Margaret, I grew up on a farm in Georgia. We had more guns than silverware. To this day, I still have a gun in my house. By all means, if it helps to keep children from being murdered, come and take it. Unlike that Dana Loesch, I don’t need it that badly. Bless her heart, when you spew that much hate, I guess you go through life thinking everyone wants to do you harm. She really should try adding a little color to her wardrobe. And maybe smile more… or at least once.
We’ve talked about it long enough. We need to do something about America’s gun problem. But if we leave it up to those asshats at the Capitol, we’ll be building schools with one door where students are allowed to wear only a leotard while carrying their books in a clear ziplock baggie.
Making it all about a mental health crisis sounds reasonable… until you realize that mental health isn’t exclusive to the United States and statistically speaking doesn’t correspond with our proportionally higher rate of gun violence nor does it specifically apply on a case by case basis. Ouch. That hurt my head a little bit to think through. Maybe that’s why NRA Neanderthals settle for low hanging fruit like too many doors and trench coats.
Regardless, we shouldn’t need a school shooting to realize that mental healthcare should be as easy to access as your Twitter account, and likewise it should be affordable or even free. I think parents who don’t have the good sense to lock away their guns might be a good test sample group to start with, because that level of ignorance and irresponsibility has got to be some sort of mental issue.
And then there’s video games and violent movies. Now don’t get me started. I too think my grandchildren need to put away the electronics and get outside more. That kind of life only leads to fat backsides and skinny thumbs. But again, unlike little Dana Loesch and the NRA, violent images in games and in movies are not exclusive to America.
Speaking of Nuts R Allowed… Oliver North? Is that a joke or was Wayne LaPierre not generating idiotic ideas fast enough? “A culture of violence,” says the guy who sold guns to Iran in order to give money to people who tortured civilians and raped women including nuns and children. Yep. That guy. How about we require the NRA to build their headquarters with no entrances or exits?
You know what IS exclusive to the United States of America? The NRA, 42% of civilian guns, and an orange yeast infection wearing a MAGA hat.
Folks, it’s really not that difficult. Less guns equals less gun violence. And I call bullshit on anyone who claims differently. Facts are facts. Trench coats, video games, violent movies, social media, mental health and even doors exist beyond our borders. But a mass school shooting once a month has become as American as baseball and apple pie.
If you love your children, vote out any politician who takes money from the NRA. And start with Ted Cruz. Never Again must become more than just a hashtag. I mean it. Really
Margaret and Helen 
Where have I been? Right here. Busy as ever on immigration issues and the coming mid-term election. Other than that I have to care for a half an acre and a full size center entrance colonial. Have been hoping that the other porch dwellers could show up. Have been keeping on eye on the Kav nomination right from the start. Did not get a good feeling about this guy as he was paraded around to different offices on the Hill, etc. That bizarre thing he pulled on TV in front of the committee and the world was more than I could take. due to my grad school training I was able to understand what Ford was talking about and she was spot on! If anyone was to have a hissy fit on TV it would have been her but oh, no, it was little mr. entitled rich boy from one of the cushiest suburbs on the planet.When he was in Yale law school he was taught never ever to do that personally or have any client do so. Well . . . Now the FBI is in on it and his oldest boyhood friend has agreed to answer all their questions such as were you a part of the sexual asauit on Christine Blasey? And that old dear friend of Ford’s who allegedly disagreed with Ford on the events of that evening has disavowed any such statement and agrees with Ford. Looks good for old Kav, huh? As for a “limited” investigation, those limited investigations can by their very nature turn into unlimited even in a week’s time. Everyone hold tight on this. Polls show that more believe Ford than Kav largely because of his rich boy entitled behavior in front of the world. Due to the huge amount of “noise” this case has engendered, that noise alone could sink Kav.
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By: mageen in old virginny on September 30, 2018
at 8:11 AM
OKAY, Ms. Carolyn! I’m not either Margaret or Helen, but the Porch Sitters better dam well still be here, and you’re the first one to call us to attention recently. Good on you for that!
Terri, Mageen, Pi, so many others of us… Where are you now? Where have I been, for that matter…? Snarking away elsewhere.
HEADS UP, Porch Sitters – time to get out there and make sure everybody we know VOTES… I live in CT, so my Senators and Reps are already where i want them to be. If you’re in a “red state,” get going. This cannot stand.
Thanks again, Carolyn – May a million responses show up.
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By: gatodicima on September 28, 2018
at 10:24 PM
So sorry that this blog seems to have come to an end. I always looked forward to those witty compositions. Here’s hoping all is ok and it’s just a little vacation but if not, know it was enjoyed.
