ISIS, Terrorism, and Murder

Hi Humans,
Did you see the Republican debate on television last night. The theme was that the American people (humans) are frightened because of the threat of terrorism from ISIS and that the President has not been doing anything to protect the American people and they would. However their definition of terrorism, threats to the American people, and how to protect the American people seemed more to serve their political goals rather than addressing any real threats to America. So what are the real threats? There are actually two threats. One is to the personal safety of individual American humans. The other is a threat to the interests of the USA and its allies.
Let's first look at the threat to individual American humans. There have been 3 attacks by radical Muslims on American soil in the last 14 years. The largest by far was the first, namely the hijacking or American airliners and flying them into the twin towers, killing about 2,000 Americans. Since then airport security in the USA has been beefed up, and any further attempts at destruction of US airliners have been foiled or prevented. When the shoe bomber tried to blow up an airliner in flight, other passengers jumped on him and stopped him. Other than that there have been 2 terrorist incidents over the last 14 years by radical Muslims, the Boston Marathon bombing and the recent gun murders in San Bernardino. Of course the Republican candidates in their debate said nothing about the other terrorist incidents that have caused many more deaths, for example the mass gun murders at Planned Parenthood clinics. Like the radical Muslim killers, they killed for a cause and thought they were doing a good deed. Then there are the screwballs who have committed the majority of mass murders in the US because of paranoia or some other mental illness. The factors common to all of these murders have been weak minded human killers and access to weapons. Gun control should be the first step in denying any of these maniacs, radical Muslim terrorists, radical terrorists, or any other terrorist group access to weapons. We also need to do our best to identify the terrorists and win the war of ideas.
As for ISIS in Syria and Iraq, although the terror they have committed on US soil so far has been only a small part of the terror America has experienced by the various terrorist individuals and groups, we can not just ignore what they are doing elsewhere in the world. We need to support our allies as we have been doing. But it should be in a way that will win, not with the clash of civilizations that is in their play book and mirrored by some fringe groups on our side.
America is strong. The terrorists can temporarily make life unpleasant, but they are actually weak. Ultimately sanity will prevail and civility will win.
Chloe

Hatred

Hi Humans,
Some of you humans hate other humans with great venom for foolish reasons or for no reason at all. Some dogs are taught by humans to hate, but we do not hate naturally the way humans do. An example of human hatred is the way some humans hate President Obama. They try to justify it by saying he did this or that, but they are ashamed to give the real reasons. Apparently they hate him because he is black, intelligent, has a funny name, and he is a Democrat. They hate anything associated with him just because it is associated with him. They hate Obamacare even though many of them actually benefit from it. They deny climate change and say it is "pseudo-science" even though most of the real scientists know it exists. They claim he is a socialist even though he saved capitalism after the Republican administration preceding his brought the economy to the brink of collapse. They consider him radical although he is actually the real conservative. If Obama says
1 + 1 equals 2, they say no, it equals 3.
Unfortunately Republican congressmen are pulled into following the haters in validating their hatred because the haters are an important part of their constituents. However in spite of whatever they say, Obamacare will persist because it is correct and part of the natural progression of things although a future Republican administration might change the name and call it something else (Republicancare?). Climate change will happen because it is really happening. And President Obama will go down in history as one of the greatest US presidents because that is the truth.
Chloe

Guns in Chicago

Hi Humans,
Have you heard the news from Chicago? I am especially interested because although I was born in California, my human family is from Chicago and we spend part of each year there. Last year a Black human was shot and killed by a White policeman. It would appear that the policeman in this particular case used at least poor judgment which resulted in a death that should not have happened. Also the local government was accused of a cover up in protecting the policeman. As a result, the police chief resigned, and the Black Lives Matter people are demanding that the mayor also resign. I agree that Black lives really do matter just as much as any lives. The question is how to best serve the goal of protecting lives. The Black Lives matter people have every right to protest in a free country. But would removing Mayor Rahm Emanuel really serve the goal of protecting innocent lives? What are the factors that need to be addressed? I agree that racial prejudice really does exist (all over the USA, in fact all over the world), and there are probably some racist policemen as there are racists among humans in other occupations as well. Certainly racist policemen need to correct there attitude or find another occupation. But there is more to it than that. The police protect the citizens from crime, and they put their lives on the line every day when they go to work in a country where guns of all kinds are much too available to the public. The decisions of when to shoot are often split second, and the decision can result in the police killing a citizen wrongly or being themselves killed because of hesitation. The most important factor is to get guns off the street to reduce the number of times the police are faced with that decision. To do that strict gun control is needed, but instead the Republican Congress has chosen to support the NRA against the people and the police by creating a gun anarchy. Mayor Emanuel has been a staunch supporter of strict gun control in Chicago and in that way has done more than anyone to protect the lives of the citizens of all races but gun control is needed throughout the USA. Otherwise the criminals and sociopaths can go outside the city and come back with whatever guns they want.
Chloe

