By the time President Barack Obama leaves office, he will have overseen more sales of military weaponry than any other president . Since 2009, the United States has approved the sale of more than $200 billion worth of American-made arms to countries around the world. These sales constitute $60 billion more of such sales than during George W. Bush's two terms.
Factors driving the Obama surge include a shift toward arming allies instead of putting American boots on the ground and his decision to relax arms export rules, a move supported with an estimated $170 million in lobbying by the defense industry.
US Military Weapons Sales Agreements, 1970-2014
U.S. military weapons sales agreements have risen from a base of about $6 billion in 1970 to a high of over $60 billion in 2014. There were spikes to about $45 billion in the mid-'70s and nearly $50 billion in the mid-'90s.
Cluster Bombs
The Obama administration has approved the sale of 2,135 cluster bombs, which are banned by more than 100 countries. Most have gone to Saudi Arabia, which is using them in the U.S.-backed war against Yemeni rebels.
Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
Between 2009 and 2015, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed arms deals potentially worth more than $100 billion, including a $29 billion deal in 2012 and a recent $1.3 billion deal that included 22,000 bombs and other munitions.
U.S. Control of the Arms Market
The United States controls more than half of the global arms market. Russia, the next biggest supplier, has 14%.
Top 5 Buyers of American Weapons, 2009-2014
1. Saudi Arabia
2. United Arab Emirates
3. Australia
4. Iraq
5. Israel (Source for all above: "Arsenal of Democracy," Mother Jones, March/April 2016.)
ADDENDUM:
*KIDS AND LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE, BY THE NUMBERS
In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life without parole for juveniles was unconstitutional.
Here's how the states decided to deal with their inmates: By the end of 2015, twelve had either denied or nor addressed retroactive sentencing; four had the matter under review in the courts; and eleven had allowed retroactive resentencing. The remaining states have never used mandatory life without parole.
The states with the highest number of inmates serving life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed as kids are Pennsylvania, with 376; Michigan, with 368; California, with 288; Louisiana, with 247; and Florida, with 227. Louisiana's 247 constitutes 5.31 per 100,000 residents -- the highest rate in the nation. Of Louisiana's inmates, 199 of them, or 81% are black. Michigan's 368 inmates constitute a rate of 3.71 per 100,000 residents, and Pennsylvania's rate of 2.94 per 100,000 residents is third in the nation. The national rate is 0.719. (Sources: "Kids and Life Without Parole, By the Numbers," Mother Jones, January/February 2016; and the Phillips Black project, a nonprofit, public interest law practice focused on criminal law and capital defense.)
Monday, February 29, 2016
Friday, February 26, 2016
Thanks for the Energy, Mr. Sun
In the decade measured from 2004 to 2014, solar power produced in the United States leaped 139,000 percent. This leap was propelled by a number of local and state incentives, cheaper solar panels and a federal tax credit shaving the cost of upgrading. Yet, even with these incentives, solar power provided less than half of 1 percent of the energy produced in the United States as of late 2014. The potential remains massive, as the sun could power the entire country 100 times over. Dear reader, let's take a look at some factoids illuminating the solar energy picture:
*Enough energy strikes Earth every 104 minutes to power the entire world for a year.
*The United States has the space and sunlight to provide 100 times its annual power demand with solar.
*Rooftop solar panels alone could meet 1/5 of U.S. electricity demand.
*Carbon savings from existing U.S. solar panels offset the equivalent of 3.5 million cars.
*Since the mid-2000s, the power generated by new solar installations has grown, on average, 66% a year, far outpacing any other energy source.
*Solar industry jobs have increased 50% since 2010.
*Venture capital funding for solar in the first quarter of 2013: $126 million. In the first quarter of 2014: $251 million.
*Average cost of solar panels in 1972: $75/watt. Average cost today: Less than $1/watt.
*Expected cost of Chinese panels in 2015: 42c/watt. (Source for the above: "Here Comes the Sun," Mother Jones, September/October 2014.)
\
Leaving these factoids and looking at some graphic illustrations of generating capacity and the decrease in solar panel installation,we will look at four graphic presentations:
1;) New electricity generating capacity installed in the United States, first quarter of 2014
Solar - 74% --- Wind - 20% --- Natural gas - 4% --- Geothermal - 1% --- Other - 1% (Source: Solar Energy Industries Association [SEIA] )..
2,) New solar installations in the United States (in megawatts)
From barely appearing on the graph in 2004, solar installations increased to nearly 5,000 megawatts in 2013. Utility installations accounted for about 3,000 of the nearly 5,000 megawatts, followed respectably by non-residential and then residential installations. (Source: SEIA)
3.) The cost of putting solar panels on a typical house dropped nearly 70% from 1998 to 2014. The cost dropped from nearly $90,000 to nearly $30,000. Assumes 6kW house. (Sources: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, SEIA)
4;) Total installed photovoltaic capacity (in gigawatts)
Among the ten countries compared, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, France and Spain have installed photovoltaic capacity of about six gigawatts or less. The United States ranks sixth, with about 13 gigawatts. Japan, Italy and China outrank the U.S. and Germany is far ahead of the other nations, with just over 35 gigawatts of installed capacity. (Source: Internal Energy Agency). .
*Enough energy strikes Earth every 104 minutes to power the entire world for a year.
*The United States has the space and sunlight to provide 100 times its annual power demand with solar.
*Rooftop solar panels alone could meet 1/5 of U.S. electricity demand.
*Carbon savings from existing U.S. solar panels offset the equivalent of 3.5 million cars.
*Since the mid-2000s, the power generated by new solar installations has grown, on average, 66% a year, far outpacing any other energy source.
*Solar industry jobs have increased 50% since 2010.
*Venture capital funding for solar in the first quarter of 2013: $126 million. In the first quarter of 2014: $251 million.
*Average cost of solar panels in 1972: $75/watt. Average cost today: Less than $1/watt.
*Expected cost of Chinese panels in 2015: 42c/watt. (Source for the above: "Here Comes the Sun," Mother Jones, September/October 2014.)
\
Leaving these factoids and looking at some graphic illustrations of generating capacity and the decrease in solar panel installation,we will look at four graphic presentations:
1;) New electricity generating capacity installed in the United States, first quarter of 2014
Solar - 74% --- Wind - 20% --- Natural gas - 4% --- Geothermal - 1% --- Other - 1% (Source: Solar Energy Industries Association [SEIA] )..
2,) New solar installations in the United States (in megawatts)
From barely appearing on the graph in 2004, solar installations increased to nearly 5,000 megawatts in 2013. Utility installations accounted for about 3,000 of the nearly 5,000 megawatts, followed respectably by non-residential and then residential installations. (Source: SEIA)
3.) The cost of putting solar panels on a typical house dropped nearly 70% from 1998 to 2014. The cost dropped from nearly $90,000 to nearly $30,000. Assumes 6kW house. (Sources: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, SEIA)
4;) Total installed photovoltaic capacity (in gigawatts)
Among the ten countries compared, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, France and Spain have installed photovoltaic capacity of about six gigawatts or less. The United States ranks sixth, with about 13 gigawatts. Japan, Italy and China outrank the U.S. and Germany is far ahead of the other nations, with just over 35 gigawatts of installed capacity. (Source: Internal Energy Agency). .
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Protection of Children in a Bad Condition and the Welfare State
I. Protection of Children Falling Short
Protection of children in the United States is in a very bad condition: nineteen states are being sued for their failure to protect children. It is shocking to read of how young the children are who die of abuse or neglect. "The overwhelming majority of children who die from abuse or neglect are under the age of four; roughly half are less than one year old." -- a hundred and ten Massachusetts children died between 2009 and 2013 in circumstances suggesting abuse or neglect, and that a third of them had been under the care of the D.C.F." [1] Child protection is trapped in a cycle of scandal and reform.
" 'Public attention to the welfare of poor children,' the historian Linda Gordon has argued, 'coincides with the eras in which women have a strong political voice. It was therefore high when women were most actively fighting for the right to vote (from 1870 to 1920) and during the women's liberation movement (from 1961 to 1975).' 'Between 1970 and 2000, the number of infants murdered, per hundred thousand infants in the population, rose from 5.8 to 9.1.' " Today, the United States has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty of any nation in the developed world." [2]
"The ten adverse childhood experiences are emotional, physical or sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; violence, alcoholism and drug abuse, incarceration, or mental illness within the family; and having been raised by anyone other that two biological parents." [3]
II. Factors Associated With Children Leading Healthier, Happier Lives
In countries with lower levels of political, economic, and social inequality, mothers and their children lead healthier, happier lives. The top ten of these countries are: 1. Norway, 2. Finland; 3. Iceland; 4. Denmark; 5. Sweden; 6. Netherlands; 7. Spain; 8. Germany; 9. Australia; and 10. Belgium. The bottom ten are: 170. Sierra Leone/Haiti; 171. Guinea-Bissau; 172. Chad; 173. Cote D'voire; 174. Gambia; 175. Niger; 176. Mali; 177. Central African Republic; 178. Dr Congo.
