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Inconvenient truths about guns, games and gore
A public debate is raging now in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, with the primary focus on three main issues: gun control, violent media, and mental health.
Even the National Rifle Association, overwhelmed by hate mail and in hiding for nearly a week after the December 14, 2012 shooting deaths of 20 first-graders and their six unarmed female school personnel, has finally agreed that the level of violence on display this century is unparalleled in American history.
Not since the bloody gangster wars of the 1930's—and our government's bloody war on those gangsters—have so many public shootings occurred on U.S. soil.
And criminologists hasten to point out that the worst of these have happened within only the past 15 years, and have nothing whatsoever to do with organized crime or inner city gangs.
The NRA blames graphic videogames and movies for the steep rise in public shootings by the public, not handguns and not assault rifles. They've even gone so far as to suggest that if more people were carrying concealed weapons, particularly in schools which are fast becoming the targets of armed madmen, then these bloodbaths would come to an abrupt halt.
It's an expected position for this powerful lobby to have taken, of course, and, just as expectedly, one that's enraged not only the gaming industry and some of Hollywood's most bloodthirsty writers and directors, but gun control advocates worldwide.
However, despite the admittedly ugly specter of schools becoming heavily policed fortresses in our near future, there's some indication that the NRA might just be right…
More guns, less violence?
Dr. John Lott, author of More Guns Less Crime, and a Yale researcher who's published and co-published numerous scientific studies on the role of carry-and-conceal laws in deterring would-be felons and murderers, is a controversial figure in the ongoing battle over gun rights.
Many from academia who oppose lenient firearm legislation have sought to undermine Lott's data and methodology as pure junk science, and have even claimed his results are influenced by personal bias and conflicts of interest.
Yet, regardless of these challenges to his integrity and his critics' relentless efforts to debunk his findings, the fact is Lott's research in the late 1990's seems to have withstood the test of time, and it continues to be well-respected even among those calling for stricter gun laws.
Nowhere is this more true than with regard to Lotts' conclusions concerning the role concealed handguns have played in not only disrupting some public shootings once they were in progress, but in reducing the likelihood of such events ever being staged in the first place.
With over a 75 percent reduction in the incident rate and a 50 percent reduction in fatalities for those states who permit handguns to be carried and concealed in public places, it would appear that even the craziest mass gunman is deterred by even the slightest notion that one of his potential victims may shoot back at him.
Which strongly implies that in right-to-carry zones one needn't even pack a pistol in order to be safer.
According to researchers like Lott, public shootings which result in zero casualties are grossly underreported by the mainstream media, and, if any coverage at all is given to those thwarted by armed civilians, reporters prefer to state that a shooter was "subdued" rather than reveal he was shot or held at gunpoint until the police arrived.
This seems entirely credible but, before firearm enthusiasts start jumping up and down and yelling "I told you so, guns DO have a positive effect on society," remember there is no real dialog where an important party to a discussion is somehow being prevented from coming to the table.
Which is to say that, any empirical evidence which could counter the so far standalone argument in favor of carry and concealment as a preventative approach to mass murder has to date been aggressively disallowed.
As to why these voices in the gun debate are being suppressed, constituents of NRA-endorsed representatives and ones with strong ties to gun manufacturers should probably consider writing these elected officials and asking them for further clarification.
The fact that leading agencies like the Center for Disease Control that are charged with the duty of promoting public safety and awareness for a host of consumer products, policies and services are being actively denied funding to conduct research on firearms is one effective way to quiet the opposition.
But another is to outright threaten and intimidate organizations and scientists from pursuing these studies when they do have the resources available.
For instance, one recent year the CDC saw its annual budget vindictively slashed by $2.6 million, the precise amount it had spent on firearms research in the previous year.
This, coupled with the insertion of strong language into congressional spending bills that forbade the agency reapportioning any part of their remaining allocations for funding gun research, sent a stern message which its recipients found more than a little daunting.
Garen Wintemute, director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California's Davis Medical Center, has studied firearm violence for well over 30 years and in that time has published more than 100 studies on the subject.
Much of his institute's research contradicts the popular premise that more guns equal a safer citizenry or that violent crimes are on the steady decline, findings which have made Wintemute an object of wrath for gun advocates, to say the least.
"The president of one of the largest handgun manufacturers in the country once told me, face to face, how much money he had committed to an intimidation effort," Wintemute reported. "He advised me to keep my life insurance paid up."
In fact, the gun lobby's menacing and whispered threats in passing reached the point where even federal authorities had to acknowledge a real threat existed for Wintemute. "There was a time when federal law enforcement agents recommended I wear a ballistic vest," he said. "There is a wanted poster on the Internet."
It goes without saying, misconduct that severe only helps to reinforce the antigun faction's unwavering belief that it is runaway gun ownership alone which provokes so much senseless bloodshed in the United States.
Bearing arms
There's no doubt about it, gun ownership in the USA is at an all time high, and by some reports there exists today nearly one firearm per every single man, woman, child, and toddler.
Rightly so, in the wake of the Sandy Hook Massacre, those figures are being scrutinized very closely now by our world neighbors, and their conclusion is that the American people are too infatuated with firearms.
Still, this is a knee jerk evaluation, and very wrong—it is not guns Americans are so in love with, but freedom.
A nation's past greatly informs its present and it also serves to instill in future generations a certain kind of national pride and psyche. Ours grew from the necessity of overthrowing a barbaric tyrant whose governors and soldiers were acting like marauders in the North American colonies.
Keep in mind we were, at that point in time, all the king's royal subjects. Yet across the pond and far from home, we were being treated by him just like second class citizens, like mere slaves and indentured servants.
In the harsh wilderness of colonial America, the king's men pillaged and plundered our farmsteads, our livestock, our merchants, our public coffers, our women, and our daughters.
What's more, when we politely petitioned for redress of these grievances and for more protection, those urgent petitions were either denied or ignored.
As a matter of survival then, we had no choice but to revolt, to use force to expel the oppressive agents of the British empire from our shores. And we were required to do this not once, but twice. First in the 1770's when we declared our independence, and then in the early 1800's when the British attempted to slip through our back door via Louisiana.
America was a simple agrarian society in those early days, our forefathers hardly warriors, but in neither conflict did we defeat a despotic monarchy and its brutal soldiers armed with only sickles, scythes, and pitchforks.
We matched British firepower bullet for bullet, cannonball after cannonball, and when it was finally over with, when our would be conquerors retreated black and blue, declaring they would never return again to harm us, we still kept watch for them as we tended our fields and stores. Only this time we did so with muskets and powder horns tucked into our belts, and with loaded long rifles hanging from our shoulders.
That's what ended the bloody assaults, a citizenry fully armed and ever vigilant.
This drawn out struggle for freedom also taught us some hard truths and lasting lessons: That the enemy need not be foreigners in some far off country plotting and scheming a land grab. The enemy can be our very own government and its armies.
With that knowledge, the right of individuals to bear arms, even against their elected leaders, was ratified in the US Constitution, and it remains a liberty interest that is still deeply revered and frequently invoked.
Because, as the American people can attest, and as any historian worth his or her credentials could readily affirm, freedom is not free at all, and very often comes only with a fight.
Good guns, bad guns
It is argued that the tipping point for a seemingly out of control wave of gun violence this century was the gradual introduction to the populace of semiautomatics and assault weapons over the past few decades.
These, in private hands and arsenals have upset a delicate balance, analysts say, and as a result we are facing a different sort of tyranny now, and losing: That of armed men packing hundreds of rounds of ammunition that they, in turn, and for whatever insane reasons, can fire at us in only split seconds.
It's possible there is such a thing as a good gun and a bad gun, who knows, but, frankly, it seems far likelier that it's not innovations in gun technology that are the real problem here, but changes in the people who own and use advanced weaponry.
It stands to reason, no matter how sophisticated and deadly today's firearms may be, these are still only inanimate objects with no will of their own. It is the man with his finger poised on a trigger who ultimately decides whether he'll be a protector or a predator, if he'll use a firearm to defend or to destroy.
Obviously then, between doing good and doing evil, there has to be other factors influencing his choice.
Talking points and talking heads
With all eyes on the role that guns, videogames, and blockbuster blow 'em up movies play in the escalation of domestic acts of terror, pundits and talking heads are taking center stage lately. All of them doing the best they can to divert attention away from their industries and to defend their unabashed capitalization on violence, fear, and recreational mayhem.
"There is no evidence that violent videos cause violence" gaming moguls say. Movies featuring buckets and buckets of blood are "only movies" filmmakers contend. "Guns don't kill, people do" is the catchphrase that firearms manufacturers have always notoriously made.
So what's the truth then? Why are we seeing all these gun rampages on defenseless civilians? Why has the rate of such heartless events risen so precipitously this decade so that we are now witnessing one major public shooting spectacle every two weeks or less?
Well, the truth in this case is multifaceted. First of all, guns certainly do kill, as anyone with a half a brain surely knows. Especially when they fall into the hands of youngsters, criminals, and the mentally ill.
Second, there have in fact been thousands of scientific studies on the dangerous effects of violent imagery and video games. And each of these has shown that such activities promote aggressive behavior, desensitize users and spectators to acts of brutality, and dramatically reduce prosocial skills and the ability to experience empathy.
Last but not least, the sharpest increase in, and the highest percentage of, public shooters this century are from the 15 to 19-year age bracket.
These juvenile are presenting society with a new breed of mass murderer: Predominantly white males from the upper middle classes who intricately preplan their strikes (and accompanying suicides) and who tend to don military costumes and weaponry they are otherwise unfamiliar with except through video-gaming and the movies.
Naturally, it's all but impossible to prove a negative, but with incriminating statistics like those the onus is firmly on media giants to finally provide some rigorous research in support of contentions that their products are completely harmless, as opposed to simply quipping empty rhetoric all the time.
Absent such proof, they must do the right thing and voluntarily limit the distribution of disturbing content immediately, because it's clearly been demonstrated time and time again that simulated slaying exercises, whether visual or interactive, physiologically impacts viewers and participants in extremely negative ways.
Yes, this would entail a bit of financial sacrifice on the part of entertainment industries—billions of dollars' worth by modest estimates—but conditioning people to kill without conscience as a means of recreation is unconscionable, and has led to an uptick in gun violence in societies where firearms are relatively easy to obtain.
Like America.
The slippery slope of Sandy Hook
Today, we don't care to quibble about the numbers involved in the December 2012 slaughter of six-year-olds at Sandy Hook and of the women who tried to save them. Even if it's not the highest body count on record, due to the tender years of the majority of those victims and the unprecedented show of violence, Americans have decided it is the worst massacre in US history.
And that we've seen far too many in the years preceding it.
Nevertheless, in an effort to talk us down from our resolve to put an end to all the killing, gun promoters quickly scrambled to come up with data that would, they hoped, dissuade renewed efforts to ban the kind of assault weapons used against Sandy Hook's first-graders and teachers.
To do this they had to dig through the annals of crime in search of a "worst" school massacre so to support a flimsy theory that such attacks are "not on the rise" and "have always been happening."
The 1927 bloodshed at a public school in Bath Michigan is the incident we are being directed to, regardless that this was in fact a bombing and not a public shooting, and it wasn't part of a growing trend in school violence, nor the beginning of one either.
In fact, the bombing of Bath's students and staffers that left 53 children and four adults dead with scores of others wounded in two separate blasts was an isolated act of revenge, committed by a disgruntled and deeply troubled employee who had a history of cruelty to animals and to his family.
What people didn't know way back then which we do know now is that individuals displaying those traits and tendencies are ticking time bombs.
But school massacres and their related body counts are not really all that concern us as a nation these days, because, in spite of all the denial and propagandizing currently underway, the truth is there is nowhere and nobody safe anymore from psychos with firearms.
In the malls, streets, movie theatres, classrooms, workplaces, churches and highways, lunatics are climbing out of the woodwork, suited up like 3D commandos from Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, and taking potshots at everybody.
Exercises in futility and hostility
By now it can be safely posited that representing simulated training exercises in killing as mere "games" and, thereby, a valid form of recreation is a clear case of intentional misrepresentation.
It is comparable to the dishonest marketing strategies of the tobacco industry in hiring physicians to assert that smoking was a healthy habit to indulge in, or big business interests retaining fringe scientists to obfuscate and even deny the pressing issue of global warming, until it became too late to divert environmental havoc and chaos.
Havoc and chaos has become the name of the game, as can be seen by the plethora of single-shooter "toys" available in the marketplace today, and no one should be surprised to learn that the evil genius who invented such a lethal pastime is the military itself.
With the U.S. military's announcement in early 2012 that they will soon be redesigning most of their sims to incorporate females targets as suicide bombers in them, and with the penchant of the gaming industry for copycatting, and with copycat shooters lurking in the wings, it's a sure bet we'll be seeing many more women and children being slain by crazed video assassins.
Unless we're willing to put our foot down and start regulating.
Contrary to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in 2011 defending the sale of violent videogames and movies to minors, rating media content for its age appropriateness and restricting both impressionable children and mental defectives from access to such harmful products is NOT a free speech issue, but rather one of corporate accountability and public safety.
Much the same as regulating alcohol and tobacco, it is simply demanding a manufacturer honestly disclose the risks associated with a product's use, and punishing all those who seek to fraudulently market and bypass reasonable consumer protections.
In short, if shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre is a type of speech that can be prohibited because it's recognized as potentially dangerous to the public's welfare, so then is yelling "fire your machinegun."
Although we have yet to see any medical proof that the 20-year-old psychopath who slew Sandy Hook's children and faculty members was in fact ever "diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome" as is rumored, advocates for the autistic have rushed to assert that this mild disability does not cause violence.
This may on its face be accurate, but these health experts make very little of the fact that autistic people often suffer dual mental illnesses, and Schizophrenia is most commonly their companion disorder.
Our jails are absolutely teeming with Schizophrenics, not incidentally. Why? Because Schizophrenia does cause violently explosive behavior, and this disease as well as the full spectrum of other mental defects is on the rise this era. Indeed, major health organizations are reporting that almost 30 percent of Americans currently have at least one form of mental illness.
That number, if true, would run into the tens of millions, by the way, and it's fair to say none of these patients, even the most mildly afflicted, should ever have access to firearms.
Three in ten of our fellow citizens battling their demons every night and day should also cause serious concern for the rest of the population who are supposed to be well, psychologically speaking. However, statistics show that only half of all public shooting events are committed by those with known psychiatric problems.
Which leaves one to wonder what could have caused the other purportedly healthy 50 percent to suddenly snap.
Ever forgetful of the role America and her many guns had in ending two world wars, and of the combined sacrifices that 1,500,000+ U.S. soldiers made then in order to liberate the planet from the evil designs of a once truly belligerent race, we find ourselves time and again criticized by our own allies for our alleged "culture of violence."
Predictably, this berating becomes louder and shriller whenever a school shooting occurs within the land of the free and the home of the brave.
In the aftermath of Sandy Hook, our detractors have cited everything, from rampant and irresponsible gun ownership to over-the-top violent Hollywood movies, as the cancer eating away at our social stability.
We're a nation of nutters, some among them insist.
Perhaps out of a longstanding grudge our most bitterly vocal critic throughout has been England, who, in one of its many scandal-plagued tabloids recently upped the discourse this week:
"LAND OF THE FREE HOME OF THE DERANGED" the Daily Mirror crassly sniped at us as we were otherwise preoccupied burying and mourning our dead in Connecticut, and solemnly soul-searching. "The world does not see a free country, America," the Mirror callously added. " We see a vision of hell."
Understandably, a vision of hell is laying it on just thick enough to sell a few hundred more newspaper copies, extra sales which the Mirror desperately needs in order to settle lawsuits and pay criminal fees for years of phone-hacking victims of crime and a number of celebrities as well.
But the irony in their vicious assessment is that our "love affair" with violence, as manifested in our movies, never even existed here until England itself exported it to us…
Really Psycho
It took more than twenty years after he died to learn that the man who brought us Psycho was a psycho himself.
Of course, considering the extreme brutality in much of Sir Alfred Hitchcock's work—specifically aimed at women—the revelations by his famous starlets should not have shocked us all that much.
A sadistic misogynist who obsessed on the beautiful blondes he cast in his films, Hitchcock stalked, harassed, abused, threatened, and even attempted to rape these women, many of whom were bound to him by contracts that they could not escape unless by marrying and quitting Hollywood altogether, or getting pregnant and defaulting.
Blondes like Tippi Hedren, however, who were new to the silver screen and not quitters by nature, felt forced to endure Hitchcock's unseemly behaviors. They would fulfill their contractual obligations with a sigh of relief and an unspoken oath of silence, but were so traumatized they never renewed another one with him.
Secrecy is an important tool of abusers and their enablers, yet in 2012 the star of Hitchcock's horror flick The Birds did finally speak out, recounting in her own film, a documentary aptly titled The Girl, a tale of terror that the film industry had already been aware of for several decades before Hitchcock died in the 1980's.
"It was absolutely horrible," Hedren said. "I was caught in this situation of being under contract to him. It was the studio system, so there was really nobody I could go talk to about this…We are dealing with a brain here that is genius and evil," she added. "Deviant almost to the point of dangerous because of the effect that he can have on people that are totally unsuspecting."
The contract terms regarding the frightful scene in The Birds where Tippi Hedren is ripped to shreds by a swarm of crows actually called for mechanical devices to be used, as opposed to real fowl. But the actress had been repeatedly rebuffing Hitchcock's sexual advances, his stalking and menacing phone calls, so he was furious and seeking revenge. He substituted real birds at the very last minute, without even the film crew's knowledge.
On the day that the scene was filmed, everyone on The Birds set watched horrified as hundreds of crows were let loose and attacked the young actress, tearing at her hair, hands, legs and face, and leaving her visibly shaken and scratched. And to up the terror level a few notches, Hitchcock then turned what was supposed to be only a one-day shoot into a weeklong assault on Hedren, demanding over and over again for her to do retakes.
In the 1960 movie Psycho, Hitchcock resorted to similar means with Janet Leigh, even chasing her at times with a raised butcher knife. The actress, best known for being hacked to death in a shower stall by a psychotic cross-dresser, found her experience with that movie so permanently damaging that she subsequently had all the showers removed from her own house. Years later, when people caught wind of this phobia and asked Leigh if it was true, she confirmed, "It is not a myth."
When Hitchcock first approached Paramount Studios about filming Psycho, they flat out refused to fund the project because they regarded it as nothing more than violent snuff. They told him plainly it was "repugnant."
At that time there was a Production Code firmly in place which governed the amount of violence and sexuality film producers could offer moviegoers. Accordingly, there was nothing that came even close to the dark subject matter of Hitchcock's screenplay for Psycho, a fact which forced him to have to endlessly wrangle with the powers-that-be in order to bring it to life for the cinema and distribute it in the United States.
In the end, the British-born filmmaker was willing to "chop" nudity in the opening scenes of the film on the promise that his brutal shower murder would be left intact by censors. He also had to make significant financial concessions, including using much of his own money for production purposes.
It was a gamble that paid off—Psycho was an international hit and hailed forever as a cinematic "breakthrough."
The success of one of Britain's most influential and celebrated sociopaths was the catalyst for the rapid erosion of Hollywood's decency standards as set forth in their Production Code; and it launched a competition between all the major studios as they set about outdoing each other in making more and more gruesome movies available.
As can be seen today, it's become quite a bloody contest, that evidently nobody has won yet.
The gore-fest that's been dished up for us now by the motion picture industry doesn't phase most younger viewers. Since Psycho, they've been raised on a steady diet of such gratuitous violence and sex, much of which surpasses even Hitchcock's twisted imaginings.
In fact, and probably as a consequence, there is a never ending supply of creative types emulating and promulgating slash and crash flicks today, and very few genuinely G-rated movies in the making.
The sordid truths that were finally disclosed about Alfred Hitchcock should give us all pause though, especially in light of the Sandy Hook slayings and growing appeals to the gaming and film industry for a ceasefire. It's perfectly valid grounds for asking whether any of our present day screenwriters, directors, and game designers, busily cranking out these ghoulish wares and striving for greater and greater realism in them, share any of their master's aberrations.
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," Oz's phony wizard angrily exclaims in a vain effort to prevent discovery by his captive audience of a cruel ruse he'd been perpetuating for years. We too may not be impressed by what we find hiding behind Hollywood's drapes, but maybe now we should look there anyway.
The frenzied stockpiling of guns and ammunition by Americans these days is not a vote of approval for mass shootings. Nor is this being done by firearm fetishists.
As it was in the past so it is in the present, it's simply an act of preparedness for the future, a vote of no confidence in the government and its soldiers.
If this "inalienable" right is taken from the people or even modified, there is little doubt that other key liberties will also be seized in the future. That ingrained fear, the fear of tyranny, of the suspension of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution by a dictator and his shadowy cabal, coupled with widespread political corruption and a crumbling economy, is at the core of all this hoarding.
But, rest assured, the vast majority of citizens who've armed themselves to the teeth in this manner are more trustworthy than the police are. They don't profile or frame innocent citizens, they don't steal and deal drugs, they don't lob teargas at unarmed protestors and beat them unconscious with clubs…etc.
They are valiant, not violent.
That being said, a time has come for compromise. We have an enemy in our midst, one like no other we've ever faced before. He is posing as our friend, our coworker, our classmate, and our neighbor. He may even resemble a son, a brother, a nephew, or a cousin.
Whoever he appears to be, he is an imposter. By day deceiving us and by night plotting to gun us into the ground and everyone we love—the very people we're protecting.
To those ends the traitor is amassing weapons and ammo and armored vests and facemasks, or stealing the weaponry of another who has let their guard down because they don't suspect him.
He is a very serious threat to our way of life, to our fundamental freedoms, and this guy has to be stopped before he hurts anybody, before he teams up with others of his kind to increase the body count per shooting.
To achieve that objective we'll have to face this current crisis with an open mind and engage in honest dialog, sometimes with people and groups we inherently disagree with. We'll have to ask ourselves as a nation why this evil is happening to us and what the root causes of it are, and then sincerely endeavor to address each and every one of the problems we uncover.
Because, if we don't do this in earnest, then very soon there will be only two kinds of people left in our great land: Perpetrators and victims.


