Author: Mark Alexander

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On March 30 1981, the most closely guarded man in the world, President Ronald Reagan was the intended target of an assassin. The phalanx of security that surrounded him was impressive and well armed. Highly trained Secret Service, and uniformed District of Columbia Police were tasked with guarding the President. The armed professionals that day were bested by a disturbed individual, betting on fame that would be his ticket for the affections of a film actress Jody Foster. A poor aim, luck and a fast as light speed trip to the hospital saved President Reagan that day.

After events in Parkland, all the usual suspects, the NRA, Donald Trump, the Republican hierarchy, and the guns at all costs true believers are back; “we need more guns in schools! We can train and arm teachers to save students and Make America Great Again!”. Would that it were that simple.

Where are the teachers found that can effectively secure students in an active shooter situation and go into full Rambo mode to dispatch evil that is willing to take as many souls as possible? Where is the NRA’s champion good guy teacher with a gun? How much collateral damage will be caused by a close quarters gunfight in a classroom?

To turn teachers in to Militia men, willing to take a bullet, such creations are a fantasy of the NRA and now it seems to be the Great White Hope of the politically deluded. No amount of MAGA enthusiasm can be successful in Close Quarters Combat. For if evil is on a quest, no amount of armed encircling security can prevent a trigger pulling finger. Didn’t help Ronald Reagan and it won’t help a teacher and the students under siege with split seconds to decide what to do.

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Last week, one of our American educational institutions and its teachers and students had to endure the tragedy of yet another senseless school shooting. Seventeen lives were lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, adding to the inconceivable mounting loss of lives in our educational system over the past twenty years. Think about that a moment, loss of lives in our schools, our educational system, a place where young kids, preteens and young men and women go to learn, to grow, to become our future and responsible adults from dedicated teachers and mentors.

How did we get to this point where school massacres became so commonplace in our society, where schools at any moment can become a battlefield because someone’s mind went off the rails and was able to buy an AR 15 because they are so easily accessible in our country? Where is the breakdown? Who is responsible?

According to Paul Ryan, this is not the time for a knee jerk reaction which he has said before and who has taken some large NRA donations in his time in office. Marco Rubio when asked by Cameron Kasky, one of the survivors of the Florida massacre, if he would not take NRA money again in light of last week’s shooting, Rubio’s response was evasive, saying that he supports the second amendment and people buy into his agenda. REALLY? This seems to be the ignorant mindset of most GREEDY politicians, rationalizing taking in money from major corporations and rich billionaires, so they can live the high life while neglecting their oath and their responsibility to protecting American people. This is what our Congress has become.

If Congress wanted to, they could ban the AR 15 tomorrow, which was the weapon used in the Florida massacre as well as several other shootings. The AR 15 has no business being sold to any United States citizen or being on our streets. It is a military assault weapon that belongs on the battlefield, in a war. When the second amendment was written in 1791, the AR 15 was not part of the equation then, so banning that weapon will not be denying any U.S. citizen the right to own one. Our founding fathers had no way of knowing how far deadlier hand weapons would become and it is up to our current lawmakers to MAKE LAWS that are current with the times, so to insure all citizens’ safety.

Since congressional leaders will not act, then it is up to us. Starting in November 2018, we need to vote out of office every member of Congress who has taken NRA money. All voters need to do their due diligence and find out who in their district, their state has taken NRA money because we know they will continue to do so. It’s imperative that we vote the NRA out of Congress. We need congressional leaders who will listen to us and make laws that will make us safe. Our lives and our children’s lives depend on it.

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I think we all need this.

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Every coast in Antarctica is the north coast.

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I’ve spent the past few days binge-watching the Netflix series, Altered Carbon.

It’s enjoyable. Netflix has certainly stepped up their game in the wake of Stranger Things and it shows. I won’t go into too many details other than to say it presents a particularly dystopian view of a not-so-distant future in which human consciousness can be transferred from body (“sleeve” in the parlance of the series) to body, essentially making one immortal—if you have the means.

And for those who do (the ultra-rich or “meths” as they’re called), the story explores the kind of depravity that might result from such immortality, as well as tackling the new ways of policing, enforcing laws, and punishing  consciousness that can live outside a body in virtual reality.

The visuals are stunning, although it’s obvious much of the aesthetic was borrowed from the original Blade Runner. The story—basically a gumshoe murder mystery—is quite convoluted and requires your complete attention to follow. (No staring at another screen while this is playing in the background, or you’ll be hopelessly lost.)

The actors and actresses are uniformly handsome. There is plenty of full-frontal nudity of both sexes to go around. (Who knew James Purefoy was so amply endowed?) The projection of what A.I. can become is thought provoking—as is the whole premise of the series that consciousness can be transferred from one host to another, and theoretically exist in a virtual environment forever. But be warned: there is also a lot of blood and violence in this series.

You can read much more about Altered Carbon online, but if you have Netflix, I really suggest just diving in without much foreknowledge and enjoy all the twists and turns.

