"But what about Chris' right to live?"

Samuel Wurzelbacher

Every time one of these mass shooting tragedies happens, some moron has to give the “Guns don’t kill people” speech.  You’d think they would be smart enough to keep their mouths shut, but they just can’t help themselves.  Zealots are like that I guess. But this one is particularly disgusting.

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, also known as Joe the Plumber, was the poster child for the McCain/Palin campaign.  He was supposed to be the example of how Democratic policies were keeping the hard working little guy down. He recently penned an open letter to the parents of the Santa Barbara victims.  In this letter, he wrote:

"I am sorry you lost your child. I myself have a son and daughter and the one thing I never want to go through, is what you are going through now. But: As harsh as this sounds -- your dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights,"

Well, I have an open letter for Mr. Wurzelbacher:

Dear Mr. Plumber,

As harsh as this sounds, you can go fuck yourself.  In fact, why not use that gun of yours to do it. Just take the bullets out (Safety First!) and shove it straight up your ass.

Oh, and while you’re enjoying that bit of self abuse, think about this: You are wrong. The children killed in Isla Vista, in Aurora, in Sandy Hook, and in the streets of Chicago every day had a right to live.  They had the right to grow up and get married and have kids of their own.  They were given that right by the U.S. Constitution as well as by God.

The Preamble to the Constitution reads:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I think, and I suspect most scholars would agree, that getting gunned down in the streets is a violation of these founding principles.

Now Sam, I know you are not a scholar. You’re just an average Joe trying to make his way in the world, but even you can agree that an innocent kid getting shot to death is surely a violation of his Constitutional rights.

(That gun making your bungholio sore?  Try more lube.)

The 2^nd Amendment says “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The very first phrase sets the context for the rest of the sentence.  In Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that "[t]he adjective 'well regulated' implies nothing more than the imposition of proper discipline and training."

The vast majority of average Joe’s do not have the proper discipline and training to own anything more than a BB gun.  I know you were in the Air Force Sam, but Joe Six-Pack wasn’t.  His training was at best his old man telling him how to shoot, how to load, and how not to shoot himself or his buddies by mistake.  But I really don’t think that qualifies as “well regulated”.

Besides, anyone who has even glanced at the history of this amendment knows that it was intended to be an alternative to a standing federal army.  Nowhere in the debate was defense against common crime or the right to go hunting ever mentioned.  This was about providing for the “common defense”, the defense of our country, not your right to blast away at scary people on your doorstep or at fuzzy critters in the woods.

And don’t get me started on assault rifles.  They are designed to kill people.  They were intended for the military.  Joe Six-Pack isn’t military and he doesn’t need to have a 30 round magazine in a semi-auto killing machine.

Besides, you’re a “gun guy”, you and I both know that a short barreled shot gun is the very best choice for home defense.  It won’t accidentally send a bullet down the street and kill your neighbor and you don’t need much aim to use it.

How’s that sphincter feeling right about now?  Hurts? Well, now you know how the rest of us feel about you gun nuts and your misguided, ignorant and hurtful statements like the one you made to the parents of those dead kids.  You are a huge pain in the rest of our asses and we’d really like you to just shut the fuck up. 

Sincerely,

The T-Dude

The bottom line is this: gun control is constitutional, it is appropriate, and it is proven to be an effective way to reduce gun deaths. We force car owners to have liability insurance, to be licensed, to pass tests.  Shouldn't that be at least the minimum requirement to own something specifically designed to kill? You may have a right to bear arms, but that right was never intended to fill our streets with weapons…and the bodies of dead children.

Quick Hits: Now with Sex, Death and Reading

That’s a Wide Load

I sometimes wonder if scientists talk to each other or read each others research.  A new study has come out that says that women with wider hips have more sex.  The reason they suspect has to do with ease of childbirth and less fear of having a child.

Seriously?

Did they completely ignore the research showing that women who don’t fit the stick thin ideal that the fashion houses and women’s rags promote are more likely to have sex because they are seeking affirmation of their attractiveness?

Women with wide hips aren’t less afraid of giving birth and therefore are less afraid of having sex.  Women with wide hips are afraid they aren’t as pretty as other women and therefore are more likely to use sex to feel desirable.

One in 25 on Death Row Likely Innocent

According to a new study, four percent (or one in every 25) of all defendants sentenced to death – and who are still on death row, are likely innocent of the crime of which they have been convicted.