Top Ten Maternal Health Bottom Ten
1 in 12,160 A mother's lifetime risk of 1 in 30
Women Die of a dying as a result of pregnancy Women Die of a
Maternal Cause or childbirth Maternal Cause
1 in 290 Children's Well-Being 1 in 8
Children Die A child's risk of dying before Children Die
Before Age 5 their fifth birthday Before Age 5
$56,120 Economic Status $635
Annual Income The gross national income Annual Income
Per Person (GNI) per capita Per Person
18 Educational Status 8
Years of Expected time children Years of
Schooling will spend in school Schooling
39% Political Status 11%
Seats Held Participation of women Seats Held
By Women in national government By Women [4]
The U.S. is #33 on the list.
Footnotes
[1]; [2] and [3] Jill Lepore, "Baby Does," Time, February 8, 2016.
[4] "Welfare State," The Nation, February 15, 2016.
Protection of children in the United States is in a very bad condition: nineteen states are being sued for their failure to protect children. It is shocking to read of how young the children are who die of abuse or neglect. "The overwhelming majority of children who die from abuse or neglect are under the age of four; roughly half are less than one year old." -- a hundred and ten Massachusetts children died between 2009 and 2013 in circumstances suggesting abuse or neglect, and that a third of them had been under the care of the D.C.F." [1] Child protection is trapped in a cycle of scandal and reform.
" 'Public attention to the welfare of poor children,' the historian Linda Gordon has argued, 'coincides with the eras in which women have a strong political voice. It was therefore high when women were most actively fighting for the right to vote (from 1870 to 1920) and during the women's liberation movement (from 1961 to 1975).' 'Between 1970 and 2000, the number of infants murdered, per hundred thousand infants in the population, rose from 5.8 to 9.1.' " Today, the United States has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty of any nation in the developed world." [2]
"The ten adverse childhood experiences are emotional, physical or sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; violence, alcoholism and drug abuse, incarceration, or mental illness within the family; and having been raised by anyone other that two biological parents." [3]
II. Factors Associated With Children Leading Healthier, Happier Lives
In countries with lower levels of political, economic, and social inequality, mothers and their children lead healthier, happier lives. The top ten of these countries are: 1. Norway, 2. Finland; 3. Iceland; 4. Denmark; 5. Sweden; 6. Netherlands; 7. Spain; 8. Germany; 9. Australia; and 10. Belgium. The bottom ten are: 170. Sierra Leone/Haiti; 171. Guinea-Bissau; 172. Chad; 173. Cote D'voire; 174. Gambia; 175. Niger; 176. Mali; 177. Central African Republic; 178. Dr Congo.
Top Ten Maternal Health Bottom Ten
1 in 12,160 A mother's lifetime risk of 1 in 30
Women Die of a dying as a result of pregnancy Women Die of a
Maternal Cause or childbirth Maternal Cause
1 in 290 Children's Well-Being 1 in 8
Children Die A child's risk of dying before Children Die
Before Age 5 their fifth birthday Before Age 5
$56,120 Economic Status $635
Annual Income The gross national income Annual Income
Per Person (GNI) per capita Per Person
18 Educational Status 8
Years of Expected time children Years of
Schooling will spend in school Schooling
39% Political Status 11%
Seats Held Participation of women Seats Held
By Women in national government By Women [4]
The U.S. is #33 on the list.
Footnotes
[1]; [2] and [3] Jill Lepore, "Baby Does," Time, February 8, 2016.
[4] "Welfare State," The Nation, February 15, 2016.
Friday, February 19, 2016
The Constitution Doesn't Term-Limit Appointment of Supreme Court Justices
The Constitution says the president "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint... Judges of the Supreme Court." The Constitution doesn't say "may," it says "shall." Within a very short time of the public announcement of the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the appointment of Scalia's replacement must await the inauguration of the next president. Shortly thereafter, all of the remaining Republican candidates for the presidency fell in line with McConnell's position. Donald Trump counseled "Delay, delay, delay." Dr. Ben Carson said: "We should not allow a judge to be appointed during [this president's] time."
Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders have not always been proponents of the proposition that presidents should not be empowered to appoint Supreme Court justices in the last year of their terms in office. McConnell wrote the following in a 1970 law review article: "The Senate should discount the philosophy of the nominee... The president is presumably elected by the people to carry out a program and altering the ideological direction of the Supreme Court would seem to be a perfectly legitimate part of a Presidential platform." The Republican leadership had no problem when President Ronald Reagan, the patron saint of many of them, nominated Anthony Kennedy to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in November 1987 and then be confirmed by a Democratic Senate majority in February 1988, the last year of Reagan's tenure in office.
President Reagan had no problem with nominating a Supreme Court justice when he met the definition of a lame duck. On January 19, 1988, Reagan said: "This is the year when Judge Anthony Kennedy will be confirmed and the Supreme Court will again be brought up to full strength. The Federal judiciary is too important to be made a political football. I would hope, and the American people should expect, not only for Judge Kennedy's confirmation but for the Senate to get to work and act on 27 other judicial nominations that have been left in limbo for quite awhile now." He also urged the Senate to confirm his choice in his State of the Union speech on January 25, 1988. Reagan also said: "Every day that passes with a Supreme Court below full strength impairs the people's business in that crucially important body."
Clarence Thomas was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice in the fall of 1991, well after candidates had begun positioning themselves for the 1992 election.
Professor Timothy Huebner wrote the following in a New York Times oped: "On 13 occasions, a vacancy on the nation's highest court has occurred -- through death, retirement or resignation -- during a presidential election year -- in 11 of these instances, the Senate took action on the president's nominations. In all five cases in which a vacancy occurred during the first quarter of the year, the president successfully nominated a replacement." Louis Brandeis was nominated in 1916 and he was confirmed on June 1, 1916. Two days after Brandeis was confirmed, Justice Hughes resigned from the Supreme Court. His vacancy was filled in two months. Supreme Court Justice Sherman Minton left the Court on October 15, 1956. While the Senate was in recess, President Eisenhower appointed New Jersey Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr. to the Supreme Court as a recess appointment. The prospect of President Obama making a recess appointment is now being viewed as an entirely unprecedented action.
ADDENDUMS:
*Charter School Drops Foreign Language
The Success Academy Charter Schools, encompassing 11,000 students in 34 New York City schools, has dropped foreign language classes. CEO and founder Eva Moskowitz has said that Americans don't do foreign languages well. She is substituting Chess. Given the Hispanic/Latino growth in the U.S., learning Spanish should be a very valuable skill. U.S. foreign language studies lag well behind other countries.
*Wind Power Picks Up Speed
Wind power accounted for a third of all new U.S. energy installations in the last eight years and now supplies about 5% of the country's total electricity demand. Produced in 43 states, with Texas leading the way, wind energy is capable of churning out 35% of America's energy generation by 2050, while cutting the electricity sector's carbon emissions by 23%, according to a March 2015 Department of Energy report.
Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders have not always been proponents of the proposition that presidents should not be empowered to appoint Supreme Court justices in the last year of their terms in office. McConnell wrote the following in a 1970 law review article: "The Senate should discount the philosophy of the nominee... The president is presumably elected by the people to carry out a program and altering the ideological direction of the Supreme Court would seem to be a perfectly legitimate part of a Presidential platform." The Republican leadership had no problem when President Ronald Reagan, the patron saint of many of them, nominated Anthony Kennedy to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in November 1987 and then be confirmed by a Democratic Senate majority in February 1988, the last year of Reagan's tenure in office.
President Reagan had no problem with nominating a Supreme Court justice when he met the definition of a lame duck. On January 19, 1988, Reagan said: "This is the year when Judge Anthony Kennedy will be confirmed and the Supreme Court will again be brought up to full strength. The Federal judiciary is too important to be made a political football. I would hope, and the American people should expect, not only for Judge Kennedy's confirmation but for the Senate to get to work and act on 27 other judicial nominations that have been left in limbo for quite awhile now." He also urged the Senate to confirm his choice in his State of the Union speech on January 25, 1988. Reagan also said: "Every day that passes with a Supreme Court below full strength impairs the people's business in that crucially important body."
Clarence Thomas was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice in the fall of 1991, well after candidates had begun positioning themselves for the 1992 election.
Professor Timothy Huebner wrote the following in a New York Times oped: "On 13 occasions, a vacancy on the nation's highest court has occurred -- through death, retirement or resignation -- during a presidential election year -- in 11 of these instances, the Senate took action on the president's nominations. In all five cases in which a vacancy occurred during the first quarter of the year, the president successfully nominated a replacement." Louis Brandeis was nominated in 1916 and he was confirmed on June 1, 1916. Two days after Brandeis was confirmed, Justice Hughes resigned from the Supreme Court. His vacancy was filled in two months. Supreme Court Justice Sherman Minton left the Court on October 15, 1956. While the Senate was in recess, President Eisenhower appointed New Jersey Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr. to the Supreme Court as a recess appointment. The prospect of President Obama making a recess appointment is now being viewed as an entirely unprecedented action.
ADDENDUMS:
*Charter School Drops Foreign Language
The Success Academy Charter Schools, encompassing 11,000 students in 34 New York City schools, has dropped foreign language classes. CEO and founder Eva Moskowitz has said that Americans don't do foreign languages well. She is substituting Chess. Given the Hispanic/Latino growth in the U.S., learning Spanish should be a very valuable skill. U.S. foreign language studies lag well behind other countries.