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By: carolyn Fetsko on September 28, 2018
at 7:07 PM
It has been a long time since I looked at this site, maybe a year and a half ago.
We are still helping care for our five year old granddaughter. Doctors said her prospects were so bleak it would not be out of line to abort her. When she was born she looked like Barnam and Bailey’s Pinhead. She was microencephelic.
She would be two or three years developmentaly delayed and subject to sezures. We poured everything he had into. her and I spent the most time with her. For example, it took over three hours one week for her to learn to write a proper letter e last year. As a result, when someone tells her something as her Kindergarten teacher told her class about 9/11. she asks me if it is true.
Her teacher says she wishes she had more students like her.
Life is good. The economy is better than it has been for years, and more jobs are available Organized terrorists like ISIS are weaker, and the Koreas are talking to each other again.. Hillary is finished. ;Trump will be with us for another two years.
Best yet, my eye doctor was sure I would be blind by now. My optic nerve is deteriorating. She doesn’t understand why I can still see. An unexpected pain killer nearly killed me last September but I am still here. Our grand daughter is happy that I am the only grand parent who can still keep up with her.
Someone wrote that it felt like the Twilight Zone, so since I have Dutch relatives, here it is from one of Holland’s best bands. Music is good therapy.
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By: James on September 23, 2018
at 12:59 PM
Unfortunately, a child has died as a result of being “caged” in Texas. She was a toddler separated from her mother and placed in that cage. When the mother was finally released to reclaim her child, the child had already exhibited a number of symptoms and only got worse. The medical care at the detention center was totally inadequate and the mother and child (with 104 fever) were turned away twice. When both of them were finally released the mother took the child straight away to the hospital where oxygen was immediately administered. However, all medical attention at that point was too late. the mother is suing via a Washington D.C. firm who is doing the work pro bono. I honestly feel that all flags should be at half staff for this child. I know that the suit is going to drag on and that ICE will most likely attempt to deport the mother. Hopefully the law firm can prevent that act of cowardice.
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By: mageen in old virginny on August 29, 2018
at 7:21 AM
Maybe… Probably… Maybe not, but I certainly hope so, in respect to the analogy you reference. I am deeply grateful for every voice that has shown up here, especially the few of you – and maybe myself, as well – who just let each other know we still exist. And now, dammit, let’s give everything we can to make sure that everyone we know who’s thinking it “doesn’t matter” whether or not they vote, out to VOTE! Locally. For your Registrar of Voters, your Congressional district’s Democratic candidate, your State’s next governor, your State’s Attorney General, any open positions on your local Zoning Board of Appeals… Every dam thing you can think of. Thank you.
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By: gatodicima on August 23, 2018
at 5:42 PM
mageen – I guess I don’t understand what “it ain’t over til the fat lady sings” means. IMO, trump is coming very close to losing whether it be federal or NY state. Also some of the rats are jumping ship. I really don’t care who sings as long as they sing loud and clear!
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on August 23, 2018
at 2:54 PM
Fat Lady? Actually no. But then I would rather hear Mueller baritone the blues to and on Trump.
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By: mageen in old virginny on August 23, 2018
at 12:18 PM
Do I hear the fat lady warming up?
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on August 23, 2018
at 10:54 AM
Yes, Mageen, I agree… Every ounce of energy, grace, and whatever goodness and compassion we can summon within ourselves is best spent on living as examples of those strengths in ourselves, and working to inspire them in others. Whether the “good wolf” grows stronger, or the “evil wolf” grows stronger, depends on which wolf we feed…
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By: gatodicima on August 10, 2018
at 12:30 PM
Pie lovers, this weekend will see a “memorial” event planned by anti-racism-nazis et al. groups in Charlottesville, VA. Since the debacle last year the local police department has done some monumental turning around and there is even a new mayor. Can you all take a percentage of a minute to pray that this will not end up like the carnage of last year with one dead (murdered by car and driver) and many bleeding and hurt. I was hoping to retire to that area but I am forced now to take a long, long look at how Charlottesville handles this weekend.
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By: mageen in old virginny on August 10, 2018
at 11:43 AM
Yeah, Cynthia, “thoughts and prayers” to the NRA (“Never Rightfully Accountable”) from me, too… “Thinking” it’s about effing time, and “praying” it doesn’t just encourage another go-round of refreshed “support” from all the “Only-the-Second-Part-of-the-Second-Amendment-Counts” believers.
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By: gatodicima on August 5, 2018
at 4:54 PM
Sending thoughts and prayers to the NRA. Thank You New York!!!
