ON CHRISTMAS: IN THE USA

"Christmas in America"

brought to you by the

National Rifle Association

 "protecting your right to kill your fellow Americans since 1871"

Merry Christmas/Feliz Navidad

ON REPUBLICANS:KISS MY ROSY RED RUSTY DUSTY-PART II

These are my end of year, "oh, ain't it great to be an American," thoughts.

Click here: SENIORS AND VETERANS DESERVE A RAISE

Click here: KISS MY ROSY RED RUSTY DUSTY

If you have thoughts, please leave a comment.

 Have a Merry Whatever You Celebrate at This Time of Year

ON JESUS CHRIST AND HIS RELIGION: USA STYLE

There is not much you can say after the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Jr. told students at his christian-inspired Liberty University, located in Virginia, to go out and get concealed carry permits to carry guns on campus.  

I think the call to arms, however, does allow me to ask the question: What would Jesus do?

I guess these photographs provide us the answer.  Repent all you sinners...or, I'll shoot you.

ON REPUBLICANS: KISS MY ROSY RED RUSTY DUSTY

Thanks to the Grand Old Party, the party of angry white men, for the third time since 2010 the Cost of Living adjustment will not rise on Social Security and Veteran's Benefits checks.  

Oh, and guess which year I was eligible for Social Security?  You got it, 2010! 

For three of the last seven years I have received no increase in my Social Security or disabled Veteran's benefits.  Lucky me!  Evidently the cost of everything I use...electricity, internet, food, and more...has not risen a single dime.

Sure glad I volunteered to enter the Marine Corps in 1966 and serve when others got deferrals and fled to Canada. And, so happy about going to Vietnam when others, like Dick Cheney, were sitting at home playing with themselves.  Golly gee whiz!

What a scam.  While Cheney skipped going to war, he had no problem providing armament and logistics for later wars as head of Halliburton and Vice President of the United States.

Our own millionaire's club...also known as the U.S. Congress...doesn't seem to care what happens to the aged, the veteran, the poor, or the sick.  All they care about is feathering their nest.  

It should be a nest of doves.  Instead, Congress is a nest of vultures and gooney birds.

ON WAR: THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO FIGHT ONE

I have been in war. When I returned from war I was called a "baby killer" and "immoral."  

I did not choose where or when to be born. I did not choose on whose side I fought. I did not want to give up my citizenship rights because the draft would put me in harm's way. And, by fate, I participated in the first war fought on TV.

I learned much from that experience. One, war is brutish and life is cheap...the cost of only a bullet in many cases. Two, a war cannot be won if the state is worried about what others say, whether on blogs or on TV.

Our world politicians talk much about going after ISIS, or al Qaeda, or the Taliban, or Hezbollah. 

There is only one way to win this war. Take the war to the states from which these terrorists come. You cannot win fighting roaming figures who move from state to state to plan terror on the peaceful.

If someone travels from Saudi Arabia to bring war to Europe, bomb Saudi Arabia...perhaps Mecca should be first.  If someone travels to the USA from Somalia to bring destruction to the Americas, bomb Mogadishu...the heart of the city.  

Do not worry about civilian casualties.  Do you think the criminals who came to New York and Paris cared whether the casualties were civilians in the World Trade Center or the Bataclan Theatre?

If ISIS wants to reside in Iraq or Syria or Libya, bomb the capitals of these nations. Perhaps then the fire will be lit to force these countries to recognize they are responsible for their borders and their citizenry.

I do not think war is the answer to anything. However, war is either fought with the goal to win, like World War II or the first Gulf War, or it is not war. Set a goal and do not stop until it is met. 

Trust me, Europe and the USA, history will put you on the right side.  This tactic will also gain the attention of nations wanting to provoke us around the edges, like China and Russia.

Brute force, not targeted killing, will win this war for the survival of the peaceful.

ON HONESTY: IT'S NAME IS FABIOLA

I walked for miles in and around Plaza Botero. For hours I schlepped up and down streets filled with vendors and prostitutes, cafes and bakeries, churches and cheap hotels. My last area to search was just northeast of the plaza, taking me under the Medellin Metro line.

