AMERICA NEEDS ANOTHER KENNEDY IN THE WHITE HOUSE

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     It was March 2004 and Barack Obama had recently won - in an unexpected landslide - the primary election in Illinois for the United States Senate.  That's all it took for the Democratic Party to speculate that someday - although nobody thought so soon - Mr. Obama would be a perfect candidate for President of the United 

States.  To get the ball rolling...the then State Senator Obama was asked to deliver the July 27th, 2004 Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.  It was a masterful, powerhouse speech that catapulted him in to the national spotlight and put the name Obama on the tongues of Democrats all across the country.  Four years later in 2008, U.S. Senator Obama surprisingly defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination...and in November, Barack Obama was elected our nation's 44th President.

     The name Kennedy has been on the minds of Americans since 1960 when U.S. Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massachusetts opposed the then Vice President Richard Nixon in a race for The White House.  JFK narrowly defeated Mr. Nixon...and on January 20th, 1961, Mr. Kennedy became America's 35th President...the youngest elected President in U.S. history.

     Fast-forward to 2018...and another young Kennedy's star is rising in the Democratic Party.  As President Obama did - as a result of that 2004 convention speech - the popularity of Congressman Joseph Kennedy III is skyrocketing in to the political stratosphere following the Democratic Response to Donald Trump's State Of The Union Address on January 30th.

     No matter whose name is on the Republican side of the 2020 presidential ballot...Democrats will need a strong candidate to face that individual.  Joe Kennedy just may be that person.

     In the wake of the February 14th, 2018 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - where fourteen teenage students and three faculty members were tragically murdered - gun control is not only the topic of discussion by Americans nationwide, but it's of great concern to Congressman Kennedy.

     Although he had not yet been born when his great-uncle Jack and his grandfather Bobby were assassinated...Joe Kennedy is no stranger to being affected by gun violence.  I would imagine that many members of the older generation in his family have shared those two heartwrenching days with him...not to mention that there are dozens, if not hundreds of books, that chronicle the murders of two of America's most distinguished, most admired and most revered men.

     On the Friday, February 23rd broadcast of the ABC television program, The View...Kennedy emphasized with strength and with passion...that to get a new commonsense universal gun control law passed, it's going to take the American people's thundering voices screaming out..."We want this.  We want to protect our kids."  And the Massachusetts Democrat opposes what I call an insane, absurd and asinine notion by Donald Trump...and that is to train school teachers so they can be armed with concealed handguns. Furthermore, as for Trump's moronic recommendation to pay bonus money to teachers who carry a pistol on school premises, Kennedy is totally against such an illogical proposal.  "Making sure that more and more people have guns" is not "the right way to protect our children in schools."  Kennedy also objects to the suggestion of focusing on mental health...instead of firearms...to stop gun violence in the United States.  On The View, Kennedy did not mince words as he continues to protest Trump...and the Republicans on Capitol Hill...who want to swing a hatchet and chop to pieces...desperately necessary funding...for people who suffer from mental illness. "The first big bill coming out of Congress was a bill to cut Medicaid, the largest payer of mental health service in this country by 800-billion dollars.  So don't turn around and tell me this is a mental health issue when you just tried to cut the biggest payer of it by 800-billion dollars." Kennedy was applauded by The View audience when he also stated that "study after study" shows "people with mental illness are far more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrate them."

     Kennedy is a politician that Americans can respect.  Like (from left to right in the photograph) his great-uncle, John F. Kennedy...his grandfather, Robert F. Kennedy...and his great-uncle, Edward M. Kennedy...Joseph Kennedy III is someone who serves our country with honor. And also like his three famous relatives...Joe's talent for speech-making is extraordinary.  He proved that by his riveting and captivating Democratic Response.

     We need more Americans on Capitol Hill who will stand up against Donald Trump and not fear him.  The 37-year old Kennedy was right on target when he blasted Trump and his administration.  About the current occupant of The Oval Office, Kennedy was dynamite.  He blamed Trump and his cronies of "turning American life in to a zero sum game...where for one to win, another must lose.  Where we can guarantee America's safety, if we slash our safety net.  Where we can extend healthcare in Mississippi, if we gut it in Massachusetts. We can cut taxes for corporations today, if we raise them for families tomorrow. Where we can take care of sick kids, if we sacrifice Dreamers.  We're bombarded with one false choice after another.  Coal miners or single moms? Rural communities or inner cities?  The coast or the heartland?"  And of Trump and the Republicans, Kennedy also says..."For them, dignity isn't something you're born with, but something you measure...by your net worth...your celebrity...your headlines...your crowd size.  Not to mention...the gender of your spouse...the country of your birth...the color of your skin...the God of your prayers."  That pretty much sums up Donald Trump in a nutshell.  Well...maybe not entirely.  But to borrow the words of the late journalist and radio broadcaster, Paul Harvey...we all know..."the rest of the story."

     I was only 8 years old on a fateful autumn day in 1963...but I remember that November 22nd as if it was yesterday.  It was about 1:40 p.m. Eastern Standard Time when Walter Cronkite's CBS News bulletin interrupted the soap opera, As The World Turns, and shocked the nation that President Kennedy had been shot.  I just happened to be home sick that day.  Tragedy then hit home for every American, about an hour later, at 2:38 p.m. when Walter gave us the news we did not want to hear.  "From Dallas, Texas, the flash apparently official...President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time, 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago." The CBS News anchorman then choked up as my mom and I began to cry.  Our nation had suffered the assassination of our President.

