Right and Wrong

No matter what side of the story you remember having been partial to, I can be pretty certain it will be easy to see that the proper side of the story (issue) is very clear today.

The truth will set you free.

I want to begin with Napster. And it doesn't matter whether or not you were either a fan of Metallica or not, or whether or not you illegally downloaded music. Napster provided a service that allowed thousands of people to obtain digital files that contained music. Songs that we all wanted. The Internet was in its infancy. Musicians everywhere depend upon the revenue that comes from the original artwork that they create, right? Of course! As bad as it made Metallica, and more specifically drummer Lars Ulrich appear - at that time, they did the right thing. Now we have many services that allow the same types of musical downloads, but you must pay. Those artists deserve some money!

Interracial marriage was made legal in the United States a little more than 50 years ago - in 1967's Loving vs. Virginia, even though several states had not created, and have yet to create, any such law. Today dozens of nations worldwide view this as an illegal act. Legal or not racism is as rampant today as it was 50, 100, even hundreds of years ago. More on this later.

Leading up to 1920, there were movements, protests, and a considerable amount of disagreement abroad regarding the rights of women to vote. Many countries, to this day, still do not allow its female citizens to vote. USA made it law with an Amendment to the Constitution in 1920. Recently women will be allowed to drive for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Let that sink in for a minute!

The right of a woman to end her own pregnancy has long been a touchy one. But in 1973, the landmark Roe vs. Wade 7–2 Supreme Court decision declared it legal, that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion. Like many of the laws of mankind, this one will likely always be challenged. In the USA no less than 11 major court decisions, following Rose vs. Wade, are still very relevant.

Slavery.

Did you know that six of our 27 Amendments to the Constitution were ratified between 1913 and 1933? Did you know that only six have been ratified since 1933? Did you know that the 17th Amendment established the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote? Did you know there are six Amendments that were unratified? Four of them, the first four, could still be ratified today. Two of them are still actually relevant today! The Congressional Apportionment Amendment tried to regulate the size of congressional districts for representation in the House. And the CHild Labor Amendment would allow the Federal Government to limit, regulate, and prohibit shild labor. One of the Amendments nullified a prior one, so there really are only 26 still standing. That one is the repeal of a prior Amendment prohibiting alcohol.

I'll get back to Amendments later, but it is at this time that I will say this. The fact that our Constitution has 26 Amendments should reveal something. Our founding fathers are unifiably regarded very highly, right? What child isn't taught that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are the father figures they should all look up to? ...Or Franklin, Adams, or Madison, or later, Teddy Roosevelt for that matter? These "geniuses" did exactly what they thought they should do. And that which they began was very noteworthy. Having just established a new government on a foreign land, you've gotta give them the credit they deserve for their progressiveness. They had no idea what would happen in the next 200+ years! But they obviously made a few mistakes, or else we wouldn't have the Amendments we have. No one can predict the future.

This brings me to a certain topic, in which science HAS predicted the future. Throughout the time that humans have inhabited our lovely planet, it has been proven that temperatures are rising. Glaciers are melting faster and faster. Weather anomalies are happening more and more often. Carbon Dioxide emissions are rising. The earth needs more trees, and much less deforestation. Climate change has been scientifically PROVEN!

Terminating nuclear proliferation.

I mentioned to my family, "did you know that thousands of immigrants seeking asylum have no idea where their children are?" There are effectively missing children. This was over 2 weeks ago. Two weeks later the media is finally reporting the inhumane, unnecessary, cruel "policy" of the new administration. Yeah surely it's been done before. But nowhere near the scope of May & June, 2018. It is not a crime to enter a border crossing seeking asylum from devastating circumstances in another place. In case people don't remember, it was "rule of thumb" adopted as "rule of law" long ago: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Unnecessary war or involvement in conflicts in many, many third-world countries. For the sake of money, exponentially increased military defense budgets, and oil. It's been going on for 50+ years! It has to stop.

Stats don't lie regarding the types of people who have recently been committing mass murder (mass shootings). Virtually none of them are illegal immigrants. Almost all of them are white males. Most of them owned their weapons legally - others did not. Almost all of them, in mass shootings, used a weapon that is unnecessary for the average US citizen to own. If you think you need a weapon of war to protect yourself or your household, you've got another thing coming. Are you also going to expect to own a tank? Perhaps a fighter jet, or a minigun? Nothing you own will help win a war against government tyranny.


