Guns, Mental Health, and Fascism
One of the goals of gun control advocates is to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill; like kids who go on stabbing sprees or shooting sprees. There’s a big difference between the two – in Pennsylvania, no one died.
2. Many people are calling for better mental health services in this country in the wake of the Pennsylvania stabbing, the Sandy Hook shooting, and the Fort Hood shooting. That would be fantastic – oftentimes the first thing that state and municipal governments cut and shrink to balance their budgets are the very costly mental health services offered to people who desperately need – yet can’t afford – them. When services are cut and facilities closed, where do you think they go? How do you think they function in society? The mentally ill are, furthermore, often uniquely unable or unwilling to stand up for themselves, their medical needs, and their rights.
I think it’s a great goal for society to better serve our most vulnerable. It’s sort of the point of programs like SNAP and WIC, and mental health services need to be taken more seriously. Of course, this costs money. So, let’s agree to expand mental health services while simultaneously not complaining about the cost of doing so, or denigrating the mentally ill recipients of these services because we resent them receiving them.
Furthermore, mental health services should be available to anyone who needs them, on demand and for life. The best way to accomplish this is to expand mental health coverage throughout the health insurance spectrum.
3. At Fort Hood, a troubled soldier shot three people and injured 16 others. The right wing – locally led by the increasingly shrill and dangerous operations director at WBEN (see below) – has recommended that soldiers at the facility be allowed to carry sidearms at all times to protect themselves against a deranged shooter. Is that a good way to run a society – by encouraging shootouts? Have we not progressed at all since the post-civil war frontier times? These men and women have signed up to serve our country. We can’t trust our servicemen and women to not shoot at each other? Nowhere is 100% safe all of the time, and it’s ridiculous to live your life waiting to fend off an attack. Everybody’s Chuck Norris, all of a sudden. Just relax. You don’t need a gun all the time.
4. Kathy Weppner changed her campaign website yesterday and touted it on Facebook and Twitter. It looks like a 12 year old was let loose on a Livejournal account. Weppner is going to run against Obamacare, which is interesting since it’s expanded health insurance so that the number of uninsured is at its lowest point in years. It’s also interesting since more people with health insurance means more patients for her husband to treat.
The next report will be on the economy, jobs and Obamacare job loss. This landmark legislation has been changed 40 times. The chaos, uncertainty and cost of this massive piece of legislation and last minute changes has resulted in thousands of job cuts, reduction in fulltime employment, and employer fear of hiring. The cumulative impact of Obamacare, on top of the highest corporate taxes in the world, and constant Washington interference is devastating to our small business job creators. Obamacare, as it impacts the medical care you receive, will appear as a separate report.
And you thought she was just a benign kook. She has no idea what she’s talking about, and is simply vomiting up Fox News/Rush Limbaugh talking points.
5. Back to that Operations Manager at WBEN. Regard:
I LOVE what a Marine does to deal with this ass of a protester! http://t.co/0oAk6hM8Bh @NewsRadio930
— Tim Wenger (@TimWBEN) April 3, 2014
That protester didn’t do a damn thing to those Marines. He didn’t attack them or disrespect them (an upside-down flag is a distress signal, (36 USC §176(a)), not a sign of disrespect to the flag or to those who fight under her). Furthermore, whatever that protester was doing is protected political speech. What that Marine did to the protester is simple assault & battery; also, larceny. Robbery, possibly. That sort of intimidation and assault of someone with whom you disagree is straight up fascism.
I haven’t received a reply to this yet:
.@TimWBEN So, you’d think it was cool if I ripped this guy’s flag off his porch? @NewsRadio930 pic.twitter.com/iRkEsU73A6
— Alan Bedenko (@buffalopundit) April 9, 2014
One of the dumbest arguments made by gun fanatics is that those wishing to do harm will use other weapons. Over at the Buffalo News many comments were made claiming “knives, forks, spoons, hammers, tree limbs, etc” were just as dangerous and effective.
If that’s true I suggest the gun fanatics shouldn’t need an assault rifle or 30 round clip for “self defense”
Just stock up on those weapons, “concealed carry” a knife-fork-spoon set, hang a hammer on you5r belt, and carry a tree limb, you should be good to go.
I’m traveling light…does a ‘spork’ qualify?
Only in a duel with Richard Simmons.
Dude, ya got that right!!!!! These GUN NUTS are FUCKED UP!!!!!
In my neighborhood, there are three kinds of people I NEVER would want on my block.
They have the potential of DESTROYING our neighborhood, ruining our quality of life, reducing property values, and generally are the lowest of the low:
1) Level 3 Sex Offenders
2) Zombie Properties
3) These Fuckin GUN FREAKS
GUNS – GUNS – GUNS these morons are nearly sexual about their guns. The Second Amendment, to me, is a HORSE’S ASS!!!!!