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Dinesh D'Souza's "What's So Great About Christianity, Part 2
Skipping to later chapters, Dinesh D'Souza argues in his book "What's So Great About Christianity," that the crimes of Christianity's past were not that big of a deal when compared to the mass killings under recent atheist regimes, especially Mao, Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot, to name just a few.
D'Souza claims the Crusades were mostly defensive battles against the invading Muslims by pilgrims who had to pillage for food, and in the process raped and murdered too. What wonderful pilgrims they must have been! The Salem Witch trials only killed 19 or more people. "Few casualties, big brouhaha," D'Souza proudly proclaims (p. 207). Although, he admits that 100,000 witches were either burned or executed during a 300 year period. The Inquisition only killed 2000 people, he boasts, and was directed only at professing Christians. D'Souza totally ignored the terror the church had over the thought life of most everyone their entire lives during these centuries, since most people were in the church. When it comes to the many religious wars and conflicts people fought, D'Souza argues that they were not about religion, but about ethnic tensions, territory and land. He further opines that for the Christian, "the tragedy of violence in the name of religion is thankfully in past." (p. 210).
Turning to atheism D'Souza argues: "the indisputable fact is that all the religions of the world put together have in three hundred years not managed to kill anywhere near the number of people killed in the name of atheism in the past few decades….Atheism, not religion, is responsible for the worst mass murder of history." (p. 221)
I'm planning to write more about his arguments later, but let me throw a few comments about on the table for now.
Some Christians will say the atrocities committed by professing Christians of the past do not represent Christianity, just as many Muslims today say that the militant Muslim terrorists do not represent Islam. If they can get away with this then atheists can do likewise and argue the crimes done in the name of atheism do not represent atheists. So D'Souza, to his credit, does not take that tact, at least when it comes to what Christians have done in the past. However, he still wants to blame atheism for the crimes done in the name of atheism. Just because he avoids one error doesn't mean he is not stepping into another error when he does this.
One consideration is the big difference in the means people had to commit these crimes. In our modern era we have guns and tanks and bombs. People with guns kill more people than people without them. So I wonder how many more people would've been killed in the past by Christians if they had this arsenal at their disposal? Surely many many more.
Another consideration is that D'Souza excuses the wars done in the name of religion as defensive ones based on ethnic rivalries, and/or over territory. But why can't it be said that Hitler's war was based on territorial expansion and ethnic tension too? I think it can.
Another consideration is that D'Souza fails to realize the role of a dictator in a totalitarian government. Most all of the Russian tsars, for instance, were hated because they were cruel. Ivan the Terrible, was one such example unrelated to his religious preferences. Saddam Hussein was cruel too. Most dictators ruled with an iron fist because of fear they would be assassinated. Those of us who have never been a dictator will not understand this. So they terrorize their people to fear them. This is just what most dictators do, and it's a defense mechanism unrelated to their religion, or none at all, and best explains Stalin and Mao's atrocities.
Another consideration is that religious views, or non-religious views, are mostly used by people to justify whatever they want to do. It's not clear Hitler was an atheist. But he was certainly the type of maniac that would use anything he could to advance his egomaniacal power over people.
The bottom line is that civilized people todyy are less likely to commit such crimes because we have all learned our lessons from history, both Christians and atheists. Why? Because that's how human beings learn our morality, through trial and error and the lessons of history.

