I am grateful for freedom. The other WWII Front.

This is a remarkable article in the LA Times this holiday season. It was after Veteran's Day, but, as timely as any.

The West sometimes forgets there was a time when allies were Russians. There was a second front to WWII. Yes, there was D-Day. But, there was also the front that was first to collapse the advancement of Hilter. The Russian Front and this Thanksgiving I am grateful for their service and am proud Russian speaking veterans live comfortably in the USA.

This is a thought for time unending. 

I come from a large family. We cling to each other dearly and there is a lot of talent within our group when we get together to celebrate the holidays. We decided to put together a family diary of our experience within the family. 

I invite you to take this opportunity in time to reflect on your families. In the USA "Family" has a great deal of diversity. But, consider writing an essay that brings out the meaning of family and the impacts it has had on your life. Hopefully a great deal of love will be found. It is a heritage activity, at least that is what our family considers it. It will be put together and be a permanent record of the words, ideas, journeys and feelings that bound us so lightly through our entire lives. 

Good night and I am grateful for all of you that come here for a perspective that is more Middle Class than I would like to admit.

Happy Thanksgiving.

November 24, 2014

By Ann M. Simmons

...At its peak the group’s membership grew to more than 2,200 veterans. Today, that number has dropped to 400, 160 of whom served during World War II. Others are the children and widows of former servicemen.

Most of the Russian-speaking veterans fled the former Soviet Union for the United States, seeking to escape persecution because of their Jewish faith. All were hoping to find a better life for their families.

Now, as they move into their twilight years — the average age of the veterans is 92 — they worry that their association might die as their own lives expire.

“Before, we worried about getting citizenship for our members … teaching them English, housing,” said Yefim Stolyarsky, 91, the association’s president. “Now the concern is preserving contact among veterans, preserving the membership of the organization.”

Yevsey Epstein, 91, a medical forensics expert and native of Ukraine who served as commander of an anti-tank battalion in the Red Army, said he doubted it would be possible to preserve the legacy of the group.

“Our children and our grandchildren, they relate more to the United States and they don’t know what this group means,” he said.

The veterans meet twice a week to discuss issues in the community and to mingle. Because most of them speak limited English, they feel at home speaking Russian among their peers.

“I come and meet and socialize with people who understand me,” said Yulia Shikhleman, 81, the widow of a former Red Army officer and World War II veteran. “I can share with these people … tell them what’s going on with me. They listen to me. They comfort me.”...

Only "Streets of Gold" for the few.

The Ferguson police department never knew who 21,000 people were in serving and protecting them.

In general they didn't understand them, never knew them and treated them as an enemy.

This is a picture of a TRUTHFUL moment in Portland, Oregon.

In this Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014 photo provided by Johnny Nguyen, Portland police Sgt. Bret Barnum, left, and Devonte Hart, 12, hug at a rally in Portland, Ore., where people had gathered in support of the protests in Ferguson, Mo. (AP Photo/Johnny Huu Nguyen)

November 29, 2014
By Gosia Wozniacka

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An African-American (click here) boy holding a "Free Hugs" sign stood crying in front of a police barricade at a Ferguson rally in Portland. A white police officer motioned for him to come closer. The officer then asked the boy for a hug — and they embraced, the boy's anguished face streaming with tears...

This is not politics. This is racism as WE know it. This is profound fear by young black men/boys of being killed by the police officers that are suppose to protect them. They are caught in a void of unknown peril and there seems to be little to nothing society has been able to do to stop it.

Coast to coast, it doesn't matter there are young UNARMED black men being cut down in their early years of living free in a democracy; only in their case they are not given a trial so much as a sentence.

The gun culture in the USA has amassed respect. It has turned a relatively peaceful nation whereby 'domestic tranquility' is guaranteed by the USA Constitution and turned it into streets of blood. Literally. Michael Brown, Jr. bled out on the street probably every drop of 8 pints of blood while police applied their yellow tape and instilled fear in the hearts of the neighborhood.

