Ways to maybe stop gun violence - A Brainstorm

This is a work in progress post... as I hear ideas and think about them this will change/be updated.



- Stricter gun licensing.  Should everyone who wants a gun get one?
    - people with (or family with?) mental health problems, criminals,...

- Ban on assault weapons. Why do we need semi-automatic weapons?? Answer: we don't.

- Enforced gun safety training for gun owners and friends and family. Pass a shooting range test including safety checks.

- Better mental health services (I don't know what this would entail and there is no confirmation about the metal health state of Lanza)

- Tax guns more (Would this increase the black market?)

- Tax ammunition more

- Checks on safe storage of guns and ammunition

- Stop with the realistic violent video games/first person shooter.

- Encourage learning about ethics and morality in school


Unrealistic ideas:
- Ban all guns!
- Equip all teachers with guns!
- Have full time police officers at every school in America. (I think many schools have police officers that periodically come by though.)



To be continued...

Mike Huckabee's Where is God?

Recently, Mike Huckabee talked on Fox about where God was during the Sandy Hook School shootings. He argues that it is because for 50 years society has "systematically removed" God from schools and public activities. He goes on to say that "we've escorted [God] right of of our culture and marched him off the public square and then are surprised when our culture reflects what we've become. We don't have to pass a new law, there is another one around that could be used, the 10 commandments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kADRKaliTII


Ok, this video bothers me in a multitude of ways.

First, when is this idyllic time that he is speaking of? There is not any period in any time or place that I can think of where Christian values ruled society and there was peace throughout the land.  Anyone?

There will always be crazy people, always be hateful people. The whole world will never be Mother Teresa.  There are people who take extreme versions of Christianity.  And they are reading from the same Bible as you.

You seem to be saying that the shootings occurred because there have been lawsuits of religious symbols in public places.  Does that even make sense? No one is telling you not to be Christian. No one is telling you not to lead by example, live the Christian life, show everyone what it means to be a good person.  By all means do.  If you want to write about how Jesus is your favorite historical person, by all means do.  No one is telling you not to sing Christmas Carols or go to church.  How do you feel that your religious freedom is being persecuted?

But realize that not everyone is Christian and that is not a bad thing.  Do you fear for their souls? Is that why you are so vocal? Is that what makes you so worried?  There are Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, etc.  All of these religions teach you how to be a good person.  Most of these religions say that killing is generally a bad thing.  What about Jihad, you ask? In its most common form, greater jihad is an inner struggle to become a better person.  Even lesser Jihad does not necessarily mean killing others.  You can make extreme Islam in the same way that you can make extreme Christianity.   Let's not forget the darker sides of Christianity. Crusades anyone? Christianity, by definition, excludes all non-Christians in its group.  So you have the insiders and the outsiders. This is an uncompromising idea.  There is a lot of animosity between Christians and non-Christians. With "I am right and you are wrong" ideas, these are prime zones for conflict.  Outsiders are viewed oftentimes as scary, bad people. This is silly.  Oftentimes, however, non-Christians are happy being on the outside.  They don't mind Christians, or maybe they even like them and their traditions, as long as they don't have to hear long winded sermons on why they need to convert. This is maybe why non-Christians aren't really that happy with a giant manger in the middle of the town square. Why are your beliefs more important than theirs? This is where the idea of FREEDOM of religion comes from.

There is nothing wrong with the 10 commandments.  I'm pretty sure that they ARE taught in schools.  In world religion class, in history class, in ethics class.  Most religions have good things to offer in terms of the basics... don't kill, don't steal, be a good person.  That is a good thing.  But you don't have to be a Christian in order to see the value of those ideas and implement them into your life. Students SHOULD study religion.  All religions.  Students should study philosophers.  Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Kant, Descartes, Thomas Aquinas, yes, Jesus.  Critical thinking goes a long way. Maybe schools COULD do a better job with that.  However, it doesn't mean that Christianity needs to become the official governing body of the US for which Huckabee seems to pine.

Atheists aren't evil moral-less people.  As all religious people are different, all atheists are different.  There are some atheists who consider themselves humanists, which follow many similar morals as Christianity.  Also, there is a difference between religion and spirituality.  Atheists need to be introspective just as much as religious people, and nature, meditation, reading philosophy, etc, can help them do that.

Also, what religion was Adam Lanza?  How do you know that he was not brought up with these Christian values that you speak of? None of that information has been released.  You don't know.  Maybe he was brought up going to church.  Not of the motives have been released yet, but if his was a sick kid, who is to say that religion would have been the saving factor?  I'm pretty sure that there are a bunch of murders in jail who call themselves Christian.

You don't need to say that if Christian morals were a bigger part of society, this wouldn't have happened.  Rather, all anyone ever needed to know they could learn in Kindergarden!  Maybe we need to have a yearly kindergarden refresher course.  Maybe that would help make the world a better place.  Share, care about the feelings of others, don't hit, don't take things that aren't yours....


Soo.... I'm pretty sure that integrating Christianity more into official society would NOT have prevent this tragedy.  So get off your soapbox. Stop trying to make Christianity the official religion/law of the US.  You CAN be a good person and not believe in God.  Stop trying to convert people and make real proposals.

Thank you for letting me rant.

More updating?

