America Needs to Adopt Switzerland's Gun Laws, like, Yesterday!

 Approximately 25% of gun owners in Switzerland use their weapons for military service.
Switzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership — here's why it doesn't have mass shootings

Localities can chose who receives weapons and anyone deemed violent or dangerous can be refused a gun. People can be vetted before owning a gun.

Why the Second Ammendment Needs to Be Rewritten for the 21st Century

There are many, many reasons to rewrite the second amendment to once and for all end the nonsensical gun control debate. Second Amendment fanatics like to conveniently ignore the historical context of why the framers wrote the 2nd amendment and why it is sorely outdated in the 21st century. "Well regulated militias" anyone? They are obsolete and extremists tend to join them today!

Multiple former *conservative* Supreme Court justices have been interviewed and said that the amendment needs to be rewritten.

Until 2008, the Supreme Court did NOT interpret the amendment as giving individual citizens the right to own guns. The framers intended them for state militias in case the federal government got too much power. (source: Justices, Ruling 5-4, Endorse Personal Right to Own Gun)

Gun extremists will also point to the history of the Soviet Union, Cambodia, Uganda, and other nations that took away guns from their citizens and proceeded to commit genocide. America is not remotely close to communism or a banana republic, so this point is not a strong argument. They have to rely on insane hypotheticals to make their argument--there is no present day rationale for more guns than there are people in our country. There are currently about 393 million guns in the United States owned by citizens. (source: There are more guns than people in the United States. [Washington Post] )

I've done a lot of reading and listening on this topic, and if you still ardently support the 1770s second amendment, I suggest you do more reading to fully grasp the history and why it is no longer relevant today. Gun lobby has hijacked and corrupted the intent and purpose of the second amendment.

(read: How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment)

Individual states could grant gun ownership for home defense and hunting,. The insanity that has happened in Montana with wild-west style concealed gun carry now allowed at banks, bars, and college campuses is a recipe for disaster. I DO NOT feel safer seeing people carry guns in public and I have lived in Montana my entire life. Only law enforcement and security need to carry guns in public places.

Why the threats during the 1770s colonial America are both qualitatively and quantitatively far removed from the threats we face in the 21st century.  Most warfare is shadow warfare against our foreign adversaries and American citizens are not facing a takeover by the government.

Second amendment fanatics are sometimes ignorant of the full historical context. Some often ignored facts about the scope of the second amendment.

The only plausible, but highly improbable catalysts for the institution of martial law would be 

In the highly unlikely event that the government tried to confiscate all guns, gun owners would likely hide their weapons, or band together and refuse to surrender them. 

The United States populace owns a very high number of guns compared to the rest of the world.

Gun ownership per person has soared compared to the population since 2009.

Some states are enacting radically far-right gun de-regulation, including Montana, where normal people can now carry concealed firearms in bars, banks, and college campuses, which could present some dangerous vigilant situations. Active shooter situations 

Researching Why Some People Don't Like Jordan Peterson

After stumbling on a March 2021 interview where Tim Ferriss had Jordan Peterson on his show, I was trying to understand why I've heard a few of my friends say they hate the guy so much.

Articles that critique Peterson's viewpoints:

Jordan Peterson’s Flimsy Philosophy of Life - Psychology Today column
Great article critiquing that you can't draw morality from religion, as Plato pointed out.

Moral behavior in a social context demands adjudicating between the rights of individuals and the pressures of groups and organizations such as families and nations.

"The deeper issue here is the general question of limitations on free speech. Since the nineteenth century, law and society have recognized that one person’s freedom ends where another’s freedom begins. You do not have the freedom to infringe someone else’s human rights by harassing, threatening, or discriminating against them."

The major sources of good experiences are love, work, and play, so I would rather identify these as the meaning of life than suffering. These three activities feed directly into satisfying basic psychological needs for relatedness, competence and autonomy, as I argue in my book on The Brain and the Meaning of Life.

How dangerous is Jordan B Peterson, the rightwing professor who 'hit a hornets' nest'? - The Guardian

Jordan Peterson, the obscure Canadian psychologist turned right-wing celebrity, explained - Vox

Why Can't People Hear What Jordan Peterson Is Saying? - The Atlantic

Why do people hate Jordan Peterson - Reddit discussion

He had some progressive ideas on his show, including that psychedelics (particularly magic mushrooms) for some people created a new level of openness that could happen in a person's first use of them.

