I just have a really hard time forgetting about all of the people who've
lost good jobs in the past 7 years, all of the people who barely have enough
to eat and whose food stamps have been cut, all the Americans who were
severely injured in our various wars and whose lives will never be the same,
all the people who lost their homes because of being sold sub prime
mortgages, all the people who still can't get appropriate medical care, and
that doesn't begin to cover the hundreds of thousands of people throughout
the world who've died because of the destablization in the Mid East for
which our country is responsible, and the thousands and thousands of people
who've died or whose lives have been profoundly affected because of storms
caused by climate change. True, I can communicate with all of you on a
computer and download the books I want to read. But I look at the world
around me, the ways in which people treat each other, the rising inequality
among Americans, the loss of our beautiful springs and early summers here in
the northeast, and it seems to me that if one looks at the whole picture,
things are deteriorating.
Miriam
________________________________
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of R. E. Driscoll Sr
Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2015 6:32 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: petition, gun control
Miriam:
I did not mean to say or imply that things are getting better or worse for
me. I simply said that - over a period of time - some things are better and
some things are worse. I am simply trying to do my very best no matter what
the surrounding conditions may or may not be at that point in time.
R. E. (Dick) Driscoll, Sr.
On 10/3/2015 3:17 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Dick,
You are a very lucky man if you feel that things are not getting
worse. For
a majority of people, things are getting worse. But if you are one
of the
lucky ones for whom this isn't true. I'm happy for you.
Miriam
________________________________
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of R. E.
Driscoll Sr
Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2015 3:41 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: petition, gun control
Miriam:
May I interject. Over the years when a Republican is in office the
Democrats voice the opinion that the end of the world is near. On
the other
hand when a Democrat is in office the Republicans voice the opinion
that the
end of the world is near. So far it has not happened. Sometimes it
gets a
little better or easier and sometimes it gets a little worse or
harder. So
far the end of the world has not come and for some this time around
it is a
lot better, for some it is somewhat better for a great many it has
not
changed for some it is somewhat worse, for some it is much worse
and for
some it is an absolute disaster.
R. E. (Dick) Driscoll, Sr.
On 10/3/2015 11:10 AM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Mee too, only I signed the petition because I'll compromise
in hopes
that
things might improve a tiny bit. On Thursday, Carlos was
here,
supposedly
upgrading my computer and bringing me a new battery backup.
Well,
actually,
given reality, that never happened, but that's another
story.
Anyway, we got
into the pereneal quandry , or the debate that those of us
on the
left find
ourselves in as the Presidential Elections come closer.
Carlos, as a
young
Puerto Rican man living in the Bronx, was a member of the
Young
Lordrds
which, in case you haven't heard of it, was sort of the
counterpart
of the
Black Panthers. But now he's a homeowner, father of two
adult
children, and
an administrator of the Office for the Disabled at one of
New York
City's
community colleges. He votes Democratic. I told him why I
can't
bring myself
to vote for Clinton. He talked about what would happen if we
had a
Republican President and republican majorities in the House
and
Senate. I
said that perhaps he might want to take what Chris Hedges
has to
ssay about
all of this, to heart. He said. "Look, Chris Hedges is a
millionaire. He can
say whatever he wants to say. He doesn't have to worry about
making
a living
and paying all of the everyday expenses for housing, food,
medical
insurance, et cetera". I replied that when we condemn the
Germans
for not
fighting the Nazis, perhaps we should remember that they
were also
making
pragmatic decisions about their lives and safety. And as I
said to
him, I
can see both points of view, the idealistic long term view
and the
one which
involves how to make life a bit better for us right now, to
try to
hold onto
limited safety while we can.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Carl
Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2015 11:28 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: petition, gun control
At present, guns represent the ultimate in individual
control. Guns
give us
confidence that we can keep ourselves and our loved ones
safe.
I suppose that in a peaceful society guns would play a role
in
protecting
citizens against the few social rebels. But in a society
that is
becoming
evermore violent, guns become part of the problem, not a
deterrent,
but a
cause.
The petition I would sign has not been written. Nor will it
be
written by
such a basically violent people. We simply can't have our
Peace and
keep
our Guns.
but we are a nation built upon violence. We murdered and
took what
we
wanted from the people who already lived in this Land. We
brought
our
Slaves, Indentured Servants and the Downtrodden from around
the
World, and
put them under our Boot and forced them to create the Wealth
that we
love to
claim as our own. But we keep on trying to pretend, and to
hold
onto the
very things that are destroying us. I would ban all
weapons. Sorry
if that
means someone can't go out and kill a young Buck, or blow
birds out
of the
sky. Some sports should be banned.
But there I go, acting as if there are folks who really do
want
Peace.
Carl Jarvis
On 10/3/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<mailto:miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<mailto:miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<mailto:miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi,
Sandy Hook. Columbine. Red Lake, Minnesota. Essex,
Vermont.
Lancaster.
Aurora. Virginia Tech. How many more innocent
victims must
die at the
hands of an antiquated and oft-misinterpreted
amendment?
Enough.
It's time to stop the violence.
Gun control doesn't have to mean no guns. I'm not
suggesting
we take
guns away. I'm suggesting we put tighter controls on
acquiring and owning
them.
Gun show loopholes must be stopped. Ammunition
should not be
sold online.
Mandatory wait periods should be enforced, during
which time
a
thorough background check, psychological and medical
evaluation, and
character references should be completed.
More accountability should be placed in the hands of
retailers. When
patrons refuse wait periods, authorities should be
notified.
Training
and testing should be mandatory, as should a renewal
process
that
includes many of the above-mentioned evaluation
terms.
Gun owners and non-gun owners need to come together
and
agree on
regulations that protect the right to own a firearm
for
sane,
responsible adults and keep them out of the hands of
the
mentally
unstable.
I would hope that we could all agree to submit
ourselves to
these
terms when it's easier to go to a gun show and pick
up a
firearm than
it is to go to the local pharmacy and buy cold
medication.
Acquiring
and owning a gun should be at least as controlled as
getting
a
learner's permit, license, and privilege to drive a
car.
Gun control alone is not the whole of the solution,
but it's
a start.
And if it keeps guns out of the hands of even one
mentally
unstable
person and saves one sweet life, it's worth it.
That's why I signed a petition to The United States
House of
Representatives, The United States Senate, and
President
Barack Obama,
which
says:
"How many more senseless and entirely preventable
shootings
have to
occur before we do something about gun control?
As a citizen and constituent of this great country,
I am
asking that
you take a firm stand and make a positive change by
restricting access
to guns and saving lives."
Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add
your name:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/gun-control-now-1?source=s.fwd&r_by=1
126864
Thanks!
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