To quote my youngest daughter’s famous line from kindergarten, “What the hell Josh?” (And soon after to her teacher who overheard: “It’s okay, it’s in the Bible. Besides, my mom says it all the time.)

Those revenge hungry, pro-death penalty folks will also quote the bible.  An eye for an eye they say.  But in every passage they quote, the person to be put to death is GUILTY. If we are unable to ensure that the people we are giving the ultimate penalty are actually guilty, then we have no business executing anyone at all.

Executing an innocent person is murder.  If I remember the commandments, somewhere around five or six on the “Thou shall not” hit parade is murder.  Whether you are a Christian or not, I think we all agree that murder is wrong and that is exactly what the death penalty is, or could be four percent of the time.

Oh, and the next time a pro-death penalty advocate decides to go all Old Testament on you, just give him the President Bartlett treatment.

Maycomb County goes Digital!

Harper Lee

For those of you who share my affinity for To Kill a Mockingbird, perhaps the greatest American novel, there is good news.  Author Harper Lee has given the okay for a digital release of her book. It comes out comes out July 8, the 54^th anniversary of the book’s original release. 

I hope this opens up the beauty that is Mockingbird to a whole new audience.  It is a masterpiece that everyone should read.

Another Reason to Occupy Wall Street

You learn something new every day.  

Unfortunately, these days, it seems like I’m not learning anything that really makes me feel good.  At first, I thought it was me.  But the more I read, the more I learn, the more disillusioned I become, the more I realize it is the world around me and I’m just reacting the way any sane person would.

This excellent article in The Week is a perfect example. 

It turns out that one of the big drivers behind our faltering infrastructure in this country is the deregulation of the banking industry and the total Vegas-esque free-for-all that is the investment sector of the economy.

Because of the disproportionate growth of the financial sector, money is no longer flowing to infrastructure or R & D investment.  In its simplest terms, the Wild West Wall Street investors are looking for short-term profits.  Investment in infrastructure and R & D is a long-term investment in the future.

To quote the article:

The deregulation of the financial sector — promoted by Republican and Democratic administrations — has changed America from an economy focused on sustainable growth toward a free-for-all for the wealthy.

This change is called "financialization." The financial sector has grown to almost 8 percent of GDP, from about 4 percent in Reagan's time. That the financial sector has grown isn't necessarily a problem; what is a problem is that it has grown faster than the rest of the economy. The purpose of the financial sector is to facilitate investment in a wide array of activities — to grease the wheels of the economy, so to speak. If the rest of the economy doesn't grow along with the financial sector, it is not fulfilling that purpose.

So, instead of money flowing to things like building/repairing bridges and roads and sewer systems that create good middle class jobs (which raises the ability of the masses to consume which helps grow the economy), money is being gambled back and forth at the Wall Street craps table where all the money goes back into the pockets of the gamblers. 

Oh, and the occasional hooker.

When you combine that with the historically low taxes on this type of income and the growing wealth and income disparity, cities and states no longer have the cash (or financing) available to keep our roads from crumbling from beneath our feet.

There is more to this story than that, but that is the gist.  Not only did the tax payers have to bail out the “too big to fail” banks, but now they are back to screwing us so that they can make even more profit.

We have to put some common sense back into our economy.  The richest among us should be taxed at a much higher rate, Wall Street needs to be regulated, and investment in infrastructure, in our country's future, should be rewarded.

It seems so simple when I say it out loud, but it doesn't make me feel any better.

Cosmopolitan or Pornography - Which is Exploiting Women?

There was an Internet debate raging last week centered on a young Duke University co-ed who was outed as a porn actress.  It seems she had been flying out to the west coast to shoot hardcore porn scenes as a way to pay for her education.

Much of the discussion focused on whether being a porn actress was empowering or demeaning. Is this young woman demonstrating and exercising her sexual independence or is she willingly participating in an exploitative and damaging activity? 

The whole debate got me thinking about how women are portrayed in mainstream media and how women consume those portrayals. I have never been a fan of the advertorial “women’s” magazines like Cosmopolitan, Style, Vogue etc. I have always believed that they contribute more to the unhappiness of women than pornography ever will. 

Why?  Because they are infinitely more accessible to women, more readily consumed by women and they have an obvious and negative effect on the how women feel about themselves.  Their pages are filled with images of stick figure models and Photoshopped ads that sell a definition of beauty that is unobtainable for nearly all and unhealthy to boot.

