What did you think of the 'Youth Gangs and Guns" investigation in the Tribune last Tues.?

"Those same NRA and gun company executives that get a laugh out of watching the "inner-city folks" gun each other down"
Can you elaborate on this statement of fact? When and where were these people laughing? Can you name names?
Can you support your statement?

Here's what I think...

KC, my apologies for responding late, I’ve been on the road and contemplating Hofstadter's “Gödel, Escher, Bach” these last few days! 'Youth Gangs and Guns’ got me to thinking about not so long ago when it was Youth Gangs with knives, brass knuckles, and the rest of the savage tool kit. The wounds these weapons inflicted were markedly grotesque and not so different from the sickening mess resulting from use of today’s “conventional” weapons.

To me, the various cutlery carvings and baseball bat beatings of past were lesser of two evils compared to today’s schoolyard-special handgun and machine guns. This is simply because stray baseball bats usually don’t go careening through some poor school girl’s window, but plenty of stray bullets find “accidental” and “unintended” marks as such. And since the media always labels these as “accidents,” {partly because of it} nothing is done. To me it is intentional, and by this I mean when we in our cognizance mislabel these incidents as someone else’s misfortune it becomes an addictive excuse not to do something about it.

However, we have the know-how and ability, and have bared enough of gun’s fowl stench to know it time to start removing the shit from our streets

And since we know for certain these tires (guns) are the culprit behind so many “accidents,” IT IS TIME to begin an emergency recall, which is standard procedure isn’t it? Perhaps exchanging colored squirt guns would help alleviate some of the post-gun trauma, and at least this way all those would-be-shooters could do all the shooting they want.

So what’s right and wrong with today’s gun-wielding children? Most certainly, the same “fear and aversion” formula of past youth gangs plugs perfectly in with today’s youth gangs. We’ve all heard the redundant list of why join a gang, and why carry a gun: low self esteem, lack of education, poor parenting, lack of viable outlets such as basketball courts and libraries…

What about the rights: you’ve got that right! Not enough people take the time to see the “good” in these youth, but instead dwell on the other parts. There should be more said and epitomized through articles, open dialogue, and film about youth that have managed to succeed and move away (not just in a physical sense) from the harsh realities of the inner-city, and I’m not talking about rare sports stories successes. Most of our lives do not revolve around swinging a bat, or catching a football. Besides, take a look at the target market these sports phenoms are used to entertain.

Isn’t it better to begin entertaining young minds to have the guts and gall to put guns in the garbage, where they belong. To become society’s brilliant voices that drown out those voices that sweep daily news about the urban killing fields under the carpet. How about rising up against those that hide with their assault rifles behind an ancient second amendment relic, and others that profit from shoot-um-up movie sales, hardware sales, and all ignoring the real end result of guns.

Isn’t it time by now

Byron, SF Bay

Are you referring to the same gun ban in England that has led to skyrocketing violent crime rates? Or perhaps a similar ban that was intituted in Australia that has led to the highest murder rates in their history. Has it ever occured to you that the guns used in these crimes are not owned by law abiding citizens and therefore there is no reason to believe that these folks will all of a sudden follow and hold in high regard your new gun laws? What if the victims could fight back? What if they could prtoect themselves with firearms of their own without having to jump through Diane Fiensteins hoops to get one. You know, in places where citizens are legally allowed to possess firearms a funny thing seems to happen. Violent crime goes down. If there is potential for a criminal to become the victim, they seem to move on to pastures that are easier pickins. If you are so keen on abolishing private ownership of firearms, why don't you post a sign in your yard that reads as follows, "This house contains no firearms. I depend on the police to prtect my belongings and family. I believe that criminals will obey any new gun laws that I can get passed." Should be quite a deterrent. The criminal will be laughing so hard he probably won't be able to get through your door. You know the door I am referring to don't you? It's the one you are protecting with your vegamatic for a weapon. Idiot.

I am not a fan of the NRA or the general pubic owning guns, but I am continuously amazed how people feel that reducing guns will solve the crime that plagues our city.

We have become numb by the violence; we accept it as it is a fact of life in Oakland. The only people who can reduce the crime in the city are the citizens of Oakland (not more cops or more money). It will take a mass grassroots movement (I mean everyone) to decide enough is enough and take action. Strengthening our community bonds, getting out into the streets, reporting suspicious activities, letting riff-raff know that they are not welcome, identifying criminals as outcasts, etc.

Currently, we are merely reactionary....holding vigils for victims, anti-violence rallies, etc. It must go way beyond responding to particular events. Citizens taking proactive measures are the real solution. Until a critical consciousness takes action the situation will not change.

If we think the government will save the day, think again. If we think locking up criminals in jails will solve the problem, think again. Have any of these things worked long-term?

If we think we are helpless, then we are helpless.

I know this is easier said than done, but it is never easy.

Just my 2 cents.