Terrorism or Something Else

Hi Humans,
I imagine you have heard about the horrific mass gun murders committed in San Bernardino today. In the news there has been a discussion as to whether the crime was terrorism or not. But is there really a difference? The result is the same. Innocent humans are dead. Either way, the crime is committed by small minded sociopathic murderers who feel the need to kill to inflate their egos and have access to weapons. They kill for the sake of killing and justify it as a perverse expression of their religion or as an answer to some personal feeling of persecution. But really whether you call it terrorism or something else, it is murder. We dogs do not kill for religion because we do not think so sophistically, and we are not gun anarchists because we don't have access to guns.
Chloe

Political Language

Hi Humans,
It is interesting how you can tell a human's political affiliation by what he says when he is talking about something other than politics. You humans, especially politicians, have a way of saying things that are politically correct rather than speaking directly about the issue.
For example, I am sure you have heard about the terrible gun murder in Colorado Springs. Today on CNN the governor of Colorado and the mayor of Colorado Springs were interviewed. The governor stated that there have been  too many mass murders in the USA, and something needs to be done about it. What was implied but not said is that guns are too available to every screwball who wishes to shoot other humans for whatever reason or just for the fun of killing. On the other hand, the mayor gave a wishy wishy desire for something to be done but said one must not go against the Constitution. One can tell from what they said that the governor is a Democrat and the mayor is a Republican. And looking them both up on the internet confirms this suspicion. The governor implied but did not directly place the blame where it belongs on the gun anarchy in the USA. The mayor put the special interests of the NRA and the gun anarchists ahead of the safety and welfare of the citizens and his own police.
We dogs are more direct.
Chloe

Mr. Trump and Mathematics

Hi Mr. Trump,
I understand you said something like the victims of the Paris murders should have had guns. I supposed you said that because defense of gun anarchy in the USA as opposed to gun sanity in other developed countries is the mantra of the Radical Right whom you are now courting to win the Republican nomination. 
Well, Mr. Trump (and other gun anarchists). These are the facts.
Including the 2990 victims of 9/11, in the 12 years from 2001 to 2013, deaths from terrorism in the USA were 3380 or an average of 282/year. Since the US population has been around 300 million lately that is about 1 victim in a little over 1 million people per year. That is too much and needs to be corrected and avenged. But compare that to the 33,875/year or in other words 8,856 per million people killed in gun violence each year in the USA, and you see gun anarchy is an even greater threat. Compare that to the 30 per million deaths per year related to guns in France (population 60 million). Even if you add the 150 people killed this year by terrorist guns in France, it pales in comparison to the gun deaths per population in the USA each year. So the numbers show that simply arming the civilian population in France would not have made France a safer place. That simplistic pseudo-cure would have been worse than the disease. Bigger minds than Mr. Trump are needed to figure out the best defence against terrorism. Even a little dog like me can see that.
Chloe

More Guns Will Protect? Crazy!

Hi Humans,
The gun violence continues too frequently. The NRA says the answer is more guns. That makes as much sense as saying that the cure for AIDS is more promiscuous sex. We dogs would never believe such nonsense. And you humans are supposed to be the ones with big brains.
Chloe

Gun Murder in Oregon

Hi Humans,
Well humans in America have done it again. The present weak gun laws have allowed another crazy human to acquire guns and kill multiple students and a teacher at a college in Oregon. It continues over and over again, and nothing is done to make America safe from this insanity. Guns are controlled in all the other advanced countries in the world, but not here. The President is ready to correct it, but his hands are tied by a Congress and many state legislatures that are beholden to the NRA. They self servingly say the answer is more guns. The truth is more guns = more gun homicides as reported in

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.

Scott Wilk, the assemblyman in our neighborhood, Porter Ranch, California promotes the Second Amendment. That is code for favoring gun anarchy. He also voted against a proposed law banning concealed weapons in schools in California. Fortunately we have other representatives in our state who are not so small minded.
These rampages will continue to recur until the people of the USA wake up and vote the cronies of the NRA out of Congress.

