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation. It took a Civil War but eventually, the slaves were freed. Women were not allowed to vote until the suffrage movement in the 1920's. Now, the US is one of the top proponents of Women's rights around the world.

Despite ending slavery, African Americans had to fight for equal rights and it wasn't until the late 1960's and the murders of JFK, RFK and Martin Luther King Jr. that they were given rights that they deserved. Most recently, look at the fight that Gays and Lesbians have been having trying to ensure that they too have the same rights as everyone else. For all of these groups, there were people who stood up and had the EXACT opposite view of them and did everything in their power to demonize them, attacking them, even killing them in an attempt to suppress their voices. While I am NOT saying that the NRA is doing anything of the sort, their form of extremism in the face of the sad facts surrounding gun violence in the US makes you question the level of sophistication of their membership as well as the IQ level of people who can't seem to move forward into the present, opting instead to live in the past.

Here is a perfect example of how idiotic NRA members and Republicans can be. 18 hours before the tragic events of Newtown, the State of Michigan, now under the control of Republicans who owe much of their campaign funding to the NRA, rammed through a Bill into law which makes it LEGAL to have a gun in a school or daycare as long as it is for "self-defense" purposes and in the possession of an adult with a permit. Permit or not, why on earth would you legalize guns in schools? Do these people actually think it would have been BETTER if there was a gun fight in the school in Newtown? The possibility of more casualties is more appealing to them? Just pathetic.

No good can EVER come from what happened yesterday and today. The only thing we can do is hope that the anger and sadness that it has caused will spur debate and action on the part of the President and Congress to get tough on the Gun lobby and enact much more stringent gun control laws. Think about this; it is easier right now to buy a gun then to adopt a pet. It is easier right now to buy an assault rifle then it is to get a mental health assessment in the US. It is legal to posses a .223 calibre, semi-automatic assault rifle with a sniper scope, that carries up to 50 rounds of  ammunition in all 50 states but only a handful have made it legal for anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, to marry each other if they so choose.

There is no moral justification for a school teacher to need to have 5 guns in her home. The NRA has been the biggest opponent of limiting what kind of guns each person can own. To me, their 50 year fight has a direct link to this and every other shooting that has happened in the last 30 years. Why isn't there a check done to see if the person buying a gun has been through a mental health screening or lives in a home with someone who may have mental health issues? Because the NRA opposed it, that's why.

Kind of speaks for itself doesn't it....

American's will only wake up from the nightmare of this kind of gun violence when they grow up and realize that their precious 2nd Amendment is as outdated and antiquated as the majority of the people who still have power within the Republican party and NRA.Maybe then, maybe once these people are pushed to the fringes of their own party by moderates, maybe then will we see some semblance of change in the DNA of cowboy America. Then and only then, when the NRA are turned into a minor political annoyance and the Republican Party moves into the 21st Century, will we begin to see the democratic process for which the US praises itself for, take center stage once again.

President Obama can Sympathise with Rob Ford

Embattled Mayor Ford of Toronto should not have had to go through the week he did

With the news this week that Mayor Ford has been "removed from office" pending an appeal, it dawned on me that there are real parallels between Mayor Ford and US President Barrack Obama dating back to when we first heard of both of them in the political spectrum. Don't believe me? Well let me take the time to show you exactly what I am referring to.

When Ford started off his political career as a city counselor, he railed against the greed he saw in city counsel and was a consistent thorn in the side of Miller and all his croonies who were voting in higher pay for themselves, higher spending budgets for themselves and little to no regard for something called "a budget". He was the loudest vocal critic of Miller and for all his thrifty ways, and the fact he didn't spend a single penny of his office budget, HE was the one investigated. Kind of funny how the man who was demonstrating how to be fiscally responsible during Miller's days as Mayor and constantly complained about the spending ways of former Mayor David Miller's regime, ended up being the one investigated himself.. His wasn't the only voice that complained about Miller but it certainly was the loudest.

Ford sparring with Miller was a common occurrence back in the day

One has to wonder if Miller's friend in the media continue to attack Ford just out of loyalty

During Miller's time as Mayor, there wasn't as much as a peep about his spending spending and how he was basically flushing taxpayer dollars down the drain. The only person who consistently fought against Miller's wasteful spending was none other then Counselor Rob Ford. When Miller announced that he would not seek re-election after his final term ended in 2010, it signaled a chance to have someone different try to fight their way into the mayor's office and that was exactly what Ford did. He campaigned on his record and pointed to the wasteful spending ways of Miller and, guess what, people agreed with him!!! Funny how that works.

The voting public believed in the change Ford was talking about. Sounds like someone else doesn't it. President Obama basically was selling a similar message in 2008. He too campaigned on getting into office to correct the wasteful spending ways of his predecessor (who essentially left Obama with a turd sandwich for an economy when he left office).

Considering the crap Bush left behind, Obama has set a deadline to end operations in Afghanistan,

ended the war in Iraq, Killed Osama Bin Laden and avoided a Fiscal meltdown cause by Bush

yet Republicans think he is a fascist, socialist, muslim who wants their guns....hmmmm  

Like Obama, Mayor Ford has been thwarted at every turn by political adversaries over every single one of his promises. Ford wants Subways (the smart and environmentally sound choice to try and turn Toronto into the world class city its' citizens already think it is) yet everyone else in city counsel, in their infinite wisdom, wants Light Rail Transit that will clog our streets and congest an already unbearably congested downtown core even more. Ford has been fighting to eliminate wasteful spending and, shockingly, despite having to argue and bicker with everyone in city counsel about just about every one of his motions or ideas, the city coffers are actually starting to stabilize after 2 years of sound fiscal policies.