I have to say that I agree with Mr. Hungerford's statement. I serve in the United States AIR FORCE, I am currently stationed in England. Mr. Hungerford's statistics are not only true but they may be a little on the low side. Every day when I go to work I see a car pushed out into a field burned up from where someone stole it, took everything they wanted out of it, and burned it to the ground to cover their tracks. The thieves hardly ever get caught because of the lack of police around Great Brittain. There is no fear for a "robber" to come break into your house and take whatever they please. They know that there isn't a gun that the owner could defend themselves with, maybe a cricket bat at most. Talking with some of the locals here you soon realize that the people thought it was a great idea to ban guns........now looking back they realized it was a very bad idea. Not only does the same violence occur as before but now you have more because thieves aren't afraid to break in do as they please and walk back out with YOUR stuff and the kicker is, THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT! Well you could call the police but, they will just tell you they will do what they can. I could type until my fingers are raw telling of all the horror I have encountered since my time being here, but instead I will end with saying this, IF YOU REMOVE OUR FIREARMS, YOU REMOVE THEIR FEAR= more crime and more violence with ILLEGAL guns. You will NEVER be able to take away all the illegal guns that the "gangs" use or the "criminals" use, the only thing you will take away is our means of defending ourselves against this kind of behavior.

I doubt very much that the statements made by Mr. Gelinas about crime rates in Britain are true.
His arguments and those of "Hungerford" are a bunch of hooey.
Violent crime rates in Britain and Australia are vastly lower than in the US or Oakland in particular.
Steve, I'm with you, but if you strip away the buzzwords: ("a mass grassroots movement," "strengthening our community bonds," "getting out into the streets," "taking proactive measures," "until a critical consciousness takes action") what are you really saying?
People don't cooperate with OPD because OPD does not protect those that do cooperate. Police are not out on the streets. Police response time is laughable. Police rank and file don't really want more cops because it will cut down on all that overtime gravy. Police don't respond to "reporting suspicious activities." If an ordinary citizen tries "letting riff-raff know that they are not welcome," or "identifying criminals as outcasts," the riff raff is likely to bust a cap in yo ass, smash your windows, burn down your place etc.
Brandishing or shooting a firearm (as suggested by the pro gun folks won't protect you either in the long run.
As to banning guns in Oakland---does a city even have the power to do that? Would it really deter anyone?
The real solutions aren't easy.
It's family, neighborhoods, respect, decency, education, more responsive policing, better economic opportunities, religion, less violence in movies, TV, video games, control of consumerism, afterschool programs, mentoring, tutoring, public works jobs and for those that can't or won't be productive---for the real predators---put them up against the wall.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/13/naacp.guns/

Dear Mister Larry Fine, Pray forgive for the timing of this response as I've been lost in T.S. Eliot’s dissertation..er..rambunctious journal about cats

Let’s keep things smart simple, and consider Francis Davis’s testimony for a moment, over the NRA’s cacophony for a change:
During the past 16 years, each of her three sons died after being shot in separate street confrontations in the predominantly black Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. “Residents constantly live in fear, and that fear is destroying the neighborhood, communities, families," said Davis. "Guns destroyed my life." Her solitary testimony says to me that it is imperative WE as a whole begin addressing the need for gun reduction. It also exemplifies clearly, the social-economic and human cost that guns have on communities {that are expanding rapidly} like Francis Davis’s. The second amendment plays no part in this! Nor does it’s primordial wording intend to protect the transformation of “free democratic” communities into what the great Lawrence Ferlinghetti would call “the Killing Fields of America”

Francis Davis lives in such a KILLING FIELD, and WE should be ashamed! Should we give up our stupid revolvers and submachine guns, or let nightmares such as Davis’s continue…

And as the case against guns came to a close, the group of plaintiffs comprised of incomparable spirits, wits, and compassion seeking to defend the challenged communities of America had “failed” according to NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. The word “fail” coming from his mouth doesn’t bother as much as did his smirk and smug demeanor, suggesting he knows better than anyone the horrific affects his staple crop of capitalism has on life, families, and communities across America. And this is without getting into the affects that extend across the great international divides, both near and far.

The NAACP’s “failure” to outright stop the LaPierres of the world, and like-minded gun peddlers from spreading murder was not all for not. The NRA and associates had still not gained a smidgeon of the necessary trillion-fold of muscle needed to knock off the singular voice of peace & disarmament. When a person speaks “no guns, no more, please…” it seems like a vehement tide of gun-totting opposition explodes in chorus. And if so many believe the tools that carry out America’s minute-by-minute violence are right, and this is the world we live in, then it is they who contradict themselves when they rant on and on about self-protection, peace, and liberty. They are the exact reason why there is little to none, and there will not be until we begin to consider Francis Davis before ourselves

The Great Byron
SF Bay

Re: "The Great Byron"
perhaps you should brush up on your reading comprehension skills, as despite the lengthy rejoinder addressed to me personally, I fail to see any connection or relevance in your reply to my post.