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on August 5, 2018
at 12:04 PM
Porch dwellers, did I hear that the NRA is going broke because of all the expensive court trials they are now supporting? Not shedding a tear for them here or anywhere!
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By: mageen in old virginny on August 4, 2018
at 5:31 PM
Rhonda, I know what loss is. May God be with you.
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By: mageen in old virginny on August 4, 2018
at 5:30 PM
Rhonda, I’m so sorry for your loss! I can’t even imagine…
She looked just like you. 🙂
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By: delurkergurl on August 2, 2018
at 3:25 PM
Thank you for posting this. My daughter passed away in that shooting on May 18th. It’s not right, and it’s not fair. We need to look at ourselves and think “are we doing the best we can to keep guns OUT of those who don’t deserve them?”. Keep spreading the word, been reading for years. Much respect for you both!
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By: rhondahart on July 31, 2018
at 10:43 PM
gato – I think I understand what was said…the steps taken to “destroy” the US. What I need help with is which side has been most affected by it. I know we can always see the faults of others but are blind to our own. Or are both sides equally “guilty”?
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on July 23, 2018
at 10:42 AM
Right on, Gato! There is no such thing as a KGB retirement plan. That is, not like we would know as compared to retirement plans in this country. In the KGB, you have a career, and then you die.
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By: mageen in old virginny on July 23, 2018
at 9:01 AM
Ahhh… Cynthia… This all makes perfect sense to me. I once worked, for several months, on a project with a “former” American CIA agent who said, again and again, that once one is in an Intelligence Agency, of whatever country, he/she is never again NOT in that Agency. Never. I imagine that is true of any KGB agent, as well, especially one who seems to be such a success in that capacity – and so temperamentally suited to it – as Putin is.
Trump, on the other hand, has never really been a “success” at anything he’s done – which is why he is so obsessed with insisting how great he is – and he is CERTAINLY not temperamentally suited to much of anything other than trying to embellish his Myth of Self-Importance. (Referring to himself, THIS VERY DAY, as “your Favorite President”…? That really IS pathetic…)
I am sure that Putin and his fellow power-brokers saw almost instantly that they could easily get their hands on a family of desperate grifters who were quickly running out of money, and make them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Months before the last election, middle son Eric was publicly bragging about how much money the family business was getting from “Russia.” Trump was such an easy patsy – and still is. Whether or not he ever did anything “dirty” in any Moscow hotel room is, frankly, pretty inconsequential. Just follow the money – there’s more than enough incriminating evidence right there.
I doubt that anyone in the current Trump family was ever intending to throw this country under the Putin Bus; they’ve just always been trying to keep the world from knowing what an inept and incompetent bunch of grifters they are. And, BTW, I don’t imagine for a moment that Trump will EVER “realize” any of this, even when he’s sitting in a courtroom, wearing an orange jumpsuit. But I pray to god that enough voters will “realize” what they are by early November, 2018.
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By: gatodicima on July 21, 2018
at 3:37 PM
I think this is very interesting. Worth a few minutes of your time to read.
https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/34-years-ago-a-kgb-defector-described-america-today
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on July 21, 2018
at 2:36 PM
Where are you Helen and Margaret? Our country is being sold for nothing. We really need your voice. Did last week into yesterday really happened? Are we in the twilight zone?
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By: Easier on July 17, 2018
at 7:59 PM
I am thinking we should buy a large number of “baby trump” balloons to fly all over Washington, Palm Beach, NJ, trump tower and all places trump has been known to infect. Do you think this would work to get him out of this country?
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on July 15, 2018
at 6:29 PM
Happy birthday, U.S. of A.! Our nation, compared to those across the pond, is still in the toddler stage. We will grow out of it. Thats just the way carbon based critters do!
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By: mageen in old virginny on July 4, 2018
at 5:16 PM
Hi Gato, nice to connect again. As usual I agree with all you say. I have been feeling what can only be called despair lately. While I loathe and despise the Donald, I am even more distressed by his supporters and enablers. I think I never realized the depth of the racism and xenophobia harbored by so many Americans. I hope we can get the vote out in November or I feel our democracy is doomed. As it is, he will change the SCOTUS for a generation and turn back the clock on so many important decisions. Sigh.
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By: Terri in NY on July 3, 2018
at 3:16 PM
We have got to get out the vote in November!!! The Golden Gibbon needs a large voltage shock in the down sitter to make him drop his plans for a second term where he can perfect his fascist program. Just imagine yourself and your loved ones in one of those tents in a huge yard surrounded by chain link fence and concertina wire!!!