Just like Ford, Obama has had to endure political gridlock in Washington along with an economy that was on the verge of fiscal collapse. Despite being saddled with a nearly crippling economy and over 398 times when the Republicans filibusted (essentially did everything they possibly could to stop a proposed piece of legislation endorsed by the President from passing into law), President Obama was able to pull the American economy out of the nosedive it was in, reformed student loans to ease the crushing repayment options forced upon students, instituted Obama-care giving basic health care to over 3 million Americans and created over 5 million new jobs (despite losing almost a million in the first year of his 4 year term).

 Obama actually had lunch with Romney yesterday, at the White House no less

Maybe it was to rub it in just a bit that "Hey, this is still MY HOUSE BITCH!!!"

Like Ford, Obama's political opponents have been steadfast in their ridiculous approach to "dealing with" the President. When the Tea Party started to gain prominence in 2009 and were instrumental in getting several radical Republicans into the Senate, they made it clear that their main goal was to prevent Obama's re-election. They didn't care that they were basically shutting down the US Government for 2 years and wreaking havoc on the lives of every American in the process, they had a mission and come hell or high water, by God, they wee going to go through with it. Sounds a lot like the way people have been opposing Mayor Ford.

Instead of focusing on the messages of both men, opponents have instead opted to focus on the physical appearance and/or name, race or beliefs as reasons to openly oppose them. Opponents of both men have attacked them for being fat, for being rough around the edges (Ford) or for the family connection to Islam and their name and race (Obama) because they know that we as people are too stupid to wade through their crap and see their attacks as what they are; pathetic attempts by the opponents of these men to try to obscure their accomplishments by trying to make people mad about other things that have no bearing on reality nor upon their ability to lead.

I would suggest that despite all of these people and their dirty tactics used against these two men, they have accomplished much more than anyone seems to realize. Republicans have, in my opinion, been bordering on treasonous behaviour in the way (especially Tea Party members) have been acting in Congress and the Senate, blocking every attempt possible to get the political machine moving in Washington. Mayor Ford has had to deal with the fact that a minor charity fund raising issue has, for some reason, been brought to a court proceeding and resulted in a heavy handed suggestion by the courts that he be removed from office. Let's get the facts straight here. Mayor Ford admitted that he helped raise $3500 or so in funds for a youth football team, agreed that he had to repay the funds himself and voted in favour of his repayment and somehow that makes it right that he be booted out of office?

The actions of his opponents are despicable in my estimation. Here is a man who has his issues, that's a given, but who has been able to accomplish something Mayor Miller never could (balance a budget) and yet his opponents would prefer to squander that fiscal change and force an election that would cost the city about $7 million (conservatively speaking) all over this stupid matter that should never have gone to court. The Mayors of Montreal and Laval have been forced out of their jobs in the last 2 months as well but in both of those cases, we are talking about fraud and corruption that was well into the millions of dollars and that were only discovered by accident. In Ford's case, he himself readily admitted his errors and even voted in favour of forcing himself to repay the money and yet he is being forced out of office? WTF?!?!

 Don't get me wrong, Hazel is the best but her scandal last year was 

1000 times worse in scope and nature then Mayor Ford, and she is still Mayor

The people of Toronto as well as Republicans who continue to rail against Obama, have lost all my respect. The way they are acting right now (or should I say overreacting) in the case of Ford tells me that they would treat a zit on their forehead by cutting off the patients head. They are radicals who have no business in politics given the way they are reacting to such a trivial issue. I mean for the love of God Hazel McCallion, long time Mayor of Mississauga was invilved in her own scandal which was much more nefarious then what Ford admitted to doing (helping her son land an $11 million Convention center and hotel deal) and no a single person I know of felt that she should be forced out of office (even IF she had been found guilty, I still think she would have kept her job).

The difference is that she has the support of the people and Ford doesn't. Or at least he doesn't have the support of the right people, namely the media who consistently chose to mock him for his weight loss attempts and attack him whenever they can about any tiny thing he does wrong (like picking up some KFC or coaching the Don Bosco high school football team, neither of which has ANYTHING to do with his job as Mayor). Frankly, I would surmise that the media has been on a paparazzi-like witch hunt on Mayor Ford ever since he reacted angrily when a Toronto Star writer literally violated his privacy by trying to get pictures of the mayor at his own home.

They saw that they could antagonize him and he would react like a normal person, not like a real polished politician and they said screw it, lets keep poking the bear and see how he reacts each time. I mean if you listen to the Dean Blundell show on the Edge, every morning he and the guys find something new about the Mayor to mock him about. I love their show but at the same time, enough is enough. The man still has done a decent job, both despite his political adversaries and in spite of himself. But the message has been lost because of the messenger. Everyone has been so focused on the who that they have forgotten about the what.

 I'm not sure there is anything President Obama will ever be able to do to get his critics

off his back aside from flying a jet into an alien armada and saving the planet like 

Bill Pullman did in Independence Day

I am almost 100% positive that Mayor Ford will be able to fight off this challenge to his position and, given the fact that President Obama won a 2nd term, he will be able to get much more accomplished in the next 4 years then he did in his first 4 (and he did do a lot more then the Republicans will ever admit). Its just pathetic to me that at a time when people are always talking about "anti-bullying" and respect for all people that we are still looking at people and judging them based upon their appearance, their name their race and their political affiliations. We still haven't grown past them and, as much as people want to say that Toronto and Canada as a whole is not as divided as the US, I think it is quite clear that we are much more divided then even we realize.