Police, the Public, and Guns

Hi Humans,
There has been much in the news from both sides of the political spectrum about police shooting unarmed civilians and more recently of 2 New York policemen who were shot and killed by a civilian while they were sitting in their car. The common factor in most of these cases was the use of a gun. Policemen do face danger at times and have to make quick decisions about whether or not to shoot because many people own guns. For a policeman, firing the gun when he suspects danger and it turns out to be otherwise can result in tragedy. After all, the public expects to be protected by the police not shot by them. On the other hand, not firing the gun when it turns out that the suspect has a gun and shoots the policeman can cause tragedy to the policeman and his family. In Great Britain outside of Northern Ireland, police do not routinely carry guns, and gun ownership by the general public is strictly controlled. As a result the British homicide rate is much lower than that in the USA.
Protests for or against the police will not solve the problem. The solution is getting guns out of the hands of the public. Then after a period of time when it becomes apparent that the police no longer need guns, they can also stop carrying guns. It won't happen overnight, but the time to start is now.
Chloe

Congratulations Dr. Murthy

Hi Humans in the US Senate,
Congratulations for finally getting it right in approving Dr. Vivek Murthy to be new Surgeon General. It took too long, but you finally stopped caving in to the NRA and supported the interests of the American people. And congratulations to you, Dr. Murthy, for speaking the truth. Gun violence is a public heath issue in the USA and needs to be addressed.
Chloe

Human Free Time

Hi Humans,
Today on Fareed Zakharia, a person interviewed said he believed that at some time in the future much of the work that is done today by humans will be done by machines freeing up leisure time for humans. He said that this time might be spent in pursuing special interests of individuals. One can hope this extra time for thinking will create progress that will benefit all. However what was not said is that this extra time could be spent in pursuing the same selfish enmities and foolishness that has created so much of the wars and other mischiefs that plague the world. Humans, please grow up before you gain the power and time to destroy us all.
Chloe

Hooray for Jay Leno

Hi Humans,
Hooray for Jay Leno. He canceled his appearance at the 2015 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show  in Las Vegas when he found out they are backed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation which is an organization that opposes gun control and is located ironically in Newtown, Connecticut.
By the way, Mom is featuring a necklace named Navajo Princess on her Beadshaper web site. Here is a picture of it.

Hooray for the State of Washington

Hi Humans,
Hooray for Washington State! They passed the most comprehensive common sense law on gun control in the USA, requiring background checks on all gun sales and transfers including gun shows and online. Unfortunately it took a mass murder at a high school to push it over the top. But still it puts Washington ahead of the other 49 states and is an example that needs to be followed. At the same time the State of Alabama passed a law pushing it further into gun anarchy. I guess civilization stops at the Alabama state line.
Chloe

More News About the Shooting in Washington State

Hi Humans.
More news has come out about the shooting in Washington State. The shooter was a popular student, a hunter, a football player, a homecoming prince, not an obvious screwball to his surroundings. His parents had given him a rifle as a gift (not the handgun used in the shooting). His victims were his cousins. He was ultimately stopped, not by a private citizen with a gun, but by an unarmed female teacher who tried to grab the gun away from him before he shot himself. This event is the opposite picture of what the NRA would like to present, but consistent with the facts reported in the American Journal of Public Health (The Relationship Between Gun Ownership and Stranger and Nonstranger Firearm Homicide Rates in the United States, 1981-2010. Siegel M¹, Negussie Y, Vanture S, Pleskunas J, Ross CS, King C 3rd).  The shooter was not an intruder or a robber. He was a kid who grew up in a culture where gun ownership is the norm who became very angry and in a moment of passion acted out that anger with an easily available gun.
Chloe

School Shooting in Washington State

Hi Humans,

Breaking news! Another shooting has just happened in the cafeteria of a school in a town in Washington State. This is too common because of the easy access to guns in the USA. Yet, the NRA and the gun lobby continue to fight any attempt to control access of guns to screwballs. 

Chloe

Politics, Reality, and Ebola

Hi Humans,
You have this thing called politics. I realize politics are necessary in a Democracy so that the government can sort things out and come to conclusions, hopefully giving the ordinary humans some ability to influence the actions of their representatives. However, some politicians will and say anything no matter how silly to make the opposite party look bad. Many of the members of the Republican Party have become especially guilty of that since President Obama has taken office. Some just don't like Democrats, but it seems like more than that. I think they don't like the President because he is half Black and more than that because he is intelligent. The Republican Congress has obstructed legislation which the President has supported even to the detriment of their own constituents as long as it they could make the President look bad. Today on CNN a Republican congresswoman named Marsha Blackburn claimed that the President is doing a poor job of keeping America safe from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Actually, while Ms. Blackburn and her friends have been promoting useless harmful measures like keeping American medical personnel from traveling to Africa and banning flights between the USA and West Africa. The American government under the present administration has sent medial teams to West Africa and has helped coordinate an international effort to give humanitarian help. Controlling the epidemic locally in Africa is the best way to contain the epidemic and keep it from spreading out to the rest of us. Making a scare campaign like what Ms. Blackburn and friends promote will accomplish nothing.
If we dogs could vote, we would support reality and not just what is politically expedient.
Chloe

Pistorius and a Gun

Hi Humans,
They are saying in the news that this human, Oscar Pistorius who shot and killed his girl friend was convicted of negligent homicide (not premeditated). Well, if that is true, that just illustrates what bad results can come from private gun ownership. Pistorius claims he thought he was shooting an intruder in the night. If a private individual is given the privilege of owning a killing machine, it is his responsibility to use it safely, and thinking there might be an intruder on the other side of the door does not excuse killing a friend or relative. He should get the maximum sentence for negligent homicide. Maybe it's different in South Africa where Pistorius lives, but here in the USA this sort of thing happens too frequently because of our anarchic lack of gun laws.
Chloe