subset: commoncrawl


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June 15. 2013 3:44PM
Advice to West grads: Be passionate
By MICHAEL COUSINEAU
New Hampshire Union Leader
Stephanie Mailhot carries a large beach ball that she got during the West High School graduation on Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. (Thomas Roy/Union Leader)
MANCHESTER -- Passion and persistence were twin themes for the cap-and-gown gang at Manchester High School West's graduation Saturday.
"Here's some advice: Live your life with passion," Principal John Rist told 252 graduates at Verizon Wireless Arena. "Whatever job you have, do it with passion."
He urged graduates to show that same enthusiasm toward their family and friends, adding, "If you're a lover, be a passionate lover.
"Take it from an old guy. Life is just too short to waste any moment," said the sixty-something Rist. "Try to make every moment just filled with joy."
Rist took over West during the school year after Principal MaryEllen McGorry was suspended a few weeks into the school year for reasons district officials have not disclosed. McGorry later resigned.
Rist, whose tenure ends this school year, referred to the "stormy waters" that administrators helped calm, and a class ode sung during Saturday's ceremony contained the lyrics: "It's been a wild senior year/We didn't have a principal half the time."
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the commencement speaker, said a lesson she learned from attending seven public schools was to be appreciative of others and to seize opportunities.
"When you take risks, sometimes you stumble, but the test for success isn't whether you have failures. It's not how you stumble, but it's whether you get back up, whether you brush yourself off, and you keep going."
Class president Natalee D'Antoni urged classmates to forge ahead on life's journey.
"This road will be filled with twists and turns and ups and downs, but don't let stop signs, one-ways or a fork in the road stop you from striving toward your dreams," she said. "Set your goals high and your dreams even higher."
Class valedictorian Stefan Rajkovic named a dozen-plus classmates who might go out in the world to make their names famous, just like a few former West graduates: comedian Seth Meyers and fast-food founders Richard and Maurice McDonald.
"Today, we all step out into the real world, and with the preparation that West has given us, we can take anything on," Rajkovic said. "So, Class of 2013, let's take some 'personal responsibility' and make a name for ourselves."
Parent Kim Burleigh said Saturday was an emotional day watching her daughter, Danielle Levesque, graduate.
"Now, seeing she's really an adult, I can't pretend I have a baby anymore," Burleigh said before the ceremony. "She's not going to need mom anymore."


