Seeking an effective argument FOR gun control

Here, two respected writers discuss the case against taking away individual firearms from Americans. Yes, it is true that if guns did not exist everywhere in this nation those little children in Sandy Hook would be living right now and I only wish that were the case. But it is not and there are violent people out there in their thousands and they are armed; willing and lusting to watch innocent people die in bunches by their hands. How, exactly do you gun-control advocates plan to remove those weapons from their blood-thirsty hands?
I will honestly look for a reasoned argument FOR gun control that contains effective means for keeping us safe from those who carry weapons illegally and are willing to do us harm. Cartoons showing crazed, wild-eyed gun owners don't wash.
As yet, I have seen only politically correct, emotional responses to the issue that have no value other than simply making a politician look as if they are doing something. TD

http://2ndlook.wordpress.com/2009/01/06/crime-gun-ownership-and-india/

Alan Caruba in Warning Signs:  "Among gun owners, the cliché is that “A gun in the hand is quicker than a cop on the phone.” "
" “This means that, each year, firearms are used 60 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives. Furthermore, of the 2.4 million self-defense cases, more than 192,000 are by women defending themselves against sexual assault. And in less than eight percent of those occasions is a shot actually fired. The vast majority of the time (92%), the mere presence of a firearm helps to avert a major crime from occurring. That is what Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) concluded after extensive research. According to Rep. Bartlett, the number of defensive uses is four times the number of crimes reported committed with guns.” "

OC Register....

Thomas Sowell in National Review Online: "How many times do the same arguments need to be refuted?"
"Gun ownership has been three times as high in Switzerland as in Germany, but the Swiss have had lower murder rates. Other countries with high rates of gun ownership and low murder rates include Israel, New Zealand, and Finland.
"Guns are not the problem. People are the problem — including people who are determined to push gun-control laws, either in ignorance of the facts or in defiance of the facts.
"There is innocent ignorance and there is invincible, dogmatic, and self-righteous ignorance. Every tragic mass shooting seems to bring out examples of both among gun-control advocates."

http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/category/gun-control/

Fiscal Cliff and Potential 2013 Tax Changes

Charles Schwab;

   Key Points:

• Barring Congressional agreement, a wide range of tax rates should increase in 2013.
• New Medicare taxes on net investment income and wages will impact high earners in 2013, regardless of a fiscal cliff agreement.
• Do the math before you sell off securities to lock in current tax rates.

"Both parties in Congress support some form of extension of current rates. Most Democrats want a temporary extension, and only for certain taxpayers, while most Republicans support making current rates permanent for everyone across the board. When or if either of those plans gets enacted will depend a lot on who controls Congress and the presidency after the fall election—but the new Congress won't be sworn in until January 3, 2013, so it will be up to our current elected leaders to either take action before then or kick the can into next year. What, if anything, should the average investor do to prepare?"

 

Read the charts and tables here. 
 
Health Care Taxes

cartoonaday.com

"The new health care law imposes a number of new taxes on individuals, employers, and insurance companies. Here are some of the more noteworthy changes for individual taxpayers.

In 2013:

"Increased Medicare tax. An additional 0.9% Medicare tax will be added to earned income over $200,000 for single filers and over $250,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Surtax on unearned income. A 3.8% surtax will be imposed on net investment income for high earners.

Modified threshold for claiming medical expense deductions. The adjusted gross income (AGI) threshold for claiming an itemized deduction for medical expenses will rise from 7.5% to 10%. However, the 7.5% threshold will continue to apply through 2016 to individuals age 65 and older (and their spouses).

$2,500 limit on Health Care FSA contributions. The new law limits contributions to health care flexible spending accounts (HCFSAs) to $2,500 per year. The dollar amount would be inflation-indexed after 2013."

In 2014:
"Penalty for failing to have insurance. The penalty for people who choose to remain uninsured starts at $95 in 2014 and eventually increases to $695 in 2016 (or 2.5% of income, whichever is greater). The penalty for failure to insure would be indexed to inflation, and subsidies will be made available for those who can't afford it. "

Daniel J. Mitchell

By Rande Spiegelman; CPA, CFP®, Vice President of Financial Planning, Schwab Center for Financial Research. Read the disclosures at the bottom of the page linked . 

When those who rule over us consider our money to be theirs

Rick Moran; Is a deal near on fiscal cliff?    "After conceding on taxes, entitlements, and the debt ceiling vote, Speaker John Boehner got some good news yesterday.
"Looks like he won't have to hand Obama his shirt too."
....
"To be somewhat fair to Boehner, he has no leverage at all now, having given in on the debt ceiling vote. And there are still some poison pills in Obama's proposal -- the "stimulus" money for one -- that would be a deal breaker.
"If a deal is going to go down, it will now be sooner rather than later. The momentum is now all in favor of getting something done - even if it's a rancid deal for the GOP."