Words and Apologies

Hi Humans,
You humans attach more importance to words than to deeds, and you make so much more out of them than reality. Some of you get all unglued if some one says something that you perceive to be offensive. The sayer says something which he or she perceives to be innocent and of no importance, but the sayee perceives it to be an extreme insult and will remember it for years causing a rift between the two. The sayee demands an apology which is rejected unless it is in the exact words which will satisfy the sayee. After repeated attempts to satisfy the sayee, the sayer gives up and the feud goes on endlessly. Fortunately I am a dog and don't have to deal with such nonsense.
Chloe

Election

Hi Humans,
I live in Porter Ranch, California. There is an election coming up. The Member of the State Assembly for the 38th District which contains Porter Ranch is Scott Wilk who is up for re-election. On the Official Sample Ballot sent out by Los Angeles County, it says Wilk's party preference is Republican, but on the Party Endorsement page Wilk is listed as being endorsed by the American Independent Party. His name is not present in the list of candidates endorsed by the Republican Party. The American Independent Party is a radical right party, particularly strong in the deep South, which has nominated segregationists like George Wallace and Lester Maddox for president in the past. Wilk on his web site asks if one is for or against the Second Amendment which is the mantra of the gun lobby and the NRA. All of this shows Wilk to be not a real Conservative but a radical rightist and gun anarchist. If I were not just a dog, I would vote for his opponent Jorge Salomon Fuentes. My human Dad and Mom will.
Chloe

Gun Show Loophole

Hi Humans,
Did you know that only 10 states in the USA have laws requiring background checks at gun shows? Federal law only requires background checks at sales in licensed gun stores. That means a human with a criminal record or history of mental disease can just waltz in to a gun show and buy all kinds of killing machines like going to a candy store. The sane states are California, Oregon, and Colorado in the West, Illinois in the Upper Mid-West, and a cluster of states in the Northeast. The other 40 states have glaring gun show loopholes in their laws. Actually, all transfers of guns, whether by gift or sale, should be very much regulated and highly taxed. We dogs unfortunately have to live with you anarchic gun crazy humans.
Chloe

Gun Restraining Law

Hi Humans,
Kudos to Governor Brown of California for signing a law that allows a family to request the seizure of guns from a relative whom they believe might be about to cause harm. A law like this might have prevented the tragic mass killing by a gunman in the Santa Barbara area a few months ago. Of course the NRA cronies complained as usual. For them guns are more important than lives. Unfortunately, Governor Brown vetoed a law that would have required registration of home made guns. Home made guns kill just like manufactured ones. Any gun should be regulated firmly no matter who makes it.

 

Chloe

Baby Shot in Hunting Accident

Humans,
Tragically we read in the news that a 5 day old baby in rural Pennsylvania was shot by a relative who was hunting when a stray bullet flew in the window and hit the baby in the head. When will you humans ever learn that there are too many guns, too many bullets, and too much hunting.
Chloe

Abstract Ideals

Hi Humans,
You humans have all kinds of abstract ideals, some promote good things, like being nice to each other, but some are used to justify all kinds of bad things, even killing each other on a mass scale. The list is endless, but the one that most stands out now is this group of thugs called ISIS which says any gruesome massacre is OK because it promotes their religion which according to them is what God wants for everyone.
We dogs don't have ideals. Any mischief we perform is done in a limited scale. Personally, I don't even like to run after rabbits or squirrels. Being domestic, I prefer my food from a bag. Wild dogs like coyotes kill other animals for food. As distasteful as it sounds, for them it's a matter of survival. But none of us carnivores do destruction on the mass scale that you humans do, and we don't do it for some abstract idea.
Chloe

Proof That Private Gun Ownership = More Gun Killings

Hi Humans,
This is a PubMed abstract from the American Journal of Public Health that demonstrates that one is more likely to be shot by a neighbor, friend, or relative who owns a gun "legally" than by an intruder. So the gun lobby BS that gun ownership deters crimes is just BS.

Am J Public Health. 2014 Oct;104(10):1912-1919. Epub 2014 Aug 14.

The Relationship Between Gun Ownership and Stranger and Nonstranger Firearm Homicide Rates in the United States, 1981-2010.

Siegel M¹, Negussie Y, Vanture S, Pleskunas J, Ross CS, King C 3rd.

Author information

• ¹Michael Siegel, Yamrot Negussie, Sarah Vanture, and Jane Pleskunas are with the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Craig S. Ross is with Virtual Media Resources, Natick, MA. Charles King III is with Greylock McKinnon Associates, Cambridge, MA, and Pleiades Consulting Group, Lincoln, MA.

Abstract

Objectives. We examined the relationship between gun ownership and stranger versus nonstranger homicide rates. Methods. Using data from the Supplemental Homicide Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports for all 50 states for 1981 to 2010, we modeled stranger and nonstranger homicide rates as a function of state-level gun ownership, measured by a proxy, controlling for potential confounders. We used a negative binomial regression model with fixed effects for year, accounting for clustering of observations among states by using generalized estimating equations. Results. We found no robust, statistically significant correlation between gun ownership and stranger firearm homicide rates. However, we found a positive and significant association between gun ownership and nonstranger firearm homicide rates. The incidence rate ratio for nonstranger firearm homicide rate associated with gun ownership was 1.014 (95% confidence interval = 1.009, 1.019). Conclusions. Our findings challenge the argument that gun ownership deters violent crime, in particular, homicides.

