Michael1942's Blog

This is the first and only time I will write about the Sanford Florida issue.  Regardless of the recent outcome, I see the issue(s) as Mr. Zimmerman being over zealous in his pursuit, Mr. Martin as protecting himself. Mr. Zimmerman after being told to end the pursuit, continued thereby exacerbating a benign situation. Mr. Martin was “forced” to defend himself as he had no idea who Mr. Zimmerman was and felt threatened. Mr. Martin did what many of us would have done and made an attempt to end the situation. Mr. Zimmerman with his adrenalin pumping ended the attack by shooting Mr. Martin-Dead! This was clearly a mistake on the part of Mr. Zimmerman even though the Florida law seemingly supports Mr. Zimmerman. The Sanford police dropped the ball by not immediately taking Mr. Zimmerman into custody until the initial investigation was completed. What we have is an overzealous neighborhood watch person who was frustrated by the Sanford police department’s inability to protect his neighborhood and took the legal duties of the sworn law enforcement agency upon himself. This action on his part killed Trayvon Martin! This was  about Race! and a person who made a mistake due to his frustration with the inadequacy of the local law enforcement then his innate Racism kicked in causing him to disregard reasonable actions. When Mr. Martin confronted him-he panicked and Murdered Trayvon Martin. The details (most of them) are known but were not all presented at the trial.

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Has anyone noticed that we know more about the workings of our government since Mr. Obama took office. This is probably due the extensive attempts to foil the President’s efforts at changing how Washington works, making a workable health care plan and other changes that did and does not sit well with the long serving Congress ( Dupublicans and Scamocrats). Through the constant media blurbs after any Presidential speech, presentation or even just an acknowledgment of a national tragedy, it has become clear that many of us would rather have a poorly functioning government than one headed by a non white. The many are fewer than in years past yet our elected officials have (seemingly) still not arrived in this century. This is well after several Presidents who have been competent at the job and some not so competent. Looking at the job itself, there is no manual or list of do’s and don’ts, just on the fly training with a lot of people wanting to be served (sometimes at the detriment of others). What we as voters need to take note of is: Our Congress has and is spending more time covering what is in their litter box than actually governing. That is enough to pay particular attention to them from now until their next election cycle and we can then send clear messages about what we like and dislike. We cannot force or coerce our elected representatives to do everything we want or need, even with our votes yet big money can get the candy store with a phone call. Consider this when the next election season rolls around.

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Reading daily about proposed, supposed and seemingly inevitable new, renewed or revised firearm laws, it has occurred to me that most legislation is for people control not firearms. Firearms are inanimate objects and only activated by the user. What we really need to do is “correctly” make legislation that will make the ownership of firearms relate to the individual owners. It has been proposed to legislate against  criminals, mentally affected and illegal residents owning or obtaining firearms. This may be the way to go but with proper information on how it would affect everyone else. This legislation would exclude most legal owners of firearms and would probably not have any effect on current regional laws. This is not to say I am correct in my assessment but it is my opinion based on what I have read and observed.

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While apparently running for re election, the Ilinois Governor has  taken the bull by the horns in an attempt to conjure up a solution to concealed carry. While in the  governor’s mansion in Chicago, he has made an announcement on what he intends to pass as the concealed carry law. I proposed in an earlier opinion that the Illinois State Rifle Association, the Sheriff’s department and local police departments who have access to shooting ranges be involved in the wording and rules governing Concealed carry along with the training (which should take no more than 8 hours). Some legal current firearm owners who avail themselves of the concealed carry option are not interested carrying at all times, just times when they could possibly be in a problem situation ( proper instruction could go a long way toward what is proper and prudent). With all the above being said, all that is required is for the legislature to cease running around in circles and expressing opinion in the media with no explicit options available. Please for all of our sakes, Governor and legislature “make a plan and execute it , then put it out to the media”.