Aside: Just a creation of one of my favorite songwriters:

The night is black, without a moon. The air is thick and still.
The vigilantes gather on the lonely torchlit hill.
Features distorted in the flickering light, the faces are twisted and grotesque.
Silent and stern in the sweltering night, the mob moves like demons possessed.
Quiet in conscience, calm in their right; confident their ways are best.
The righteous rise with burning eyes of hatred and ill-will.
Madmen fed on fear and lies to beat, and burn, and kill.
They say there are strangers, who threaten us, in our immigrants and infidels.
They say there is strangeness, too dangerous, in our theatres and bookstore shelves.
That those who know what’s best for us must rise and save us from ourselves.
Quick to judge, quick to anger.. Slow to understand.
Ignorance and prejudice.. And fear walk hand in hand! --Neil Peart, 1980.

Did you know our grand ol' country used to have open borders? Illegal immigration is nothing new. But before I proceed, why is it even a necessary concept? Many politicians over the course of 245 years have done one thing or another to try to define it. Yet no one really understands the issue at all. Just as an example, try going to a location, far away from a preferred United States port of entry, and take a look at what is preventing you from going into Mexico. It's more difficult to get into Canada, but they'll certainly let you visit. If you intend to stay a while, and maybe get a job, you actually would probably be successful. That's the way it used to be in the USA. Obviously when our nation was in its infancy, populating the vast area was something the founding fathers not only wanted, but saw as a necessity. How strong could our young country become without strength in numbers?

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Theodore Roosevelt - 1904 Mounted Watchmen
Calvin Coolidge - 1924 Official Border Patrol
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Roosevelt
Dwight Eisenhower - 1954 Operation Wetback
Bill Clinton - 1994 NAFTA, Operation Gatekeeper
George W. Bush - 2002 HHS
Barack Obama
Donald Trump

All of them had a hand in what is known today as "illegal or legal" immigration. It's a battle that has gotten increasingly worse. Because obviously in the beginning of our country, immigrants helped our cause. Yet Washington and Jefferson maintained their tight restrictions. Once the Roosevelt Mounted Watchmen, and World War I happened, the country was suddenly in a collective fear of invasion by Axis powers. This never happened then. And Coolodge's border patrol of about 1500 workers helped ease American's worry.

Throughout the next 12 years until FDR was elected, our citizens were much more focused on regrouping from a war that we knew was unnecessary. As with most wars, a recession followed, and this one was the worst in our history. But it was also addressed and brought quickly to an end by our new very progressive president, Franklin Roosevelt. He would soon produce some of the best ideas for the recovering nation. The New Deal, new Amendments to the Constitution - he recognized that many were aging beyond their scope of creation. But after much American success, he was bombarded by another unnecessary war. No other president was elected 4 times. That says something. FDR was a special man, and had some of the best interests and ideas for the people of America.

Clinton and Obama were two of the most loved, and appreciated presidents in the last 50 years. The fact that we had to endure Bush II, and 9/11 on his watch just dragged us down. Sure - Patriotism was very high following 9/11, but his presidency, and everything that surrounded it, was borderline horrendous. I cried my eyes out in November of 2000 when the powers that be declared him the winner over Al Gore, and then again in 2004. The last 4 years of Bush 2's tenure were some of the worst in our history.

Enter Barack Obama! As far as American HOPE was concerned, it was amazing to see. The man has gone down in history as a top-15 POTUS, and that cannot be denied. Especially as far as immigration is concerned. He deported more illegals than any prior president, and yet allowed just about every family seeking asylum, who applied for it. One of the classiest presidential families in American history helped millions of underpriveledged find their way towards a better life here - in our country of acceptance. If the man could have been elected to a 3rd term, it would've been an overwhelming win.