So my recommendation to you Humans is stay away from friends, relatives, and neighbors who own guns. They are more dangerous than intruders.

Chloe

Excuse Me

Hi Humans,
You Humans say excuse me when you step on my foot accidentally and when you want me to get out of the way. So I guess excuse me must mean “get out of the way or I will step on your foot.”
Chloe

Language

Hi Humans,
You Humans have so many different languages and dialects. It boggles the mind. And each language has many different nuances that frame how you think, so that some concepts that are natural to one group of humans who speak one language might be incomprehensible to one who speaks another. We dogs don't have that problem. We all have one language. Barking, sniffing, tail wagging, and a few other nuances are all we need and are understood by dogs all over the world.
Chloe

Do Dogs Appreciate Beauty?

Hi Humans,

I’ll bet you Humans think you are the only creatures who can appreciate beauty. I beg to differ. I can’t speak for all the other species, but we dogs can certainly appreciate the beauty of aromas much more than you nose challenged Humans. When I go for a walk down the street with Dad, I stop at every bush to appreciate its unique scent. I don’t see Dad sniffing the bushes. He just gets impatient with me and tugs at the leash pulling me away before I can fully savor the beauty.

I would concede that you guys can appreciate paintings, sculpture, and other visual art better than we can. After all you do have better eye sight. As for great music, when Dad is listening to some quiet romantic classical music while doodling on his computer and I am reclining nearby, I can appreciate that as part of an overall serene environment. But when it comes to a banging crashing symphony or some atonal modern noise, that doesn’t set well in my ears.

As you Humans say, “Beauty is in the eye [or nose] of the beholder.” That is true.

Chloe

Squeaky Wheel

Hi Humans,

It seems that humans who are the loudest, most selfish, and most uncompromising seem to be heard and get their way more often than those who are realistic (the “squeaky wheel”effect). We dogs don’t seem to get away with that kind of behavior. An uncooperative dog often ends up at the pound and eventually… Well, I don’t like to talk about it. Nice dogs (like me) do better at survival (and it does not hurt to be cute like me either).

This “squeaky” wheel effect can occur on a small personal scale. An example would be the human who always gets his or her way because humans around him or her give in to avoid the withering fire shooting out at them from his or her tongue.

On a domestic political scale, political groups with the most extreme and uncompromising ideas have recently taken over politics in our country. It is amazing to see the foolish ideas that otherwise intelligent humans with big brains will believe and accept as normal.

The same is true internationally. Look at the recent war in Gaza. Hamas, which uncompromisingly believes that it can conquer Israel and turn all of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea into a Fundamentalist Moslem Arab country in which Jews are either absent or reduced to a subservient minority, caused or supported the murder of 3 Jewish teenagers near Jerusalem. One could say it is crazy for a Jew to hitchhike across any part of the West Bank (real or perceived), but that is no excuse for murder. It seems that the murderers did this to stir up animosity between Jews and Arabs. And they were successful in their goal. Some Jews with “goyishe kopfs” accommodated Hamas with a pogrom against Arabs in East Jerusalem. And even worse, some pinhead Jewish murderers grabbed an Arab teenager and murdered him in a rather grisly way. This gave Hamas the excuse they were seeking to beef up their rockets across the border creating a situation where the Israeli government had no alternative and had to go to war with bombs and shells and when that didn’t work a ground invasion to destroy rocket sites and tunnels. Of course that resulted in the death of about 2000 Palestinians (apparently acceptable in the Hamas plan) and about 70 Israelis. It also was convenient for anti-semites in Europe and elsewhere outside of the region to attack Jews and call for boycotts of Israel.

So where are the sane humans in all of this? Why are they pulled to the brink and beyond by the crazies? They did exist in the 1990s when there was a climate of reconciliation and compromise on both sides leading up to the Clinton/Barak Plan which would have brought peace and the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel. Yasser Arafat fumbled the ball because he lacked the courage to make the deal, creating a tinder box to which Ariel Sharon lit a match with his unannounced visit to the Dome of the Rock, to which the crazies on the Arab side responded with an intifada of suicide bombers. Then the sane humans on both sides just allowed themselves to be dragged along into endless conflict.

And those are just a few example of how you gullibles act. Well Humans, I don’t have an answer to your problems. After all, I’m just a dog. Maybe some day the sane ones among you (who I hope are really the majority) will get together and figure it out.

Chloe

Voting Rights for Dogs

 

Hi Humans,

Wilk, the assemblyman who represents Porter Ranch (where I live) in the California State Assembly, is openly against high speed rail for California and asks on his web site if one is for or against the the Second Amendment (mantra for gun screwballs). You humans elected this guy from the Stone Age. And you humans with your big brains pretend to be smarter than us dogs. Well, the evidence shows otherwise. Maybe if we dogs could vote, our piece of the earth would be better represented.

