IKEA: Importing Cheap Gun Control from Sweden
11/17/19: Beto O'Rourke, the first U.S. presidential candidate to publicly advocate for the violent mass confiscation of firearms from innocent gun owners, isn't alone in his totalitarian views. Many Utah corporations have turned their facilities into victim disarmament zones, inviting violence against their own customers and employees. Some have publicly funded radical gun control efforts, and others have advocated gun control publicly.
IKEA is one such corporation, importing "weapon free zones" and United Nations gun control schemes all the way from Sweden to Utah. To learn more, see
http://utgunrights.com/freeammo/betos-beehives.htm
Tired of Sitting in the Back of Utah's Political Bus?
If you're done sitting quietly and obediently in the back of Utah's political bus, see UT Gun Rights' article, "What You Can Do" at
http://utgunrights.com/freeammo/whatyoucando.htm
============================
Dear Dave,
My husband will be finishing physician assistant school in December, just a few days before our first baby is due. We’ve got about $70,000 in student loan debt, and we’re trying to get everything paid off. Both our cell phones are pretty old, and I’d like to get a new one that costs $350 so we can have really good pictures of the baby. My job is the only income we have right now, and I’m making $45,000 before taxes. Is this a silly thing to do in our situation?
Jamie
Dear Jamie,
This is an important question. It’s not important because $350 is a big deal in the grand scheme of things, it’s important because you’re making a judgment call as to what you’re focusing on and what you value.
If you’re focusing on your husband finishing school, so his income goes up and you’re trying to get out of debt, that fine. I love it when people are willing to work their tails off to have better lives. But if that’s your focus, and at the same time you’re trying to rationalize buying something you don’t really need, that’s a bad thing. You don’t need a new cell phone for a camera, especially if the camera is the only reason you’re buying it. You can find decent digital cameras everywhere these days for $50 or less.
I understand the joy that goes along with having a child. I have three kids, and we were absolutely ecstatic each and every time one was born. And, of course, we wanted good photos of them all. But right now, I think you’re trying to rationalize a phone upgrade based on the emotion of a new baby. As an exercise of your value system, that’s a tendency you need to break. This is a test, Jamie. What you’re talking about here is a luxury, not a necessity. Rationalization is one of the prime causes of overspending.
Please understand, I’m not picking on you and I don’t mean to be harsh. We’ve all flunked this test at times. But this is an important moment where your judgment and values are concerned. It’s your call, but you really don’t need to blow $350 on a new phone right now.
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 16 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.
================
Dear Editor:
It's always unbelievable until it happens near you. Please consider this urgent commentary from veteran journalist Robert Koehler who asks us to think over our gun and propaganda policies. For PeaceVoice, thank you,
Tom Hastings
~~~~~~~~~~
The intelligence of tomorrow
by Robert C. Koehler
940 words
“Somebody ought to put a bullet in her skull. Back in the day, our forefathers would have put a bullet in her [expletive].”
These words, uttered by some lost soul, were directed at U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar earlier this year. He had called her office and talked to a staffer, calling the congresswoman a terrorist and spewing out his death threat on behalf of the fantasy Founding Fathers. He was later arrested.
The toxic stupidity Patrick Carlineo displayed in his call is pretty much the same mindset at work in a bizarre fake video that was shown last week, without official authorization, at the American Priority Festival and Conference, a pro-Trump event at a Trump golf resort in Florida. The video consisted of a scene from the movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” with various faces or news logos superimposed on the characters. It showed the Donald walking grimly through the “Church of Fake News,” pulling out a handgun and blowing away deeply hated media and political critics with oh-so-righteous gusto.
Go, Second Amendment! I can feel the deep, Hollywood-generated satisfaction at work in both fantasies: Got an enemy who won’t shut up? Take him or her out with your perfectly legal handgun or assault rifle. Problem solved.