Lar,

perhaps you are right Larry, admittedly I have no formal education not even high school, thus must make do with giving myself fanciful names and bountiful accolades

I am sad to hear about your failure(s), but please agonize not over these, you are not alone. Once WE begin to recognize what’s important and what’s not, the “connection and relevance” bit starts to materialize

Have a grand week my friend

~b

Byron: "Jane you ignorant slut."

Mr. Fine, I can't help but think many of your suggestions..."family, neighborhoods, respect, decency, education, religion, less violence in movies, TV, video games, and control of consumerism" put us in a place where we are looking towards others and money to solve our problems. Changing the media, religion, etc. are lofty goals that stand a good chance of not changing significantly in our lifetime and will take a cultural change far larger than the one I am speaking of to be modified. Yes, all the things you mention have an affect on our culture, but they will only change when WE change, not vice-versa.

Your suggestions..."afterschool programs, mentoring, and tutoring" are all good ideas that can be initiated at the grassroots level and could have a profound effect. I am always in favor of citizens taking action and not relying on our politicians to solve our issues as they are usually too mired in debate and controversy to be effective.

Until we all change how we relate, treat, respect, and take responsibility for our environment things will remain status quo.

While I do recognize the antagonism toward the OPD, they are definitely part of the solution. But citizens need to take action and responsibility for their neighborhood. I see citizens blame a criminal's actions on the lack of opportunities, poor educational system, excessive law enforcement, etc. I am sorry and this may be harsh, but that is a cop out and often just justifies criminal activities. There is no excuse for that behavior.

We, as Americans, are very effective at blaming others for our situations. There is an amazing about of apathy in our communities.

Here is a suggestion, if a person from every house and apartment spent 3 hours outside their home once a week every week just getting to know their neighbors and keeping an eye on the neighborhood, things will change. I realize that this situation may be fanciful, but I believe things could change. It is about 100% community involvement and a commitment to and belief in the ideal.

About reducing guns...while I recognize their effect, I am not convinced that eliminating assault rifles and the like will reduce crime. And I am in favor of gun control. I just think we are focusing our energies in the wrong place. The fact is that there is little respect for life and one's fellow man. These are values that are not built through gun-ownership. Once again, arguments centered on gun control seem to put too much weight on guns...it just seems like an avoidance of the deeper issues.

When crime is reduced, communities see their success and take control of their neighborhoods, see the fruits of their labor, they can set their sights on city hall and demand the attention they deserve. The government will then see that their activism is something to be reckoned with. Help comes to those who help themselves.

Steve,
Couldn't agree with you more. Exactly what I was saying.
Larry

We don't have to ban guns- only bullets! If a bullet cost $5000 only rich people would be shooting each other!

A "fun" Halloween tongue twister attributed to the great gun debate. Addressed to men with guns wearing their scary costumes all year round

Violent Violator #1 (click on America, see gun):

It’s hardly a wonder why American opposition to the oppressive war maker’s dreams & ambitions has accomplished little in way of subduing the atrocities. The opposition need only look out their own windows to realize America’s backyard is not so dissimilar to the Middle East right now. Sure, countries such as Iraq are less free in a sense, put on curfew, while America isn’t. Iraq has been struck by more than 30,000 kiloton bombs, and California hit by just one. Who wants to stay out late in America any ways: with the notorious “serve & protect” squad on prowl, ready to strike hard, even for less than a fajita

Those living in and around SF Bay have worked brilliantly together over the past few years to prevent America’s state sponsored invasions and killings of people overseas. However, somewhere along the line was lost and forgotten the same violence done in bushels abroad, and oppressions leading to violence there, also rage like wildfires in our own city streets, across America.

And during times of war, which is all the time against the poor, making them no more, war making rich minds and children reaching for the sky, all to nothing, no more. During these times of oppression and murder, which is all the time and all the more, American gun manufacturers continue to produce and introduce new lethal products, as if there weren’t a billion times over enough already. And all American gun products are backed by none other than the primary beneficiaries telling the public these products are safe and good, good and safe.

Rule no. 1 they say, and endorsed by the NRA: always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction…

“Are we going in the right direction?” an army of men dressed in lion costumes asks a sea turtle

“Certainly you are” replied the turtle “but only if you consider misdirection as right”

No place for thee
Hmm, let’s mull over what a safe direction to point a gun can be…
in theory: pointing a gun in safe direction means pointing it no place at all. Do we all agree, and is there a place, or no place for guns, for us to be free. Or do guns make society free. What I mean is we can say they do and by doing so be free to kill, but is this really free? I guess so. So I have gone ahead without the NRA and the gun companies and the co-conspiring federal branches, and countless beneficiaries, to redefine “free” Free: a society without guns, and no, not even hunting fun, for fun. Besides, where’s the fun in hunting? Viscerally, hunting is not fun at all, after all, it’s only the shooter smiling, giddy after the kill. The mother of the deceased is not blissful, nor the mate, nor the children. They remain sorrowful and sad, forever from that day

In a sense, America is free, free to continue being the nation of people led by guns, guns that are mindless and powerless entities. Let me repeat, guns are “powerless.” They do no good, no charity, no medicine, no healing, no protection, no erection, no love, no celebration, no poetry, no painting, no justice, no orgasm, no compassion for civilization and society, and no Chinese food to-go. Guns are powerless to feed the poor. Guns do not earn one a degree, or help leaders reach fair decrees. They are no place to be, if we are truly to be free.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone, I'll get to your posts soon...

