Thank You For Your Service

 Today is Veteran's Day.  Will you say to a veteran whom you may meet, "thank you for your service?"

As a veteran, I find those words hollow especially coming from a Republican.  I do respond with a thank you, but I go on to say the following:

If you truly appreciate my service and those of my fellow veterans then I kindly ask that you vote Democrat or 3rd Party.  Republicans have embraced and continue to embrace acts of treachery.  Some of those acts led to the assault on our elections a year ago and a physical assault on our government on January 6. Still to this day the Republicans seek to cover up the misdeeds so the liar-in-chief can once again take the presidency.  If that were to occur then I believe it is much more likely that we will lose our government of the people by the people for the people to be replaced by one party rule for the benefit of Trump and his minions.

Republicans are not fit to lead.  

If you are Republican then I encourage you to leave the party.  I left the party ~10 years or more ago.  I have no party affiliation and so can you if you do not like the Democrat platform.  

The GOP & Its Political Dogma Has Failed America

The GOP is a party of climate change deniers & now coronavirus deniers that will not take responsibility for its actions.

More importantly, its perverted since of capitalism that has played out over the last 40 years has placed our country at risk. Resources are hoarded by the 1% , which has left our country with substantial debt and very little safety net to adequately handle a crisis.

If its political dogma was so great then America would have a president that can champion those values that helped make us great to lead us through our current crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but he and his party have trampled on those values, which makes it more likely that we will have a deep and prolonged recession.  Adding insult to injury, I believe few within the GOP have the intellectual honesty to admit that GOP has failed drastically.  Absent that, November can not come fast enough.

Again! Another Gun Owner Commits Mass Murder

In just a few days, 2 gun owners killed about 10 people and destroyed untold number of lives.  The most recent gun owner that killed four did so in Pennsylvania.

There are several things I have focused on if you have not fully read my blog, which are:

1. The people that kill people with guns are typically gun owners (a fact the NRA ignores)
2. We must change the message; instead of saying "gun control" we should use the NRAs own language for example, "we do not need gun control because guns do not kill people, but we do need people control because people kill people" and
3. As such. we should institute laws that ensure responsible gun ownership; conversely, if one cannot be responsible then they forfeit their Second Amendment (2A) right until they can conclusively do so.

In short, its about people control, not gun control.

I believe in the phrase, "you abuse it, you lose it."

Sadly, a few gun owners have abused the 2A right by infringing upon our (as in ALL OF US) unalienable rights endowed by our creator and in doing so, these few put at risk OUR 2A right.  I know one gun owner who believes that the 2A right, which was endowed by our government, precedes those rights endowed by our creator.  What gets my goat is that this gun owner has touted his belief in Jesus Christ. Go figure.

I digress, the point is if the NRA is truly the protector of the 2A that it claims then it needs to promote responsible gun ownership to ensure that ALL gun owners will respect their's and more importantly others' unalienable rights.  While changing their message will help, they need to support laws that will ensure it.  Another way to look at, not all people should be able to exercise their 2A right, because they are detrimental to themselves and more importantly, you, me and our way of life.

Yes, it will be a cumbersome to gun owners, but less cumbersome then lying stone cold dead on the ground with no where else to go. 

Oh, by the way. the 2A remains intact.  Is that not what we want?

Our Usual Ritual – Thoughts and Prayers

On Saturday October 27, 18 Robert Bowers, A GUN OWNER, killed ten (10) people in a Pittsburgh, PA synagogue.  If you have not given your “thoughts and prayers” then you should.  They are obligatory are they not?  Nothing else and we can go about our lives until it is our time or that of some other unsuspecting American to be the sacrificial lamb. That is the price we pay to have the Second Amendment (2A) per one NRA member.

They may be willing to trade their life un-needlessly, but I do not want to and neither should you.

We do not need gun restrictions because “guns do not kill people.”

However, we do need laws to ensure that “people” (that either own or seek to own a gun):

1. Are mentally stable to ensure they respect and will not infringe upon everyone else’s unalienable right,
2. Properly store and care for a weapon of death and destruction, and
3. Receive proper training on a periodic basis to use a firearm with reasonable safety

Because “people kill people” and when they use a gun they are so much more lethal as observed for the past goddamn 20 years.