Chloe

Another Homicide by a Radical with a Gun

Hi Humans,
So we hear on the news that a crazy radical right wing gun nut killed 2 people and wounded 9 others in a Louisiana movie theater before he shot himself when confronted by the police. It is a too familiar story and one that could have been prevented by sane gun laws. Yet the NRA and the gun bullies continue to preach gun anarchy. In the building in Chicago where we spend part of the year, there is a sign next to the front door that invites gunmen into the common areas of the building as long as they are present for lawful purposes. As though that would be make the building more safe? In the same building dogs are not allowed in the common areas. But dogs would be a better deterrent to crime than guns would ever be. Maybe a criminal might not be phased by a little dog like me (although if not seen my bark might be loud and scary), but some of my big tough pit bull colleagues that I meet in the elevator would frighten away any criminal more than some little human amateur vigilante with a gun. Research has shown a positive relationship between private gun ownership and homicides:

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.

One is more likely to be killed by a neighbor with a gun who goes beserk than by an intruder. So if you want to be safe get rid of your gun and get a dog.
Chloe

Easy Access to Guns

Hi Humans,
The gunman who killed all those people in the church in Charleston, South Carolina should not have had access to a gun. But in the gun anarchy you humans have created, easy access to guns keeps causing tragedy over and over again. And you look down on us dogs!
Chloe

Little Humans with Big Guns

Hi Humans,
Did you see the picture of the latest mass gun murderer in the news? You know, the one who shot all those people in Charleston, South Carolina. The killer, like so many others like him, looks like a pitiful little shit. The irony is that the victims were educated accomplished productive people, a real loss to the community, and the little shit murderer was a nothing who needed to kill people to feel important. That is so typical of gun bullies. The "normal" ones need to kill defenseless animals of other species to feel important and call hunting a "sport." The extremely crazy ones like the recent killer (and the other similar mass gun killers we see in the news too frequently) carry it a step further and kill their own human species. And of course the NRA sets the stage for them by creating a gun anarchy in America which gives them easy access to guns for acting out.
Chloe

Gun Murder in Charleston

We hear now about the hate murder at the church in Charleston, South Carolina yesterday. Yes, the murderer is probably mentally disturbed and influenced by a culture of hate that influences their mentally disturbed adherents to act out that hatred. But there is another factor that promotes this kind of violence. It is the lack of sensible gun control in the USA. Did you know the murderer was given a gun by his parents. What kind of mentality would give a gun as a gift?                                                  
As a result of this anarchy, tragedies occur over and over. No other first world country has the kind of gun violence that we have because they do not tolerate the kind of gun anarchy that occurs in the USA.

Congratulations Lucas! A Dog is Better than a Gun!

Hi Humans,
I heard on the news today that a police officer in Mississippi was ambushed by a group of three criminals. He saved himself from being killed not with his gun but rather by pressing a button that released Lucas, the Police Dog, from his car. Lucas attacked the thugs, biting one of them. The cowards fled the scene, leaving the police officer alive.
In the building in Chicago where Mom and Dad have a second home apartment, they allow guns anywhere in the building and even had a sign next to door the last time we were there bragging about it. Yet in the same building dogs are severely restricted as to where they can be. When Dad questioned the chairman of the homeowners board about this discrepancy, the chairman replied that the gun sign discourages criminals but dogs do not. What a bunch of crap!
Anyway, congratulations Lucas. you do our species proud.
Chloe

Protect America from Guns

Humans, wake up!
Protect your police!
Make America safe from gun anarchy!
Take guns off the streets!
Pass laws to control private ownership of guns now!
Chloe

NRA Controls Doctor Patient Relation in Florida

Hi Humans,
Did you know that in the State of Florida it is illegal for a physician to ask a patient if he owns a gun unless the question directly relates to the personal illness of the patient. That law does not apply to other illnesses that can affect other humans in the community like syphilis, AIDS, alcohol consumption, or use of illegal drugs, but the NRA even controls the doctor patient relationship when it comes to guns. This exists because of the desire of the gun lobby to do anything to maintain a gun anarchy and the stupidity of you humans in allowing it. We dogs would be more rational if we were in charge.
Chloe

