Here is freedom to them that would read,
Here is freedom to them that would write!
There is none ever feared that the truth should be heard
But they whom the truth would indict!
--Robert Burns
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(by David Horsey)
"It is not too much of a stretch to say the National Rifle Association profits from mass killings like the slaughter at the theater in Aurora, Colo., and the killings at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis. The NRA is, after all, a fundraising machine that runs on fear and a sense of crisis, even when the fear is false and the crisis manufactured.
A former Republican lawmaker has made public a four-page fundraising letter from the NRA's executive vice-president, Wayne LaPierre, that was sent out to gun enthusiasts just three days after a young man styling himself as the Joker turned a showing of the new Batman movie into a bloody massacre. The Republican whistleblower apparently found the timing of the solicitation just a bit unseemly. At the same time, he insisted on anonymity. Even an ex-officeholder does not want to end up on the NRA's hit list.
In the NRA's defense, such mailings for money generally take weeks to prepare, so it is highly unlikely the letter was sent in response to the Aurora incident. Still, it was convenient timing. In the days after the Joker went wild, sales of firearms and ammunition boomed. The gun-loving populace, it seems, has been convinced by years of NRA propaganda that any mass shooting will be used as an excuse for government agents to start confiscating firearms, so they rushed to stock up before the feds came to their door.
Mr. LaPierre's fundraising missive was yet another example of this fear mongering. In the letter, the NRA leader says President Barack Obama's re-election would lead to "confiscation of our firearms" and, potentially, a "ban on semi-automatic weapons."
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"The future of your Second Amendment rights will be at stake," writes Mr. LaPierre. "And nothing less than the future of our country and our freedom will be at stake."
The truth, of course, is that most Democrats have given up the fight to restrict guns, and Mr. Obama has shown no inclination whatsoever to renew that battle. Nevertheless, the NRA needs money, and the money will not come if gun owners do not think they need the lobbying power of the NRA to protect their right to keep and bear arms. In recent years, revenue from NRA membership dues has dropped, as has total income for the organization. So, increasingly, Mr. LaPierre and company have come to depend on contributions from freaked-out gun nuts.
One steady stream of NRA dollars comes from an interesting source. A 1986 law erased the ban on interstate sales of ammunition. Since then, consumers have been encouraged to add a little extra to the total when they buy their bullets online or by mail order. That tip goes to the NRA. Since 1992, these nifty gratuities have reportedly brought in $9.3 million to the organization. That means that every time there is a run on ammo in the wake of a mass shooting, Mr. LaPierre's budget gets a nice boost.
There is a sick symbiosis between the deranged acts of the lone gunmen and the revenue stream of the NRA. In no way can the NRA be blamed for the actions of the shooters, of course, but it sure would be nice to see Mr. LaPierre take a day off from stoking the fear and raising the dough, at least while families mourn the dead."
[Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David Horsey is a political commentator for the Los Angeles Times. Go to latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/ to see more of his work]
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AMBIENCE & WINE
. . . You can't take
That away from me
In deepest solitude
It's one thing
There's no fear I'll lose
I see and I hear
All around me
What seems to
Be some frightening news
No it's confronted me
Just hit me
Right between the eyes
So I must choose
From these reactions
Here at hand
Will I blame somebody
Who isn't there
Or rationalize that it's
Just part of some plan
I want to be up
When light first
Breaks over the trees
I'd like to be
One of the lucky ones
To know what it means
The what and the how
Of our journey here
Which way that we look and which
Way we should be seen
. . . little corner of a basement in Highlandtown, we get together every Friday evening; put together plans to burn the whole thing down. Burn it to the ground. It's the world-wide church of the head-on armageddon. It's all about purity and how we're gonna get some. It's the world-wide church of the head-on Armageddon. And when our god gets his way in his heaven. There's gonna be hell to; gonna be hell to pay.
We can't afford to have anybody of another color living here. Talk to our maker he'll explain the whole thing. We are perfection you can see so clear. But we've got lots to fear. It's the world-wide church of the head-on armageddon. It's all about purity and how we're gonna get some. It's the world-wide church of the head-on Armageddon. And when our god gets his way in his heaven. There's gonna be hell to; gonna be hell to pay.
And people always ask, "Why do you talk like that? One day they'll take you all away." But when know what to say. We've got the NRA. The ACLU keeps us safe. What did you say was YOUR race?
If you don't listen to the things I'm saying, if you don't watch the little things I do. You'll be surprised. These aren't games we're playing. We will exterminate the lot of you. We believe it's true. It's the world-wide church of the head-on armageddon. It's all about purity and how we're gonna get some. It's the world-wide church of the head-on Armageddon. And when our god gets his way in his heaven. There's gonna be hell to; gonna be hell to pay.