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By Madeline Lloyd
Big 12 Campus Correspondent
Baylor outfielder Nathan Orf has had a successful baseball career, to say the least. Not only has he started every game while playing for Baylor, but he also leads the team in hits (32), on base percentage (.466) and batting average (.368).
The Wentzville, Mo., senior devoted his first two years of college baseball to University of Illinois-Chicago. In 2009, Orf earned Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball, was named to the second-team All-Horizon League and was selected to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team. He started as a catcher and designated hitter his sophomore year, and was ranked third in the Horizon League in HBP (16).
After playing in a summer league with Baylor baseball players Logan Vick and senior Cal Towey, Orf felt compelled to take his talent down south.
"It was a God-led thing," Orf said. "I talked to Towey and Vick about the coaching staff and the program. I just prayed on it and it all happened in about a month."
It didn't take assistant coach Trevor Mote long to see how Orf would benefit Baylor after he transferred in 2011.
"When he first came here, I thought he was a hard worker," Mote said. "A kid that was very competitive. A kid that could run a little bit, hit a little bit and play some defense. He's a solid, all-around player."
His teammates also quickly recognized his skill level and ability to succeed on the field.
"He's a catalyst for the offense," Towey said. "He gets things going with his hit-by-pitches, and his doubles in the gap and stolen bases. He gets the offense going."
Orf has already made a lasting impression on Baylor baseball. During his junior year, he earned Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-Big 12 honors after starting in 65 games. He also batted in top three spots in the lineup every game, and started as the designated hitter in 50 games. He broke Baylor and Big 12 records and tied for second nationally with 35 HBPs.
"Last year, he was a guy that was always on base and a guy that just played hard every day," Mote said. "He has a lot of passion for the game and loves to play. It shows."
Orf has stayed true to his character this year, as well. According to Mote, he represents a vocal voice for an inexperienced team. His playing has remained consistent, and he has the potential to lead the team to great things.


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The City Council last night used a parliamentary procedure to stop a move to have it publicly oppose siting medicinal marijuana dispensaries in the city.
By an 8-2 vote, the council voted to place on file a resolution proposed by Councilor-at-Large Konstantina B. Lukes that called for such action.
The vote to file effectively killed the resolution from further consideration.
Voting in favor of the motion to file were District 1 Councilor Tony Economou, District 5 Councilor William J. Eddy, Councilor-at-Large Joseph C. O'Brien, District 2 Councilor Philip P. Palmieri, District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera, Councilor-at-Large Frederick C. Rushton, District 3 Councilor George J. Russell and Mayor Joseph M. Petty.
Mrs. Lukes and Councilor-at-Large Kathleen M. Toomey opposed placing the resolution on file. Councilor-at-Large Michael J. Germain was not present for the vote.
As part of her resolution, Mrs. Lukes also asked the council to oppose the implementation of any state legislation or regulations authorizing the dispensing or production of medical marijuana until the matter is resolved by federal legislation.
She pointed out that while Massachusetts voters approved a referendum in the Nov. 6 election to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, the federal government still views marijuana as an illegal substance.
The councilor suggested that the resolution be referred to the council's Public Health and Human Services Committee for further discussion in light of additional information she has received about medical marijuana dispensaries in other states.
But Mr. O'Brien argued that consideration of the resolution at this time — even to have it referred to a subcommittee — was not appropriate because the state is in the process of promulgating rules governing the siting of medical marijuana dispensaries.
He also pointed out that 63 percent of the voters statewide, and 62 percent of the voters in Worcester, voted in favor of the medical marijuana referendum question in last month's election.
"Considering this (resolution) would send a message that we don't agree with the voters," Mr. O'Brien said. "I move that we file this; it's the right thing to do."
Mr. Eddy said governmental bodies should not attempt to override the will of the people, except in extreme occasions such as when voters approve tax-cutting measures that would have major negative impacts on the operation of government.
"This is a time when government needs to say we respect the will of the voters," he said. "We need to let the will of the voters stand in this instance. It would not be prudent for this council to come in and say we need to look at other options."
Mrs. Lukes, who believes that Worcester will end up with a marijuana dispensary, is most concerned about the impact it could have on its neighborhood.
Under the law approved by voters, as many as 35 centers can open next year, with a maximum of five centers per county.
Mrs. Lukes urged caution on the matter. She has also requested a report from the city administration regarding the siting process for locating state-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries, along with zoning, permitting, licensing, security and production issues associated with it.
She also pointed out that medical marijuana has been legal in Rhode Island for six years, but that state has yet to establish dispensary centers. She said medical marijuana has been legal since 1996 in California and that state has closed 600 dispensaries since October and the Los Angeles City Council has voted to ban dispensaries there.
"Right now, the law is vague in its application in Massachusetts," Mrs. Lukes said. "The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has yet to develop any regulations and the impact on our city may be significant."
She said her biggest concern is if a nonprofit group is awarded a license to serve as a medical marijuana dispensary. She said they would be protected by the Dover amendment and, as a result, would be allowed to locate anywhere regardless of zoning and local regulations.
"Clearly we need to look at this more closely," Mrs. Lukes said.
But Mr. Rushton said it hasn't even been a month since voters approved the medical marijuana referendum question in the November election. He said the state needs an opportunity to establish regulations government the siting of dispensaries before the council talks about banning them in the city.
"Voting for this (resolution) would be to say that the 38 percent who voted against the measure have veto power over the 62 percent who voted for it," Mr. Rushton said. "To vote for this is to say that the voters are complete idiots."


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Students return to classes for first time since shooting of Bowe Cleveland
Taft Union High School students returned to campus today amid heavy security and prayer.
It was the first day back since last Thursday's shooting that left one student critically wounded, another facing life in prison and a campus coping with the unthinkable.
"Let us not dwell on this anymore than we need to," said senior Kayla Scheyler, who led the prayer as students and staff circled the Flag in front of the campus. "Let's go on ... happy that we have another day at our school."
The prayer called for healing and forgiveness.
The victim, Bowe Cleveland, remains in critical but stable condition at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield where he underwent surgery for a shotgun wound to his chest.
The accused, Bryan Oliver, appeared in Kern County Superior Court yesterday and entered an innocent plea about seven hours after District Attorney Lisa Green said her office will try him as an adult.
He faces two counts of attempted murder and three counts of assault on a person with a firearm for allegedly shooting Cleveland and slightly wounding teacher Ryan Heber and targeting a second student.
Cleveland and Oliver are 16-year-old juniors.
Officers from the Taft City Police Dept. and the Taft substation of the Kern County Sheriff's Dept. stood by as classes resumed. Students were directed to enter the campus only through the main entrance on Wildcat Way.
Senior Deputy Kevin George said he was told he would be on duty at the school all week.
The week is expected to be a difficult one for students and staff.
"We're hanging in there," said Principal Marilyn Brown.
She said grief counselors are on duty along with therapy dogs sent from Therapy Dogs International.
"We have counselors from Optimal Hospice and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office," she said. "We've had offers of help from all over. It's been amazing."
Nick Wright is one of those.
He is a veteran grief counselor who has worked such tragedies as the Aurora Colorado theater shooting, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina.
"We are blessed to have him with us," Brown said.
She said the school held a staff meeting yesterday.
"The theme of that meeting was healing and moving forward." she said. "The focus was on our students and how to spot the ones who are troubled about what happened and get them help."
She said Taft High administrators would not be providing information or answering questions about the investigation.


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Board votes to offer contract to Blanca Cavazos
The Taft Union High School District has selected the person they want to be the new superintendent.
The Board of Trustees voted 5-0 this morning to offer the job to Blanca Cavazos, who was principal at Arvin for 13 years and most recently worked in the Kern County Superintendent of Schools in the curriculum and instruction department.
Cavazos is anxious to take the job.
"I am honored the the Board of Trustees has selected me to be superintendent," Cavazos said in a written press release from the high school this morning. I am especially proud to be a part of this district and community that has maintained a high quality education for all students."
Board President Rick Twisselman, who along with board member Ken Anderson and representatives of the TUHS faculty and classified staff, met with Cavazos Thursday and also interviewed several people at Arvin High.
Science teacher Ryan Hickman and Mandi Neudorf, senior accounting technician in the business office, joined Twisselman and Anderson in the interviews conducted Thursday.
All were very enthusiastic about hiring Cavazos.
Cavazos will fill the vacancy left by Mark Richardson, who resigned in September 2012 to become superintendent of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.
Check Taftmidwaydriller.com later for more updates.


