Something I Never Thought I Would See...

The Choice of Guns Over Butter

The Choice of Guns Over Butter
Wednesday, 30 January 2013 09:54
By Gary G Kohls, Consortium News | News Analysis

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The withered old man was found dead in his bed, surrounded by rifles, pistols and guns of every description. Boxes of bullets and cartridges were stacked on the floor. He had a knife in his cold, dead hand and an actual harpoon was leaning against his refrigerator, which was empty. In a nation of plenty and with grocery stores in the man’s neighborhood, the well-armed man had starved to death.

He had fiercely exercised his precious Second Amendment rights but had ignored his neighbors, family and his health. He had apparently heard the National Rifle Association’s sermons about defending one’s property against intruders – by lethal means if necessary – but he had chosen to remove himself from civil society and starved to death, all alone in his well-defended room.

The man had wasted away, in a paranoid state, while “defending” himself against imaginary “others” who never did come to rob him. He had spent all of his money, including his Social Security and pension checks, on guns and ammunition, but he had spent nothing on food or life-sustaining activities. He was obsessed by the fear of burglars and thieves, and it had cost him his life.

And, what was perhaps a more tragic reality, he had been suspicious of his neighbors, all of whom were potential friends, although many were probably keeping their distance from the crazy old man with the guns.

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the rest:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/14229-the-choice-of-guns-over-butter

Giffords To Lawmakers: ‘You must act. Be bold. Be courageous. Americans Are Counting On You’

Boo Hoo Hoo: GOP Senators gripe: We can't bring guns to hearing

Senators gripe: We can't bring guns to hearing


Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz are asking for help in bringing unloaded guns to Wednesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing.

The senators have run into hurdles with local and federal law enforcement.

“In anticipation of tomorrow’s hearing on gun control, we instructed our staff to work to ensure various unloaded firearms, under law enforcement supervision, could be brought into the hearing,” Graham and Cruz, wrote to Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy. “Our offices worked with various officials in local and federal law enforcement, as well as the Senate Sergeant at Arms, but it appears that the requirements to secure the weapons at the hearing are so impractical as to be unworkable.”

But Leahy’s office said they did not receive the letter from Graham and Cruz on Tuesday.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/ted-cruz-lindsey-graham-having-trouble-bringing-guns-to-hearing-86909.html#ixzz2JTOogeul

Communism, Polygamy And Human Cloning Are More Popular Than The NRA’s Position On Gun Safety

Thank You Hillary

Wayne's World: Gunman Shoots Bus Driver in Ala., Takes Child as Hostage

A gunman shot and killed a school bus driver in Midland City, Ala., Tuesday afternoon and escaped the scene with a 6-year-old passenger, which has prompted a hostage situation that is still going on this morning.

The suspected gunman is identified as Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 60-something military veteran, a police source told ABC News. Dykes and the child are in an underground bunker behind his home.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/gunman-shoots-bus-driver-ala-takes-child-hostage/story?id=18351373

Gabrielle Giffords to speak at Senate hearing on gun violence

Source: Washington Post

Gabrielle Giffords to speak at Senate hearing on gun violence
By Ed O’Keefe and Sari Horwitz, Wednesday, January 30, 2:33 AM

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is expected to give an opening statement Wednesday at a Senate hearing on gun violence, lending the emotional resonance of her experience with the issue to what had already promised to be a dramatic exchange between lawmakers and advocates for and against stricter gun-control laws.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on gun-related violence in 14 months on Wednesday morning, and observers expect that it will help set the tone for congressional debates over legislation introduced in the wake of the deadly shooting last month at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., that killed 26 people, including 20 young children.

Giffords was shot in January 2011 at point-blank range at an event in Tucson and suffered brain damage. She is expected to give her statement alone at a witness table and take no questions from senators, according to a person familiar with her plans who was not authorized to talk publicly about them and spoke on the condition of anonymity. After Giffords leaves, five other invited witnesses — including Giffords’s husband, Mark Kelly — are expected to testify.

Giffords and Kelly are gun owners and support the Second Amendment, but this month they launched their own political group to take on the National Rifle Association and push for a new assault-weapons ban, universal background checks to close the “gun-show loophole,” and a ban on high-capacity magazines like the one used to kill six people and wound Giffords and 13 others in the Tucson shooting.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gabrielle-giffords-to-testify-at-senate-hearing-on-gun-violence/2013/01/29/ffba6a30-6a61-11e2-95b3-272d604a10a3_story.html?wprss=rss_politics

is this supposed to impress ANYONE? (warning, just plain ugly)

(WORST RATINGS SINCE 9/11) Fox News Ratings Hit 12-Year Demo Lows In January Cable News Figures

Source: Huffington Post

Fox News Ratings Hit 12-Year Demo Lows In January Cable News Figures

At the end of each month, cable news ratings are released to the public. And, like clockwork, Fox News dominates the top 13 or so programs, far outstripping its competitors.

January was ... a little different. To be sure, everything is relative in cable news: Fox News still had nine out of the top ten programs. It has spent 11 consecutive years as the top-rated cable news channel. Its 6 AM show drew almost double the ratings of CNN's top-ranking prime time show.

But, as rival MSNBC was quick to point out, and BuzzFeed was quick to trumpet, Fox News had its worst primetime ratings in the coveted 25-54 demo since August 2001, and its lowest total day ratings since June 2008.

To a seasoned watcher of cable news ratings, there were other surprises. Rachel Maddow, for instance, came in 10th, beating "Studio B" and the 11 PM repeat of "The O'Reilly Factor." In January 2012, she came in 14th. It may not seem like much, but the top of the cable news field has been extremely stable — and if Maddow were to continue creeping up the list, it would mean a real sea change. Overall, MSNBC — perhaps powered by liberal euphoria over President Obama's inauguration — was the only cable news channel to grow its ratings from 2012.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/fox-news-ratings-lows-cable-news-january_n_2576689.html