Tag Archives: 2nd Amendment

2nd AMENDMENT v. GERRYMANDERING

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Photo by Tony Webster, Wikimedia Commons

SOME folks worry about the gov’t knowing where our guns reside.  Perhaps more importantly,  when the gov’t knows where your ballot — your party affiliation — resides, it’s no longer a SECRET BALLOT; and  it’s easy for parties to gerrymander, resulting in districts designed to be almost solidly R or D, by COLLUSION of both main parties, making it nearly impossible for voters to defeat an incumbent. That’s how the parties control us. The result :  career politicians are rarely removed from office, unless caught with pants down (or maybe not!) — and we suffer dictatorial anointing (by party bosses) of who gets to run for office.

Example:  those voters registered “independent” are in even worse shape in NY: the Independence Party has virtually no voice in nominating or choosing those who run in the main parties in NY. So, “independent” voters have abandoned their ability to nominate a candidate in what is arguably a more important balloting — the primaries — where potential office seekers are blessed-by and beholden-to party bosses.  Upstarts are scorned and obstructed by the parties, unless they are “players”. Would-be candidates must kiss the ring of the bosses.  Our Founders, especially Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson, were very wary of “party spirit” (factionalism) which might divide the public, as discussed in President Washington’s farewell address.

In New York, voters tolerate this, although there is an effort to lobby for repeal of closed primaries which you could sign. We voters deserved what we got. (“He who snoozes loses.)   The pol’s knew we were asleep, and stole our voting franchise, so they could control the game!  What’s even worse: voters who want to switch parties to cast a ballot in a more interesting primary have to do so long before a contest becomes exciting. Recently, a cutoff date to switch was October 25, for an April primary! That’s designed by them to prevent people from exercising their choice in a timely fashion as a race heats up. Yep, more control by the pro’s. Not a free election!

Don’t all Americans deserve open primaries? (Currently only 19 US states have open primaries!) We must work to hide our affiliation. It’s time to take back the electoral process. We, the people want our voting power restored to full clout, by becoming states with Open Primaries. We want a truly independent ability to opt out of party affiliation, becoming undeclared, without surrendering our ability to vote in a primary of our choice. Our party affiliation must be invisible to government! That’s why it’s called a Secret Ballot — but it’s not secret if THEY know the address of your affiliation. And it’s not a free election if you can’t easily change affiliation to vote in the primary of your choice. Take back the power to choose! Demand an open primary for NY, or whatever state denies your independence to choose! (We need a revolution in balloting.) And it should include “ranked choice voting” so we are not resigned to “voting against” a candidate for fear of wasting a ballot on a very talented someone who “can’t possibly win”.

2nd-Amendment Crime Against Civil Society

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The Buffalo News, 15 May 2022

Don’t dismiss this act as that of a sick person.  It’s an act of a sick society!  As a native Buffalonian, I’m wounded, and ashamed.  America is utterly intoxicated — drunk on false  “liberty”.  Mass shootings are now a daily event in America.  The Second Amendment, badly misinterpreted by a right-wing Supreme Court, is now understood to say that individual citizens have a right to own military assault weapons, when in fact the 2nd-A assigns the right to each state’s national guard: “A well regulated militia…”.   So where are these “regulations” from Congress on individual gun owners, when Republicans in Congress won’t raise a finger to control toxic gun policy — afraid of the gun lobby, afraid of losing their next election?  What have these elected officials done to defend America against gunner-bullies? — Nothing. They’re cowards.  They serve themselves.  And they deserve to be replaced.  A vote for any Republican is a vote for more daily mass-murder. (It’s ironic how Republican legislators, and their jurists, are so passionate about defending the yet unborn, while turning a blind eye to those neighbors who are already living next door.)

America is falling-down drunk on its own stooopid notions as to what makes for a free and civilized society.  Yeah, “Make America Great Again” by letting every drunken loon in the land own a basement full of assault weapons, extended clips,  and ammo.  Should we put metal detectors on grocery stores and churches, and all of us buy handguns and flack jackets so we can take down the next lunatic shooter?  Well, the white racists of the so-called white race deserve to be “replaced” along with those legislators who pander to them.  It can’t come soon enough.  (Today I’m ashamed of my pale caucasian face.)
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Psalm 75:1   We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you! We proclaim how great you are and tell of the wonderful things you have done.
2   “I have set a time for judgment,” says God, “and I will judge with fairness.
3   Though every living creature tremble and the earth itself be shaken, I will keep its foundations firm.
4   I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;
5   I tell them to stop their boasting.”
6   Judgment does not come from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south;
7      it is God who is the judge, condemning some and acquitting others.
8  The Lord holds a cup in his hand, filled with the strong wine of his anger. He pours it out, and all   the wicked drink it; they drink it down to the last drop.
9  But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob or singing praises to him.
10 He will break the power of the wicked, but the power of the righteous will be increased.
[Good News Translation]
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. . . where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  (2Cor3:17 kjv)
Amen.
 

