Thursday, March 1, 2018

Generation-M Battle Cry is Heard from Coast-to-Coast

Emma Gonzalez is now a tragically unwitting but instinctively keen leader for a new generation of millennials (generation-M) who have found a voice and are making a difference just days after the Parkland school shooting.  


This is what truth to power looks like



Tearful Parkland shooting survivor, Emma Gonzalez speaking at news conference
Emma Gonzalez 
Barely a beat passed after the terrible mass shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School before Emma and a group of her fellow survivors found courage to step-up to face reporters and a nation with tears in their eyes and ask the simple yet obvious question -- WHY?   

Why are we being ignored by the generations that came before us?  Why are these weapons still being sold?  And their demands were just as clear and articulate. The status quo with gun control was unacceptable and that this must never happen again.  (Twitter: #neveragain)

This time, unlike in virtually all previous gun massacres perpetrated by automatic weapons and expanded bullet clips, the survivors and victims are being heard by the media and public. Their message is resonating coast-to-coast and real change is beginning to follow.


Here is some of the recent results of their activism:


  • Scores of well known corporations have cut business ties with the NRA
  • Dick's Sporting Goods' CEO CNN Interview with Dick's CEO, Edward Stack announcing the company is immediately instituting major changes including banning sales of automatic weapons, extended bullet clips, and raising the purchasing age to 21.  Walmart is following suit with some similar announcements.
  • AR-15s and bump-stocks were recently banned at the DuPage Sportsman Show held in Illinois along with the cancellation of a raffle for a gun, 
  • Youtube video gone viral of NRA member sawing his automatic AR-15 weapon in half
  • Reports of investors pulling away from gun manufacturers
  • Politicians in Washington for the first time are starting open conversations on gun laws

What has changed the environment?  Primarily the tone of the conversation. These brave young students have turned their grief and anger into a no-nonsense, kicking ass and taking names style of confronting leaders and politicians who have been sitting on their hands for far too long. 
One thing for sure that is new is their use of plain speak.  No coded words. A new vocabulary is emerging that is not getting lost in the weeds over discussions of "the 37 technical definitions of what is, and what is not an automatic firearm". They simply and articulately call the firearms -- weapons-of-war.

Also, unlike the media and journalists should be doing, they are confronting leaders and law makers with the facts and in one-on-one situations asking hard questions like:  Was the blood-money you took from the NRA and others worth the carnage?   They are demanding black and white answers from leaders on where they stand, and are making it clear that those who wink-wink, nod-nod, take bribes, donations, and lobbyist contributions of blood-money and/or support of the NRA, are now outcasts with society and especially the emerging voting block they are leading.


The NRA and its minions are failing this time to make this public outrage fade away. Their decades old playbook of attacking the victims, calling them names, insulting their intelligence, changing the topic and creating conspiracy theories isn't working. These bright young students are calling out the BS.  

Bullets kill people.

Seriously, this movement is not going away. This is due in part because it is the coming of age of a new generation -- they are exerting their energy, influence and passion with a technological savvy survivors and victims of past massacres did not have available to them. Emma Gonzalez is now reported to have twice as many social media followers as the NRA.

This group is literally the first voice and first voters of those who were born in 2000 and after. They are Generation-M and their activism is off to a great start.  These are the people who are going to lead change in this world - perhaps save it.  It is time to move out the law makers who are working against the will of the majority.  Here is where you and I can help.


Image of postcard addressed to students from Parkland massacre
Send a postcard to Emma Gonzalez to support their efforts.
Unfortunately these young survivors turned activists are actually getting death threats -- do you think they are a little scared right now of their progress? So what we can do is to get behind them in force and encourage them to continue the work they have started?

Mail your post cards now to:

Emma González and survivors

Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS

5901 NW Pine Island Road

Parkland, FL 33076


Let's do something tangible and let them see the support they have around the country... let them know the majority has their back. Send them a post card. Flood them with thousands of postcards so they can carry them with them when they go on through their mission.

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Sunday, February 25, 2018

It's Time for America to Surrender its Domestic Weapons-of-War... especially now, given reports of the World's Terrorist nations' financial support of the NRA

I wrote this article more than a year & a half ago and it remains relevant. (More so by the revelation of Overseas Government's subversive investments in NRA operations).
--------

Gun ownership will always be a part of our heritage and it is impossible to imagine a future where this unique American privilege would cease to remain at least a limited protected right under the federal constitution.

