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.

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