Klose article only solution
Gratifyingly, in the last three days we’ve seen thoughtful, sensible, factual items by four writers in response to the senseless massacre of innocent little children in Newtown, Conn.
First, London-based Canadian journalist Gwynne Dyer, rightly condemns the United States for having more than half of the world’s deadly firearms. Second, David Farmer points out that Maine already has strict gun control laws on the books. But he notes ironically that those rules only apply if you’re hunting animals in the woods. Third, Dr. Erik Steele who quietly and sincerely commends the courageous teachers who risked their own safety to protect their pupils from a madman with an assault rifle.
In my opinion, there’s only one solution and the fourth article, by educator Robert Klose at UMA-Bangor addresses it openly, factually and candidly: Repeal the Second Amendment.
Klose writes that it’s high time to stop the National Rifle Association from directing public policy instead of Congress. And since neither the citizenry, nor the justices, nor the legislators seem capable of understanding the meaning of that Second Amendment, then it’s time to get rid of it.
The word militia does not refer to every frontier-minded fanatic who thinks he has a right to be armed to the teeth. It means a duly-authorized, formally trained military unit like The National Guard.
Along with ridding us of the primary excuse for gun-toting violence in this country, it might help to make English the official language, require teaching it in the schools, and compel anyone who applies for naturalization to demonstrate proficiency in it.
Carroll B. Knox
Caribou
Christmas PC
I’m reading the opinion of Sondra Siegel and I can’t help but laugh.
Christmas is a Christian holiday but it is celebrated by everyone. How many workers get Christmas as a paid holiday? Does she have a problem with that also? Would she give up a day off with pay because she feels it alienates those who aren’t Christian? Probably not.
The teachers are creating feelings of inclusiveness and belonging by not excluding the children of other cultures. Why is it only politically correct for the majority to have to adapt to the minority and not the other way around? Christmas is celebrated all over the world, should we cancel it to appease a few?
Clifton P. Cyr
Madawaska
Being prepared lessens fear
Since the Connecticut tragedy many people are crying out for answers and for more restrictive laws in the hopes of preventing something of this nature from ever happening again. However I am writing to urge you to remember that freedom is what made America the land of the free and the home of the brave.
We did not earn our freedom by disarming our people and demanding the government solve all our problems. I believe the 10 amendments were numbered according to their importance. Most important is our freedom of religion and speech; second is our right to keep and bear arms.
Without these two freedoms, we will no longer be free. If we throw down our weapons in hopes that criminals will follow suit, we are no longer brave. As a nation let us be brave and fight the problem of violence at its root, instead of taking the easy way out and demanding more gun laws that only the law abiding citizens follow anyway.
The Connecticut shooter was truly a monster at heart. We must face the reality that monsters such as that exist and have always existed as long as history can recall. We must be prepared to fight these monsters just as our homes are prepared with alarms for fire and our cars are prepared for crashes with seat belts and airbags. Danger exists everywhere we turn; only by being prepared we can live without being in fear.
Hugh Landry
Parkman
Less is more government
I can’t for the life of me think of a better example of why when it comes to the federal government — less is more — than the current headlong rush into the “fiscal cliff.” By its very nature, and proven by history, the federal government, perpetually hamstrung by partisan politics, is less prone to success in tackling hard decisions in a timely manner than is the private sector.
So tell my why would we ever want to let government be any bigger than necessary and control the really important stuff such as health care etc.? Just keep my roads plowed in the wintertime, send somebody when I call 911 and leave the hard stuff to the competent.
Randy Day
Garland
I hear you Randy, some people totally rely on the Govt, couldn’t survive without it…They would be lost….
Like the Military Industrial Complex LEECH.
We don’t go to work because they are closed. Its not like we just do not show up. I would be more then happy to work. A lot of people celebrate Christmas as a Holiday, were Jesus is never mentioned, and to be frank, do you really believe Jesus would approve how you celebrate it now. I am pretty sure all the money you Christians spend on gifts for each other he would rather you spend it on the poor. You have made a mockery of “your” tradition by turning it into some big commercial fest.
Mero: I agree. In short, Christmas has not one thing to do with Jesus or christians
The idea that Christmas (from “Christ Mass”), the time when the birth of Jesus is celebrated by Christians worldwide, “has not one thing to do with Jesus or Christians” sounds strange — and wrong — to me.
Certainly the retailers want to make it into a commercial buying season. And many so-called “Christimas” songs (from “Jingle Bells” to “Winter Wonderland” and “Sleigh Ride”) are really winter songs that have nothing to do with Christmas itself. And yes, the Winter Solstice has been celebrated by northern Europeans for millenia.
But to say that “Christ Mass” has nothing to do with Jesus or Christianity just seems obviously wrong.
penzance, I agree with you. I was being facetious with my comment. There are a handful of folks who seem to think we are celebrating the birth of Christ. Most of the world just does not see it that way.