Fact:(1) Theres two ways to live in Oakland, have and have not.

Fact(2)If it is'nt in my neighborhood,I don't care and if it is in my neighborhood don't expect me to say anything because I don't want to be number 101.

Gun Word of the Day “death twitch” the body’s natural reaction to a foreign object entering it causing nerves and muscles to go haywire, and body to outwardly shake and convulse

Dear oh dear, Mace, sorry for not writing sooner but I’ve been thoroughly engrossed with a long run-on-paraphrase-o’graph! Trying to pry it apart and whip the tidbits back to a permanent hodgepodge of linguistic Masonry. Oh whoops, that was your mishmash of rhetorical gobbley goop I just ruined. Send me the bill and I promise to bottle it immediately! ;p

...no Mace, no. I was not referring to the surge of violence that broke out after majority of Englanders did the right thing to consummate a national gun ban in 1997. They knew, we knew, I knew that in order to reach for the stars, by abolishing guns, there will be an insurgency of violence, and there was. Darn those party popper criminals, but their acts of violence are ones of desperation, just like when a breed realizes it is a “dying breed,” eye-gads, it goes crazy! (see the Crusade) What ever will society do without the miserable gun totting roughshod – Do you suppose it will prosper, maybe, perhaps?

Backtracking a bit, Here is what sparked the whole British gun ban thing. On March 13, 1996 a man with no criminal record strode into an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland and shot dead 16 students and their teacher, in a matter of moments. After that moment and days following, tides of collective raison d'être raged like a tidal wave storming across England, and the insistency to ban guns became less a national fervor, and more so an all-out necessity! Citizens working with Parliament and vice-versa swiftly instituted rules and regulations, knowing full well it would stir a riot, and also knowing one day their nation would became part of a miraculous trend and precedent, which puts guns and gunnies on the runny (rhyme).

See Japan’s magic number # 167 = Average gun related crimes per year between 1998-2000. Why, because there are no legal outlets for citizens to purchase firearms, and neither do citizens feel the need to constitute right to do so.

Over the past two years in Oakland, there has been well over 167 murders involving guns. GUNS have become bare bona fide real life characters, lurking behind shadows, and finding way to the hands and possession of children (not excluded to children) who sometimes are less than double-digit years of age. GUNS merrily dine with dreary families at the dinner table, you know, there’s nothing like baked chicken, potatoes, and people getting blown away on the tellie with warm apple pie. “Hold the whipped cream please, that guy’s brains on the sidewalk just stuffed me…” Please hit rewind, or not, “not” probably being better

I was referring to the masonry Mace. That which comprises Oakland, a city’s granite of goodwill and cedar forest of education continuously crumbles, each time we open the freak’n paper. Kids no longer run home after school for cookies and cartoons like they once did, now it’s about stealing a carton of bullets and then on to the liquor store, not for milk. Has it always been this way, maybe so, to some extent. But what about a 13-year old comparing the barriers of purchasing a gun no different from those purchasing candy at a dime store. Or what about a 14-year old pointing out he can more easily find an outlet to buy a gun than school supplies. WHY?

Because there are so many freak’n guns Mace! Coming out of our freak’n pores, and grating young flesh like Swiss cheese!

Has it always been this way, I’d like to say no, but regardless if yes or no, the masonry of Oakland continues to crumble. And despite the gun violence being catastrophic here, it is merely a microcosm of the grander macrocosm of a nation led by guns. And nation that negotiates only with guns. And nation that wreaks havoc with guns. And nation that all other nations fear, because of that nation’s guns

To the Lopsided Gun Debate’s Discontinuance, one day, in a good way, and the only way…
Byron by SF Bay
He’s good!

PS oh and Mace, you are not an idiot, and there is no need to sign off as such. No need to degrade yourself, you’re just a little misinformed is all. It happens to the best of us, and the best of us overcome

So, what do you want from your next president in terms of weapon regulation? Should we subsidize handguns for the poor? Let you check them out of the library like gardening tools? How about armor piercing shells and mortars? Better yet, a small nuclear weapon: anyone messes with you and the whole neighborhood gets it.

I'm for reasonable regulation, which means If I Were King:

No military weapons.

No weapons easily converted into military weapons.

No cop-killer ammo.

Background checks.

Waiting periods.

Limits on number of guns purchased per month.

Gun locks included, even for private sales.

A written or oral gun safety test. The NRA has a good one.

A physical exam. You should be able to see what you're shooting and hold a weapon steady.

Minors can own guns with parental consent, but crimes committed with with those guns - even if not by the gun's owner - puts the parent on trial for those crimes.

