Downward spiral of civil rights in the USA!

Do you remember Maggie Carranza and Emma Hernandez, her 71 year old mother? No?  Let me refresh your memory.  LA police are on a man hunt for Christopher Dorner driving a grey Nissan Titan.  Christopher Dorner is a 6 foot tall, 270 pound man with a shaved head.  They then fire over 100 rounds at a blue Toyota Tacoma with out even knowing who was in the vehicle.  Well good thing the LA police seem to be shit marksmen because of those 100+ bullets only 2 hit anyone in the truck.  Thankfully Emma survived being shot in the back twice by police that couldn't even attempt to clear a vehicle of 2 older women delivering newspapers.  I know Dorner killed one police officer and attempted to kill a few others but how does this give the police free rein to not only shoot up a vehicle that doesn't even match the make and model  or even brand of the suspect but also ram another vehicle off the road, also nothing like the suspects vehicle.

Just recently Boston gets put into lock down because of the hunt for Tsarnaev.  Houses searched with no warrants.  Now I imagine many people might have consented to the searches but what about those that believe in their 4th amendment rights? 

It seems a whole slew of people over at Fox support throwing out just about every constitutional amendment, minus the 2nd amendment.  God forbid the government should require back ground checks for people wishing to buy a fire arm but torturing people before they even get a trial...that's ok.  They even backed New York state senator Greg Ball's tweet that Tsarnaev should be tortured BEFORE any trial.  Not that torture after a trial would be any better.  Which for you following along means no 8th amendment.

Anne Coulter thinks that Katherine Tsarnaev should go to prison for wearing a Hijab. Really?  How does wearing a certain type of clothing constitute a felony?  Just because you don't like the religious display doesn't mean sweet fuck all.  I'm an atheist could I expect that any Jewish person wearing a kippah be incarcerated?  What if some Indian woman has a bindi?  Christians, should they get 60 days of hard labour for wearing a cross?

For Dzhokhar Tsarnaev many, but not all, at Fox News seem to want to completely throw out the 4th through 8th amendment.  This is because they are either complete morons or complete fuck tards.  My guess is a bit of both.  I don't care if Dzhokhar is guilty.  He still has all those rights.  Throwing them away doesn't really change what should happen to him, in a civil society, it changes us.

Now they, a few at Fox, are trying to back peddle a bit with their bigoted and idiotic statements.  But just as the Michigan democrat that called one of her colleagues an "arrogant nigger" then trying to claim her comment is ok because she has "eaten Thanksgiving dinner with black friends at their house.” The slight back peddle doesn't change their overall view.

They claim to be for smaller government unless it means that people they don't agree with might get rights they have, like the right for gay couples to get married.  They are for controlling the reproductive health of women. They are for restricting religious freedoms, as long as it isn't their religion being restricted.  They are for torture despite the fact it has been shown to be not effective in obtaining any useful information.  We can't just blame them though because they prey on the fears of many Americans and unfortunately many American's, like many people in other parts of the world, are narrow minded bigots that believe in the American way but only if you believe exactly like they do.

No matter how many people want Tsarnaev to face the death penalty doesn't change the fact that he deserves a fair trial.  The fair trial isn't just for him.  It is for us.  Not only so we can claim the moral high ground but so we don't need to be fearful of a government coming after us when we find ourselves in a time where our political views don't match someone elses.

It is a very slippery slope we find ourselves on.  Our civil rights being slowly taken away.  In the end, every time we give a bit more of our liberties up we give up a bit more of what it really means to be Americans.

The Federal Student Loan Program - The reality not the misconceptions

Ok so let me break this down for people.  The first line

'Children of a congress member do not have to pay back their college student loans. How nice!'

Is false.  There is no program for congress members to wave student loans of any of their family.  There is a program to aid congressional staff members, that are elible, to pay back student loans but this is the same program that is offered to all federal employees.

The Federal Student Loan Program

Note the Employee Coverage that states.

"Any employee (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2105) is eligible, except those occupying a position excepted from the competitive civil service because of their confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating nature (e.g., Schedule C appointees)."

That means elected representatives are NOT eligible.