This is what war is all about, for heaven’s sake. And the United States of America is the global leader in making sure the planet’s wars never end. One of these days we’ll be rid of all those terrorists, and evil itself; until then. we’ll continue devoting half our economy to waging wars, developing weapons of mass destruction and propagandizing our exceptionalism. We’ll also arm our allies and, for that matter, anyone else who’s interested, including our enemies (al-Qaeda, Saddam), because weapons sales are good for the economy and create jobs.
The armed elimination of one’s problems, whether pure Hollywood fantasy or real-world geopolitics, is a settled addiction, accepted, even by those who recognize it as insane, as “the way things are.” While war, especially since Vietnam, has been increasingly challenged in the United States from the political margins, the reality of it seems safely beyond the reach of . . .uh, democracy.
But let us return to the incendiary words of Patrick Carlineo. Something is changing. In the wake of his sentencing in U.S. District Court, Ilhan Omar, the victim of his threat, wrote to the presiding judge:
“. . . That his threat of violence relied on hateful stereotypes about my faith only makes it more dangerous. This was not just a threat against me as an individual — it was a threat against an entire religion, at a time of rising hate crimes against religious minorities in our country.
“But we must ask: who are we as a nation if we respond to threats of political retribution with retribution ourselves.
“The answer to hate is not more hate; it is compassion. Punishing the defendant with a lengthy prison sentence or a burdensome financial fine would not rehabilitate him. It would not repair the harm he has caused. It would only increase his anger and resentment.
“A punitive approach to criminal justice will not stop criminals like Mr. Carlineo from committing a crime again or prevent others from committing similar acts. Only restorative justice can do that. He should understand the consequences of his actions, be given the opportunity to make amends and seek redemptions. . . .”
I quote Omar at length not merely because her words are stunningly right on, but because they vibrate with political resonance. An awareness of — no, I mean a passionate belief in — Restorative Justice has entered Congress! She understands that punishment perpetuates crime; that healing, repairing harm and creating peace are not simplistic matters to be dumped into the trash bin of the prison-industrial complex.
ßåç
Omar adds: “If we truly want to prevent crimes like Mr. Carlineo’s, we must address the root causes of these crimes.”
This is the intelligence of tomorrow, pushing at the status quo centrism at the American political core. What if . . . what if . . . this consciousness takes hold where laws are shaped and money is allocated?
On her website, Omar makes points such as: “We must end the state of endless wars, as these wars have made us less safe. . . . We must center foreign policy around human rights, justice, and peace. Limiting our global armed presence in the form of military bases and investing in diplomacy, economic and cultural engagement will allow us to begin to repair the harm done.’
What’s emanating here is not just policy shift but consciousness shift. Its time is now. William Hartung, in a powerful essay on the U.S. arms trade in the Middle East, writes:
“Such deals with Saudi Arabia and other Mideast states may be hugely popular with the companies that profit from the trade, but the vast majority of Americans oppose runaway arms trading on the sensible grounds that it makes the world less safe. The question now is: Will Congress play a greater role in attempting to block such weapons deals with the Saudis and human-rights abusers or will America’s weapons-sales addiction and its monopoly position in the Middle Eastern arms trade simply continue, setting the stage for future disasters of every sort?”
Violence has complex, endlessly unpredictable consequences. The future is vulnerable to what we do today.
**********************
Robert Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound.
===================
Hi Dawn,
The holidays are here. And one thing they’re known for is encouraging indulgence, such as overeating and overspending, which can lead to unfortunate economic consequences. Americans are the fattest people in the world and every year sustain $150 - $210 billion in losses as a result. Plus, Americans began 2019 with over $1 trillion in credit card debt.
In light of this dark pattern perpetuated every holiday season, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the 2019’s Most Sinful Cities in America as well as accompanying videos. To determine the most wicked places in America, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on seven sinful behaviors: anger and hatred, jealousy, excesses and vices, greed, lust, vanity and laziness.
