Can The NRA Sink Any Lower?

This is a little old. It is dated January 31, 2015. It is simply unbelievable.

Just Making Stuff Up, at Americans for Responsible Solutions:

The gun control supporters at Americans for Responsible Solutions ought to rename their group Anti-Gunners for Irresponsible Statistics after the bogus claim they made this week about the number of firearm and car accident deaths among young people each year. The group claimed that there are more than 30,000 firearm-related deaths, plus more than 30,000 car accident deaths among young people each year.

One of the group’s leaders is a former astronaut, so maybe he got those numbers during some of his extraterrestrial travels, but, as the saying goes, “not on this planet.”

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ WISQARS data query website, in 2013, the most recent year for which data are reported, there were 3,487 motor vehicle traffic accident deaths and 124 firearm accident deaths among persons ages 0-19. That means motor vehicle accidents account for 28 times as many deaths as firearm accidents among people of that age group.

Of course, when gun control supporters compare cars to guns, they try to make guns look as bad as possible, by comparing the number of motor vehicle accident deaths to the grand total number of deaths due to a combination of firearm accidents, suicides, murders, self-defense homicides by private citizens, and homicides by law enforcement officers.

But even with their vacuous, apples-oranges comparison, the anti-gunners are out of orbit.

When I use the WISQARS site I come up with 2,465 firearm deaths for ages 0-19, not 124. If the Americans for Responsible Solutions is just making stuff up, then so is Bloomberg News. The Bloomberg News article is from Decemeber 19, 2012 and some of the numbers used are projections, yet the writer from the NRA claims that Americans for Responsible Solutions is making a "vacuous, apples-oranges comparison". The numbers in the Bloomberg News article match the numbers used by the Americans for Responsible Solutions. How does this translate into "just making stuff up"?

Why all the snark about young dead people? Since when are guns more important than people?

Why all the snark about Mark Kelly? Americans for Responsible Solutions is the organization founded by Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly after Giffords was shot and almost killed.

The Bloomberg article says "Shooting deaths in 2015 will probably rise to almost 33,000, and those related to autos will decline to about 32,000, based on the 10-year average trend."

Just who is making stuff up?

Meanwhile, people continue to die from shootings and automobile accidents, and the NRA simply doesn't care. How can they possibly be so cold-hearted?

Is there an echo echo in here?

How The Least Rational Person Takes It

From The Crying Shame of John Boehner by Matt Taibbi:

Another Ohio Democrat, Steve Driehaus, clashed repeatedly with Boehner before losing his seat in the midterm elections. After Boehner suggested that by voting for Obamacare, Driehaus "may be a dead man" and "can't go home to the west side of Cincinnati" because "the Catholics will run him out of town," Driehaus began receiving death threats, and a right-wing website published directions to his house. Driehaus says he approached Boehner on the floor and confronted him.

"I didn't think it was funny at all," Driehaus says. "I've got three little kids and a wife. I said to him, 'John, this is bullshit, and way out of bounds. For you to say something like that is wildly irresponsible.'"

Driehaus is quick to point out that he doesn't think Boehner meant to urge anyone to violence. "But it's not about what he intended — it's about how the least rational person in my district takes it. We run into some crazy people in this line of work."

Palinesque

From Sarah Palin: Graceless Under Pressure by Jeffrey Winbush:

When she should rise above the fray, once again she gets dragged down by her inability to overlook a slight. How sadly predictable. How Palinesque.

Palin uses loaded words and images and then tries to act surprised when they blow up. No, she didn't pull the trigger in Arizona, and I wasn't expecting her to issue a half-assed apology, but she could have expressed a little less of the "Why is everybody picking on me?" whine and a lot more of the "Let's set aside our differences and come together as Americans to help the victims and start the healing." She could have done that, but she decided to stick to her guns. As usual, it's all about Sarah.