The culture of fear is alive and well in middle class and poor neighborhoods. This is exactly the outcome so many expected when the focus in the USA changed from respecting human life to that of gun supremacy. The middle class and poor can't afford weapons. The argument the right wing gun enthusiasts tout as 'the reason for concealed carry and open ended gun laws,' is that criminals get their hands on guns and the 'so called good people' are left dead because of it. That 'idea' has created overwhelming force in applications by police to protect their own lives.

Is Darren Wilson a prime example of how fearful police are of their duties? No. Darren Wilson worried about his own life and didn't bother to take into account the lives of two young black men walking down a street. Wilson had just been given a citation for arresting two black men involved in selling drugs. If one reads the reports in the newspapers regarding this arrest it was the same technique of wrestling he exercised with Brown.

Michael Brown, Jr. never touched the gun, a piece of his thumb was shot off and he was bleeding. The assault on Brown was never in question. Wilson was going to kill Brown if he had to. It wasn't a matter of Wilson being in fear for his life. He was conducting police activities as he knew it and this was just another day at work.

The unwillingness of government to exercise legislation to keep the streets safe has provided the USA with nothing less than a return of Al Capone. The people with guns as opposed to the peril of those without guns, with gun rights guaranteed by open ended laws that create a superior citizen armed with their favorite weapon(s) is now the law of the land.

What bothers me is the LACK of anyone to actually open carry weapons. When police encounter guns it is usually in vehicles, but, not in neighborhoods in the USA. It is very unusual to have any citizen exercising concealed carry in an exchange of gun fire with police. The chances of Michael Brown, Jr. actually being someone with a concealed carry permit was zero to none. But, the chances of Michael Brown, Jr. being a criminal with a concealed weapon was Wilson's pre-decided defense with any killing he would commit.

It was 'the clever criminal on the street' that Wilson decided he needed to stop. It was that one person that was better armed than he that was going to remove him in his fiancee's deepest fear.

If Wilson understood the neighborhood he patrolled or better said he responded to, he would know the chances of a young, black man from a lower middle class family being armed in broad daylight is highly unlikely.

Wilson never responded to mischief, he always responded to felonies. The police of 21,000 people with a majority lower middle class black families should have known where the weapons were in regard to any incidence of crime. Wilson was responding to the theft of $12 of cigarillos not the murder of the show owner and/or customers.

Ferguson has some wealthy folks. It is they that most probably own weapons for the reason they do. But, to assign that level of concern for concealed weapons by these people is nonsense. The families of Ferguson were focused on upward mobility. They wanted their children to attend college and find a better life than they had. That is America, that is not a drug cartel.

There was a drug problem in Ferguson as Wilson found out, but, as one person put it, "It is how I pay my bills."

Wilson applied deadly force inappropriately in killing Michael Brown, Jr. The confrontation of Brown and his friend was completely off the scale by Wilson. Those two young black men have rights and if they were involved in crime those rights are litigated in a court of law and NOT the streets of their neighborhood.

Is this another Trayvon Martin, darn right it is. Vigilantism ruled in the death of Trayvon. What was the focus in the media? The fact an innocent young black man was living with his father to straighten out his behavior when his mother could not? Was it the fact an innocent young black man was the victim of vigilantism? No, it was the fact Trayvon had blood results that proved he smoked marijuana sometime in the past month. That is called experimentation, every parent's nightmare. 

Trayvon was a teenager on the way home from the local convenience store when a vigilante decided to be a police officer in all his personal hubris, engaged in confronting Trayvon and fell victim to a teenager frightened for his life. It was Trayvon that died, not the vigilante Zimmerman. As soon as Zimmerman confronted Trayvon his right to use of a gun was removed, in the real world where a teen's blood is spilled for the sake of gun culture hubris. 

The police were already responding and if the vigilante were sincerely interested in assisting, all that was necessary was a finger to point in the direction or to the house Trayvon went to. The 'right wing nut case propaganda machine' is winning the day and our citizens are dying because of it. Both Wilson and Zimmerman belong behind bars along with innumerable others that have killed because THEY THOUGHT it was appropriate.

Wilson destroyed evidence. Call it what you want, negligence or stupidity or clever. He destroyed evidence.

