THE STORY OF JANET

Culture/Society Front Page News Keywords: JANET AND GUNS!
Source: www.calnra.org
Published: Sept 22, 2000 Author: Janet ?
Posted on 09/22/2000 17:21:43 PDT by kimber

I finally did it. I went down yesterday and changed my registration from Democrat to
Republican and, you know what? It kinda feels like it would be to take a long, hot,
soapy shower after being immersed in a cesspool for a few years. I just couldn’t take
any more of being associated with or identified with the slime of the
Clinton/Gore crowd. I voted for Clinton twice but this time I WILL vote for
Bush.

Someone asked why I had made the switch and the responses to my answer really
opened my eyes even more than they had been. Please stay with me while I take
you on a short journey. I offer this sincerely to the anti-Bush people on
this board because as you are so once was I. I enjoyed bashing Newt Gingrich
for his wanting to see Medicare “wither on the vine.” I deplored the
Republican witch hunt directed at Clinton, etc., etc., etc.

My journey starts shortly after the killing of the students at Columbine High
School in Colorado. My initial, gut reaction was, “My God, we have to get rid
of the guns!” But then I stopped and thought for a moment. If the people
trying to get rid of the guns had been around and been successful when I was
young, I wouldn’t be here.

I won’t bore you with too many details, just the ones that caused the problem
to some on this board. When I was seventeen, at my father’s insistence
because of where I worked, I carried a small .32 caliber automatic in my
purse. I was waylaid by two thugs one night and, there is no doubt in my
mind, I would have been raped and killed but for the fact that I was carrying
the gun. And I knew how to use it, again, thanks to my father. In telling the
story, in response to a request, I related how one held me while the other
one slit open my blouse and bra and then pinched my nipples so hard I wanted
to scream but he had already warned me that if I made any noise he would cut
my throat. I had to react and it was an automatic response, didn’t even think
about it, I hit him in the crotch, real hard with my right knee. He responded
by punching me hard on the left eye/cheekbone, so hard that it knocked me
loose from the one holding me and I fell to the ground. But that’s what I
needed. An opportunity to have both hands free so I could get at the gun,
which I did, and came up shooting. I was nearly arrested because at seventeen
without a permit I definitely was “illegal.” So much for that.

One of the answers contained the astounding statement, “. . . . Are you on
the NRA payroll trying to soften “cold dead hands” with pretty bras and
nipples?. . .” and “What a bunch of propaganda.” It took another exchange
before I understood what he/she was complaining about. The “cold dead hands”
is the latest buzz word the anti-gun people are using to demonize Charlton
Heston, the NRA and every person who objects to what they are doing. The
person who posted that must be deathly afraid that someone will find a way to
replace “cold dead hands” with “pretty bras and nipples” to send a message
that every woman is in danger of rape, mutilation and death unless she is
armed. But all I was doing was simply telling what had happened to me.

I understand this. Two years ago, I probably would have had the same
response, “What a bunch of propaganda.” But after the Columbine killings I
recognized that what Clinton/Gore/ Feinstein/ Boxer/Schumer (CGFBS) were
advocating would not accomplish what they said it would.

I spent a few days lurking on one of the message boards covering the
Columbine killings and, mixed in with all the accusations and counter
accusations, were a few, factual offerings with links to where they came
from. I didn’t really want to hear any of the tripe from the people defending
guns but I clicked on one of those links and from it to others. And then did
my own research into Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice, Center for
Disease Control, etc. and discovered that everything coming from CGFBS were
lies. Not a thing they were saying would stand up in the cold light of day.
When the Million Moms March came along, they simply repeated the lies.

I started asking myself, “What good is an agenda that has to be built on
lies?’ and “If they have to resort to lies to get it done, what is their real
agenda?”