I am so fed up with the obstinate behavior of some gun advocates.  Hopefully, you are, too.

If you have been reading my posts, I have given you tools to counter these people’s arguments by using their own words.

I encourage you to:

1. Agree with gun advocates when they say, “guns do not kill people, people kill people.”  You should tell them we do not need gun restrictions, but instead restrictions on people with unstable minds or people that fail to demonstrate responsibility in properly handling a weapon or people that fail to respect others’ unalienable right.
2. Remind a gun advocate/gun owner that the US Supreme Court tells us in item 2 on page 2 (of the 157 page) Heller opinion which says the 2A applies to self-defense, the Justices state that there needs to be prohibitions on those that are not mentally stable and
3. Inform the gun advocate/owner they should use the total number of gun owners, not total number of Americans, to calculate homicide rates from guns because as shown above it’s the gun owners that are committing or enabling the killings of others and when that is done, homicide rates have increased – because the number of guns have increased – duh!

Challenges, Some Are More So Than Others

I think the challenges Brett Kavanaugh's family encounters pale in comparison to those of the Lawrence family residing on Jacksonville’s Westside in FLCD-5/formerly FLCD-3.

This morning Mrs. Lawrence was riding her bicycle at 6AM EST as she commuted to work at Amazon.  She was hit and killed in an auto accident not too far from where her daughter stood awaiting her school bus.  There are many unknowns to the situation; more specifically, did she have safety lights, was the car traveling at a high rate of speed, etc., but that is immaterial.  Her death creates long-lasting challenges for her survivors and my heart aches for them like my heart aches for Brett Kavanaugh’s daughters.

Mrs. Lawrence’s survivors include:

1. A husband and 
2. At least 2 teenagers of which:

• One is the previously mentioned daughter and 
• The other is an older special needs child.  

Moreover, her survivors live in a trailer not too far from where the accident occurred in an area that I once trod as I conducted surveys door-to-door approximately 9 nine years ago.  I mentioned that only to paint the picture that this family is poor, but doing what they needed to do to survive albeit with a hope and a prayer.

I learned of Mrs. Lawrence’s death reading the local news immediately after reading about Brett Kavanaugh’s third accuser and her accusations.  I immediately thought about each family and how each would deal with their respective challenges.

Sadly, I think the Lawrence family will have considerable struggles and hardships for years to come whereas the Kavanaughs (especially the daughters) will most likely only wrestle with the notion that Brett Kavanaugh had arguably been disrespectful to young women when he was at an age not much older than his daughters.

Moreover, I can empathize more with the Lawrences than the Kavanaughs.  While I personally have known a few individuals with wealth and influence from time to time, I have for the most part felt like being on the outside only to look in from time to time.  I am very fortunate that my wife works as I have yet to find steady income after being laid off from a reduction in force (RIF).  I am in the process of improving my skills to find employment with upward mobility versus having to take on menial work at a place like a warehouse.  I realize my situation is a luxury that many people do not have so they take what they can, which makes it very hard for them to break the cycle of just-getting-by let alone poverty.

Therefore, I find it galling that our government may put on the Supreme Court a man who is arguably unfit to sit there for multiple reasons, the most important one being honesty.  Brett Kavanaugh with all his privilege squandered his opportunities, which I blame in part on his parents who I believe abdicated their parenting duties and the boarding school administrators failing to assume them as it seems Brett did not develop if he developed at all a strong moral compass.  It is possible Brett Kavanaugh developed a moral compass later on, but he has obviously failed to acknowledge it until today after the third accusation.

Another reason why he is unfit to sit on the bench is that his arguable lack of self-introspection makes it hard for him to fully understand the challenges a family like the Lawrences now encounters.  As such, we need people on the bench that not only know the law and respect it, but know and empathize with families like the Lawrences because I believe there are more of them than the Kavanaughs amongst us.

The Slippery Slope to Anarchy

Someone is lying. That someone is either Christine Margaret Blasey Ford or Brett Michael Kavanaugh.