President Obama's new fiscal cliff offer moves needle  "The president’s $2.4 trillion proposal marks the first time that he has given ground on income tax rates. He would raise rates on household income above $400,000 — up from $250,000 — as part of a plan delivered Monday to Boehner, according to a source familiar with the talks."

WSJ; Taxes Are Much Higher Than You Think  "President Obama argues that the election gave him a mandate to raise taxes on high earners, and the White House indicates that he won't compromise on this issue as the so-called fiscal cliff approaches.
"But tax rates are already high—much higher than is commonly understood—and increasing them will likely further depress the economy, especially by affecting the number of hours Americans work."

If you can't talk nice about the Taliban, then don't say anything at all

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Draft Army manual tells soldiers to stop criticizing Taliban, pedophilia or promoting women's rights

Urban legend; Julie Andrews Singing an Age-Related Parody of the Song, "My Favorite Things"-Fiction!

Truth or Fiction  "The eRumor describes a 69th birthday event on October 1 at which singer/actress Julie Andrews sang a humorous rendition of My Favorite Things, a song she helped make famous in the film The Sound of Music. The eRumor says the event was at Radio City Music Hall in New York and was a benefit concert for AARP." The email quoting hilarious song which Ms. Andrews is reported to have sung went like this:

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

(Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores. Please share Ms. Andrews' clever wit and humor with others who would appreciate it.)

"The Truth:

"Julie Andrew's birth date is indeed October 1 and her 69th birthday was in 2004. This eRumor started circulating in 2005.
"The problem is that none of the story is true.
"There was no performance by Julie Andrews in 2004 at the Radio City Music Hall and to our knowledge she has never sung the humorous age-related parody of the words from the song My Favorite Things."

UK Mail photo

Snopes has much more to this story, sadly.   Their site does not enable cutting and copying, so you should go to the link for the rest of the regrettable story of Ms. Andrews' lost voice.

You can hear Andrews discuss the loss of her voice here.

The Newtown Massacre and the Pain of God

Chris Hopkins

By Michael Brown at Townhall; "In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, as family members and friends of the slain and wounded suffer unspeakable agony, people around the world are asking, “Where was God?” But very few are asking, “Is God hurting too?”

"According to Basilea Schlink (1904-2001), a German Christian leader who stood up to the Nazis, “Anyone who loves as much as God does, cannot help suffering. And anyone who really loves God will sense that He is suffering.”
...".In the words of Pastor Timothy Keller, “If we again ask the question: ‘Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue?’ and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we know what the answer isn’t. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us. It can’t be that he is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself.”
"That’s why Anglican leader John Stott stated, “I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross.” "
Much more in the rest of this article.
Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He hosts the nationally syndicated, daily talk radio show, the Line of Fire, and his latest book is The Real Kosher Jesus.

Israel and Gun Violence; why gun violence is less common in Israel–where many carry guns openly–than in the U.S.:

By Alana Goodman at Commentary Magazine; "Most of the mass shootings that have taken place in Israel were related to the conflict in the region... at least two of these firearm terrorist attacks occurred at schools (both yeshivas). In both cases, the gunmen were not given the chance to end their own lives. They were killed by people at the schools who had guns."....

Goodman links to this article from Tablet Magazine, saying the author, Liel Leibovitz takes a look at why gun violence is less common in Israel–where many carry guns openly–than in the U.S.:
It’s the Jewish state’s gun culture, not its laws, that prevents mass shootings like the one in Connecticut

Israeli girls wear automatic rifles as they dance together during the celebrations for Independence Day in Jerusalem on April 19, 2010.

"The first and most universal one is that ever more stringent gun control is bad policy: As is the case with drugs, as was the case with liquor during Prohibition, the strict banning of anything does little but push the market underground into the hands of criminals and thugs. Rather than spend fortunes and ruin lives in a futile attempt to eradicate every last trigger in America, we would do well to follow Israel’s example and educate gun owners about their rights and responsibilities, so as to foster a culture of sensible and mindful gun ownership."

...." “An armed society,” Nedivi wrote, quoting the science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, “is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” It may be a bit odd to think of Israeli society as polite, but when it comes to guns it is, and for just the reason articulated by Heinlein: When everyone has a gun, guns are no longer seen as talismans by weak, frightened, and unstable men seeking a sense of self-validation, but as killing machines that are to be handled with the utmost caution and care." 

Can't argue with that. Goodman concludes with this:

I'm sorry that many will find this poster offensive. I just ask
 that you give me an argument against it if you can. I only
wish one of the adults killed at the school had been armed.

"That’s definitely not to argue that arming more people is a solution to mass shootings in America. Israel is different because many of the people who carry guns in public are trained soldiers, and military service is mandatory for almost everyone. The heroes who stopped the gunmen at the yeshivas were reportedly all either soldiers or enrolled in pre-military preparatory programs. But it also contradicts the notion that fewer guns equals more safety. There may be policy responses to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that could be helpful in small ways–a review of mental health treatment in this country is warranted, and even a debate about gun laws isn’t a bad idea. But there are no obvious, all-encompassing solutions and anyone who argues otherwise is selling something."