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By: mageen in old virginny on July 3, 2018
at 7:06 AM
Hi, Terri – Been a while…! Here’s my guess as to why the Head Honchos hiding in the GOP don’t much care when Tweetle Dumb gets “played” yet again: Because that’s exactly what they want him to be doing. Few people anywhere believe anything he says, so what’s the difference? As long as we’re all focused on his incompetence and infantile self-absorption, we hardly notice that the SCOTUS is being nicely “realigned”; anybody who wants one can still get a gun; black and brown people are shot and/or arrested for existing; mass shootings continue on a regular basis; consumers and workers have less and less say in what they can get, buy, do, eat, or drink; “less desirable” voters have less and less access to a ballot; the poor are made poorer, and blamed for doing so; and US taxpayers keep lining the pockets of those who exploit them – and that, in fact, is precisely “the plan.” Does anyone here really doubt, for a minute, that it’s just a matter of time before those migrant families filling up the Texas “tent cities” will be working the fields of Big Ag, and we’ll be told it”s “for their own good,” and that they’re “learning a trade”…? “Criminal” and “illegal” day workers are so much cheaper than even undocumented ones…
Is anyone else wondering how it is that those hundreds and hundreds of tents just suddenly appeared miraculously in Texas…? No such thing ever happened in New Orleans, or in Puerto Rico, did it? If the Orange Julius ever showed even a HINT of anything close to a consistent “policy,” a shred of humanity, or any understanding of anything, he’d be somehow “removed” from office faster than a unicorn can wink – by the powers that be who stand to benefit from his occupancy in the Oval Office. As long as he’s outrageous enough to make so many of us all question our own sanity, as well as his, he’s serving his purpose.
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By: gatodicima on July 2, 2018
at 3:56 PM
So, it looks like Kim Jung Un played Trump like a violin. Why don’t the Republicans care? We are becoming an international laughing stock while Trump alienates our allies and cozies up to his favorite dictators. He’s Putin’s poodle and congress sits back and says nothing. I don’t think the founding fathers foresaw a neutered and compliant congress. We’re in dangerous territory.
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By: Terri in NY on July 2, 2018
at 2:54 PM
“To grasp what is going on in the world right now, we need to reflect on two things. One is that we are in a phase of trial runs. The other is that what is being trialled is fascism – a word that should be used carefully but not shirked when it is so clearly on the horizon. Forget “post-fascist” – what we are living with is pre-fascism.”…
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism-are-in-full-flow-1.3543375?mode=amp
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on July 2, 2018
at 10:03 AM
Gato, agreed. Very concerned that the cruelty visited upon the refugees from south of the border is simply a blueprint for an even larger plan to remove children from people who were born here. How could that happen? No worries. The Golden Gibbon and his little pal Miller will think of something horrendous and dub it legal and even moral. And all because they can at any time consider whoever as a child of a lesser god.
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By: mageen in old virginny on June 26, 2018
at 5:30 AM
Mageen – Your relentless presence is an inspiration to us all… And let’s make sure we do at least 90% of our praying as we’re doing every dam thing we can to register voters for the November elections. These inhumane bastids will keep doing exactly what they’re doing as long as they are allowed to retain even a shred of legislative power. I would guess that already some children “in detention” are close to death – from illness, or grief, or abuse, or malnutrition, or any number of causes. This “system,” which is undeniably understaffed, under-funded, and under-qualified to deal with this kind of massive influx of immigrants – and which seems to change its “plan” literally by the hour – just cannot cope with this situation. Even those administrators and caregivers with the noblest and most sincere intentions – and I’m sure there are many – barely have the resources to do so. Who, i am wondering, decides to act as “foster families” for children who have no relatives in the US to whom they can be sent? Are the host families compensated? Are the children vaccinated? Who determines whether or not they go to the dentist, or when they receive other medical care? Do they go to school? Who decides how they spend their time, what kind of care they receive, whether or not they have contact with their families, how they are treated by their neighbors and “temporary” siblings? And on and on and on…
I predict that it will not be very long until we learn that “able” children held in those “tent cities” will soon be seen working – literally – “in the field,” doing what undocumented agricultural day workers have always done. And now we will be assured that they’re “learning a useful skill,” that they are just “earning their keep” as beneficiaries of US generosity, and – of course – that it’s “for their own good”… This fits right in with the GOP’s drive to cut SNAP programs for US citizens, and raise the “work for welfare” requirements for any government assistance whatsoever.
Let’s just call it the “Melania’s Jacket Message Implementation Program of 2018,” shall we…?