Chloe

Some Intelligent Humans Support Gun Control

 

Hi Humans,

I would like to recommend a web site that shows that there are humans who really do have big brains and are at least as smart as us dogs. Please see the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Chloe

Kroger Allows Open Gun Carry

Hi Humans,
Did you know that Everytown for Gun Safety has revealed that Kroger stores allow open carry of guns? Well, you humans can show your displeasure by shopping elsewhere. I recommend Everytown for Gun Safety for keeping up with gun safety news.
Chloe

Life Can Be Boring

Hi Humans,
Life for a dog can be boring. I wait around all day for a little attention from Mom and Dad. But I should not complain. I get fed regularly 2 times a day. I get my insulin shot followed by a massage 2 times a day. I have my own room (although it doubles as a laundry room). I have a doggie door which leads out to my patio (also known as the side yard) any time during the day when I need to relieve myself or desire some fresh air or need some room for exercise. And for more serious exercise, Dad takes me for a walk before bed time each night. You know life isn't really so bad. There are humans in this world who would find my life a step up. And as for me, I am happy that as a middle aged dog with diabetes I am living with a family whom I love and who love me. Life can always be better, but it can always be worse. Happiness is coming to terms with reality.
Chloe

Concentrating on the Little Stuff over the Big Stuff

Hi Humans,
You humans have a habit if concentrating on little stuff and ignoring what is really important. There was a discussion on the television show, the View, today which was titled something like the "U.S. versus Israel." The Republican lady sitting on the right claimed that the Obama administration has stood less with Israel than previous administrations. I very much disagree with her. There actually has been more military cooperation between Israel and the U.S. lately than any time in the past. Some of the other ladies complained about Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, telling U.S. Secretary of State Kerry not to second guess him which they say was disrespectful to the U.S. The U.S. Ambassador to Israel when asked yesterday on television about this remark correctly said he would not comment on a private conversation between governments. I am an American Jewish dog. I am a fan of President Obama and of Israel. I do not expect both governments to always be in lock step agreement. Friends can disagree, in fact at times should disagree, can say things in private (even dumb things), and still be friends. Magnifying this slight blip on the screen which was supposed to be private takes away from the important stuff. The important stuff is that the U.S. and Israel are staunch allies. Both countries are democracies and share values. When Hamas broke the recent truce, President Obama pointed out Hamas as the culprit. Prime Minister Netanyahu does not always say things in the most diplomatic way, but his remarks are nothing compared to the push back the U.S. has received from the "friendly" governments of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Chloe

Who is Israel's Real Friend?

Hi Humans,

Some humans have a way of slanting things to further a secondary gain and other humans believe them. For example, some politicians who don’t like President Obama for whatever reason and want to win over certain people like us Jews ( I consider myself to be Jewish even though I am a dog because I live in a Jewish home) by saying he is against Israel and even insinuating that he favors Hamas in the present crisis. This is blatantly not true. The politicians who oppose our president can talk the talk but Mr. Obama can walk the walk. Obama and Netanyahu can at times disagree on specific issues as friends can do. Some Republicans can parrot Netanyahu with emptiness underneath their words. When the chips are down, it is Obama who speaks the truth and has Israel’s back. The reality is that military cooperation between the U.S.A. and Israel has been at its highest since Obama has been president. When Hamas broke the last truce that Secretary Kerry and others had so painstakingly put together, President Obama openly laid the blame squarely on the culprit (Hamas). And who actually facilitated the installation of Hamas as the leadership in Gaza in the first place if not the Republican Bush administration? Bush’s secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, believed that if given the opportunity all people would choose democracy and make the right choices (the same logic that drew us into the Iraq debacle) . She was wrong! The Bush administration pushed for early Palestinian elections, and surprise surprise they elected the bad guys (Hamas). Then realizing their blunder, the Bush administration supported a civil war between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza, but surprise again, Hamas won, cementing the position of the bad guys even more. So who is Israel’s real friend?

Chloe

Humans Can Be Gullible

Hello Humans,
Terrorist leaders often sit behind the lines or in tunnels below the ground and figure out how to send their fellow humans as pawns to fight as killers, suicide bombers, or simply allow them to be human shields to protect their weaponry. This is what Hamas is doing in Gaza today as it has happened so many times before. And for what? Some abstract goal that does not serve the real interests of the pawns. Do the low level militants and ordinary people in Gaza really think that they can destroy Israel and all its people? And if they could, what would they really gain? And they think dogs are stupid? We dogs would never be so gullible.
Chloe

Human Shields and Crossfire

Hi Humans,
I feel bad for all the dogs and humans and other creatures caught in the cross fire of conflicts all over the world. As a Jewish dog, I am particularly concerned about the rockets, tunnels, and war in Israel and Gaza. It is a tragedy no matter who or what is at fault. As a dog, I can not understand how the Hamas humans can use their fellow humans as shields to protect their military arsenals. Only humans can use tragedy to further their stupid goals. My advice is stop shooting rockets and attacking through tunnels into Israel, take the Egyptian cease fire offer (as Israel has already offered to do). Then sort things out. As long as you make unrealistic demands, the suffering will continue. We dogs are known as territorial, but nothing like you guys, and not nearly as cynical.
Chloe

Hooray for Governor Brown of California

Hi Humans,
Hooray for Governor Brown of California for signing into law a bill to make single shot pistols subject to handgun safety requirements. Until now single shot pistols were exempt from California safety requirements for semi-automatic handguns. But gun dealers were getting around the law for semi-automatic handgun safety by temporarily configuring semi-automatic guns into single shot pistols at the time of sale and then configuring them back into the semi-automatic mode. So my complements to the Governor for standing up to the gun lobby. They said it eliminates more guns used "for lawful purposes." And what are these "lawful purposes?" For protection? Against whom? If there were no guns on the street, one would not need a gun for protection. That is what the police are for. Actually semi-automatic firearms of any kind should be outlawed for private individuals. If we must have private guns (I don't know why), then they should all be single shot and tightly regulated.
Chloe

