Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Knoxville Church shooting: From the Fox' mouth
On Sunday, Jim Adkisson entered the Knoxville Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee and opened fire killing two people and injuring seven more who were watching a children's production of Annie. A report from the Knoxville News Sentinel states that when police entered Jim Adkisson's home they found books by Michael Savage, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly.
"Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly."
The article goes on to explain Adkisson's motivation for the attack which he revealed to Steve Sills, a Knoxville Police Officer.
"Adkisson targeted the church, Sills wrote in the document obtained by WBIR-TV, Channel 10, "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of media outlets."
Friday, July 25, 2008
Where is our "Tank Man"?
Tank Man is the nickname of an anonymous man who became internationally famous when he was videotaped and photographed during the Tiananmen Square protests on June 5, 1989.
It headlined hundreds of major newspapers and news magazines and was the lead story on countless news broadcasts around the world. In April 1998, the United StatesTIME included the "Unknown Rebel" in its 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Poetry and Art Contest Winner
ICHV’s Student Essay, Reflects On How Gun Violence Impacted His Life
from the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, an affiliate of Freedom States Alliance.
Like many students who won awards in ICHV’s Essay, Poetry and Art Contest this year, Verdell Taylor has experienced the effects of violence in his own life.
“I wrote an essay for the ICHV essay contest because I have heard and seen how gun violence has affected my family,” said Verdell. “So I wanted to write about what I feel. I've also learned not to be afraid about speaking out.”
Verdell wrote an award-winning essay about guns for the 2008 ICHV Essay, Poetry & Art Contest while he was an eighth grader at St. Sabina Academy in Chicago. He will be a freshman at Morgan Park High School in Chicago this fall.
Verdell lives in the Beverly/Morgan Park area, down the street from a police station. He said “it's a very quiet neighborhood. You rarely hear about any violence at all.”
The same, however, is not true of neighborhoods where many of his relatives live.
“I hear a lot about gun violence from relatives on my mother's side of the family,” said Verdell. “I see them almost every day; some are in [Chicago communities of] Gresham and Englewood. No, they don't feel safe. They talk about how they hear gunshots and then police drive by. They talk about how they have to be careful at night.”
In particular, Verdell is close with his older cousin, Ebonie Turner, who is 28. “I see her all the time -- she's the kind of "big cousin" everybody wants,” he said.
Last year, Ebonie was by herself, and a man wanted her car. He shot her three times for it.
“I was very afraid when I heard that, because I didn't think it would happen to her, of all people,” said Verdell. “She's very nice, and thoughtful to everyone. Now she's afraid. My cousin is recovering, but one of her hands is paralyzed.”
Now, Verdell says he talks to younger cousins about guns “all the time. I tell them to always be aware and to always tell their parents if someone has a gun around them.”
“Why do people use guns?,” asked Verdell. “I think many use them because of drugs, or to get money or material items. Or because they're in a gang. And some people will do it for no reason. I know it happens all over -- I just hear about it in Chicago.
How can we stop it? It would help a lot if we had stricter gun laws. I also think parents play a big role in it, and can help make sure kids don't have a chance to get a gun.”
Verdell points to the positive influence of his mother as well as teachers at his school in getting him to think about how to face this problem in his own life.
“My mom and I talk about this issue a lot, and about how I shouldn't be influenced by other kids,” said Verdell. “I also have a curfew. Plus, it’s very important that I was always taught to be a leader, not a follower. I think just being a follower can cause destruction. I've learned that followers don't know what they really want in life. My homeroom teacher in school was a pastor, and he witnessed gun violence. He's seen so many friends get shot. He told us you should choose your friends wisely, know what is going on in their lives. And tell the closest authority about gun violence.”
Meanwhile, Verdell believes something can be done about gun violence – but that people have to hear a message about how it affects so many lives.
“I believe this problem can be solved, but it's going to take a while,” he said. “I wish that people who make decisions, like politicians, could see what has happened in my family. In my essay, I wrote that being shot ‘felt like someone heated a fork over a fire and stuck it into their bodies.’”
That's what Verdell’s cousin Ebonie said it felt like when she was shot.
Friday, July 18, 2008
HB HST
"Every GOP administration since 1952 has let the Military-Industrial Complex loot the Treasury and plunge the nation into debt on the excuse of a wartime economic emergency.
Richard Nixon comes quickly to mind, along with Ronald Reagan and his ridiculous 'trickle-down' theory of U.S. economic policy. If the Rich get Richer, the theory goes, before long their pots will overflow and somehow 'trickle down' to the poor, who would rather eat scraps off the Bush family plates than eat nothing at all. Republicans have never approved of democracy, and they never will. It goes back to preindustrial America, when only white male property owners could vote."