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Curiosity got the better of me the other day, and we ventured to Taco Bell so I could try the Nacho Fries. I mean, Mr. Duhamel wouldn’t steer me wrong, would he?

Yes, Virginia. Yes he would.

He must be running short of cash. It’s the only explanation for him attaching his ruggedly handsome middle-aged face to this menu item.

Okay, the fries weren’t awful, but they weren’t anything to get excited about either. Taco Bell could’ve gotten away with doing what Del Taco does: simply offer some nice crinkle-cut fries to go with your meals. Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries are basically overly-seasoned fries that come with a small cup of melted Velveeta cheese product. No, seriously. And the fries leave your fingers looking like you just rummaged through a bag of Cheetos.

I will not be buying them again.

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After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say ‘I want to see the manager.’” 
― William S. Burroughs, The Adding Machine: Selected Essays

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AND FUCK EVERY POLITICIAN WHO’S TAKEN THEIR BLOOD MONEY.

WE ARE COMING FOR YOU IN NOVEMBER and there are a HELL OF A LOT more of US than there are of your knuckle-dragging micro-penis supportersl

MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle breaks down how much money the NRA has given to Republicans who talk about their “thoughts and prayers”—“The thoughts and prayers are with the victims. The dollars and cents are another story.”

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From Jon Gruber at Daring Fireball:

THE GUN IS OUR MOLOCH

Garry Wills, writing for The New York Review five years ago, after the Sandy Hook grade school massacre:

The gun is not a mere tool, a bit of technology, a political issue, a point of debate. It is an object of reverence. Devotion to it precludes interruption with the sacrifices it entails. Like most gods, it does what it will, and cannot be questioned. Its acolytes think it is capable only of good things. It guarantees life and safety and freedom. It even guarantees law. Law grows from it. Then how can law question it?

Its power to do good is matched by its incapacity to do anything wrong. It cannot kill. Thwarting the god is what kills. If it seems to kill, that is only because the god’s bottomless appetite for death has not been adequately fed. The answer to problems caused by guns is more guns, millions of guns, guns everywhere, carried openly, carried secretly, in bars, in churches, in offices, in government buildings. Only the lack of guns can be a curse, not their beneficent omnipresence.

Our gun laws are insane. We, collectively, have agreed that regular mass shootings, often at schools — schools! — are a reasonable price to pay as a nation for unfettered access to military-grade killing machines for anyone and everyone who wants one.

It’s sick. Everyone outside the U.S. knows this. A majority of Americans knows this and supports stricter gun control.

There are new gun laws being drafted. But you know what most of them are for? For making guns even easier to purchase legally, without background checks.

This idea of gun=god was actually explored in an episode of American Gods last year.

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If the death of twenty 6- and 7-year olds (plus six adult staff members entrusted with keeping those children safe) at Sandy Hook in 2012 did not bring about gun control legislation in this country, yesterday’s shooting in Florida—or the other 18 school shootings that have happened in 2018 already—won’t do a thing either. THIS is what our country has become. Your elected officials—whose lips are surgically attached to the anus of the NRA and Wayne GODDAMNFUCKING LaPierre—are just fine with the continued slaughter of American children in school as long as their pockets are lined with that almighty blood money.

THIS is who we are, America—and will remain so until every last one of those MOTHERFUCKERS are removed from office and the NRA is driven back under the rock it crawled out of.

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Parkland, Florida, teacher on CNN who had to hide 19 crying kids in a closet in her classroom: “We did everything we were trained to do in active shooter drills, and still we had mass casualties. I blame our government for not keeping us safe.”

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 15, 2018

https://twitter.com/wokeluisa/status/963933277244436480

“Dear Donald Trump: you’re a disgrace to the United States for too many reasons to list. You’re a racist, a sexual predator, a lifelong financial criminal, and you committed treason by knowingly allowing Russia to rig the election in your favor. Every day you find a new way to embarrass decent Americans everywhere, while aligning yourself with the slimiest of gutter trash this country shamefully has to offer. This was no different.

You oppose all forms of gun control, Trump, because your slimy political base consists of the kinds of bloodthirsty lunatics who worship guns and violence. You’ve done your best to cut off access to mental health treatment, as you’ve siphoned off the funds in favor of your corrupt wealthy donors. So when a kid took an AR-15 into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School today and left at least seventeen people dead, this was entirely on your shoulders.

Would gun control and mental health treatment have stopped this shooting? Maybe. When you’re the (supposed, for now) President of the United States, and you’re the person who’s almost single handedly preventing those things from happening, you’re to blame for school shootings. Period. You should have been too ashamed to even show his face today. Instead you dared to posted this tone-deaf tweet, which based on the verbiage, you probably didn’t even write yourself: “My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.”

Hey Donald Trump, take your thoughts and prayers and condolences and shove them up your traitorous ass. You got those kids killed today with your evil policies. You know it too, because unlike your drooling gun-addicted base, you’re just a political opportunist who’s burning this country down in order to keep your shithole supporters happy. You’re literally a traitor who sold this country out to Russia. You’re also a murderer of children.” ~ Bill Palmer

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