The actual program was enacted in 2001.  It can pay up to $10,000 a year for the federal employee and is capped out at $60,000 and must be PLUS Loans (these are federal loans). Part of the program is that the employee has to sign a contract and remain in their position for, at least, 3 more years else they must pay back the benefits they have received.

In 2011 34 government agencies participated in the program with just over 10,000 federal employees claiming. The average claim being $7,091

Since 2003 the number of federal employees taking part in the program had increased about 23.43% per year.  Instead of me rambling on with numbers here is a chart showing the adoption figures.

Before you freak out about the 72 million dollars spent on this program last year remember this is part of their benefit package even if they don't claim.  This is budgeted for just as much as employees wages are.  The federal employees don't make much.  My manager while I was a Marine stationed at Albany GA was a GS11.  Her salary in 2011 would have been about $65,371 and she was in charge of well over 100 civilians and Marines.

The Federal student loan repayment program is a great incentive that helps those that need it the most.  IE the lower your pay scale the more the program helps you.  For those that aren't following.  If you are a federal employee and a GS5 you start out at $27,431 a year.  So IF you could claim the entire $10,000 amount per year that is a much bigger percentage of your total package then if you were a GS11 with 20 years of service making $65,371 a year.  That in itself is telling too.  The difference between a first year GS1 and a GS11 with 20 years of federal service is less then 4x. Think about your job.  Think about how long you have been there. Now think about the pay difference between you and some 18 year old kid just starting at that company with no experience and tell me the difference in pay between you two.  Odds are it is much larger then if you were employed by the federal government.

Now this program was specifically initiated to help retain federal employees.  As any person with a bit of management experience knows it is costly to have high employee turn over rates.  Someone who has been at the job for 5 years is going to be more beneficial then a new employee coming on board.  This is especially true in the Civil services where pay differences are often fairly minor.

Now to boot the Senate actually have lower caps then the program allows.  I.E. the Senate staff members can claim a maximum of $500 a month and is capped at $40,000.

So with the facts out of the way let me now focus on what Fox News reported, without even fact checking.

From The Sean Hannity Show on 23rd of August 2010 Dick Morris and Sean Hannity had this exchange

Dick Morris Do you know — my wife Eileen just told me yesterday that staff in the House of Representatives and in the Senate do not pay student loans back? The government pays it for them?
Sean Hannity I didn’t know that.
Dick Morris The House of Representatives last year spent $25 million paying the salary, student loans of their staffers.

Now I love that source.  Dick Morris's wife told him.  Well fuck me ... it must be true.  No need to fact check that.

The exchange makes you think that elective officials are part of that.  The face book post distorts it even further.

Notice the bit of "staff in the House...".  Representatives and Senators can not claim from the program.  They are NOT eligible   The second line about the House of Representatives is less then half true.  First off the amount the House spent was about 12 million and again it was over 3,000 employees with the average claim at just $2,000 and no claim more then $6,000.

That is the reality.  Fox News complaining about valid programs that even in the short term make the government more efficient by retaining employees.  This is what Fox News is complaining about.  Efficient government.  But, of course, they lie and distort the actual fact to enrage their viewers.

Now there are a lot of things you can be upset with Congress members about.  But this is not one of them and 5 minutes on Google would show you that.

W

The truth and facts that are missing from Fox "News"

  I say "The truth" but really it should be "All truth" almost.  Fox News is a blatant spin machine that lies, distorts and insinuates more then it actually reports.  Their latest target is Al Gore and his sale of his "Unsuccessful" cable news channel, Current TV,  to Al Jazeera.

  First lets look at the general tone of their "reporting" and I use that term in the loosest of manners.  The claim Current TV was a failure but in the same breath admit that it has made Al Gore a lot of money.  The sale was on the order of $400,000,000.00.  They didn't make a loss so ... that seems to me like it was not a failure but a success.  They accuse Al Gore of avoiding capital gains tax but the sale was in January not December so will incur the higher capital gains tax.  They claim that Al Jazeera is just a anti American news agency.  I'd argue that Al Jazeera is just a real news agency that doesn't let its reporting get skewed by politics.