Somewhere in those eight minutes, she and her speechwriters could have referred to an even greater communicator than Reagan -- and that's Martin Luther King Jr., who said, "Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies -- or else? The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

Political Rhetoric That's Beyond The Pale

From Linking Uncivil Rhetoric With Violent Acts by Emily Badger:

Some 95 percent of people said they believe civility in politics is important for a healthy democracy — the good news, in Shea’s eyes. But nearly 50 percent said they believe civility has been on the decline since Barack Obama took office (and those paying close attention to politics were four times more likely to say this than those paying only moderate attention).

Most surprising are the responses when people were asked to define what should be out of bounds. “If you were able to create a rule book for civility in politics,” subjects were asked, “which of the following would not be OK — would be, that is, against the rules?” Overwhelming majorities opposed belittling or insulting someone (89 percent), questioning someone’s patriotism because they have a different opinion (73 percent), and personal attacks on someone they disagree with (87 percent).

Most Americans, in short, think entirely commonplace occurrences in politics today constitute political rhetoric that’s beyond the pale. We’re not even talking gun sights or “second-amendment remedies.”

Blood Libel

Right wingers think that the 1st amendment applies only to them. They are free to say anything that they want to. They are free to say nasty and violent things. They are free to lie about things.

If anyone on the left voices the least bit of criticism of the right, then the right-wingers are outraged. Doesn’t the left know that the 1st amendment only applies to the voices of the right wing?

Are there any adults left in the world of the Republican right-wing monstrosity? The right-wing act like spoiled little children. Most of them are bullies (Rush Limbaugh) or like little two year olds saying “No, I won’t do it, you can’t make me.” (The Republican Senate) Not to mention the childish, bully Bill O’Reilly who responds to any challenge with a loud obnoxious “Shut up.”

The left is not telling Sarah Palin to shut up. Many of us wish she would, but we are not telling her to. We would like her to consider her words more carefully. We would like her to realize that words have meaning. We would like her act like an adult. We would like a little civility.

Obviously the right-wingers think that guns and gun owners breed civility. If the left questions that belief we are accused of “blood libel.”

From Sarah Palin accuses critics of "blood libel" by David Morgan:

Prominent Republican Sarah Palin on Wednesday accused critics of "blood libel" by blaming her rhetoric for contributing to the shooting rampage in Tucson that killed six and wounded 14, including Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them," the conservative Tea Party favorite and former Alaska governor said in her first major response to critics.

"Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible."

Some commentators and bloggers questioned whether last year's election rhetoric from conservative Republicans including Palin and some Tea Party candidates created a climate that bred violence.

If  “Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own” then why did the right-wing want to go after Saddam Hussein because of 9/11? Why do so many right-wingers hate all Muslims, even the ones who are not criminals? Words do have consequences. If they didn’t Sarah Palin would not have responded to the commentators and bloggers accusing them of “blood libel.” She didn’t like what we said. She has a right to respond. However, she is simply wrong to think that words cannot compel people to action. Barack Obama’s words compelled people to vote for him. Sarah Palin’s words compelled people to vote for him. Soon we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King. Need I say more? Well I will. I’d rather have a dream than reload.

Also, does Sarah Palin have any bone in her body that cries out for logic? First she says that her words could not have incited violence. Then she says that journalists and pundits can incite violence with words. What’s that all about?

I am tired of the right-wingers. I am fed up with the right-wingers. Whatever happened to the melting pot? The United States is a country with all kinds of people. We should nourish our diversity, not starve the parts that you disagree with, simply because they disagree with you.

Listening seems to be a lost art. Contemplation seems to be a lost art. Compromise seems to be a lost art. Hate, however, seems to be thriving, and Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and all the rest who preach the gospel of hate are the reason why.

I am tired of the hate. I am tired of politics as war. I am tired of being seen as an enemy of the country I am a citizen of. I am tired of Sarah Palin and her ilk always being on the offensive, as well as being offensive.

The United States needs to be positive in it’s thinking. All that I hear from the right is “No.” All I hear from the right is “Shut up.”

By the way, what the hell does “blood libel” even mean?

Update:

Now I know. You learn something everyday. Why did Palin choose those words?

