ON THE MINIMUM WAGE: ARE THE WALTON'S THE POSTER CHILDREN OF GREED?

Raymond Burse

Recently, Raymond Burse, the President of Kentucky State University, asked to reduce his $350,000 salary by $90,000 a year.  His reason for taking this large salary cut was to allow the university to raise the wages of the 24 lowest paid employees. 

The State of Kentucky minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour; these 24 employees now earn $10.25 per hour.  Yes, he lowered his salary more than 25% a year to help only 24 people!  

When asked why he did it, President Burse related that he was the youngest of 13 children in his family, and that while growing up to sacrifice was a normal part of life. 

Christy Walton

According to the Forbes Magazine list of 400 richest Americans published recently, Christy (6th), Jim (7th), Alice (9th), and S. Robson (10th), four Americans who share the last name Walton, are worth approximately $143.7 Billion. Christy has $38 Billion, Jim gets by on $36 Billion, Alice survives on $34.9 Billion, and S. Robson ekes out life with a mere $34.8 Billion. 

Alice Walton

How did they earn this much money? Christy chose to marry John Walton, who died in 2005. John and his siblings earned their wealth through birth. Their father was a gentleman by the name of Sam Walton, who died in 1992. Sam Walton built the ubiquitous Walmart and Sam's Club chains.

The kid's inheritance, Walmart, is estimated to employ about 2.2 million people worldwide, catering to the needs of 100 million customers each week. They employ approximately 1% of all working Americans, 1.4 million people. In their 2014 annual report they claimed yearly sales of more than $476 Billion. If they were a country they would stand as the 19th largest economy in the world, with a profit margin of 3.41%, around $16.2 Billion.

Jim Walton

If the world was filled with more leaders like Raymond Burse,  and fewer with the mindset of the Waltons, our legislators could easily reduce the funds for some of our anti-poverty programs like Medicaid and Food Stamps. 

Let us look at the Waltons as an example of what just one U.S. company could do.  If these four billionaires gave up 25% of their yearly profit, about $4 Billion would be available to provide all of their U.S. employees with an immediate $2,850 pay raise each year. Economists believe this money would be immediately spent on basic goods and services. And, they would probably purchase many of these goods from Walmart stores, essentially putting the money back into the Walton's pockets. 

S. Robson Walton

The pay raise would also likely make Walmart employees ineligible for the approximately $2.66 Billion in Federal government poverty assistance they now receive, according to figures from Paddy Ryan of the Daily Kos.  Ryan estimates the amount is equal $420,000 in aid per store. In many states Walmart employees are the top recipients of Medicaid services, while as many as 80% use food stamps or SNAP to feed their family. 

If the Waltons, like President Burse, gave up 25% of their wealth for their employees, about $36 Billion would be available for bonuses for U.S. employees of approximately $30,000 each. Would that not make a nice Christmas for Walmart employees? 

Mr. Greedy

So, knowing this, why would the Waltons not want to lift Walmart employees in the U.S. out of poverty? Why would they not want to give their employees a small pay raise so they could spend more money in Walmart?

For those who are about to scream, "These are entrepreneurs and job creators they shouldn't have to give up anything!"  Let me remind you that the only reason the four Waltons have this much money is that three of them happened to be sired by one man named Sam; and the richest of them married the son who liked to fly experimental airplanes!

The minimum wage at Walton's money mill needs to be raised to $15 per hour. And it needs to be done now.  The only possible answer to why the Walton family does not is greed...simple, unadulterated, unvarnished GREED!  

ON GUNS IN AMERICA: NRA SAYS THEY HAVE A PLAN TO STOP VIOLENCE

Wayne LaPierre

The National Rifle Association has announced that in light of what they describe as the "Watts-like riots" in Ferguson, Missouri, the nation's leading gun advocate will present to the new Republican-led Congress an outline for legislation to "protect Americans once and for all."

In the news release that accompanied the announcement the gun lobby group states that, "the NRA wants to assure that every U.S. citizen has access to a gun whenever and wherever they find themselves facing the darkness of violence." Watts refers to a neighborhood in Los Angeles where in August 1965 racially-motivated riots killed 34 people and injured more than 1,000.

