Thank you, Moderator. Will do.

The following, quoted in full, comes from warisacrime.org. It explains what the Second Amendment is supposed to mean, as opposed to how the RATS have perverted it:

[mod note: Please do not post a full piece published by someone else at another site without their permission. Give us an excerpt, and then post a link back to the original. We don't like it when people take our content and put it up elsewhere without permission, and want to treat others with the same respect.]

The Second Amendment Does NOT Condone Random Slaughter
By davidswanson – Posted on 15 December 2012
By Harvey Wasserman

The Second Amendment does NOT guarantee the right of any and all citizens to own any and all kinds of guns.

It DEMANDS, in the name of national security, that we regulate it.

NEVER let assertions of the so-called “sanctity” of the 2d Amendment bully you into thinking it guarantees unregulated weapon ownership.

It does NOT.

Contrary to the propaganda perpetrated by the gun lobby, the 2d Amendment is the most heavily modified, curbed, explained, complex and contradictory of all the first ten Amendments. [snip]

Engel speaks fluent Arabic. He understands so much more than the reporters who don’t. He’s clearly a truly very decent, thoughtful, competent and honest person. His reports from Egypt and other places during the Arab Spring were extremely valuable.

I join all the others who are hoping for the best.

I’ve always had my beefs with Inouye, and never voted for him since I came to Paradise in 1982. Biggest beefs have been the H-3 freeway and the totally insane rail project for the Leeward area on Oahu And I am becoming aware of other dirty stuff he’s done from time to time.

Nonetheless, this is a big blow at an extremely inopportune time. As someone recently pointed out, the state’s three biggest revenue sources have been the military, tourism, and Sen Inouye.

As a low-ranking Dem official, I have tried to influence the discussion of a successor by suggesting, first, former Gov Ben Cayetano, a totally decent man who was libeled by developer and union pro-rail money. He would serve as a place-holder and would make some history as the country’s first US Senator of Filipino ancestry. My other cboices, whose names I have thrown into the ring are State Rep. Chris Lee, a young, strong progressive from Kailua-Waimanalo and State Sen Suzanne Chun Oakland, a real liberal with a long legislative record. Maui Mom and C Tuttle, please take note.

I hope the basic theme of this article is true. I really want to see pot legalized on a par with alcohol. Enough of the police state and the prison industrial complex.

BUT, please look at the “before” data for Washington, Oregon, and Colorado – all of them had youth turnout in 2008 that was significantly lower than the national average. Also, the significant increase in youth turnout for 2012 as against 2008 merely brought their turnouts into the range of the national average.

So, while it’s good news that the marijuana initiatives were probably a very strong factor in increasing youth turnout, we need more to get younger voters to increase their participation.

Sorry, but I can’t wade through the current 233 or so posts, but I did a word search and “electoral college” did not come up.

Fundamentally, we all agree that the electoral college sucks, but it also gives most Americans a safe opportunity to vote third-party without fear of upsetting the outcome.

Most of us here revile Obama for war criminals, Wall Street bailouts and stay-out-of-jail-free cards, the fraud that underwater homeowners would be rescued, the NDAA indefinite detention provisions, persecution of whistle-blowers, the insurance-cartel bailout provisions of Obamacare, our police state, O’s adherence to the phony national debt arguments, and on and on.

Obama does not deserve re-election or our votes. But, reality insists that neither Jill Stein nor Rocky Anderson (our only real hopes) will will. OTOH, the vast majority of states are lining up solidly for Obama-Biden or the Rolls-Royce team. So, ONLY IN THE SWING STATES does it make any sense to vote for O-B. The rest of us, from deep Red Texas to deep blue Paradise can and should safely vote for Stein or Anderson. We need to deliver a message to O-B, assuming they win, or even to the public at large, that there’s a lot of unhappiness and anger on the “left.”

So, I really don’t see why the vast majority of us cannot agree on this. If you are in a swing state, or arguably a swing state, vote O-B, otherwise it’s a real waste of your vote to go for O-B.

Forgive me – I haven’t been following this issue closely, but it appears that, for 2012, good Congresscritters Green, Jackson Lee, and Johnson are being forced to run in bad districts, where they may very well lose. Thus, in 2014, with decent districts restored for them, they will be fighting against new incumbents, yes?

Why couldn’t the court rule that the old lines for these three districts needed to be preserved, and just send the Texas legislature back to the drawing boards for the non-minority districts?

Anyone know the answers on these questions?

Indeed,when a big-shot Republican steals an election, he does indeed get sent to the Big House. That would be W and Cheney, sent there by the Supremes. That’s justice, you know!

Never heard of AVAs before this diary. What a wonderful thing! Must have been enacted by a sane Congress!

Every reasonable person knows that a vineyard is the highest and best use of any arable, non-wilderness land.

When will we ever be done with the Christofascists?

Interesting, of course, how the DO”J” awakens from its slumber only now that Barry’s personal interest in being re-elected are being seriously threatened.