Lewis Black Slams Rush Limbaugh With A Big Ol' F*CK YOU! & Limbaugh Uses Public Radio To Exploit Robin Williams – Here’s How The Public Fights Back 14&12AUG14

Lewis Black strikes back at rush limbaugh for his cruel comments on Robin Williams suicide. From +Daily Kos .....

Thu Aug 14, 2014 at 01:54 PM PDT

Lewis Black Slams Rush Limbaugh With A Big Ol' F*CK YOU!

by Leslie Salzillo

The very thunderous and politically outspoken comedian, Lewis Black, lashed out at Rush Limbaugh yesterday for Limbaugh's recent comments about the late Robin Williams. Black posted on his own Facebook page:

Fuck You Rush Limbaugh. Your statements were beyond cruel and stupid. They were intolerable. Enough is enough from you. You are an idiot. Don't you ever demean the death of another human being. He was my friend. You disgust me."

Lewis Black is not alone in his sentiments. The 'Hate Radio' talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, disgusts the majority of people in and outside of the country. He has been getting away with racism, homophobia, misogyny and bigotry, on our tax-paid public radio, for decades. Finally, the public is doing something about it. There are several ways to protest Rush Limbaugh.

Sign: Limbaugh Sponsor & Clear Channel Petition
Visit/Like: BoycottRush Facebook Group
Join: The Fight To Flush Rush
Visit: StopRush.net for a list of Limbaugh Sponsors

On Tuesday, Lewis Black reminisced, in a Time.com piece, about his friendship and collaboration with Robin Williams. They entertained troops together during two USO tours in the late 2000's. Many stories of sorrow, love, and respect for Robin Williams continue to flood mainstream and social media. If there is a heaven, he is there, out of his pain. Millions around the world will love and miss him dearly. H/T and special thanks to Kimberly A. Johnson/Liberals Unite and Kimberly A. Johnson on Facebook

Limbaugh Uses Public Radio To Exploit Robin Williams – Here’s How The Public Fights Back

August 12, 2014 |  Posted by: Leslie Salzillo

inShare

I rarely quote Rush Limbaugh’s shock statements anymore. It doesn’t help anyone to give this man’s despicable commentary attention. These days, I write about his demise and how the national boycott is destroying his career. I write about Limbaugh losing radio stations, sponsors, rankings, listeners, and how his hate is finally destroying his career.

So why am I giving Limbaugh publicity today for exploiting the death of Robin Williams? I’m writing in hopes that more of the country will see how hate mongers like him are poisoning our public airways. I’m writing to hopefully encourage more Americans to speak out against Limbaugh and his ilk. And I’m writing to offer solutions. Limbaugh intentionally themed his show around Robin Williams to advance his political agenda. In doing so, he spits on those suffering with the mental illness and depression. He publicly increases the immeasurable pain the surviving friends and family of Robin Williams are feeling over his loss. This is what Limbaugh does. He hurts people, provokes racism, misogyny and bigotry – and laughs about it. He has been laughing all the way to the bank for decades. But his radio days are coming to an end.
Here is the text from today’s show where Limbaugh blames the ‘Left’ for Robin Williams’s death. I had a hard time getting through it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if most people don’t make it to the end: Transcript:

LIMBAUGH: So our last caller from Des Plaines, Illinois, wanted to know, “What is the politics in the coverage of the suicide of Robin Williams?”

Well, I believe there is some. But I don’t think that the politics is driving it. I think there was, on the part of media and Hollywood, genuine affection for the guy that is driving it, but there is politics. If you notice the coverage is focused on how much he had, but it wasn’t enough.

“He had everything, everything that you would think would make you happy. But it didn’t.”

Now, what is the left’s worldview in general? What is it? If you had to attach not a philosophy but an attitude to a leftist worldview, it’s one of pessimism and darkness, sadness.

They’re never happy, are they? They’re always angry about something. No matter what they get, they’re always angry.

They are animated in large part by the false promises of America, because the promises of America are not for everyone, as we see each and every day. I mean, right here there’s a story Fox News website. Do you know, it says right here, that the real reasons that Robin Williams killed himself are he was embarrassed at having to take television roles after a sterling movie career.

He had to take movie roles that were beneath him, sequels and so forth, and he finally had to do television just to get a paycheck because he was in so much financial distress. He’d had some divorces that ripped up his net worth, and he had a big ranch in Napa that he couldn’t afford any longer and had to put up for sale, and a house in Tiburon that he couldn’t afford anymore. This is all what’s in the Fox News story.

He had it all, but he had nothing. He made everybody else laugh but was miserable inside. I mean, it fits a certain picture, or a certain image that the left has. Talk about low expectations and general unhappiness and so forth. Right here it says that one the contributing factors to Robin Williams deciding to kill himself was “survivor’s guilt.” It’s in the headline.