Amidst a crowd of poor merchants selling their wares on blankets spread on the sidewalk, directly under the overhead Metro, her face appeared.  She was selling the little things recicladoras find that might have value to another Paisa...a screwdriver, a pair of shoes, a string of lights.  My search was over. I found my angel.

In August I wrote [ Medellin Steals My Heart ] about being the victim of a pickpocket on Wednesday, only to be the victim of a random act of incredible kindness and honesty the following Sunday.  I wrote that my angel left before I could get her name. Because I had lost my wallet and cash, I could not hand to her a comparable reward for her act of generosity.  I felt guilty and incomplete.

Last Wednesday I decided to take the only clue I had, the whereabouts of her telephone call telling me she found my wallet. It came from Plaza Botero, a large square located in front of the Museo de Antioquia, the state art museum. Here large sculptures by Fernando Botero sit for all to see and explore. It is a very popular tourist attraction in this city of approximately 3.5 million people.

I know from watching recicladores that they perch in one location and go out in a three to four block radius to go through the trash put out by merchants, apartment building managers, and home owners. So, with that in mind, I set out on Wednesday to see if I could find this small, cherub-faced woman with a heart of gold.

When I approached her, I asked her if she remembered me. Her eyes said no.  I asked her if she remembered finding a wallet and walking to Laureles...after a brief second, her face alit.  She put it together.  She smiled and screamed, "amigo!"

I told her she had been in my heart since that day.  I gave her a small black plastic bag within which I had hid money for her, I said, "Este regalito es solo para ti, amor." [This gift is only for you, love]  She knew what it was and immediately placed it in her bra, the same place from which she pulled my wallet that Sunday in August when we first met.  She told me it was important to her to find me because she knew the papers in my wallet were important. "Papeles importante," she called them.

After many hugs and kisses...abrazos y besitos...I wished her, "Feliz Navidad" and went on my way, only to quickly return.  "Su nombre, amor?"  "Fabiola!" her reply. Fabiola, the name of honesty. 

I still have not been able to wipe the smile off my face.  Now that I know where she is, I will stop by now and again...on Wednesdays, of course...to see how she is doing and to give her some pesos to assure there is always something on her table.

ON GUNS IN USA: Federal background checks up 300 percent

Federal gun background checks were up 300 percent on Monday, March 16, compared to the same day a year before, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a gun industry trade group. [Newsweek] The surge strained the gun background check system in several states, leading to delays. [The Trace].



*The article below appeared March 11, 2015.  I thought the rise in gun sales due to the pandemic COVID-19 prompted a reevaluation of who really controls gun policy in the United States of America.



GunPolicy.org, Sydney School of Health, University of Sydney, Australia, estimates that by 2012 there were 310,000,000 guns owned by private citizens in the United States of America.  

In its latest published figures the Federal Bureau of Investigation claims there were 21,000,000 background checks performed on gun purchases in 2013. CNN reported last year that in 2013 more than 5,500,000 guns were imported into the United States.  It is, therefore, probably safe to assume the number of guns estimated by the Sydney School of Health is on the low side.   

The United States Census Bureau estimates there are approximately 320,486,000 people living in the USA currently; about 26% of those are under age 18.  In the United States one must be at least 18 to own and register a gun. One could extrapolate from these numbers that there are only about 237,158,000 Americans eligible to own a gun in the "land of the free and home of the brave."

In an Associated Press report on the 2014 General Social Survey, a trend survey conducted regularly by NORC, an independent research group out of the University of Chicago, surveyors found that only 22% of Americans own a gun and only 32% live in a household where a gun is owned.

I am not a mathematician, but I did pay attention in grammar school. If only 22% of Americans own guns, a grand total of 70,507,000 people own those 310,000,000 weapons.  

Taking NORC's survey a step further, since only 32% of Americans claim to live in a home that has a gun, 48,000,000 people live alone with about 4.4 guns in their possession.  Why?  

They are not protecting a family; they live alone! And, the survey found that only 15% of Americans hunt, so that cannot be the reason for gun ownership. It means 41,000,000 Americans own guns for no other reason than to feel safe in their loneliness? 