     About five years later, on June 5th, 1968 - following his win in the California Democratic Primary - smart money was on U.S. Senator Bobby Kennedy of New York to be elected President that November. But all that came to an end when moments after his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Senator Kennedy - like his brother, John - was shot by an assassin's bullets.  RFK died the next morning on June 6th.

     In 1980, Senator Teddy Kennedy of Massachusetts tossed his hat in to the presidential ring.  But unlike his two brothers, Teddy went up against an incumbent President - Jimmy Carter - for the Democratic nomination.  And Senator Kennedy lost.  It was his only attempt at a run for the presidency.  But Ted Kennedy remained a pivotal part of the U.S. Senate for many more years...until a malignant brain tumor hospitalized him in 2008.  Teddy Kennedy died on August 25th, 2009.

     For a long, long time, I - along with millions of other Americans - have hoped and dreamed that another Kennedy would launch a campaign to seek the highest office in our land.  President Kennedy's two children - daughter, Caroline and son, John Jr. - were always discussed by average citizens and the political pundits as possible presidential candidates.  In 2013, President Obama appointed Caroline Kennedy to be U.S. Ambassador to Japan...a position she held for four years.  As for Caroline's brother - John F. Kennedy, Jr. - death came too soon.  The Kennedy family - and all of America - suffered another devastation on July 16th, 1999.  The son of the slain President and the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis...John, Jr. - as a little 

boy - was someone Americans fell in love with as "John-John."  JFK, Jr. was killed when the airplane he was piloting...crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.  Neither John, Jr., nor Caroline, ever expressed an interest in following in their dad's political footsteps.

     But now, there's Bobby's grandson.  I truly believe that Joseph Kennedy III will - at some point - decide that he wants to continue the job that Great-Uncle Jack never had the chance to complete...and to begin the work that Grandpa Bobby had the desire to accomplish.

     So whether it's in 2020...or later...the prayers of a whole lot of Americans will be answered. Someday...there will be another... President Kennedy.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

Now please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Photo credits:  ABC News (Former President Barack Obama #1), Pinterest (Former President Barack Obama #2), New York Daily News (Former President John F. Kennedy), The Boston Globe (Congressman Joseph Kennedy III #1), ABC News (Congressman Joseph Kennedy, III and The Cast of ABC's The View), ABC News (Former President John F. Kennedy, Former Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Former Senator Edward M. Kennedy), CNN and The Independent (Congressman Joseph Kennedy III #2), CBS News and RobertFeder.com (Walter Cronkite), Daily Mail (Former Senator Robert F. Kennedy), C-SPAN and YouTube (Former Senator Edward M. Kennedy), NBC News (Caroline Kennedy), NBC News (John F. Kennedy, Jr.), UPI (John F. "John-John" Kennedy, Jr.) and CBS Boston (Congressman Joseph Kennedy III #3)

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

MY EMOTIONS RANGE FROM PRIDE TO DISGUST

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     My blood has been boiling since Thursday, February 22nd, 2018 when a National Rifle Association spokesperson sunk to the bottom of the barrel following the Wednesday, February 14th tragic murders of fourteen teenage students and three faculty members from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. With the use of despicably foul language, Dana Loesch became the picture of sleaze when - at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland - she viciously attacked America's major television networks and cable news channels. Loesch uttered the following vulgar and vile verbiage.  "Many in legacy media love mass shootings.  I'm not saying you love the tragedy, but you love the ratings. Crying white mothers are ratings gold."  Loesch's reprehensible remarks echoed a Wednesday, February 21st NRA video and tweet.  "The mainstream media love mass shootings.  I'm going to say it again; the mainstream media love mass shootings... and you, the #MSM, just put out the casting call for the next mass shooter."

     Such hateful words nauseates me.  Loesch is a disgrace to the human race...as are the persons who green-lighted the NRA video and the corresponding tweet.

     In the wake of the Parkland massacre, Donald Trump has completely gone off the deep end by proposing to arm school teachers with concealed handguns.  At the CPAC event on Friday, February 23rd, Trump insisted that the Florida gunman would have been stopped by an armed teacher who "would have shot the hell out of him."

     At two so-called "listening sessions" at The White House - on February 21st and February 22nd - Trump announced that he wants teachers who are "very adept" at using firearms to have guns strapped to their bodies while on school grounds.  Trump says it's a message to any "sicko."  "You come in to our schools and you're dead." Trump thinks "attacks would end" if teachers had guns.  Well let me tell you, Donald...you're nuts!  Such a recommendation is beyond illogical.  It's asinine!  Or in a plain and simple word...it's stupid.  And teachers throughout the United States will not go along with such lunacy.

     Trump thinks career military veterans who retired from the armed forces are now teachers...and they are experienced with guns.  Trump told the audience at CPAC... "People that were in the Marines for twenty years and retired.  People in the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Coast Guard...people that are adept...adept with weaponry and with guns, they teach."  The National Center for Education Statistics says there are 3.2-million full-time public school teachers who are employed throughout the United States.  I don't know where Trump gets his figures from, but how many twenty-year military veterans does he think are teaching.  It's got to be a small percentage since the vast majority of teachers begin their education careers immediately after they graduate college, generally at about age 22.  Very few people - in the grand scheme of things - start teaching in their late 30s or 40s.

     Sam Zeif is a survivor of the Parkland shootings.  On February 21st, Brian Williams interviewed the 18-year old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School senior on the MSNBC broadcast, The 11th Hour.  Sam told Brian that it's "absurd to feel the need to arm those innocent people with the choice of not knowing if they're going to have to kill a kid that day.  Granted, it would be protection, but, I mean, come on...a shoot-out in our class?  This is not the Wild West."