  Lets look at Al Jazeera.  Is it anti American?  It is a state owned organisation.  That state being Qatar.  For those of you that don't know Qatar holds our largest military base in the region and it is where we've launched 2 wars from.  If you want "Friends of America" Qatar is the place to be in the region.  Something that Fox "News" doesn't understand or more exactly is hyper hypocritical about is that actually reporting the news, regardless of how it makes any particular political group look, isn't unpatriotic.  It is called being unbiased and journalism.  Something Fox "News" knows nothing about.  Fox News called anyone protesting against the Tea Party or GOP as "un American" or "unpatriotic" because they were against the current administration back during the Bush era.  But when crazy people ask to secede because their candidate lost both the popular and electoral vote Fox "News" sided with them.

  When a journalist points out that a government is responsible for the deaths of children, innocent civilians or even torture against prisoners they are doing their job as journalist.  The fact that so many American's want to stay ignorant to the facts doesn't make Al Jazeera "anti-American".   It makes Al Jazeera a reputable news organisation and makes those "Americas" ignorant fucktards.  Unlike Fox "News", Al Jazeera is not a political spin machine for the GOP or any other political party.  By actually reporting the news and not distorting it they'll challenge their viewers to question their political beliefs at times.  Something Fox "News" can't understand.  Much like a Young Earth Creationist can't fathom the bible not being 100% literal and "True" those at Fox "News" can't fathom anything the GOP does as much less then perfect.  Both groups are highly deluded and wilfully ignore the facts to keep their world view.

  This isn't just my opinion of Al Jazeera.  Just the English arm of Al Jazeera has won many more journalistic awards then Fox "News" could ever even hope to.
http://www.aljazeera.com/pressoffice/2012/04/2012416161854868952.html
Recently this included the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, Grand Prize .

  Fox "News" ties to make its viewers, who are ignorant, scared because "Al Jazeera" sounds like some evil rag head propaganda machine.  The fact is "Al Jazeera" means "The Island".  It is a state run organisation but before people freak out the B.B.C. is a state run news organisation.  So is the Australian run A.B.C.  All these state run news organisations have, on many occasions, shown that their journalism isn't compromised by the state that owns them.  Unlike the majority of "journalists" at Fox "News" who constantly bow to the political views of Rupert Murdoch and other   member of the Board of Directors.  Fox "News" tries to scare its viewers by telling them that Current TV is now owned by non Americans.  This coming from a "News" organisation who is run by an Australian and second largest owner is Al-Waleed bin Talal, a Saudi Prince.

  Last point I want to enlighten people to is Fox "News"'s implication that Al Gore sold Current TV to Al Jazeera when their were other competing offers and hold up Glen Beck as an example.  First off Glen Beck is good at what he does.  Which is scaring his ignorant listeners into being even more ignorant morons all the while making bucket loads of money doing it.  But his offer failed for multiple reasons.  One is on principal.  Al Gore didn't want Current TV to go to a spin doctor with no journalistic integrity.  Two, by Glen Beck's own admission, it wasn't a serious offer.  They didn't have the money to buy it.  It is kind of like complaining that your neighbour wouldn't sell their house to your kid just because your kid didn't have the money to buy it.  Fox "News" makes it sound like there was a better offer out there and Al Gore wantingly sold Current TV to an evil organisation to help destroy America.

  Fox "News" does a great job at what they do.  They feed their viewers just what they want.  Fear  mongering to ignorant people that believe that anyone that holds any idea they don't agree with are the lowest from of life known.  Mean while the rest of us appreciate actual journalists that challenge our world views.  Exposes the social and political injustices of the world and help make our world a better place by broadening our understanding of the true nature of our society.

Injustice in Steubenville OH

  Back in August a 16 year old girl was slipped a date rape drug by at least 2 members of the Steubenville High School football team.  Upon finding out what happened she and her family went to file charges.  From then on it seems that Steubenville take care of their own no matter what.  After a quick investigation and trail the boys in question have been little more then slapped on the wrist officially and unofficially are still praised within the town.

  Members of Anonymous have since released a large amount of information into the Steubenville rape case, the handling and prosecution of the case and the level of corruption in the town and law enforcement community.  Found here 

  I'm not into conspiracies but when you look at the evidence presented it is obvious that so many people are involved in trying to cover this up that it can't be considered anything else.  From the Sheriff in charge to the prosecution office.  The very office that is supposed to fight for justice for the victim   Apparently their idea of justice is that the jocks should get free rain and it doesn't matter who the hurt or how much they hurt them.