An annual permit fee that reimburses local government for gun-related costs (hospitalization of uninsured victims, police and court costs, widows and orphans fund).

Automatic notification to your insurers (let them raise or lower your rates accordingly).

Automatic notification to your local fire department, so they can be prepared for ammunition.

Manufacturer liability for defective weapons.

Gun buyback programs.

Hefty deposits on purchased guns (two times purchase price), returned when you either sell the gun to a licensed dealer or to the buyback program.

Membership in the local police or sheriff's auxiliary (all part of that 'well regulated militia' constitutional stuff).

Generally, I want balance between gun owner power and responsibility, and for gun owners to bear costs and risks now borne by the community at large.

Gunban Divine ;p
Dear Mr. Fine,

My sincerest apologies for crisscrossing response to Mace, by mistake addressing you. While evading the rain (via hotel honing) on my way to “Borders” Union Square last night, I realized my form of reason, and miscued take on names and historical conditions, led to this blunder. To end the confusion or make more sense of my blunder I met with Michel Foucault at Borders. With hot mocha in hand, and sticky whipped cream residue all over the place, on the second floor next to the window, he said, Byron read:

History is not a predictable mechanism,
but a site of often random struggle
in a cruel world of master-slave relationships!

“He has a point” Byron thinks to himself, “’the bush’ is slave to America’s Bloodlust” Byron was happy to find a Frenchmen who shared the same sentiments as he. So he merrily flipped pages between Neruda,

Karen Volkman, and others –

“of always-motion, infant and appalling?
My infinite late, dark nascence:
Tell me,
Will there be end
to all this falling?”

I screwed with the sonnet a bit, and felt the meaning more important than verse. There will be an end to the falling and appalling, if we set forward our motion-always,
beyond the infinite late
Infinitely guns are backwards

I know what you’re asking: Was it the bottles of French Table wine last night, or bushels of bohemian beer, or simply scotch that did me in. Amidst all the confusion I’m sorry to say that I simply don’t remember. However, regardless of my predilection for the divine three: wine beer & spirit, say I sorry again to you Mr. Fine, as I pen from double-A

First and foremost (my judgment), your question asking “does a city have the power to ban guns,” hmm? My answer: I will ask the “pasty gangsta” - j.r., err, the mayor in black j.b., next time I see him. He likes to shoot basketball and shimmy around his mayoral belly at the court I play, so finding him won’t be a problem. “Hi Mayor, how’s the shoulder holding up?” {he told me he tweaked it last time} “Oh, and do you and homicide City central have the power to create a new law to ban pistolets?”

I will let you know his answer, soon I hope Larry!

Onto the “brandishing firearm(s) is not a deterrent” part. I concur with you here Mr. Fine. Perhaps in the “old west” this tactic worked a wee bit better. You know, everyone walking around with holstered pistols, down to the saloon at noon. Wait, I just realized why this didn’t work out so well. Handguns? Saloon? Whiskey? Gambling? Repressed anger at Pops? “hey whada you looken at?” HANDGUNS? Yeah, the “wild west” was doomed from the start, I suppose. What do you think Mace?

Back to present day, and away from Clint’s Spaghetti West…erns. (chuckle) I don’t recall the last time I heard or read about little-old grandma wielding her “arms” to fend off criminals from entering her property. Perhaps the best example we have is 7-11. You know the cigar smoking owner with a .44 Magnum under the counter, ready to blow someone away at the pick of a Twinkie. Not that the poor bloke doesn’t have the right to defend himself and property, but is it really so necessary to keep the slurpy and booze station open past 2am in the morning, or the entire store for that matter. What kind of customers does one expect at this time of day? Not moms for milk, but certainly street urchins for free redvines and “GIVE ME ALL YO CASH!”

“In my folly I show how mad reason is >< itself ” – Paul-Michel Byron

You are sensational Byron! Your speech at the Kyoto pact and global arms summit in Japan last year was out of this world! Especially when you debated with those firearms experts from Interpol and Ruger, you really put them on their heels. By the way, all the girls were asking about you “is he single?” yadayayada, you know the drill. That one NRA spokesman was so distraught it seemed like he would pull his gun and shoot you, heavens forbid ;-(

I apologize for being so outspoken and certainly do not want to embarrass you on the blog. ;-D, but Ishi, Rechel, and the rest of us are dying to know how you feel about the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act: “Prohibits in any Federal or State court a civil liability action brought by any person against a manufacturer or seller of a qualified product (firearm or ammunition), or a trade association, for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of such product by the person or a third party”

We think we know how you feel about it. Actually, we’re almost certain. It’s just that, we like to hear how you say it! Or if I may be so bold to quote your story in the Atlantic, “it’s not the chocolate gelato more so than chemistry, and yet if chemistry were based on gelato, we would need none, unless of course it were chocolate”

We’ve seen the video transcript of your speech dozens of times. Our dashing prince against all those yucky mucks!