One critique he had is that some people are so open that they don't really know themselves.

Steve Jobs is famous for saying that one of the most important things he did in his life was taking psychedelics (likely LSD).

The Battle Between Order and Chaos

The overarching motif of the interview was the eternal battle between order and chaos.  He mentioned the tree of life archetype that has existed for thousands of years and crosses cultural boundaries.

Between order and chaos is a connection to the heaven world.

The Concept of Conscience

Petersen also touched on the concept of conscience and how it's a mysterious and vital part of our existence. He likened conscience to the holy spirit, even though he seemed to avoid talk of religion itself being true.

Ignore your conscience for enough time and see what happens.

Categorical Respect for a Marriage Partner

If you've decided to devote your life to someone [through marriage] they deserve a certain amount of categorical respect to maintain the relationship over time. 

Indicative Nature of a Home

Walking in someone's home, you can see things that are off that indicate relationship problems, including the kitchen being a mess, packages that haven't been opened two years after the wedding, 

"Genuine peace is hard to obtain.  People generally obtain peace by sweeping things under the carpet."
- 21:05

Pay Attention to Your Negative Emotions

Resentment in particular. It's so informative. You find out where you're immature...who wants to find out that?

Man's Search for Meaning
23:25

This is partly why I have a certain conservative bent. People need to search for meaning because they get corrupted by suffering if their life isn't meaningful. You can't torture an animal forever without it lashing out. 

Do you have an intimate relationship?
What about your family? How's that functioning? Do you have anyone there?
Do you have a job, or maybe a career?
Do you know how to use your time outside of work productively?
Do you take care of your mental and physical health?
Do you manage temptations [of drug and alcohol use] effectively?
Are you as educated as you are intelligent?
Do you have kids, or a wife, or a husband?

If you're overwhelmed by life, anxious suffering, that's a good place to start. Put that together.

28:55
[If] you want to make changes, start with what's under your control. Start with changing the things that will hurt you if the changes go wrong.

Psychopharmacology

33:00

His PhD was around alcoholism. Years of research was drug and alcohol abuse.

Alcohol is like water. It crosses the blood-brain barrier like water.b It bathes every cell.

34:50
I'm also interested in religious experiences...there are agents that reliably produce religious experiences. No one knows what in the world to do about that. 

Psychedelics and the Effect on Openness

37:25
You've spoken in the changes in openness [with psychedelic use]. - Tim
Yes, they're pronounced. - Jordan

38:55
You can undo yourself by being open. People who are open have a hard time catalyzing their identity., because they're so protean, they shift shapes constantly. They're interested in everything. It makes it very hard for them to pursue one thing. 

40:20
There's this constant war between the strictures of tradition and the transformation of creativity. You can't say who's right, you can just talk it out.

Major neurological rewiring by taking psilocybin. 

There is Still Hope For Biden to Win - Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada will Decide

Update 11/5/20 10:30am MST:

Biden now has a 603,807 votes in Nevada to Trump's 595,020 votes, with 76% reporting (only slightly up from late on Wednesday).  The lead for Biden has grown from 8,000 votes to a little over 11,000 votes.  It's continuing to look promising for a Biden win!

---

As of 9:30am MST on November 4th, Joe Biden holds a very narrow lead in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada.  He must win all three of these to become president. 

As shown in the screenshot below, Nevada is only reporting 67% right now and there's only a difference of 8,000 votes, something that will be a nail biter until all the votes are counted.

The lead Biden holds in Michigan and Wisconsin are a little more certain since they are both 95%+ reporting.

Biden's lead in Michigan is ~33,000 votes and in Wisonsin, his lead is ~20,000 votes.

9:45am MST

Brett Kavanaugh's Undoing

Your past can come back to haunt you, and for would-be Supreme Court judge Brett Kavanaugh, a "one time" incident of sexual assault may prevent him from ascending to the high court.