*Wind Power Picks Up Speed
Wind power accounted for a third of all new U.S. energy installations in the last eight years and now supplies about 5% of the country's total electricity demand. Produced in 43 states, with Texas leading the way, wind energy is capable of churning out 35% of America's energy generation by 2050, while cutting the electricity sector's carbon emissions by 23%, according to a March 2015 Department of Energy report.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Bernie Sanders Proposals; Gun Projections; Big Spenders; and Solitary Confinement
I. Bernie Sanders' Proposals
0% - Amount of tuition that students at public universities would pay under Bernie Sanders' plan.
6.2% - Amount of the capital-gains tax that Sanders would impose on people earning more than $200,000 per year.
12 - Weeks of paid medical and family leave that the government would provide for workers under Sanders' plan.
2M - Number of small-donor contributions received by the Sanders campaign as of December 2015. (Source: "DC By the Numbers," The Nation, February 8, 2016.)
II. Gun Deaths Among Young People
Among 15-to 24-year-olds, gun deaths are about to surpass car accidents as the leading cause of death. Projections are that in 2020, gun deaths will surpass deaths by car accidents at about the 6,000th death mark.In the year 1981, gun deaths were close to 9,000 and deaths due to car accidents were slightly over 17,000. (Source: Mother Jones, May/June 2015.)
III. The Arms Race
In 1995, there were an estimated 200 million firearms in private hands. As of the end of 2012, there were roughly 300 million. At this rate, the U.S. may have already passed the point in which there is a gun for every man, woman and child. By 2022, the number of guns will have substantially surpassed the number of people. (Source: "The Arms Race," Mother Jones, November/December 2012.)
IV. Hey, Big Spender
Every single member of Congress elected in the November 2012 national election got money from the 1 percent of the 1 percent, the tiny slice of top donors like Paul Singer, the billionaire hedge fund manager of the $21 billion Elliott Management firm.
*Percentage of population these big donors represent: 0.01%.
*Percentage of all 2012 campaign donations they gave: 28%.
*Total amount they gave to candidates: $410 million.
*To SUPER-PACS: $500 million.
*Percentage of campaign donations that went to Republicans: 59%.
*Percentage of big donations that came from Wall Street: 25%.
*Top employer for big donors: Goldman Sachs.
*13th biggest employer: Singer's Elliott Management.
*Total given by Goldman's magadonors: $4.7 million.
*Total given by Elliott's magadonors: $4.4 million. (Source: "Hey, Big Spender," Mother Jones, September/October 2013.)
V. Solitary Confinement's Tragic Numbers
81,622 - Number of prisoners in solitary confinement across the United States in 2005, the last year for which the federal government released data.
11,730 - Number of inmates held in California prisons as of the end of 2012.
7 - Percent of California inmates who were in isolation as of the end of 2012.
39 - Percentage of inmate suicides that happen in isolation units.
78 - Percentage of Security Housing Unit (SHU) inmates not classified as gang "leaders" or "members."
$12,317 - Extra annual cost to taxpayers for each prisoner in the Pelican Bay SHU.
11'7" by 7'7" - Dimensions of a SHU cell at Pelican Bay.
6' x 8' - Dimensions of the average American home's walk-in closet.
51 - Percentage of Pelican Bay SHU inmates who have spent at least five years in isolation.
89 - Number who have been in solitary for at least 20 years.
1 - number who have been there for 42 years. (Source: Ryan Jacobs, "42 years of Solitude," Mother Jones, November/December 2012.)
0% - Amount of tuition that students at public universities would pay under Bernie Sanders' plan.
6.2% - Amount of the capital-gains tax that Sanders would impose on people earning more than $200,000 per year.
12 - Weeks of paid medical and family leave that the government would provide for workers under Sanders' plan.
2M - Number of small-donor contributions received by the Sanders campaign as of December 2015. (Source: "DC By the Numbers," The Nation, February 8, 2016.)
II. Gun Deaths Among Young People
Among 15-to 24-year-olds, gun deaths are about to surpass car accidents as the leading cause of death. Projections are that in 2020, gun deaths will surpass deaths by car accidents at about the 6,000th death mark.In the year 1981, gun deaths were close to 9,000 and deaths due to car accidents were slightly over 17,000. (Source: Mother Jones, May/June 2015.)
III. The Arms Race
In 1995, there were an estimated 200 million firearms in private hands. As of the end of 2012, there were roughly 300 million. At this rate, the U.S. may have already passed the point in which there is a gun for every man, woman and child. By 2022, the number of guns will have substantially surpassed the number of people. (Source: "The Arms Race," Mother Jones, November/December 2012.)
IV. Hey, Big Spender
Every single member of Congress elected in the November 2012 national election got money from the 1 percent of the 1 percent, the tiny slice of top donors like Paul Singer, the billionaire hedge fund manager of the $21 billion Elliott Management firm.
*Percentage of population these big donors represent: 0.01%.
*Percentage of all 2012 campaign donations they gave: 28%.
*Total amount they gave to candidates: $410 million.
*To SUPER-PACS: $500 million.
*Percentage of campaign donations that went to Republicans: 59%.
*Percentage of big donations that came from Wall Street: 25%.
*Top employer for big donors: Goldman Sachs.
*13th biggest employer: Singer's Elliott Management.
*Total given by Goldman's magadonors: $4.7 million.
*Total given by Elliott's magadonors: $4.4 million. (Source: "Hey, Big Spender," Mother Jones, September/October 2013.)
V. Solitary Confinement's Tragic Numbers
81,622 - Number of prisoners in solitary confinement across the United States in 2005, the last year for which the federal government released data.
11,730 - Number of inmates held in California prisons as of the end of 2012.
7 - Percent of California inmates who were in isolation as of the end of 2012.
39 - Percentage of inmate suicides that happen in isolation units.
78 - Percentage of Security Housing Unit (SHU) inmates not classified as gang "leaders" or "members."
$12,317 - Extra annual cost to taxpayers for each prisoner in the Pelican Bay SHU.
11'7" by 7'7" - Dimensions of a SHU cell at Pelican Bay.
6' x 8' - Dimensions of the average American home's walk-in closet.
51 - Percentage of Pelican Bay SHU inmates who have spent at least five years in isolation.
89 - Number who have been in solitary for at least 20 years.
1 - number who have been there for 42 years. (Source: Ryan Jacobs, "42 years of Solitude," Mother Jones, November/December 2012.)
Friday, February 12, 2016
Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Guns
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps statistics on how many children are killed in unintentional shootings but the Centers do not compile national data on the age of the person who pulls the trigger. Children who pull triggers and the other children they kill are victims of the gun culture in the United States. Four of these tragic shootings are highlighted below.
1. Two-year-old Kaleb Ahle of Tarpon Springs, Florida, "died by accidentally shooting himself in the chest with a loaded .380 caliber gun he found in the glove box of his father's vehicle."
2. Nine-month-old Corbin Wiederholt "was killed when his [five]-year-old brother accidentally shot him in the head. The older brother found the loaded .22-caliber Magnum revolver in the Elmo, Missouri home of his grandfather, William Porter, whom the family was visiting. Porter told authorities he kept the gun loaded for security in a locked case but admitted that the case could be opened with a screwdriver or random key."
" 'I told the boys they weren't supposed to be in my bedroom where I keep the gun cabinet and they knew it,' Porter said in an interview. 'But like I said, boys will be boys.' "
3. A ten-year-old girl living in Colleyville, Texas, "was accidentally shot by a handgun that went off while her father was showing visitors the weapon in another room of the family home. The bullet went through a wall and struck her."
4. "And then there was the young, educated and gun-proficient Veronica Rutledge who was accidentally shot and killed [by] her [two]-year-old son at a Wal-Mart in Hayden, Idaho. The toddler had found his mother's loaded small-caliber handgun in her new gun-toting purse, a Christmas gift from her husband."
" 'They are painting Veronica as irresponsible, and that is not the case.' Veronica's father-in-law, Terry Rutledge, angrily told The Washington Post. 'This wasn't just some purse she had thrown her gun into.' " (Source: Joline Gutierrez Krueger, "Taking aim at loaded guns," The Albuquerque Journal, January 24, 2015.)
These four shootings are just a sampling of the many more accidental shootings that happen when young children find an unlocked but loaded gun in the home and start to play with it. One survey found that 43% of respondents who had guns in the home had at least one unlocked gun. It is too much to expect that those people who keep a loaded gun near the bed to fend off an intruder, will, every morning, lock up the gun in a secure place where children cannot access it.
1. Two-year-old Kaleb Ahle of Tarpon Springs, Florida, "died by accidentally shooting himself in the chest with a loaded .380 caliber gun he found in the glove box of his father's vehicle."
2. Nine-month-old Corbin Wiederholt "was killed when his [five]-year-old brother accidentally shot him in the head. The older brother found the loaded .22-caliber Magnum revolver in the Elmo, Missouri home of his grandfather, William Porter, whom the family was visiting. Porter told authorities he kept the gun loaded for security in a locked case but admitted that the case could be opened with a screwdriver or random key."