I read that and I thought, “Survivor’s guilt? What? What survivor’s guilt? What?” So I read it, and it turns out that three of his closest friends, the story says — Christopher Reeve, John Belushi, and Andy Kaufman… The source, unnamed in the story, said that Robin Williams felt guilty that he was still alive while his three friends had died young and much earlier than he had. He could never get over the guilt that they died and he didn’t.” Audio: Media Matters

In today’s show, Rush Limbaugh displayed his ignorance and contempt in the most despicable and insidious manner. He shames the media industry. He couldn’t care less about Robin Williams – or anyone suffering from depression.
Robin Williams died because of an illness. Williams was not making a ‘statement,’ and he did not want to hurt anyone. He left us because the excruciating pain of depression outweighs one’s rationality and reason to live.  He left  because he felt he didn’t deserve love and was a burden to others. He left because he thought the world would be better off without him in it. That’s the thinking behind suicide. How do I know? Because I’ve been there.

The world loved Robin Williams, more than he ever realized. Once the news of his death was released, it became headline news around much of the globe and statements of shock and sorrow came pouring in, including one by President Obama.
As for the Rush Limbaugh, I want to say horrible things about him, much worst than I’ve already stated above. I won’t, because that will serve no purpose or good. What I can do is join hundreds of thousands of others who are working to take this man off our tax-paid public radio by protesting, boycotts, and petitions. And it’s working. Eventually good trumps evil. And the good starts with people speaking out and taking action against evil. To help remove one of the most hateful human beings from our public airways here are some things we can do:

• Sign: Limbaugh Sponsor & Clear Channel Petition 
• Use: The StopRush Extensive Limbaugh Sponsor Database
• Visit: Facebook: BoycottRush Facebook Group and The Fight To Flush Rush   

If you are feeling suicidal or know someone who is, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline 800-263-8255 or visit National Suicide Prevention Hotline site. Your call is confidential and will be answered by a trained counselor at a local crisis center. Please share. You can make a difference.
Rest in peace, Robin Williams. If there is a heaven,  you are there, and out of your pain. We will miss you dearly.

Be sure to check out Lewis Black’s response to Limbaugh’s hateful comment at:
Lewis Black Says ‘F*ck You Rush Limbaugh… (Robin Williams) Was My Friend’

Please Like Boycott Rush Limbaugh’s Sponsors to SHUT HIM DOWN on Facebook.

ROBIN WILLIAMS 11AUG14

A tribute to Robin Williams, a man who made us laugh so hard and then often think when the laughter faded away. It is so very sad he reached the point in his life that he decided the only way to deal with all his issues was to end it.

Robin Williams

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-robin-williams-dies-20140811-story.html

Actor, comedian Robin Williams dies at 63 in apparent suicide

Robin Williams, a comic and sitcom star in the 1970s who became an Oscar-winning dramatic actor, died Monday at 63 in Marin County. The Marin County Sheriff's Office said he appears to have committed suicide.

The news of the beloved actor’s death rocked the nation. Channels broke into their usual programming to make the announcement, and within minutes, he dominated online trending topics.

Williams was hailed as a comic genius was a star of both movies and television for more than three decades. But he also suffered from substance abuse problems. 

The actor "has been battling severe depression of late," his publicist Mara Buxbaum said. "This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time."

Williams was found unresponsive at his home in Tiburon at around noon Monday, sheriff’s officials said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dubbed “the funniest man alive” by Entertainment Weekly in 1997, Williams brought audiences hours of laughter, putting his imaginative spin on characters in film and television. He was lauded for his serious roles as well, winning a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance as Sean Maguire, the therapist who counsels Matt Damon’s math genius in “Good Will Hunting” (1997), and receiving nominations for “The Fisher King” (1991), “Dead Poets Society” (1989) and “Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987).

Williams was known for being open about his problems with cocaine and alcohol over the years.

The actor spent time on a Hazelden campus in Oregon in 2006. He later explained that drinking had gradually become a problem again after 20 years of sobriety.

"You're standing at a precipice and you look down, there's a voice and it's a little quiet voice that goes, 'Jump,'" the "Mrs. Doubtfire" star told ABC News in October of that year. "The same voice that goes, 'Just one.' … And the idea of just one for someone who has no tolerance for it, that's not the possibility."

This summer, he returned to rehab to "fine-tune" his sobriety. 

Born in Chicago in 1951, Williams became one of only two students accepted into John Houseman’s prestigious acting program at Juilliard, the other being Christopher Reeve, who became a lifelong friend.

Williams gained fame as Mork, the bizarre, suspenders-sporting alien on the sitcom “Mork & Mindy,” a spinoff from “Happy Days.” Williams departed from the script so often that producers intentionally left blank moments on page for him to have space to indulge his ad-libbing genius.

That talent for ad-libbing functioned as a gift and a shield.

"He was always in character -- you never saw the real Robin," said Jamie Masada, founder and chief executive of the Laugh Factory. "I knew him 35 years, and I never knew him."

"He was a wonderful guy," Masada added. "I remember John [Belushi] and Robin, both of them always complained to me -- no matter where they were people would recognize them. They sold their privacy to the public. They could be in the middle of talking in the street and someone would come up for an autograph.... he [Robin] didn't realize how much he sold his privacy to people."

“We have lost one of our most inspired and gifted comic minds, as well as one of this generation’s greatest actors,” said Chris Columbus, who directed Williams in the 1993 comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire” and was scheduled to work with him again on “Mrs. Doubtfire 2,” a sequel recently set in motion.