  Video evidence taken by the "boys" charge show not only that they didn't have remorse but think it is funny they raped not only this girl but others as well.  At one point one of the kids asked another kid “What if that was your daughter?”  he then laughed and said "But it isn't".  Right there is a good indication of the attitude of some of these boys.  The fact that the boy referred to the rape victim as "it" and not "she" speaks volumes.  It gets worse his full reply was "But it isn't! If that was my daughter I wouldn't care!".

  It is interesting in this day in age with the level of technology we have around us.  Sadly even if law enforcement was on the side of the victim in this case I'm not sure how much of the "evidence" could be used.  The rape was bragged about not only on local web sites but there were twitter posts being made referencing the crime DURING the crime.  The criminals seem to love to brag about their crimes.  Most of us would think that is crazy.  To admit what happened. To laugh about it while being video taped. But they don't.  They feel safe because they are the stars of the town and so far their community have covered up for them.

  Sadly so far justice is failing in this case and I personally wouldn't be sad or upset if these "boys" started to disappear.  Don't get me wrong I'd rather them be properly charged, investigated and prosecuted.  But that didn't happen.  That isn't happening.  Good on Anonymous for getting the evidence they have.  The police seemed to have "inadvertently" destroyed evidence in the process of collecting it.  Very convenient that pictures, videos and other electronic evidence was mistakenly delete.  Makes me sick.  Sadly even if the boys get off scot-free I wonder how much this information that has been leaked will actually affect them.  I know their are people that not only don't care what these young men have done, but those that think it is their right and privilege to do what they have done.  So they'll probably thrive in their community as the sociopaths they are.

  More information can be read via the following links.
New York Times
International Business Times
Huffingtion Post
New York Daily News
FFS...Google it! 

NRA Stupidity

  Last week NRA Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre, made a set of stupid and blatantly false statements in reaction to the Newtown shooting.

"How do we protect our children right now, starting today, in a way that we know works?

The only way to answer that question is to face up to the truth. Politicians pass laws for Gun-Free School Zones. They issue press releases bragging about them. They post signs advertising them.

And in so doing, they tell every insane killer in America that schools are their safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk."

  

  This is false.  By in large the shooters target the places they do because they have some tie to that location.  In fact Columbine and Virginia Tech both had armed police officers at them.  Virginia Tech not only had armed police officers but a whole police station.  The other thing is schools all over the world don't allow guns in them but you don't see the number of shootings at schools that the USA has.

"The truth is that our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters — people so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons that no sane person can possibly ever comprehend them. They walk among us every day. And does anybody really believe that the next Adam Lanza isn't planning his attack on a school he's already identified at this very moment?

How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame — from a national media machine that rewards them with the wall-to-wall attention and sense of identity that they crave — while provoking others to try to make their mark?

A dozen more killers? A hundred? More? How can we possibly even guess how many, given our nation's refusal to create an active national database of the mentally ill?"

  Did you know that 1 in 4 people require or receive treatment for mental health issues. Look at you and a handful of your friends and if you think they are all "completely sane" then it is probably you that has some mental health issues.  I myself have seen a few different psychologists over the years and have even scene both psychologists and psychiatrist while in the U.S.M.C. with a large number of other Marines.  

  The fact is that if you try to instate some national register then you have to think about who decides who goes on it and who doesn't?  Most military that encounter combat would fit the criteria for requiring mental health treatment in some form.  I'm not saying we are all nut jobs just stating the truth.  Our training involves very specific techniques to make us able to function properly in combat conditions.  Conditions which are horrific and most people that have ever been in them wouldn't wish them on anyone else ever.  Basically the human brain is designed to stop higher order brain functions, including memory retention, in times of high stress.  Through training members of the military and certain other professions, without even knowing it, become accustom to high stress situations allowing them to think, and unfortunately remember, in these situations.  This is why military, police, fire fighters, ambulance drivers, doctors and other similar professions have such a high rate of P.T.S.D.   Are you ready to label most military members coming back from the middle east as mentally ill?  Are you ready to label many police officers as being mentally ill because of the very trait that allows them to function while under stress? 