     I expressed a similar sentiment in a column I wrote four years ago on May 28th, 2014.  "Cowboys of the so-called Wild West wore guns on their person and lived in a era that was directly out of an episode of Gunsmoke."  It's moronic to think that an old-time western shoot-out is going to be the solution to today's gun epidemic.

     Adding more guns instead of subtracting them is not the answer.  A sick-minded sociopath with an assault weapon...or an arsenal of assault weapons...which are loaded with magazines that are jam-packed with multiple rounds of ammunition...is not going to be stopped by a teacher with a single handgun.  Such a concept is insane.

     Teachers are not hired to act like police officers.  It's not their responsibility to shoot a gun and take the life of another person.  I don't care how "trained or qualified" - to use Donald Trump's words - a teacher might end up being...to expect someone whose job is to teach children that 2 + 2 = 4 and that "Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14-hundred-92"...but to now ask that person to prepare himself...or herself...that someday they might have to pull the trigger of a pistol and shoot a kid...or an adult...to death...well, that's completely off the wall.  And I assure you that not too many teachers will volunteer to be part of such a reckless program.

     Trump can say all day long that a teacher who holsters a firearm would be paid a "bonus," but if that teacher is murdered by a depraved, mentally unbalanced, homicidal degenerate - or someone who is purely unconscionably evil - who has blasted his way into a school... then no amount of bonus money in the world is going to mean a damn thing.

     A reader responded to my editorial from February 18th and wrote..."All it takes is one good shot" by a teacher...to kill the maniacal monster who has assaulted his school.  Such a statement is totally preposterous and no teacher's union in America will support it.

     I am personally close to someone who has been an educator for about thirty-five years.  This individual has been a school teacher and a principal.  I spoke with him this week and he wants no guns anywhere near his school.  He also shared with me that if his school district ever required him - or any of his teachers - to carry a gun on school premises...he'd quit.  Donald Trump's plan is so far-fetched that I guarantee it will be tossed into the trash before it ever sees the light of day.

     My recommendations for a new gun control law have been expressed in many columns over the last six years, but they're worth mentioning again today.  In no particular order, my list is below.  

     1 - A new law must be permanent.  Not temporary.  No expiration date.
     2 - A new law must ban AR-15 and all other assault weapons, as well as banning bump fire stocks.
     3 - A new law must include an extended waiting period when a person wants to purchase a gun of any kind.  I suggest at least ninety days.
     4 - A new law must include an intense universal background check for anyone wanting to purchase a gun.
     5 - A new law must limit the amount of firearms an individual can purchase.
     6 - There is no logical purpose for anyone outside of the military or law enforcement agencies to own guns with magazines that store multiple rounds of ammunition.  A new law must outlaw such magazines so that civilians cannot purchase them.
     7 - A new law must require the issuance of a special permit to all gun owners.
     8 - A new law must require all gun owners to be fingerprinted.
     9 - A new law must require anyone who wants to purchase a firearm to have a valid state or federal identification card, such as a driver's license, passport, state I.D. or current military I.D.
     10 - A new law must change the HIPAA law so that doctors, social workers, school counselors...and anybody else for that matter...will not find themselves in jail or in a civil lawsuit if they report to the police that a patient, student or other individual has threatened physical violence on another person by using a gun or other weapon.
     11 - A new law must include a federal monitoring system that includes a database of all the names of any Americans who have been diagnosed with mental illness by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other medical professional so that all municipal, state and federal law enforcement agencies have access to it.  This monitoring system will also keep tabs on the amount of firearms a person owns.
     12 - A new law must require that all guns be registered, similar to motor vehicles. 
     
     Over the last week or so, I have been so impressed with the youth of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.  I'm proud of these young people.  They speak with such articulation...such eloquence...and such class.  Yet they continue to mourn and grieve the heartwrenching deaths of their classmates and friends.  I genuinely admire and respect these high school students.  And let's remember...they are students. Although some of them are 18 years of age or a tad older...most are younger...and all are relatively new to this Earth.  As Sam Zeif told Brian Williams..."We are doing adult things.  But we are kids still."  And I believe they will continue to do adult things.  This younger generation is not going to put up with Donald Trump's lip service.  Unless he and the Republican-controlled Congress pass a commonsense gun control law that halts the sale of AR-15 and other assault weapons...as well as including many, if not all, of the recommendations that I and others have suggested...then today's teenagers will not stop their crusade until they succeed. Marjory Stoneman Douglas student, Chris Grady, spoke to reporters outside the state capitol in Tallahassee on Tuesday, February 20th.  The 19-year old senior issued an ultimatum to national and Florida politicians.  "If you're not with us, you're against us...and you're against saving the lives of innocent children.  And we're going to be voting you out."  These students have a tremendous drive that is being fueled by their passion...their peaceful anger...and their tears.  These are intelligent and creative youngsters with wisdom far beyond their years.  It's incredibly inspirational to watch them...and it just may take these "kids"...to do what adults have never been able to do.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."
  

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

Now please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

WHY ISN'T DONALD TRUMP PISSED AT RUSSIA?

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     Why is Donald Trump so fearful of the Russia investigation?  Why has he not wanted to do...what any decent president would do...and that is to get to the bottom of this issue so that Russia - or any other foreign country - could never stick their noses where they don't belong.  That being...in America's elections.