Mrs. Ford, a college professor, has stated that Mr. Kavanaugh, the current Supreme Court Justice nominee, sexually assaulted her at a party 36 years ago when they were both teenagers.  Mr. Kavanaugh refutes that accusation.

Most if not all vectors point to Mr. Kavanaugh lying.  The most credible vector is that Mrs. Ford disclosed six years ago – six years prior to her ever knowing that the President would nominate Mr. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court – during a therapy session that she was physically assaulted by Mr. Kavanaugh. I could go on with a list of other vectors, but that is not the point of this post.

The point of this post is that we could be on the slippery slope to anarchy.

• Our President lies (he has been proven in a court of law that he has lied repeatedly in the past and arguably, in the court of public, currently, on a daily basis).
• Arguably, a past and current Supreme Court Justice has lied.
• The current Supreme Court Justice nominee has arguably and very much convincingly, lied  - on separate and multiple instances.
• And members of Congress for the most part condone it.  

Are we a nation of liars?

There are consequences to lying.  If those that enforce the law, such as our President lies, then others may be led to believe that lying, if not acceptable, may be expected, which is the beginning of the slippery slope leading to where no one can be trusted.  That is a scary proposition. Even God condemns lying; please look at the 8th Commandment. 

An Unstable Mind Became A Killing Mind

The killer (& gun owner) of two fellow gamers participating in a competition in Jacksonville, FL this past Sunday had mental health issues.  That is shocking, is it not?  Despairingly no, but hopefully it is to those who can affect the needed changes.

Most of the recent killers (& gun owners as well) initiating and orchestrating mass shootings have had documented mental health issues, which should not be a surprise.  Hopefully, this killing of fellow humans will shock our elected officials out of their irrational nonsense for allowing this irresponsible behavior to occur.

I should not single out all elected officials, only the ones responsible. The blood is figuratively on the hands of the Republicans who literally used their hands to signal their vote on legislation that allowed people with documented mental health issues to legally obtain weapons of death and destruction.

If you believe deaths such as those this:

1. Past weekend in Jacksonville, 
2. Earlier this year in Parkland, FL and 
3. Almost six years ago in Newtown, CT 

Are unwarranted and destructive to America then I encourage you to act.

You can:

1. Call your representatives, 
2. Engage those Republicans that represent others, 
3. Vote for 3rd party candidates or Democrats in upcoming elections as most Republicans seem unfit and unwilling to lead and 
4. Reach out to gun owners (as most are responsible) to encourage them to put pressure on their community to encourage the appropriate legislation to promote responsible gun ownership.  

If it helps, I have done all the above.  If I did it, so can you.  More specific to action item #3, today in Florida's primary election, I only voted for those candidates that had no party affiliation or were Democrats.

Field Research Pertaining To The Economy

A couple of weeks ago I analyzed BLS data and concluded that I had more control over my employment situation than previously thought; please see post entitled, Plug Away.  To verify my conclusion, I conducted field research the past two weeks. My findings were mixed. 

Going door to door during the day 99% of those with whom I spoke were not seeking employment (either they were retired or held positions with hours not during the standard business day); however, when I went to a job fair for finance and IT professionals, over 80% of those in attendance were 35 and older with more than half those 50 and above.  Based on this limited research, I conclude that it is still a tough employment market, especially for those that are older for a myriad of reasons for which I am still uncertain.

Separately, when I went door to door, I conducted additional research pertaining to healthcare, retirement savings and peoples’ perception of America.  I will share those findings next week. Stay tuned!

When Does The NRA Own The Problem It Helped Create?

I think most people would agree the ten people killed at a high school in Santa Fe, TX earlier today, which comes on the heels of five killed in Ponder, TX two days prior, which comes on the heels of… (well let’s just say the list goes on) is a problem, is it not?  Most if not all mass shootings are arguably caused by a mentally unstable individual, yet the NRA does not advocate funding for mental health; instead, the NRA seeks to repeal/reverse laws previously enacted that made it difficult to purchase a gun by a person who has been determined not mentally fit as evidenced by H.J.Res. 40, which became law on February 28, 2017. Additional anecdotal evidence to support my belief that the NRA helped create this problem is its actions of deniability.  Not once has the organization ever made a statement when a mass shooting like the one that occurred today that goes something like the following - "We at the NRA regret that guns were used  in such a senseless way creating destruction within the core fabric of our families, communities and Nation - the heart of America.  We find such actions unacceptable."

