I find it highly distasteful to engage in the debate about gun control at this time first because I think gun control advocates are using an incomprehensible tragedy for political gain and I don’t want to play into their hands; second, because I am still sick about what happened in Newtown–I cannot stop thinking about it and I really want to; and third, and most important, because the gun control debate detracts from the real issue in this case: society and mental illness.* Many rampage killings occur in the U.S., but also in countries with strict gun control and all over the world by means other than guns. Why do people kill like this? And is there anything we can do about it?
Despite my personal preference to focus on other issues, the gun debate has been reignited once again and I do have some thoughts to share on the subject.
Gun control is a two-part debate: (1) will stricter gun control or more liberal gun rights result in greater day-to-day safety, and (2) regardless of the answer to the first question, isn’t it necessary to have an effectively armed citizenry in order to deter governmental tyranny?
I usually skip the first question because regardless of the answer to that one, the second one is decisive in my opinion. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini and Pol Pot among them killed over 100,000,000 of their own, mostly disarmed, citizens in the twentieth century. No matter how many
Drug War
Elite Squad: Movie Recommendation
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb-rUfBTQ1g] This is the first time I’ve recommended a movie to watch (I usually go for documentaries), but this is a must see. Elite Squad, set in the slums of Rio in 1997, claims to be based on a true story and whether or not the details of the characters are true, the tale of … Read more
Doomsday List From This Week's Show!
This week on the show we talked about a list I came upon: Top Ten Global Risks we face over the next year. Here’s the list:
10. Regime implosion in North Korea, on the basis that the surprisingly rapid acclamation of Kim Jong-un as ‘great successor’ to his father is a façade.
9. A deflationary trap in the United States similar to what Japan experienced in 1992-95, with dire consequences for global growth.
8. Cartels capture the Mexican state, wherein the essential functions and institutions of government are ceded to powerful drug lords.
Finally! Operation Fast & Furious Is Making the Headlines!
I have been saying since October that Operation Fast & Furious was Obama’s Iran-Contra and have been speculating as to why it was not front page news every day. Finally it is front page news as Attorney General Eric Holder is cited for contempt of Congress even after President Obama tried to shield him behind … Read more
It's Just a Turf War! On & About This Week's Show
Presidential Campaign
I gave up awhile ago on the notion that Democrats vs. Republicans was a battle between social democracy on one side and free market capitalism on the other. Having witnessed the great compromise in which both parties have come together in a Liberal-Fascist Center, I realize that yes, there is a battle between the two parties, but it is one over turf rather than ideology. It reminds me more of the Genoveses vs. the Gambinos than a representative government.
This total acceptance that the politicians are like mobsters and us voters are schlubs there for the shakedown makes it almost impossible for me to even listen to politicians’ BS stump speeches anymore, but I couldn’t resist tuning in to the latest Joe Biden Show. I played the audio Saturday night, but here you can see the fire in his eyes (must have taken a lot of practicing in the mirror to get “resentment” just right.)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1o-CApj1v4]
Can you believe this guy? He’s telling middle class Ohoians he understands them by telling them he wants them to buy a house and go to college. Sorry, Uncle Joe, they fell for that one already! Now their houses are underwater and their grown kids are back at home. The American Dream is NOT a mortgage and a school loan!
The real Joe Biden said this recently at a Democratic fundraiser where he was sucking up to former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley: ”I never had an interest in being a mayor ’cause that’s a real job. You have to produce. That’s why I was able to be a senator for 36 years.” It’s funny ’cause it’s true! Biden was elected senator at the age of 29 and never looked back!
The Mother of The Father of Our Country
In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought I’d post a quote by the father of our country about his mother. “My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from … Read more
End the Drug War: On & About This Week's Show
LEAP
I was joined in studio by Jay Fisher of LEAP–Law Enforcement Against Prohibition–that’s right! Cops, prosecutors and others in the field of law enforcement who are fed up with the Drug War have banded together to spread the word: The Drug War is a lost cause. Here’s a good short video by LEAP that introduces the subject of legalizing drugs from a few of the many law enforcement agents in the organization:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LayaGk0TMDc]
Many have concluded that the Drug War is a lost cause, but as with so many lost causes I have observed (the coercive, monopoly form of government for starters), they are lost because they are wrong and unnecessary, not because evil prevails.
Violence Is Caused by the Drug War NOT by Drug Use
The fact is, the extreme violence surrounding drugs is purely a result of the Drug War and not drug use.
The War on Terror, the TSA & Rupert Murdoch: On & About This Week's Show
This week on the show we talked about the anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, but are we safer, and is this a big victory for Obama?
Are we really safer?
Are we really safer now that Osama bin Laden is dead? If he had been killed ten years ago, then I would say, yes, I feel safer, but the fact that that is no longer my answer is to me proof in itself that we have made things worse not better. We have taken out the two strongest, secular leaders, Hussein & Gaddafi–whether they were monsters or not, they were strong & they were secular and their deaths have increased instability in the region and caused radical Islam to spread, not to be contained. And we have gained absolutely nothing by our actions in Afghanistan as it looks like the Taliban will return to power there after we leave–as predicted by the courageous (and angry!) Michael Sheuer in his book Imperial Hubris.
Of course the powers that be speak out of both sides of their mouths, telling us that Al Qaeda is largely contained if not close to eradication, and at the same time double down on Homeland Security as if there were an imminent threat to the homeland by some massive invasion of terrorists. (See below.)
Documentary Review: a/k/a Tommy Chong
a/k/a Tommy Chong, written, produced, and directed by Josh Gilbert, is a documentary film that chronicles the Drug Enforcement Administration raid on comedian Tommy Chong’s house and his subsequent jail sentence for trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia. Chong was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison. Here’s the trailer….Continue reading >>>
Clark Howard, Hookers and Operation Fast & Furious: On & About This Week's Show
Clark Howard Stopped By the Studio!
What a great show! I was truly honored by a visit from WSB star, Clark Howard. My hour with Clark was the most fun I’ve ever had on the radio. If you missed it, you can check out show archives on wsbradio.com. At first I thought Clark was annoyed that I was destroying the planet with incandescent light bulbs but really he was just giving me his! He insists that the new light bulbs save money in year one and that they’re worth having for economic reasons alone. I found that argument pretty persuasive. And just for the record…It’s NOT that I want to destroy the planet,