“To watch Robin work was a magical and special privilege,” Columbus said. “His performances were unlike anything any of us had ever seen, they came from some spiritual and otherworldly place.... We were friends for 21 years. Our children grew up together, he inspired us to spend our lives in San Francisco and I loved him like a brother.”

Williams' last post on Twitter was about his daughter.

GOD'S POLITICS BLOG 14AUG14

GUEST COMMENTARY: When Terror Wears a Badge
by Ryan Herring

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Over the past three weeks there have been four separate incidents that have led to the deaths of four unarmed black men at the hands of police. For many black people, myself included, the moments following these tragic events are filled with despair, sorrow, anger, and frustration. Each incident serves as a reminder that as a black man in America, my life holds little to no value in the eyes of the general public. To be young and black in the United States means to live under constant pressure, something most non-black American citizens know nothing about.
For the majority of black people, the police do not represent protection or safety, rather they are a menacing force that terrorize those they are supposed to serve. I have never felt safe in the presence of law enforcement. In fact, whenever police are in close proximity to me, I feel in danger. Whenever a cop drives behind me or beside me I feel anxious, not protected.
Is my paranoia justified?
I have no criminal record, however I have had numerous run-ins with the police, none of which my actions provoked. The most common of course is being followed around a store. I have never committed a traffic violation, but I have been pulled over several times. A few of those times I was asked to step out of my vehicle to be frisked and forced to sit on the curb in humiliation while being verbally intimidated and having my car searched. The reasons I was given as to why this type of action was necessary...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Ryan Herring is Marketing and Circulation Assistant for Sojourners. You can find more of his writing at The Ghetto Monk.
ON THE GOD'S POLITICS BLOG
View the latest articles from the God's Politics blog »

Is There a Nonviolent Response to ISIS?
by Derek FloodAlarm and outrage have been growing over the mounting humanitarian crisis in Iraq at the hands of the Islamic State. Christians in the region are being forced to convert, pay tribute, or die as the al Qaeda breakaway group sweeps into predominantly Christian villages and hamlets in Iraq, sending tens of thousands fleeing for their lives. The news is devastating and overwhelming. Suicide and Pain: What Are We Missing?
by Carmille AkandeYesterday morning I was prepared to write about being a sacred place where others could come for healing, encouragement, and restoration. I had no idea Robin Williams committed suicide yesterday. I didn't hear the news because all evening I was sitting with a friend who is going through one of the most difficult times in her life. Relationships are hard. Discipleship is messy. Love takes sacrifice. But I believe it is what Jesus has called for us to do!
Jesus Wasn't American—Neither Is The Bible
by Stephen MattsonSometimes it seems that American Christians all read the exact same Bible—a truly “American Standard Version,” where every verse, account, story, and parable within scripture is interpreted through the lens of being an American. God originally authored this scripture with the intention of blessing America, protecting America, supporting her interests—and generally ignoring the rest of the world. The collateral damage of this type of thinking comes in the form of dehumanizing others.
How I Kissed Evangelizing Goodbye
by Cindy BrandtI went to the mecca of evangelicalism for college — a beautiful campus in the suburbs of Chicago, where I received a scholarship from none other than the Pope of evangelicalism, Billy Graham, for my work in street evangelism. As in, speaking to random strangers on the street in order to convert them to Christianity.
NEW! In the SojoStore

Racism has been called America's "original sin." Struggles around affirmative action, welfare and immigration reform, and other policies show that the racial divide in the United States wasn't healed in the civil rights era. This study guide is designed to spark discussion and thought about how to live out God's call for justice in our world. It's perfect for small groups or individual study! Each of the 4 sessions includes Sojourners' articles, questions for discussion, and ideas for further study. Purchase HERE!

MONTANA JUDGE G TODD BAUGH MUST RESIGN FOR BLAMING 14 YEAR OLD FOR HER RAPE 3SEP13

THIS IS DISGUSTING. Nobody should ever be blamed for being raped. Cherice Moralez was, by Judge g todd baugh, and she was only 14. But this judge's decision and his actions are especially heinous. Two years after being raped Cherice committed suicide, after never recovering from being raped. The people of Montana and the nation are justified in their outrage. To preserve trust in the judicial system the government of Montana must remove this fool from the bench before he inflicts harm on any other victim of any sexual crime who has the misfortune to appear before him. I hope you will sign this petition calling for the dismissal of this judge from his bench in Montana. And be sure to click the links and read the articles about this travesty of justice.

Something big is happening in Montana: Last week, hundreds of people gathered in Billings to protest Judge G. Todd Baugh's decision that the man who raped his 14-year-old student should only serve 30 days in jail. In his ruling, the judge made horrible comments blaming the girl for her own rape.¹

Montanans of all walks of life have stood up to put a stop to victim-blaming and rape culture, calling on Judge Baugh to resign. The outrage over this case shows just how fed up people are with a culture and legal system that tolerate sexual violence--and the UltraViolet community has been at the forefront of this effort. Since this story broke, more than 63,000 UltraViolet members have signed the petition asking the state's court system to disrobe Judge Baugh.

We're working with local organizers in Montana to deliver the petition to the Montana Judicial Standards Commission in the next few days. If we can get to 75,000 signatures before that, we'll send a message they can't ignore. Can you add your name today?