My best and from all of us at SNGN,
We luv ya,

Lizzie

PS I still have your basketball tee ;p

a few years wiser than men were turtles, about guns
Dearest Lady of the Straights,

To those on the blogger pray forgive me, those I’ve brusquely skipped, but I must address a certain Singaporean Lady ahead of schedule since she is a wee bit behind the times. You see she doesn’t get to read daily propaganda hot off the printer presses like we do. Nor is her mind crammed with the daily “gun crime,” daily, like us. But I promise I will get back shortly, after I finish this post and researching my family tree and lineage. You know how some kids want to connect themselves with a historical figure from the past; making for some fanciful “whoppers” is why they do it, to impress friends

i.e. 13-year old boys to each other:
“Did you know Ulysses S Grant was my great, great grandpa?”
“Oh yeah, well mine was Adolph Hitler!”
“WOOOOOOOOO, NO WAY DUDE!”

You see I’m trying to turn a new leaf before 30, hoping the new me will come across as a straightforward chap, maybe, perhaps. So here I am this morning stuck in some café by SF Bay, researching and attempting to concoct a near-factual web of chance that I could or would be related to Chomsky. One of those, sister’s brother’s cousin’s friend’s neighbor’s sort of associations, which I almost feel certainly exists. Some have said I have Noam’s eyes and others his nose. A good sniff-outer of lies masked beneath cases, cases of covert government malfeasances, which so many overtly pretend not to realize. Fantasizing truism away

Dialogue between the Lady Sea Turtle, and Byron

“Do you wonder” I did wonder, and what I wondered was what she was referring to. She must be referring to the guns, or better yet, the world without them. Yeah, so I do wonder, definitely I do

“Yeah it’s the guns I was wondering about, and if you wondered about them, and the world without. Do you?” Wow, she was wise as a sea turtle I thought, well, she was a sea turtle I knew. Thinking further I thought, wow, sea turtles have been around town for over 200 million years without waging a single war or brandishing a firearm.
Fascinating! http://www.seaturtles.org/index.cfm

I wondered if she wondered if I was beginning to have doubts since our last meeting. Or if I had doubt about one man having enough clout, like Senator Kerry for instance, with all king w’s horses, and all king w’s men, would he be able to put America back together again? I have my doubts. Besides, jester and jokers, and even jacks have better ideas and give better advice than generals. General Rum is a bitter old raging drunk, and Dick is a merry one. Condo and Colin have forgotten their heritage and history, or both would be raging against the enslavement machine, right about now. And though war politics seems like a digression from the guns in hands, it really isn’t. Guns make up one of few pillars that the founding fathers of America built their fortress of barbarism on. A pillar that has raged like wildfire out of control, and pillar that mustn’t just be controlled, but permanently stamped out.

“What about the influences of good, you always seem to dwell on evil” Yeah, sometimes, all the time, or even none of the time I can be naïve. I daydream about being “the king” from Lord of the Rings, corralling evil doers across the land with my sword. Or sometimes it’s me being an asthmatic in the mountains of Cuba, liberating the farmers from foreign and domestic corruptions, and not living to see the dark sanctions, restricting to death my country – by the bloodsucking vampire, due north of Havana. North by northwest, to where the hungry and starving aim their rafts to reach. To reach the number one leach!

“Jealous of the elf archer are you” Of course I am. Imagine all the lady elves Ernesto would have attracted, they’d have been buzzing around him at night like fireflies and luminescent butterflies

“But you are ‘the king’ Byron, in your own way, remember?” Of course I do, I remember what I told the NRA…make you I will one day, go away! One day when I am king, you will obey

GO AWAY!

“But you have no guns Byron, and…” And sure I agree guns are one trillion and two, to one, but the war without guns can be won with number one. Or even from number 2 to one trillion, and one.

“Wishing them away?” I must admit you are smart and right, as well as beautiful in green, swimming under the moonlight. Hundreds of little hatchlings waddling to the sea I see, I wish they would come and stay here by the bay, with me. Oh and yes, that wish for guns to go away, it will certainly work, work wonders I hope

Byron raises a hand and swirls his right index in circles around the starry sky

One wish like this is more influential than one million bullets streaming brilliantly across the sky! One peace like this more powerful than all the military might. Am I right what I write, or wrong like the song, the song that says “by the dawn’s early light” What I mean is that if we continue to fight, and I’m wrong, this means we don’t have long…

“Not long before what?” Before all on earth become a singular vinyl stored away in one of God’s archives, not jazz, not blues, but memory…

“Memory of the trees?” No not Enya, but Enya is right, and not just to the left. People across this “great” nation often laugh and poke fun of her, like they do about save-the-trees legislation, and they did when they used to call that funny kid at school a geek

“So Enya is not just for the meek?”

Not at all, not at all, it’s the meekness of minds that are weak

“…Beak of a bird that feeds the meek?” Precisely. The weak’s faithful misunderstanding leads to denigration, and unbeknownst to them, the ones they criticize are themselves.

“How long will it take you to furnish these changes Byron?”