That’s right, these magazines that are targeted at women, consumed by women and often times produced by women are stomping on the self-esteem of women. They are setting unhealthy standards that nearly no one can live up to nor should even try. And women are suffering for it.

Past research has shown that women who are regularly exposed to media portraying the ultra-thin, supposedly beautiful ideal are more likely to suffer lower self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, and depressive moods.

The really scary part comes from a recent study that suggests that these negative effects on women and their perception of how weight affects beauty begins with as little as 60 seconds of exposure.

(For those of you who don’t want to read, here is a short video report on the study.

Ann Taylor ad model before and after photoshopping

And we wonder why young women are cutting themselves, are suffering eating disorders and are lying down in cancer-causing, radiation emitting beds in an effort to feel empowered and beautiful. We wonder why heavier girls are having sex sooner in an effort to feel desired. We wonder why women gulp diet pills that have no proven effectiveness yet sell millions of bottles.  It is, in part, because of these magazines and the advertising that occupies most of their pages.

They are intentionally making women feel inferior, they are driving down the self-esteem of women because they want to sell more make-up, more clothing, more perfume, more body slimming undergarments to women who are unhappy and depressed.  And they are unhappy and depressed because they are failing to meet the unhealthy standard of beauty that these rags promote.

The World Dictionary definition of “exploit”: to take advantage of (a person, situation, etc), esp. unethically or unjustly for one's own ends

Does pornography exploit or promote the exploitation of women? 

If you answer that question in the affirmative, then I think you must also agree that these mainstream women's magazines and media outlets, and the advertising they run, are exploiting women as well.  The fashion houses and makeup companies that shuttle out these rail-thin waifs and Photoshopped fantasy images are exploiting women.  They are not only preying on their fears and insecurities, they are feeding them.  They are cultivating an illness so that they can sell the snake oil cure.

If that isn’t exploitation, then what is?

Two Words

I hate it when medical societies and other medical not-for-profit organizations use the word "healthcare" in their press releases.  It's "health care", two words if you please.  Check your damn AP Stylebook people!

They really ought to know better, don't you think?

Quick Hits - In the Barn with Pork and Hannah Montana

It’s Hard to Make Bacon when you’re Porking Yourself 

Mega retailer WalMart is porking itself.  They have opposed a hike in the minimum wage but now that the Federal subsidies for low wage/no wage workers are drying up, workers like the ones employed by WalMart can no longer afford to shop…at WalMart.

“On Thursday morning, the retailing giant announced a 21 percent drop in profits in the last three months of the year, which covers the crucial holiday season. Some of the drop had to do with weather -- more than 200 Walmart stores had to close some time over the last few months because of winter storms. However, much of the decline was the result of a pull back by shoppers pinched by recent federal benefits cuts, officials said on an earnings call Thursday. 

U.S. same store sales dropped 0.4 percent last quarter U.S. CEO Bill Simon said on the call. If the government hadn’t cut food stamp benefits in November, “we believe the quarter would have been flat,” he said.

In other words, the food stamp cuts were so devastating; customers were too poor to shop at Walmart.” Huffington Post 

You know, if the minimum wage was raised to say 10 or 11 bucks-an-hour, don’t you think more of WalMart’s core customers would have enough money to shop at WalMart?

Hannah Montana Ended Up Naked - And Parents are Pissed

Parents aren’t too thrilled with Miley Cyrus.  In fact, some are going so far as to complain to her record label about the racy nature of her most recent concert tour. 

“Right now, Miley’s show includes her simulating oral sex on a Bill Clinton lookalike, riding a flying hot dog in a suggestive manner and fake-pleasuring herself on stage.

“Oh, and don’t forget the twerking. She’s still doing that.”  Kansas City Star 

Are these parents just f-ing stupid or do they live under a rock? How can you live in the US and not know that Miley has been slutting it up all over the place.  From the simulated sex/twerking on the Grammys to her naked ride on a wrecking ball in her music video to her latest half topless photo shoot Miley has taken Hannah Montana out the barn for a game of “Skin to Win.”

And Miley hates to lose.

If you don’t want your kids exposed to Miley’s “art”, then don’t buy a ticket.  It isn’t her fault that you plunked down the cash for a show you don’t want your kid to see.  In fact, before you buy a ticket for your kid to go see a concert, or a movie, or a theatrical performance, or anything else, do a little research first. 

It’s called parenting, give it a try sometime. One thing I know for sure - it isn’t Miley’s job to raise your kid.