Add your name.

Thanks for speaking out.

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, and Malinda, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1. Hundreds rally to protest Montana judge over 31-day rape sentence, Reuters, August 29, 2013

P.S. Here's the original email we sent last week about this case and Judge Baugh's horrible ruling:

---

Judge G. Todd Baugh sentenced a man to 30 days in jail for raping a 14-year-old girl and then blamed the girl for her own rape. Can you sign the petition demanding that Montana's Judicial Standards Commission and Supreme Court remove him from the bench? Click Here

Dear Craig,

Cherice Moralez was just 14 when her 49-year old teacher repeatedly raped her. Two years later, Cherice committed suicide--and according to her mother, the trauma of rape was a major factor in her death.¹

But on Monday, 5 years after the rape, Billings, Montana Judge G. Todd Baugh sent her rapist to prison for just 30 days. In his ruling, he justified the light sentence because he said the victim was “as much in control of the situation” as her rapist and that she was “older than her chronological age.”²

THIS is rape culture at its worst: when our courts can let a man who raped a child go free after just days in jail and then blame the child for her own rape.

Judge Baugh’s statement has made national news, and outrage in Montana is growing. Under Montana law, the Judicial Standards Commission and Supreme Court can suspend judges.³ And the pressure is mounting on authorities to act--this morning, hundreds of Montanans are expected to protest in downtown Billings.⁴ If tens of thousands of us from all over the country join with local protesters and speak out, we can make sure that the Montana courts disrobe Judge Baugh so he can never let a rapist off the hook again. Can you sign the petition?

Sign the petition demanding that Judge Baugh be removed from the bench.

Cherice Moralez’s mother was in the courtroom when the Judge blamed her daughter for her own rape. “I guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim, even if she was only 14,” she said in a written statement after the sentencing.⁵

Originally, Judge Baugh gave the rapist, Stacey Rombard, no jail time at all, sending him to a sex offender rehabilitation program instead. Rombard was back in court after violating the rules of the program--including the provision that bans him from having contact with children.⁶ But Judge Baugh thought he still shouldn't serve his full sentence, suspending all but 31 days and giving him a credit for one day he had already served.

Rape is an epidemic in this country--1 in 5 women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape.⁷ But less than half of all rape cases are reported, and only 3% of rapists spend a single day in jail.⁸ No wonder so many survivors don’t come forward when the justice system seems stacked against them and a judge can blame a survivor for the attacks against them instead of the actual rapist.

A judge who thinks a 14-year-old girl is to blame for her own rape should not be on the bench. Pressure is mounting in Montana for the court system to do something about this quickly. If we all speak out, we can make sure Judge Baugh is suspended and can never rule on a case like this again. Will you sign the petition?

Add your name.

Thanks for speaking out.

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Malinda, and Karin, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1. Montana judge criticized for 31-day sentence for ex-teacher who raped teen, Reuters, August 28, 2013

2. Ibid.

3. Methods of Judicial Selection: Removal of Judges, American Judicature Society

4. Montana judge criticized for 31-day sentence for ex-teacher who raped teen, Reuters, August 28, 2013

5. Mont. Judge Apologizes for Comments in Teen's Rape, Associated Press, August 28, 2013

6. Ibid.

7. Nearly 1 in 5 Women in U.S. Survey Say They Have Been Sexually Assaulted, New York Times, December 14, 2011

8. Reporting Rates, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network

FIX THE CFAA, PASS AARON'S LAW from DEMAND PROGRESS 5APR13

WE can get justice for Aaron Swartz, we can give some meaning to his sad and tragic death, by refusing to be apathetic and instead be involved in the campaign to get Aaron's Law passed through Congress and signed into law by Pres Obama. Click the link to send a message to your Representatives and Senators telling the to sponsor and vote for Aaron's Law. 

Did you know that under the current Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), you might be considered a felon if you start a myspace page for a cat or lie about your height on a dating site?

Fortunately, representative Zoe Lofgren and Senator Ron Wyden have proposed long overdue amendments to the CFAA that would prevent prosecutors from abusing the law to go after individual users who breach a website's terms-of-service--that long fine print you "agree to" but never read. Click here to support their amendment:

http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/cosponsor_aarons_law_now?referring_akid=a8400962.1801662.bkVsuj&source=auto-taf

The amendments are being called "Aaron's Law" to honor the memory of Aaron Swartz, who took his own life in January after enduring two years of relentless persecution for the alleged crime of downloading too many academic articles from JSTOR too fast.

The CFAA empowered federal prosecutors to trump up the charges against Aaron. Now we have the chance to make sure no one else faces the same injustice. Click here to tell your lawmaker to support "Aaron's Law":

http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/cosponsor_aarons_law_now?referring_akid=a8400962.1801662.bkVsuj&source=auto-taf

"Aaron's Law" is designed to protect users from this kind of prosecutorial overreach and make sure any penalty is meted out in proportion to the offense. Rep. Lofgren: "Taken together, the changes in this draft should prevent the kind of abusive prosecution directed at Aaron Swartz and would help protect other Internet users from outsized liability for everyday activity,”

Click here to tell your lawmakers to cosponsor "Aaron's Law," honor Aaron Swartz's memory, and make sure what happened to him can never happen to anyone else:

http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/cosponsor_aarons_law_now?referring_akid=a8400962.1801662.bkVsuj&source=auto-taf

We must be vigilant. We must check the unfettered power of criminal prosecutors and the federal government. We must pass "Aaron's Law" now.