A New Amendment to Clarify the Second Amendment

Hi Humans,
There is a question as to the interpretation of the Second Amendment. The gun lobby and the NRA interpret it as guns for everyone of any kind and in any number. Those who favor gun regulation focus on the fact that the amendment establishes the right of a state to have a militia. The Supreme Court, having a slight majority of right wing judges, has with its big brains ruled in favor of the gun people. Therefore now it is time to make a new amendment clarifying the Second Amendment, which will say that Second Amendment only establishes state militias (the National Guard). the new amendment should also make strict Federal Control of the possession by private individuals of all kinds of forearms so that the American people will be safe from gun violence (like the other civilized nations) and so that the police won't be outgunned by the criminals and gun nuts.
It won't happen overnight, but you the American people have to start by telling your representatives in Congress that this is what you want, and by voting out of office the senators and congressmen who pander to the gun lobby.
Chloe

Gun Danger from Friends and Relatives

Hi Humans,
I know I have been talking about this on previous blog entries, but I thought I would summarize what it all means. Gun homicides in the course of robberies occurs more often in poor countries. It has been shown that in the USA and in other developed countries (Western Europe, British Isles, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan) the per cent of homicides that occur in the course of robberies are relatively small. There is also a direct correlation between gun ownership and homicides per population. The USA has the most gun owners in the developed countries and the most homicides. The UK has extremely low gun ownership and extremely low homicides. So if the vast majority of homicides do not occur in the course of robberies, when and by whom do they occur? Most homicides are done by friends, neighbors, and relatives who fly off the handle in disputes and have access to guns. Drinking alcohol can lower the threshold. Gangs members sometimes shoot and kill members of rival gangs for whatever reason. Most mass murders in the USA (like Sandy Hook) were done by people who obtained guns legally (according to the laws in America as they are today). So the argument by the NRA and the gun lobby that more private gun owners means more protection from gun violence is simply self serving nonsense. The facts show that as far as safety of life and limb goes, there is greater danger of being killed or maimed in the USA by a "legal" gun owner who goes beserk than by a robber. But what do I know? I'm just a dog.
Chloe

Which Gunmen are the Most Dangerous?

 

Hi Humans,
The NRA says that more guns will mean less murders because they say law abiding gun owners provide protection from criminals. I assume they imply that vigilante amateur gun owners will provide quicker protection than professional police. Actually the opposite is true as demonstrated by scientific study instead of the B.S. that the NRA pulls out of the air. The states with higher gun ownership have higher homicide rates as demonstrated by a recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Also statistics published by UNODOC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) report that only 5% of homicides in the USA occur in the course of robberies. Most homicides are committed by relatives, friends, and neighbors. This means that one is more likely to be shot and killed by a gun owning neighbor or relative who goes beserk or angry than a robber, and therefore one has more to fear from the "lawful" gun owners than criminals. But what do I know. I'm just a dog.
Chloe

In the Neighborhood

Hi Humans,
When Dad and I go strolling around the Streeterville neighborhood in Chicago, most buildings (including residential ones) either have a no gun sign like the one pictured above or no sign one way or the other. But the Board of our building, in their great wisdom, choose to display a sign which says guns are allowed in the common areas of the building. They are out of step with the community. To say that allowing guns in the halls of the building prevents crime is not true. If we dogs were on the Board, we would have more common sense.
Chloe

Gun Ownership and Gun Homicide

Hi Humans,
The NRA says more guns in the community creates greater protection from gun crimes. It doesn't make sense to this little doggie, but many humans with their big human brains believe that stuff. We dogs are not so gullible. Anyway, a research study was done last year at the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health and published in the American Journal of Public Health which correlated gun ownership with homicide rates in each state in the USA. And surprise surprise, more guns = more gun homicides!
Here is a copy of the abstract in PUBMED (US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health )

Am J Public Health. 2013 Nov;103(11):2098-105. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301409. Epub 2013 Sep 12.

The relationship between gun ownership and firearm homicide rates in the United States, 1981-2010.
Siegel M¹, Ross CS, King C 3rd.
Author information
Michael Siegel is with the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Craig S. Ross is with Virtual Media Resources, Natick, MA. Charles King III is with Greylock McKinnon Associates, Cambridge, and Pleiades Consulting Group, Lincoln, MA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
We examined the relationship between levels of household firearm ownership, as measured directly and by a proxy-the percentage of suicides committed with a firearm-and age-adjusted firearm homicide rates at the state level.
METHODS:
We conducted a negative binomial regression analysis of panel data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting Systems database on gun ownership and firearm homicide rates across all 50 states during 1981 to 2010. We determined fixed effects for year, accounted for clustering within states with generalized estimating equations, and controlled for potential state-level confounders.
RESULTS:
Gun ownership was a significant predictor of firearm homicide rates (incidence rate ratio = 1.009; 95% confidence interval = 1.004, 1.014). This model indicated that for each percentage point increase in gun ownership, the firearm homicide rate increased by 0.9%.
CONCLUSIONS:
We observed a robust correlation between higher levels of gun ownership and higher firearm homicide rates. Although we could not determine causation, we found that states with higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides.