!! FOR THE LOVE OF GUNS !!

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from Wikimedia Commons, photo © Tomascastelazo.com

Many Americans apparently have an unbalanced zeal for guns — loving them more than our own children.  While there is great passion asserted by some against “murder of unborn children” via abortion, there is little regard for reasonable constraint of gun ownership by many of these same folks.  This is a minority position, but many elected leaders are cowards before them, when it comes to defending the right to life of students — instead, favoring the “liberty” of gun owners — to the point of not even requiring safe storage, in some states. 

This begs the question “What is liberty?”  Should a 15-year old be given a handgun?  Should they be allowed to have a gun or drive the family car, without insurance, licensing and testing? 

Ask your elected leaders why they are defending their own jobs, but not defending America!  These politicians are afraid to attempt the slightest regulation of guns because the NRA worries that any sort of additional gun control is a slippery slope — even tho’ the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution calls for a “well regulated militia” of gun ownership.  FREEDOM ENTAILS OBEDIENCE TO MORAL LAW.  STOP THESE ELECTED COWARDS!  Here are their names, bleeding red.

And what can be said about the moral idiocy and poor taste of this elected official, who posed his family with his armory, four days after a school was shot up, killing four students?   Obviously his view is “not my family; not my district.”  Shameless!  (Have you let his type push your “freedom buttons” at the poles?)

!! GUNS & BALLOTS !! — A WAKE-UP CALL

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Photo by Jubre2016, Wikimedia Commons (fair use)

Q:  What’s more slimy than a salamander, and more slippery than a one-eyed eel after coitus? Answer: A Gerrymander! 

Many voters know that politicians from both sides of the aisle own the game simply because they know where you store your ballot, which is to say those slippery pols know where you live, and which  party you joined when you registered to vote.   Both sides want to keep it this way so they can rig the primaries by redesigning the districts after each census — by drawing congressional districts to favor one party over another — first done in Massachusetts by a pol named Mr Gerry, which district was said to look like a salamander.  And most voters feel powerless to do anything about these unbalanced districts.  But wait!

Few voters recognize that the smoky backrooms of the party bosses are where elections are decided.  Nobody can run for office on “their” ticket without kissing their ring.  If you were to be allowed onto the primary ballot, you owe them! And they will extract repayment, as this is how the parties control us..

Voters in a few states have been alert enough to prevent this.  How?  They’ve designed their voter-registration and primary balloting so that, once registered, any voter can show up on primary day and ask for a ballot for whichever party has the most interesting nominations. This removes predictability from the gameboys’ tool chest.

If un-affiliated registration became the law in your state, it would mean that your predictability can no longer be gamed by either party, simply by their knowing where you live, when it comes time to redraw districts, meaning they can no longer Gerrymander effectively, after each census. But it would take a ground-swell of citizen action — such as a public referendum demanding a chance to vote on a change of rules, for voters to retake ownership of the election franchise.  Got grit?  Call for a referendum!  Launch a petition drive.

So, what does this post have to do with guns?  If you don’t want the gummit to know that you own guns, shouldn’t we all be just as private about where we store our ballots?  He who snoozes, loses, kids!  WE the People need to take back our power.  We are the gummit, dammit!

 

 

                WE’RE ALL IMMIGRANTS

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Duct-taped water bottle,  PHOTOS by Tom Keifer, series linked below.

All magicians use distraction:  Look, over there!  Invaders!   (Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain, that armed bear, that loon with an extended-mag Glock who’s about to shoot up your place of worship, or your kid’s classroom, or your place of refreshment, or entertainment venue — who maybe can’t hold a driver license due to instability — but can easily buy military-grade assault weapons.)  They call this “states’ rights”, but whatever happened to our right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness?  

Ah, 2nd Amendment.  Our elected officials prefer to defend their own jobs rather defending public lives by creating a federally-regulated system of checks on gunners’ “rights” to arm bears, crazy-angry bears.  (¿ They can regulate, federally, whomever is allowed to fly a plane, but not who can buy an assault rifle?)  

Yes, a congress of cowards.  So, what about that phrase in the 2nd A? :  a well-regulated militia.  Apparently congress knows better than to poke a bear in its den, even if it will surely soon emerge again to ravage the nearest watering hole, or school, or church.  Yes, cowards, on both sides of the aisle.

