Self-Defense

Advent 3.12

Others,

Students and staff win! Education evolves.

Students Return to School in CT
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Newtown-Shooting-Connecticut-Funerals-Victims-Adam-Lanza-183919621.html

"The site of the shooting, Sandy Hook Elementary, is the only
school that won't be resuming Tuesday. Authorities are still
working to relocate that school to nearby Monroe, where they
say a former school building will be ready to open to students
in a matter of days."

We have eaten the bread of tears.
We have tasted the bowlful of brine.
http://bible.cc/psalms/80-5.htm

Sandy Hook Won’t Re-open Right Away
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-connecticut-school-shooting-funerals-20121217,0,2307742.story
"Newtown officials couldn't say whether Sandy Hook Elementary, where authorities said all the victims were shot at least twice, would ever reopen. Monday classes were canceled, and the district was making plans to send surviving Sandy Hook students to a former school building in a neighboring town."

They couldn’t say whether it will re-open or not because security was not adequate. Vicky Soto was shot while hiding her students in the closet. The shooter also had access to the nurse’s office. The nurse made a point of stating that she hid in the closet much longer than the shooting event (4 hours).
 

There were no locks on the doors. If a lockdown emergency was not announced, doors would have been locked once the popping sound of guns was heard. Obsession with spending cuts to public sector functions is radically deficient when people won’t spend enough for locks on the doors.

NRA Silent...For Now

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/U/US_NRA_SILENCE?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-18-03-13-41
"Its deep-pocketed efforts to oppose gun control laws have proven resilient. Firearms are in a third or more of U.S. households and suspicion runs deep of an overbearing government whenever it proposes expanding federal authority."

Firearms from a Prepper's household were used to kill twenty eight: twenty children, six adults in the school, the Prepper mom and finally the shooter.

Who said the NRA wasn't making a statement? Apparently, the damage has already been done. How could they even suggest arming staff in a public school? Now they can afford additional spending? Don't they realize that arming school personnel is an offense to education?

Don't they understand that arming teachers implies coercion that will induce suspicion and mistrust? The thought of arming educational staff in response to the Sandy Hook slaughter is absurd. There wasn't sufficient regulation to prevent weapons from being taken to school from a household. How is arming teachers going to prevent violence? It will only make access to lethal weapons easier. 

 

Would lawmakers even consider this course of action had the NRA not already proposed the plan?

http://nation.time.com/2012/12/20/how-to-prevent-more-sandy-hooks-arm-the-school-staff/

"By Wednesday, lawmakers in eight states were prepared to introduce legislation to allow – even require – guns in schools, either in the hands of police officers assigned to schools or secretly carried by school personnel.”

Concern regarding gun control extends to the extent that self-defense is protected by the second amendment.

The SYG (Stand Your Ground) law is too elastic. It is open to misinterpretation. Claims to self-defense have tripled in FL since it was legislated.

Self-defense has more clarity in home invasion. If an invader enters someone’s home with a weapon, the immediacy of the threat demands a rapid response with enough force to stop harm to the residents. Lethal force is authorized when necessary.
 

Police aren't allowed to carry weapons without training. Citizens need to have to have instruction in proper use. Licensing needs to be required for carrying firearms outside the place of residence at the very least. A gun safety course needs to be required for licensing. People who carry lethal weapons have to have professional instruction in limiting gun use to valid self-defense.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/19/us-connecticut-towns-idUSBRE8BD0U120121219
"Around the globe, newspaper editorials from the Philippines to South Africa urged U.S. gun-control efforts and said they were long overdue."

 

Biden Played Major Role in Assault Weapon Ban

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2012/12/19/obama-biden-newtown-school-shooting/1779145/
"Obama said he picked Biden because of his experience in the Senate, including a major role in the 1994 crime bill that included an assault weapons ban that lapsed in 2004."

The NRA will make a meaningful contribution to the issue if they emphasize the Castle over the Stand Your Ground law. People who buy more weapons than are necessary to defend the home present "probable cause" for surveillance.

Assault weapons need to be banned.

The NRA is a Hyper-Active Lobby

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/18/politics/nra-silence-regrouping/index.html
"According to the Sunlight Foundation, a government watchdog group, the NRA spends 66 times more on lobbying than what the Brady Campaign to End Gun violence, the country's top gun control advocacy organization,..."

NRA Blasts Call for Gun Control

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2012/12/23/nra-blasts-assaults-weapons-ban/1787295/
“"We're going to support an immediate appropriation before Congress to put police officers in every school," LaPierre said on Sunday.”