Text and Shoot While Driving Combo

In the statement released to the media that outlined the proposal, Wayne LaPierre, the Executive Vice President of the group is quoted as saying, "On behalf of the billions and billions of law abiding Americans who belong to the NRA, we need to put an end to the violence perpetrated by the dark element in our society." 

Named by the NRA as the Guns Everywhere Citizens Protection Act of 2015, the measure will require every major U.S. manufacturer to include a gun be designed into their products. If passed the legislation would go into effect within two years of enactment.

"No, my door isn't always open "

LaPierre added, "According to our statistics, kept on behalf of the billions of loyal Americans who belong to the premier defender of America's Constitutionally guaranteed Second Amendment rights, the most sacred of the rights guaranteed by our forefathers, there are only about 300 million guns in the hands of the average U.S. citizen.  That number is growing at a truly disappointing rate of only 10 million guns per year.  These numbers, along with the puny number of weapons held by the estimated 780,000 police and 13,400 FBI Special Agents, are just a drop in the bucket of what is needed to fight the ubiquitous dark evil spreading across our great land."

The NRA Dresser-Killer Combo

When asked to clarify his comment on dark evil, Mr. LaPierre simply added, "You know who I'm talking about; they're the ones who don't have pure white intentions in their hearts and souls."

In a related story, The Tampa Bay Times reported yesterday that Nathan Scott, one of the three victims shot in the library of Florida State University recently, is asking the Florida Legislature to allow concealed weapons on college campuses.

In an interview with Musings, Mr. Scott (no relation to the present Governor, Rick Scott) stated that, "If the damn library had titles like Sig Sauer or Glock instead of Notes of a Native Son and Invisible Man I can guarantee nobody would have been shot."

Later that day, Musings received a press release from the NRA's Florida affiliate.  In it, Marion Hammer, the NRA's chief Florida lobbyist, is quoted as saying, "What a smart young man this Scott is.  I'm 1,000 percent behind this sensible idea."

Michael Brown

Governor Scott's office also released a statement regarding the Scott proposal. When asked to clarify, an aide to the Governor said, "You know we're only working here on jobs, jobs, jobs.  But, guns replacing books in the libraries across Florida could bring these protection aids to millions of hard working Floridians who can't afford more than basic food and shelter. With the increase we've seen in the dark and evil element, eating Skittles and playing loud thug music, we're eager to get behind this effort to help people protect themselves."

Tamir Rice

Since Michael Brown's death in Ferguson last August, 14 teens have been shot and killed by police officers in the USA, including six African-American youngsters.

The latter statistic includes Cameron Tillman, a 14-year-old boy from Terrebonne, Louisiana, who was shot to death on September 21.  In Cleveland, Ohio, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was gunned down on November 22.  Both boys were armed with dark skin and toy guns.

ON THE MIDDLE EAST: COULD THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE BE THE SOLUTION?

Ottoman Empire--1699-1914

Since they met in early August to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Great War, Francois Hollande, President of France, and David Cameron, Prime Minister of Great Britain, have been discussing the horrific mistake their countries made after World War I in an effort to determine if they can fix it a century later.  

This blog has learned they plan to re-create the Ottoman Empire, ceding the entire region to Turkey without including Turkey's President, Recep Erdogan, in the discussions.

An aide to President Hollande, who asked to remain anonymous, went so far as to say, "We in the government wish Francois Georges-Picot was never born. We think it only fitting we end this horrendous agreement in the same way we came to it in 1916, without discussing it with anyone in the Middle East."

Prime Minister David Cameron

In an interview with Prime Minister Cameron two days ago, the Conservative Party leader said he agreed with the statement of the aide to his Socialist French counterpart, adding, "I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone alive in England after the war even listened to Mark Sykes, much less knighted him."

The Sykes-Picot Agreement, officially known as the Asia Minor Agreement, was concluded in May 1916, and effectively divided up the Middle East. It led to the creation of Syria, Israel, and Iraq, crossing ethnic and tribal lines to provide spheres of influence to Russia, France, and Great Britain. Russia wisely withdrew from the agreement after the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917.