Hmmm, so I kind of just left off in the middle of everything, leaving my blog in suspense.... dun dun dunnnnn.... not that anyone reads this, so I guess that is ok...lol... but I think that I will try to restart this blog and write here more. JUST BECAUSE! But anyway... Obama won! Woooo! :)

I think that this blog will still be geared towards links that I find interesting a perhaps some comments on them. I have since left France..... I sorrowfully departed Strasbourg in December 2008 by way of Paris. It was very bittersweet to leave. Mostly bitter. France was a wonderful year and a half and I'm sure I will be returning again. On returning however, I admit that I do greatly appreciate the helpful 1-800 numbers, the extended hours of opening, the stores opened on sundays, and general pro-customer service attitudes that we have in the US. :)

Since then, I have graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in International Relations with a concentration in Europe and International Political Economy (the relationship between world politics and the world economy). I was also accepted into The Elliott School of The George Washington University in Washington DC. My degree is a Masters in International Trade and Investment Policy. At this point I am more interested in the Investment part and am planning to concentrate in International Business. Since I am doing international business, I was considering doing an MBA as well... but since I don't have that much "real world" experience, I am afraid that I will be considered "too educated" when job searching. Plus it will be another year of student loans. :P

Not that I am currently looking for a job. When I was apartment hunting in DC in July, I received a job offer at a federal defense contracting company. yay! I never really saw myself in the defense sector, but I actually like the world. My title is "Associate Program Analyst" which basically means that I am helping our government clients get the funding that the requested from the federal budget all the way down the line. Lots of excel stuff, lots of numbers, and lots of complicated government bureaucracy. :P I would say that I do a lot of accounting in my job, but government accounting is completely different from anything you would see in the GAAP.

SO. That is a lot of changes since last October. That is what I am doing these days. I'm stretched rather thinly between work and school, but love both of the experiences and wouldn't know which one to reduce.

I'll be posting soon a bunch of videos and links that I have found quite interesting lately. Many of them will be political and economic in nature- but all hugely relevant our society. I, in all likelihood, will be posting some pop culture stuff/random interesting stuff here as well.

Stay tuned! :)

Obama!

6 days until the election! We're not there yet.


Obama the socialist? What does the socialist presidential candidate have to say about this?
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/189688/october-28-2008/socialist-candidate-for-president---brian-moore

Real Sarah Palin on SNL

... the real Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live.... I don't even know what to think of this.... funny I guess?

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/gov-palin-cold-open/773761/

also: http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/update-palin-rap/773781/

Al Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner

Both candidates talking outside the setting of the campaigns. Very funny

McCain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAjAtYqczkk

Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5SWQJWm6Tg&feature=related

Nuns, Monty Python, and Terrorists

Ok, I have a few more videos I want to post and share.
But first, what seems to be going on in the campaign at the moment?

Obama: still going steady. Polls are up in favor of him. He continues with his message of change, and is campaigning in many battleground states. (Come on Ohio!)

McCain: running a very strange campaign. he himself seems confused like he doesn't know which directly he should be pushing his campaign in... I'm sure there are a million different republicans behind the scenes shouting to him different things to say and do. But Sarah Palin (and McCain's wife) seem to be going strong, criticizing, not Obama's campaign and his policies, but Obama himself... At recent Republican rallies, they were able to rouse up the crowd to a mob mentality status. People shouted out "Arab", "terrorist", "kill him", "treason"... all sorts of nice things... (Not that being an Arab is bad of course.... but we know what they are thinking and anyway it's just not true...)
Economic conservatives, I can respect. They are educated and have specific ideas on the best way the economy can work. And social conservatives themselves aren't bad people.... but come on people, just go already to wikipedia and read Obama's biography.... or his facebook page!

And by the way this "terrorist" that Obama is consorting with... Bill Ayers, in a far left party in the 1960s, participated in the blowing up of several buildings and statues, no one was killed...

Fast forward... "Bill Ayers and Barack Obama at one time lived in the same neighborhood in the city of Chicago, and both had worked on education reform in the state of Illinois. The two met 'at a luncheon meeting about school reform.'Obama was named to the Chicago Annenberg Challenge Project Board of Directors to oversee the distribution of grants in Chicago. Later in 1995, Ayers hosted 'a coffee' for 'Mr. Obama's first run for office.' The two served on the board of a community anti-poverty group, the Woods Fund of Chicago, between 2000 and 2002, during which time the board met twelve times."

Oh my god, how dare he!!?!!!?!!

And where is Mr. Ayers now? " a professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, holding the titles of Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar." Oh yes, definitely clear connection between Obama and this "terrorist"... especially when Obama was 8 years old when these bombing took place...

Is this the best ammunition with which they have to attack? What is this saying about the McCain campaign? About America?? Does the Republican campaign think that Americans are this ignorant? Are they?

Anyway, so onto the videos!

First one. A 106 year old American nun in Rome is voting from abroad for the first time since 1952! Now who would an elderly white very religious catholic woman vote for?
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/ynews;_ylt=AgRkYK96EEy.mvFw.lV84ZD5R9AF?ch=4226716&cl=10213693&lang=en','playerWindow','width=793,height=608,scrollbars=no

Next. What does John Cleese think of Sarah Palin?
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=jMyNk8J1c8g


Have a good day!