One of the things that had always bothered me was how the NRA had opposed the
ban on Cop Killer Bullets and then we were told that Cheney had voted against
it. I couldn’t understand how anyone could hold their head up in public if
they had not supported getting rid of those terrible things. Then, on this
board, someone posted a pretty thorough description of how that whole thing
had been just another lie. I started to just kiss if off as more stuff from
the right wing but then, thought, no, check it out. I copied the posting and
e-mailed it to my father and asked him if was true, knowing he would never
lie to me. He came right back with the statement that there never had been
any such thing as Cop Killer bullets and the only people who had that kind of
ammunition was SWAT Teams. I believed him but his answer planted another
idea. Without having to tell them why I wanted it, I arranged an early
morning meeting with our local SWAT Team. They were a little suspicious and
leery, but after saying “Good Morning” I gave each one of them a copy to read
with the request, “Would you tell me if this is true of false.” They all said
it was completely accurate. Another lie, a big one, had been exposed.

I checked on Newt Gingrich and his purported wanting “Medicare to wither on
the vine.” False. He never said it. I have a copy of the speech he made which
contains the statement. But he wasn’t talking about Medicare. He was talking
about the Federal Health Care Administration and how it would “wither on the
vine” once seniors had choices rather than being locked into the present
system.

I checked on the School Lunch Program the Republicans supposedly wanted to
cut. False. In the lexicon of the contemporary Democrats, if they want to
increase the appropriation by $10 and the Republicans proposes only a $9.50
increase then that means those nasty Republicans want to cut the program and
“starve our children.” There was no cutting. The Democrats proposed increases
that were outlandish and then when the Republicans wanted to bring them
within a reasonable amount it gave them the opportunity they had set up to
demonize their opposition. That’s the way it worked on all the budgets for
the social programs and regulatory agencies. A reduction from what the
Democrats demanded for the EPA brought on the “want to poison the water”
litany. Nothing was safe or sacred. The Democrats’ definition of bi-partisan
emerged to be, “Do it exactly the way we want it to be or we will demonize
you and if you do it exactly the way we want it then we’ll announce that you
don’t have the courage of your convictions and caved in.”

We are now faced with the same situation in the current debate on Social
Security. The plan to privatize offered by Bush is being demonized. I haven’t
seen the details of his plan, but I have seen the details of what happened
with the Municipal Employees in Galveston, Texas. While it was still allowed
for municipalities to do it, the city opted out of Social Security and went
with a private plan. They deduct the same amount from wages as would Social
Security. But in Galveston, If you have been a Municipal Employee earning an
average of $25,000 a year and have reached retirement age, instead of the
$500 to $800 per month you would get from Social Security you will be getting
$2,500 to $4,000 depending on how long you worked. And when you die, whether
it’s before or after retirement, the money that’s in there belongs to your
estate, not the government. I want to see the numbers on the privatization.
Let’s see for ourselves who is lying.

I had just about decided to abandon politics altogether because I could no
longer be associated with the new breed of Democrats. And then you folks on
this board came along and I got angry. Not at you. At myself for having once
been what you are, a blind follower. I admit, I was teetering, but you
provided the last nudge that pushed me over the edge by your constant attempt
to demonize anyone and everyone who disagrees with you.

It just goes on and on and on, one lie on top of another. The Republicans
have done their share. They are not Lilly white. I’m not sure that Bush will
be a great President, a good President or even a decent President, but I
haven’t been able to find anyplace where he has lied to us. But I can’t find
anyplace where Gore has told the truth.

We cannot rely on either the politicians or the media to give us the
straight facts. The politicians are not going to do it and the media is too
lazy to do the digging that has to be done in order to get the truth. What
I’m saying is two fold. Don’t just accept what the politicians or the media
say, none of them, dig in, discover the facts for yourself. You have the
internet. It’s a wonderful tool that can set you free as it has done for me.
Don’t just sit there throwing stones and insults, dig in, get the facts. Both
parties. If your guys are lying, call them on it. Bring it out. Get the truth
out and then cast your vote.

And you few people who have the facts and the sources, post them. There might
be a million like me who are just lurking hoping to find something to give
them a starting point to do their own research.