Francois Georges-Picot

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, when asked at his home about his relative Picot, stated bluntly, "Non, non, non. Dans ma famille, nous ne parlons pas de mon grand-oncle!" [No, no, no.  In my family we do not speak of my great uncle!]. After commenting, the aging VGE slammed the door closed in this reporter's face.

Since breaking this story, Musings has been given exclusive access to the French and British government negotiating teams that meet three consecutive days each month. The meetings alternate monthly in the cities of Calais and Dover. The current schedule calls for a formal signing ceremony to be held November 11, 2015. Planned implementation of the agreement is to occur on November 11, 2018, at 11 a.m., Paris time. 

British team leader Sir Thomas E. Lawrence, when asked why the three-year delay in implementation, stated, "We learned from the mistakes of Sykes-Picot. It wasn't the secrecy that caused all the later problems, it was the fact that the Middle East didn't have time to acclimate to the change."

President Francois Hollande

His French counterpart, Margaretha "Mata" MacLeod, interrupted, "And, we aren't including the Russians this time. If Erdogan wants the Crimea back into his Empire he can talk to Putin about it."

The agreement will be known as the Hollande-Cameron Agreement.  In a fitting tribute to mark the end of the Great War, the agreement will be signed in the Palace of Versailles next November.

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, when told of the meetings, reportedly said, "Mein Gott!  Perhaps if they had been this reflective back in 1918 the whole Nazi thing would have never taken hold here!"

ON SCHOOL SHOOTINGS: A NO NONSENSE FEDERAL LAW IS REQUIRED

            This law shall be known as the: 

      "Federal Anti-Violence Act of 2014"

"This law is intended to protect the citizens of the United States of America from gun violence.

Any person who commits a misdemeanor or felony while carrying or displaying on their person a pistol, rifle, shotgun, bow, or any other weapon that is designed to throw a projectile shall be subject to this law if the misdemeanor or felony is committed within any of the states or territories comprising the United States of America.  

If a person is convicted by any court in any state or territory comprising the United States of America of a misdemeanor or felony while carrying or displaying on their person a pistol, rifle, shotgun, bow, or any other weapon that is designed to throw a projectile the person convicted shall serve an additional twenty years of imprisonment, in addition to any sentence presented by the court, in a Federal penal facility. No additional trial or conviction shall be required by this law. This twenty-year sentence shall begin within one day following the end of any state or local imprisonment awarded by the local, state, or territorial jurisdiction.

If the misdemeanor or felony is committed by a minor child, and that minor child is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony while carrying or displaying on their person a pistol, rifle, shotgun, bow, or any other weapon that is designed to throw a projectile, then said minor's adult parents, step parents, foster parents, friend, relative or whomever under local law is responsible for the care and nurture of the convicted minor on the day the misdemeanor or felony was committed shall be deemed to have abetted the minor person in the conduct of the misdemeanor or felony and shall serve in stead of the convicted minor child the mandated twenty-year sentence required under this law."

Three more teens dead in Washington shooting at school. We need to start tackling this problem in America.  I am sick and tired of reading about our children shot senselessly in their classrooms and elsewhere. 

Someone has to be the adult in this conversation about guns. The Second Amendment gives no one the right to kill Americans.

ON MICHAEL DUNN MURDERING JORDAN DAVIS: SLOW JUSTICE IN FLORIDA

Yesterday Michael Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder, a crime that results in a life sentence in the Florida Penitentiary System. As a reminder, Mr. Dunn shot and killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis because Dunn did not like the "thug" music coming from Davis' vehicle. Maybe there is justice coming to Florida. I thought I would also reissue this blog as a reminder.

Michael Dunn shot and killed Jordan Davis. Why? Dunn says teenagers listening to loud music put him, "In fear of his life," according to the Orlando Sentinel.  So, faced by four black teenagers and their loud music, he pulled a 9-mm pistol from his glove compartment and shot into the Dodge Durango from which the music was booming. He did not shoot once or twice, he shot ten times. He kept firing even as the teens tried to speed backwards out of the line of fire.

Jordan Davis was in the back seat. Three of the ten bullets hit him.  One of those rounds killed him. Jordan Davis will never see his 18th birthday. His parents will not see him graduated from his magnet high school.