Divestment

As an American Jewish doggie, I am concerned that the Presbyterian Church recently voted by a narrow margin to divest itself from stock in 3 companies (Hewlett Packard, Motorola, and Caterpillar) because they do business in Israel including the West Bank. I do not agree with the minority of Jews in Israel (and outside Israel) who favor increasing settlements in the West Bank. I think the settlements are a burden that Israel doesn't need. Having said that, divesting in Israel simplistically ignores the fact that the problem goes 2 ways. In the 1990s Israel created the Palestinian Authority as a first step in a process that was aimed at creating a Palestinian State (2 state solution). During that time an atmosphere of trust was developing in both the Israeli and Palestinian people. In 2000 Ehud Barak, the prime minister of Israel, offered the Clinton/Barak Plan to Yassir Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Authority which would have created an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It would have removed the vast majority of settlements. However, it would have required the Palestinians to compromise by ceding Jerusalem to Israel and giving up the return of the descendants of Palestinians from outside to Israel. The return of Palestinians was and still is impossible because it would change the demography of Israel. There are many Jewish refugees in Israel from the Arab countries. They have moved on with their lives. As for Jerusalem, Arafat didn't even counter offer with a compromise. His answer was an intifada with suicide bombers. This destroyed the atmosphere of trust that had been built up between the 2 peoples. Later Barak tried a unilateral approach to the 2 state solution by removing the settlements from the Gaza Strip and unilaterally withdrawing. The result was the election of Hamas which totally rejects the existence of Israel and started shooting rockets over the border into Israel. The failure of liberal governments to make peace resulted in the election of right wing governments in Israel, first under Ariel Sharon and now Benjamin Netanyahu. The fence (wall) built to keep out terrorists from the West Bank along with targeted assassination of terrorist leaders (really terrorists) has brought relative peace and security along the West Bank border (compared to the Intifada). So, what do you want the Israeli people to do? Attempts to hand over territory to an independent Palestinian state have resulted in war and terrorism, not peace. The surrounding Arab countries (Iraq, Syria, Egypt, etc) have descended into terrible chaos. The Arab Spring has been a disaster. Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan have remained for now an island of relative peace and prosperity compared to their neighbors. I don't think the leaders of Israel or Palestine really want change right now. The Palestinian leadership is able to play the victim without any responsibility.
So, divestment will accomplish nothing except possibly creating a good opportunity for investment in the 3 targeted companies. One wonders why in the tumultuous Middle East, the Jewish state is the focus of divestment. In the long run, some changes will have to occur, but I don't know what. I am just a little dog with a little doggie brain, so I don't know all the answers.
Chloe

Priority, Dog or Gun

Hi Humans,
In our condominium building in Chicago, there are stringent restrictions on where dogs may and may not go in the common areas. There are no restrictions on where guns can be carried. Does that make sense to you in your big human brains? It doesn't make sense to me in my little doggie brain.
Chloe

Gun Anarchists Here and There

Hi Humans,
You know I live most of the year in Southern California in the district of Scott Wilk, the state representative who opposes gun control and misinterprets the Second Amendment for that purpose. However part of the year we live the urban life in a condominium apartment in a large building in downtown Chicago. It is a little confining in a small apartment compared to the freedom of my doggie door and side yard in California. but the advantage is that Mom and Dad (the humans with whom I live) have more time to spend with me when we are in Chicago.
Recently Dad noticed a disturbing sign which has appeared next to the front door of our Chicago building. The sign essentially says that guns are allowed in the common areas of the buildings. This allowance is not limited only to home owners but only says the gunman may not commit a crime. It says nothing about the mental health of the gunman and does not say how one can tell an OK gunman from a criminal. Then it goes on to say that a criminal should be aware that if he commits a crime in the building he does so at his own risk because there are people with guns in the building. This sign was apparently approved by the Homeowners Board. Now there has been a controversy in the community between those favoring gun control (including the Mayor and Police Chief of Chicago) and those opposed to gun control (the NRA and other gun anarchists). Dad sent an e-mail to the Chairman of the Board of the building requesting removal of the sign because the only purpose it serves is to present a certain political point of view which is not the point of view of all the homeowners (and certainly not ours). The Chairman of the board gave a standard anti-gun control answer. He was concerned that a guest of a homeowner might feel uncomfortable carrying a gun through the common area on the way to a visit. Why should a guest be carrying a gun? Why shouldn't he feel uncomfortable? The building has a great security system and there are plenty of police in the area, but the Board Chairman feels that his vigilantes make him feel more safe. Really? Even a little dog like me can see through this crap.
Humans, it seems these gun anarchists are everywhere and will continue to impose their will on you if you don't say anything.
Chloe

Pseudoreligion in Iraq

Hi Humans,
I see on the television that a group of Humans who call themselves ISIS (whatever this acronym stands for) and are members of the Sunni branch of Islam posted movies on the internet showing them shooting and killing their prisoners who are adherents of the Shiite branch of Islam. It is said that they posted their cruel misdeeds to encourage the Shiites to retaliate which will further divide Iraq between Sunnis and Shiites, thus promoting their cause of creating a Sunni state in Iraq and Syria. This is all being done in the name of religion (supposedly for God). But is this really religion? Does God favor one side over the other? It depends which side you happen to be on. I suppose the best approach to objectivity in the matter is to ask why Human people believe in God in the first place. It seems that as humans developed language and the ability to look at the past and wonder about the future, it became obvious that each creature (Humans included) has a limited life span. This leads to the question of what happens after life, or is there any meaning to existence, any order, any purpose? So humans developed ideas of deities, entities with human qualities and endless life who rule over all us mortal creatures. They also came up with ideas of an after-life where humans go after death. Of course they weren't always clear about what happens to little dogs like me and other creatures. They found it enough to account for themselves. As time went on they refined belief to be of one God which seemed to make more sense than multiple ones. Also they developed science which gave progressively developing partial answers to what is going on but to this day has no clue as to why. So modern religion remains the best we have for why (or in other words the purpose of life), and science is the best shot at what (the details of what is going on). Science and religion each has its purpose and are very compatible as long as each sticks to what it can do best. Unfortunately there are Humans in either discipline who use that discipline for ulterior motives. The ISIS criminals (and they are criminals) did not do their crime for God. They did it to gain power over others. They did it to provoke the Shiites to desire retaliation against Sunni tribal leaders who they believe will now have to depend on ISIS for protection. I would call this perversion of religion pseudoreligion. Historically it is not unique in Islam. Others have used it in the past. But nowadays it seems to be most perfected by certain Moslem groups.
The question for America is what to do now. There is no good answer. The previous Republican administration foolishly pulled America into the mess. Bush broke Iraq and the American people have spent a decade trying to fix the damage. President Obama has won back some of America's power and stature in the world in spite of obstruction by the Republican Congress. But as for Iraq, it has been like putting Humpty Dumpty back together.  So at this point, how much is it necessary for the U.S. to participate in continuing to reassemble the Humpty Dumpty of Iraq? What is now in America's interest?