November 27, 2014
By Daniel Politi

...Darren Wilson failed to follow (click here) what is considered to be standard protocol after a shooting. And he was hardly the only one. The transcripts from grand jury testimony make evident that police carried out numerous actions that experts say are highly unusual. First of all, Wilson drove himself back to the police station, put his own gun into evidence and quickly washed blood off his hands without anyone photographing them first, reports the Washington Post. Apparently “there was no photographer available” and Wilson seemed to be more concerned with getting someone else’s blood off his body than preserving evidence. “His concern was not of evidence, but as a biohazard or what possible blood hazards it might attract,” said an FBI agent....

Wilson just needs to move on. He doesn't need to provide interviews or seek notoriety.

The truth is he is a lousy cop that is scared of his own stature as a police officer and practices self-defense with a gun more than he was ever a police officer. "I felt threatened." He'll be the next poster boy for right wing gun extremists. Wilson will find a home among FOX News militias. They'll welcome him with open arms.

November 30. 2014
By Nicole Hensley, Rich Schapiro, Deborah Hastings and Thomas Tracy

The Missouri cop (click here) who killed unarmed teen Michael Brown has resigned from the Ferguson police force, his lawyer confirmed Saturday.

Darren Wilson, 28, turned in his badge five days after a grand jury decided not to indict him in the Aug. 9 slaying of 18-year-old Brown.

“I’m resigning of my own free will,” Wilson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I’m not willing to let someone else get hurt because of me.”

He said leaving the force was “the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

But area residents said Wilson got off easy....

There is no such thing as severely conservative. Hello, Democrats. Are you listening?

October 29, 2014
By Allegra Kirkland

...In order to determine (click here) which cities are most conservative, researchers analyzed large-scale surveys that questioned residents of over 1,600 towns and cities about a range of policy areas, from education to healthcare. Study authors Chris Tausanovitch of UCLA and Christopher Warshaw of MIT created an ideological score for each city based on these responses. The final study looks at the 51 U.S. cities that have at least 250,000 residents....

The survey doesn't really surprise me. Being politically conservative is very different than living conservatively. The political tone of the USA has grown more and more right wing because the GOP has manufactured their own "moral high ground." No one lives there, but, their politics are there because it serves the purpose of that feel good feeling. This survey proves it.

Americans are mostly left of center, not right of center. I wish the Democrats would rally to that reality. The more right wing ideologies claim to be the higher ground of politics the more it will attract interest. The reality is very clear, right wing politics is anti-American. It demands no gay community, seeks to control every woman's uterus, believes education is unimportant, wants all government services privatized and wants to burden the USA with a general sales tax rather than income tax. They are crazy, no one other than political extremists carry those views.

The Democrats have always moved the country forward. Why is that not appreciated? The Democrats have never shouted NO YOU DIDN'T DO THAT REPUBLICANS! 

President Kennedy saw the beginnings of the space program and now it is considered a Wall Street investment venue. The list of Democratic contributions to our country is very long, but, never are they credited with any of it once it is mainstream. 

Social Security is always denigrated by the GOP, but, it also serves as the baseline economy for the USA. That is never appreciated by Republicans until the economy crashes, which always occurs under Republicans,

SSI, along with Medicare has given new meaning to retirement. Retirement is a very viable part of the service industry sector. Today, with so many Baby Boomers entering retirement they are demanding healthy lives that allow them a great deal of freedom. In that is an economic boom for many areas of the country. Our very health is impacted by the most senior in our country when they step out of stereotypes to recognize that life is good even in the age of 80 something.

Medicaid brought health care to the impoverished. 

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has changed healthcare for the better. People have enormous right to their records, in a new Patient Bill of Rights, to the point where hospitals are now allowing patients to access their personnel records online.

The ACA has saved tens of thousands of American lives with over 30 million finding health care insurance through the new exchanges.

An entire state, namely Kentucky, have made healthcare a priority. It is improving the lives of Kentuckians. How many were entrenched in poor health and unable to qualify for work?

The demand for healthcare jobs has not decreased due to the ACA. Hospitals have been receiving payment for services to finally balance their budgets. People can now be treated by a physician rather than seek care through emergency rooms across the country.

One might note the crying of Republicans in 2014 elections was about jobs and the ACA to the point where McConnell had to divide the idea Kentucky's health care insurance access, Kynect was far different from Obamacare. Americans are living a diluted reality.