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By: gatodicima on June 25, 2018
at 8:56 AM
Porch dwellers, pray with all your hearts that not one child dies during this abomination!
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By: mageen in old virginny on June 25, 2018
at 6:59 AM
That “bro” meeting in Singapore was a waste! Headlines but no real details on anything. The Golden Gibbon’s “bro” is as weasely as he is! Thanks to very good coverage of the NoKo dictator, was able to find out that his grandfather started the punish the children program. Anyone Grandpa Kim thought was against him, the “perpetrator” AND his children were jailed and in some cases even the grandchildren (if there were any). Thats a policy the present Kim is still activating. Imagine. Taking ones children away and incarcerating them somewhere because the parent was considered a “law” breaker. Lordy me! The Golden Gibbon and Sessions must have bene separated at birth from Kim cuz this country is now doing the same thing with the children of people fleeing north to this country. This administration considers such a policy to be a “deterrent” for all those others running north for their lives. They have made kidnapping a VALUE for this country. Actually, crossing the border without papers is not a criminal offense and it says so in our laws. It is a civil offense kind of like a misdemeanor. Whatever it is, criminal or civil, tearing children away from their parents has a very, very harsh history in this country as in slavery. I guess history of any sort doesn’t mean bleep to the Golden Gibbon.
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By: mageen in old virginny on June 13, 2018
at 7:20 AM
Sooo, should we say Hail to the Chief or Hell to the Chief? For now anyway.
ln time, we may be saying Seig Heil to the Chief.
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on June 12, 2018
at 3:07 PM
gato – I hope you are right…but I think trump IS capable of pushing the red button just to prove who he is/superior/can’t tell him no. Those GOP (and too many dems) don’t have a whole pair among them to stop him. Why are we not in the streets???
peace.
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By: Cynthia on June 11, 2018
at 5:43 PM
Oh, for the “Good Old Days,” when the worst thing my Canadian friends could torment me about was Dick Cheney’s “hunting accident”… Life was so much simpler then, wasn’t it? And we were so naive…Sometimes I think the only reason this Cheese Puff hasn’t pushed the red button is that he’s not sure how he could “tweet” about it… Besides, if you’re a side-show snake oil salesman, it’s probably not a good idea to blow up your own ferris wheel, is it?
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By: gatodicima on June 11, 2018
at 7:52 AM
Sigh. Here it is not quite the middle of June and I have to apologize to my Canadian family for the behavior of the Golden Gibbon. Not only am I running out of apologetic language, my cousins are on the brink of being tired of hearing it!
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By: mageen in old virginny on June 11, 2018
at 7:08 AM
DMH, right on the button! And I want them investigated. Maybe when mueller is done with the white House Gang, this might be something he could do, even as a hobby. With him on their trail, LaPierre et al. would end up sweating to death!
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By: mageen in old virginny on June 5, 2018
at 6:51 AM
There is an NRA Russia. https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/27/politics/nra-documents-russian-banker/index.html Granted its probably not as big as the NRA here but, its a way to funnel/launder money. What? Did anybody expect the NRA to give it all up?
Anything with Trump, follow the money. The NRA has lots of it and supports Trump. I know they have supported republican thugs for years. Either way, they need to go down. They aren’t a gun rights group. What they are is a terrorist organization on American soil that fools people into extreme fright to the point of gun sales. We have to be smarter than that!!! They are doing absolutely nothing to stop these school shootings. Its sad.
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By: dmh on June 4, 2018
at 6:19 PM
Agree with you completely.
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By: dawnkinster on June 2, 2018
at 7:09 PM
An interesting article – “The National Rifle Association was a sporting association. Amid the rapid social upheaval of 1968, it began its transformation into a powerful political force.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/gun-control-1968/?utm_term=.47ecd82e7ae0
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on May 31, 2018
at 7:31 PM
Dimwit Congresswoman Marsha Black who is running for higher office declares that all the school shootings are the result of pornography; Anyone want to guess her IQ? First two guesses are automatically wrong!
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By: mageen in old virginny on May 29, 2018
at 6:23 PM
Totally true in high school late 70s- white boys bullied & told ‘no’ didn’t create mass murder.
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By: DeeAnn on May 28, 2018
at 2:34 PM
Another smart and perceptive commentary. Thank you, ladies. You get at the truth in a clear fashion, and you keep our spirits up in the process. Keep up the great dialog !!
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By: Vivian M. Sherrill on May 28, 2018
at 1:30 PM
Sorry, a change of subject.