" 'I told the boys they weren't supposed to be in my bedroom where I keep the gun cabinet and they knew it,' Porter said in an interview. 'But like I said, boys will be boys.' "
3. A ten-year-old girl living in Colleyville, Texas, "was accidentally shot by a handgun that went off while her father was showing visitors the weapon in another room of the family home. The bullet went through a wall and struck her."
4. "And then there was the young, educated and gun-proficient Veronica Rutledge who was accidentally shot and killed [by] her [two]-year-old son at a Wal-Mart in Hayden, Idaho. The toddler had found his mother's loaded small-caliber handgun in her new gun-toting purse, a Christmas gift from her husband."
" 'They are painting Veronica as irresponsible, and that is not the case.' Veronica's father-in-law, Terry Rutledge, angrily told The Washington Post. 'This wasn't just some purse she had thrown her gun into.' " (Source: Joline Gutierrez Krueger, "Taking aim at loaded guns," The Albuquerque Journal, January 24, 2015.)
These four shootings are just a sampling of the many more accidental shootings that happen when young children find an unlocked but loaded gun in the home and start to play with it. One survey found that 43% of respondents who had guns in the home had at least one unlocked gun. It is too much to expect that those people who keep a loaded gun near the bed to fend off an intruder, will, every morning, lock up the gun in a secure place where children cannot access it.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
The NRA and the Gun Industry
When Did the NRA Become the Public Face of the Gun Industry?
1967: The NRA declares "it is not affiliated with any manufacturer of arms or ammunition."
1977: Hardliners oust NRA leadership for going soft on gun rights. New president Harlon Carter turns the group into a political powerhouse.
1982: Sturm, Ruger, Smith and Wesson and other gun companies help fund the NRA's $5 million drive to defeat California's :"handgun freeze" proposition.
1991: The NRA asks 16 gun makers for input on whether it should start a satellite TV channel to present "our truthful unbiased story." Manufacturers are enthusiastic.
1999: NRA president Charlton Heston tells gun manufacturers facing product liability lawsuits: "Your fight has become our fight. Your legal threat is our constitutional threat," even if "others are going to say we've become what they've always thought -- a shrill for the industry."
2000: The NRA organizes a boycott of Smith & Wesson after the gun maker works with the Clinton administration to make safer guns in exchange for legal immunity.
Taurus firearms offers a free NRA membership to all customers bringing in more than 40,000 members over the next 12 years.
2004: The NRA helps block renewal of the 1994 federal assault weapons ban. Rifle production jumps 75 percent in the next seven years.
2005: Congress passes the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which blocks product liability suits against gun makers and sellers -- a shield no other industry enjoys.
The NRA launches its Ring of Freedom campaign to enlist corporate partners, By 2011, about 50 gun companies sign up, raising as much as $38 million. Beretta USA and ammo maker MidwayUSA kick in more than $1 million each.:
2007: The NRA thanks Glock for signing up 10,000 of its customers as new members.
2008: Beretta pledges $1 million to the NRA over the next five years.
2011: Friends of NRA launches on the Outdoor Channel; episodes include visits to gun companies such as Winchester, Barrett, and Taurus.
Ruger promises the NRA $1 fro every weapon it sells in a year. It ends up donating $12 million.
Gun industry and other corporate donations to the NRA total more than $59 million.
2012: MidwayUSA donates $1 million to the NRA; Smith and Wesson donates more than $1 million.
2013: The CEO of the Freedom Group, maker of the AR-15 rifle, is nominated to run for the NRA board of directors.
The NRA's Eddie Eagle gun safety website declares the group is "not affiliated with any firearms or ammunition manufacturer." (Source: Peter Stone, "Your Fight Has Become Our Fight," Mother Jones, May/June 2013.)
1967: The NRA declares "it is not affiliated with any manufacturer of arms or ammunition."
1977: Hardliners oust NRA leadership for going soft on gun rights. New president Harlon Carter turns the group into a political powerhouse.
1982: Sturm, Ruger, Smith and Wesson and other gun companies help fund the NRA's $5 million drive to defeat California's :"handgun freeze" proposition.
1991: The NRA asks 16 gun makers for input on whether it should start a satellite TV channel to present "our truthful unbiased story." Manufacturers are enthusiastic.
1999: NRA president Charlton Heston tells gun manufacturers facing product liability lawsuits: "Your fight has become our fight. Your legal threat is our constitutional threat," even if "others are going to say we've become what they've always thought -- a shrill for the industry."
2000: The NRA organizes a boycott of Smith & Wesson after the gun maker works with the Clinton administration to make safer guns in exchange for legal immunity.
Taurus firearms offers a free NRA membership to all customers bringing in more than 40,000 members over the next 12 years.
2004: The NRA helps block renewal of the 1994 federal assault weapons ban. Rifle production jumps 75 percent in the next seven years.
2005: Congress passes the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which blocks product liability suits against gun makers and sellers -- a shield no other industry enjoys.
The NRA launches its Ring of Freedom campaign to enlist corporate partners, By 2011, about 50 gun companies sign up, raising as much as $38 million. Beretta USA and ammo maker MidwayUSA kick in more than $1 million each.:
2007: The NRA thanks Glock for signing up 10,000 of its customers as new members.
2008: Beretta pledges $1 million to the NRA over the next five years.
2011: Friends of NRA launches on the Outdoor Channel; episodes include visits to gun companies such as Winchester, Barrett, and Taurus.
Ruger promises the NRA $1 fro every weapon it sells in a year. It ends up donating $12 million.
Gun industry and other corporate donations to the NRA total more than $59 million.
2012: MidwayUSA donates $1 million to the NRA; Smith and Wesson donates more than $1 million.
2013: The CEO of the Freedom Group, maker of the AR-15 rifle, is nominated to run for the NRA board of directors.
The NRA's Eddie Eagle gun safety website declares the group is "not affiliated with any firearms or ammunition manufacturer." (Source: Peter Stone, "Your Fight Has Become Our Fight," Mother Jones, May/June 2013.)
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
The Total Annual Cost of Gun Violence in the U.S.
Mother Jones conducted a joint investigation with Ted Miller, a health economist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Based on Miller's work identifying and quantifying the societal impacts of gun violence, the annual price tag comes to more that $229 billion a year (based on 2012 data). The price tag includes $8.6 billion in direct spending -- from emergency care and other medical expenses to court and prison costs -- as well as $221 billion in less tangible "indirect" costs, which include impacts on productivity and quality of life for victims and their communities. The largest share of this $229 billion overall cost is the $169 billion in lost quality of life. Overall, gun violence costs more than $700 per American a year.
Ted Miller assumes that the average American"s life is worth about $6.2 million. That's a conservative estimate, as the Environmental Protection Agency's current statistical value for a life is $7.9 million and the Department of Transportation's is $9.2 million.
The following is how Mother Jones and Miller break down the cost of one murder: police response and investigation - $2,200 --- EMT and transport to hospital - $450 --- Victim's hospital expenses - $10,700 --- Mental-health treatment for victim's family - $11,600 --- Perpetrator is charged and sentenced - $2,300 --- Prison time for perpetrator - $414,000. Taxpayers pay 87% of the overall cost.
We can personalize these gun violence costs by looking at a few impacts on individuals. 1. Philip Russo's wife, Shelia Lynn Russo, a 47-year-old administrator, was killed on February 20, 2014 by a woman named Cherie Rhoades, who started firing wildly, angry about an eviction proceeding. Shelia's $60,00 annual salary constituted the majority of the household income. Although Philip lost his part-time job at the local county jail where Cherie Rhoades was being held and found a new job as a security guard, he had lost about $83,000 in household income by mid-2015.
2. Pamela Bosley incurred about $23,500 in medical care and counseling for her family after her 18-year-old son, Terrell, was shot to death on Chicago's south Side while unloading a drum set from a van on April 4, 2006. The few hours that Terrell clung to life in a hospital cost about $10,000, which was mostly covered by insurance. Pamela spent thousands of dollars on therapy and antidepressants for herself and another family member who was hospitalized at one point for depression. She took a six-month leave of absence from her job as a bank teller out of trauma induced by coworker's talking about their kids and the memories it brought back about Terrell.
3. On December 1, 2005, BJ Ayers ' 18-year-old son, Brett, sat down in a chair and fired a bullet into his head. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died. The $35,000 in emergency care costs were paid for by the hospital's "benevolent fund." Four years later, BJ's 26-year-old son, Beau, also committed suicide with a gun. His girlfriend and their then one-year-old son lost the a salary of $37,000 from Beau's construction job.
4. On July 5, 2013, Antonius Wiriadjaja was walking in his Brooklyn neighborhood, when a stray bullet from a man shooting at his ex-lover, pierced Wiriadjaja's chest and lodged in his stomach. His medical and mental health treatments have totaled about $169,000, most of which have been covered by his health insurance; however, Antonius's deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses cost more than $20,000 and ate up all his savings.
Compounding the gun tragedy, the man who helped save Wiriadjaja's life by compressing his wound, was shot and killed in South Carolina in 2014.