The Democrats have always prioritized the needs of the Middle Class and Poor. Where would these people be if they were allowed to be disenfranchised, not only from voting, but from the priorities of their own government.

The list to the right is from a study conducted by Northwestern University and published in March 2013. It states the priorities of the wealthy as compared to the lack of importance of Middle Class and Poor to the same exact issues. The title of the study article "Democracy and the Policy Preferences of Wealthy Americans," by Benjamin I. Paige, Larry M. Bartels and Jason Seawright. (click here) 

If the Democrats weren't at the forefront to carry the message of the Middle Class and Poor who then would? Certainly not Republicans, they disdain these people and while their strategy has turned towards the methods of local canvasing for political gain, the policies they carry are not at all beneficial to changing the peril of Americans born out of privilege. The Republican success lies within wealth and the allegiance of power to cronys. That is their standard bearer.

The study above was included in an article at "Demos, An Equal Say and An Equal Chance for All." The article is titled "Stacked Deck." (click here)

There is every indication and I won't get into it at the moment, the brave new world the Democrats so fervently embraced as their own waits around a corner. President Obama is overseeing some of the most incredible change both domestically and abroad, with allies and without; a change by Democrats in priorities in reaction to recent elections would be imprudent. 

The problem with the 2014 elections is the vats of money spent by the RNC. The Democrats were out spent by $100 million dollars. The values the Democrats hold is correct. Those values are wise and necessary. What would be said about the Democrats if they were elected under faux ideals and then pivoted to the much needed change in the USA? The Democrats find the truth and decency too burdensome to have it as it's core?

The problem is having their electorate realize the truth of the message and the deception of advertising. The truth about the country is something no one can deny, personal attacks of opposition candidates has pitfalls. The issues are still the best way forward.

The next two years will prove interesting as to the priorities of the two parties and how committed each party is dedicated to the best outcomes of the entire country and not special interests. There is a truth and President Obama knows what it is. The Democrats need to trust the man they elected in 2008 and 2012 and stop second guessing the changes in dialogue the Republicans demand. They are the wrong message and they are wrong for the country.

The Democrats have two brilliant men within their ranks, namely Former President Bill Clinton and current President Barak Obama. What seems to be the problem? The truth? The message? The overwhelming qualifications of candidates? Or is it something far more destructive? Something like, deception of the electorate to win elections that never deliver for them. The message is still clear. Truth and justice still matter.

The former President of Egypt needs to be given asylum upon his release.

November 29, 2014
By Jack Khoury

An Egyptian court on Saturday (click here) dismissed murder charges against former President Hosni Mubarak in connection with the killing of hundreds of protesters in the 2011 uprising that ended his nearly three-decade rule, citing the "inadmissibility" of the case due to a technicality.

The court further cleared Mubarak and a former oil minister of graft charges related to gas exports to Israel.

In a separate corruption case, charges were dropped against Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal, with Judge Mahmoud Kamel al-Rashidi saying too much time had elapsed since the alleged crime took place for the court to rule on the matter....

He is no different than the Shah of Iran when he was provided asylum in his later years. He will be a target and if here were ever to return to leadership, which Sisi might have in mind, it would create more tensions and not less in Egypt.

This is a study conducted by the Pew Research Organization. I don't really value their opinions that much because there is a 'chance for profits' in their content when they write their surveys, but, there are few conducted like it. 

...Moreover, (click here) Muslims are not equally comfortable with all aspects of sharia: While most favor using religious law in family and property disputes, fewer support the application of severe punishments – such as whippings or cutting off hands – in criminal cases. The survey also shows that Muslims differ widely in how they interpret certain aspects of sharia, including whether divorce and family planning are morally acceptable....


What PEW is stating is there is strong existence of Sharia in the Muslim faith in many countries, however, the idea the old punishments are a popular method of enforcing Sharia is not favored.

I suggest one look to Saudi Arabia for the modern TONE of Sharia incorporated into it's laws. Saudi Arabia is a long standing leadership that favors the practice of incorporating faith with governing. Saudi Arabia is the most progressive leadership, along with Jordan and Lebanon, in the Middle East Arab countries. They value new world modernism and seeks to mitigate law breakers rather than rendering physical punishment and death as is described in Sharia. 