Who can America depend on? Of the 3 major groups in Iraq, the most reliable, stable, and friendly to the U.S. have been the Kurds. Their military successfully beat back ISIS. They have been consistently friendly to America and America’s allies (including Israel). They have also come to terms with Turkey and produce oil which they ship out through Turkey. Of the other 2, ISIS is definitely America's enemy because of their behavior and alliance with Al Qaeda, the guys who attacked the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. As for the Shiite government in Iraq, they have done a lousy job of creating a united Iraq in spite of all that America has done to prop them up. Let Iran spend their money and lives to support their fellow Shiites in Iraq. From the point of view of America's interests, the only reason to help in supporting the present Iraqi government would be to deny an ISIS sanctuary for the Nine Eleven enemy. On the other hand, an ISIS nation of bad guys in Western Iraq would provide an address that could be bombed when they do bad things, as opposed to a shadowy unfindable terrorist group.
Chloe

This Should Be on the Door of Every Public Building in America

This should be on the door of every public building in America. And it should be strictly enforced. Americans, stand up and free yourselves from the gun anarchy of the NRA. Vote out politicians (like Wilk) who pander to the gun bullies and hide behind the Second Amendment.
Chloe

Yet Another Gun Murder

Hi Humans,
Yet another gun murder has happened in Oregon. It has become common place nowadays for the mentally disturbed to act out in this way. This time it was an insane teenager who terrorized a school, killing another teenager and wounding a teacher with his gun before killing himself. The story is too common. How can this happen? Insanity is not more common in America than in other civilized nations. Most American people are not barbarians or more vicious than the people of other first world nations. America is for the most part a progressive innovative country constantly invigorated by the addition of hard working upward striving immigrants. But the American people and cowardly congressmen (like our Mr. Wilk in Porter Ranch) have somehow allowed themselves to be pushed by the gun bullies into the present gun anarchy which allows any screwball to obtain a gun. Even in the more progressive states, there are enough loopholes that allow crazies to obtain guns at gun shows, online, from aquaintences, or by gift. Still the NRA and the other gun bullies push against gun control. They hide behind the Second Amendment (which they misinterpret). Humans of America, it is time to take back your freedom from the NRA. Elect congressmen who will support universal background checks and make modern gun control laws to keep guns out of the hands of screwballs and criminals.
Chloe

Freedom, Safety, Anarchy, Government

 

Hi Humans,
You humans many years ago got together and invented the idea of government. You realized that there was a disadvantage to having everyone run amuck and not sharing, especially as humans increased in number and started living closer together and competing. Some governments went too far and made the advantages of government only for the most powerful people to the disadvantage of the less powerful. So not so very long ago (in the grand scheme of time) some humans came up with the idea of democracy which is a compromise between anarchy and government. Now there are a small number of people called Libertarians who want to return to a minimum of government bordering on anarchy in every aspect of life (at least they are consistent). There are a larger number of people in a political group called the Right who are selective in their desire to limit government. For example the gun bullies want absolute anarchy when it comes to guns. They value their guns above the safety of their fellow citizens. Some Rightists favor no regulation of business and industry even when their business practices are detrimental to the common welfare. However those very same business anarchists look for every way to take charity from the government (their fellow citizens) in the form of tax advantages and industrial subsidies. Those very same gun anarchists and industrial anarchists promote the strictest government control over personal ideas of what is moral and what is not.
I guess you guys will have a continuous debate over what is the appropriate role of government. We dogs have no say in the matter. We just live in your world and  hope it doesn't affect us too much.
Chloe

Gun Violence in Las Vegas

Hi Humans,
Yet another deadly episode of gun violence occurred today in Las Vegas, Nevada. A male and female of the humans species shot and killed 2 policemen who were having lunch, then shot a civilian human. Then the female killed her male partner and then herself. This insanity keeps going on and on. Yet it does not stop the gun bullies and the NRA from promoting gun anarchy and claiming that it is their right under the Second Amendment to the Constitution. The Second Amendment provides for "well regulated" state militias (the National Guard), not anyone can own any kind and as many firearms as he or she chooses without regulation. Crazy people exist, but we don't have to create a gun anarchy that allows them to arms themselves for any purpose. When will the American people stand up to the gun bullies? How many more senseless massacres have to occur? When will the cowardly senators and congressmen who pander to the NRA be voted out of office?
Chloe