Carefree chatter... then screams: Minute by minute, how death came to Sandy Hook

UK Daily Mail  "The yellow school buses pulled into the Sandy Hook elementary school car park as normal just before 9am last Friday.

"They were met by a dozen teachers on ‘bus duty’, and the pupils’ names were called out and ticked off as they got off.

"But as the carefree, chattering children filed in to their suburban school the fateful chain of events that would lead to 20 of them being slaughtered was already in train.....

"For some reason, he passed on and instead chose to enter a classroom occupied by teacher Lauren Rousseau, her 14-strong class and a special education teacher.

"Lanza put the Bushranger’s maximum six-rounds-a-second rate of fire to devastating effect, killing them all. The children, police told the Hartford Courant newspaper, were huddled together and clutching each other in terror."....

"In a separate room sat the parents. Those whose children were unaccounted for were sent to a separate room and to write their names on a new list.

"Connecticut governor Mr Malloy took it upon himself to break the awful news to the parents whose children were dead.
"‘They had been gathered for a number of hours, clinging to hope and someone had to decide how to handle that situation,’ he said. ‘It was a tough assignment.’"
Witnesses said the wailing of the newly bereaved was so loud it could be heard outside. Parents were allowed to identify their children from photos to spare them having to see the actual bodies.

Perhaps when Obama begins to demagogue and divide this country once again, he can turn his anger on those bleeding hearts who fought so hard for the rights of mental patients and against their treatment being  mandatory.

Pic: Hartford Courant’s Front Page Shows Young Victims Of Newtown Killer…

Weasel Zippers   "Heartbreaking to say the least."

Mrs. Clinton, please forgive our suspension of belief

http://terrellaftermath.com/

 Hillary Clinton faints; suffers concussion  "The conspiracy machine on the right has been working overtime postulating that this fall and injury are too convenient to be true. But the truth is a little more prosaic; Clinton was already doubtful for that testimony and while convenient, it's hard to imagine that Hillary would shed much additional light on what happened that day. If she was going to stonewall, then whether she shows up or not is moot.
"As far as Kerry, better at State than Defense which is where there was speculation he would end up. A man who voted against every major weapons system over the last three decades has no business running our military. He will fit in nicely with the striped pants set at the State Department and will be mostly powerless to make policy. "

The school shooter, the aftermath and the consequences

http://comicallyincorrect.com/

Legal Insurrection; Mother recounts terrors of raising genius son with violence-oriented mental illness   "Progressive gun control advocates were clamoring for more liberty-crushing legislation immediately after the slaughter of the young students and teachers at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School. Meanwhile, others cry “white privilege” because most mass shooting suspects are white.
"Yet, one critically important aspect continues to get lost in the intense press coverage: The failure to develop and implement serious and protective policies that address the needs of both the mentally ill and their potential victims."

Hugh Hewitt: The mainstream media vultures gather  "The rush to assemble a media mob is now expected and the ratings consequences to the networks of ignoring such a horror are no doubt enormous, but the intrusion into the awful grief of the families of the victims is itself sickening."

Neal Boortz: And so here we are smack in the middle of a debate frenzy over gun control --- and who didn’t know this was where this tragedy was going to go as soon as the news started breaking.
"The debate on this one is going to be furious. Obama has been making it clear for quite some time that part of his “fundamental transformation” of America is to go after our guns. This shooting has given him more ammunition than he will probably need. ...And expect outrage if you point out that people actually DO use guns to protect themselves hundreds of times a day." Boortz refers us to the CATO link below.

Shooter's mother reportedly became ´obsessed´ with guns and taught Adam how to shoot, but on Friday in a grim twist he blasted her to death while she laid in her own bed.

From CATO: Tough Targets: When Criminals Face Armed Resistance from Citizens

Gun Control - Watch What Happens When Guns Are Banned.

Israel has solved its school shooting problems

Michelle Malkin: 6 simple things parents can do in the wake of massacres without government

Michelle Malkin Malkin begins with this at number one:
1. Teach our kids about the acts of heroes in times of crisis.
Tell them about Newtown teacher Vicki Soto’s self-sacrifice and bravery. Tell them about Clackamas mall shopper Nick Meli, a concealed carry permit-holder whose quick action may have prevented additional deaths. Tell them about Family Research Council security guard Leo Johnson, who protected workers from a crazed gunman. Tell them about the heroic men in the Aurora movie theater who gave their lives taking bullets for their loved ones. Tell them about armed Holocaust Museum security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns, who died fighting back against the museum’s nutball attacker. Tell them about armed private citizen Jeanne Assam, who gunned down the New Life Church attacker in Colorado Springs and saved untold lives.
Read the rest here.