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Way back in 1993, there was an episode of "The Simpsons," in which Grandpa Simpson wrote a letter to the White House. Apropos of nothing, ol' Abe wanted the president to eliminate three states from the union because there are "too many states nowadays."
Grandpa added in his letter, "I am not a crackpot."
I thought of this while reading the latest missive from the National Rifle Association's Wayne LaPierre, who had a lengthy opinion piece in the Daily Caller yesterday, explaining why Americans should be terrified enough to want to buy lots and lots of firearms.
During the second Obama term, however, additional threats are growing. Latin American drug gangs have invaded every city of significant size in the United States. Phoenix is already one of the kidnapping capitals of the world, and though the states on the U.S./Mexico border may be the first places in the nation to suffer from cartel violence, by no means are they the last.
The president flagrantly defies the 2006 federal law ordering the construction of a secure border fence along the entire Mexican border. So the border today remains porous not only to people seeking jobs in the U.S., but to criminals whose jobs are murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping. Ominously, the border also remains open to agents of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
Wait, it gets worse. LaPierre also envisions mass looting, debt riots, and the collapse of law-enforcement agencies. It's the kind of news you don't hear from President Obama -- who, of course, wants to disarm you for his own nefarious purposes -- and his "'mainstream' media enablers."
And then there's LaPierre's kicker: "These are perils we are sure to face -- not just maybe. It's not paranoia to buy a gun."
"Paranoia"? Who said anything about "paranoia"? This is simply a piece from a powerful right-wing lobbyist warning of Latin-American gangs, terrorists, and rioters, each of which are coming to attack you -- "not just maybe." Why would anyone think this sounds like "paranoia"?
Perhaps for the same reason Abe Simpson understood he might sound like a "crackpot"?
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Don't forget people, his main purpose in life is to get us to buy guns. I take everything with a full shaker of salt and remember he's trying to line his pockets. If the US is so dangerous, why doesn't.t he get the hell out? I'd even send him the rail!
LaPierre may had seen one too many Red Dawn movies?
Wonder how Much the gun manufacturers pay him for his "Rush to arm the citizenry? is it by percentage or per unit?
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the ex-cop who went on the cop killing rampage in California last week. Here was a deeply troubled man who was trained by the military and the police to use the most sophisticated of guns and other survival techniques. When he decided that the LAPD had done him wrong, he decided to seek his own revenge.
Redress of grievances has been enshrined in the law since at least the time of Ancient Athens. Of course Dornan (sp?) thought himself in the same situation as Hamlet: where do you go for justice/redress of grievances when the very source of justice is unjust or has committed the crime against you. Dornan thought the LAPD was corrupt, but that does not give him the right to act as his own judge and jury. The 2nd Amendment does not give him that right.
It is significant to note that Dornan did not harm the two women who came to clean the condo where he was hiding out or the man whose truck he hi-jacked because they were unarmed. He was after those who were heavily armed. He was in effect doing just what La Pierre has been saying we must do: arm ourselves so that we can fight those evil government agents. The basic assumption behind all these gun nuts is that the U.S. is a tyranny which must be overthrown by the good, freedom loving citizens. We must be allowed to have arms equal to those carried by the police and the army because these organizations are out to get us.
LaPierre is the new David Koresh.
Solution: Make bullets $10K a piece. Forget guns. People would think twice before shooting someone.
This man is loony. I don't know what country he is living in, but most of us don't have guns and live a quiet, peaceful life. Nothing like self-interest to sound like a mental patient. Be gone with you. Sick of hearing your rantings NRA nut.
Yes, and Seems Wayne LaPierre is "Not a Crackpot, or Nut", no, he is Just Another Businessman... I mean "Job Creator", Trying to Move Some Merchandise ...Yes, By Crooks or....Ahhh.. Hooks ! ?
Suckers Welcome, I Guess ! ?
Just Saying !
I'd like to see some numbers on the Phoenix kidnapping rate, but then I guess we need to wonder why Joe Arpaio isn't doing his job.
Reminds me of a scene from Ghost Busters:
Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.
Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!
I think ol' Wayne is the one screwing the pooch.
And Zombies! Don't forget the Zombie apocalypse!
Not welcome in Canada now, eh!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/02/14/172019554/canada-to-zombies-drop-dead-eh?utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20130214
I live in Phoenix and have yet to be threatened by a drug cartel I haven't been kidnapped, either. And guess what? I have absolutely no interest in owning a gun, and I'm willing to say that in a public forum. Actually, LaPierre scares me far more than any of the apocalypes he rants about.
Here is a way to counter this NRA nonsense. (I love that word, nonsense. NO SENSE). We can counter this by contacting our representatives to take action. All of the victims in the last few years deserve a vote. Here is a link to finding out who is your representative. Copy, print, sign, and send it to your representative. Share it on Facebook. Post links to your share on twitter. TAKE Action.
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Dear Congressmember _____________________________,
I am writing to express support for President Obama’s “Now Is The Time” Plan for protecting our children and our communities by reducing gun violence and improving gun safety. Specifically, the points of the President’s plan are:
On January 16, 2013, the President put forward this specific plan to protect our children and communities by reducing gun violence. The plan combines executive actions and calls for legislative action that would help keep guns out of the wrong hands, ban assault and high-capacity magazines, make our schools safer, and increase access to mental health services. I strongly support each of the measures that President Obama called for in his remarks and ask that you, as my elected Representative, provide strong leadership at every step of the process as these measures are introduced in Congress.
I hope that I can count on your support for these measures. If you do not support the President’s plan I would like to know for what reason and I would like to know what actions you do support to reduce gun violence in our schools and our community.
Sincerely,
Name:_________________________________
Address:_______________________________
_______________________________________
Email:___________________________________
Cray-Cray La Poota!!!
He'd have been better off if he had just mentioned the IZA (Impending Zombie Apocalypse). Remember folks, you can't spell paranoid without NRA.