How did Mr. Dunn get into this predicament?  He decided to pull his black VW Jetta right up next to an SUV playing music he later told his fiance he hated. The music was already blaring when the 47-year-old white man decided to park, according to The Florida Times-Union's Jacksonville.com.  Mr. Dunn did not try to find another space to park his car so his eardrums were not hurt by the loud music, as he claimed they were when he took the stand in his own defense.

After his fiance went into the store to buy wine, Dunn told the kids to turn down the volume. Every witness involved in this incident claim this is when "words" were exchanged.  Dunn's fiance, who heard the shots from inside the store, came out to see what happened. Dunn told her to get in the car and they drove off. The boys in the SUV had already backed out of the parking spot to get away from Dunn's bullets.  They stopped in an adjacent strip mall lot, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Dunn did not tell his fiance he saw a gun.  He never went to see, or even called, the police.  On his website, justicefordunn.com, he claims "thug culture" caused the shooting.

As I write, the murder trial for Dunn is being held in Jacksonville, Florida.  The verdict is now in the jury's hands. When asked why he did not stay or call the police, he claimed he could not give a reason.  He testified he had to get back to the bed and breakfast quickly so his dog Charlie could, "go potty," according to a CNN report. The police said none of the four youngsters in the SUV had a weapon and no weapon was found in the car.  

Here is what I think caused this crime. Mr. Dunn, who had been drinking at a reception for his son's wedding, saw four young men who looked different and played loud music he did not like. He pulled up right next to them to get in their face. When he told them to turn down the volume, and they did nothing, he snapped. His hatred for "thug culture", the word "thug" being the new racist term used to replace the "N-word," illuminates Dunn's reason for shooting.

Because he had a gun, and with his thinking impaired, he believed he could discharge his weapon and suffer no consequences.  After all, he was in Florida.  He could claim he was standing his ground. A jury of his peers (I would bet that in his mind this means a group of only white people) would listen to his story and understand exactly why he carried a gun, why he pulled it out, and why he fired.  He was in the south and "everyone" in the south knows black kids do not mouth off to white men and get away with it.  It is against a code that has existed for hundreds of years.

And, because buying and concealing guns is so easy in Florida, I believe this type of violence will continue to rise. In the background check for purchasing a weapon from a licensed firearms dealer, and on the questionnaire required by the State of Florida to procure a Concealed Weapon or Firearm License, the only questions asked relate to age, physical ability to handle a weapon, military service, citizenship, and whether you have been in trouble with the law. The latter includes questions about felony and other convictions, restraining orders, and non-voluntary mental health incarcerations.

I think this line of questioning would be sufficient if you were applying for a driver's license or a teacher's certificate. I think they are shallow and weak when applied to the purchase of a gun or a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Along with the license questions listed above, I believe additional areas need exploration, followed by a psychiatric interview and home visit. Among these are:

1. Do you harbor ill feelings against any person of another race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or ethnic origin?
2. Do you fantasize about coming to someone's rescue and using your weapon to disarm the perpetrator?
3. Do you fantasize about coming upon a person preparing to perform, or actually performing, an illegal act and using your firearm to stop them?
4. Do you have anger management issues?  Are you a control freak?
5. Have you ever struck another human being with your hand?  If so, why?
6. Have you ever struck another human being with an object?  If so, why?
7. Does someone inside your head talk to you now and again?  If so, what does he/she talk about?
8. Do you have a gun lock or locker in which you swear, under penalty of a minimum $20,000 fine and ten years in prison, any and all of your firearms will be kept under lock when not on your person?
9. Do you accept full responsibility for the safety of your weapons, including keeping your weapons out of the hands of anyone under age 18, mentally impaired, and/or under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, including yourself, subject to the penalties outlined in question # 8?

I am sure there are more questions that need to be asked of people wanting to carry a gun.  The questions asked now may keep felons from purchasing guns from licensed dealers, but they do not keep a man or woman with anger issues unarmed.  They are the ones I worry about every time I hear a loud argument anywhere in the United States.