In the report cited earlier by CNN, 16,238 homicides were committed in the United States in 2011, 68.2% by firearms...or more than 11,000. 

As we listen, news report after news report, to a lead statement that begins, "Today a lone gunman...." perhaps we need to add one question to gun registration forms.  

The new question?   "Do you live alone?"

ON VENEZUELA: LATIN OR NOT, THIS IS AMERICA

I do not often let other people tell you what I think, but this young...and very brave...University of Florida student tells the story of what is happening in this country I used to visit and love.  I am currently next door, in Colombia.  Here, we are seeing, first hand, the brutality of someone trying to hold on to power at any cost.  

The video is disturbing in its showcasing of the violence.  Maybe that is what is needed to awaken the people of the world...especially the people of the Americas...to what is happening in this beautiful country called Venezuela. 

Please lend your voice to help this young woman reach millions. Download this video and pass it to your friends.  Let us, together, end the brutal Maduro dictatorship.

THIS VIDEO IS DISTURBING. VIEW WITH CAUTION:
https://youtu.be/EFS6cP9auDc

ON PAISAS: MEDELLIN STEALS MY HEART AGAIN

A SILLETERO AND
HIS FLOWERS

Last week was Feria de las Flores, the Flower Fair, in Medellin, Colombia.  It is a week (and a little more) of celebrating the richness of the agriculture of the Antioquia region, especially the cultivation and distribution of beautiful flowers.

This metro area of more than 3.5 million people fills with tourists from around the world during the festival. Unfortunately, this is also a time, as in any large city, when also travel those folks solely inclined to take advantage of those from out of town.

On Wednesday, while traveling on the Medellin Metro transit system I was the victim of a pickpocket.  The crowds were huge in each car and, despite closing the button on the pocket holding my wallet, the constant bumping from side to side and crush of humanity enabled someone to take what was not his.  

Sunday, the porter at my building called me and asked if I had lost some papers.  I said yes.  He said someone is here.  I rushed down stairs and I noticed a cart in front of the building.  It was the cart of a recicladore (recycler)  See more here: Help Women in Colombia.

THIS GROUP OF RECICLADORES INCLUDES TWO
WOMEN, WHO, I SWEAR, WORK TWICE AS HARD
AS THE MEN

At the porter's window was a small, older, round woman, bald except for a few wisps of hair.  She had two business cards of mine on which I had handwritten the address and phone number of my apartment in Medellin.  I asked if this was all.  She nodded to me no.

I went outside to meet her.  From a place hidden under her shirt, she handed me my wallet.  Though the $200,000 pesos in notes and the local Metro card were gone; my credit cards, debit cards, Veterans Administration identification, Florida driver's license, blood donor card, Medicare card and more were still nestled inside.

YES, THOSE ARE REAL FLOWERS.
YES, THOSE ARE SILLETEROS CARRYING THEM.

I had mentioned to a friend on the Thursday after the theft that I received a telephone call the day before from a woman, but I could not understand all she said and she told me she would call me later.

This beautiful woman, now standing outside my building, told me she was the one who had called...from Plaza Botero, a park located many miles from my apartment in Barrio Laureles. She then apologized to me for not being able to speak English to me, in her country.

I hugged her tightly, gave her a big kiss, told her how thankful I was, and I gave her a reward...I am sure the amount was more than she had earned all week from the hard, backbreaking work she performed in this huge city.

She left quickly with her cart. I am sure to return to work tomorrow morning. And, then, it dawned on me.  She had walked those miles...through the rain of the last two days; through the heat of the days before.  And, for those who know Medellin, this city nestled in the Andes Mountains, her journey to me was only up hill from the center of our city.

LUNCHTIME FOR THIS
WOMAN?
IT COMES AMIDST THE
RECYCLABLES

This paisa, this woman who works harder in a day than any ten gringo men in a week, walked here because it was the right thing to do.  She walked here because she found something that belonged to someone else. She might have thought there could be a reward, but she had no guarantee of one and she did not ask me for even a centavo.