     Instead of being infuriated with Russia, Trump continues to throw tantrum after tantrum as he chastises the U.S. media, the FBI, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and anyone else who wants answers about Russia and their illegal involvement with the 2016 presidential election between Trump and Hillary Clinton.

     There is no logical reason that Trump isn't livid towards Vladimir Putin and the Russians.  Unless - as I wrote in several columns in 2016 and 2017 - Trump is "in bed," metaphorically speaking, with Putin.  Otherwise...why has Trump not moved mountains so that such interference in our democracy never happens again?

     It's mind-boggling that on Friday, February 16th, 2018...Donald Trump wasn't doing cartwheels - again, metaphorically speaking - on The White House south lawn after learning that thirteen Russian nationals and three Russian entities had been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of allegedly meddling in our 2016 election and conspiracy to defraud the United States.  The defendants are also accused of supporting the Trump Campaign and "disparaging" Hillary Clinton.

     The indictment states that "Some defendants, posing as U.S. persons and without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities."  And Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says, "The defendants allegedly conducted what they called 'information warfare against the United States,' with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."

     For quite some time, the U.S. intelligence community has categorically claimed that Russia interfered with our election.  And now...there's irrefutable proof.  Trump can no longer call the Russia probe "a hoax," "a witch-hunt" or "fake news."  Trump needs to acknowledge the facts...and admit this is not fiction.

     As for allegations by a vast amount of Americans nationwide who believe Donald Trump and his campaign participated in a conspiracy to collude with Russia...Trump tweeted on February 16th..."The results of the election were not impacted.  The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion."  Later that afternoon, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a printed statement on behalf of Trump that indicated...with the following uppercase letters...that "there was NO COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and Russia, and that the outcome of the election was not changed or affected."  

     The next day - Saturday, February 17th - Trump used the murders of fourteen teenage students and three teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida to attack the entire Federal Bureau of Investigation.  "Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter.  This is not acceptable.  They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion."  Does Trump have no decency, no consideration at all?  Of course we know he doesn't...as has been evident through his words and actions since announcing his candidacy more than two-and-a-half years ago.  But to use the victims of a mass murder as a way to do anything to distract from the Russia investigation is downright disgraceful and it sickens me.

     Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein says..."There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity" or that what the Russians achieved...affected the outcome of the 2016 election.  My response to Mr. Rosenstein is this.  That remains to be seen. 

     Just prior to indicting any of Trump's advisers, aides, and anyone else who was associated with the Trump campaign or has been connected with the Trump administration...Special Counsel Mueller needs to make like Monty Hall and "make a deal."  Give him every shred of information that may implicate Trump and/or his right-hand henchmen in a conspiracy to collude with Russia...as well as sworn testimony that Trump fired James Comey as FBI Director, solely to put a stop to the Russia investigation - which is what Trump told NBC News anchor Lester Holt in a nationally televised interview - thus proving obstruction of justice...and then...those who throw Trump under the bus...will get off with much lighter prison sentences...or none at all. 

     In his oath of office on January 20th, 2017...Donald Trump swore to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."  So why won't he do whatever is necessary to protect America from Russia interfering with our elections in the future?

     Donald Trump will never show an ounce of enthusiasm towards the Russia probe...especially when there is ironclad evidence that Russia meddled with our election.  His narcissism won't allow it as - in his mind - it would reduce the validity of his victory against Hillary Clinton.

     That being said...there is no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump is hiding what he knows about Russia and the 2016 U.S. presidential election because he - and his senior sidekicks...among others - have got to be involved, in some way, with the Russians.  If Trump was not involved in either conspiracy to collude with Russia or, at the very least, a cover-up...then what is he so afraid of?

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

Now please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

A MESSAGE TO DONALD TRUMP AND CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS: PASS THE TOUGHEST GUN CONTROL LAW NOW BEFORE MORE PEOPLE...MORE CHILDREN...ARE SHOT TO DEATH

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     "All over America today, mothers and fathers dropped their children off at school and left with a pit in their stomach.  Asking themselves: 'Will they be safe?'  'Can it happen here?'  'Will they come home?'"  Those words were written - Friday, February 16th, 2018 - by former Vice President Joe Biden.  But they are the thoughts that are unfortunately racing through the minds of perhaps every American.  Parents are thinking about their kids, but others throughout our country are fearful for the safety of all their loved ones...and themselves.  And they're wondering..."Who might be next?"

     I have always believed that we cannot live as frightened puppies.  But with the amount of school shootings - and shootings elsewhere - in 2018 alone...we can't help but be concerned about our own personal safety and the safety of the people we cherish.

     Any American with an ounce of decency has to be heartbroken this week after a deranged 19-year old former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, on Wednesday, February 14th, savagely slaughtered seventeen people - fourteen students and three teachers - in a shooting rampage in this once peaceful community of Parkland, Florida.  Nikolas Cruz - a sick-minded sociopath who, according to the Broward County Sheriff, has confessed to the crimes - also wounded fourteen other people...one of them - as this column is published - remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries while six are listed in fair condition, according to a spokesperson from the Broward Health hospital system.  Seven others who were injured have been released.