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SAN ANTONIO — The way Bob Stallman sees it, the issues facing the American Farm Bureau Federation are like items on the chore list his dad used to assign. The expectation is that they will get done. Period.
The Farm Bureau is taking the same line on its three big chores: Passage of a new Farm Bill, reliable water transportation and immigration reform that provides a steady agricultural labor force.
Stallman, a Texas rice and cattle producer who's been federation president for 14 years, opened the organization's 95th annual convention Sunday with a clear call for Congress to take action on all three.
The 6,000 Farm Bureau members attending the convention from across the country are a good example of working together for the common good, Stallman said. Despite geographic differences, farming methods and crops, they're able to convene once a year and adopt common policies that guide the organization.
"We know how to bridge differences, but that's not what we see today in our nation of color-coded states, or in the least productive Congress in history," he said.
Stallman said he's optimistic Congress will pass a Farm Bill in January, but the argument has exposed serious problems.
"The debate of the last three years, against a backdrop of relatively high commodity prices, has shown that much of the public has no idea what it takes to profitably farm and ranch," Stallman said.
The public doesn't realize the risks farmers take on, or that the costs of feed, seed, fertilizer and equipment "add up to nearly as much as what a crop will bring in," he said. In farming, "downturns follow boom times as surely as night follows day," Stallman said, and farmers need the certainty of a five-year Farm Bill.
He said Congress also is close to passing a Water Resources Development Bill to upgrade locks and dams, crucial to moving commodities.
The third chore, as he labeled it, has remained undone for 30 years, Stallman said. Congress has known that labor shortages are harming farmers; in California, 80 percent of raisin and berry growers and 71 percent of tree fruit growers can't find enough labor. Crops rot as a result, he said.
"When you have that many farmers unable to get the workers they need, you have a crisis in farm country," Stallman said. "And you have a crisis for Americans who want their food grown in the United States and want it to meet their definition of affordable, to boot."
He said the Senate passed a version of an immigration and ag labor that contains principles backed by the Agricultural Workforce Coalition, of which he's a member, but the House has not yet taken action.
"We need to tell Congress to get this job done now," Stallman said emphasizing the last five words.
On other issues, Stallman said farmers and ranchers are concerned about privacy. As farmers use precision farming techniques to produce fertilizer, chemical and planting data, they worry who will have access to the information, he said. Will the companies sell it, he asked, or use it to set prices?
Stallman said the federal Environmental Protection Agency betrayed farmers in 2013 by releasing personal information to environmental groups in response to a court filing. He said the EPA now is trying to extend its regulatory reach under the Clean Water Act by forcing producers to obtain federal permits for activity on "nearly every water body in the country."
Then there's the heated issue of genetically modified crops. Stallman said the he expects more ballot measures to force labeling of foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients or to ban GMO crop cultivation. The Farm Bureau believes biotechnology will be necessary to feed a growing world population.
In a news conference after his speech, Stallman rejected a suggestion that the Farm Bureau might be on the wrong side of the GMO argument and that labeling would allow consumers to choose.
"What we oppose are mandatory labeling schemes that aren't related to nutrition," he said.
Groups opposed to genetic engineering don't want a solution, Stallman said.
Asked again about the Farm Bill, and whether dairy "supply management" should be included, Stallman deferred.
"Whatever will come out, find favor and get the Farm Bill passed is something we'll support," he said.