In about a week, give me a week

* Dialogue about the meek, to be continued in a week…

byron, el_rebelde_de_gunless@yahoo.com
Aucuns Fusils pour un Améliorer Demain
Ningunos Fusiles para un Mejor Mañana
Nessune Pistole per un Meglio Domani
Keine Gewehre für ein Besser Morgen
No Guns For A Better Tomorrow...

It's obvious that Byron, Foucault, and Elizabeth Chen are not from Oakland. Byron even admits being in San Francisco, and outs Elizabeth as a Singaporean. These people must be banned from posting to this site.

Taking a bite outa (c)Grime(s)

I do say Mister Franklin, your jingle sounds a wee-bit like “Grimy-Grim” Grimes, Jr. (AKA: the X-mas scrooge)

tone ‘n’ tenor just a smidgeon out of sync with Christmas, and here we are this glorious afternoon, "BEGINNING TO FEEL A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS..." err. or at least some of us

‘twas just early yesterday morn’ when I took a stroll from my magnificent lakeside abode (the tallest one hint..hint..) a quick hop-skip-and-jump away, to less known of the two: World Blend Café. You must admit Franklin, all of Oakland considered (GayLords excluded) they make an amicable if not serviceable latte, don’t they? Might-tie suggest their lovely clay “for-here” mugs ;p

Sadly, there waiting for me on the table upon arrival, between sunlight and clouds, was news about DeShawn Dawson…may he now rest in peace, the same peace as his heart were when living, for 15 years. According to his Aunt, DeShawn Dawson was “killed by the type of violence he sought to end” So you see Franklin, DeShawn at 15 not only Understood what it took, but had a firm grasp on the perception and perspective of things. Where one may begin building in Oakland – it’s where he or she ends up that is just as important, if this makes any sense. Wow though, DeShawn was truly in a unique class of his own, so I’ve gone ahead and named it the “WE NEED MORE LIKE HIM” class

What will it take for you to be more cheery and less chary – if I bribed you with a mug filled with cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and cardamom would this be enough to earn your consent for Elizabeth, Foucault, and “it” to stay. It being me, he he

You are DEAD on about Foucault I’m afraid to say, but won’t admit, though it could be true. He is probably off somewhere doing that famous "AMEEEERICAAAANOOO AMEEEEERIICANNNOOO" song’n’gig {in English} in a jazz bar along the coastline of Naples, I think. Speak of the devil, a telegram wire has just arrived from Michel, it’s a response to “Franklin’s posting” it says in the subject line. Don’t tell him I told you, but he told me to tell you what I’m about to write, and to go ahead and take all the credit for it. Here goes nothing, “…without the capacity to discern limits, resistance is blind”

I believe he was responding to T.S. Elliot’s adage “And I have known the eyes already, known them all — The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase…” Or is it even an adage at all? Hmmm, now this is a good latte question donchathink?

Regardless, if I may speak my haughty opinion about the matter freely, I stalwartly object to Franklin’s demand to ban the three lovely people from OaklandNews! The French have always provided us fantastic import whites and red varietals (see: Beverages & More, along the Embarcadero) Under no circumstances must we allow Foucault’s theoretical sidebars to get in the way. The main issue at hand is in fact in all those small hands grasping steely, pointy, barrel, and trigger contraptions. And for what reason are they there, in their hands – Perhaps we have a hand in it! Could it be because of excessive bickering between idiots (I one of them) that goes on and on, without end, until the end.

Reason A. to do good or B. not to, or C. none will do any D. not to E.To

Byron
Changes Location at least three times per day, between these three places:
SF Bay, Oakland Chapter (ccac)
Oakland amidst a sparkling (j/l) milieu
@ the SF MOMA

And damn it Franklin! I will fight with every testosterone-laden ounce of me for my right to transport across east bay lines in order to indulge in SFbay’s lovely(ests)!

There are only three reasons that come to mind for debating a left wing radical.
1) Because others listening to the debate might be swayed to see it your way.
2) To practice your skills and sharpen your argument.
3) For the pure entertainment of watching a liberal cockroach run when you turn on the light of logic.

It's for sure you won't get an audience - guys like this only debate the inarticulate in a public forum. It's also not likely that you will convert him - short of giving him exactly what he wants and then allowing him to see what really happens (check Britain today and tell me that Utopia has been achieved with gun toting criminals on the increase).

Remember that we are talking about Oakland. A group of people stupid enough to elect Jerry Brown as Mayor and who even tried to invent their own language. I wouldn't waste my time if I were you.

El Cajon Gun

El Cajon Gun!
Indeed Oakland has many of the stupidest people in North America living right here. The most totally certifiable are the old School Board members who voted for Ebonice (like Jean Quan, now a council member). They were as stupid as life should ever be, just one teensy step up from a paramecium.

Then Jerry Brown arrived and many people, even some friends of mine, went and lost their heads and
elected him Mayor _and_ made him a Strong Mayor, too.

But they have all be doing their penance with the
sort of contrition I expect to see from you, because I don't know of anyone in the past 10 years
who has had his/her mind changed about right-to-life, gun control or the death penalty.