Thanks.

Debunking the Gun Culture Propaganda 19DEZ12

HERE is a great piece debunking the seemingly logical but actually stupid and false arguments against gun control. Share them, and use them when someone trys to use them on you. From HuffPost....
It's been just over eight years since the assault weapons ban expired, and in that time new gun control bills have been scarce. There are a variety of reasons for the deafening legislative silence, including a cowardly lack of political will and a river of gun industry cash that flows into campaign war chests every day. But it's also because radical gun fetishists led by the NRA have been supremely effective with clever marketing and misinformation campaigns intended to undermine the brutal realities of the American gun culture.
You've probably seen many of their finest agitprop slogans plastered all over Facebook, Twitter and the right-wing blogosphere these days. They're artfully designed to be digested by people who desperately want them to be true -- in this case, kneejerk gun enthusiasts starved for solid, airtight, easy-to-remember trump cards that are capable of defeating liberal gun control arguments with swift precision. Unfortunately for them, the slogans are about as thin as the bumpers stickers they're printed on.
PROPAGANDA: Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
REALITY: This is probably the most prevalent, yet silliest line. No, an inanimate object can't spring to life and kill anyone. But a gun's intrinsic purpose is to kill, wound and threaten living beings. It's why they exist. Period. The firearms used at Aurora, Tucson, Sandy Hook and so many other mass shootings are specifically categorized as "assault rifles." The intention is, by definition, to assault. They're aggressive weapons intended to physically attack and do harm. Otherwise they'd be called "defense weapons" or "protection weapons." So, no, guns don't kill people, but people with guns and bullets kill lots of people. Around 30,000-plus per year in America.
PROPAGANDA: But cars kill a lot of people and no one wants to ban them!
REALITY: How do we deal with cars in America, compared with how we deal with guns in America? Cars and drivers are heavily regulated by the government, from emissions standards to annual inspections to safety features, and so forth. You can't legally drive a car that doesn't feature seatbelts, or a car that spews too much exhaust into the air. You have to take both a written and a behind-the-wheel test to get a license to operate a car. You often have to renew that license at regular intervals and, if you're older, you have to prove that you're physically capable of driving a car. You can't drive a car while drinking alcohol or impaired by other chemicals. There are thousands of police officers patrolling our roads and, as most of us have experienced at one time or another, they will penalize or arrest you for improper handling of a car -- with literally hundreds of laws to abide, and considerable penalties, ranging from fines to imprisonment to the government stripping you of your right to drive a car at all. So if gun fetishists are going to keep using this car analogy, then let's talk about regulating guns and gun owners the same way we regulate cars and drivers.
PROPAGANDA: You can kill someone just as easily with a knife as you can with a gun!
REALITY: Outrageously wrong. Ask any average soldier whether they'd prefer to attack an enemy with knife or with their rifle. After they laugh in your face, they'll obviously tell you they prefer their rifle. During the American Civil War, soldiers would rarely if ever use their bayonets in combat because the experience of stabbing someone was much more offensively visceral and gruesome than simply shooting them from a relative distance. Furthermore, how many mass stabbings (including meat cleavers) have there been in America? Two that we know of. The number of mass stabbings in world? Eleven. On the other hand, how many mass shootings have there been in America? Twenty-six since Columbine and not including any prior massacres. Some gun fetishists have noted that a mass stabbing occurred in China last week, with 22 victims. However, what they won't tell you, perhaps because they don't know, is that not one of those victims died.
PROPAGANDA: It's safer to have a gun in the house, or concealed on your person.
REALITY: Nope. Not true. I'll let conservative analyst and former Bush speechwriter David Frum take this one:

A gun in the house minimally doubles the risk that a household member will kill himself or herself. (Some studies put the increase in suicide risk as high as 10 times.) An American is 50% more likely to be shot dead by his or her own hand than to be shot dead by a criminal assailant. More than 30,000 Americans injure themselves with guns every year.

And here's Science Daily:

In a first-of its-kind study, epidemiologists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that, on average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. The study estimated that people with a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun.

Need more? Here's the American Journal of Lifestyle:

Author David Hemenway studied the various risks of having a gun in the home, including accidents, suicide, homicide, and intimidation. Additionally, the benefits of having a firearm in a household were also examined and those benefits included deterrence, and thwarting crimes (self-defense). From this in-depth look, it was concluded that homes with guns were not safer or deter more crime than those that do not. In fact, it was found that in homes with children or women, the health risks were even greater. "Whereas most men are murdered away from home," wrote Hemenway. "Most children, older adults, and women are murdered at home. A gun in the home is a particularly strong risk factor for female homicide victimization."

One more...
PROPAGANDA: Banning guns won't stop mass shootings because of the outlaws, blah blah blah.
REALITY: Once again, totally not true. Australia, May 1996, a lone gunman killed 35 people and wounded an additional 23. Subsequently, Australia passed a very strict gun control law that included a buy-back program that managed to recover 600,000 assault rifles and other arms -- 20 percent of all the known firearms in Australia. There were no more private sales of firearms, there were stringent registration laws, and, as with other nations, you had to prove to authorities that you had a specific reason for purchasing a firearm. And no, according to Slate, self-defense wasn't a valid excuse. What happened after that?