     But none of this should have happened.  With so many obvious signs that Cruz was dangerously disturbed, how did nobody stop him before he could attack a high school and shoot thirty-one people?  No one who is psychotic should ever have been able to buy a firearm...let alone an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with a magazine of ammunition.  But Florida doesn't require fingerprinting...or a special permit...or even a waiting period to purchase a gun.  And if you're at least 18 years old, you can buy a rifle in "The Sunshine State."  All a person needs to do is pass a simple background check.  And at age 19...and with no criminal record - even though Cruz had a history of disciplinary problems at school and was recently expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School - a few hundred dollars in his wallet was all that was necessary to purchase his murder weapon.  So therefore...the gun was purchased legally - and according to the FBI - "about a year ago."  Meanwhile, the attorney for the store owner, where Cruz bought the rifle, told reporters on February 16th that "The standard AR-15 weapon comes with one magazine...and that one magazine is the only magazine that was furnished with the weapon.  It is for that reason that no red flags were raised."

     But there should have been red flags.  And there may have been if Cruz's name was placed on a federal law enforcement list that described him as dangerous and potentially threatening.

     Let me remind you that in February 2017 - not too long after his inauguration - Donald Trump repealed a regulation that was signed in December 2016 by President Barack Obama, which would have made it more difficult for people with mental illness to purchase a firearm.  The Obama Administration rule, however, had not fully taken effect when it was overturned.  President Obama believed the initiative would have added about 75-thousand names to the database of the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System.  But Trump was able to nullify the rule after Congress quietly voted to repeal it.  The Congressional Review Act allows lawmakers to reverse any recently enacted regulation that was passed by the President.  Mr. Obama had recommended the rule be implemented in 2013 following the mass murder of twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

     On December 17th, 2012, I published an editorial titled, WE'VE GOT TO GET THE GUNS.  My column focused on the chilling murders at Sandy Hook.  In that commentary, I wrote..."We must do something in this country to get guns out of the hands of people who are unconscionably evil and/or mentally unbalanced; and who are capable of performing indescribable violence on others."

     But whether it's Sandy Hook Elementary School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, or any other school that has suffered the catastrophic carnage of a mass shooting...the emotions of our nation's citizens are ripped apart in to pools of tears and fits of anger.

     In my column from 2012, I also wrote similar words to those that Vice President Biden articulated this past week.  I asked..."When they kiss their child goodbye, as they go off to school in the morning, must every parent now think to himself or herself...will my child live or die today because a sinful psychopath could storm in to his or her school carrying assault weapons and enough ammunition to kill hundreds of pure and pristine children?  When is enough enough?  How many children need to die before our politicians can unite and agree on a law that would prevent these mass murders?"

     That was nearly six years ago...and yet, nothing has been done to make gun control laws stronger and to stop individuals with mental illness from buying any firearm.

     Schools need to be safe sanctuaries for our kids.  We must have stricter gun laws so that no other American will perish in such horrifying and cataclysmic ways.  I noted in my 2012 editorial..."If twenty dead children isn't reason enough to change our laws...then I don't know what will."  But the deaths of those six and seven year old boys and girls apparently didn't mean a damn thing to the Republicans in Congress.  And I wonder if the deaths of fourteen teenagers this week...will make a difference either.  And why?  Because the GOP is in bed with the NRA.

     The National Rifle Association has written checks - one after another - for the political campaigns of certain Republicans.  NBC News says the NRA made contributions totaling 21-million dollars to Donald Trump's presidential campaign.  And The New York Times reported in their October 2017 article that tens of millions of dollars have been given in recent years to numerous Senate and House Republicans.

     The NRA has too much influence on the Republican Party and on Donald Trump. And here's more proof.  Despite so many fatalities in school shootings and other mass murders...the House of Representatives - in December 2017 - passed a bill that would allow anyone who is licensed to carry concealed firearms in their own state... to legally bring those weapons across the borders in to other states without the concern of conflicting state laws or civil suits.  This issue is a top priority of the NRA, which applauded the House vote.  Donald Trump also supports the measure, so if the Senate passes the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, then once the legislation is signed by Trump, it would become law.  This is irresponsible and crazy.  Such a law would bring guns in to cities and states that do not recognize the permits from other states, which - in many cases - do not require background checks and will sell a gun to anyone with a driver's license.

     Gun control is an issue that can no longer be a liberal versus conservative matter.  Republicans and the NRA - as I wrote in another commentary on September 22nd, 2013 - "must support a gun control law that will rid the streets of illegal guns and stops the horrific acts of depraved homicidal degenerates."  But whether the guns are obtained unlawfully or lawfully, we must halt the twisted, warped and maniacal monsters who brutally blast their way into schools, parks, playgrounds, houses of worship, concerts, nightclubs, movie theaters, restaurants, malls, baseball fields and other sports stadiums, or any other public venue.  We must totally terminate shooting sprees by these barbaric beasts who are invading the backyards of America's heartland and the concourses of cosmopolitan centers.

     As I wrote in my column of January 8th, 2017..."Death by guns is a public health problem.  It is an epidemic.  A plague.  And it must be stopped."  We must somehow...some way...free our nation and cleanse our country from the arsenal of guns that poison those who, in no way, deserve to be slain.

     Everytown For Gun Safety - a gun control advocacy group - says there have been eighteen school shootings in the United States since January 1st, 2018.  Let me repeat that a different way.  In the first forty-five days of this year, there have been an alarming eighteen school shootings.  The organization also says that 291 American schools have been raided by gunmen since 2013.

     Do Republicans want school shootings to be daily?  If a new federal gun control law is not passed...toddlers, tweens and teenagers are bound to be the victims of more and more massacres.  Therefore, what will it take for Donald Trump and Congress to pass a commonsense gun control law that includes an extended waiting period of at least ninety days and an intense universal background check?  Do one-hundred people need to be shot and killed?  Must we wait until five-hundred of our neighbors are executed by spraying bullets?  Or will it be after dozens of dedicated teachers and one-thousand of their students are riddled with ammo from assault weapons?  I ask you.  What will it take?