The countries that have peaceful relationships with The West also do not favor funding for extremists. It is that funding that continues to cause the Middle East such turmoil between 'new world' applications of Arab governance in a tug of war over 'old world' methods of governance that can be employed by any madman among them.

Make no mistake the Islamic State has taken the power of faith and again exploited it to form a war governance in Syria and part of Iraq. I know this will go over like a fart in church, but, the truth is Assad is a leader that had been accepted by other Arab leaders, a Shi'ite and one that was attracted to the modern paradigm of Muslim governance. I am not saying he was always fair or civilized (ie: chemical weapons), but, he was a power structure that found success in governance.  When compared to the Islamic State, Assad seems the best alternative.

Saudi Arabia does not fund extremists. It seeks intelligence in it's governance of extremists within the sovereign borders of the country and jails them for their willingness to entertain and sometimes actually killing the citizens of Saudi Arabia or of those people outside the country of Saudi Arabia. Has that form of governance been the best outcome for Saudi Arabia? Yes, absolutely.

Saudi Arabia's stability is unquestioned in it's ability to MINIMIZE the influence of extremists within the country. It now has an average of 30 or so arrests annually of known extremists. At least half are found and jailed and sent to rehabilitation providing they have not killed others. Saudi Arabia honors 'the family system' in valuing human life and it's strength found within families to enforce rehabilitation. Family is also elevated as the ultimate authority within Sharia and the Quran. It is not surprising Saudi Arabia is success in governance considering that families are to be honored within the governance by the King and Princes.

Women are respected with Saudi Arabian's governance. Albeit the women wear the Hijab but that dies not mean the women are not respected. Women have opportunity with the educational system in Saudi Arabia. The Hijab is a matter of the practice of the faith and a strong cultural icon. There is gender differences within the country as to privileges such as driving a car, etc., but none of that leads to torture of women such as stoning, etc. 

Women in Saudi Arabia are respected, provided opportunity and can inherit a family's wealth. They can seek work and use their paychecks to their own priorities. I do believe the Saudis are always open to discussion about the rights of women and recently they were provided the privilege of seeking a driver's license. How the Hijab might effect safe operation of a car might also come under discussion fairly quickly and there may have to be modification in the 'Driving Hijab.' 

As to Mubarak, was there any question he would eventually be returned to freedom. The real question is where is he best to spend his later years in life at home or in another country where he will be safe, along with his family.

I have a suggestion.

Saying that "time is of the essence," (click here) Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon called on state legislators Friday night, asking for a special state legislative session to address "critical funding" needs, CNN reports.

Nixon has deployed National Guard troops, along with state police, to the city of Ferguson following the August fatal police shooting of Michael Brown. This week's decision by a grand jury not to indict police officer Darren Wilson has spurred more violent protests in Ferguson and beyond.

Missouri's budget allots $4 million for its National Guard emergency response, along with another $3.4 million for the state's emergency response (which includes state troopers). Nixon did not detail how much more money is needed, but he asked state legislators to meet quickly so that Guard members can be paid on Dec. 15.

 - - Sarah Eberspacher

Call for a state bond to fund the continuing unrest in Missouri. AND. Hold elections to bring about change for Ferguson. A new mayor and council in Ferguson will result in a new balancing of the police force. There is a very good chance the fear that grips African American communities today can be mitigated through a change in their governments.

Here we go, the majority Republican have caused a yellow streak down Democrats backs.

Was health care reform right to do AFTER the Recover Act? Absolutely.

Why? Because the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has it's own revenue stream and creates jobs. The law has not caused DEFICIT spending, in reality, it's revenue stream has assisted in rebolstering the USA Treasury.

In California alone the ACA is estimated to have started 100,000 new jobs.

A new study by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute (click here) suggests that if the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act, it may have a negative impact on the California economy.