5. On May 27, 2010, Kamari Ridgle had just left a liquor store in Richmond, California, when a car pulled up behind him and shots rang out. He was hit 22 times before the perpetrators drove away. Kamari would have a dozen surgeries, including some to remove bullets. The total cost of caring for Kamari was $1.5 million, including a $25,00 Medevac ride. Three men were tried for attempted murder and all three received long prison sentences, imposing a heavy cost on taxpayers for prison incarceration.
Up to this point we have been dealing primarily with monetary costs; however guns kill 33,000 Americans and injure 80,000 a year. Guns are used in 70% of homicides and more than 50% of suicides in the United States. 84% of gun homicide victims and 86% of gun suicide victims are men. Among 15- to 24-year-olds, gun deaths are about to surpass car accidents as the leading cause of death. (Source of the above: "What Does Gun Violence Really Cost?" Mother Jones, May/June 2015.)
Ted Miller assumes that the average American"s life is worth about $6.2 million. That's a conservative estimate, as the Environmental Protection Agency's current statistical value for a life is $7.9 million and the Department of Transportation's is $9.2 million.
The following is how Mother Jones and Miller break down the cost of one murder: police response and investigation - $2,200 --- EMT and transport to hospital - $450 --- Victim's hospital expenses - $10,700 --- Mental-health treatment for victim's family - $11,600 --- Perpetrator is charged and sentenced - $2,300 --- Prison time for perpetrator - $414,000. Taxpayers pay 87% of the overall cost.
We can personalize these gun violence costs by looking at a few impacts on individuals. 1. Philip Russo's wife, Shelia Lynn Russo, a 47-year-old administrator, was killed on February 20, 2014 by a woman named Cherie Rhoades, who started firing wildly, angry about an eviction proceeding. Shelia's $60,00 annual salary constituted the majority of the household income. Although Philip lost his part-time job at the local county jail where Cherie Rhoades was being held and found a new job as a security guard, he had lost about $83,000 in household income by mid-2015.
2. Pamela Bosley incurred about $23,500 in medical care and counseling for her family after her 18-year-old son, Terrell, was shot to death on Chicago's south Side while unloading a drum set from a van on April 4, 2006. The few hours that Terrell clung to life in a hospital cost about $10,000, which was mostly covered by insurance. Pamela spent thousands of dollars on therapy and antidepressants for herself and another family member who was hospitalized at one point for depression. She took a six-month leave of absence from her job as a bank teller out of trauma induced by coworker's talking about their kids and the memories it brought back about Terrell.
3. On December 1, 2005, BJ Ayers ' 18-year-old son, Brett, sat down in a chair and fired a bullet into his head. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died. The $35,000 in emergency care costs were paid for by the hospital's "benevolent fund." Four years later, BJ's 26-year-old son, Beau, also committed suicide with a gun. His girlfriend and their then one-year-old son lost the a salary of $37,000 from Beau's construction job.
4. On July 5, 2013, Antonius Wiriadjaja was walking in his Brooklyn neighborhood, when a stray bullet from a man shooting at his ex-lover, pierced Wiriadjaja's chest and lodged in his stomach. His medical and mental health treatments have totaled about $169,000, most of which have been covered by his health insurance; however, Antonius's deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses cost more than $20,000 and ate up all his savings.
Compounding the gun tragedy, the man who helped save Wiriadjaja's life by compressing his wound, was shot and killed in South Carolina in 2014.
5. On May 27, 2010, Kamari Ridgle had just left a liquor store in Richmond, California, when a car pulled up behind him and shots rang out. He was hit 22 times before the perpetrators drove away. Kamari would have a dozen surgeries, including some to remove bullets. The total cost of caring for Kamari was $1.5 million, including a $25,00 Medevac ride. Three men were tried for attempted murder and all three received long prison sentences, imposing a heavy cost on taxpayers for prison incarceration.
Up to this point we have been dealing primarily with monetary costs; however guns kill 33,000 Americans and injure 80,000 a year. Guns are used in 70% of homicides and more than 50% of suicides in the United States. 84% of gun homicide victims and 86% of gun suicide victims are men. Among 15- to 24-year-olds, gun deaths are about to surpass car accidents as the leading cause of death. (Source of the above: "What Does Gun Violence Really Cost?" Mother Jones, May/June 2015.)
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
The NRA By the Numbers and the Rise in Justifiable Homicides
I. NRA Numbers as of Early 2013
Who really calls the shots at the National Rifle Association and is its power as great as generally advertised? The NRA claims to have 4.2 million members and counting but the real numbers may be a lot less. It publishes 3.1 million free magazines for members annually, and in its sponsorship materials it claims its "most active and interested" members number 2 million. All in all, no more than 5% of gun owners belong to the NRA.
The NRA is headed by ten executives and a 76-member board of directors, but:
*Less than 10% of NRA members vote in board elections.
*87% of board ;members are men; and 93% are white.
*25% are or were lawmakers or officials (mostly GOP).
Surveys taken three to four years ago showed that the organization's positions are not always in accord with its members nor with many gun owners:
*74% of NRA members say they support background checks for all gun buyers.
*67% of gun owners say they support background checks for ammunition buyers.
*55% of gun owners say they support a ban on high-capacity bullet clips.
*45% of gun owners say they support an assault weapons ban.
*30% of gun owners say hey have an unfavorable opinion of the NRA. (Source for the above: "Who really calls the shots at the NRA?," Mother Jones, March/April 2013.)
II. Stand Your Ground Laws Are Associated With Sharp Rise in Justifiable Homicides
Since 2005, justifiable homicides by civilians in Florida have nearly tripled;; they've also shot up in other states that adopted Stand Your Ground.
Justifiable homicides by civilians in Florida, 2000-11
Justifiable homicides by civilians in Florida remained constant at 12 in 2000, 2001 and 2002, they increased in 2003; dropped back in 2004; and in 2005 -- the year Stand Your Ground was enacted -- they equaled those in 2003. 2006 saw a reversion back to 12. The years 2007 through 2011 totaled at least 36 justifiable homicides every year, with 2011 showing a sharp rise to about 46. NOTE: The graph is divided into increments of 12, so these numbers shown above may be off by a homicide or two. (Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement.)
Justifiable homicides by civilians using firearms in US, 2000-10
A graph by the FBI shows that in every year from 2000 through 2005, 2000 was the only year in which justifiable homicides in states without Stand Your Ground (SYG) exceeded those in states with SYG. From 2006 through 2010, justifiable homicides in states without SYG varied between 40 and 80 For the same years, justifiable homicides in states with SYG were all in the range of 80 to 160. In 2010, states with SYG had nearly 160 justifiable homicides and states without SYG had fewer than 80. NOTE: The FBI graph is in increments of 40.
Who really calls the shots at the National Rifle Association and is its power as great as generally advertised? The NRA claims to have 4.2 million members and counting but the real numbers may be a lot less. It publishes 3.1 million free magazines for members annually, and in its sponsorship materials it claims its "most active and interested" members number 2 million. All in all, no more than 5% of gun owners belong to the NRA.
The NRA is headed by ten executives and a 76-member board of directors, but:
*Less than 10% of NRA members vote in board elections.
*87% of board ;members are men; and 93% are white.
*25% are or were lawmakers or officials (mostly GOP).
Surveys taken three to four years ago showed that the organization's positions are not always in accord with its members nor with many gun owners:
*74% of NRA members say they support background checks for all gun buyers.
*67% of gun owners say they support background checks for ammunition buyers.
*55% of gun owners say they support a ban on high-capacity bullet clips.
*45% of gun owners say they support an assault weapons ban.
*30% of gun owners say hey have an unfavorable opinion of the NRA. (Source for the above: "Who really calls the shots at the NRA?," Mother Jones, March/April 2013.)
II. Stand Your Ground Laws Are Associated With Sharp Rise in Justifiable Homicides
Since 2005, justifiable homicides by civilians in Florida have nearly tripled;; they've also shot up in other states that adopted Stand Your Ground.
Justifiable homicides by civilians in Florida, 2000-11
Justifiable homicides by civilians in Florida remained constant at 12 in 2000, 2001 and 2002, they increased in 2003; dropped back in 2004; and in 2005 -- the year Stand Your Ground was enacted -- they equaled those in 2003. 2006 saw a reversion back to 12. The years 2007 through 2011 totaled at least 36 justifiable homicides every year, with 2011 showing a sharp rise to about 46. NOTE: The graph is divided into increments of 12, so these numbers shown above may be off by a homicide or two. (Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement.)
Justifiable homicides by civilians using firearms in US, 2000-10
A graph by the FBI shows that in every year from 2000 through 2005, 2000 was the only year in which justifiable homicides in states without Stand Your Ground (SYG) exceeded those in states with SYG. From 2006 through 2010, justifiable homicides in states without SYG varied between 40 and 80 For the same years, justifiable homicides in states with SYG were all in the range of 80 to 160. In 2010, states with SYG had nearly 160 justifiable homicides and states without SYG had fewer than 80. NOTE: The FBI graph is in increments of 40.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Heller v. District of Columbia and Racially-Related Propensity to Shoot
I. Writing "A Well Regulated Militia" Out of the Second Amendment
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads as follows: "A well regulated Militia. being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." In Heller v. District of Columbia, Justice Antonin Scalia, in his majority opinion, said the "well regulated Militia" clause was "prefatory" and had no operative effect. Poof! it was gone.