     We must tackle the mayhem of gun use before the irrational and the insane overpower us.  Legislation that is even stronger than the 1994 assault weapons ban that Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed in to law...is a must for our country.  The 1994 law expired in 2004 after being active for only ten years.  No new gun control law can be temporary.  It must be permanent.  Furthermore, there is no logical purpose for anyone outside of the military or law enforcement agencies to own guns with magazines that store multiple rounds of ammunition.  These magazines need to be outlawed so that civilians cannot purchase them.

     The families of too many Americans - whether in Parkland, Florida...Newtown, Connecticut...or elsewhere...have had their hearts torn apart as they weep from the realization that their loved ones were murdered and are gone forever.  No mother... no father...no son...no daughter...no husband...no wife...not one single person in the United States...should ever have to agonize from their kinfolk being killed by someone with a gun.

     Not even when two of their own nearly died from gunshot wounds did Congress agree on gun control legislation.  In January 2011, when then Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Democrat of Arizona - was shot...or in June 2017, when Republican Congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana received his bullet wounds...did the Republican-controlled Congress care enough about gun control.

     Even after the worst mass shooting in modern American history - which left fifty-eight people dead and 851 others injured at an October 1st, 2017 country music festival on "The Strip" in Las Vegas, Nevada - Republicans still refused...because of politics...to get off their butts to help save lives in the future.  Do Republicans not care that a madman with twenty-three semi-automatic rifles and handguns...fired more than eleven-hundred rounds of ammunition...from his 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel...which overlooked an audience of concertgoers?  The killer - who died in that hotel room when he later turned a gun on himself - used bump fire stocks, which in essence turned his semi-automatic weapons in to automatic rifles...by mimicking its firing speed to between four-hundred and eight-hundred rounds per minute.  According to The Economist magazine, bump fire stocks sell in the United States for about one-hundred dollars and up.  We must ban bump fire stocks.  Also, there must be a limit on how many guns an individual can buy.  Police discovered twenty-four more firearms at the Las Vegas shooter's two Nevada homes. Therefore, a monitoring system is essential so that federal, state and municipal law enforcement authorities know who owns multiple numbers of weapons.  The Las Vegas killer had a total of forty-seven guns and twelve bump fire stocks.

     But now...America mourns those who were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.  The devastation in Parkland, Florida is gut-wrenching.  It is beyond tragic.  We cannot tolerate any more bloodbaths to flood our schools.

     Nikolas Cruz is not a member of ISIS.  He is not a religious radical from a foreign country.  He is a United States citizen.  He is an American.  Yet he is indeed a terrorist...a violent murderer who assassinated innocent people.  Our nation does not need a multi-billion-dollar wall on the U.S./Mexico border to keep us safe.  We need the perfect gun control law.

     Following the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Phillip Timothy - someone who I do not know - posted on Facebook..."A chunk of lead, hurtling through the air, thrown by a little explosion, triggered by one man's finger, can destroy that entire world.  So I really don't give a damn how important owning a gun is to you."

     Numerous students were interviewed by various news organizations, with one calling Nikolas Cruz..."reckless."  Another student labeled him "a little bit off" and claimed Cruz "threatened to bring (his) guns to school multiple times."  It was apparently "joked" by some kids that Cruz would "be the one to shoot up the school." According to BuzzFeed, the FBI was reportedly advised six months ago that someone with the "user name of Nikolas Cruz" bragged in a YouTube post..."I'm going to be a professional school shooter."  Why was nothing done to lock him up in a hospital and provide him the psychiatric medical care he desperately needed?  That option now better be off the table.  Cruz will either spend the rest of his life in prison...or worse.

     The FBI says that on January 5th - less than six weeks before the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shootings - the Bureau was informed on their telephone tip line that a "person close to Cruz" was aware of his "gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting."  The tip should have been immediately investigated. But the FBI says this "potential threat to life" was somehow overlooked.  The Bureau says "protocols were not followed."  But FBI Director Christopher Wray vows to get "to the bottom of what happened."  Meanwhile, the people of Parkland, Florida are livid.  Student Chris Grady told NBC News that his schoolmates and teachers "might be alive today if they (the FBI) had done their job.  I'm sorry, but this is so infuriating." 

     My heart goes out to everyone in Parkland, especially to the families who are grieving the loss of their relatives.  From average citizens to Members of Congress, Americans have expressed their thoughts and prayers...their sympathies and condolences...to the bereaved.  But even the warmest words are not enough. Americans must join together to force the United States Senate and the House of Representatives to pass the toughest gun control bill imaginable...and Donald Trump must sign it in to law.

     David Hogg, a student who survived the shootings, told CNN..."We are children. You guys are the adults.  Work together, come over your politics, and get something done."

     On February 14th, 2018, a cold-blooded killer stole the lives of fourteen precious pupils at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, along with three of their brave teachers who saved lives by giving up their own.  Valentine's Day is supposed to be a day of happiness and love.  But in Parkland, Florida...Valentine's Day will evermore be a day of sadness...and the memory of death.  God help them.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

Now please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

TREASON IS NOT TO BE JOKED ABOUT

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     Donald Trump's inflammatory remark on Monday, February 5th, 2018 - when he accused Congressional Democrats of "treason" for not applauding him at the Tuesday, January 30th State Of The Union Address - is not only hateful and despicable...but it sends a vile message to the world when the President of the United States attacks nearly half of America's national lawmakers by labeling them traitors.