She did it because she is "paisa." Perhaps only paisas know what that really means. Gringos like me only know paisas because of the fictional character Juan Valdez, of Colombian coffee fame, the prototypical paisa. See more here: Paisas on Wikipedia

For those who wonder why Martin keeps returning to this city of contradictions, this tale tells you all you need to know.  Who would not want to be close to this woman of the streets, this beautiful PAISA.


NOTE: I have written well over 100 pieces for Martin's Musings. This is the first time I cried while writing a story.  While the USA deals with idiots like Donald Trump talking down to women, women here show me what it means to be human...and, what is real work.


  

ON POLICE IN AMERICA: THEY ARE KILLING, NOT PROTECTING

Almost every city and town in America has its own police force.  Every state has a police force.  The Federal government has several for differing reasons...FBI, DEA, US Marshals Service, and more. The USA also has a standing military and each state has a National Guard service, which can also be nationalized. United States' citizens should be well protected in the event of any emergency.

But, instead of local police that protect and serve, American cities have forces that kill and maim. According to The Guardian, 672 people are dead so far this year at the hands of these protectors. [click here] The Counted  What happened?

After Pearl Harbor was attacked, Americans got angry and went after the culprits, Japan and Germany.  The USA built a huge military and went after the bastards.  We beat them into submission, then went home and re-built a peacetime nation.

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, Americans got angry and let their President lash out at anything that was an easy target.  Instead of bombing Saudi Arabia, where most of our attackers were from, including their leader, we attacked Iraq and Afghanistan.  Two very easy targets (and, our inept President even managed to botch these two missions).  And, instead of letting our National Guard, Federal military, and Federal police agencies protect us, the gun industry saw an opening to arm every policeman in America.

In practically the blink of an eye we went from Officer Friendly to Officer Murderer.

From this:

To this:

How do Americans put this mean, nasty genie back into the bottle?

ON THE FLAG OF THE CONFEDERACY: HERE'S WHAT IT STANDS FOR

For those neanderthal's who continue to defend the use of the Stars and Bars, the flag of the Confederacy, the Rebel Flag, whatever name you want to give it, no photograph bears homage to the flag's true meaning than this shot.  

The photograph was taken by photographer Bob Daugherty on April 14, 1964.  The demonstration was occurring in front of the hotel where Alabama Governor George Wallace was residing in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For those who are confused, the white guy with the flag on a stick is not happy that Negroes want to vote.

Martin's Musings: HELP WOMEN SUCCEED IN COLOMBIA

Martin's Musings: HELP WOMEN SUCCEED IN COLOMBIA: PLEASE ASSIST ME IN HELPING SOME WOMEN BUILD A BETTER FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR THEIR FAMILIES. INDIEGOGO IS THE WEBSITE.  ...

HELP WOMEN SUCCEED IN COLOMBIA

PLEASE ASSIST ME IN HELPING SOME WOMEN BUILD A BETTER FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR THEIR FAMILIES.

INDIEGOGO IS THE WEBSITE.  "HELP WOMEN SUCCEED IN COLOMBIA" IS THE CAMPAIGN.  

I AM TRYING TO RAISE A TOTAL OF $10,000 TO BEGIN THIS PROCESS.  I HAVE NAMED SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO WILL GET THESE FIRST DONATIONS IN MY CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND INFORMATION.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK.  AND, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

LINK:  HELP WOMEN SUCCEED IN COLOMBIA

ON FLAGS: THEY MEAN SOMETHING

In 1860 the U.S. Census estimated that approximately 3,954,000 people were held as slaves in the Southern and border states of the Union.  In 1945, when the Nazi Government of Germany was defeated, approximately 11 million people were freed from forced labor and POW camps.

Post-war Germans believe Nazism was an aberration. Most U.S. citizens believe the Confederacy of southern and border states was an aberration as well.

So distasteful was the rise of Nazism in Germany that the German Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code), specifically Statute 86a, outlaws the "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations."  This law includes flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans, and forms of greeting.

The traitors and terrorists who rose up to defy the Federal Government of the United States and caused a Civil War between the states of the Union, should be shown the same courtesy that Germany offers Nazis...none.  The U.S. government would be within its right to ban Confederacy-inspired parades, flags, cemeteries, societal groups, and more.