Sorry that I didn’t catch the irony!
The Christmas spirit….is not what you drink. ;)
Mr. Landry, should we arm every school child from kindergarten on? A guard was posted at Columbine and armed servicemen had no effect in stopping the shooting at Fort Hood. Do you suggest that if a six year old packed heat she could have stopped the Newtown massacre?
explain to me why Obamas children attend a private school that has armed guards for all children not just his. Why does he not send them to public schools I guess the average child does not need armed guards just his
Have you seen the schools in DC???? If I lived there my kid would go to a private school too.
Those schools have been under democrat party and union control for decades. The result is no surprise.
There is no “democrat party,” although there is a Democratic Party — but they don’t control the schools. I’ve been a non-unionized teacher. Your statement is nonsense.
To think that the school where the president’s children go to school does not need security is just plain stoopid. You really do hate the man, don’t you? You come on like a tp’r.
The reason the Obama children attend a private school where there are armed guards is obvious — when you are famous you are at risk. Remember, Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy were all assassinated, as were Senator Robert Kennedy and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Someone shot and killed John Lennon for no reason at all except that he was famous. Stephen King and other famous people have been stalked.
The fact that the Obama children have to have security has nothing specifically to do with the issue of whether or not we need stricter gun control. They have to have security because their father is probably the most famous person in the United States.
During the recent presidential campaign I believed — and said — that the families of the candidates shouldn’t be criticized (some people were criticizing Mrs. Romney and her horse). I think the families should be off limits in this kind of discussion.
The servicemen at Fort Hood were not armed. The shooter was not stopped until a civilian police officer arrived and shot him.
I stand corrected. Actually, two police officers tried to take him down. Only the second police officer was able to disable the shooter; the first was wounded by the shooter. This demonstrates how nearby guards are not an answer to the problem. See Columbine.
Carrol Knox awesome idea I never thought that as a solution,but before we repeal the 2nd we should do away with the first so nobody can speak up an tell us what a stupid idea that would be.Oh yeah and then that pesky 4th so the authorities could access our houses to take anything that they want.Sheesh what freakin next, do you notice how peculiar it is that all the other rights are protecting the individual rights from the gov’mint, but its your opinion to the point of derision towards others that the second refers to the military.So who is it the second is protecting the military from .You and your ilk are the reason I for the first time in my 47 yrs am going to purchase a weapon.
A tiny minority of extremists suggest repealing the 2nd. It’s not going to happen. Letting yourself be duped into buying a weapon you clearly don’t need, is part of the problem in this country.
The influence the fear mongers, like the NRA have – now that’s a problem – they are promoting the flooding of America with weapons that simply serve no rational purpose, other to enrich the manufacturers and sellers. Don’t be a sucker. ;)
No suckers here,every indicator shows a weapons ban is on the way including Pres Obama saying gun control is his number one priority and for those who pay attention whether you agree with him or not know he gets what he wants.I do realize the 2nd will not be repealed in its entirety.I am former military and up until this point have not seen a need for a weapon but this is a different time we live in.Any weapon that I chose will have one purpose and one purpose only and I do not hunt.I have it narrowed down to two distinct choices and am now looking at the pros and cons of each and yes they both will be part of the up coming ban.I do not live my life in fear but I am a realist ,the freedoms we have today will not be the freedoms our children will have.The fear mongers in my opinion are the ones calling for a weapons ban,which remember during the last ban gun related violence was higher and gave us Columbine.
Well yes, there are two fear mongers. The “take all the guns away” crowd and the “everyone needs a gun” crowd. They are both represented by a small minority that just happen to speak with overly loud voices.
One purpose only, being what?
A pistol, rifle and shotgun is all I can conceivably imagine being functional civilian choices – none of which would fall under a Clintonesque assault weapon ban.
So because that is all you can imagine it makes it right,and again there was more gun related violence during the last 10 yr ban than the ten years before or then till now.Banning a particular type of weapon does not work it just makes some feel better.
For the safety and welfare of my family and myself,and of coarse in case of the impending zombie Apocalypse.
Well then help me imagine! What could something like the notorious AR15 do (other than pop zombies of course) that a pistol or shotgun couldn’t do for home defense?
Surely you don’t attribute a rise in crime to the assault ban? There’s no such correlation. There is no specific evidence it helped reduce crime either. I don’t think another ban is the answer. Though it is disturbing that people are buying so many of these needless weapons.
As for your claims, no – crimes in the 80’s were higher than in the Clinton assault ban years. Violent crime has been ticking down for the last several decades, during the ban and after.
See: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm (FBI stats) – most importantly, per capita numbers.
I too will be purchasing a gun. What amazes me is that the left has no realization of how many more guns have been purchased because of Nobama. He has single handedly done more for gun ownership than any one before him. Gun manufacturers are loving him.
He’s a great propaganda tool in getting gullible people to buy guns they don’t need. No doubt about that.