     In a speech at a manufacturing plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, Trump appeared to speak in earnest when he expressed..."Can we call that treason?  Why not.  I mean they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."  Trump also called Democrats "un-American."

     But White House officials, throughout the week, sluffed-off Trump's vulgar verbiage as merely his sense of humor.  Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley told NBC News on February 5th that Trump's incendiary insults were said "tongue in cheek."  And Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at the White House Press Briefing that same day..."The President was clearly joking with his comments."

     Does Donald Trump even know what treason is...what the word means?  Random House Dictionary defines treason as "the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign."  It's "a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state."  Treason is "the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery."  According to the U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 115, Section 2381, someone who "is guilty of treason shall suffer death" or "shall be imprisoned and fined."  And a person who is convicted of treason "shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."

     By Trump's thinking...if not giving a standing ovation to the President...or simply not clapping hands and cheering for him...are considered treason...then nearly every Republican Senator and Congressman who served during any part of President Barack Obama's two terms...should have gone before a firing squad or should have been put behind bars.  Time and time again, Republicans did not applaud or rise in support of President Obama.

     Some Americans have noted that branding Democrats as treasonous is clear-cut evidence that Donald Trump lacks the understanding of the word...and that he - without question - is brainless about the text of the U.S. Constitution.  But I think Trump is more so trying to undermine the definition of treason because he knows there's going to be a day when he himself might be implicated in such a federal criminal act.  I did say "might."  And not only by people in the general public...or by those on social media...but by Congress...by Special Counsel Robert "Bob" Mueller... and/or by a prosecutor in a court of law.  Therefore, by making light of treason now...just may convince some uneducated Americans to not take treason too seriously if Trump is ever brought up on impeachment charges.

     Donald Trump's State Of The Union Address was nothing more than a continuation of the same divisive rhetoric and vicious venom that he has spewed since he announced his candidacy in 2015.  Trump's speech was jam-packed with lies.  But then...that's nothing new for "The Donald."

     As Trump did with his inauguration crowd - which he wrongly claimed was bigger than President Obama's first swearing-in ceremony - Trump insisted the viewership of his first State Of The Union Address was the largest in history.  Trump tweeted that "45.6 million people watched, the highest number in history."  The amount of viewers is correct, but Trump once again lied because his speech was not "the highest number in history"...far from it.

     The Nielsen Company confirms that the ratings for Trump's 2018 State Of The Union Address were actually lower than his 2017 speech to a Joint Session Of Congress, (which was not an official State Of The Union Address).  Nielsen says that for State Of The Union Addresses, President George W. Bush holds the record for attracting the biggest television audience for his 2003 speech...when 62.1 million Americans watched.  However, President Bill Clinton is on the next rung of the ladder - in second place - when he captured 53.1 million people who had their eyes on his 1998 State Of The Union message.

     But for all intents and purposes...a President's speech to a Joint Session Of Congress - about a few weeks after his first inauguration - is considered by most Americans as the same as a State Of The Union Address.  So when we include those speeches on the same list as the official State Of The Union Addresses...President Clinton beats out everybody.  Mr. Clinton's 1993 speech to a Joint Session Of Congress drew a TV crowd of 66.9 million people...thus making that speech the largest of its kind in history.  Donald Trump's 2018 State Of The Union Address falls in at ninth place on the total list or sixth place for just State Of The Union Addresses.

     Below is the "top ten list," as documented by Nielsen...(not by David Letterman).

     1 - Bill Clinton - 66.9 million - 1993 - Joint Session Of Congress
     2 - George W. Bush - 62.1 million - 2003 - State Of The Union
     3 - Bill Clinton - 53.1 million - 1998 - State Of The Union
     4 - Barack Obama - 52.4 million - 2009 - Joint Session Of Congress
     5 - George W. Bush - 51.8 million - 2002 - State Of The Union
     6 - Barack Obama - 48.0 million - 2010 - State Of The Union
     7 - Donald Trump - 47.7 million - 2017 - Joint Session Of Congress
     8 - Bill Clinton - 45.8 million - 1994 - State Of The Union
     9 - Donald Trump - 45.6 million - 2018 - State Of The Union
     10 - George W. Bush - 45.5 million - 2007 - State Of The Union

     Donald Trump is obsessed with numbers...as in crowd sizes, television ratings, and the amount of electoral votes he received.  He frequently reminds us about the amount of people who attended his campaign rallies and his "landslide" victory over Hillary Clinton.  It was not even close to being a landslide...and Trump needs to remember that Secretary Clinton won the popular vote by about 3 million Americans. Plus, the former star of NBC's The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice wants everyone to believe that his reality shows were number one.  They were not. Although he bragged that they were...even before he moved in to The White House. Once again...more false claims by Trump.  

     Wikipedia has published the Nielsen Ratings for the ten seasons of The Apprentice.  Only in its premiere season, 2003 - 2004, was the series ever in the top ten, ranking in at number seven for the TV year.  And the best that The Celebrity Apprentice did was landing in 46th place for all shows that appeared on television in the 2010 - 2011 season.  So whether it's from the boardroom or The Oval Office... Donald Trump lies.