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Planet Terror (US - DVD R1)
Scott McKenzie completes the double bill by reviewing Rodriguez's movie...
Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) is about to have a very bad day. She walks out on her job as a go-go dancer with high hopes of becoming a stand-up comedian. Instead, she meets an old flame (Freddy Rodriguez) and gets her leg ripped off by marauding infected people that have started to take over the town. At the same time, a young anaesthetist tries to get away from her psychopathic husband and the Sheriff and his brother fight over their late father's secret barbecue sauce recipe, all against the backdrop of the spreading infection. As the rag-tag bunch of survivors gang together, can they survive or will they become the next course on the menu?
I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that Planet Terror is the second DVD release from Tarantino and Rodriguez's Grindhouse feature, even though it made up the first half of that double bill. Death Proof was the intentionally more 'realistic' half of Grindhouse, whereas Planet Terror thoroughly revels in its silliness. The movie begins with the excellent 'fake' trailer for Machete, which is supposedly going to be filmed and released as a full-length feature, and the sight of Danny Trejo riding a motorbike with a minigun mounted on the handlebars sets the tone perfectly.
Planet Terror's absurdity is no more evident than in the image that popped into Robert Rodriguez's head which inspired him to write this movie. You'll already be well past the believability tipping-point when Freddy Rodriguez straps a machine gun onto McGowan's stump, which just happens to be exactly the right length to allow her to walk on and for some reason she never has to load it or even pull the trigger. Of course, the mechanics of having a machine gun for a leg are never supposed to be explained. It's purely a device to allow Rose McGowan to be the female equivalent of Ash, with his chainsaw for an arm in Army of Darkness, and slaughter as many of the infected as she can just by waving her leg at them.
Even though this is an ensemble movie with plenty of colourful characters doing battle with the infected people, this is very much Rose McGowan's movie. As Robert Rodriguez states during the extras, she was central to his decision to make this movie and a lot of her personality goes into the character of Cherry. Her character trait of saying "useless talent number…" is what she does in real life and people tell her she should be a stand-up comedian so the screenplay was adapted to include this.
As Tarantino mentions on the extras for Death Proof, the movies of John Carpenter were the inspiration behind the setup of this movie and Rodriguez even played music from Carpenter's movies on set to get the cast and crew in the right mood. A large cast banding together to fight a terror that is creeping up on them brings The Fog and Prince of Darkness to mind in particular, but the characters are pure Rodriguez, with Tom Savini making a welcome appearance as the town's Deputy. Tarantino's influence is also evident with the fourth screen appearance of Michael Parks' Earl McGraw. In Planet Terror was learn more about him and his family than in any of his other appearances. Unfortunately Tarantino himself shows up as a soldier and hams it up so much his performance should come with salad and two slices of bread.
Of particular note among the cast are Josh Brolin as Doctor Block, who gives one of the most subtle performances in an over-the-top movie, and it's always good to see Michael Biehn on the screen, especially when he's playing a surly hard man with a heart. Bruce Willis makes a decent cameo appearance and the history of his character cements the absurdity of the movie. The whole thing is designed to not be taken seriously, with blood flying from gunshots like it's being thrown from a bucket and a 'missing reel' that skips past plot and character development and cuts straight to the action. Rather than being a sly nod to the presentation of exploitation movies, this actually made me think that Rodriguez couldn't be bothered to write those scenes, especially since he started to cast this movie having written only thirty pages of the screenplay.
Unlike Death Proof, this movie makes liberal use of CG effects and therefore left me feeling like it was slightly less credible as an homage to exploitation movies of the 70s. However, there are nice touches here that tie the two movies into the same universe, like the existence of Red Apples cigarettes and the mention of a tribute to Jungle Julia heard over the radio. In one inventive scene was also get to see how difficult it is to get into a car and drive away when your hands have been paralysed. This all adds up to a movie that is more gratuitous than its Grindhouse counterpart and more enjoyable in a broader sense, but for me the final product stands up less well as a stand-alone movie and is best viewed as one half of a double bill.
Unlike Death Proof, which significantly changes its video presentation at different points during the movie, Planet Terror is shown with a bad quality print for the full running time. The deterioration is used inventively to increase the dark mood of certain scenes. When tension is building, the picture becomes more scratched and dirty and when one particular character starts to change shape, the screen appears to warp at the same time. This is a clever use of the tools at the filmmakers' disposal and is only really relevant to this release because it would look terribly out of place in mainstream movies. It's good to see something being used to heighten the tension rather than the usual string section deafening the viewer to tell them they're supposed to be scared.
However, due to the liberal use of CG, the bad quality of the picture suits the film less well because it's just so unlikely that a print of a movie that contains the stunts of Planet Terror could have been left to deteriorate to this degree. This is just a niggle I have with the movie as a whole and is not a reflection of the quality of the transfer to DVD. I have nothing bad to say about the 16:9 anamorphic picture because any possible edge enhancement or artefacts will be lost in the mix of intentional errors.
It's a similar story for the audio quality of the Dolby 5.1 surround track. The crackling and other imperfections occur at just the right points to make you believe you're watching this movie in a cinema in the 70s, but the effects you expect in mainstream action movies do not suffer from interference. The squelching of gore is sufficiently loud just in case you miss any of the splatter on screen and the music is a particular highlight. Taking inspiration from John Carpenter with occasional riffs lifted from Halloween, Robert Rodriguez's score is excellent and the interpretation during the opening credits is exactly the kind of sleazy music you expect to be the soundtrack to an exploitation movie.
Disc one contains trailers for Planet Terror, Death Proof, 1408, the remake of Halloween and Black Sheep. An international poster gallery is also included. Robert Rodriguez provides a commentary track, and as ever it's filled with interesting details about the stunts, make-up and how the different actors got involved. However, there is quite a bit of overlap between the content on the commentary and the interviews during the featurettes on disc two. An audience reaction track is also available but I'll be honest and just say this wasn't for me. If I'm going to the cinema, I want everyone else to shut the hell up so the idea of watching a movie at home with whooping and cheering in 5.1 surround sound is not my idea of a good night in. If that kind of interference floats your boat, then this is definitely the DVD for you!
With not quite as many featurettes as were included on Death Proof's second disc, the interviews with Robert Rodriguez come from the same sessions and Tarantino crops up from time to time to throw in his two cents. 'The Badass Babes of Planet Terror' focuses mainly on Rose McGowan's involvement in the movie and everyone's opinion that "she was born to play this role", but also highlights the fact that Rodriguez wrote many of the roles for particular actresses. This is also the case in 'The Guys of Planet Terror' where we learn how Rodriguez roped in some of the actors he's previously worked with and also got Michael Biehn and Jeff Fahey working together, when they have regularly auditioned for the same roles throughout their careers.
'Casting Rebel' is a short featurette that goes into detail of how Rodriguez's son Rebel was cast in the movie. It's interesting because it turns out the director shot a happier ending of the movie just for his son and will eventually reveal the truth about his character when he's older. 'The Stunts of Planet Terror' includes interviews with the stunt coordinator and shows how Rose McGowan did a lot of her own stunts and wire work. 'The Friend, The Doctor and the Real Estate Agent' picks out the extras that are real-life friends of the director and interviews reveal the effects that starring in a Hollywood movie have had on them. Finally, Rodriguez's '10-Minute Film School', which is a regular occurrence on his DVD releases, allows him to show how certain stunts and CG effects were put together. At the end he also comments that a '10-Minute Cooking School' will be included on the eventual release of the full Grindhouse double bill DVD.
For me, Planet Terror was more fun than Death Proof, although I found it slightly less rewarding as a movie in its own right. If you're planning on running your own horror double-bill at home, I recommend it because it's probably best appreciated with friends and beers. The extras on this releases reveal about as much about the movie as the features on the Death Proof DVD did so it's an excellent companion to that release and definitely worth picking up, although it'll be interesting to see just how much more supplementary material they can put together for the double-bill release when it eventually arrives.
Review by Scott McKenzie
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 16th October 2007
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: No
Video: NTSC
Aspect: 1.78:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Extras: Director's Commentary, Audience Reaction Track, Galleries, 10-Minute Film School, The Badass Babes And Tough Guys Of Planet Terror, Casting Rebel, Sickos Bullets And Explosions: The Stunts Of Planet Terror: The Friend The Doctor And The Real Estate Agent
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Marley Shelton, Josh Brolin, Jeff Fahey, Bruce Willis, Michael Parks, Michael Biehn
Genre: Action and Horror
Length: 105 minutes
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Judge continues case against Keene parking meter 'Robin Hoods'By MEGHAN PIERCE
Union Leader Correspondent
June 11. 2013 10:21PM
KEENE — The "Robin Hooders" appeared in court Tuesday afternoon to answer to accusations that they have been harassing city parking meter officers.
Cheshire County Superior Court Judge John Kissinger, however, continued the case, giving both sides 20 days to submit more arguments.
The city filed a lawsuit May 2 against six citizens who have dubbed themselves Robin Hood of Keene and are associated with the Free Keene group. They patrol downtown armed with video cameras and pockets full of change to fill expired parking meters — before a city parking enforcement officer can issue a ticket.
The city is asking the court to prohibit residents Kate Ager, Ian Bernard aka Ian Freeman, James Cleaveland, Graham Colson, Garrett Ean and Peter Eyre from coming within 50 feet of the city's three parking enforcement officers "during the performance of their employment duties for the city."
On Tuesday, five in the group said they have not been harassing city employees; Eyre said he has never participated.
Kissinger said the extension would give both sides more time to speak to the "serious legal issues" of "standing" as well as the "constitutionality" issue raised by members of the Robin Hood group.
"The issue from my perspective is I need to understand what they are saying," Kissinger said of the claim the city's civil suit is unconstitutional. "You haven't made a direct constitutional claim."
Kissinger said a full day would have to be scheduled for the trial, since the city alone wants to present five witnesses, including the three parking enforcement officers.
Freeman said he objected to the six "Robin Hooders" being lumped into one group.
"We are all individuals and we all have our individual motivations," Freeman said.
City Attorney Thomas P. Mullins told Kissinger the city may amend its suit to address the "collective" issue.
Freeman added that the city never approached any of the six with concerns before filing the suit and has refused to meet and negotiate.
"I think they brought this case in bad faith," Freeman said to Kissinger.
Cleaveland and Freeman said they plan to submit motions to support their claims that the city is violating rights laid out in article 8 of the state constitution — government employees are at all times accountable to the people.
State Rep. Mark Warden of Goffstown said he attended Tuesday's hearing because as a fiscal conservative, he is concerned with government waste.
"It was a colossal waste of time and taxpayer money," he said.
Warden said the city should do a better job training its parking enforcement officers.
"These people from what I've seen on the videos are peaceful," Warden said of the Robin Hooders. "They are relativity courteous and just trying to help educate them in seeing a different side of the issue. And I think anybody that works for the state, the taxpayers, should be willing to have those kind of discussions without feeling threatened."
The lawsuit does not deny the group's right to video tape and takes no issue with the filling of expired parking meters. The concern is the parking officers are being harassed and will quit. The city said it would suffer financially from having to hire and train new employees, and might have difficulty finding people to take the jobs because of the conditions created by the six.
According to Parking Enforcement Officer Alan E. Givetz in the suit, the "constant harassment" has made him "feel very stressed and anxious."
"In addition, I have begun to suffer physical effects due to the stress, including coming home from work with a red face, feeling heart palpitations, and having dreams related to this activity."