I was at a public hearing a while back and there was this deranged gun nut who was protesting the NY SAFE Act. He was livid. He said his mental health was being affected by the SAFE Act in that he now has anxiety over the reduction in bullets in each clip for his gun. He said he can’t sleep at night. “What about my mental health?” he thundered. “What if I run out of bullets if I am robbed?”
Level 3 sex offenders, zombie properties and gun nuts. Go away. Go far, far away.
In fact, it is the gun haters who mock, defame and commercialize the 22 Sandy Hook victims, by politicizing their deaths into their never-ending war on guns. Who use their deaths to enact risible bans against scary-looking rifles (pistol grips, flash suppressors, adjustable stocks — none of which affects the function of the firearm). Did you know that a company has just introduced a NY SAFE-compliant AR 15? The stock and grip have been altered so they don’t have the forbidden scary features.
By the way — “Noooobody neeeeeds a ten innnnch knife to peeeeel an orrrrrange!!!!”
See my comment below, I will take my chances against a “10 innnnch knife”, a hammer, spoon or fork. You have a chance to disarm a perp with any weapon except a gun. Also you can run away from any weapon, except a gun. To my knowledge amost all instances of mass slaughter involved a gun, (the preferred weapon choice of all cowards).
Yes, I did know that a company introduced a NY SAFE-compliant AR-15.
My question is this. Why do the gun-huggers demand that the clinically insane have access to semi-automatic weapons with magazines of unlimited capacity?
If you were going to be in a fight using a knife or a gun, which would you prefer? I believe you’d pick the GUN…..every time, because it’s lethal from a distance.
Also, “politicizing” something is exactly what you do when you are trying to save lives by diminishing the chances that a tragic occurrence will be repeated again and again and again, as these mass shootings continue to take place.
Another dumb argument made by gun fanatics is that “criminals don’t obey the law”. By this absurd logic we should just repeal all laws since “criminals don’t obey the law”. Laws of course are a deterrent to most and provide consequences to those that refuse to comply. Laws also allow a civilized society to remove and punish those that are a threat to our life and liberty.
I new there was a reason when I was in US Air Force basic training back in the 70’s that my technical instructor told us all Marines were “Jar Heads”…….
My second grade daughter can do a website better than this: “We will examine issues throughout the campaign which will be updated frequently. Please forward these to other taxpayers for there review. “
For more information on the Kathy Weppner, Republican, for New York Congressional District 26, please fill out the form
“the” kathy weppner.
I like how she makes her site look like she’s already been elected, save for the hideous picture of her signing “legislation”
Show AND Tell….
One of the reasons Ft Hood is a gun free zone is many there are coping with ptsd and other anxieties resulting from their tours of duty. To arm everyone is to arm the mentally ill. Doesn’t seem like such a good idea.
And you can have all the mental health facilities you want. When they figure out a way to predict a sane person going off the deep end before he does, we can talk about reducing gun control laws. It would go like this: Hello Mr Smith, we are here to confiscate your weapons. But why, I haven’t done anything. No but you will next Tuesday.
Since sane people do go off the deep end, it is even more important that the sane people are prepared to protect themselves.
I guess you can look at it that way, although I do not. But the bigger point is to get the weapons that slaughter masses of people out of the picture. One should be able to protect ones self with a revolver.
Take a look at the real figures. All those sane people carrying guns to protect themselves. How many actually ever find themselves in a position to protect themselves with their gun? Of those, how many are successful? How many, numbers-wise never have occasion to protect themselves? How many have ended up shooting themselves or having a family member or friend accidently shot by their gun?
By the numbers I’m thinking if you want to protect yourself and your family maybe you first should get rid of your gun.
Of course I’m not talking about you and me Mr. Rebmann. We can be assured that we’re much above average and nothing of that sort will ever happen to us, no?
Many people own fire extinguishers, most will never have the occasion to use it.
Kind of a pointless analogy, no?
Many more people will use that fire extinguisher than accidently shoot and/or kill themselves or friends and family with it.
The point is, people don’t buy a fire extinguisher because they expect to have a fire, they buy it because they might have a fire.
But the downside of always having the fire extinguisher around is NIL. Not so much the case with a loaded firearm.
The downside of a lunatic, or criminal, attacking you has a much greater downside without the means of self-defense.
Well I have to give you that. I carry breath freshener because I MIGHT run into a super hot young lady who is just crazy about grey, balding old men with false teeth. But…as you say…I don’t expect that.
If we ever have a fight, how about I get to have the gun…and YOU get to have the fire extinguisher?
In regards to That Station(I will no longer use its call letters), Clint Buehlman and Jeff Kaye just reached Warp 9 while spinning in their graves. Mr. Wenger continues to take a #2 on what WAS a great station.
That WBEN operations guy’s latest twitter:
“Ever felt like throwing a shoe at Hillary Clinton? Probably safer to just watch the video of someone else doing it!” (followed by a youtube link)
Does he oversee the “news” department as well? If so, that’s a disgrace. Does this guy have ANY professional integrity?