Here are some highlights from the report:
Most Sinful Cities
Least Sinful Cities
1. Las Vegas, NV
173. Newport News, VA
2. Los Angeles, CA
174. Madison, WI
3. St. Louis, MO
175. Bridgeport, CT
4. Houston, TX
176. Columbia, MD
5. Atlanta, GA
177. Burlington, VT
6. Philadelphia, PA
178. Port St. Lucie, FL
7. Chicago, IL
179. Virginia Beach, VA
8. New York, NY
180. Chesapeake, VA
9. Miami, FL
181. South Burlington, VT
10. Denver, CO
182. Pearl City, HI
Most vs. Least Sinful
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-sinful-cities-in-america/29846/
===================
ALBUQUERQUE (Nov. 22, 2019) — Today, at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Regional Administrator Ken McQueen will announce the availability of $4.8 million in funding to expand research on managing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in rural America and the agricultural sector. This funding is a part of EPA’s extensive efforts to help communities address the larger issue of PFAS nationwide. In a memorandum issued in February 2019, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler called for the agency to prioritize new federal research that will help farmers, ranchers, and rural communities by generating new scientifically-driven information on PFAS, potential PFAS impacts in agricultural settings, and actions people can take to address PFAS in their communities.
“EPA is following through on our commitment under the PFAS Action Plan and the memo to close the gaps in the science around PFAS as quickly as possible by supporting cutting-edge research that will help manage PFAS issues in agricultural and rural economies,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “We want to make sure that decision makers at the federal, state, and local levels have the best science available to make informed decisions. These new research grants will help identify potential impacts of PFAS to farms, ranches and rural communities.”
“While our scientific understanding of PFAS continues to develop, the people of New Mexico, especially farmers and ranchers, already know how it can affect the water resources that are so critical to the state’s environmental and economic wellbeing,” said Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “With this funding, EPA is committing to finding solutions to the challenges PFAS presents and bringing relief to rural communities.”
“EPA is uniquely suited to lead and promote research on this important topic and USDA applauds EPA’s focus on farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. EPA’s funding of this research complements the work USDA does supporting U.S. production agriculture and ensuring a safe food supply,” said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Dr. Scott Hutchins.
“NASDA appreciates the EPA’s efforts to prioritize PFAS research that will help the agricultural community. As the primary stewards for the agricultural industries in their states, NASDA members will continue to work closely with the EPA as the agency implements its PFAS Action Plan. Together, we can ensure healthy communities and farms across America,” said National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) CEO Dr. Barbara P. Glenn.
EPA is seeking grant applications that help improve the agency’s understanding of the potential impacts of PFAS on water quality and availability in rural communities and agricultural operations across the United States. Specifically, the agency is seeking research on PFAS occurrence, fate, and transport in water sources used by rural communities and agricultural operations and new or improved PFAS treatment methods appropriate for small drinking water and wastewater systems including influents, effluents, and biosolids/residuals. Some of the questions EPA hopes to answer include:
EPA is accepting applications through February 11, 2020.
Additional information on the Request for Applications: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/national-priorities-research-pfas-impacts-rural-communities-and-agricultural
Additional information on the PFAS Action Plan: https://www.epa.gov/pfas
February 27, 2019 Memorandum on prioritizing research on impacts to agriculture and rural economies: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-03/documents/pfas_ag_research_memo.pdf
Background
PFAS are a large group of man-made chemicals used in consumer products and industrial processes. In use since the 1940s, PFAS are resistant to heat, oils, stains, grease, and water—properties which contribute to their persistence in the environment.
The agency’s PFAS Action Plan is the first multi-media, multi-program, national research, management and risk communication plan to address a challenge like PFAS. The plan responds to the extensive public input the agency has received over the past year during the PFAS National Leadership Summit, multiple community engagements, and through the public docket. The PFAS Action Plan outlines the tools EPA is developing to assist states, tribes, and communities in addressing PFAS.