Of course, the feds need to control borders, just as they need to control planes, and toxins, and fires, and weapons.  

I own a few long guns for sport.  I spent four years defending this nation.  I want our elected officials, many of whom have never served (other than themselves) to step up and defend the citizenry.  Guys, you’re way late!  You work for us.  Get busy bringing federal regulation to this insanity.  Be willing to lay down your careers for your neighbors!  Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.  ~Jesus

Photographer/designer Tom Keifer has done an eloquent job depicting the risks and costs of fleeing poverty — just as nearly all of our ancestors did – including President Trump’s first American ancestor, Friedrich Drumpf, who came to America in 1885, apparently to dodge the draft in Germany.   (I have no idea what Mr Keifer’s views might be on assault weapons, or politics, but I admire his photographic work.)

All detainees are stripped of their belts which are generally discarded. As they move through the court system and eventually deported, they wear pants with no belt and shoes with no shoelaces.   (All photos by Tom Keifer.)

 

SEE TWO COMMENTS.

COMMENTS CLOSED, DUE TO ATTEMPTED HACKS.

 

VOTING: “2nd Amendment” & free elections

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Photo by Tony Webster, WikiMedia

Photo by Tony Webster, WikiMedia

 

OPEN PRIMARIES 

Our ability to choose candidates in New York State (and a minority of other states) is restricted by two dominant political parties.  If rules prevent voters from crossing party lines to cast a ballot for a preferred candidate, the nominating process is closed, and it is no longer a free election.  

The politicians in this state have stolen the voting franchise so they can control the electorate, disallowing maverick-upstart candidates.  (The US Constitution makes no mention of political parties, so state politicians designed it in their own favor.)  A majority of states allow voters to choose whichever primary contest offers greater interest.  Why is ours closed?–  Because two bully parties want to know where you store your ballot [your affiliation]!  Think Second Amendment:  do you want the gov’t to know where your affiliation [your ballot] resides?  It’s more useful than our guns, when things are normal.  (Or have you forgotten the experience in Norway during WW2, of registered small arms being seized by invading forces.)  Like guns, ballots can get “seized” too; and so they have in states with closed primaries.

Justice Felix Frankfurter said “We are in danger of forgetting that the Bill of Rights reflects experience with police excesses. It is not only under Nazi rule that police excesses are inimical to freedom. It is easy to make light of insistence on scrupulous regard for the safeguards of civil liberties when invoked on behalf of the unworthy. It is too easy. History bears testimony that by such disregard are the rights of liberty extinguished, heedlessly at first, then stealthily, and brazenly in the end.  

Adolf Hitler said “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subjugated races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subjugated races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. ”   

¿Whether or not you favor gun control, can you defend the politicians in this state who have confiscated your ballot?   When the gov’t knows where your party affiliation resides, it’s easy for parties to gerrymander, resulting in districts designed to be almost solidly R or D, by agreement of both parties, making it nearly impossible to defeat an incumbent.  That’s how the parties control us.  The result:  career politicians are rarely removed from office; and we suffer dictatorial anointing of who gets to run for office.  (Just look at the obstacles put up by DNC to stifle Bernie Sanders!)

Those voters registered “independent” are in even worse shape in NY:  the Independence Party has no voice in nominating or choosing those who run in main parties in NY.  Independent voters have abandoned their ability to nominate a candidate in what is arguably a more important balloting process — the primary, where potential office seekers are blessed-by and beholden-to party bosses; upstarts are scorned and obstructed.
    
In New York, voters tolerate this, although there is an effort to lobby for repeal of closed primaries  which you could sign.  We voters deserve what we got.  The pol’s knew we were asleep, and stole our voting franchise.  What’s even worse:  voters who want to switch parties to cast a ballot in a more interesting primary have to do so long before a contest becomes exciting.  The cutoff date to switch was October 25, for an April primary!  That’s designed by them to prevent people from exercising their choice in a timely fashion, as a race heats up.  Yep, more control by the pro’s. Not a free election!
Don’t New Yorkers deserve open primaries?  We must hide our affiliation!  It’s time to take back the electoral process.  We, the people of NYS want our voting power restored to full clout, by becoming a state with Open Primaries. We want a truly independent ability to opt out of party affiliation, without surrendering our ability to vote in a primary of our choice.  Our party affiliation must be invisible to government!  That’s why it’s called a Secret Ballot — but it’s not secret, if THEY know the address of your affiliation.  And it’s not a free election if you can’t easily change affiliation to vote in the primary of your choice.  Take back the power to choose!  Demand an open primary for NY! (We need a revolution in balloting.)
(I would welcome learning of organized efforts in NY to press this issue.)