What we should all be worried about is how totally
fractured we are becoming, a nation of tiny little
splinter groups, with more and more zealots marginalizing more and more people. United States?
I think not.

Factoid of the day: My brother lives in El Cajon.
He's a Republican, go figure.

Message from a rehabilitating Swashbuckler

Regret I to inform you all, that all along I’ve been suppressing a mean-old salty-seadog side of me, with ah wayward chip on me’s shoulder. Perhaps this attributed to pent up anger still lingering, about Writer Jack’s confinement of my part-kin to the sleigh. We wolves weren’t cut out to bees sleigh drivers ya see ;) What I’m saying is that London should have let his hounds run wild and free, by the sea, to snarl our glistening white fang(s) in glee!

Consequently, it will be a fractious transition for me to becoming a full-fledged straight-talk’n simpleton (not that anyone here is). I must admit that “simplicity” sounds intriguing, at least for awhile. Don’t mind me, especially during this self-evolutionary stage. I might be surly one moment and jovial the next, but never mind either and pick the one in between ;-D

Besides, this is not me ship..er..Literary Galleon, which I’ve stowed away me vast words aboard. Henceforth, from now on I’ll abide by Captainess Jeannette’s rules. Arrrrhhhhhhhh! Thar she goes maaate’!

Again, me does apologize to me reader-shipmates for drawing theirs attentions aways from the central issue(s), at times. Perhaps too many times. Me only thoughts behind this were that sometimes spinning the blender can be a fine way to keep the eyes glued. Maybe even more in tuned to the primary treasure as the word gunk goes round ‘n’ round sort of like they say, “a Hemingway makes for certain, a writer’s day finer” not all treasure necessarily bees com’n from a chest. Arrrrrhhhhh! Some be com’n from thar bottle in a diner

Promise I to tone down me shades of crimson and stripes of scarlet, and bunker down with black, white, & hoary gray {typeset}. No more re-creating the “Red Light District” in Amish-land, or Horwitz as a scientist peddling yellow cake, that’s fake

To all devoted to the bay and arts, I wish you all to have a wonderful evening…

Markedly Reforming,
Byron SF Bay

Guns & Gingerbread: We certainly don’t know a whole lot about gingerbread, do we

"an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" ... Ghandi once said

Mr. Gelinas, There is always “fear” to varying degree, in everyone. More fearful is the crook than the cook, less frightened is the bellboy than the bandit, and robbers certainly more petrified than receptionists. Really, guns are for those that fear, or for those that see little to no other alternatives - Guns make us safe, guns protect, gun power! Yeah sure right, and if this is true pass the lunar blue cheese please

Perhaps part of the gun problem can be attributed to a society that worships guns. Guns in the hands of our idols and icons, guns doing business by way of “brave” military men, guns in dresser drawers next to the bible, an eye for an eye, and we wonder why or even act perplexed as to how these guns find way to our children. Hmm, why are the children emulating dad’s divinity of guns, and television’s god of guns. Grow up

We are certainly capable of taking away all of what we have put, dontcha think? Taking away all the guns that is. Or at least transform them into neat little relics! Perhaps dedicate the heaping piles of metal to the scrap sculpture artist’s society of America.

Step One: Shut down all gun and ammunition factories. Yeah, sorry about that industry guys, but ever since the creation of guns in the early 1400s, they’ve cursed and plagued nature and society. Enough already

* Can anyone name a single benefit society reaps from guns? (killing fur-baring animals for warmth excluded)

Step Two: Teach the next generation of younglings about the history of guns, and about the great day they were eradicated from society. Eventually this will be lost and forgotten, freeing the collective consciousness – Yippee!

…and the children lived happily and gunless ever after

Well I have a way to fix all of the evils in Oakland.

First get rid of the welfare system in California it promote irresponsible activities, lazyness, hate and crime.

Second abolish all federal taxes. The taxes are forcing people to work to hard and don't parents to actually raise their kids. No wonder they all are joining gangs. Its the only family they can find!

Third run the UCLA out of CA. Their anti (any thing good) is killing any hope of having peace in the community. The good people in the community that want to change things are fed up with it and simply give up.

Fourth promote family values and personal responsibility. Firearms are exactly like a chainsaw. If I wanted to use them as a deadly weapon each would be equally effecive. The gun is NOT the problem the people who use them for evil are.

Fifth teach everyone the truth about America and their right to own firearms and furthermore there right to protect themselves and their property against evil, scum or the earth.

Sixth venture into the inner city and hand out a firearm to anyone who isn't a criminal or addicted to drugs and is willing to be trained in the community policing. Instruct them to protect the good people in the community as needed. In SC we call the a Concealed Weapons Permit. The founding fathers once said a armed society is a polite society.

The criminals know that everyone in that area is unarmed and a victim so they act accordingly. I say put the criminal on the run and the families in a place of safety. Power to the good people reguardless of race, religion or anything else. If you are a good person you should not have to send your kids thru a cementary just to avoid trouble