On the Government shutdown

On the 22nd of December, 2018, the Government began a partial shutdown.
Today is the 10th of January, 2019.

Phones go unanswered.  Construction is delayed.  TSA lines are long and slow.
But seriously... does ANYONE, other than Government employees, see anything DIFFERENT?
I'm not.  Those who are just moving into Social Security might be.  Medicare?  They're always slow.
FBI?  Still working.  Army?  Going without pay, I gather.

What began as a massive game of Chicken is now a staring contest.  Who blinks first?

Trump isn't caving.  He wants 5 BILLION for the Wall.  The Democrats STILL won't give it to him.

Congress is getting paid.  Trump hasn't been accepting a salary, as such, donating everything to various causes.

The gridlock continues.  Trump is about to go into the record books as the President with the longest shutdown.

There can be no compromises when neither side will budge.

Would this happen if Congress wasn't getting paid?  Probably not.

I've been looking at various scenarios as to how both side can escape unscathed, neither winning, nor losing.  There are none.

So, what are the other scenarios?
1)  Trump caves.  Take it on the chin, you lose.  The Wall was the Primary Promise.  If he can't get the Democrats to fund even the slightest border security, we're in trouble.
2) The Democrats cave.  They've got nothing to lose, here.  They can continue to hold their breath for as long as the shut can go on.
3.)  Congress caves.  They pass a bill to fund the govt, except the wall.  Trump Vetoes.  Congress overrides.  Democrats would need 70 more votes from the House to get that 2/3 level.  And they'd need 23 GOP Senators, if my figures are right.
4) Impeachment happens.  The Senate, however, needs to try, and the possibility of removal is less than 10%, IMO.
5) The People revolt against the DFL.  They demand things be reopened.
6) The people revolt against the GOP.   Ditto comment above.
7)  The People revolt against everyone.  Total civil war.  Death, Destruction, Pestilence.
8) Martial law is declared.  odds:  7-3 against.  But worrisome.
9) Total Economic collapse.  Major trouble for everyone.

I can't see a win for either side.  I CAN see an invasion happening.  Might be Russia, China, North Korea, Mexico or Canada.  Not France, not England.

Trump wants the Wall.  Democrats want murder (Abortion), free stuff (Socialism), open borders (invasion) and Gun Confiscation.

2 years is a long time to be shut down.

Is there any hope, at all?  We're in a tempest, the winds whip about, shit flies like debris in a tornado or hurricane.

What will it take?  I don't care to speculate on that.

Whatever happens will have long term consequences on the US.  And the world.

There are 2 -- likeliest --  scenarios.  One, I may not bandy about in public.
The other-- total collapse unless someone caves.

BUT... Isn't everything still running?  "Non-essential" is curtailed.  But for how long?
HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?
At this rate, 2021... without anything to let the government and the Republic, survive.

Worrisome?  Well... People have been wanting anarchy.  It's on the way...
AS I SEE IT.

It's happening. We MUST stop it!

It has become known that BANK OF AMERICA will no longer lend money to those companies who manufacture "Military-Style" weapons. 

I WILL NOT EVER GET AN ACCOUNT WITH THEM.  NOT EVER.

They've ignored the truth:  only a small fraction of a percentage point of such guns are wielded by people who are involved in mass shootings.  In 2016, that was 374 out of 38000 deaths.  They have ignored the fact that nearly 2/3 of deaths by firearm wielding individual are suicide! 

So, who kills themselves with a long gun?  I'm not sure it's even possible.

LESS than 1% of "ALL" US gun deaths are caused by long guns. 
IF we assume that approx. 12667 gun deaths are murder ( and there are no accidental shootings or police shootings) it gives 2.7% of murders caused by long-gun wielding maniacs.

So, 97% of the deaths are actually pistols or "short" guns.

What's more dangerous, capable of doing the most damage?  Obviously, the AR-15 or guns in that style. And yet 97% of all guns involved aren't that.
How many people can conceal a weapon like that AR-15?  NONE!

So why is the left vilifying guns?  It's a FALSE FLAG.  That's EXACTLY THE POINT.
Vilify them, then when they're gone, Vilify the pistol.  Then grab those.
WELCOME TO NAZI GERMANY.

I sincerely hope that there are enough Patriots to hide their guns.  I hope there are enough to resist this anti-2nd amendment crowd.  If there are not, there will be a takeover.  It will be Commies, Nazis, Muslims... 