Randy Day I would like nothing less than to see this ship pushed right over the edge,matter of fact I’ll lend a shoulder .Time for everybody to hurt a little.
Mr Cyr, Christmas was outlawed in the 1700s by the puritans because it was a pagan holiday. School vacations fall around the winter and summer solstice. The Christmas tree is a pagan tradition. Please get facts straight before posting. Jesus was born sometine in septemeber and resembled a Muslim not a white man. God Bless.
Please tell me Santa is still real….
There, there Stevey… of course Santa is real… It’s OK, I promise.
jersey730, you are correct that the Yule tree or “Christmas” tree is a pagan tradition that has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus.
However, you write, “Christmas was outlawed in the 1700s by the Puritans.” Well, only if the 1700s fell in the mid-1600s.
And when you say that “Jesus was born sometime in September,” that suggests that you have information no one else has. If Luke was correct (a big “if”) that shepherds were watching their flocks in the fields by night, this suggests a date in the springtime. However, most main-line Bible scholars regard both Luke’s and Matthew’s narratives to be more mythical than historical — for starters, neither author was an eyewitness to the birth of Jesus, and the two accounts appear to contradict one another in many ways. We actually have no reliable information about what month Jesus was born in.
But it doesn’t matter what month he was born in. We celebrate his birthday on December 25th, just as the British people celebrate the Queen’s birthday on a date that is not the same as her actual date of birth.
And then you say that Jesus “resembled a Muslim not a white man.” Oh, my. Islam is a religion, not a race or a skin color. There are lots of white Muslims, just as there are many dark-skinned Christians.
I think you mean to say that Jesus was Mediterranean in his appearance, not northern European.
You said to Mr. Cyr, “Please get your facts straight before posting.” That’s good advice for all of us, including you.
Mr. Cyr, you have answered your own question when you said “Christmas is celebrated all over the world… ” I heard sacred music and festive celebrations, saw christmas decorations and expressions of christmas holiday cheer EVERYWHERE I went this season. There is no war against Christmas except in Bill O’reilly’s deluded little mind and among those that accept what that ignorant, divisive fool vomits into the airwaves. Were this not a moderated forum I’d have much stronger language to use against that idiot and the others like him. He is making himself rich with his deliberate creation and demonization of enemies among his fellow citizens and his delusions of imaginary crises. It has been a very profitable exercise for him. Our society would be infinitely better without ignoramuses like him poisoning people’s minds with their conjured up deceptions and false outrages.
Mr Cyr you have answered your own question when you said,”Christmas is celebrated all over the world…” There is no war on Christmas, sir. Stop trying to make one.
Randy, efficient govt no bigger than necessary is a worthy ideal, but giving too much credence to the private sector as always the most “competent” is not an answer. Some deeply misguided economists, particularly those coming from the freshwater school of economic thought from Chicago whose trickle-down notions have given us the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, imagine all consumers and investors are “rational actors” that make buying or financial decisions based on readily available, transparent information. If a buyer is uninformed that is their own fault was the deceptive mantra of these voodoo economists.
If the mortgage crisis teaches us anything when looked at honestly it teaches us that as early as the 90’s the FBI was warning of unscrupulous mortgage lenders duping unwitting low income home buyers into fraudulent mortgages they couldn’t afford. These took the form, at times, of duping elderly widows into refinancing when there was no good reason for them to. The UNREGULATED derivatives market in securitized mortgages, wholly the creation of the private sector without govt oversight, which created tens of trillions in toxic assets for the shadow (unregulated) banking industry, was SO profitable everyone was jumping into it without knowing what they were getting into. We all know the result of the meltdown that occurred and the harm done to the entire global financial system. This represents an excellent example of MARKET FAILURE, which regulation, such as the Glass-Steagall Act, had previously prevented.
The private sector has MANY benefits for society, but it is not sacrosanct. Libertarian ideals from the tea party or from Ayn Rand devotees that assume independence and self reliance is always in the best interests of the greater society are simply wrong in their thinking. We need govt to protect those unable to protect themselves from the greedy and unscrupulous.
Tuesday January 1, 2012? :-) Got to get used to that “3”.
OMG. Surely we are not going to fight about Christmas all year long……. are we?
Mr Landry – When you served our country, did you bring your own firearm or was one issued to you? Were you a member of a United States militia or a private militia recognized by the US government? Although I served a long time ago in the US Navy, the government supplied the ship and it had guns. I didn’t have to bring my own. And remember, the 2nd Amendment was passed in 1791. Any idea what the assault weapon of choice was back then?
C.Knox: good letter.
Seems to me that the GOP are showing their true face, “hooray for the rich and damn the middle class and the poor”.
If the Klose suggestion to repeal the second amendment is the “only solution”, then there is no solution, because that is never going to happen. I thought that article was a waste of space because the central thesis was absurdly unrealistic. He might as well suggested the solutions were group hugs and flower power.