The study, The Economic Impact of the Affordable Care Act on California. concludes that the federal health care law would create almost 100,000 new jobs across California and boost economic output by $4.4 billion. The biggest expected job gains occur in Southern California, with almost 58,000 new jobs, followed by the Sacramento Valley with almost 13,500 new jobs, the Bay Area with 7,600 jobs, San Diego County with almost 6,500 jobs and the remaining 10,000 jobs spread throughout other counties.

“In the debate over the federal health care law, this study shows there has been more heat than light when it comes to understanding economic and jobs impacts,” said Jon Haveman, study co-author and chief economist for the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the research arm of the Bay Area Council. “By focusing on expanding health insurance coverage, making our health care system more efficient and making our workforce healthier, we can realize important employment and economic gains.”...

There was a 'wise guy' comment made on one of the blogs stating, "The ACA hasn't created anymore professions except the people working with the public to assist in the choice of health care plans." All of that is DOUBLE talk. 

Immediately upon implementation of course there weren't any new PROFESSIONS and there isn't going to be new PROFESSIONS. What occurred after the ACE was implemented was a job creation of people teaching the public about the choices in health care under the ACA.

But, the PROFESSIONS in health care won't increase, the numbers within EVERY health care profession will increase. Adding new members to health care plans will drive a demand for health care and it is that demand that will increase jobs of every health care profession.

This is not rocket science. The ACA is self-sustaining. The new law really isn't that new. Massachusetts had a start up health care for all program long before the federal program was begun. Not only that, but, the law when first voted on AFTER the Recovery Act, was already written. It had been researched and written long before THE DEBATE ever ensued.

The reason this dialogue exists is because of morons that no nothing about the process this law endured before it was introduced to the US House in 2009 and those that are scared of having a President in chronic VETO mode when the US House and Senate vote 55, 56, 57 and 58 times to repeal the ACA over the next two years. The next two years with the Republican majorities will be a joke. The entire country knows that. The next session of Congress will be nothing but rhetorical leading up to the 2016 elections. 

I thought McConnell might have enough respect for the country to seek a good relationship with President Obama, but, with the Democrats suffering from PTSD and squealing like little pigs on their way to castration the Republicans will take advantage of their numbers in government for the 2016 federal elections. The Republicans like squealing piglets, don't the Democrats know that?

In Iowa, it is their favorite pastime.

When Republicans state "There is no such thing as global warming and CO2 could never have a toxic level in our troposphere." Remind them of this.

While Buffalo, New York and Eastern Lake Ontario in general was suffering from historical storms that killed Americans, Alaska didn't have snow. It is called the Polar Vortex and it was displaced to lower latitudes due to global warming and the imbalance of CO2 in the troposphere.

Members of the Dimond High School Nordic cross-country ski team practice during snowless conditions by running outdoors on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, in Anchorage, Alaska.

November 21, 2014
By AP

There's a place (click here) western New Yorkers can go to escape the huge snowfall totals of this week, and it's a long way from Florida.

Try Anchorage, Alaska.

The state's largest city, which averages nearly 17 inches of snow at this point in the season, has seen less than four inches, and that snow fell a month ago. Since then, it's been nothing but bare ski slopes and residents staying indoors to work out.

And while some folks have left town to do winter activities like ice skating, others are really happy to see the brief vacation from snowfall....

This is what the Republicans will be using as a sledgehammer from January 2014 - Nov. 2016.

There is no reason they should either. The fact of the matter is President Obama has brought spending and revenues to within the closest they have been since Former President Clinton had developed a surplus of revenues in 1995-96. When Republicans become rhetorical and/or greedy for their cronies pull out this graph and remind them it wasn't the Republicans that had not only balance the budget without a law to do it, but, it was the Democrats that seek to actively bring revenues and debt together so the futures Americans aren't burdened with historical debt.

CBO projects (click here) that federal revenues will rise from 17.6% of GDP in 2013 to 19.4% in 2039 for three reasons. First, as the economy recovers from the recession, and income levels grow, the revenue share will increase because there will be more taxable income. Second, more and more income will be pushed into higher income tax brackets due to real bracket creep. Third, tax increases enacted under the Affordable Care Act are now being implemented and will bring in additional revenue. Despite these increases, revenues are still not sufficient to keep pace with spending, which is projected to rise more rapidly due to two major factors: the aging of the population and healthcare cost growth....