Violent crime and gun-related deaths did not come to an end in Australia, of course. But as the Washington Post's Wonkblog pointed out in August, homicides by firearm plunged 59 percent between 1995 and 2006, with no corresponding increase in non-firearm-related homicides. The drop in suicides by gun was even steeper: 65 percent. Studies found a close correlation between the sharp declines and the gun buybacks. Robberies involving a firearm also dropped significantly. Meanwhile, home invasions did not increase, contrary to fears that firearm ownership is needed to deter such crimes. But here's the most stunning statistic. In the decade before the Port Arthur massacre, there had been 11 mass shootings in the country. There hasn't been a single one in Australia since.

I think that's enough for now. If you spot any more of these slogans and arguments, drop me a note via Facebook, Twitter or in the comments below and we'll work together to debunk this specious clap-trap once and for all. Doing so will help to unravel the deeply entrenched gun culture in America, and this must be an ongoing commitment, running concurrently with any and all legislation that comes as a result of these horrifying gun massacres.
Cross-posted at The Daily Banter.
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Christian 'Exorcism' Leads to Gay Teen's Suicide 3FEB12

WHAT a sad, heartbreaking story. I can not imagine the depth of despair he must have been in to reach the point that life was no longer worth living. I can't imagine how his family must feel now, the loss of a child, the guilt, the hurt, they need prayers and support to heal and resolve all the issues they are now dealing with. And we all need to search our souls on our relationships. From God's Politics blog......

Eric James Borges via Facebook.

Eric James Borges was teased his entire life for being different. Though he didn’t come out publicly until his sophomore year of college, he recalls emotional and physical abuse as far back as kindergarten for his differences. And though most children undergo some degree of hazing from time to time, the seeming indifference of the adults in his life made matters dramatically worse.
In a video recorded for the “It Gets Better” Project, an LGBT advocacy group focused on offering hope and community to LGBT people on the margins, Borges, 19, recalls being physically assaulted in a full high school classroom while his teacher stood by and watched.
The distressed teen had nowhere to turn at home either. His Christian parents decided to perform a ritual exorcism on him with the hope of “curing” him of his orientation. When that failed, they kicked him out of the house.
Though Borges went on to advocate for LGBT rights through the “It Gets Better” Project and through his work with The Trevor Project (a group committed to preventing suicide among LGBT teens), the demons of his past still lingered. Despite finding a community that affirmed and embraced who he was, the damage had already been done.
He killed himself on Jan. 11.
In the suicide note he left, Borges wrote:

My pain is not caused because I am gay. My pain was caused by how I was treated because I am gay.

This is a point lost on many Christians who condemn what they call the “gay lifestyle.” Not only are we, as followers of Christ, called to set aside our judgment, hateful rhetoric and disdain for those in the LGBT community; we’re bound by a covenant of compassion to advocate for their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
If we don’t, we’re no better than the teacher who stood by indifferently as his students beat Borges in his classroom.
In spite of the tragedy of Borges’ suicide, he left behind some gifts by which we all can remember him. In the face of all he had suffered, he still mustered words of love and hope for his fellow LGBT teens.
The following is a quote from the “It Gets Better” video Borges made in December 2011:

You will date, fall in love, fall out of love, have your heart broken, just like the rest of us. You will love, and be loved, and I love you. you have an entire life fit to burst with opportunities ahead of you. Don’t ever give up, and don’t ever for one second think that you aren’t a valuable and beautiful contribution to this world.

Unfortunately, some of the power of the positive message can’t help but be lost in his absence. What’s worse, Borges' story is not atypical.
An estimated 30-40 percent of LGBT youth have been reported to have attempted suicide.
LGBT people between the ages of 15 and 24 are four times more likely to commit suicide than their peers.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among LGBT people in this age group.
The same population is three times more likely to report hazing, abuse and/or harassment by peers than straight people of the same age.
It’s easy to feel there’s no hope for progress in the Christian community when we hear such stories. After all, silence on the matter simply isn’t enough. Ambivalence is equivalent to complicity. For this, we are collectively responsible for the sins of indifference, inaction and aggressive hate, all in the name of Jesus.
There are a few glimmers of hope in the overwhelming darkness. Organizations such as the Marin Foundation seek to “build a bridge between the religious and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in a non-threatening, research and biblically oriented fashion.” And there are others.
Unfortunately, too often the advocacy work is left to members of the LGBT population themselves. For real, systemic change to take hold, those on the side of privilege (ie, those not harassed and abused for our inherent sexual orientation or identity) to care enough to say that things have to change.
Not just because we know someone who is gay. Not just because we feel bad for those pushed to the margins. But because we are called out by Jesus himself to confront such evil, to call it out, and to rob it of its power through the transforming power of love.
This is an active love, and not simply a rhetorical, tolerant, “love the sinner, hate the sin” kind of cop-out love. For those whom we love, we are willing to risk that which we hold dear for their sake. We are willing to forgo the acceptance of our peers to stand side-by-side with our marginalized sisters and brothers.
Loving in word is not enough. We have to demonstrate such sacrificial, Christ-like love with our whole lives.
Until then, the deaths of so many thousands of persecuted youth are on our heads.
Christian Piatt is the creator and editor of BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE and BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS. He co-created and co-edits the “WTF: Where’s the Faith?” young adult series with Chalice Press, and he has a memoir on faith, family and parenting being published in early 2012 called PREGMANCY: A Dad, a Little Dude and a Due Date.