However, not all is lost with the NRA.  It may not know it, but the NRA recently demonstrated strong undeniable leadership for gun control. The NRA banned weapons at its own annual conference earlier this month.  It did so to ensure the safety of our President and Vice President. Yet, are we not all “created equal [and] … endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?”  We are! Therefore, if the ban on weapons is good for the President and Vice President then should it not apply to all, everywhere?  If not then what legislation do you propose?  If you are not willing to investigate, accept and promote sound legislation to ensure responsible gun ownership to protect our unalienable rights then maybe we should ban weapons, do you not agree?  I am for the former (legislation promoting responsible gun ownership), but if your against such measures then I believe you are the problem and we must ban weapons because our unalienable rights precede the Second Amendment.

Home Of The Brave

I recently worked in an industry in which conviction was expected. If you believed in your vision then you were obligated to stand tall and stand proud even when events ran counter to your belief. If you could not pound the table with conviction during such events, then you lost the respect of your audience – competitors, employer and customers. With that in mind, I find it interesting that the gun lobby shrinks back into the shadows following the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) on Valentines Day, a day of love and compassion. Their actions imply guilt and remorse for what occurred.

Yet, the gun lobby has worked tirelessly and insidiously for decades promoting their vision.  The Supreme Court essentially rewrote the second amendment with a ruling based on a tortured analysis of just one sentence’s structure allowing the narrow majority to infer the authors’ intent 215 years later instead of validating and reinforcing what was actually written. The Supreme Court says the Second Amendment now pertains to self-defense, which has helped crystallize the gun lobby’s vision for America.

If the gun lobby truly believes their vision for America is right then they are duty bound to pound the table with conviction that the gunman at MSD would have been literally stopped dead in his tracks if guns were allowed on campus.  Just today, Rush Limbaugh advocated for guns on campus.  I am led to believe, the gun lobby has lived for this moment so they could advocate for all to have guns, including but not limit to teachers, administrators and most importantly, students. That’s right, students.

The killing of innocent Americans by an American on American soil should be a rally cry by the gun lobby for Americans to own guns, not just adults, but all Americans. Self-defense classes should begin in kindergarten and continue through twelfth grade graduation. Why, you may ask. Surely, you have not forgotten that kindergarteners died in the Sandy Hook massacre. Surely, the gun lobby would not want anything like that to happen again and is not just a price that is paid to have the right to own a gun for self-defense (which could be accomplished by myriad of other less dangerous activities).  We must arm these young tots, adolescents and teens so they are ready for the dangers they will encounter (regardless whether the adults allowed these dangers to manifest, germinate in the first place – that’s immaterial). Shootings like those at MSD and Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech and ... are like a war zone and the students must be armed.

Weekly trips to the firing range are a must, so are target practice and unscheduled drills to simulate armed intruders.  Since schools have tight budgets and cannot add this training to the curriculum then courses such as art, music and other unnecessary electives should be dropped, but definitely not gym because we want the students physically fit. In addition to buying pencils, pens and notebooks to begin the school year, parents could buy ammo and new cool holsters that match lunch boxes and back packs.

Guns are part of America’s heritage and all should embrace it.  Understandably, there are some adults who do not (that's me if you have not figured out), but if we start the process of training and more importantly, indoctrinating the use of guns at a very young age then over time there will be greater acceptance, would you not agree?

 Just imagine, if this vision were executed ten years ago then the students at MSD would have been able to coolly duck for cover, pull out their weapon and drop the perp in seconds saving many lives. Per President Trump, “no child, no teacher, [would] ever be in danger in an American school [again]. No parent [would] ever have to fear for their sons and daughters when they kiss them goodbye in the morning.” That would be awesome, would it not?!

Some of you reading this may think that this vision smacks of a third world country and you would be right.  USA has the highest gun ownership per capita in the world followed by, you guessed it – third world countries, predominately those in the Middle East.