  Don't get me wrong.  Mental health is important to me.  I don't hold a stigma with mental illness any more then I hold one against someone that has cancer because so many people have these health issues and just because someone has had an issue in the past doesn't mean that they are changed for the worse for the rest of their life.  I think we as a society need to embrace those around us that need help not make them feel more ostracised.  But that is a whole other rant for me to go into in the future. 

  Basically if you think someone is struggling with emotions reach out to them and or someone that can help them.  The facts are clear too.  People with "mental health issues" are not statistically more likely to be the perpetrator of violent crimes on others.  But they are more likely to be injured or killed by fire arms.  The fact is depression actually inhibits people from violent acts because they lack the motivation and drive to carry out acts of self harm.  Sadly it is when they start to get better that they are more likely to take their own life.  You might say "but how can a sane person kill so many people?"  Stereotyping everyone with mental health issues as violent and dangerous is like saying all young men should be viewed as potential rapists because they are so interested in sex.  It is like saying "Every gun owner is a reckless homicidal maniac because they like guns!"  The statements are blatantly false.

"Add another hurricane, terrorist attack or some other natural or man-made disaster, and you've got a recipe for a national nightmare of violence and victimization."

  This is a deliberate ploy to conjure up images in the mind of some mad max society where only those with guns have power.  Guess what, all these dooms day prepers aren't doing any good.  They aren't going to save us in some post apocalyptic  society.  They aren't going to save you from the next Adam Lanza.  In fact Adam Lanza's mother was one of them.  So in one breath Mr. LaPierre screams that those with mental health issues, like those that believe the world should have ended on  the 21st of December, should be put on a list but then wants us all to be that type of person who prepares for the end of civilized society.

On to Mr. LaPierre's idiot notion that movies and video games are to blame.

"And here's another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal: There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people.

Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse. And here's one: it's called Kindergarten Killers. It's been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn't or didn't want anyone to know you had found it?

Then there's the blood-soaked slasher films like "American Psycho" and "Natural Born Killers" that are aired like propaganda loops on "Splatterdays" and every day, and a thousand music videos that portray life as a joke and murder as a way of life. And then they have the nerve to call it "entertainment.""

  I know many Americans have no real understanding of the rest of the world but guess what.  The rest of the world see's the same movies you do.  The rest of the world plays the same video games as you do.  Yet the rest of the world doesn't have the same level of problem.  So either people in America are more easily manipulated and twisted mentally by "entertainment" or that isn't a significant factor in these shootings.  Video games an movies don't make people into violent killers tho violent people may be drawn to those as a form of release.  

"A child growing up in America witnesses 16,000 murders and 200,000 acts of violence by the time he or she reaches the ripe old age of 18." 

  I question that stat.  That means from the day a person is born they would have to see 3 murders in entertainment a day, every day until they are 18.  I wonder if they count watching a video of Hiroshima being bombed as counting as multiple murders...in that case they are off by a factor of 10 or more.  

  In the NRA's mind playing a game with violence is worse then learning to use an item that sole purpose if for killing or maiming another person.  A .223 bush master is sole purpose is for killing multiple people quickly.  Not hunting.  Not home protection.  Killing people, at ranges where any normal person is absolutely no threat to you.

"The media call semi-automatic firearms "machine guns" — they claim these civilian semi-automatic firearms are used by the military, and they tell us that the .223 round is one of the most powerful rifle calibers ... when all of these claims are factually untrue. They don't know what they're talking about!"

  I think everyone knows that journalist aren't perfect but a .223 is very similar to the rounds I used while in the Marines with an M16A2 rifle.  The rounds are designed with the same purpose.  Not for taking down a rabbit like some will make you believe because the .223 isn't much bigger then a .22 which most people think of as small.  The issue isn't just the size of the projectile but the amount of power behind the round.  As you can see those 2 rounds can have the same amount of gun powder behind them.  Ask a normal person which they'd rather be shot by if they had to choose do you think that one of those would be picked a lot less then the other?  Ask a average person the difference between a M16A2 and a Bushmaster .223 do you think they would know?  Do you think there is enough of a difference to care when one is being pointed at you?