ON JUSTICE: IT'S A LITTLE SLOW IN FLORIDA

Yesterday Michael Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder, a crime that results in a life sentence in the Florida Penitentiary System. As a reminder, Mr. Dunn shot and killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis because Dunn did not like the "thug" music coming from Davis' vehicle. Maybe there is justice coming to Florida. I thought I would reissue this blog as a reminder.


There is a famous scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when Harrison Ford's character, Indiana Jones, is confronted by a man with a sword. Rather than engage in a sword fight, Indiana pulls out his pistol and shoots the man dead. Evidently white people who live in Florida think every black man must have a sword in his pocket.  Why else would they all feel justified in shooting black men and boys without guns?

Just yesterday, in Brandon, near Florida's west coast, Lew Tyree lost his life when, according to the Tampa Bay Times, he stabbed a cat, attempted to break a window, and was carrying a butcher knife.  Three Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies shot him, "at least three times," because they could not talk him into dropping the knife.  They fired at him when he made, "threatening comments," according to the paper.  Mr. Tyree was a black man, age 41.

Back in July of last year, in Escambia County, which is located in north Florida and includes the city of Pensacola, 60-year-old Roy Middleton was shot by two sheriff's deputies because a neighbor did not recognize him and called 911. Mr. Middleton was getting cigarettes out of his mother's car parked in his driveway. The deputies fired on the unarmed black man 15 times, severely injuring Mr. Middleton. The Sheriff's office blamed "officer anxiety" for the shooting, according to CNN.

Two 17-year-old boys, Trayvon Martin, shot and killed in February 2012, and Jordan Davis, shot and killed in November 2012, were murdered before they could celebrate their 18th birthdays.  Martin, armed with Skittles, and Davis, armed with loud music, were both African-American. They were not shot by deputies, but by two white men who both claimed were in fear for their life. George Zimmerman, who shot Martin, actually chased the boy before shooting him. Michael Dunn, who killed Davis, kept firing his gun even after Davis and his friends tried to flee.

I have been a white guy in America for more than 66 years.  I have never had to shoot a black man or boy. I have never feared black men or boys.  I grew up in the city of Baltimore, which had a predominantly black population when I lived there.  Never once was I threatened by black folks of any gender.  I lived in center city Philadelphia for ten years.  Same scenario, no threats.  Even living in Florida, where, evidently, black boys and men are seen as evil, I have not been threatened in any way by people of color.

According to LegallyArmed.com, through August 2013, Florida had issued almost 1.2 million concealed carry permits. Further, there are more than 35,000 armed police officers in Florida. So, from this man's perspective, African-American men living in, or vacationing in, Florida need to have a weapon.

Do not arm yourself with a knife, carry a gun. At least you will be able to defend yourself from the armed citizen or the deputy who wants to shoot you for something you did not do. Just make sure you have a carry permit so you can claim you were, "standing your ground."  By the way, in Florida we honor all valid out-of-state concealed carry permits.

ON WORKING FOR A LIVING IN THE USA: IS THIS THE BEST WE CAN DO?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index the inflation rate averaged 2.06% per year during the last three years, 2010-2013.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's report on median income during the same period was released Thursday, September 4, 2014. It reported median income for Americans, adjusted for inflation, rose only for the top 10%.

• Bottom 20% of income earners-income dropped by 4%, from $15,800 to $15,200.
• Middle 20% of income earners-income dropped by 6%, from $51,800 to $48,700 
• Middle  to Upper Middle 40%-90% of income earners-little or no change
• Top 10% of income earners-income rose 2%, from $217,900 to $223,200

Yesterday, in many large cities in the United States, fast-food workers were arrested for protesting the low wages paid by their industry. These peaceful protesters were arrested primarily for blocking streets near their place of employment. Most fast-food workers fall into the bottom 20% of the earnings' categories listed above.

The U.S. Congress should be ashamed of itself for allowing this disparity to exist and grow. 

Non-voting Americans should be ashamed of themselves as well. Our Constitution grants us a very clear path to change our government when it does not protect our interests. 

Until we use our power to pursue a minimum living wage for workers and a tax system that is progressive and fair, we should expect this imbalance in income to continue.