There are many breeds of turkeys. This is the Bourbon Red Turkey.

A veterinarian in South Carolina has decided to raise heritage turkeys and this is her story.

November 16, 2014
By Kara Bettis

...Her most (click here) recent project is the conservation of the Beltsville Small White Turkey.

"I'm out to prove that these breeds are valuable and we should hang on to them," she said. "To save them, we have to eat them."

True to its name, the Beltsville is a slender, snow-white bird that made it ideal for a clean dressing at Thanksgiving dinner. Popular in the 1940s and 1950s, the Beltsville was the nation's first turkey bred by the USDA specifically for Thanksgiving dinners because it was small enough to fit in small, apartment-sized ovens and refrigerators....

Being it is Thanksgiving I wanted to make a prayer for the Republicans in the USA.

Dear God,

I am thankful for all the wonderful time I have had on this green Earth and I want it to be longer. I am thankful for my family and the continued health of my mother. This year has been interesting, but, I need to ask a special favor. So, as long as I've got your attention I want to make this prayer for USA Republicans.

Please God, teach them to value human life. Let them put away their wars and hate and find peace and salvation in enjoying the simple pleasures of life, like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran's Benefits, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and most of all S.N.A.P. benefits so many Americans are purchasing their Thanksgiving meal with that help. 

Please God, teach USA Republicans the value of education and what it means to have a brain trust for the country. Help them to be enlightened to the benefit of unions that insure a strong Middle Class for the USA which makes Wall Street smile when Americans spend their money. 

I ask God for the very reason I am thankful for my country. The Republicans need to find you God because I am very worried if they won't find God soon in their lives; President Obama will teach them what appreciating the value of human life is with his veto pen.

Say hello to all the saints, Mary and Jesus, too.

Until next time God,

Your faithful servant

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/11/16/3817089/wake-forest-farm-is-conserving.html#storylink=cpy

What was the excuse this time?

Black boy? The caller had to be asked several times about the person's ethnic, excuse me, COLOR, "Was he black or white?" 

The police arrived and never did an assessment. Simply shot the boy who was doing nothing wrong. It was a bee-bee gun and that can cause minor injuries to human beings and I am sure some nightmare injuries, but, it wasn't a lethal weapon. 


November 26, 2014
By Rheana Murray 

The video of a Cleveland police officer (click here) shooting a 12-year-old boy who had a toy gun was released today after the department consulted with the boy's family.

Police initially withheld the video from the public while discussing handling of the disturbing footage with the family of Tamir Rice, the boy who was shot in a playground on Saturday.

"The family did not initially want the video to be released, but after reviewing it... expressed their wish to us" to make it public, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said today.

Williams urged the public and the media to be cautious in the handling of the video.

"I want people to bear in mind this is a 12-year-old boy. ... The family will have to view it over and over," he said....

All these cases have the same thing in common, police acted without any thought except their own protection when never was there a threat and it is now a civil liability case because the officers won't be charged with anything.

This is what a gun culture looks like. The society is saturated with guns and munitions and willful lifestyles, hence breeding death. One innocent life after another. At the time of Sandy Hook the body count was 30 thousand a year. 

A wave of mass shootings (click here) have occurred over the past few years, often garnering extensive media coverage. Despite those tragic attacks and the roughly 30,000 deaths by firearms that occur every year, moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS' NewsHour failed to ask the presidential candidates about gun violence during the first presidential debate, the only forum specifically dedicated to domestic policy....

In the year 2000, after Columbine, guns were an important issue. The topic garnered a great deal of time in presidential debates. As time went by the idea of including such a topic in any debate faded to the point where it disappeared off the radar. In 2000, gun violence deaths were decreasing. It has decreased since. When the President of the USA cares about the safety of the country and speaks openly about the importance of protecting children and making our streets safer, it matters.

The language and the effort has to be within our political dialogue and the louder the better. 

The phenomena being noted with race and killing of innocent people also needs to be kept in the debate. 

What is the excuse now? A couple thought Mr. Crawford was a criminal with a gun. One guess as to why that might be?