"As parents, we do everything we can to keep our children safe. It is now time for us to assume responsibility for their safety at school. The only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away ... or a minute away?"

  Again Columbine High School had armed police officers in the school and it DIDN'T HELP!  Why because the cops are not equipped to go up against someone with assault rifles and have to deal with the fact that the people that go on these sprees with these weapons all to often don't care if they get killed.

  This next bit is rich.

"A gun in the hands of a Secret Service agent protecting the President isn't a bad word. A gun in the hands of a soldier protecting the United States isn't a bad word. And when you hear the glass breaking in your living room at 3 a.m. and call 911, you won't be able to pray hard enough for a gun in the hands of a good guy to get there fast enough to protect you."

  There is a HUGE difference between cops with guns and a neighbour like George Zimmerman that is a bit to trigger happy.  Part of what I want to see for better gun regulation is mandatory classes for gun owners.  Classes mostly in how to safely carry and more importantly store a fire arm.  Testing on the laws regarding their firearms wouldn't go astray either.  You'll also notice most police don't carry assault rifles and the ones that do have even more firearms training on the use of them.  They didn't just go down to the gun convention, when it rolled through town, and buy a AR-15 for their squad car.

"The budget of our local police departments are strained and resources are limited, but their dedication and courage are second to none and they can be deployed right now.

I call on Congress today to act immediately, to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every school — and to do it now, to make sure that blanket of safety is in place when our children return to school in January"

  Yea law enforcement budgets are strained because the GOP is happy to cut back on that "discretionary spending".  You know what else is also stretched to the limit...educational resources.  His plan would cost an estimated $5,000,000,000.00 a year.  Yes FIVE BILLION DOLLARS!  How about we raise that money on yearly licences fees on firearms.  The more dangerous the fire arm the more you pay per  year towards this safety fund. We do similar things with cars so why not firearms.  

  So  $5,000,000,000.00 to put an armed security guard in every school in the nation thinking that will solve the problem.  How did that work out for Columbine High School?  The whole statement is deflection from the real issue here and that is the U.S.A. needs to decide if it wants a safer society with sensible gun regulations or if it is happy letting almost any Tom, Dick and Harry buy assault rifle at the cost of these still of mass shootings.  The U.S.A. needs to decide if one child killed by guns every 3 hours of every day, of every week, of every month, of every year is worth more then making sure gun owners are qualified and responsible enough to own the firearms they wish to possess.  They have to decide if it is ok that a child under the age of 5 is killed every 4 days by firearms.  If a child killed every 2 days because of an "accident" by a fire arm is acceptable.  People keep telling me thinks like "cars cause more deaths then guns!".  Well guess what ... we've regulated the fuck out of motor vehicles and deaths from them have gone down.  That little thing called a seat belt...REGULATION.   That speed sign saying 55...REGULATION.  Making someone take a drivers test before driving...REGULATION.  Inspecting cars to make sure they are road worthy...REGULATION.

  Why should assault rifles, which unlike cars don't have a valid every day purpose, be exempt from better regulation?  Simple answer is they shouldn't be exempt.

Class Warfare?!?!?

  For the past few years you'll hear many on the right complain about the "Class Warfare" against the "rich","upper class","the job creators".  All because most middle and lower class people think that those that are in the top 2% of earners should pay more in taxes. Instead they often pay a lower effective rate then the average middle class family and sometimes do not even pay any taxes at all.  Some of them even get tax credits even after earning billions. Now don't get me wrong I don't think that just raising the tax rate on the wealthiest 2% is going to do much.  This is because you have so many in that bracket that use loop holes designed for the wealthy to lower their tax burden.  So raising their rates alone would do very little.  Tax rate changes would still need to be coupled with tax reforms that prevent the abusive tax loopholes while still allowing certain large tax exemptions through.

  What do I mean about that?  Well charitable deductions for one.  If we removed or even capped charitable deductions this would have a devastating flow on effect to many organisations like the Red Cross,  Salvation Army, Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, the Foundation Beyond Belief, Harvard University, your local community college and countless other religious and secular organisations established to better our society.  Changing the way the home mortgage deduction can help.  Change it so that it still helps a family buy that home they live in but isn't used by the mega rich to buy another mansion on credit and shift that burden on to middle class Americans. All while using that money they saved on over seas investments that are further shielded by bank accounts in the Cayman islands.