EPA continues to make progress under its PFAS Action Plan to protect the environment and human health. To date, EPA has:
Highlighted Action: Drinking Water
Highlighted Action: Cleanup
Highlighted Action: Monitoring
Highlighted Action: Toxics
Highlighted Action: Surface Water Protection
Highlighted Action: Biosolids
Highlighted Action: Research
Highlighted Action: Enforcement
Highlighted Action: Risk Communications
For parents of children with ADHD: The crushing weight of mom guilt; a plan for misbehavior at school; when relatives criticize your parenting skills
"You are not alone in feeling mom guilt.'"
Forward this email to a friend »
View this email in your browser
POSITIVE PARENTING
When You Feel the Crush of ADD Mom Guilt...
No matter how many times you tell yourself, "My children behave this way because they are not neurotypical," there will be times when you lose your temper and Melt. Down. This is followed quickly by terrible shame. But this guilt does no one any good. Here's how to give yourself grace and move on →
"She Just Needs Discipline"
Traveling to (or hosting) family next week, and already dreading the judgment about your parenting skills? How to prepare and respond.
Keep reading →
What Is a Functional Behavior Assessment?
An FBA can help help identify the reasons and triggers for a child's misbehavior at school, and may lead to a Behavior Intervention Plan.
Keep reading →
ADVERTISEMENT
Out of Their Heads and Into the World
Teens with ADHD may get stuck in "negativity loops." One of the best ways to break free? Volunteering in the community.
Keep reading for more ideas →
"The Cashier Who Let Me Cry"
"My anguish over my boy's years of pain coalesced into a need to find the perfect lunch for his first day of school — then tumbled out of me in the checkout lane. That's when you said exactly what I needed to hear."
FREE WEBINAR ON DECEMBER 4
Time for a School-Year Reset
Learn practical tools for overcoming common obstacles, like the morning routine, homework, and more »
CONTEST
Win a Forbrain Headset
Tell us: What is the best gift you have ever received — or given — and why was it amazing? Enter now »
ADVERTISEMENT
163 pets adopted in one day during Fall in Love adoption event
Mountain America Credit Union presents fee-waived pet adoptions at the Humane Society of Utah
Mountain America Credit Union and the Humane Society of Utah teamed up to present the third annual “Fall in Love Adoption Special” on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, at the Utah Humane Society adoption center located at 4242 S 300 W in Murray, Utah. As part of this special, Utah Humane Society waived the adoption fees for all animals to help them find new loving homes before the holiday season. The shelter adopted a total of 163 dogs, cats and other pets during the one-day event.
“Mountain America is pleased to have helped so many pets find homes ahead of the holiday season,” says Sharon Cook, chief marketing and public relations officer at Mountain America Credit Union. “We appreciate the overwhelming support from the community and look forward to continuing to save lives through our Pet of the Week program.”
“Our goal is to find homes for every animal at our facility this holiday season,” said Vaughn Maurice, Humane Society of Utah executive director. “Our partners, Mountain America Credit Union, sponsored the event allowing us to waive the adoption fees for adopters and offer an incentive to come adopt a pet before the holidays. It was heartwarming to see so many people lined up to find a new friend and family member, and we’re grateful that these pets will be sleeping in their own home tonight."
The “Fall in Love Adoption Special” was created to find homes for as many pets as possible to free up shelter space at the Utah Humane Society. “Our pets found new loving homes today, and with the available space, we’ll be able to transfer in animals from other Utah shelters to ease their burden and save hundreds more in the coming weeks,” said Maurice.
To avoid overcrowding and to minimize stress on the animals, potential adopters were admitted to see pets in small groups on a first-come, first-served basis. All adoptions were approved through a regular adoption process.
Adoption fees do not cover the cost of care for shelter animals. The Humane Society of Utah is a local, private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported solely by donations and support from community partners like Mountain Americal Credit Union. Donations of any kind are appreciated.
To adopt an animal this holiday season, visit the Humane Society of Utah or www.utahhumane.org.