Donald Trump. Admitted bigot. Admitted misogynist. Admitted xenophobic. Admitted to sexual assault. The list goes on, and on, and on. He lies nearly all of the time that he actually speaks for himself. His pawns lie even more when expected to address the media - the media that he calls the enemy of the people. As a freelance journalist, myself, I find this absolutely reprehensible. The old man is 100% incompetent to serve the highest office in the land. He is forcing dozens of our own allies, and many other world nations to frankly laugh at us. They are laughing at us! The sooner he is gone - the better. Now he declines to lower flags at half-staff for victims of the Annapolis Capital Gazette shooting. This idiot hasn't a clue! Nor does he comprehend the concept of compassion.

We already have 650+ miles of WALL. There are cities all over the world which are split among two countries. But there are a few on the US-Mexico border, which have a giant steel wall splitting the city in two. Yes, just like Berlin, Germany used to. Hmmm... I think China also did this a long time ago? Some of these border cities are said to be "dying," or "dead" on the US side, but just across the wall, there is a happy little flourishing Mexican town. Nogales is one of them. Please go check it out sometime. This is a country with which we haven't been at war since 1848! The increase in border patrol agents, just in Arizona, has increased from about 3500 in 1970 to over 17000 today. What? So the longer the nation is in existence, the fewer immigrants we are supposed to welcome? MOST of these people who are trying to get into the country, are hoping to work for a living wage, and provide a safe life for their children. MOST are also coming from many areas other than Mexico. Go watch "United Shades of America: The Border" from 4/29/2018 (season 3, episode 1). You'll learn something.

Issues here, and issues there. We eventually find out what is right and what is wrong. People die trying indirectly to let us know. Anthony Bourdain.. JFK, RFK, MLK Jr., George Carlin - to name a few.

A hundred years ago, it was commonplace for members of the clergy to disapprove of things like dancing, smoking, parties, and even gambling. It's generational.. Nowadays millions of people can't accept the fact that homosexuals deserve the right to be happy. Love who you want. It is no one's business BUT theirs. There are dozens of millions of gay people all over the world. Most of them have found it very difficult to "come out." YOU don't understand how big of an ordeal that process is for them. I'm sure it would be a very life-changing, depressing, series of events to do what they most want to do -- to show you that they are not ashamed of their sexuality. It's not a choice.. It's a biological thing that one can equate with the love and affection for your best buddy, or your pet, or your career: Love is dependent upon the interpretation of the person.. and is absolutely not anyone's business but his/her own.

Racism.

In this life, there are but two kinds of people. Those who support the HUMAN race, and those who strictly support their own race. The race that they think is superior to all others. White, especially. I doubt many people of other ethnicities feel that way, although all minorities would have much more justification in almost all cases. All of our ancestors were immigrants to the US of A. They stole this land from Native Americans, for goodness sake. How do you think they feel?

Marijuana legalization. It cures diseases, it makes people feel better, as opposed to many prescription drugs, and other legal stuff like alcohol and nicotine -- it's ridiculous that it's illegal in half the states. Progress is being made, though!

Open your eyes. There are tons of issues that need support. Don't follow a particular party just because you were told, or brought-up to think it's "the right way to think." It's not about left or right.. It's about WHAT IS RIGHT.

Go find out what is right!!!!


My original content

Imagine If You Will

Image Source

Just for a moment - I'd like everyone to imagine what would have happened at the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, had 4 or 5 THOUSAND of those 20,000 concert attendees pulled out their handguns and began firing.

(Towards the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Towards the Luxor. Towards helicopters... towards each other...)

Doesn't Care, Isn't Amused

Via

This is Why All Cops Need an AR-15

Source / Via (NSFW)

Then again some would say it's also a great argument for stricter gun-control measures. No measures taken, however, are going to prevent an otherwise normal guy from "snapping" one day, and deciding he's done living his life. Thank goodness these officers weren't injured too badly.

Here's the story..

To The American Public

In response to all the recent crap I've seen on the news regarding citizens, who are worried that their guns will be taken away... And also to all you non-gun-owners in a position of power, please take a moment to read this. You'll be educated for the better.

Image Source

The term "assault weapons" has misled you.

When people see weapons like the AR-15, or the .223 Bushmaster, they call these assault weapons. Way, way too many of you don't know what the hell an assault weapon is. There is actually no definition of an assault weapon!

But OK, there are also assault rifles in existence. If you read that, you'll see that most "assault rifles" are fully automatic. They also cost many thousands of dollars.. Usually upwards of $10,000. These are the weapons you see during war, where there is a "rope" of rounds being fed in by another soldier.

