WAR IS A FOUR LETTER WORD

Figures at the end  of 2012 indicate 295 Americans died in Afghanistan, which is down from the year before..with our troop deaths since 2001 now totaling 1701..in another war we fought based on (1) bad information, or (2) deliberate policy mistakes in DC...or both.

 

Meanwhile, so-called "insider"  attacks in 2012 went up..to 65 deaths from 45 the year before. These are attacks from Afghan "friends" on U-S/NATO troops. Some friends. Some "ally!"

 

Figures aren't yet available, if they ever will be,. but indications are: drone attacks, in most cases illegal violations of international law, went up..as did deaths of innocent Afghan civilians, including many children. The U-S just can't seem to find a way to stop this "collateral damage", one of the most heinous phrases in all of human language.

 

There is no justification for remaining there. We should pull out as fast as transport can be arranged..saving our troops lives, saving innocent civilian lives, and saving over $100 Billions a year in either taxes..or Chinese borrowings (it's the same thing).

 

Much of the fiscal cliff would not have happened had BOTH parties had any guts in 2001..turning down one more wrong war, one more bad fiscal decision (the first time in American history taxes went down, not up, in wartime)..

 

 May we start 2013 on a note of fiscal sanity...get out of Afghanistan NOW..and plow the savings into improvements at home..and take the pledge..No more wars when we don't know what we're doing..(as in Iraq)..and maybe hold this recent history before us when the DC hotheads talk about new wars with: North Korea, Syria, Somalia, Iran..we have been here before..and we should have learned!

 

I'm just sayin'...

 

 

WE CAN CONTROL GUNS.....BECAUSE WE HAVE!!

Have we forgotten the ten year period when making new assault rifles was banned, and strict rules were placed on their sale and use?  It worked, limited though it may have been. The ban was passed under President Clinton and extended into Bush 2, ending in '04 when a GOP Congress refused to extend it.  For shame, as Jim Brady told his fellow Republicans.

Hunters and "sportsmen" do not need assault rifles to kill deer, bear, rabbits,  pheasants, foxes and the like.  Perfectly ordinary rifles and shotguns will do thank you. Assault rifles are civilian versions of military weapons..and that's where they belong..in the hands of our military and police..not in every home.

So first, we need to reinstate the ban on assault weapons--the weapons of choice of Columbine, Aurora, Virginia Tech, and Newtown.

Second, we need to end the gun show loophole. It is totally unfair to legal arms dealers (of which there are more in America than there are McDonald's!!!) It allows sellers at shows to by-pass the FBI check and other rules required if you buy the exact same weapon from a brick-and-mortar shop.  Totally unfair to legit businesses; are you listening GOP? (Let's ask Andy Barr where he stands on this unfair business situation!)

If we can pass these two basic laws, we can break the NRA stranglehold, much as Grover Norquist's ill-fated tax pledge is shriveling up. We might even get meaningful mental health programs designed to try to spot the potential mass killer early.

Remember, not even the Supreme Court has said you have a right to own machine guns (though some assault rifles come very close..) or bazookas. Even the Second Amendment has its limitations.

But our anguish after Sandy Hook should not be limited..nor our determination to do something.

It can be done because it has been done! 

I'm just sayin'...

THE CLIFF, CITIZENS, THE CLIFF!!!

First, this "cliff" mess is all our fault..and by "our" I mean the 2 parties in DC and we citizens at home. I shall explain, but first:

Entitlements are much misunderstood.  You and I who worked, had money taken out of our paychecks and socked away by the government for our future use. The 2 main programs being Social Security and Medicare. It's a good system,  though many objected when introduced that they could invest their own funds better. Maybe. But the point is we are "entitled" to them because we EARNED them.  The government is not giving us something. It manages the programs, that's all...except when Congress takes money out of our 2 accounts to balance its budget, which it does frequently, and which is part of the problems with these 2 funds.

The budget is a statement of public policy...basically we should spend money here, not there. So when we decide to go to war, the most costly and inefficient of all human endeavors, we have decided to spend money on war and not schools, roads, health, etc. When we citizens let this type of budget policy be made we are both supporting the war and NOT supporting spending limited funds on schools, roads, health, etc.

I supported the senior Bush's war in Kuwait. You cannot let a powerful neighbor swallow up a smaller one, or the lessons Hitler taught us from Czechoslovakia on have been unlearned.

I did not support junior Bush's wars in Iraq  (what WMD???) or in Afghanistan (another intelligence failure..the Taliban had NO role in 9/11) Worse, for the first time in U-S history we CUT taxes in wartime. In all past wars we raised taxes to support the war effort. Not during these two wars and it was a monumental mistake.

Now, bring all these broad strokes together and you have...The Cliff!  And we can only blame..Bush, Obama, the GOP, the Dems, and above all..ourselves for putting up with 2 foolish wars and even more foolish policies to pay for them: cutting takes. Now, of course few want their taxes raised. Where were they to oppose the wars, at a $110 Billion per year cost???  (That's a lot of schools and roads or..ta da!..tax cuts.)

Don't rely on "Washington" to get us away from the Cliff. Lexington and Stinking Creek and Owensboro and Salyersville go us into this mess...and must get us out. Tell your Congressman.

I'm just sayin'...