text:
Textbook-Integrated Guide to Educational Resources
Chemistry: The Molecular Science, 3rd Edition by Moore, et al.
13. Chemical Kinetics: Rates of Reactions
13.4 A Nanoscale View: Elementary Reactions
All Videos
Videos: 12 results
Oscillating Reaction: Belousov-Zhabotinskii - Time-Lapse
Time-lapse versions of the Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction taking from 10 to 60 seconds are presented.
Oscillating Reaction: Belousov-Zhabotinskii
Belousov-Zhabotinskii reactions are shown both as movies and as stills.
Rates of Reactions
The effects of a variety of variables, including concentration, temperature and catalysts, on reaction rate are shown.
Relative Reactivity: Strong Acid, Weak Acid, Buffer Solution
A strong acid, a weak acid, and a buffer solution are each added to sodium bicarbonate and the reaction rates are compared.
Acids / Bases |
Kinetics |
Iodine Clock Reaction
A solution of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid is added to a solution containing iodide ion, thiosulfate ion, and starch. After some time the dark blue color of a triiodide-starch complex is observed. The influences of initial reactant concentrations on the reaction time are examined, as are the influence of volume and temperature.
Kinetics |
Oxidation / Reduction
Factors Affecting Glucose Oxidase Activity
Various factors which affect glucose oxidase activity are demonstrated.
Catalysis |
Enzymes |
Kinetics |
Proteins / Peptides
Halting the Briggs-Rauscher Oscillating Reaction
The Briggs-Rauscher reaction is demonstrated in three different ways. Catalase from a liver extract decomposes the hydrogen peroxide in an Briggs-Rauscher reaction, stopping the oscillations.
Catalysis |
Kinetics |
Enzymes |
Proteins / Peptides
Blue Bottle, Red and Blue Bottle
Color changes are caused by reactions of oxygen in the air with chemicals in a solution. The colors fade over time, but can be regenerated by shaking the flask containing the solution.
Kinetics |
Mechanisms of Reactions |
Oxidation / Reduction
Oscillating Reaction: Briggs-Rauscher
When a solution of malonic acid, starch, and manganese(II) ion is added to a solution of hydrogen peroxide, iodate ion, and sulfuric acid, gas bubbles form and the color of the resulting mixture oscillates periodically from colorless to amber to blue.
Kinetics |
Oxidation / Reduction |
Electrolytic / Galvanic Cells / Potentials
Energy from Oxidation of Food
Food undergoes rapid oxidation when placed in molten potassium chlorate.
Calorimetry / Thermochemistry |
Kinetics |
Oxidation / Reduction |
Reactions |
Induction by Iron(II) of the Oxidation of Iodide by Dichromate
Acidic aqueous solutions containing dichromate and iodide ions are mixed with no reaction. The addition of a solution of iron(II) ion induces the rapid formation of brown triiodide ion.
Catalysis |
Kinetics |
Mechanisms of Reactions |
Oxidation / Reduction
Reactions and demonstrations the explore thermodynamic concepts.
Precipitation / Solubility |
Solutions / Solvents |
Calorimetry / Thermochemistry |
Applications of Chemistry |
Acids / Bases |
Physical Properties |
Reactions |
Thermodynamics |
Gases |
Phases / Phase Transitions / Diagrams |
Water / Water Chemistry |
Liquids |
Solids |
pH |
Consumer Chemistry |
Kinetics |
Oxidation / Reduction
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Stacey Cole's Nature Talks: It's '51 years and still counting'STACY COLE March 29. 2013 11:59PM
Today's column completes 51 years of "Nature Talks," a weekly column that first appeared on the editorial page of the Manchester Union Leader on March 31, 1962.
What a pleasure it has been to have received the hundreds of letters from our readers recounting their experiences with wildlife. Especially helpful to this writer were questions as to how to identify a particular bird, mammal, insect or other undomesticated animal and the hundreds of interesting questions about their behavior.
As my good friend John Harrigan would say: "51 years and still counting." It is my hope to continue writing these columns as they have become an important part of my life.
- - - - - - - -
One of our Epping readers wrote: "Enclosed are yet two more photos of red-bellied woodpeckers which shows their rufous undersides. My wife took these at our feeders in December. You and perhaps your readers should know that these striking birds can be destructive. A pair opened up the seams of the vertical cedar siding on my late father's Florida home and these have been tapping at our trimboards."
The enclosed photos did show the rufous underbelly of these red-bellied woodpeckers very well.
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A Laconia reader wrote: "I have been watching a pair of gray squirrels out our living room window for over a year, up and down the street. The squirrels live down the street and come up the street on the telephone line to our bird feeder that is around 5 feet off the ground. I am curious on how they live."
Gray squirrels frequently live in holes that are formed originally as nesting holes for woodpeckers or are caused when rot sets in as the result of old limbs falling off close to the trunk. They also build nests of leaves, often called "summer dens"high in trees. New Hampshire gray squirrels breed in mid-winter. The gestation period is about 44 days. One to four young are usually born sometime in March. Another litter often arrives in late summer. Most wait until their second year to mate. The squirrel's chief enemies are great horned and barred owls, foxes, bobcats, some hawks and martens.
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As long-time readers know, for many years I have written book reviews of nature books published by Houghton Mifflin of Boston, the world's largest publisher of text books. A few years ago Harcourt, a British publisher, purchased Houghton Mifflin, and I have continued to write book reviews for the combined company. In doing so, my policy has always been that I only review a book when the final copy of the book is in my hand. It is important to me that my readers know what they are getting if they purchase a copy.
Rarely do I quote from press releases sent by the publisher.
A few days ago the Union Leader mailed me a copy of a press release promoting a book published by the University Press of New England of Lebanon, entitled "Birdwatching, A Guide to Birding in the Granite State" (Publication date March 9, 2013.) The book was written by Eric A. Masterson, who has worked for 12 years in the field of environmental conservation, including eight years at New Hampshire Audubon. He currently serves on the New Hampshire Rare Bird Committee that publishes a weekly report entitled "Rare Bird Alert." That column is usually published each week on the same page in the Union Leader as this column appears. Masterson has also been a seasonal editor for N.H. Audubon's quarterly journal: "New Hampshire Bird Records."
According to the publisher's press release: "'Bird-watching in New Hampshire,' is a guide to when, where, and how to see the best of the state's birds with tips on how to recognize the best birding weather, how to choose the best birding optics, and how to find the best birding locations.
"Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the habits and habitats of New Hampshire birds, Masterson has divided the state into six regions, each with a rich diversity of birdwatching destinations. The guide also features informative accounts of the more than 300 bird species regularly seen in the Granite State, including preferred habitats and graphs illustrating when each is most likely to be encountered."
The publisher's press release quotes very favorable recommendations from Don and Lillian Stokes, authors of "The Stokes Field Guides," Jamie Trowbridge, president of Yankee Magazine, and Mike Bartlett, president, New Hampshire Audubon.
I have not seen a copy, but as a long-time subscriber of "New Hampshire Bird Records" and a regular reader of the "Rare Bird Alert" report, this sounds like a book worthy of consideration by our readers.
Stacey Cole's address is 529 W. Swanzey Road, Swanzey 03446.


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STOCKTON - The holiday shopping season officially begins Friday, with the festivities starting before the sun rises as eager buyers form lines hours before stores open their doors.
STOCKTON - The holiday shopping season officially begins Friday, with the festivities starting before the sun rises as eager buyers form lines hours before stores open their doors.
Black Friday means great deals on televisions, huge markdowns on clothing and two-for-one specials. It also invites pushing, shoving and rising tempers as customers race to the aisles once the doors fly open. Additionally, shoppers may also face robbers looking to victimize someone in a parking lot.
With the potential dangers in mind, local law enforcement agencies are offering tips to help prevent a shopper from becoming a victim this holiday season.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, which patrols Lincoln Center, suggests not parking near vans with tinted windows and not approaching your car if suspicious people are in the area.
The Sheriff's Office also endorses citizens asking a security guard for an escort to ensure they get into their car safely.
The Stockton Police Department suggests similar precautions and urges shoppers to be aware of their surroundings and to avoid being distracted by an electronic device such as a cellphone while walking through a parking lot.
Robberies at ATMs are also a regular occurrence in Stockton. Police suggest using ATMs only in well-lit areas or ones inside stores. To protect against identity theft, officials urge customers to cover the keypad when entering their PINs and to avoid throwing receipts into a trash can near the machine.
Since chain snatchings and jewelry robberies are a hot crime trend this year, law enforcement officials also urge shoppers to avoid wearing or displaying their expensive jewelry in public.
Police said shopping in groups is also something to consider, as larger groups are less likely to be victimized.
And while it may be more efficient to knock out all your shopping at once, authorities warn that all of those unguarded packages in your car make a tempting target for thieves.
If possible, police say to keep purchases hidden out of sight. Stash them in the trunk of a vehicle or, better yet, take them home between stops at stores.
And while this is the season of giving and goodwill, officials said it's also the season of predators capitalizing on that compassion. Beware of con artists looking to take advantage of you, financially or otherwise.


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Oops. I somehow got into this rut last night (it was almost 1AM and my brain was shutting down!) thinking that aeger was the word for happy.

Aeger = ill
laetus / alacer = happy.

I was walking through a park on Sunday where I saw some dogs and I thought about how neat it would be to have a dog and train it to respond to commands in Latin. Do you think that would be too confusing for the dog?
We all should talk Latin at home, it woulsd be easier!

Same in Indonesian. Dia serves for he or she. You can only refer to brother or sister with a clumsy circumlocution. Siblings are normally differentiated by age: kakak older sibling, adik younger sibling.Interestingly enough, in Chinese, the pronoun for "he" and "she" are exactly the same, so you don't know the gender of the person being referred to.


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BOSTON – A retired state probation official told a jury on Friday that she believed former commissioner John O'Brien retaliated against her when she balked at favoritism being shown in their department's hiring process.
Ellen Slaney was the first prosecution witness in the U.S. District Court trial of O'Brien and deputies Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke. They're accused in a federal indictment of scheming to assure that job candidates sponsored by influential state legislators secured jobs in the probation department. Defense attorneys say no laws were broken.
Slaney worked for nearly 40 years in the probation department, including a brief stint as acting commissioner before retiring last year.
While a regional supervisor, Slaney said, she was involved in screening candidates for highly sought after jobs as probation officers in state courts. She would join the local judges and chief probation officers in drawing up lists of eight candidates to be sent to the commissioner's office for the final selections.
Under questioning by assistant U.S. Attorney Karin Bell, Slaney said she became "uncomfortable" when superiors subverted the process by pressuring her to include the names of applicants who O'Brien, of Quincy, had pre-determined would advance in the process, regardless of their qualifications or how well they performed in interviews.
"My understanding was they had sponsors who were politically influential," said Slaney, and when she protested, Tavares told her that "sometimes the political thing has to be done."
Slaney said that when she balked at advancing the son of former state Sen. William "Biff" MacLean, because the son had a drug problem, she was called into a meeting in 2001 with an angry O'Brien, who told her: "Oh, come on, Ellen, everybody has a sponsor."
Slaney acknowledged that she sometimes went along with the process.
"I felt like I was between a rock and a hard place," she said. "I didn't want to be insubordinate."
After a disagreement over the hiring of a probation officer in the Fall River court, Slaney said, she was told in 2005 by two deputy commissioners that she was being removed from the department's hiring process and made to finish a series of tedious audits that other regional supervisors had failed to complete, a move she considered retaliation.
Under cross-examination, Slaney said Tavares never told her she specifically supported any of the candidates being advanced by O'Brien and never told her who the legislative sponsors were. Slaney also acknowledged that many of the probation officers appointed by O'Brien were highly qualified.
O'Brien's attorney, Stellio Sinnis, appeared to suggest to the jury that Slaney engaged in nepotism by backing her niece Moira Toomey for a probation officer job. Slaney insisted she never lobbied for Toomey but said she complained to a deputy commissioner that she thought O'Brien was blocking the appointment because he was angry at her.
When her niece was hired, Slaney said Tavares suggested she thank O'Brien, which she did in an email.
Her testimony is expected to resume on Monday.
Probation trial witness describes pressure on jobs
BOSTON – A retired state probation official told a jury on Friday that she believed former commissioner John O'Brien retaliated against her when she balked at favoritism being shown in their department's hiring process.


