The Flintlock

via TYWKIWDBI from the fascinating site A Woodsrunner's Diary

The Founding Fathers and Slavery

I don't know about anybody else, but I get a little tired of hearing the gun-rights crowd so frequently referring to the Founding Fathers. The mere mention of these demi-gods is supposed to trump all arguments of common sense and pragmatism. But. I'm afraid it just doesn't work.

The Founders of The United States, authors of the Constitution, and several presidents who followed in their hallowed footsteps, right up to the Vice President under Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and the Hero of the U.S. Civil War, U.S. Grant, owned slaves. How could people such as these be revered as the paragons and patriarchs of individual rights? It's beyond me.

George Washington owned more than 200 slaves

Thomas Jefferson owned more than 100 slaves

James Madison owned and sold slaves all his life

James Monroe owned 30-40 slaves

Andrew Jackson owned about 160 slaves

Martin Van Buren owned at least one slave

William Henry Harrison had several slaves

John Tyler had slaves

James K. Polk had 15 slaves

Zachary Taylor owned more than 100 slaves

Andrew Johnson owned 8 slaves

Ulysses S. Grant freed his slaves

What's your opinion? Are we to believe that these men were ahead of their time with regards freedom of speech and religion yet bought and sold black Africans? I can't reconcile that. Rather I think they were as self-interested and unscrupulous as our present day leaders. Which makes more sense to you?

Please leave a comment,

The Hidden Cost of Gun Violence

The Oakland Tribune reports

For every gun-related death in Oakland each year, there are five or more cases of survival. From 2006 to 2010, Alameda County Emergency Medical Services transported 2,486 survivors of gunshot wounds, an average of 487 per year. However, hundreds more are taken to hospitals by friends, drive themselves or seek treatment elsewhere, making an exact countywide tally difficult to determine. Dr. Greg Victorino, head of Highland's Surgical Trauma Center, said that of the 3,829 cases of gunshot wounds seen at Highland from July 2001 to July 2011, 3,298 survived -- roughly 86 percent.

The majority of these cases involve the uninsured, which means tens of millions of dollars of medical bills are being passed on to the taxpayer year after year in the county and across the East Bay.

We've posted previously about this, here and here, but I think it continues to be an overlooked part of the picture.

What's your opinion? Is the awareness of this aspect of gun violence still a bit too low? This article mentions "tens of millions of dollars," but according to some other reports it's much higher than that.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

New Jersey League of Humane Voters

I'm not too sure about that 99% claim, but I like what this guy says. Hunting is a sick macho activity. It's about killing and violence. And typical of the ones who practice it, it involves cheating and unfair advantages.

I'd like to see one of these Ted Nugent types go naked into the woods and kill a wild boar or a deer with improvised weapons picked up from the forest floor.

Guns Don't Kill People - People Kill Guns

Freedom - Jimi Hendrix

Another Close Terrorism Call

 From MSNBC.com:

NYC mayor: Man arrrested in bomb plot

Bloomberg calls man a 'lone wolf'

BREAKING NEWS

NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg says an al-Qaida sympathizer who plotted to bomb police and post offices in New York City has been arrested

Bloomberg announced Sunday the arrest of 27-year-old Jose Pimentel on numerous charges. He characterized Pimentel as a "lone wolf."

A source told WNBC's Shimon Prokupecz that the suspect had been under police surveilance since 2009. Pimentel was arrested Saturday. He is accused of having an explosive substance that he planned to use against others and property to terrorize the public.
The New York Police Department's Intelligence Division was involved in the arrest.
The Associated Press and WNBC contributed to this report.