Making slaves of humans and dissatisfaction with government policies are held in common by the carriers of these two flags.  Quit trying to explain racism and slavery as if it makes sense.  It does not. Relegate the flag of the Confederacy to the Museum of Hatred, where it belongs.

I do not care if your great, great grandpappy fought and died for the flag. He was a stupid racist like his fellow rebels and deserves nothing save contempt.

ON RAISING CHILDREN: PAY ATTENTION MOM AND DAD

Dear Moms and Dads of America,

If you own, or have seen, photographs of your children and one of your brood looks like this in any photo,

or appears looking like this, 

or smiles such,

do America a favor.
Do not...

I repeat, DO NOT...

buy them a gun as a gift.  

As a matter of fact, if they possess a gun, take it away from them...by force if you have to! 

And please, for the sake of your fellow citizens, after you have screwed up this child's life with your sexist or racist or alcohol or drug-infused rants about getting screwed by "them," or your unwillingness to hold them responsible for any of their actions, or your unwillingness to sink all your savings into making them well or keeping them from harming members of your society, do us all a favor.  

If they use the guns you allowed them to own to kill your friends and/or neighbors, take it upon yourself to do the following.

Blow both your own damn brains out as well. 

You are responsible for making these horrible creatures, not us.

With love,

Martin

ON GUNS IN AMERICA: AN AUSTRALIAN VIEWPOINT

Jim Jefferies is a very funny guy from Perth, Australia. He knows more about us than we seem to know...or, at least, are able to express coherently.  

Watch all the way through this 15 minutes of profanity laced with serious thought.

Click here:  Guns: An Australian Viewpoint

ON JIHAD: THE END OF ISIS MAY COME ONE NUTJOB AT A TIME

The Hong Kong Daily News reported in its famous weekly culinary section this week that shark fin soup may be on its way out as a holiday tradition for wealthy Chinese. The newspaper states the change is not due to sensitivity about adverse news coverage or pressure from international conservation groups.

According to renowned Chef Swe-hing Lo, the change is occurring as Chinese men discover that the testicles of jihadists are an aphrodisiac. 

Chef Lo's research has shown high amounts of testosterone centered in the testicles of these men who wage war against innocent civilians. "I don't know why it is so, but I can tell you my customers are happy in their performance after dining on these delicacies."

Lo's, the appropriately named Beijing restaurant, has created two dishes employing the hard to procure jihadi jewels.  He serves the testicles in traditional Chinese broth; and he has created a testicle and shrimp marriage of the two distinct textures.  The latter dish has been given a Chinese name that roughly translates into, "Happy Family Men's Privates." 

Mr. Lo, as he likes to be called, stated his male customers prefer their testicles in his broth. "It seems they like their testicles straight up," he claimed, "by a four to one margin."  
A frustrated Mr. Lo continued, "I am afraid some Iraqi and Syrian families have discovered this specialty item and are refusing to export the rare nuts from their battlefields." The 49-year-old chef added, "We Chinese will prevail, however, as once we have a taste for something delicious we will do whatever it takes to keep it all to ourselves, as we did with the shark fins." 

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIL, has called on the United Nations to end this brutal treatment of its fighters. Spokesman Ali bin Iraqani, who lost a testicle in the battle for Mosul, issued a statement on the ISIL Twitter feed, "How are we to continue our fight to bring the third Century back to life in the Middle East if the essence of our comrades is turned into soup."

A spokesman for the International Institute on Shark Research, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, was quoted as saying, "This is the best news sharks have had in generations."  "I'd rather see ball-less jihadis than fin-less sharks any day," he proclaimed.  

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Obama was effusive in his support of this growing Chinese culinary trend. "The President called Chinese President Xi Jinping this morning and asked him to bring Chef Lo's broth recipe for his visit with us this September," said Earnest. "Mr. Obama wished the Chinese President, 'Bon Appetit,'" the spokesman added. 

The Pentagon issued a statement saying only that, "If this trend goes as planned, and knowing our esteemed Asian friends as we do this appetite will expand, we predict the Chinese will eat their way through our war on terror within a period of less than ten years."