Ban Assault Weapons.
Require Gun Safety Training for Licensing.
Prevent Licensing to Those with History of Violence.
Require Gun Safety Training for Ownership After Probation

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/nra-guns-dont-kill-people-violent-movies-do.php
"... instead of finding proof that it’s movies and video games doing the demonstrable harm, we’re more likely to find 10-country studies that show no link between violence and gaming; the success of Australia’s weapons ban following a 1996 mass shooting despite the country celebrating violent/action-based movies like we do; and more information that (shockingly) links higher gun ownership to higher rates of gun violence."

Vicky Soto and Sandy Hook Faculty
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/newtown-teacher-vicki-soto-remembered-article-1.1221004

Vicki and the other faculty who died to protect the children are tellers. Their lives tell the story of dedication to education.

"One Wants a Teller in a Time Like This"

by Gwendolyn Brooks

One wants a teller in a time like this

One's not a man, one's not a woman grown
To bear enormous business all alone.

One cannot walk this winding street with pride
Straight-shouldered, tranquil-eyed,
Knowing one knows for sure the way back home.
One wonders if one has a home.

One is not certain    if    or    why   or    how
One wants a Teller now:

Put on your rubbers and you won't catch a cold
Here's hell, there's heaven. Go to Sunday School

Be patient, time brings all good things--(and cool
Strong balm to calm the burning at the brain?)

Behold,

Love is true and triumphs; God is actual.

-------------------------------

Shine forth, you who are enthroned between the cherubim.
Ps. 80:1

http://bible.cc/psalms/80-1.htm

Remember Sandy Hook. The fallen are enthroned between the cherubim.

Obama Rocks the House!

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/white-house-threatens-veto-gop-budget-plan-18012407
"Republicans should "peel off the war paint" and take the deal he's offering, Obama said sharply at the White House. He noted that he had won re-election with a call for higher taxes on the wealthy, then added pointedly that the nation aches for conciliation, not a contest of ideologies, after last week's mass murder at a Connecticut elementary school."

You know it had to be said. Don't deny it. LOL.

The rap battle in the Disney production, “Let It Shine” contains some lines for the Republicans:

“I guess it’s easier to play the role and act hard; ‘cause you don’t have the guts to tell us who you really are.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-22Zuuo6IZY&feature=endscreen

Capital Hill Republicans would have us believe that they are our protectors. They want to limit spending to the military in the name of national security. National leadership however is not limited to “command and control” policy. National leadership has to promote responsible policies responsibly.

The Constitution is not a piece of paper that gets in the way of world domination. It is a document of the plan for government. It is testimony for the sanctity of representing human rights in leadership.

When foreign and domestic policies are limited to military and law enforcement spending, people programs and the democracy suffer as a result. That which is rendered is a de facto tyranny; a republic for dictatorship.

When the scripture lauds the cherubim, it is talking about our guardians or protectors. Protection however has to support providence. It is not the other way around. Providence is not limited to protection.

Cherubim: Near Ones [Guardians]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherub#In_the_Bible
"Cherubim first appear in the Bible in the Garden of Eden, to guard the way to the Tree of life.[1]...The words Cherub and Cherubim appear many other times in the holy scriptures, referring to the Cherubim of beaten gold on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, and images on the curtains of the tabernacle, and in Solomon's temple, including two Cherubim made of olive wood overlaid with gold that were ten cubits high.[12]"

Four living creatures appeared in the fire. Their appearance was like that of a man, but each had four faces with four wings. Their wings pointed forward; touching each other; not turning as they moved. Each had the face of a man in front; the face of a lion to the right; the face of an ox to the left; and the face of an eagle.
http://bible.cc/ezekiel/1-5.htm  ff.

Shedu, Lamassu, Alad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shedu#Etymology
"Although "lamassu" had a different iconography and portrayal in Sumerian culture, the terms lamassu, alad, and shedu were used to denote the Assyrian-winged-man-bull symbol and statues during the Neo-Assyrian empire."

Persepolis, (Iran) Gate of All Nations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persepolis#Archaeological_research
"Noted structures include the Great Stairway, the Gate of Nations (Xerxes the Great), the Apadana Palace of Darius, the Hall of a Hundred Columns, the Tripylon Hall and Tachara Palace of Darius, the Hadish Palace of Xerxes, the palace of Artaxerxes III, the Imperial Treasury, the Royal Stables and the Chariot House."

Religion in the Achaemenid Empire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_dynasty#Religion
"It was during the Achaemenid period that Zoroastrianism reached South-Western Iran, where it came to be accepted by the rulers and through them became a defining element of Persian culture. The religion was not only accompanied by a formalization of the concepts and divinities of the traditional Iranian pantheon but also introduced several novel ideas, including that of free will.[87][88]"

--------------------------------

The modern republic is democratic. We are called to represent leadership in providence with protection. Constitutional principles have been documented for our application with respect for liberty in the rule of law.