To paraphrase Charlton Heston, let them pry the guns from our cold, dead hands – after the dust settles, of course. 

Go America! We are the home of the brave because we have to be if this vision becomes reality.

Grasping at Straws

I have been remiss in not commenting in this forum the legal battles surrounding the most recent decennial redistricting, which remain ongoing after four plus years. On December 6, 2011 I was quoted by the Tampa Bay Times as saying “I would say [the Senate redistricting committee] did not listen to the voters and I’m quite displeased. If anything, [US Congressional District 5, formerly 3] looks more gerrymandered than before.” 

Arguably, the League of Women Voters (LoWV) has taken the lead to hold the Senate redistricting committee accountable.  As a result of the LoWV’s tireless efforts, the FL Supreme Court recently stated the maps most be withdrawn to follow the letter of law as it pertains to the Fair District Amendments that were overwhelmingly passed by Florida voters in 2010. Why the FL Supreme Court did not make this ruling the first time is unknown to me, but now that the maps are being redrawn once again to meet the law, Corrine Brown, not surprisingly, disapproves. Last week she filed a Federal lawsuit claiming that the potentially new district violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act; however, today she withdrew from the lawsuit, but I suspect she may eventually rejoin the lawsuit or file a new once once the new maps are approved.

What Ms. Brown ignores or just does not know is that voters in her district (at least per my analysis in 2012 of Duval County voting records) voted in favor and essentially in-line with all other voters for the Fair District Amendments; there was only a 15 bps (0.0015) difference. In others words, her constituents do not want gerrymandering either.

If she focused on the issues pertinent to voters then she would have nothing to worry about because I think the election of Barack Obama to two terms indicates that most people look past one’s skin color (even if Barack Obama may openly disagree) to focus on their qualifications and ability to resolve issues using critical thinking skills. Ms. Brown has been very fortunate the past two decades for not having more competition, but I believe that may change once the district she represents is redrawn.

Corrine Brown Outraged, I'm Outraged

Ms. Brown was recently quoted saying, "I am simply outraged by Florida Governor Scott's decision to reject $2.5 billion in federal funding for high speed rail…”

I am simply outraged, too! I am not outraged with Governor Scott's decision; I am outraged with Ms. Brown’s priorities.

As I pointed out in my October 5, 2009 post entitled, How Does SunRail Benefit The People?, Ms. Brown should focus her time and efforts on:

1. Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education;
2. Healthy Families and Communities; and
3. Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.

I believe her efforts in those areas would help bring greater long-term benefit to her constituents, which the majority live in poverty.

As I pointed out in my April 23, 2010 post entitled, Saving Lives vs. Rail Transportation, Ms. Brown has invested 10,000 plus hours on transportation matters. Arguably, with Governor Scott's decision some of those hours have been wasted at the expense of children that will grow up in poverty and will probably stay in poverty the rest of their lives because they fail to receive the necessary skill sets to survive in the 21^st century.

I will say again, I am OUTRAGED! I am outraged with Ms Brown's priorities.

The Ripples From Foreclosure

I walked through a town home complex in the Lexington Square area within Precinct 14 of Jacksonville/Duval County. I talked to all types of people. I communicated with those that could be classified as working class, professional class, retirees, young families, singles, blacks, Hispanics, whites, liberals, moderates, conservatives. Most seemed content with a few mentions about trash and foreclosed homes with neglected yards (as seen here).

While this community arguably has a higher per capita income than other areas in the district, it is not immune to the effects from the recent economic downturn. If anything, it has been hit just as hard as the more impoverished areas.

Based on my conversations with people in this community, observations in other parts of the district, my experience as a stock analyst, and my understanding of the banking system, I believe we will continue to see more foreclosures. In general, I think foreclosures are highly disruptive to the stability of the family fabric as some families become homeless, move back in with parents or move in with friends. All situations surely lead to stress, which could result in violence, dissolution of a marriage or any other number of negative outcomes. I expect the ripples from these stresses to:
1. Continue to affect policies being made in Washington, D.C for the foreseeable future and
2. More importantly, leave an indelible mark on future generations, which is both good and bad.