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After pondering the discussions on Illinois concealed carry, there have been many opinions some poorly thought out and some not. The legislature in its normal fashion is considering the subject in the media instead of in the halls of the legislature. While we as voters “say” we want to look in on their proceedings, we really never see the real work as it is not done in public sessions. The issue is more what to charge for this licensing, how to use the funds derived from that fee than who will administer the training along with what the training will consist of. I see two options that are possible for training: 1. the sheriff departments and police departments all have access to shooting ranges and could easily accommodate moderate size groups for this purpose. I am sure these agencies could benefit from any fee charged. 2. We have the Illinois State Rifle Association which has  range or access (they train members all year) and they could use the funds.
The key is stop campaigning for office and do the work required by the office. This concealed carry is not as big an issue as the played out in the media. All that is needed is  involvement by law enforcement, the Illinois State Rifle Association and then input from firearm owners. Many firearm owners do not intend to carry at all times but would like to have the option and are not against a reasonable fee but not a hosing as has happened in other licensing imposed by the state.

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In considering the past 10 years of elections and campaigning, I have come to understand that the individual citizen of voting age is for the most part grossly under informed. The Scamocrats and Dupublicans have fallen into the ” sound bite” style of campaigning. The campaign managers are not much more than advertising executives. If we are willing to consider it, we have bought or considered many household products, cars, entertainment and even prospective mates due to advertising.  Can we think about who and what has been put before us to sway our votes, can we think about the outright lies and innuendo presented as fact? If we can consider or think about any of this, then we have the ability to reason! To put a finer point on this, the political establishment has one objective and that is to stay in office, this desire is fueled by the tacit OK of the voters and the massive financial assistance from special interests. I am sure not enough people will actually read this or perhaps consider the long term effects our poor or ill considered past voting choices. Voting from the heart should only be 1% of our choices, the 99% should be the record of the people we are voting for and this record should not be in microcosm! I  will often hold publication of a blog post for as long as I feel necessary to insure my message is clear but the political climate is so full of subject matter that I can hardly keep up. We as voters are beset on all sides by special interests, outpourings by the assorted political parties and factions who do not act in our best interests so  “Caveat emptor” applies.

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The title of this post denotes my confusion about the people we have elected (without a second thought sometimes) to do the work of governing. A statesman by definition (Wikipedia):A statesman is usually a politician, diplomat or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level. A politician:A politician, political leader, or political figure (from Classical Greek πόλις, “polis”) is a person who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making. A Manager: One who directs a business or other enterprise. b. One who controls resources and expenditures. Given these definitions who do we have doing our work? I have tried hard to determine what  type of folks we have elected. It appears to me that  all of the political infighting, out fighting and media coverage has  shown that we have the equivalent of entertainers with the same weaknesses and not so many strengths. The only people these elected officials seem to want to make happy are their big contributors and special interests. We have seen and heard endless coverage on taxes, immigration, firearms and healthcare but few of them have stepped up to say enough!, let’s get back to representing our constituents. This would be a watershed moment ( we will never see it). These issues are important and should have been addressed in a prudent fashion without the media coverage and speculation. We voters are partly responsible because we demanded to have cameras in the House and Senate but the proceedings are not what is reported in the media. Meanwhile the Lawmakers used our hue and cry as a means of campaigning for our votes and issuing statements designed to sway our votes against our own interests and for theirs. Thus  the question becomes: What do we have? Statesmen, politicians or managers? I  believe we have none of the above.

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Since you took over Sear Holdings which includes among other entities Kmart stores, the Sears Brands along with Kmart have gone south by the quickest route you could muster. The Craftsman Brand now has the reputation of being :”Crapsman”, There have been no upgrades in the local Kmart stores since?. It is sad that most updated and best looking rooms in at least one of the stores are the bathrooms. This is just the tip of a seeming Titanic size iceberg, the stores appear to be in constant reset with nothing completed, it appears more like  a overstock and end of run sales operation. The sales tags are confusing with as many a 3 sale tags with different end date on an item. The overall sense of the workers appears to be impending doom. It takes an investment of money and time to turn a company around, not continuing cuts to worker benefits and hours (that has not worked in your favor so far). I am sure you believe you have done what is correct but can you look in a mirror and say that with conviction? If you feel you can then the Sears and Kmart brands are destined for extinction along with the thousands of workers associated with them! Thank you for scrapping more jobs due to ineptitude.

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