California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault [Washington Post]

Opinion: Boy Will Be Supreme Court Justices [NY Times]

Cartoonists on Fiverr that Make Political Cartoons

draw a political cartoon or caricature | Fiverr
$35 for premium service.  The cartoon includes 7 revisions, is delivered within 7 days, and includes commercial use.  I like her style!

By 'Proofy' on Fiverr

 draw political cartoon and comic strip | Fiverr
$30 for premium comic strip, digitally illustrated and colored.  Includes 9 revisions and 5 figures.

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do political news cartoons | Fiverr
$25 for premium service.  Artist does not have any reviews on Fiverr, but she is talented and may be worth a shot!

Political Cartoon by 'Cloneman' on Fiverr

Political Cartoons, Trump Cartoons, Anti-Trump
$25 and $55 packages do not include commercial use.  $110 package includes commercial use. [MaryAnnScott]

Political cartoons by Mary Ann Scott on Fiverr

draw a TERRIFIC Cartoon For Your Blog, Site, eBook
$20 for premium service.  Artist has several reviews and samples. [Gadtoons]

Comic by 'Gadtoons' on Fiverr

draw cartoon characters, items, vehicles and animal
$15 for 2 cartoon characters (no revisions)

Cartoon characters by 'CartoonWizzaard' on Fiverr

Articles About Greg Gianforte's Political and Religious Ideologies

Greg Gianforte [all posts from Mtcowgirl.com]

The Dangers of the Divine

Why A Creationist Museum Matters

Gianforte clarifies stance on protection of LGBT rights | billingsgazette.com
Gianforte did not support the customer protections for Bozeman residents.

New Expose Finds a Plethora of Hilarious “Facts” Taught at Gianforte’s Creationist Museum

The Opposite of Addiction is Not Sobriety

Isolation Breeds Addiction — Not Drugs - Reset.me
“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It is human connection.” That’s the conclusion that Johann Hari came to while writing his new book, Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs.

Nations, particularly the United States, have been prosecuting and locking up people who struggle with drug addictions for a century now. Not only has the approach not worked, it misses the whole point of what is driving addiction in the first place, the author argues.

“Human beings are bonding animals. We need to connect and love,” Hari writes in an article he penned for Huffington Post. “But we have created an environment and a culture that cut us off from connection, or offer only the parody of it offered by the Internet. The rise of addiction is a symptom of a deeper sickness in the way we live — constantly directing our gaze towards the next shiny object we should buy, rather than the human beings all around us.”

Ron Paul's Warning About the Coming Currency Crisis

Ron Paul gives a scripted speech about the impending currency crisis.

Pakistan's Muslims Blow a Fuse Over a Facebook Page

Muslim anger prompts Pakistan to block Facebook - Yahoo News

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistan's government ordered Internet service providers to block Facebook on Wednesday amid anger over a page that encourages users to post images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

These people are being outrageous, as this is not something actually created or endorsed by Facebook, but merely posted on Facebook by an individual. If Facebook were to cave in under pressure, it would signal that they are willing to censor non-pornographic content on shaky grounds.

As an American, even in a Christian dominated society, it makes me appreciate the freedom of the first ammendment and that fact that our government would not resort to censorship methods comparable with the Chinese government's censorship of the internet.

Jay Leno and Rush Limbaugh

LENO: Like I tend to come from the, "Is it cold in here?" kind of guy, and you're I think more of a "close that damn window."

Tell Obama, "No, we do not want you owning car companies. No, we do not want you running the banks. No, we don't want you taking over student loans. And, no, we do not want nationalized health care."

. . .But we haven't saved them [General Motors]. We saved the unions.

. . .The government cannot run the private sector.

I'm just saying the market will fix itself for people far better than a bunch of people in Washington with no experience in it tinkering in it and trying to control it.

I'm saying we've got enough mistakes the federal government's run. We don't need to compound it with more programs.

Jay, I'll tell you what really worries me about it. Forget the intricacies of health care. If the government gets control of health care, that's the single best way that they get to control every aspect of our lives: what we eat, what we drive -- because it will all have impact on health care costs, their responsibility via our taxes, and it's just a mechanism whereby government grows and grows and grows and we lose liberty and freedom to it. And that's what the problem with nationalized health care is.