The following song celebrates the evolution of government to constitutional representation.

"Bethlehem of Ephrathah"
fm. Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1; Ps.80

Restore us, God of hosts;
Show the light of your love.
We will be saved.

How long will you delay
despite the needs of your people?
We have eaten the bread of tears.
We have tasted the bowlful of brine.
We have been played for fools by the elite.
Our enemies laugh at our ways.

Restore us, God of hosts;

Show us your love.

We will grow in success.

The plentiful house of bread started
as a small group in the community of praise
among the states for independence.

Leadership in the promotion of providence
has come to rule in the field of competition;
not aggression with military force.

Providence for basic needs
has been essential for conception
from the most ancient of days.

The poor and disabled will only suffer disadvantage
until the time when she who is in labor
has brought forth the fruit of her womb.

My soul proclaims the greatness of good leadership.
My spirit rejoices in God as Savior.

We will be fed from the strength of spirit
in the plentiful house of bread.

The great society will receive restoration.
Sufficiency will be granted to the disadvantaged.
We will live secure in the celebration of human rights
to the ends of the earth.

All generations will be blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for us.
Salvation is the name for God.

You have mercy on those who show respect
from every generation. You have scattered the proud
in the conceit of their conceptions.

You have cast down the tyrannical from the throne.
You have lifted up the lowly. You have filled the hungry with good things.

The greedy have been sent away wanting more.
You have come to the help of the disadvantaged competitor
to honor the memory of the promise for mercy;
the promise that was made to our ancestors,
from the first to the last in time.

All generations will be blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for us.
Salvation is the name for God.

Hear Christ, the Champion of Competition,
leading growth in success and salvation;
shine forth, you who are enthroned near here
as the guardians for the horizon.
You dwell in the presence
of creativity, strength and mercy.

Martial your mind.
Gather your resources.
Help us to live well.

All generations will be blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for us.
Salvation is the name for God.

Restore us, God of hosts;
Show the light of your love.
We will be saved to live well.

======================

The main point of concern regarding the Bhengazi incident hasn’t been expressed in the media. The security was inadequate to protect against attacks caused by outrage at the "indefinite detention" of a Libyan.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/12/18/167584297/state-department-faulted-in-benghazi-attack
"An independent panel has sharply criticized the State Department for inadequate security at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on the day of an attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans."

Christ said to God, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire. You prepared a body for me."
http://bible.cc/hebrews/10-5.htm

Add this amendment to the Constitution: "Congress will make no laws that violate human rights."

If Congress had not passed a law that warrants "targeted killing" and the "indefinite detention" of citizens (foreign or domestic) the Libyan radicals would not have had the motivation to attack the US Embassy.

The Petraeus affair brought this significant detail to light. The embassy was attacked because a Libyan was being held in custody. The law that allows for the indefinite detention of citizens as "militants" provided the motivation to liberate one of their countrymen.

The Republicans have been on the warpath in this issue as well. They want to pin all the blame on the party of the other part.

Granted. The proposal for increased spending for security at embassies is aimed at eliminating rather than reducing the problem. If there are no calls for the correction of the flawed law however, then all the spending in the world will not correct the problem. The offense to human rights still stands as a motivation for attacking those responsible for the offense to liberate a fellow citizen.

This is not just an American issue.

The Constitution is the "rule for reason" in leadership. If it favors the majority or a minority, it shows partiality. It has to present a plan that will represent all the people. Otherwise, the implementation of the law will be flawed repeatedly.

The claim to exemption from judgment of the high court is a declaration of intent to dictate. When a claim calls for more power than that which is implicit in leadership, it makes those who make the claim into an elitist faction. Elitists do not represent the people. They represent their own favor.
Constitutional Referendum
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5id36MgeMsQJ2AmtItO5NtUBJeUTg?docId=CNG.12566e2712dbf8b2a80761357f391324.b1
""Everything suggests the vote will go the way the Muslim Brotherhood wants.... But the misleading conclusion it will take away is that there is an overwhelming victory allowing it to continue on its chosen path," Hassan Nafaa, an analyst and commentator, said in the newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm."

The Muslim Brotherhood is an elitist faction. Islamists are an elitist faction. A political party cannot dictate favor for one religion without defining itself as an elitist faction.

Doubting Thomas
http://bible.cc/john/20-25.htm
If I do not see the words for liberty in the law written for all to see, I will not believe.

Martial your mind.
Manage your resources.
Live well.

Steve K.