     Trump has lied since the moment he entered the race for the Republican nomination.  The truth of the matter is that Trump vowed - throughout his campaign - to put America first.  Instead - now that he's in The White House - all Trump does is put himself first.  But that's what he's always done.  Trump has betrayed Americans and he makes every effort to divide our nation along racial, religious and ethnic lines.  Trump discriminates against so many millions of people.  His prejudices...his bigotry...and his racism...are not what America is about...and Trump's actions differ from the vast majority of our country's citizens.  Finally...to put the icing on the cake...it's obvious that Trump's goal is to destroy every ounce of success that was achieved by President Obama.  And most Republicans in Congress are backing Trump every step of the way. 

     Donald Trump's dangerous agenda for our country is one that needs to be stopped.  But Congressional Republicans are willing to decimate our nation, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and whatever else they can...in order to keep Trump from having to face Bob Mueller's questions under oath.  It makes me wonder why so many Members of the GOP are bending over backwards to protect Trump and to not put the thumbscrews to the Russians.  Unknowingly to us...do we have Russian spies who have been elected to the American Congress?  Trump needs to realize that if he refuses to meet face to face with Mueller...his presidency will be on a fast track to doomsday.  Hundreds of thousands of people - perhaps millions - will march up and down Pennsylvania Avenue from The White House to Capitol Hill...and like Richard Nixon...Donald Trump will be forced to resign.  If Trump is innocent of ties to Vladimir Putin and the Russians...then he should have no problem talking with Mueller.

     Most Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate have no courage...no backbones...no "balls"...to face Trump head-on.  Why do Congressional Republicans fear this man who has proven over and over again that he has no business being President.  America is in a Constitutional crisis...and it's only going to get worse until Mueller concludes his investigation.

     When are Republicans going to stand up to Trump and show that they care more about our country than they do about him?  Or is it just the opposite?  I have to ask because it's shocking...and frankly, quite sad...that Republicans nationwide are not outraged by Donald Trump...especially after he has tagged Democrats as treasonous. Why do Republicans continue to support him?  The answer - after the election - was that voters who cast their ballots for Trump simply said..."We hate Hillary."  But the election is over and done with long ago.  To use their hatred towards Hillary Clinton...doesn't fly.  It's a cop-out.  Some Republicans have insisted that Trump was not their "first choice."  Many have admitted that "Trump was not even (their) second or third choice."  Nevertheless, they still voted for him.  But that was more than fifteen months ago.  How can my Republican neighbors throughout the nation - even those in Trump's so-called "base" - remain loyal to a lying, narcissistic, misogynistic, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, racist who acts in a delusional manner....appears to be mentally ill...and thus is unfit to serve as President of the United States?  My words have been proven to be true because of Trump's actions.

     Parents have taught their children for decades that "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."  But words do matter...especially when they are spoken by the President of the United States.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

Now please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

SMILE! IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY!

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     No matter what this furry little fellow (pictured to the left) wants to call himself, his two most famous cousins - Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck - seem to be in disagreement on this Groundhog Day 2018.  Perhaps one is a Democrat and one is a Republican.  (LOL)  Anyway...Phil saw his shadow this morning...and therefore - according to local lore - we will have six more weeks of this year's brutally cold winter.  But Chuck has more of a positive outlook.  His prediction - having not seen his shadow - is for us to enjoy an early spring.

 

     Groundhog Day - the holiday not the movie - began out of a superstition by the Pennsylvania Dutch.  By the way, these good people - who are more commonly known as descendants of settlers to Pennsylvania's "Amish country" - have nothing to do with Holland or The Netherlands, but are ancestors of German-speaking kinfolk - going back generations - who lived in areas of Europe.  And they were called "Deutsch."  Over time, various dialects that were spoken by these welcomed immigrants to the United States...fused together for a style of tongue that developed in to a language all its own.  And somehow, because of accents...Pennsylvania Deutsch became Pennsylvania Dutch.

 

     Generally, most Americans refer to Lancaster County in "The Keystone State" as the home for Amish immigrants.  But there are many other communities throughout Pennsylvania - and elsewhere - with Amish congregations.  One neighborhood is part of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, which is a stone's throw from the borough of Punxsutawney...which brings us back to Groundhog Day.  

     Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania legend has it that a groundhog is "afraid of his own shadow."  So when this wimpy woodchuck awakens from his winter sleep on February 2nd each year...and then pops out of his burrow...if the sun shines bright and he sees his shadow...it is believed that this renowned rodent is scared...so he scurries back to his den for six more weeks of slumber.  But...if cloudy skies prevail...as the groundhog emerges from hibernation...this mischievous marmot will remain outdoors... savor a hearty breakfast...and then it's off to do whatever it is that a groundhog does when he is not snoozing.  In his mind...it's time for all critters - and all people - to celebrate...as spring is on its way.

 

     It was February 2nd, 1886 when newspaper editor Clymer Freas proclaimed in The Punxsutawney Spirit that "Today is Groundhog Day.  And up to the time of going to press...the beast has not seen its shadow."

 

     Whether you're of the belief that the groundhog can or cannot forecast the weather...Groundhog Day is one of those times when political persuasions don't matter...neither do religious convictions nor economic status...or anything else.  Groundhog Day is simply a fun moment of the year when a fat old groundhog puts smiles on our faces...even when this clever and clairvoyant creature's prognostication...is disappointing.  To quote Flying LlamaFish in 7 Reasons Groundhog Day Is The Ultimate Holiday..."It's a freakin' holiday entirely based on the power of a psychic rodent.  If that isn't the epitome of awesome...I don't know what is."

 

     And that's The Controversy for today.

 

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

Now please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Photo credits: Pinterest (Groundhog #1) and Pinterest (Groundhog #2)

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.