###
About Mountain America Credit Union
With more than 860,000 members and $9 billion in assets, Mountain America Credit Union assists members on the right path to help them identify and achieve their financial dreams. Mountain America provides consumers and businesses with a variety of convenient, flexible products and services, as well as sound, timely advice. Members enjoy access to secure, cutting-edge mobile banking technology, over 95 branches across five states, thousands of shared-branching locations nationwide and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Mountain America—guiding you forward. Learn more at macu.com.
About the Humane Society of Utah
The Humane Society of Utah is dedicated to the elimination of pain, fear, and suffering in all animals. Since 1960, the Utah Humane Society has been sheltering homeless animals, fighting cruelty and neglect, and creating an atmosphere of respect, responsibility, and compassion for all animals. As the largest open-admission private animal resource center in the state, the Utah Humane Society welcomes any companion animal that can legally be admitted. We work hard to ensure that every healthy and treatable pet that enters the facility will be placed into a loving home. The Humane Society of Utah is a local, independent 501(c)(3) private nonprofit organization that does not receive any state or government funding and is not a branch of any national organization. It is funded by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, and foundations. Read more online at www.utahhumane.org.
=====================
Dear Editor:
Please consider this powerful commentary from former combat Marine Matthew Hoh on the need to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force. For PeaceVoice, thank you,
Tom Hastings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Repeal the nearly two-decade-old war authorizations
by Matthew Hoh
582 words
In 2001 and in 2002 Congress passed authorizations for war. While not declarations of war, these mandates, each titled an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) provided the legal framework for attacks against al-Qaeda in 2001 and in 2002 for the Iraq War. Both AUMFs are still in effect today. As Congress considers its annual authorization to fund the Pentagon our current members of Congress, both in the House and the Senate, are in positions of responsibility and ability to repeal these AUMFs.
The effect of the AUMFs:
Based on FBI and journalist investigations, al Qaeda had between 200-400 members worldwide in September of 2001. Al Qaeda now has affiliates in every corner of the world, their strength measures in the tens of thousands of members, and they control territory in Yemen, Syria and parts of Africa. In Afghanistan, the Taliban now control as much as 60 percent of the territory and, with regards to international terrorism, where there was one international terror group in Afghanistan in 2001, the Pentagon now reports twenty such groups.
ISIS was formerly al Qaeda in Iraq, an organization that came into existence solely due to the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States. US military, intelligence agencies, journalists and other international organizations continually report that the reason people join such groups is not out of ideology or religious devotion, but out of resistance to invasion and occupation, and in response to the killing of family, friends and neighbors by foreign and government forces. It is clear the AUMFs have worsened terrorism, not defeated it.
The cost of the AUMFs:
More than 7,000 US service members have been killed and more than 50,000 wounded in the wars since 9/11. Of the 2.5 million troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as many as 20% percent are afflicted with PTSD, while 20 percent more may have traumatic brain injury. The Veterans Administration reports Afghan and Iraq veterans have rates of suicide 4-10 times higher than their civilian peers. This means almost two Afghan and Iraq veterans are die by suicide every day. Do the math and it is clear more Afghan and Iraq veterans are dying by suicide than by combat. The cost to the people overseas to whom we have brought these wars is hard to grasp. Between one and four million people have been killed, directly and indirectly, by these wars, while tens of millions more have been wounded or psychologically traumatized, and tens of millions more made homeless – the cause of the worst refugee crisis since WWII.
Financially, the cost of these wars is immense, at least $6 trillion. Of a vast many statistics that compose this incomprehensible figure of $6 trillion, is that nearly $1 trillion of it is simply just interest and debt payments. For any American, Democrat, Republican or independent, these interest and debt payments alone should cause them to reconsider these wars.
The AUMFs have allowed for wars to be waged without end by the executive branch, wars the American people, including veterans, say have not been worth fighting. Congress has the ability and responsibility to help bring about an end to these wars by ensuring the repeal of the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs.
—30—
Matthew Hoh is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy and a Marine combat veteran of the Iraq War.