That said, responsible gun owners no longer need membership in an association that fails to  represent their best interests. The NRA was historically founded on safety, but now it seems only to represent the distribution of blood money.  Florida massacre survivors are now stridently rising up to create change.  They make the ultimate demand of every American and especially you --  yes you, NRA member.

They are in your face and in public and challenging you to look in the mirror and/or the eyes of your family and friends to answer this question:

 "Are the blood money dues you pay to the NRA worth it?"


Pie chart shows 25% of the US population owns guns, 3% own more than half of all guns.
U.S. gun ownership

Statistically gun ownership, per se, is not the primary cause of the massacres becoming a routine part of American life.  What increasing numbers of millennial youth have expressed so clearly is, it is the unrestricted "weapons-of-war" owned overwhelmingly only by about 3% of the total American population that are causing these massacres.  Look at the chart.

How does a small group of outliers (in red) dictate the safety of every single American  citizen, immigrant and tourist?  Because along with the gun and bullet manufacturers they are part of a vocal minority proferring a ridiculous narrative that domestic weapons-of-war are a guaranteed right under the US constitution.  This message is madness amplified by an association that is out-of-control,  the anonymity of social media messaging AND the recent revelation foreign actors are providing financing designed to influence us through automated "social bots" all for the express purpose to sow disruption in our society and murder citizens.  This is not patriotic.

The equation is simple. The NRA, its members and supporters provide the blood money ... leaders, politicians and even supposed corporate citizens accept it -- while literally tens of thousands die in the transaction. Enough is enough.

To own a gun and be a patriot... all without blood on your hands -- just wash your hands of the NRA.


Biathlon competitors reclined in a row shooting at targets
Biathlon competition
I don't own a gun. I have gone to target practice twice in my lifetime with friends and have enjoyed some competitive entertainment.  Rifles are cool, so are shotguns, and even accurate target pistols.  Hell even the Olympic Biathlon, a sking and target shooting competition,  is a well respected sport. (BTW they shoot specially modified small barrel. single shot .22 target rifles. Not high-caliber, semi-automatic killing machines.)

Yet the time is now for the sensible majority of gun owners to take steps to form an alternative gun association to represent their interests -- safety over blood money.

Let a safe, sane and new American way prevail free from corruption, greed and the blood of our friends, brothers, sisters and children.  Do the right thing-- cancel your membership now:  tear up your membership card, burn it, use it for target practice, flush it down the toilet, make a video of it and proudly share your courage on social media.

It is not patriotic to belong to the NRA, nor to support any politician or business who betrays the public trust on this association's behalf.


This is after all still a democracy and the majority can take control for responsible gun ownership, simple registration, reasonable background checks, safety training and insurance -- just like with automobiles.

What will you do to wake-up tomorrow with clean hands?

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Saturday, February 10, 2018

Start a Sprint This Year

It's a new year and time for resolutions and a new approach. And what happened to last year's batch?  Somewhere during the year we just quit.


Overwhelmed, distracted, engaged, and depressed, life just happens. Frequently we fall down in our efforts to make a change in our lives.  It is hard to get back up again and return to chasing our goals after even a minor set-back.

Soon we wake up, stare in the mirror, know what needs to be done but can't even start.  The clock ticks, calendar pages turn and soon years go by without progress.  Why?

Mostly it's because we take on more than we can chew or shoot too high.  Our goals and tasks are doomed from the start because they are often unrealistic or seem too overwhelming.

photo of athlete running at full speed on a track

Here is one way to improve your chances for success -- try a sprint.  A sprint is a short fast burst, or running at full speed for a short distance.


I first encountered this idea from the head of sales for a financial company.  He had this notion that the field sales force could compete with each other more effectively on short sprints for rewards.  The concept was that people could really go all out, extend themselves, reach new heights, if the time period was shortened to a few weeks (instead of year long).  We worked together to put together a series of short contests with ambitious goals, and at least to my surprise -- it worked.  It ended in a year that broke through all the forecasts.

The point is to create intermediate benchmarks for your destination that you can likely reach in a time-frame that ensures success. Can you sprint at full speed for a month?  Ten days?  Forty-eight hours?  When you succeed, reward yourself and get ready to start again with confidence at your back.