Christians and Bullying: Standing with Gays and Lesbians from SOJO 21SEP10

A lesson in Christian living for a Christian nation......
 
My mother used to give us kids two instructions:
1. If there is a kid on the playground that nobody else is playing with -- you play with them.

2. If there is a bully picking on other kids -- you be the one to stand up to him or her.

Those two principles have served me well. And I can almost hear my mother's voice sometimes … like now.

On Wednesday, I wore purple. I was speaking at North Park University, an evangelical Christian college, with Tim King, my colleague and a former student there. I was pleased to see them passing out purple ribbons and announcing why just before chapel.

So I joined thousands of others across the country who believe that bullying should never be tolerated at any time, at any place, or for any reason. I wore purple to commemorate "Spirit Day," in memory of the many young people who have taken their own lives as a result of harassment and bullying inflicted on them because they are gay. I wore purple because I am a follower of Christ.

A bully is a person who habitually intimidates, harasses, or commits violence against those who are smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable because of their "outsider" status. A bully stands in opposition to all of what Christ taught and lived. There is broad opposition within the Christian community to bullying, especially the sort that leads to the deaths we have seen as of late. This sort of harassment is indefensible. And the stories of young kids being so bullied that they take their own lives has been heartbreaking to hear.

But, to paraphrase Christ, if you oppose bullying, what reward will you get? Isn't everybody against it? If all you do is say that you shouldn't harass someone until they kill themselves, are you really doing more than others?

The fact that bullies target gay and lesbian people should mean that Christians give extra attention to protecting and standing up for them. The fact that any community or group of people is regularly the target of harassment and hate means Christians should be on the front line of defense against any who would attack.

But, most bullies don't know that they are bullies. A bully might think that his or her words don't matter that much or affect others that greatly. A bully might think that he or she is being funny or just kidding around. A bully might think that he or she is just saying what everyone is thinking or speaking out about what everyone thinks.

There is disagreement within the Christian community when it comes to issues of human sexuality. But, there should be a united front against all who would disrespect, disparage, or denigrate anyone created in the image of God.

I hope you will join me in prayer for the family and friends of every young person who has taken their own lives. I hope you will join me in a message of hope for any person who has been teased, harassed, or bullied by another because of his or her sexual orientation. More than that, no matter what your views of homosexuality are, I hope you will join with me in standing in the way between bullies and their victims.

At an evangelical Christian college in the Midwest, there was a lot of purple yesterday. And the airline security official who checked my boarding pass saw my purple ribbon and said, "I see you're wearing purple today, that's a good thing."

Last week, I was taking my boys to school and raised the issue of the bullying and gay teen suicides to see what they had heard about it. My 12-year-old Luke, of course, knew all about it; while 7-year-old Jack hadn't heard yet. But Jack spoke of a boy on the playground of his school who was sometimes a bully to others. Before I could say a word, Luke said to his little brother, "Now Jack, you need to talk to him. He will respect and listen to you because you are an athlete, a good student, and very popular. Kids who are strong need to be the ones who stand up for those who get bullied. Jack, part of our job is to make sure nobody gets bullied at our school. Understand?" Jack said, "Yes," and I could just feel his grandmother smiling.

Third World America: Chronicling the Assault on America's Middle Class...and the Solutions 9AUG10

"The latest job numbers are out -- and they're not good."

That's a phrase we've heard a lot lately -- and will likely continue to hear for the foreseeable future. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.5 percent, the economy actually lost another 131,000 jobs in July. The only reason the unemployment rate didn't go up was because so many people had quit looking and dropped out of the workforce. Tens of thousands of people throwing in the towel is definitely not good news. More "not good news": the number of Americans unemployed for 26 weeks or more is now over 6.5 million.

Clearly, we're not in the middle of a normal recovery. Wall Street may have its casino up and running again, but Main Street shows no signs of bouncing back anytime soon. From foreclosures to unemployment to household debt to bankruptcies, the American middle class is under assault -- and America is in danger of becoming a Third World nation.

I detail all the ways this is happening -- and the reasons why -- in my upcoming book, Third World America. Just as important, I also talk about the steps we can all take to help stop the slide. As soon as I finished writing the book, I knew I wanted to keep telling the stories of the middle class families whose lives have been turned upside down by the economic crisis -- and to provide interactive tools that would allow people to get involved.

That's why HuffPost is launching a "Third World America" section to bear witness to what is happening to the American middle class in small towns and big cities all across the country. And we will, every day, focus on the solutions that are making a difference in the lives of ordinary Americans.

And we want you to be a big part of this section. If you or someone you know has been struggling with unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, or credit card debt, we want to hear about it. Visit our interactive map, share your story, and leave your mark.

