[Photo credit: Reuters]

By Blair Hickman, Suevon Lee and Cora Currier, ProPublica, Dec. 14, 2012, 4:34 p.m.

Update: With today's shooting in Newtown, Conn., this article, first published July 24, 2012, unfortunately seems relevant again.

In the wake of last week's shooting in Aurora, Colo., we've taken a step back and laid out the best pieces we could find about guns. They're roughly organized by articles on rights, trafficking and regulation. And include your suggestions in comments.

Gun Rights

Battleground America, New Yorker, April 2012 Jill Lepore's thorough look at the evolution of U.S. gun laws — from the Second Amendment, to the 1968 Gun Control Act, to the N.R.A.'s rise to political prominence — is an excellent primer for the modern day gun debate. And provides great context for the articles below. Contributed by @Corinneavital

Florida 'stand your ground' law yields some shocking outcomes depending on how law is applied, Tampa Bay Times, June 2012 The Tampa Bay Times analyzed nearly 200 "stand your ground" cases in Florida. Among the findings: Nearly 70 percent of defendants who invoke "stand your ground" went free. Seventy-three percent of those who killed a black person faced no penalty; 59 percent of those who killed a white went free.

Stand Your Ground Law Coincides With Jump in Justifiable-Homicides Cases, Washington Post, April 2012 Since Florida passed a Stand Your Ground law in 2005, more than 30 states have adopted similarly broad laws. Justifiable-homicide cases have also been on the rise nationwide.

Felons Finding It Easy to Regain Gun Rights, New York Times, November 2011 In many states the restoration of gun rights for convicted felons is now either automatic or left to the discretion of judges under vague standards. Standards are similarly lax for those with a history of mental illness — judges are often ill-equipped to make decisions without information about an applicant's mental health.

Trafficking

The Truth About the Fast and Furious Scandal, Fortune, June 2012 An investigation into the fallout over Operation Fast and Furious suggests much of what's been widely reported about the scandal is simply wrong. It doesn't seem the ATF intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Based on confidential ATF documents and interviews with law enforcement agents, the piece claims the public charges are "replete with distortions, errors, partial truths, and even some outright lies." Fortune's follow-up answers some criticisms raised by Sen. Chuck Grassley, among others. Congress is conducting an investigation into Fast and Furious.

Realco Guns Tied to 2,500 Crimes in D.C. and Maryland, Washington Post, October 2010 As part of a larger look at firearms' paths from dealer to crime scene, the Post's analysis of gun-trace data for Virginia found that a handful of dealers sold the bulk of crime guns. Realco, the store featured in this piece, sold four times the number of crime guns as the next highest dealer. The kicker? It was all perfectly legal.

The Gun: The AK-47 and the evolution of war, CJ Chivers, October 2010 A nuanced, in-depth look at what is arguably the most lethal gun of all time.

U.S. Stymied as Guns Flow to Mexican Cartels, New York Times, April 2009 Before the ATF's efforts to monitor gun-trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border became notorious, this article detailed how easy it was for straw purchasers to buy guns in the U.S. and get them across the border to Mexico, and how difficult it was for federal regulators to build a case against them. About 90 percent of the 12,000 guns recovered and traced in 2008 by Mexican officials came from U.S. dealers.

Regulation

Concealed gun law turns 10 years old, Booth Newspapers, June 2011 A decade after Michigan passed a law making it easier to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon, hundreds of thousands have been issued. This multi-part series shows how regulations meant to keep track of who has concealed-carry licenses — and whose should have been revoked — are a mess. The New York Times has also analyzed the lack of oversight into the concealed-carry permit process in North Carolina, which loosened the requirements to obtain such permits in 1995.

Ineffective rules let gun stores endure, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 2010 The ATF is charged with inspecting the country's 62,000 licensed gun dealers. But it's rare for a permit to be revoked, and when it happens, stores often simply reopen with a new license in someone else's name, or sell guns on the side through their personal collections. (This Washington Post database lets you see which dealers near you have had their licenses revoked.)

Economist Richard Wolff explains the weaknesses of capitalism and the need for Americans to understand the system under which they live and work.

There are many problems associated with capitalism (state capitalism): wage slavery, concentration of wealth and power, undermining of democracy, repression of curiosity and creativity, environmental destruction, the boom and bust cycle (over production), economic depression, promotion of competition over cooperation, isolation of individuals from society, consumerism, escapism, apathy, emotional instability, political corruption (cronyism), suppression of science and technology research due to short term profit motive, personal debt, crime, violence, war, etc.

The strength of capitalism is its ability to produce enormous wealth (surplus), but this is only possible through state capitalism (government control of the economy).

What happens when growing economic inequality in America bears heavily on its people? The new short film "99%," directed by Celik Kayalar, founder and director of the Film Acting Bay Area school, asks viewers to contemplate that question. At the center of the fictional story is Anne Page, a struggling young schoolteacher who is searching for answers of her own, while the Occupy Movement looms large as a backdrop. “We are all Anne Page," Kayalar says. The film also features Noam Chomsky and film and TV actor Carl Lumbly.

Audiences can view "99%" on YouTube for free. For more information go to www.the99percentmovie.com.

Did you catch this line from Mitt Romney during the debate on Wednesday night?