Hooray for the Wisconsin Center

Hi Humans,
Today I would like to heap praise on a human institution. As you enter the Wisconsin Center (a major convention center) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, there are signs on the doors that say that guns, knives, and weapons of any kind are prohibited inside the Wisconsin Center. I guess the people of Milwaukee don't agree with the NRA that more guns create more safety.
Chloe

More Gun Violence

Hi Humans,
More gun violence in the news. One crazy human killed and wounded people at a university in Seattle before he was subdued. Another screwball started shooting at a court house in Georgia until he was shot and killed by a deputy. In both cases the offender was a private individual with a gun. Private gun ownership did not stop violence. In Seattle the gunman was stopped with pepper spray and people jumping on him. In Georgia, the gun that stopped the offender was used by law enforcement. The irrational NRA idea that private gun owners will somehow stop gun violence is not true. The gaping holes in the gun laws of the USA allow mentally disturbed humans from obtaining all kinds of guns. As long as that deficiency continues, so will the gun massacres.
Chloe

Murder is Murder

Hi Humans,
Animal predators kill other animals for food. Fate has given them bodies that depend on eating other animals for food (survival). Humans kill for sport or for causes. Take the murderer in Belgium who recently killed 3 people at the Jewish Museum. He probably thinks he did a good deed. He obviously does not like Jews. He is guilty of murder, and the people who filled him with hatred as an excuse for murder are also guilty. Gun violence is not unique to the USA. Europe has as many criminals and crazy people as the USA and more anti-Semitism and ingrained hatred of people they perceive as other than themselves. Shootings by the insane occur less often there only because it is more difficult (although apparently not impossible) to obtain a gun there. Whatever the reason, murder is murder.
Chloe

What Does the Second Amendment Really Mean?

Hi Humans,
Scott Wilk, the NRA, and the gun bullies hide behind the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, claiming that gun control is contrary to that amendment.
Well, this is what the Second Amendment says:
"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
The state militias today are the National Guard. So it says a person who serves in the National Guard should keep and bear arms as part of his or her service in the National Guard. Mr. Wilk and his fellow gun bullies ignore "A well regulated militia," and interpret "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" to mean anyone (including the insane) can own and carry around any number of firearms of any severity including assault rifles that can rapidly fire multiple rounds in succession so that they can kill many people quickly. Unfortunately that is necessary for soldiers to use in time of war. But for individual private citizens to own them does not add to "the security of a free state." On the contrary, it allows criminals and crazy people to have easy access to military type weapons, putting the law abiding normal people of a free state in danger, thereby limiting their freedom. It also adds danger to the police who have to deal with the criminals and screwballs. The gun bullies even oppose research into the problem of gun mass murders because they are afraid of what it might find.
Stronger background checks are needed. All guns need to be in a national registry, and the transfer of any gun by sale or gift should be registered and scrutinized carefully. Anyone owning a gun should be subjected to a search of his or her records for a history of mental illness or criminal activity. A gun owner should be held liable for any crime committed with his or her gun as well as the person who commits the crime. An amendment to the Constitution is needed to clarify the Second Amendment, limiting it to state militias, not private individuals.
Keep America safe! Stand up to the NRA and the State and Federal representatives who pander to the gun bullies.
Chloe

 

Massacre in California by a Gun Screwball

Hi Humans,
Another gun massacre has happened because a screwball was able to buy a gun and go on a rampage. This time it was near Santa Barbara in our state of California. At last report 7 people were killed. And Scott Wilk, our state assembly representative, asks if we are for or against the Second Amendment. That's code for supporting gun anarchy. We need strong gun control to protect the citizens of California. Vote Wilk out of office! Stand up to the NRA!
Chloe

Twisting Words

Hi Humans,
You humans sometimes twist language to make something sound the way you want it to sound instead of to communicate. For example, look at the web site of Wilk, the state representative of the district for Porter Ranch , California where I reside. If you want to contact Mr. Wilk online, you have to check off the subject about which you are inquiring. If you look for gun control, you will not find it. Instead you must choose between for or against the Second Amendment (which actually provides for a state militia, not guns for everyone). That signals to his constituents who wish easy access to guns, that he is with them. But he hopes that will blunt the message to those of us who want sensible gun laws. Wilk thinks he can hide behind the Second Amendment. Citizens of Porter Ranch, stand up for your right to be safe from screwballs with easy access to guns! Stand up to the NRA! Vote Wilk out of office!
Chloe

Porter Ranch Wake Up

 

Hi Citizens of Porter Ranch,
I am a resident of the Porter Ranch community in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I can't vote because I am just a dog. But if you are a human U.S. citizen, and you live in Porter Ranch, then you can vote. There is a big sign on an empty lot across from the Porter Ranch shopping center advertising Scott Wilk and nothing can be seen in the neighborhood about any of his opponents. You would think he is the only one running. I recommend Jorge Fuentes or anyone other than Wilk. Wilk on his web site asks if you are for or against the Second Amendment. That is code for opposition to gun control. Why does he not say plainly are you for or against gun control? The NRA, Wilk, and the gun bullies try to hide behind the Second Amendment to the Constitution. There are two interpretations of the Second Amendment. Wilk and his pro-gun cronies claim that it means no regulation of guns (and if some screwball buys a gun at a gun show or on the internet or from a friend and goes out to shoot up a school or a movie theater that is less important than the fun they derive from their toys or the money they make from selling them). Actually the Second Amendment provides for each state to raise a militia which we now call the National Guard. That is different from the gun anarchy that the gun bullies advocate. Wilkism is not in the interest of an urban community like Porter Ranch. Wake up citizens of Porter Ranch and throw the rascal out.
Chloe