The Becking Of America

From Chip Berlet on "The Becking of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords":

CHIP BERLET: Well, if you’re walking in the shoes of a person who believes this set of stories, abortion, gay rights, sexual liberalism are all part of a plan to destroy America by reducing its moral backbone and allowing godless ideas and alien ideas to infiltrate the country and destroy America as God’s new promised land. So, within certain groups of the Christian right who are militantly anti-abortion, the idea is that this is all part of the same fabric of secular humanist, liberal treason. And it’s this idea that the Democrats and the liberals and the leftists are treasonous, which is creating this atmosphere of demonization and vilification.

Back in June of 2009, I wrote a report called “Toxic to Democracy,” which said—and I’ll quote it—“Aggressive right-wing rhetoric targeting Democrats as treasonous encourages some unstable people to act out in aggression or violence.” So this was predictable. Sara Robinson, David Neiwert, Mark Potok, dozens of reporters who study the right wing have been predicting the outcome of this wave, this "Becking" of America, where the Glenn Becks, the Ann Coulters, the Bill O’Reillys talk about abortion, talk about gay rights, talk about healthcare, talk about the Democrats as traitors to America who have to be stopped.

Here is some “Becking” from days gone by:

Bring Your Gun To The Tea Party

and

From Glen Beck Has Made Me Feel Better:

Beck has a “shoot them in the head” fetish:

"Beck has a warning for Muslims 'who have sat on [their] frickin' hands' and have not 'lin[ed] up to shoot the bad Muslims in the head'," Media Matters for America, August 10, 2006.

“I wonder, do we have a guy who will tell me the truth who is well spoken, who has the fire in the belly to do a couple of things: one, shoot the bad guys in the head, and, two, shrink the size of government?” Glenn Beck, September 6, 2007.

“I say Rudy Giuliani is the candidate who will stand up to our enemies, tell them to get the hell out or we`ll shoot them in the head.” Glenn Beck, September 6, 2007.

From Glenn Beck on how the US should treat Gitmo detainees: We’re going to shoot them all in the head by John Amato:

Listen to this rant about the Supreme Court decision on Gitmo detainees and you’ll know the state of conservatism in this country He’s like so many of them.

Beck: This court has done some frightening. frightening things….If I’m president of the US, I would go on National television and say—’ladies and gentlemen, the Supreme Court said that we don’t have Gitmo so that is over. We’re going to release all of them, but I want you to know from here on out our policy is to not have prisoners. We’re going to shoot them all in the head.’

If we think they are against us, we’re going to shoot them and kill them—period because that’s the only thing we’ve got going for us—cause we can put them away and get information. If we can’t put them away and they’re going to use our court system—kill them.

Our National Culture Of Violence

From Isn't What Happened in Arizona Media-Fed Bigoted White Christian Male Terrorism? by Mark Karlin:

The right-wing culture of hate and implicit coded call to kill the enemy, as if on a mission from God, is a subset of our larger national culture of violence.

From our policy of maintaining superpower status through wars and coups to going back to the conquest of America by the slaughter of Native Americans, we have had a history of a large segment of our population that views violence as a remedy for personal and political grievances - as well as the fulfillment of ideological goals. For them, "putting down your enemy" is as American as apple pie.

Thou Shalt Not Kill

From In the US, where hate rules at the ballot box, this tragedy has been coming for a long time by Michael Tomasky:

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has documented more than two dozen killings by or arrests of rightwing extremists who intended to do serious political violence since 2008. One Tennessee man killed two worshippers at a liberal church, regretting only that he had not been able to ice the 100 liberals named by author Bernard Goldberg as those most responsible for destroying America. Giffords herself received threats after voting for the healthcare reform bill, and shots were fired through the window of her district office. An event like this has been coming for a long time.

Quote Of Note - Gabrielle Giffords

"We're on Sarah Palin's targeted list. But the thing is, the way she has it depicted it has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. And when people do that, they've got to realize there are consequences to that action." - Gabrielle Giffords