August 11, 2014

By A. R. Shaw

A 22-year-old black father (click here) was killed by police for holding a toy gun while at Walmart. According to CBS News, John Crawford, 22, went shopping with his girlfriend at a Walmart in Dayton, Ohio.

Crawford and his girlfriend went their separate ways to shop for personal items while in the store. At some point, Crawford picked up a toy BB gun and played video games while talking to his girlfriend on his cellphone.

A suspicious couple, April and Ronald Ritchie, began following Crawford. They eventually called police and told them that Crawford was walking around the store with a gun.

When police arrived at the store, they approached him from behind and told him to put the weapon down. Crawford turned and told them it was just a toy. The police officers opened fire on Crawford. He later died from his wounds....

Do I see a pattern?

The now defunct Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB), was a subsection of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a federal law in the United States that included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms it defined as "assault weapons". The 10-year ban was passed by the U.S. Congress on September 13, 1994, and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton the same day. The ban only applied to weapons manufactured after the date of the ban's enactment.

The Act expired on September 13, 2004, per its sunset provision. There were multiple attempts to renew the ban, but none succeeded.

Less than a month has passed in 1994 from the passage of the assault weapons ban and the voluntary ban on toy guns by merchandisers. The leadership of President Bill Clinton brought success across the spectrum of public safety.

Columbine would occur in April of 1999. The guns shows successfully defeated the law and passed merchandise to those that would pay the price. Evidently, the gun shows did bother to understand there would be innocent people paying the ultimate price for their profiteering.

Voluntary actions by merchandisers to make life safe for children in the USA. How about that?

October 15, 1994
By Stephanie Strom

Six years ago, (click here) Toys "R" Us pulled realistic toy guns from its shelves after the police in Memphis shot and killed a 10-year-old boy who was carrying a toy gun they mistook for a Colt automatic.

Congress then mandated that toy makers decorate toy guns with blinding neon colors to label them as fakes. But as real guns have flooded the streets, children in fear for their lives began painting their toys to look more realistic.

Yesterday, responding to a recent fatal shooting in Brooklyn that was chillingly similar to the one in Memphis, Toys "R" Us, the nation's biggest toy retailer, announced that it would stop selling any toy gun that could be modified to look like the real thing.

The move follows similar actions by other big retailers, including Sears, Roebuck and Target, which halted sales of toy guns years ago.

Kmart decided this year not to buy any more realistic toy guns from its suppliers, and Kay-Bee Toys, which has 1,000 stores around the country, said yesterday that it was destroying all realistic toy guns. Some chains, including Bradlees Inc., a Northeast discount chain, said they would also eliminate such guns.

The retailers' action is likely to rekindle a debate about selling toy guns at all. In Brooklyn, the brightly colored grip on the toy gun that belonged to Nicholas Heyward, the 13-year-old who was slain, failed to prevent an officer from mistaking it for a real gun and shooting the boy in the stomach on Sept. 27.

Suzanne Schwartz, who owns Uncle Futz, a toy store in Manhattan that carries no guns, said, "If even the bright-colored guns are leading to violence, then I think everything may have to come off the market."...

This is what a gun culture looks like. It kills. It kills children.

July 8, 2014
By Med Wagner

The California sheriff's deputy (click here) who shot and killed a 13-year-old Santa Rosa boy carrying a toy gun will not face charges, a district attorney ruled Monday.

Andy Lopez was holding a pellet gun that looked like a real AK-47 when deputy Erik Gelhaus shot him seven times in October.

"While this was absolutely a tragedy, it was not a criminal act," Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said Monday.

Lopez’s parents said the decision was “impossible" to accept and they felt like Andy "had been killed again."...

Marijuana has nothing to do with this. The officer wasn't high, was he? Police are paid to protect the public, that means they have to deal with people that are potential DWI or intoxicated from marijuana. The media likes to 'pin it' on the evil doer to exonerate 'the system' from suspicion of FAULT. 

Young people are known to experiment with many things as they grow into being an adult. This is one of the things they experiment with. Usually parents are devastated when they receive a phone call stating your son was found smoking in the boys' bathroom. So, the idea Andy was at fault and deserved to be killed is nonsense. The ADULTS, especially the ones with the guns, are suppose to be responsible for Andy.