For example  George wants to buy this mansion in Woodstock Vermont for $10,000,000.00.

  George has a personal wealth of over $100,000,000.00 and could buy the property out right but if George mortgages the estate and only pays the interest then effectively he will pay $600,000 a year for that house.  But even then he doesn't pay for that house.  That $600,000 comes right off his taxes so the government pays that $600,000.  George gets to live in that $50,000 a month home for free, can sit on it a few years while property values go up then sell that house for a profit.  All for what?  Paying a little bit of money up front for the interest payment on the loan which he'll get back at the end of the year.  Net gain for George is a $10,000,000 house which if he works it right he might not even pay much in capital gains on and shifts $600,000 per year of tax burden back on to the economy.  He's free to use the $10,000,000 that he might have spent on that house to make other investments.  George isn't limited to doing this just once.  If he wants he can do a few properties like this as long as the banks are happy with his over all debt.  This is the type of thing that is meant when it is said that the tax code is written to help the rich get richer.  That $600,000 tax deduction has to be made up some where.  Either taxing someone else even more, which is what normally happens that the tax burden is shifted to middle income families that can't afford to benefit from these types of tax loop holes or expenditures have to be cut.  That means less police officers, firemen and teachers.  That means less money for libraries.  Less aid to help the poor survive from day to day.

  So if we cap mortgage home deductions at, lets say, $50,000 then that still allows the average family to get the benefit that is there to help people buy the home they live in and remove the loop hole that the mega rich use to shift tax burdens while still earning a nice profit at the end of the day.

  But this isn't the main point of my rant here.  My main point is were is the actual class warfare being waged?    The actual class warfare in America is being waged against the poor and minorities.  It really isn't only class warfare but race warfare.  Look at the drug laws.  If I was caught with 5 grams of crack and went to court I have a 16% better chance of getting off simply because I am white.  If I am convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison I've got almost 3-5 times greater chance of getting parole then a black man depending on where I'm in prison.  It gets worse too.  If I'm from a well to do family my chance of conviction drops dramatically and not just because mummy and daddy can buy the best lawyers in town for me.  The juries, even with public defenders, let rich kids get away with more then poor kids. Besides if I was rich I wouldn't be using that crack cocaine. I'd be using the old fashion powdered cocaine.  You might be thinking to yourself "So what?" well how much powdered cocaine do you think I could get caught with to earn the same 5 year sentence, if found guilty?  You might be wondering is powdered cocaine a lot less potent then crack per gram and the answer is no.  Chemically they are similar. The high from crack can kick start in a matter of seconds after smoking where powdered cocaine can take a few minutes tho injecting powdered cocaine produces a faster effect.  The highs are slightly different to.  Crack's "high" lasts for 5-10 minutes and  is more intense then powdered cocaine but powdered cocaine's "high" can last up to 60 minutes.   So there are differences there.  But back to the amount I'd have to get convicted with to earn that same 5 year sentence.  Is it 5 grams? Is it 10 grams? Is it 20 or even 40 grams?  To give you perspective 1 gram of cocaine can be cut up into 10 lines and gram of crack is about 3-4 bowls.  Do you give up? Do you know?  The answer is I can be caught with 500grams, 1/2kilogram, ~1 pound or in terms of lines 5,000 lines of powdered cocaine for the same sentence.  And because a rich white guy is more likely to use powdered cocaine combined with all the other factors the punishment for a black man is well over 100 times worse.  If that doesn't convince you the class warfare isn't really against the  poor lets look a other convictions.

  HSBC, Britain's largest bank, was found to be dealing with the top drug dealers in the world.  When say "dealing with" I'm not talking about the dealers having accounts with them and the bank having no knowledge of the clients but actual involvement in helping to launder billions of dollars.  Not only that but the bank new about and dealt with "known terrorists" such as al-Qaeda and helped them also shift and launder money.  The executives that had direct involvement, what happened to them?  Did they get long prison terms for aiding terrorists and drug cartels?  Nope.  The bank itself got a 1.9 billion dollar fine, which amounts to less then 1 months profit for the bank.  What happened to the executives directly involved?  Well they will defer part of their bonuses for the five year period   Wow.  What did they do to get off?  Well in a statement from the US Justice Department Announcement this was said "HSBC, Britain's biggest bank, said it was 'profoundly sorry' for what it called 'past mistakes' that allowed terrorists and narcotics traffickers to move billions around the financial system and circumvent US banking laws".  So in effect they said they were sorry and got off with a fine.