What we need right now is a reminder of why we have the 2nd amendment in the 1st place.  A sub in San Francisco Bay.  Something around the Statue of Liberty.  A Warship in the Gulf. 

Unfortunately, the Sheep have control, and the wolves are congregating.

It's Chamberlain all over again.  Try to appease the Wolves...  They didn't learn a DAMN THING from WWII! 

My recommendation?  Get yourself something.  Get it where they aren't registered.  Stock up on ammo.  Make a bunker.  Prepare!

As the Bankers start killing the people, you'll have your defense. 

When the Government joins in, THEN is when you will REALLY need your gun!

A view of last week.

Today, the world is ending, according to Mayan Calendar believers...Obviously, they've been proven wrong.  But the world has ended for many people since 12-13.  I have kept my silence on the topic of last Friday since there was such a massacre at a school.  20 Children killed, senselessly, by a loon...or at least something had to be wrong, mentally, with the guy -- at least, AS I SEE IT.

I have kept my silence to allow the mourning of the people of Newtown, CT, and to permit the healing to begin...even though I know healing is a long way away and may never fully complete.  26 people, shot down,  20 not even out elementary school, a principal, a mother, and the killer all needlessly killed (As if killing could ever be needed!)

There have been too many massacres since 1999 (Which, in my opinion, started this current deluge of murders)... the first of which started in Littleton, CO.  A dozen lives here, a dozen there... what does it matter?

What matters is the victims (Except for the killers) had no choice.

Calls for gun bans, tighter laws, shouts of fury..they've all been heard.  So have the wails of the mourners.  I've not weighed in on the matter.  But I think the time has come to speak on the issue --

First off, when it comes to senseless murders, I realize that I cannot fathom the depth of the grief of the families.  I want to shout WHY with the rest of you. I want to demand justice and vengeance.  Yet, I know that the victims included the perpetrator AND his mother.  We cannot begin to understand what caused this man to snap when he did, and take 26 lives in the process.  But is it the weapon's fault?  Is the weapon maker's fault?  Is it the Ammo maker's fault?  If you are tempted to ban guns, remember:  ANYTHING can be turned into a weapon.  A knife (China, same day as Sandy Hook, people knifed to death in a school), a rope, a hammer, a chainsaw, a rock, Alcohol, drugs of all types,  forks, sticks, electrical cords, Appliances, nails... ANY and ALL of these can be perverted into a weapon.  Tire irons, crowbars, automobiles, motorboats, Gasoline... matches!  ANYTHING can be a weapon.

So, what is the answer?  Banning weapons?  Not when you realize that weapons can be anything.
Tighter security?  Sandy Hook School had a security system.  Armed guards?  Hey, we're not a police state, yet!

If you own a gun and someone steals your gun to go on a killing spree, are you ultimately responsible for its use?

If tighter security is not the answer, if banning weapons isn't the answer, does making everyone carry a gun the answer?  Kennesaw, GA, seems so think so.  Every head of household is required to own a gun.  But I believe that it will tend to faster tempers,   But this town's stats (only 4 murders in over 30 years and three of those in "Gun-free" zones) don't seem to bear it out.

Things started to go downhill when Madalyn Murray O'Hare decided "Devil take me" and fought the system to remove G_D from the class room!  This isn't to say that folks raised in homes of the righteous didn't go bad.  Jesse James did.

In these days, when information can spread around the world in the blink of an eye, We need ways to keep potential copycats from repeating the evil that has been done!

So, is RELIGION the answer?  I can't say that it is.  But neither is disarming the citizens because of the actions of some crazed loonies, nor constant surveillance.

We best have a balanced approach.  But you can't tell what's going to cause someone to snap.  You can't profile someone who's going to go insane.  You can't tell if some's religion is going to make them a self-appointed enforcer.  This is where the problem lies.

No, banning guns, knives, and anything else that could be a weapon isn't the answer.  I can't even see it in the equation.

We cannot shove our religious beliefs down someone else's throat.  We can't figure what will cause someone to snap.  And we cannot defend ourselves if our weapons are taken away.

What we need is knowledge...we need to be able to see the warning signs that so many miss.  And we need our guns to prevent this from happening again.  It makes no sense, but it's going to take knowledge, spirituality, training, and weapons... It's a volatile mix.  The wrong proportions will not solve the problem.  And if don't find that right mix, it's going to result in another conflagration -- one that we may not be able to stop.  It's an unfortunate time to experiment-- but it's got to be done -- as I see it!