As John Paul Stevens wrote in his minority opinion: "The Second Amendment was a response to concerns raised during the ratification of the Constitution that the power of Congress to disarm the state militias and create a national standing army posed an intolerable threat to the sovereignty of the several states." Stevens pointed out that the term "bear arms" was most commonly used in the 18th century to describe participation in the military. There was not the slightest interest in the text of the Amendment nor the arguments advanced to limit any legislature's authority to regulate private civilians uses of firearms. James Madison's notes on the Constitutional Convention and on the floor of the House of Representatives, as the Second Amendment was written, contain no discussion of an individual right to keep and bear arms. All the talk was of a militia.
Even in the colonies at the time the Second Amendment was enacted, there were limits on where gunpowder could be stored; moreover, Boston didn't allow a loaded gun in a house.
In his majority opinion, Justice Scalia refused to acknowledge that he was overturning United States v. Miller, the Court's venerable Second Amendment precedent. The banning of the sub-machine gun, a weapon favored by nationally-known gangsters such as "Babyface" Nelson, was a clear indication that the right to keep and bear arms was not absolute. A footnote in the Miller decision tied the Second Amendment to a "well regulated Militia."
Justice Scalia stopped short of extending individual gun rights beyond "hearth and home"; also, his majority decision did not rule out the power of governing bodies to regulate firearms. [1] In regard to home defense firearms, Justice Scalia is apparently unaware that all relevant studies have shown that a home-defense firearm causes far more injuries and deaths to family members and visitors than it does to unlawful intruders.
Since 2008, several federal courts have upheld state rules that allow law officials' discretion in issuing concealed-carry licenses. The number of states with lenient or no concealed-carry permitting requirements has grown significantly since Heller. [2] Thus, although Heller has not put a stop to the regulation of firearms, it has placed another barrier to such regulation.
II. Racially-Related Differences in Propensity to Shoot
Denver police officers and community members were shown photos of black and white men -- some holding guns, others holding harmless objects like wallets -- and asked to press the "shoot" or "don't shoot" button for each image. The result: Cops were better than community members at determining whether a target was armed (and they fired faster), but they still showed bias against black targets.
1. Propensity to shoot - Tendency to shoot at black or white targets, based on test outcomes. For officers the tendency to shoot at black targets was measured at between .02 and .04 and for white targets the tendency was actually below 0. For community members the tendency was between .08 and .10 for black targets and between .02 and .04 for white targets.
2. Participants are slower to press "don't shoot" when unarmed target is black. - Milliseconds elapsed before shooting For officers the response time was between 650 and 655 milliseconds for black targets and between 635 and 640 for white targets. For community members the response time was between 660 and 665 for black targets and between 645 and 650 for white targets.
3. Participants are quicker to press "shoot" when an armed target is black. - Milliseconds elapsed before response. For officers the response time was 560 for black targets and between 570 and 575 for white targets. For community members the response time was between 565 and 570 for black targets and between 575 and 580 for white targets. [3]
Footnotes
[1] Dorothy Samuels, "The Second Amendment Was Never Meant to Protect an Individual's Right to a Gun," The Nation, September 23, 2015.
[2] Ibid.
[3] "Armed and Dangerous?" Mother Jones, January/February 2015.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads as follows: "A well regulated Militia. being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." In Heller v. District of Columbia, Justice Antonin Scalia, in his majority opinion, said the "well regulated Militia" clause was "prefatory" and had no operative effect. Poof! it was gone.
As John Paul Stevens wrote in his minority opinion: "The Second Amendment was a response to concerns raised during the ratification of the Constitution that the power of Congress to disarm the state militias and create a national standing army posed an intolerable threat to the sovereignty of the several states." Stevens pointed out that the term "bear arms" was most commonly used in the 18th century to describe participation in the military. There was not the slightest interest in the text of the Amendment nor the arguments advanced to limit any legislature's authority to regulate private civilians uses of firearms. James Madison's notes on the Constitutional Convention and on the floor of the House of Representatives, as the Second Amendment was written, contain no discussion of an individual right to keep and bear arms. All the talk was of a militia.
Even in the colonies at the time the Second Amendment was enacted, there were limits on where gunpowder could be stored; moreover, Boston didn't allow a loaded gun in a house.
In his majority opinion, Justice Scalia refused to acknowledge that he was overturning United States v. Miller, the Court's venerable Second Amendment precedent. The banning of the sub-machine gun, a weapon favored by nationally-known gangsters such as "Babyface" Nelson, was a clear indication that the right to keep and bear arms was not absolute. A footnote in the Miller decision tied the Second Amendment to a "well regulated Militia."
Justice Scalia stopped short of extending individual gun rights beyond "hearth and home"; also, his majority decision did not rule out the power of governing bodies to regulate firearms. [1] In regard to home defense firearms, Justice Scalia is apparently unaware that all relevant studies have shown that a home-defense firearm causes far more injuries and deaths to family members and visitors than it does to unlawful intruders.
Since 2008, several federal courts have upheld state rules that allow law officials' discretion in issuing concealed-carry licenses. The number of states with lenient or no concealed-carry permitting requirements has grown significantly since Heller. [2] Thus, although Heller has not put a stop to the regulation of firearms, it has placed another barrier to such regulation.
II. Racially-Related Differences in Propensity to Shoot
Denver police officers and community members were shown photos of black and white men -- some holding guns, others holding harmless objects like wallets -- and asked to press the "shoot" or "don't shoot" button for each image. The result: Cops were better than community members at determining whether a target was armed (and they fired faster), but they still showed bias against black targets.
1. Propensity to shoot - Tendency to shoot at black or white targets, based on test outcomes. For officers the tendency to shoot at black targets was measured at between .02 and .04 and for white targets the tendency was actually below 0. For community members the tendency was between .08 and .10 for black targets and between .02 and .04 for white targets.
2. Participants are slower to press "don't shoot" when unarmed target is black. - Milliseconds elapsed before shooting For officers the response time was between 650 and 655 milliseconds for black targets and between 635 and 640 for white targets. For community members the response time was between 660 and 665 for black targets and between 645 and 650 for white targets.
3. Participants are quicker to press "shoot" when an armed target is black. - Milliseconds elapsed before response. For officers the response time was 560 for black targets and between 570 and 575 for white targets. For community members the response time was between 565 and 570 for black targets and between 575 and 580 for white targets. [3]
Footnotes
[1] Dorothy Samuels, "The Second Amendment Was Never Meant to Protect an Individual's Right to a Gun," The Nation, September 23, 2015.
[2] Ibid.
[3] "Armed and Dangerous?" Mother Jones, January/February 2015.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
10 Pro-Gun Myths
1.) They're Coming for Your Guns
Ferguson, Missouri-area gun shops had a booming business in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer. Mass shootings and highly publicized killings of individual civilians by law enforcement officers almost invariably lead to a run on gun shops due to the cry of "They're coming for your guns!"
History, experience and the vast disparity in guns owned by the military and law enforcement -- an estimated 4 million for the military and law enforcement, as contrasted with the estimated 310 million owned by civilians -- tell us that constituted authority grabbing the guns of civilians is a very irrational fear.
2.) Guns Don't Kill People -- People Kill People
One study shows that the states with the highest gun ownership rates have a murder rate 114% higher than those states with the lowest gun ownership rates. Gun death rates are generally lower in states with restrictions such as assault weapons bans and safe-storage requirements.
A study done in 2012 looked at 30 years of homicide rates in the 50 U.S. states and found that for every 1% increase in a state's gun ownership rate, there was nearly a 1% increase in the firearms homicide rate. A Mother Jones chart of homicides caused by guns per 100,000 people, puts states with relatively strict gun controls, such as Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts at the bottom of the chart, and puts states with generally lax gun controls, such as Wyoming, Alabama and Montana at the top.
3.) An Armed Society Is a Polite Society
Among Texans convicted of serious crimes, those with concealed-handgun licenses were sentenced for threatening someone with a firearm 4.8 times more than those without. In states with Stand Your Ground laws, making it easier to shoot in self-defense, those policies have been linked to a 7% to 10% increase in homicides.
4.) Good Guys With Guns Can Stop Rampaging Bad Guys
Of 185 mass shootings over a 13-year period studied by the FBI, only one was stopped by an ordinary citizen with a gun. Having access to a firearm almost doubles one's chances of being the victim of a homicide and triples the likelihood of suicide. During a four-year period in which 37 states loosened gun restrictions, mass shootings tripled. This doesn't prove a scientifically valid cause and effect relationship, yet it raises a troubling question for those who believe more guns means greater citizen safety.