The Right to Dissent
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 87 L. Ed. 1628, 63 S. Ct. 1178 (1943): In 1940, the West Virginia Board of Education issued regulations requiring every schoolchild to participate daily in a salute to the flag of the United States. The Barnette children, all members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, refused to participate in the flag salute, consistent with the tenets of their religious beliefs, and were expelled from school. The Supreme Court struck down the regulation on the grounds that the First Amendment barred any rule compelling an individual to salute the flag or participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. In strong language, the Court affirmed the right to dissent: “But freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order. If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.”
Peace.
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By: Cynthia on May 25, 2018
at 6:27 PM
[…] From Helen Philpot, writing for Margaret and Helen: […]
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By: Maybe Require NRA headquarters with No Entrances or Exits? – FairAndUNbalanced.com on May 25, 2018
at 6:30 AM
I’ve missed you, Margaret and Helen. Please don’t wait too long for your next post because we need you more than ever. It’s people like you that give us the strength to keep fighting the “orange yeast infection”. That alone will keep me laughing for days! ❤
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By: Diane Pangal on May 25, 2018
at 6:13 AM
A reality I almost never see discussed. To Gun Owners, owning guns is a core element of their life, an element which might not be more important than their children, but in some or many cases it is more important, because in their heads no one is trying to take away their children – or if they thought that, they have their guns to stop it. Point being, most gun owners are willing to fight to the death to defend their right to own guns. Are we, the gun control advocates, prepared to do the same. Gun owners, the majority of whom don’t have the disposal income to be donating to multiple causes, put their NRA donations at the top of their list. If every gun control advocate in the US ponied up $100 or more, and there was an organization to put all that money to war with the NRA, I believe the war for reasonable gun control laws, not the total repel of the 2nd amendment, would be won quite quickly.
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By: PJCrecca on May 24, 2018
at 5:57 PM
Ed – I believe the police and soldier come under the heading of “a well regulated militia”. Bubba and Leroy playing pretend all dressup like “tuff guys”…not so much.
Peace.
PS – Thank you Helen. We really need you these days.
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By: Cynthia on May 24, 2018
at 5:34 PM
Okay, Ed, I’m not sure what your point is here, but I would venture to say that it is primarily shared by people who believe that there is no difference between themselves – however untrained and inexperienced they may be – and a soldier or law enforcement officer who has spent months learning to do the job they need to do. And, yes, I’m talking about those people who think that dressing up in camo and walking around the mall with an assault weapon, makes them dam good enough to be a cop. Yes, people who think that way DO see “gun control” as “people control.”
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By: gatodicima on May 24, 2018
at 4:56 PM
Until you call for the removal of guns from police and soldiers, your call for gun control is seen as people control.
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By: Ed on May 24, 2018
at 3:59 PM
Great posts! Talk to the surviving mass shooters? Well, you might get something out of them, but it still wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans. If they had been into intelligent oratory to begin with, they might not have chosen the road they took. Frankly, the NRA is determining domestic policy and that policy is to cull the herd by providing ramped up fear mongering and gun sales to everybody, no matter the background check. As for Ollie North, that guy has been laughable for years! As The bunny would say, “what a marooon!!!”
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By: mageen in old virginny on May 24, 2018
at 7:04 AM
Hey, MEBE – Looks like The Porch is kickin’ up again, as we dam well should! (“Orange yeast infection” is one of the best yet…) Here’s how the NRA/gun thing works in this country, as far as I can tell: Firearm and weapon sales are a huge industry in this country. We’ve been selling stuff everywhere for decades. Hence Ollie North is not such a strange choice, after all. Gun manufacturers have to sell a lot if guns in order to stay in business, so they buy politicians to convince people that everybody needs as many guns as possible, all the time – especially when ground warfare is less and less of an option. It’s pretty much the same as a pharma company having some semi-useless “pill” that doesn’t do much of anything, so they invent a “condition” for it to treat, such as “ED,” for example. Guys have been unable to “get it up” every now and then, or permanently, as long as there have been guys. The reasons are myriad. But now it’s “ED,” and there’s a pill for it. “Ask your doctor if ‘weenalyft’ might be right for you…” The best option at the moment is to VOTE as many NRA supporters as possible out of government.
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By: gatodicima on May 23, 2018
at 6:21 PM
Right on as always! Such clear thinking… also always! We love these posts!
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By: Victor on May 23, 2018
at 6:11 PM
Right on! Thank you! I forwarded this to friends.
Between you and Juanita Jean’s posts on Facebook, your truisms combined with terrific sense of humor are a much needed breath of fresh air in this “out of touch with reality” political climate!