"The place you put your money makes a pretty clear indication where your heart is!"

This one line speaks volumes about Mitt Romney and his wanting to be President to help America. The truth is Mitt wants to be President because it is the rich man's version of putting on his father's State Trooper uniform and acting like he's "the man."

Well, when he tells the truth in this short clip from the 2012 Presidential Debate, it was the one thing that rang true.

Protests against electoral fraud are ongoing as shown in this video, which is made up of protests in 23 cities in Mexico, and other countries. Many more protested in solidarity, around 50, but were not included in this video. Protests are censored by the media in Mexico, and only through the internet are the people able to get their message out to the world.

There is also a message from "Anonymous," and a full transcript of that message follows:

This is a message from the Global revolution to politicians,dictators and plutocrats all over the planet.
Surprised by the global disobedience?

Let us explain to you your delicate situation: Thousands of years ago, human beings started to evolve.
Since then, our species has walked a dark bloody road, which isolated people condemned to live in fear caused by ignorance.

Knowledge, ethics and technological development have always been conditioned by the elite and their wars, which as in the Orwellian metaphor, haven't done anything but perpetuate vertical and obscurantist social schemes.

We have arrived at the 21st Century of our era, after two World Wars,
endorsing the possibility of nuclear conflicts with assured mutual destruction.
Their so-called economists and intellectuals, having announced that it was "the end of the story",it seemed, more than ever, that looking for a fairer order was meaningless.

Continue reading »

This is the beginning scene of the new HBO series "The Newsroom" explaining why America's not the greatest country any longer... but it can be, again.

Thoughts?

The Tea Party Report's Susie Sampson: "Last week was quite a doozy! I know how disappointed we all were to see that Obamacare was approved as Constitutional. I mean, the GOP is just tryin' to help with population control. Besides, I think Roberts was just kiddin'. Maybe he's testin' us...like Jesus. Regardless, I hope you all have a great Independence Day!"

[Photograph: Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters]

Another legal victory for Occupy Wall Street protesters: A federal judge has ruled that the NYPD failed to sufficiently warn Occupy Wall Street protesters against walking on the roadway of the Brooklyn bridge in October, resulting in the arrest of roughly 700 people.

After reviewing video footage from both parties, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the federal district court in Manhattan sided with the protesters, clearing the way for a class-action lawsuit.

The above video discusses abuses suffered by credentialed members of the media at the hands of the New York City Police Department. The number of journalists arrested has been called into question this week,
after Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Paul Browne, deputy commissioner for public information gave an interview where they tried to rewrite Occupy Wall Street history.:

[NYPD Commissioner Ray] Kelly also said the NYPD was unfairly criticized over its removal of protesters from Zuccotti Park last year, saying the people who were arrested had defied legal orders to leave the park and were pushing through police lines after monitoring department radios to learn what officers were planning.

Paul Browne, the deputy commissioner for public information, who accompanied Kelly to the interview, added that only one journalist was arrested during the operation, despite stories to the contrary, which he called “a total myth.” Occupy Wall Street protesters were forging press credentials in an effort to get through the police lines, he added, but that doesn’t mean actual reporters were arrested.

So if you believe that the NYPD targets media persons during protest arrests or that they did so at any of the Occupy evictions, you probably believe in the tooth fairy, Big Foot, and think that the moon is made of swiss cheese.

Of the NYPD's "Stop and Frisk" policy:

“We’re saving lives,” Kelly said, “mostly young men of color.”

Is that what's going on in this video? Sure, and Santa's going to bring me a pink unicorn with glitter for Christmas this year. Time for Ray Kelly to retire, and take his fairy tales with him.

Continue reading »

Via Youtube:

CISPA...

Your creators, supporters, and counterparts have become sworn enemies of Anonymous. Expect us.

Emergency Action Authorized.

Follow @TheAnonMessage for the latest updates.
#OpDefense #CISPAction

Follow Us:

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Crypt0nymous

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To learn how CISPA would affect you, read here.

Tavis Smiley and Cornel West discuss new book 'The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto': MyFoxDC.com

"There are nearly 150 million poor and near poor people in America who are not responsible for the damage done by the Great Recession. Yet they pay the price. When the largest economic institutions in the world were brought to their collective knees, they went crawling to the government’s doorstep in search of salvation. The government obliged, allowing Wall Street to socialize its failure on the backs of Main Street Americans. The housing and jobs crisis they created fostered a poverty unseen in generations" – Tavis Smiley and Cornel West

Here's an excerpt from the book:

There are nearly 150 million poor and near poor people in America who are not responsible for the damage done by the Great Recession. Yet they pay the price. The poor did not create the deindustrialization of America, unmatched corporate profiteering and greed, more than a decade of foreign wars, and unregulated tax benefits for the wealthy. When the largest economic institutions in the world were brought to their collective knees, they went crawling to the government’s doorstep in search of salvation. The government obliged, allowing Wall Street to socialize its failure on the backs of Main Street Americans. The housing and jobs crisis they created fostered a poverty unseen in generations—not just in inner-city ghettos and barrios, but also in suburbs and rural areas crossing racial, age, and gender lines. Nearly one-third of the American middle class—mostly families with children—have fallen into poverty.”

Tour Dates http://www.therichandtherestofus.com/ Buy the book now