Wait a minute. What's the difference between semi-automatic, and fully-automatic? Read that. Please.

ANY semi-automatic weapon will fire one (and only one) round with each squeeze of the trigger. However, most fully-automatic weapons will fire multiple rounds with one squeeze of the trigger. They will continue to fire until the trigger is released. These are machine guns, as most people think of what it means to be a "machine gun". Many people think the term "assault weapon" MEANS "machine gun". That couldn't be further from the truth.

Here is a very well-done slideshow for you to check out from assaultweapon.info. ~ Read that too!

Semi-automatic technology has been around for over a hundred years. This includes semi-automatic handguns. Any gun that can be fired repeatedly as fast as the shooter can squeeze the trigger is a semi-automatic. This includes revolvers! It also includes most shotguns. Most shotguns are either semi-automatic or pumps. The pump shotguns require the shooter to pump the prior shell out, the action also loads another shell, and it's very quick. It's not semi-automatic, but most pump shotguns can hold 7 shells, or at least 3-5. Semi-automatic shotguns can shoot 7 rounds as quickly as the trigger is pulled.

Anyone can take any semi-automatic rifle - or a hunting rifle - and change many various parts of the rifle, and make it look just like an AR-15, or.. what people think is an assault weapon:

Via

The AR-15, the .223 Bushmaster, are exactly the same as all semi-automatic hunting "long guns".

Period.

By the way, most of these lunatics who go murder people with guns got their guns legally. This is an important fact.

Via

I've already mentioned that semi-automatic technology has been around for over a hundred years. If all semi-automatic guns were banned in this country, all criminals would have an absolute advantage.

The point is this: If there were a semi-automatic weapons ban, we would be suddenly thwarted back to the late 1800s. In those times the only guns in existence were single-load weapons. So the answer to the gun violence of 2012 is to make only single-load guns available? Right. It will never happen. But if it did, all criminals would have a serious advantage.

The more important message is that everyone needs to understand the difference between a rapid-fire machine gun, and a semi-automatic weapon.

12 Facts About Guns & Mass Shootings in the United States

~ a super Washington Post/Wonkblog article by Ezra Klein

Image Source

When we first collected much of this data, it was after the Aurora, Colo. shootings, and the air was thick with calls to avoid “politicizing” the tragedy. That is code, essentially, for “don’t talk about reforming our gun control laws.”

Let’s be clear: That is a form of politicization. When political actors construct a political argument that threatens political consequences if other political actors pursue a certain political outcome, that is, almost by definition, a politicization of the issue. It’s just a form of politicization favoring those who prefer the status quo to stricter gun control laws.

Since then, there have been more horrible, high-profile shootings. Jovan Belcher, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, took his girlfriend’s life and then his own. In Oregon, Jacob Tyler Roberts entered a mall holding a semi-automatic rifle and yelling “I am the shooter.” And, in Connecticut, at least 27 are dead — including 18 children — after a man opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

If roads were collapsing all across the United States, killing dozens of drivers, we would surely see that as a moment to talk about what we could do to keep roads from collapsing. If terrorists were detonating bombs in port after port, you can be sure Congress would be working to upgrade the nation’s security measures. If a plague was ripping through communities, public-health officials would be working feverishly to contain it.

Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not. “Too soon,” howl supporters of loose gun laws. But as others have observed, talking about how to stop mass shootings in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn’t “too soon.” It’s much too late.

What follows here isn’t a policy agenda. It’s simply a set of facts — many of which complicate a search for easy answers — that should inform the discussion that we desperately need to have.

1. Shooting sprees are not rare in the United States.

Mother Jones has tracked and mapped every shooting spree in the last three decades. “Since 1982, there have been at least 61 mass murders carried out with firearms across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii,” they found. ...Cont'd...

Click here to continue to the rest of the article..

The article linked above ("tracked and mapped") is also very, very good!

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura - HAARP

(High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) - Weather modification & mind control from Gakona, Alaska.


Source / Via TruTV

That Wasn't Cool, Mr. Costas

Via

Drug Addiction vs. Its Control Spending

Via - (NSFW)

Computer Issues, and a Frustrating Story

Thank you to kboyk2 for his comment on a forum that saved me from what I was certain was an unrecoverable PC condition.