5.) Keeping a Gun at Home Makes One Safer
For many years, gun control proponents have cited the Cleveland and Detroit studies, which found that for every intruder shot with a home-defense gun, four to six family members or visitors were shot. The big flaw in those studies is that they did not take suicides into account A much more recent study has found that for every time a home-defense gun is used in self-defense in a home, there are 7 assaults or murders, 11 suicide attempts and 4 accidents.involving guns in or around the home -- 43% of homes with guns and kids have at least one unlocked firearm. In one experiment, one/third of 8-to-12-year-old boys who found a handgun pulled the trigger.
6.) Carrying a Gun Makes You Safer
In 2011, nearly 10 times more people were shot and killed in arguments than by civilians trying to stop a crime. A Philadelphia study found that the odds of being killed were 4.2 times greater when a gun was present.
7.) Guns Make Women Safer
In 2010, nearly 6 times more women were killed by husbands, boyfriends and ex-partners than were murdered by strangers. A woman's chances of being killed by an abuser increases 5 times if he has access to a gun. One study found that women in states with higher gun ownership rates were 4.9 times more likely to be murdered by a gun than in states with lower gun ownership rates.
8.) "Vicious, violent video games deserve more blame than guns"
The quote is attributed to Wayne LaPierre, executive director of the National Rifle Association.
Per capita spending on video games: U.S. - $44 --- Japan - $55. Civilian firearms per 100 people: U.S. - 88 --- Japan - 0.6. Gun homicides in 2008: U.S. - 11,030 --- Japan - 11. (Source: Price Waterhouse Coopers, Small Arms Survey (PDF)
9.) More and More Americans Are Becoming Gun Owners
More guns are being sold but they're owned by a shrinking portion of the population. bout 50% of Americans said they had a gun in their homes in a 1977 survey. The most recent survey found 45% saying they have a gun in the home. Around 80% of gun owners are men. On average, they own 7.9 guns each.
10.) We Don't need More Gun Laws -- We Just Need to Enforce the Ones We Have
Around 40% of legal gun sales involve private sellers and they don't require background checks. 40% of prison inmates who used guns in their crimes got their guns that way. An investigator found that 62% of online gun sellers were willing to sell to buyers who said they couldn't pass a background test. 20% of licensed California gun dealers agreed to sell handguns to researchers posing as illegal "straw" buyers. A "straw" buyer is one who buys a gun or guns for someone else. Thus, even where gun restrictions exist, they are designed mostly to restrict to whom guns are sold and the safe storage of them, rather than to try to reduce the overall inventory of guns in the nation.
Much of the material presented above comes from: Dave Gilson, "10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down," Mother Jones, January 31, 2013 and since updated. The statistics in 4.) are taken from: Joshua Holland, "America Is Fine With Mass Shootings -- as Long as They're Not Perpetuated by Muslims," The Nation online, December 3, 2015.
ADDENDUM:
* There is an interesting addition to the information presented above and it involves the work done by researchers from three universities.These researchers found that: 1. Almost one in 10 U.S. citizens who have access to guns are prone to irregular outbursts of rage; and 2. Those with many guns are more likely to exhibit signs of uncontrollable rage than those with only one gun. Their conclusion is that we should start restricting access to guns by those with a history of violence, along with those with diagnosed mental illness.
Ferguson, Missouri-area gun shops had a booming business in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer. Mass shootings and highly publicized killings of individual civilians by law enforcement officers almost invariably lead to a run on gun shops due to the cry of "They're coming for your guns!"
History, experience and the vast disparity in guns owned by the military and law enforcement -- an estimated 4 million for the military and law enforcement, as contrasted with the estimated 310 million owned by civilians -- tell us that constituted authority grabbing the guns of civilians is a very irrational fear.
2.) Guns Don't Kill People -- People Kill People
One study shows that the states with the highest gun ownership rates have a murder rate 114% higher than those states with the lowest gun ownership rates. Gun death rates are generally lower in states with restrictions such as assault weapons bans and safe-storage requirements.
A study done in 2012 looked at 30 years of homicide rates in the 50 U.S. states and found that for every 1% increase in a state's gun ownership rate, there was nearly a 1% increase in the firearms homicide rate. A Mother Jones chart of homicides caused by guns per 100,000 people, puts states with relatively strict gun controls, such as Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts at the bottom of the chart, and puts states with generally lax gun controls, such as Wyoming, Alabama and Montana at the top.
3.) An Armed Society Is a Polite Society
Among Texans convicted of serious crimes, those with concealed-handgun licenses were sentenced for threatening someone with a firearm 4.8 times more than those without. In states with Stand Your Ground laws, making it easier to shoot in self-defense, those policies have been linked to a 7% to 10% increase in homicides.
4.) Good Guys With Guns Can Stop Rampaging Bad Guys
Of 185 mass shootings over a 13-year period studied by the FBI, only one was stopped by an ordinary citizen with a gun. Having access to a firearm almost doubles one's chances of being the victim of a homicide and triples the likelihood of suicide. During a four-year period in which 37 states loosened gun restrictions, mass shootings tripled. This doesn't prove a scientifically valid cause and effect relationship, yet it raises a troubling question for those who believe more guns means greater citizen safety.
5.) Keeping a Gun at Home Makes One Safer
For many years, gun control proponents have cited the Cleveland and Detroit studies, which found that for every intruder shot with a home-defense gun, four to six family members or visitors were shot. The big flaw in those studies is that they did not take suicides into account A much more recent study has found that for every time a home-defense gun is used in self-defense in a home, there are 7 assaults or murders, 11 suicide attempts and 4 accidents.involving guns in or around the home -- 43% of homes with guns and kids have at least one unlocked firearm. In one experiment, one/third of 8-to-12-year-old boys who found a handgun pulled the trigger.
6.) Carrying a Gun Makes You Safer
In 2011, nearly 10 times more people were shot and killed in arguments than by civilians trying to stop a crime. A Philadelphia study found that the odds of being killed were 4.2 times greater when a gun was present.
7.) Guns Make Women Safer
In 2010, nearly 6 times more women were killed by husbands, boyfriends and ex-partners than were murdered by strangers. A woman's chances of being killed by an abuser increases 5 times if he has access to a gun. One study found that women in states with higher gun ownership rates were 4.9 times more likely to be murdered by a gun than in states with lower gun ownership rates.
8.) "Vicious, violent video games deserve more blame than guns"
The quote is attributed to Wayne LaPierre, executive director of the National Rifle Association.
Per capita spending on video games: U.S. - $44 --- Japan - $55. Civilian firearms per 100 people: U.S. - 88 --- Japan - 0.6. Gun homicides in 2008: U.S. - 11,030 --- Japan - 11. (Source: Price Waterhouse Coopers, Small Arms Survey (PDF)
9.) More and More Americans Are Becoming Gun Owners
More guns are being sold but they're owned by a shrinking portion of the population. bout 50% of Americans said they had a gun in their homes in a 1977 survey. The most recent survey found 45% saying they have a gun in the home. Around 80% of gun owners are men. On average, they own 7.9 guns each.
10.) We Don't need More Gun Laws -- We Just Need to Enforce the Ones We Have
Around 40% of legal gun sales involve private sellers and they don't require background checks. 40% of prison inmates who used guns in their crimes got their guns that way. An investigator found that 62% of online gun sellers were willing to sell to buyers who said they couldn't pass a background test. 20% of licensed California gun dealers agreed to sell handguns to researchers posing as illegal "straw" buyers. A "straw" buyer is one who buys a gun or guns for someone else. Thus, even where gun restrictions exist, they are designed mostly to restrict to whom guns are sold and the safe storage of them, rather than to try to reduce the overall inventory of guns in the nation.
Much of the material presented above comes from: Dave Gilson, "10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down," Mother Jones, January 31, 2013 and since updated. The statistics in 4.) are taken from: Joshua Holland, "America Is Fine With Mass Shootings -- as Long as They're Not Perpetuated by Muslims," The Nation online, December 3, 2015.
ADDENDUM:
* There is an interesting addition to the information presented above and it involves the work done by researchers from three universities.These researchers found that: 1. Almost one in 10 U.S. citizens who have access to guns are prone to irregular outbursts of rage; and 2. Those with many guns are more likely to exhibit signs of uncontrollable rage than those with only one gun. Their conclusion is that we should start restricting access to guns by those with a history of violence, along with those with diagnosed mental illness.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Sea-Level Rise, Uncivil Supreme Court Dissension and Loyalty Tests for Palestinians
I. Sea-Level Rise in Miami
When The New Yorker writer, Elizabeth Kolbert toured Miami, Florida, she was shown numerous places where sea water was located where it had never been before in anyone's memory. In Miami, the daily high-water mark has been increasing at the rate of one inch a year, much faster than the average rate of global sea-level rise.
In the coldest part of the last ice age, about 20,000 years ago, so much water was tied up in ice sheets that sea levels were almost four hundred feet lower than they are today. As temperatures climb again, so, too, will sea levels. The reason for this is that water, as it heats up, expands. Globally, it's estimated that a hundred million people live within three feet of mean high tide and another hundred million live within six feet of it. [1]
It has been revealed that Florida's governor Rick Scott instructed state workers not to discuss climate change, or to even use the term. The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting has said that the Scott administration also tried to ban talk of sea-level rise; in contrast, the workers were supposed to speak of "nuisance flooding." In October, 2015, Florida filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency, seeking to block new rules aimed at limiting warming by reducing power-plant emissions.