  Meanwhile Stephanie George was sentenced to life in prison 15 years ago for minor drug offences that the actual judge said this to Stephanie: 'Even though you have been involved in drugs and drug dealing,' Judge Vinson told Ms. George, 'your role has basically been as a girlfriend and bag holder and money holder but not actively involved in the drug dealing, so certainly in my judgment it does not warrant a life sentence.'  So she gets life in prison for being the girl friend of a low level drug dealer but the bank executives that directly knew and aided large drug cartels shift billions of dollars have to "defer part of their bonuses"

  Let me ask you now...who the fuck do you think is suffering from class warfare more?  I'll be a rich white guy any day over a poor black man.

In the wake of tragedy...

  We need to talk!

  For everyone who feels sad about the tragedy do what you can to help calm the nerves of your friends and love ones.  Talk to them, hug them, cry with them and let us mourn as not only a country but a world.  These people were not just Americans but citizens of the world and people all over the world deserve respect and have their lives valued.  If you are religious pray to your god. Prey not only with those that share your faith but those that have different faiths too.  Know in your hearts that the people around you share your feelings of loss for people that most of us won't even have ever known regardless of what their god's name is or even if they believe in a god at all.

  But even more important then that is that you talk about this tragedy and many others like it with others and what can be done to lower the rates and chances of it happening.  Here I'll probably offend many but reality needs to hit home.  Wishing that Adam Lanza didn't kill all these people won't help.  Praying that it didn't happen or will never happen again will not help.  Being a good community can help.  Not making someone an outcast because they are "smarter" or "dumber" then you can help.  Not making someone feel bad because they are different then you can help.  If you know someone that is struggling with issues of anger reach out to them, reach out to those around them, reach out to those that can help them.  Turning a blind eye to those that are made or even let believe to feel they are unwanted is all to often the cause of violence.

  There is also another cause and one that one particular media organisation, Fox "news", will undoubtedly try to spin as not being relevant and that is guns.  The guns that Adam Lanza used.  The guns that were bought legally and while you may be for personal protection what good does it to to have so many guns in your house?  Lets look at the guns.

.223 Bushmaster

Sig Sauer

.

Glock

  Tell me since when does someone need that rifle in their home?  Since when should someone be able to walk down to their local Wallmart and buy a few hundred rounds for that rifle without restriction?  That is NOT for personal protection.  Personal protection isn't "Hey I should be able to head shot someone at the other end of a football field because I feel threatened by them. Personal protection doesn't require 40 round magazines.

  These weapons where legally purchased by Adam's mother who it seems Adam also killed.  How did any of these weapons protect her? They didn't!  It is simple as that.  So Adam apparently killed his mother and took her weapons to kill 26 more people not including himself with weapons that his mother probably didn't know or care to store properly.

Talk to your politicians about appropriate gun control.
   Don't let anyone fool you that more guns in the public realm = safer society.  The numbers say different.  America's homicide rate is more then 4 times that of Australia's rates. About 2 out of 3 (~66%) of people killed in America are killed by a firearm.  In Australia it is less then 1 in 5 (20%).   You can still have fire arms in Australia we just don't let anyone walk down to a local store and get one.  Getting a gun licence is more then just filling out paperwork.

  Why don't we see American style shootings in Australia?  Well we did before better gun regulations was put into effect.  Back in 1996 35 people were killed and another 23 wounded by Martin Bryant and from that we here in Australia got comprehensive gun regulations.  Since then there hasn't been any mass shooting and despite growing populations both the number and rate of homicides has been dropping.

  Not asking you to give up your gun if you have one.  I'm asking for you to give up your assault rifles and weapons designed for mass killings and for you to be required to store that gun properly so that someone else can't just take it and use it as their own.

  It is never to early to have this talk because to many of these events spark copy cats and the right time to talk about it is when the effects are fresh in our minds.