O’Donnell vs Franks: “Debating Gun Control”
Posted by Michelle Moquin on January 19th, 2011
Good morning!
I saw this clip last night from The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. It is in regards to gun control and the legal amount of bullets in a gun’s magazine clip. I could see the anger and frustration from O’Donnell and as watched and listened, I felt the anger erupt in myself.
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Readers: Can you believe Rep. Trent Franks? What is this BS “children of God”? He couldn’t even answer the damn question. He’s frustrated about this?! I wanted to crawl through my TV and strangle the guy.
Why is it that Franks can give a hypothetical scenario, a reckless one at that, and ask O’Donnell to give it thought, but he refuses to look at it from another view, a more realistic view….to entertain another hypothetical scenario? Once again, Republicans don’t want to accept the facts; they just want it their way regardless if it makes no sense, and is not for the betterment of all.
As I watch this again this morning, I can feel my blood start to boil again. Can anyone watch this and actually side with Franks? Unfortunately there are many, or we wouldn’t be having this debate.
Thoughts? Rants? Blog me.
Doug: I knew you would like this.
Zen Lill: Yes, it was fun catching up with you!
Greprom: Thanks for coming back in and commenting. It seems so simple to me. I have always believed that our planet had everything that we needed to be healthy. I have always thought that balance in life was important in many areas. What I didn’t know until now is that if there was a proper and correct balance, that if administered to our body consistently, we would be able to function at our optimum indefinitely. Unfortunately now, even if we knew what the correct proportions were, we have already destroyed our air and water quality, vital factors in the equation of living indefinitely.
And yes, in regards to cloning, isn’t it just like humans to instead of sustaining what we have, care for it in a way that prevents destruction and disintegration, we contaminate it, destroy it, and then look for another way to create it again. Crazy.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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January 19th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
How Not to Turn Into an “Old Driver”
Richard A. Marottoli, MD
Yale School of Medicine
As you buckle yourself into a two-ton metal machine and rocket down the road at 60 miles per hour or faster, you may ask yourself, “Am I as safe a driver as I used to be?”
This can be a legitimate concern even if you’re in robust health and still a long way from being a senior. For instance, you may no longer be able to turn your head far enough to look behind you.
Safety concerns become increasingly relevant as the years pass.
Consider: Compared with drivers age 55 to 64, those over the age of 65 are almost twice as likely to die in a car crash… drivers age 80 and older have higher crash-fatality rates than all other age groups except teens.
Aging affects driving ability in several vital ways…
Vision and hearing become less acute.
Cognition slows, impairing the ability to recognize and react appropriately to a hazard (such as a child dashing into the street).
The physical ability to operate a car may be impaired by stiff joints, muscle pain, nerve damage and other maladies.
Advancing age also brings increased frailty. This means that, even if driving skills remain sharp, the ability to recover from accidents decreases.
The modern world also presents hazards that older drivers may not be accustomed to.
More than ever, drivers around you are likely to be distracted by cell-phone calls, text messages and GPS devices. These distractions greatly increase the risk for accidents.
NEW RULES OF THE ROAD
Avoid dangerous situations…
Use routes that minimize left turns — they are more dangerous than right turns. When waiting to turn left, keep your wheels straight so you won’t be pushed into oncoming traffic if hit from behind.
On the highway, stay in the right lane whenever possible. There’s less risk of being tailgated, and you probably won’t need to change lanes to exit.
Minimize travel on congested or poorly lit roads.
Do not drive in rain or snow or when you feel tired or stressed. Stay home or call a taxi.
See and be seen…
To determine if you’re tailgating, pick a spot that the car in front of you passes, then count the seconds until you reach that spot.
If it’s less than three seconds — or six seconds in rain or fog — back off.
Use your window defroster on high heat to clear window fog quickly… then switch to cool air (not cold) to keep fog from coming back. This works in all weather.
Keep your windows clean inside and outside.
Be on the watch for distracted drivers. Stay focused yourself, too — don’t talk on the phone or eat or fiddle with the CD player or have emotional conversations with your passengers.
Keep headlights on, even during the day — it makes you more visible to others. Clean headlights often.
If you have poor night vision, drive only in daylight.
Master new car technology…
Put your seat as far back as you comfortably can to avoid being injured by the air bag if it deploys.
Tilt the steering wheel so that the air bag points toward your chest, not your head. If your steering wheel telescopes, move it closer to the dashboard to lessen air bag impact.
If you skid, do not “pump” anti-lock brakes — just brake steadily.
HEALTH CHECKS
Work with a health-care team…
Ask your doctor if any of the medications you take can cause drowsiness or light-headedness.
If you start a new drug, avoid driving for a few days until you see how it affects you.
Have your vision checked every year or two.
Get a hearing test every three years. If you have hearing loss, watch dashboard indicators because you may not notice strange engine noises.
Also: Be vigilant about watching for emergency vehicles.