NRA Gun Anarchy Does Not Equal Freedom

Hi Humans,
A shooting has occurred at the Delaware State University. Three people were injured. Fortunately this time there were no deaths. Gun homicides and injuries are much too common in the United States. Yet the NRA still promotes gun anarchy. They equate gun ownership with "freedom." Anarchy does not equal freedom! The gun bullies are anarchists. Humans, you need freedom from the gun anarchists. When are you humans going to wake up? We dogs would never be so gullible.
Chloe

Hooray for No Gun Stores

Hi Humans,
Hooray for Safeway, Costco, Target, and Whole Foods for supporting a no gun policy in their stores. Shame on Kroger for their open carry gun policy.
So where are you going to shop?
Chloe

Protect the Police and the Public

Hi Humans,
There are have been many incidents in the news lately about police shooting people who turned out to be innocent, or if guilty of a crime not actually threatening the police officer. The result has been unnecessary tragic deaths. If you listen to MSNBC, it sounds like the police are out of control and terrorizing the public in certain communities because of racism. If you listen to Fox News, it sounds like the police are being wrongly accused and are simply defending themselves in communities that are out of control. But the most important factor in most of these tragedies seems to be passed over, namely they usually involve GUNS!!! There are just too many guns on the street because in the USA there is a lack of sane gun control. If guns were not so prevalent, police would not have to so often decide between shooting an innocent civilian or risk being shot. Yes, in some cases racism is involved. Police need to be properly trained. Racist and crazy police need to be weeded out. Most police officers are sane and not racist. But they can be faced with difficult decisions between staying alive and doing no harm. Let's protect the police and the public. Defy the NRA! We need sane gun laws to keep guns off the streets.
Chloe

Crimes Against Humanity

Hi Humans,
Our family recently received a ballot from a mutual fund which we own. Actually Mom and Dad own it since I am just a dog and have no say about it. Anyway besides the usual voting for officers and functional propositions, there was a proposition that the fund should not invest in any countries that commit "crimes against humanity." The management as usual advised voting for the slate of officers and most of the proposals but opposed the crimes against humanity one. Now on the surface opposing crimes against humanity sounds like a good thing to support even if it does leave out dogs. Also as a slightly Left of Center dog, I can be skeptical about the motives of Wall Street managers other than making money (not a bad motive when it is our money invested). But from a moral point of view, in this instance I still side with the managers of the fund on this one because there can be differences of opinion as to what is a crime against humanity. Actions considered defense by one human might be considered aggression by another. Some countries are branded criminals by some people who can find no wrong in the actions of others no matter how horrific. The most vocal humans on the subject might not be the ones with which one agrees. So, I can't see handing over one's decision as what is criminal and deserves boycott to some committee with which one might not agree.
Chloe

Humans More Gullible Than Dogs

Hi Human ISIS Candidates,
I hear on the news that some of you young humans are leaving the West and going over to Syria to join ISIS and other Muslim extremist organizations, or are staying put and becoming local terrorists. Are you crazy? That kind of bad behavior does not promote real religion. It perverts religion. The purpose of religion is to give meaning to life. Those terrorists want to use religion to justify murder. Going to ISIS or being a local terrorist will probably get you killed. Killed means dead, like no life, like the end, like nothing. If there is a Heaven, murdering other humans won't get you there. And there are no guarantees that the place really exists. Only a human can commit murder and other atrocities and claim to be doing it for God. We dogs would never be so stupid and cruel!
Chloe

You Can't Satisfy Everyone

 

President Obama recently hosted an international summit about combatting ISIS, Al Qaeda, etc. Interestingly, on television when various humans were asked their opinions about the President's speech, an American Muslim leader complained that the speech emphasized Muslim terrorism as opposed to terrorism in general. Well at this point in time, the major terrorist groups happen to be Muslim. The terrorists don't represent all Muslims, but they are Muslim. On the other hand, a Republican politician interviewed complained that Obama talked too much about how to win over the Muslim world rather than just focusing on how to clobber them. Well, the purpose of the summit was to bring together various coalition nations (including Muslim nations) so that we are not left with the go it alone and clobber them approach that exposed the limits of our power and destroyed our economy during the Bush years. To defeat ISIS, etc. without making the mistakes of his predecessor, he has to be diplomatic. You can't expect him to wage a holy war on Islam and expect the Islamic nations to willingly follow along. So, if President Obama is getting it from uncompromising extremes on both sides, he must be doing something right.