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Mooney in Senate 11: A hard-working conservativeEDITORIAL STAFF
August 21. 2014 6:03PM
Republicans in state Senate District 11 have a capable, conservative and ready-to-lead candidate in former state Rep. Maureen Mooney of Merrimack. She is the right nominee to replace retired Sen. Peter Bragdon.
Mooney is a solid conservative who would be hard pressed to stray from the party platform, considering she helped write it. One of her opponents refers to her as an "establishment Republican," an obvious attempt to portray her as too squishy for primary voters. Do not be fooled; Maureen Mooney is no liberal Republican. She should be thanked for her years of service to the party, not crticized for it.
Mooney is a conviction conservative who knows how to work well with others. She can disagree without being disagreeable, which is a trait that seems in short supply these days, despite its value.
She is well known in Merrimack not just as a Republican, but as a regular volunteer for other civic organizations. She is someone who cares about her community and takes the time to help make it a better place.
Republicans also would have in Mooney a candidate (and a senator) who works harder than anyone else. She will never lose a vote for lack of effort.
For the Republican voters of Amherst, Merrimack, Milford and Wilton, Maureen Mooney is the best choice for state Senate.


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Push on to implement Obamacare
Democrats in Congress must resist what has to be a growing urge to run for the exits and accept any fix that can provide some immunization from the political contagion spreading from the botched launch of Obamacare.
It would do Democrats no good to accept a legislative "fix" that further unravels the health care law. Democrats own it, and if they join Republicans in undermining it, they will see no political benefit. No, the best option is to stick it out with the hope that in the next few months the program can get up and running as intended.
There really is no other choice. A simpler and arguably better solution would be expansion of Medicare to all, but it's not politically viable. If Obamacare fails, Republicans seem happy to leave things as they are, with tens of millions of citizens having no access to health insurance, including many who most need it.
That leaves making the best of Obamacare.
The administration has to figure out a fix to the online health insurance exchanges, which seem to be working fairly well in states, including Connecticut, that chose to operate their own, but continue to flounder in states - mostly Red - that let the federal government run them. And because many of those Red states have the highest rates of uninsured citizens, those citizens, hospitals and the health care systems promise to benefit most from Obamacare if it works (the irony is thick).
Perhaps taking a few pointers from the states who are getting it right, the contractors working for the government should, in time, get the exchanges operating.
The more serious problem is President Obama's oft stated, and untrue, assurance that everyone satisfied with their health insurance plans could keep them. In reality, millions of the independently insured are facing policy cancellations because their substandard, but more affordable, policies do not meet the minimum requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
At a press conference Thursday the president essentially explained he thought he was telling the truth, confident that a grandfather clause in the voluminous law allowed individuals to keep these plans. In fact, it only protected plans in place when President Obama signed the law in 2010. Whether intentionally deceitful or just clueless about the nuances of his signature policy achievement, this misstep by the president is inexcusable. It has caused great damage to his credibility and to the ACA.
The solution President Obama offers, allowing insurers to extend these plans for another year, has significant problems. How many insurers will want to extend on a temporary basis, having prepared to move on to the new Obamacare model? Cooperation of state insurance commissioners would be necessary, but how can the administration count on that, particularly in Republican-leaning states?
The better option may be the Senate bill presented by Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat from Louisiana, that would amend the act to allow people to keep these plans as long as they want. This may cause some problems for designing and balancing the risk pools necessary to keep premiums affordable in the health care exchanges. However, the number of these independent policies is relatively small in the overall picture and, in time, individuals should gravitate to better plans in the exchanges.
What Democrats cannot accept is the plan presented by Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton in the House - and approved 261-157 Friday with 39 Democratic votes, not exactly a rebellion. This poison pill is designed to fatally damage the ACA. It would not only allow individuals to keep existing plans, but allow new customers to sign up for substandard plans, expanding the market, playing havoc with risk assessments, driving up exchange premiums and undermining the program.
This is a fine mess the president has gotten congressional Democrats into, but they have to stick with him to get out of it and, more importantly, to successfully implement a health insurance program intended to cover all Americans.
The Day editorial board meets regularly with political, business and community leaders and convenes weekly to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Pat Richardson, Editorial Page Editor Paul Choiniere, retired Day editor Lisa McGinley, Managing Editor Tim Cotter and Staff Writer Julia Bergman. However, only the publisher and editorial page editor are responsible for developing the editorial opinions. The board operates independently from the Day newsroom.
Newtown and North Haven are both committed to the Manly Discipline of the Running Arts
Despite Saudi 'deception' and 'lies' in killing, Trump backs crown prince
Port authority chairman says Crystal Avenue tract was not on tax rolls


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February 07. 2013 10:57PM
Allen Lessels' College Hockey: Wildcats' quest for victories put on hold
By ALLEN LESSELS
New Hampshire Union Leader
DURHAM - That's one way to keep the ever-tightening Hockey East standings intact for one weekend night at least: Don't play any scheduled games.
All league games on the agenda for tonight have been postponed because of the snowstorm and they have various makeup dates.
The University of New Hampshire men's team, ranked No. 4 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and No. 5 in the USCHO poll, was supposed to play at Providence College tonight. The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday night in Providence.
The change in date does nothing to change the Wildcats' mission against the Friars: They are looking for wins to solidify their standing in Hockey East and the national picture.
"Whether it's home or away, we need to win games," said UNH coach Dick Umile.
The Wildcats are in second place in the league, two points behind Boston College and three ahead of fifth-place Providence.
The postponement means UNH and the Friars will open their two-game series at the Whittemore Center on Sunday at 4.
The Wildcats won their first four Hockey East home games at The Whit this season, but have won only one of the four since then and have lost their last two.
They dropped a 4-1 decision to Merrimack last Saturday despite outshooting the Warriors 52-24 and two weeks before that fell to Providence, 6-5, after falling into a 4-0 hole halfway through the game. They had a 42-27 edge in shots that night.
The Friars won their first regular-season game in Durham in 11 years that evening and snapped an overall winless streak of 17 games (0-15-2) against the Wildcats in the process.
"I don't think there's a lack of effort in the games we've lost here," said senior forward Austin Block. "Especially at home, you've just got to find a way to win. It doesn't matter if we have 100 shots on net. We need to have more than they do go in."
The Friars got to UNH goalie Casey DeSmith, the sophomore from Rochester, early in the first game and bounced him out of the contest with their fourth goal.
The Wildcats took longer to start scoring on Providence freshman Jon Gillies, but eventually got the five past him, the last with an extra attacker goal with just 13 seconds left in the game.
"We need to get to their goaltender right away and not give him a chance to settle in and really attack as much as possible and as quickly as possible," said senior defenseman Brett Kostolansky. "We've got to get in his head, get a lot of pucks on net and make sure he's uncomfortable in net."
The Wildcats can pull into a first-place tie with Boston College with a win. Providence is just a point out of fourth place, two out of third and three behind UNH.
Tim Schaller, Providence's senior center out of Merrimack, is third on the team in scoring with five goals and eight assists for 13 points.
Gillies and DeSmith each have a 2.18 goals-against average, which is third-best in Hockey East. Gillies has a second-best save percentage of .927 and DeSmith is right behind at .926.
Gillies, UNH's Kevin Goumas and Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Dartmouth's Mike Keenan on Monday were named semifinalists for the Walter Brown Award, given annually to the best American-born player in New England. The other candidates are Yale's Kenny Agostino and Andrew Miller, Brown Anthony Borelli, Merrimack's Mike Collins, BC's Johnny Gaudreau and Steven Whitney, Bentley's Brett Gensler, BU's Matt Grzelcyk, Quinnipiac's Eric Hartzell and Jeremy Langlois, UMass Lowell's Chad Ruhwedel and Harvard's Jimmy Vesey.
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THE DARTMOUTH men's hockey team, 11-8-3 overall and 7-6-2 in the ECAC, is scheduled to play at Harvard, 5-15-1 and 3-12-0, on Saturday night.
Dartmouth is tied for third place in the ECAC with Union, two points behind Yale.
Harvard is on an eight-game losing streak that started with a 3-2 loss at Dartmouth on Jan. 12. In those eight games, the Crimson have been shut out four times and scored 10 goals total.
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THE ST. ANSELM men fell to 11-7-2 with a 4-3 overtime loss to Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday night. Zach Lubinski of Hudson notched the game winner for the Penmen.
The Hawks are at New England College in Henniker on Saturday at 4.
Southern New Hampshire has won four straight games and is 6-12-2. Saturday's game at Stonehill was postponed and the Penmen play at Franklin Pierce on Tuesday and have Franklin Pierce at home on Thursday.
The St. Anselm women, 14-4-4 and 9-2-4, earned their first-ever win over Middlebury, 3-1, on Tuesday.
The Hawks' game at UMass-Boston that was scheduled for Saturday has been postponed to Monday.
The Plymouth State men, 15-6-0 and 11-3-0, take on Salem State at home on Sunday at 1. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday.
Senior forward Alex Cottle hit the 100-point mark for his career in Saturday's win over Framingham State. He's at 26-74-100 in 85 career games.