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By: Sharon on May 23, 2018
at 5:00 PM
Top 5 Senators That Benefited the Most From NRA Funding
John McCain (R, AZ) – $7.74 million
Richard Burr (R, NC) – $6.99 million
Roy Blunt (R, MO) – $4.55 million
Thom Tillis (R, NC) – $4.42 million
Cory Gardner (R, CO) – $3.88 million
Top 5 Representatives That Benefited the Most From NRA Funding
French Hill (R, AR) – $1.09 million
Ken Buck (R, CO) – $800,544
David Young (R, IA) – $707,662
Mike Simpson, (R, ID) – $385,731
Greg Gianforte (R, MT) – $344,630
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By: take a trip on May 23, 2018
at 4:44 PM
Love your articles!
How does one learn just who is “on the take” from the NRA??????
Donna Mifflin donamifflin@gmail.com
On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 9:01 AM, Margaret and Helen wrote:
> Helen Philpot posted: “Margaret, I grew up on a farm in Georgia. We had > more guns than silverware. To this day, I still have a gun in my house. By > all means, if it helps to keep children from being murdered, come and take > it. Unlike that Dana Loesch, I don’t need it that badl” >
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By: Dona Mifflin on May 23, 2018
at 4:26 PM
For what it’s worth, a view from Medellin Colombia. Maybe I’m crazy, and maybe I’m seeing things again, it wouldn’t be the first time. And I took a stats class; I know correlation doesn’t equal causation. But Colombia has no legal private gun ownership, and Colombia also has zero school shootings. Aside from the still extant gang violence, (a fraction of what it was thirty years ago), there is almost no gun violence in Colombia.
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By: MEBE in Medellin on May 23, 2018
at 4:00 PM
You said it, Helen! Only wish the asshats in Washington heard it. Oh wait…they have heard it and they just don’t care as they are beholding to the almighty NRA. Talk about a swamp! The NRA’s political contributions must be some of the most successful payola since Teapot Dome!
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By: Linda Bylow on May 23, 2018
at 2:17 PM
Oh my gosh! I love your comments. I, too, really needed that.
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By: Kristi Nelson on May 23, 2018
at 2:11 PM
big deep breath…ahhhh…you are a breath of fresh air among all the stink coming from Washington DC, or Florida (wherever he happens to be). You have such wonderful insight and ability to communicate . Please post every week. We need you!
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By: carolyn Fetsko on May 23, 2018
at 1:40 PM
I do love you so.
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By: Anonymous on May 23, 2018
at 11:56 AM
YAHOO DAY IT AS IT IS
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By: LAWRENCE on May 23, 2018
at 11:47 AM
We need to start calling the school shootings SCHOOL MURDERS. Shootings is too inocuous. Call a spade a spade and call it murder. The NRA supports school murders!
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By: Lynne on May 23, 2018
at 11:39 AM
Once again you were spot on!!
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By: Fran Fischer on May 23, 2018
at 11:37 AM
I agree with every word you wrote. We need a National referendum on guns, so the majority of Americans (including gun owners like you) can stand up to the gun manufacturers (let’s face it, that’s who the NRA really represents) and pass gun safety laws. Australia did it, and they didn’t have a mass shooting for 20 years!
Reasonable Americans agree with you. Unfortunately the mega-rich, the Russians, and the oil-rich princes bought our last election and put their puppet clown in place. It will take tremendous force of the American people to break that stranglehold the wealthy right-wing has on our politics right now.
Thanks for telling the truth.
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By: Zoo Mom on May 23, 2018
at 11:35 AM
Fewer doors might keep Betsy’s bears out, but not a determined shooter. And what if there were a fire?
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By: delurkergurl on May 23, 2018
at 11:25 AM
She smiles. See?
View at Medium.com
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By: delurkergurl on May 23, 2018
at 11:12 AM
I agree totally, and if they do enact this stupid idea, the shooter idiots will just shoot up the line in front of the school, wouldn’t you think?? Great, great post. Keep it up.
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By: jane on May 23, 2018
at 10:47 AM
Maybe build the NRA headquarters with entrances and no exits, a giant roach motel. Sane gun owners can stay out here with the rest of us.
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By: Linda on May 23, 2018
at 10:47 AM
Another great editorial type blog post. Thanks!
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By: Jean R. on May 23, 2018
at 10:25 AM
The NRA wields political influence far beyond what the numbers show (dollars contributed to campaigns and percent of population they represent). Not sure why they hold so many politicians in thrall. Other ‘excuses’ given to divert attention from guns are that the shooters were bullied or were spurned by girls they wanted to date – hello, welcome to the teen years. Back in the 1960’s when I was a teen, shooting up a school and then one’s self was not how we dealt with those things.