SHOULD YOU TAKE A CLASS?
The more of the following factors that apply to you, the more advisable it is to take a refresher course in driving. Take it as a clue if you…
Often are honked at by other drivers.
Sometimes have trouble staying in your lane.
Occasionally think that vehicles or pedestrians have appeared out of nowhere.
Caused a recent accident.
Many insurance companies offer discounts to drivers who pass a refresher course. Contact your insurance agent for more information.
Some classes can be completed in one or two days… some you do at your own pace. Bonus: Classes review your state’s laws, which may have changed — for example, many older drivers are unaware of certain states’ requirements to signal at least 100 feet before turning.
Refresher courses are given online and in classroom settings. A course that includes several hours of behind-the-wheel training is most beneficial, though this can add significantly to the cost.
For schedules and pricing, contact AARP (888-227-7669, http://www.aarp.org/drive) or your local AAA club (www.aaa.com).
PUTTING DOWN THE KEYS
It’s time to consider leaving the driving to others if you have taken a refresher course and yet still experience any of the following…
Often feel lost or confused on familiar roads.
Occasionally hit the gas when you mean to hit the brake.
Hear that other people worry about your driving or are scared to ride with you.
Have been advised by your doctor to stop driving.
If you stop driving…
Find out about public transportation options, including discounted fares for seniors.
For referrals to civic groups that provide rides, contact your local council on aging (800-677-1116, http://www.ElderCare.gov).
Ask nearby friends for rides (and offer to pay for gas). Many people are happy to help out.
Bottom Line/Women’s Health interviewed Richard A. Marottoli, MD, associate professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine and medical director of the Dorothy Adler Geriatric Assessment Center at Yale-New Haven Hospital, both in New Haven, Connecticut.
He is author of numerous published articles on senior drivers and led the “Enhancement of Driver Performance Among Older Drivers” study for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
January 19th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Hafa adai
It seems that the Tea Party is lying to the feds about where their donations are coming from. Dead people on Guam have evidently rose up to contribute to the party.
One, Joan Snyder Holmes, has even taken a lump sum $5,000 in personally.
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by FRANK JAMES
In Chicago, the dead have been long known to vote. So it’s not surprising that in some places they also make political donations. Apparently Guam is one such place.
From the OpenSecretsblog:
According to the Center for Responsive Politics’ research, Joan Snyder Holmes of Guam made three donations in the autumn of 2009 to the group’s political action committee — known as the Our Country Deserves Better PAC. The donations together totaled $2,500.
The Tea Party Express’ PAC furthermore reported receiving a lump-sum donation of an additional $5,000 from Joan Holmes in September, according to the Center’s review of campaign finance records it filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Such activity would have been unremarkable had Joan Holmes not died of cancer on Feb. 1, 2007. She was cremated, and her ashes are now buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia
The woman’s widower said he didn’t make the contribution using her name and Sal Russo, a power in the Tea Party Express, said he was surprised by the donation.
One of the best lines within the post comes from Larry Noble, formerly the Center for Responsive Politics’ executive director and now a Skadden Arps lawyer. Another excerpt:
“Any time a contribution is made in the name of a deceased person, it’s potentially problematic,” Larry Noble, an attorney at D.C. law firm Skadden Arps and former executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, told OpenSecrets Blog. “Generally, the dead aren’t supposed to give.”
This could all be a simple mistake. And, of course, if you were to comb lists of Democratic donors it’d be amazing if you didn’t find a few dead people there too. So no one should take any partisan delight in this. Not that this will stop anyone.
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If you are white in America justice doesn’t reach you unless you are committing crimes against other whites.
If we lie under oath, the law will seek to punish us. But this blatant lie by the Tea party is fine
Peter
January 19th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Michelle, I received and invite from Gimme Shelter.
Save: Sun. Jan. 30th, 5 PM
20th Anniversary
GIMME SHELTER
Clothing Drive & Dance
It list you as one of the host. I am looking forward to seeing you there. WOW!
RB
January 19th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
If I thought they would just kill each other, I could really get behind allowing white boys to carry everywhere in public.
So the self proclaimed “blue dog” democrat was shot by one of the dogs she was trying to please.
Think there is a lesson in that for the dems to learn.
Nah.
January 19th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
oh please, allow me to crawl through the tv and put his lights out, it would be my pleasure. – ZL
January 19th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
Ditto Zen Lill
January 20th, 2011 at 12:14 am
My boyfriend tells me that the marine F-15s are coming to Guam to be available for support. It seems that there are too many unexplained encounters occurring on the island.
Mikki
January 21st, 2011 at 9:55 am
[...] RB, Merv, Zen Lill, Nell, Jesus, Kris, Larry Freda, Edna, Mike, and any one else planning on going to the Gimme Shelter Aquarias birthday party: Sorry to disappoint…I would love to meet you all, but I will not be attending the Gimme party this year. [...]