Firefox locked-up. Ctr-Alt-Del, and ending task on Firefox did nothing. Hard boot did nothing. When I realized I still had control of my PC, I decided to do a normal "restart".

Then Windows7 was locked in "logging off" mode for hours. Hard-booting and then hitting F8 for safe mode didn't even work, and once it booted, it was just stuck in logging off mode again. Other than F2, for Boot options, I had no control of my own PC.

Here was the comment from kboy2k that was the answer:

"I figured it out on my own-- but anyway -- you must hold down the power off key for 10 seconds (2-3 seconds wont work- this puts in sleep mode) - after ten seconds release - it - then wait a minute then power on and windows should boot up fine=-- worked for mine." (Comment Via)

Learn something every day.

When I figure out why Firefox locked-up like I've never seen any program lock-up, I'll let you know.

The RC Plane Master - Joe Nall

Via

This guy is incredible! I had a buddy who flew RC planes, and was very good too. I'd be afraid I'd wreck the damn thing. But that's me. First, you have to construct the plane - for hundreds of dollars. Then you can imagine how much this one cost. Wow.

Joe Nall's website..

Freedom?

Via

Why Hasn't This Been Invented?

Via

25 Chill Pills To Control Costly Stress

Via

Stress is a killer -- literally. It also leads to wanton spending, unanticipated medical expenses and income loss.

In the worst case scenario, high stress can lead to suicide. The annual indirect cost for each attempted suicide is $31,616 and each completed suicide is $446,314. The emotional cost to family, friends and the community is incalculable.

None of us want to end up in debt because of stress, particularly stress that can be managed. Some problems simply can't be avoided (Are you listening BP?): Others we can control.

I'm one of those people who used to stress out over simple things, like laundry. It's taken me YEARS and lots of money to develop tricks for controlling this mania. I'd like to share 25 tips learned along my merry therapeutic path. Hopefully, they'll save you money without spending your money.

1. Avoid Human Stress Magnets
Limit exposure to those who create stress in your life, particularly if they refuse to change. You might even consider ending the relationship entirely. That can create more stress during the process, but the result can be surprisingly blissful.

2. Control Your Environment
Is this you? You're driving home, listening to the evening news when someone spouts an unbelievable inanity. You clutch the steering wheel and scream! (Okay. Maybe that's not you, but it's sure me.) That's why I now listen to music or books on CD during drive times.

If it's the traffic that makes you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market drives you up the wall, delegate the job to someone else, shop during slower hours or do the bulk of your shopping at farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture groups or bodegas/neighborhood stores.

3. Flip the Switch on Hot Buttons
Discussions of religion, politics and the economy make some people see red. If certain hot buttons just drive you 'round the bend, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop introducing the topic or excuse yourself when they start in again. With enough practice, you might even be able to laugh off their foolish viewpoints.

4. Just Say No
We all have limits, but not all of us insist others recognize them. Refuse to accept excessive responsibilities, whether in your professional or personal life. You may be pleasantly surprised at the reaction you'll receive. Then again, you may not. But you won't know until you try; and you deserve to try.

5. Create a To-Don't List
Identify the "shoulds" and "musts" on your to-do list and eliminate or drop the non-necessities to the bottom. Shoot the "shoulds" to the top of the list if they ever become "musts," (if that makes sense).

Continue to the rest of the list..

Via Interesting Pile

The Ingenious China-Hong Kong Flipper Bridge

One of the most vexing aspects of traveling between mainland China and Hong Kong is the car travel: People in the former drive on the right side of the road; people in the latter drive on the left (a vestige of the British empire).

So to quell confusion at the border and, more importantly, to keep cars from smashing into each other, the Dutch firm NL Architects proposed a brilliant, simple solution, the Flipper bridge.

The bridge does exactly what the name suggests: It flips traffic around. The key here is separating the two sides of traffic, using a figure-eight shape. One side of the road dips under the other, funneling cars that were traveling on the left to the right (and vice versa), without forcing them to encounter head-on traffic at an intersection. The bridge makes what should be a disorienting switch exquisitely easy.

Continue reading..

Bottle Opener Remote Control

Via

Gun Control

Via