Seems to me that now that we have a few shooters who survived, someone might be talking to them about how and why they decided a mass shooting was the appropriate response to whatever they claim the precipitating factor was.
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By: Anonymous on May 23, 2018
at 10:13 AM
Refreshing and sharp, as usual. Only one complaint—wish you posted more articles!
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By: Still the Lucky Few on May 23, 2018
at 9:29 AM
The obvious solutions seem to evade our “fearless Leaders”, but since our government is all about enriching politicians and their friends nothing will change. Sorry to be such a cynic.
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By: jono51 on May 23, 2018
at 9:29 AM
I’ve been calling it the “tangerine troll” (or a scatological word starting with “t”) but I think I’ll adopt “tangerine yeast infection” because that’s how it makes me feel. Itchy and irritable.
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By: sjmarsnc on May 23, 2018
at 9:26 AM
As someone from the not-so-great state of Texas, I loved this post. Thank you for getting to the heart of matters. These asshats are terrified some “perp” (that would be transgender person to normal people) might use the wrong bathroom, but they’re okay with strip-searching our students daily? If you build schools that look and perform as prisons…
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By: Susan Daugherty on May 23, 2018
at 9:25 AM
Love, Love, Love youi ladies and what you write! Thank you!
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By: Anonymous on May 23, 2018
at 9:22 AM
Thanks you again for a great post. You always make my day.
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By: Sandra Holt on May 23, 2018
at 9:14 AM
Hmmm. Get rid of doors. Windows are next. Sounds like a damn tomb. Have the people who propose this stuff eve lived in such circumstances? When you get rid of all the doors and windows in a room all you are left with is a mirror — and yourself. And you end up hating yourself for the lack of brains and courage to actually deal with the real nub of the problem. Which in my humble opinion would amount to justice.
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By: mageen in old virginny on May 23, 2018
at 9:13 AM
Thank you, I’m with you 100%!! (If you’d like Cruz lovers or Beto lovers to find your article, please correct the spelling of his name: from “Cruise” (which I kind of like as a jab) to “Cruz”. Thanks!
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By: Karen Eastburn on May 23, 2018
at 9:09 AM
I completely agree with your post. It’s getting to the point where I’m not even shocked when I hear of another school shooting. That’s a sad commentary on the state of our country and I lay it at the feet of the orange yeast infection in the White House and his deaf and blind followers.
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By: Annie in Maine on May 23, 2018
at 9:07 AM
Oliver North was a consultant on, and his likeness appears in a violent video game, I think it’s Call of Duty. Per Anderson Cooper. Culture of violence, indeed.
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By: Elizabeth Loeb McCane on May 23, 2018
at 9:02 AM
Another great post! Thank you ladies!
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By: Jill Nadel Laufer on May 23, 2018
at 8:55 AM
Dana used to promote Superbeets as a health drink. Apparently she did not drink enough or maybe Superbeets causes paranoia. Love your whole blog and could not agree more.
Arming teachers to ‘use’ a gun does not prepare them to handle active shooter situations nor does stripping down students to enter a school. So sad that the fire drills of the past have been enhanced with ‘active shooter’ or ‘ intruder’ drills in schools. Sad to see our country headed the way it is headed.
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By: Doreen Brennan-Moore on May 23, 2018
at 8:51 AM
Good considered thoughts and remarks.
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By: Cat on May 23, 2018
at 8:48 AM
Thank you for the beyond the border perspective. I love you ladies!
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By: R C McConkey on May 23, 2018
at 8:35 AM
It’s Ted CRUZ, not Ted Cruise. Thanks for a great post, as always!
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By: James Williams on May 23, 2018
at 8:30 AM
Brava Margaret!!! Well said, and my sentiments exactly!!!
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By: Lin Meacher on May 23, 2018
at 8:24 AM
The Tedster’s last name is “Cruz” not “Cruise,” unless you meant that on purpose as in, “Ted should Cruise out of the Senate,” in which case I apologize for the correction. As always, spot on. Hugs from PA.
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By: Debra Lynn Shelton on May 23, 2018
at 8:21 AM
Thank you, Helen. I’ve just sent this along to about everyone I know.
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By: Ellie on May 23, 2018
at 8:10 AM
my favorite..orange yeast infection
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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By: ilenes318 on May 23, 2018
at 8:08 AM
Another great one! Thanks, I needed that.
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By: Terri in NY on May 23, 2018
at 8:07 AM