II. Justice Scalia's Nasty Dissensions
Michael O'Donnell describes Justice Antonin Scalia's dissents as :"overflow[ing] with outrageous insults to his colleagues." Scalia said of a Justice Antony Kennedy opinion that it was filled with "straining-to-be-memorable passages," equivalent to "the mythical aphorisms of the fortune cookie." O'Donnell also says that "corrosive rhetoric like Scalia's does more than fray relationships on the Court, it convinces the public that the justices are political stooges." [2]
Michael O'Donnell believes that "if dissenters placed the Court above themselves, they would want its decisions to have legitimacy before the public, but these days, some justices would sooner light a fire." "And yet it's hard not to conclude that after studying its decisions like Obergefell that dissent is both too common and too nasty. Justices have so accustomed to having their own say that they rarely put the Court's prestige above their own reputations."
III. Palestinian Loyalty Oaths
Aluf Benn wrote in Harretz in 2010 that hard-right figures like Avigdor Lieberman have waged a campaign to pass loyalty oaths. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting the Palestinians recognize Israel as :"the state of the Jewish people," emphasizing, his critics say, the primacy of its ethnic character over the ideal of extending equality to all its citizens. Lieberman, foreign minister for most of Netanyahu's tenure in office, and an advocate of "no loyalty, no citizenship" policies, has been the driving force behind the law limiting the Arab presence in the Knesset, raising the barrier for representation from 2% to 3.5%. [3]
Footnotes
[1] Elizabeth Kolbert, "The Siege of Miami," The New Yorker, December 21/28, 2015.
[2] David Remnick, "Seeds of Peace," The New Yorker, January 25, 2016.
[3] Michael O'Donnell, "Dissenters in Chief," The Nation, February 8, 2016.
When The New Yorker writer, Elizabeth Kolbert toured Miami, Florida, she was shown numerous places where sea water was located where it had never been before in anyone's memory. In Miami, the daily high-water mark has been increasing at the rate of one inch a year, much faster than the average rate of global sea-level rise.
In the coldest part of the last ice age, about 20,000 years ago, so much water was tied up in ice sheets that sea levels were almost four hundred feet lower than they are today. As temperatures climb again, so, too, will sea levels. The reason for this is that water, as it heats up, expands. Globally, it's estimated that a hundred million people live within three feet of mean high tide and another hundred million live within six feet of it. [1]
It has been revealed that Florida's governor Rick Scott instructed state workers not to discuss climate change, or to even use the term. The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting has said that the Scott administration also tried to ban talk of sea-level rise; in contrast, the workers were supposed to speak of "nuisance flooding." In October, 2015, Florida filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency, seeking to block new rules aimed at limiting warming by reducing power-plant emissions.
II. Justice Scalia's Nasty Dissensions
Michael O'Donnell describes Justice Antonin Scalia's dissents as :"overflow[ing] with outrageous insults to his colleagues." Scalia said of a Justice Antony Kennedy opinion that it was filled with "straining-to-be-memorable passages," equivalent to "the mythical aphorisms of the fortune cookie." O'Donnell also says that "corrosive rhetoric like Scalia's does more than fray relationships on the Court, it convinces the public that the justices are political stooges." [2]
Michael O'Donnell believes that "if dissenters placed the Court above themselves, they would want its decisions to have legitimacy before the public, but these days, some justices would sooner light a fire." "And yet it's hard not to conclude that after studying its decisions like Obergefell that dissent is both too common and too nasty. Justices have so accustomed to having their own say that they rarely put the Court's prestige above their own reputations."
III. Palestinian Loyalty Oaths
Aluf Benn wrote in Harretz in 2010 that hard-right figures like Avigdor Lieberman have waged a campaign to pass loyalty oaths. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting the Palestinians recognize Israel as :"the state of the Jewish people," emphasizing, his critics say, the primacy of its ethnic character over the ideal of extending equality to all its citizens. Lieberman, foreign minister for most of Netanyahu's tenure in office, and an advocate of "no loyalty, no citizenship" policies, has been the driving force behind the law limiting the Arab presence in the Knesset, raising the barrier for representation from 2% to 3.5%. [3]
Footnotes
[1] Elizabeth Kolbert, "The Siege of Miami," The New Yorker, December 21/28, 2015.
[2] David Remnick, "Seeds of Peace," The New Yorker, January 25, 2016.
[3] Michael O'Donnell, "Dissenters in Chief," The Nation, February 8, 2016.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Miscellaneous Short Subjects
*Majority of Minorities - "By the year 2044 whites will no longer be a majority in our county. Latinos, Africans, Asians, indigenous people and others will be the majority face of America." "America in 2016 is in the midst of a demographic overhaul." According to Paul Taylor from the Pew Research Center, "Huge generation gaps have opened up in our political and social values. Our economic well-being, our family structures, our racial and ethnic identity, our gender norms and religious affiliations, and out technology use are changing." (Source: Moises Vanegas, "Majority of minorities in our future," The Albuquerque Journal, January 16, 2016.)
*Environmental Defense Fund Goals - 1.) Slash carbon pollution from America's dirtiest power plants -- implement EPA's Clean Power Plan; 23.) Limit fertilizer -- extra fertilizer can convert to nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide; 3.) Support national limits on industrial methane pollution -- over the first 20 years in the atmosphere, methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about 25 percent of the warming we are currently experiencing; 4.) Expand a global climate action -- working in Brazil to provide incentives to stop deforestation, and design and implement pilot carbon trading programs.
*Fighting ISIS and Its Funding - Outside of Kurdistan, much of the fighting against ISIS has been done by the Popular Mobilization Forces, a federation of militias that initially rallied to defend the country's cities after the collapse of the army and police in Mosul. Turkey has a history of interfering in Mosul's affairs.
The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that illicit oil exports generate almost half a billion dollars a year for ISIS. (Source: Luke Mogelson, "The Front Lines," The New Yorker, January 18, 2016.)
*Quoting and Depicting Henry Kissinger - (Quoting Kissinger) "The Soviets have made us look like monkeys, weak monkeys, and we can't wait to demonstrate our masochism by crawling back and begging them please to negotiate, so that we can give up something else to them." (Depicting Kissinger) "The responses he [Kissinger] counseled as Nixon's national security adviser helped to create catastrophes in each of the regions they affected..." It was about demonstrating American power to the world, absent a moral core and a sense of proportion." "During the Kennedy years, he [Kissinger[ counseled reckless escalation on Berlin, which could have led to a very dark place.. He was a public supporter of the Americanization of the Vietnam war." (Source: William Appleman Williams, quoted in The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, published in 1959.)
*Physician Use of Big Data - "More than 80% of physicians in the U.S. now have some form of electronic medical records." "Now, when you've got millions to tens of millions of data points in these databases, we can start to learn more and learn faster." The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, signed by President Bush in 2008, makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of an existing or genetic condition. Since healthier employees cost less, we are likely to start seeing a new role in corporate America: the chief medical officer. (Source: "Can Big Data Save Lives?" Fortune, January 1, 2016.)
*Environmental Defense Fund Goals - 1.) Slash carbon pollution from America's dirtiest power plants -- implement EPA's Clean Power Plan; 23.) Limit fertilizer -- extra fertilizer can convert to nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide; 3.) Support national limits on industrial methane pollution -- over the first 20 years in the atmosphere, methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about 25 percent of the warming we are currently experiencing; 4.) Expand a global climate action -- working in Brazil to provide incentives to stop deforestation, and design and implement pilot carbon trading programs.
*Fighting ISIS and Its Funding - Outside of Kurdistan, much of the fighting against ISIS has been done by the Popular Mobilization Forces, a federation of militias that initially rallied to defend the country's cities after the collapse of the army and police in Mosul. Turkey has a history of interfering in Mosul's affairs.
The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that illicit oil exports generate almost half a billion dollars a year for ISIS. (Source: Luke Mogelson, "The Front Lines," The New Yorker, January 18, 2016.)
*Quoting and Depicting Henry Kissinger - (Quoting Kissinger) "The Soviets have made us look like monkeys, weak monkeys, and we can't wait to demonstrate our masochism by crawling back and begging them please to negotiate, so that we can give up something else to them." (Depicting Kissinger) "The responses he [Kissinger] counseled as Nixon's national security adviser helped to create catastrophes in each of the regions they affected..." It was about demonstrating American power to the world, absent a moral core and a sense of proportion." "During the Kennedy years, he [Kissinger[ counseled reckless escalation on Berlin, which could have led to a very dark place.. He was a public supporter of the Americanization of the Vietnam war." (Source: William Appleman Williams, quoted in The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, published in 1959.)
*Physician Use of Big Data - "More than 80% of physicians in the U.S. now have some form of electronic medical records." "Now, when you've got millions to tens of millions of data points in these databases, we can start to learn more and learn faster." The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, signed by President Bush in 2008, makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of an existing or genetic condition. Since healthier employees cost less, we are likely to start seeing a new role in corporate America: the chief medical officer. (Source: "Can Big Data Save Lives?" Fortune, January 1, 2016.)
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