Though it is far from what dominates the debate in Washington, every day brings fresh evidence of the new reality that America is entering. And it's not just about dismal unemployment figures and gloomy foreclosure numbers. As the New York Times reported last week, Hawaii has gone beyond laying off teachers and has begun laying off students -- closing its public schools on 17 Fridays during the last school year. In the Atlanta suburb of Clayton County, the entire bus system was shut down. Colorado Springs turned off over 24,000 of its streetlights. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Camden, New Jersey is soon to permanently shutter its entire library system. And last month the Wall Street Journal reported on the trend of cash-strapped states and counties giving up on the idea of maintaining paved roads, allowing them instead to turn back into gravel. And those localities that can't even afford to put gravel down are just letting the roads, as the Journal put it, "return to nature." A seminar at Purdue University on this trend was entitled "Back to the Stone Age."

Though the particulars of our country's transformation are painfully real to the rest of the country, Washington and Wall Street remain blind to our trajectory toward Third World status.

Witness the joint appearance on Fareed Zakaria's CNN show by former Treasury Secretaries Paul O'Neill and Robert Rubin. According to both of them, we don't need a second stimulus. "We are moving forward at a pretty gradual pace," said O'Neill, "but I don't think things are terrible." Is "not terrible" the new definition of success? And I don't doubt that things are not terrible for O'Neill -- in fact, I bet the roads leading to most of his houses are still paved.

As for Rubin, he "wouldn't do a major second stimulus, because I think...we run a risk that it could be counterproductive in creating a lot of additional uncertainty and undermining confidence."

Uncertainty? I guess that's true in the sense that the nearly 15 million people without a job are currently quite certain they don't have one; if a new stimulus bill were passed, there will at least be some welcome uncertainty as to whether they would be one of the lucky ones getting hired.

In Rubin's mind, what would create more "certainty" is -- drumroll, please -- deficit reduction. "I would try over the next six months to put in place a very serious beginning of deficit reduction that would take effect at some specified time in the future," he said. "I think that could do a lot for confidence."

As Duncan Black writes:

"Can someone get me some of the Very Serious Person crack rock so I can understand the very sophisticated economic model such that all that matters is 'confidence' and that confidence could be undermined by fiscal stimulus?"

But Rubin's reasoning begins to make sense when you remember that he is only concerned with the confidence of a few hundred of his friends on Wall Street. And though he wasn't officially speaking for the Obama administration, he doesn't have to, since so much of the economic team at Treasury and the White House is composed of Rubin's acolytes. Here, for example, was Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in his recent New York Times Op-Ed celebrating our wonderful recovery: "we are on a path to growth," but "uncertainty is still inhibiting investment."

It's not uncertainty that is stopping business from expanding capacity -- it's a lack of customers. Because the potential customers don't have jobs!

With this kind of muddled thinking by our "very serious" establishment, we're in for a long, bumpy ride. But you have to at least give Rubin credit for gall -- after all, he's one of the people responsible for the continued misery that millions of Americans wake up to every morning. And now he's back arguing against a practical solution to the mess he helped create. Talk about chutzpah.

The O'Neill and Rubin Continue-The-Misery Show certainly proves that this is not a left-right issue - the willful lack of awareness of the reality being experienced by so many Americans is truly bipartisan.

But it's going to take more than a new stimulus to stop our slide into Third World status. While pushing those in charge to do the right thing, we're also going to have to push ourselves.

In Waiting for Superman, his new documentary on America's failing public school system, Davis Guggenheim (the Oscar-winning director of An Inconvenient Truth) tells how the project began. Every day, while taking his children to their top-flight private school, he would pass several troubled public schools, filled with children not nearly as lucky as his own -- trying his best to not see the tragedy staring him in the face. Finally, after, as he puts it, "every morning betraying the ideals I thought I lived by," he decided to stop not-seeing the problem and do something about it. At the moment, our country is afflicted with an epidemic of not-seeing (indeed, it would seem to be a requirement for the job of Treasury Secretary).

Which is why we created our "Third World America" section. There, the crises will be seen and the stories will be heard. And there will be many ways for you to get involved -- things we can all do to make sure we never find ourselves living in Third World America.

You can start by taking our Pledge for the America Dream.

As the section continues to expand, you will also find ways to: share your story; bounce back from adversity; build your financial literacy; stay informed; become an American Dream watchdog by monitoring the behavior of business leaders and politicians; connect with others to take action; help others build skills, finds jobs, and save their homes; and more.

Unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy -- these are all isolating experiences. And that isolation takes its toll. A 2002 study by researchers at Yale found that "high unemployment rates increase mortality and low unemployment decreases mortality and increases the sense of well-being in a community." Indeed, the recession has coincided with an increase in the suicide rate.

So we all need to do our part. The attack on the middle class may be ignored in Washington, but we can see it -- and do something about it -- in our own communities.

Though we can't let our leaders off the hook -- or fail to speak out when they, and/or their former mentors who got us into this mess continue to put forth policies that will hasten the decline of America's middle class -- we have to take responsibility for our communities as well.

So take the pledge. Send us your stories. Resolve to stop not seeing what's going on in your community. And take action.

If we don't change course -- and quickly -- Third World America could very well be our future.

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